While Phantylia was busy questioning her existence, a giant flaming ladle came swinging straight at her head. That was when she finally noticed—the giant figure of the Lighting Lord, clearly under the Hunt's domain, was now holding a ladle infused with the power of Elation.
What was this? The Hunt wielding Elation to beat down a Destruction follower wrapped in an Abundance body? What kind of chaotic, tangled mess of Paths was this?
But as the flaming ladle came crashing down, Phantylia made everyone remember that she wasn't one to falter in power or presence.
"Tricks and games. No matter how much power you've scavenged, a bug will always be a bug. Let me show you what true Destruction looks like!"
Destruction energy erupted again. But as it surged forth, Pei Guang lunged with his wooden sword, mimicking a thrust. And like an obedient partner, the Lighting Lord followed suit—stabbing forward with its oversized flaming ladle.
Phantylia snorted in disdain. What could a glorified cooking utensil possibly do to her? She had received Nanook's blessing! Her power now surpassed every other Lord Ravager!
Yet, just as she scoffed, the ladle—blazing with flames—smashed into her head. She instinctively retaliated, but her attacks bounced harmlessly off the utensil' surface. Worse, the flames on the Lighting Lord burned her Destruction energy, forcing it to flow back into her body. And for some reason, it made her flesh smell… delicious.
This wasn't just an illusion. The flames carried Pei Guang's signature—a strengthened version of his earlier fire. Extinguishing them now required even more effort, and every time Phantylia managed to do so, chunks of cooked meat peeled off her body.
And every time the meat fell, Welt's eyes glinted. Without needing instructions, he immediately began vacuuming the dropped materials into the dimensional storage.
With Pei Guang directing the Lighting Lord, Phantylia finally started to understand what fighting a player really meant. Every time she raised her arms for an attack, Pei Guang's own body blocked her strikes—buying time for the Lighting Lord to smack her head again with the ladle.
Whenever she tried to channel her Path's energy, the flaming ladle came swinging down. And each time, bursts of colorful fireworks exploded above her head—turning her humiliation into a spectacle.
Once. Twice. Three times!
After being interrupted and bonked repeatedly, Phantylia finally snapped.
"Enough!"
Her rage echoed through the chamber.
But all she got in response was another flaming ladle slamming into her head.
Phantylia gritted her teeth. "Do you have any other moves besides hitting me with that thing?!"
Pei Guang paused for half a second, as if seriously considering her words.
Seizing the moment, Phantylia tried to strike back—only to watch in horror as Pei Guang doubled down on his shamelessness. The Lighting Lord spun the flaming ladle and smashed her into the ground, pinning her there.
Phantylia pushed back, her arms trembling as she resisted the crushing weight. Her Abundance-forged body and Destruction-fueled strength kept her from being completely overpowered. She planted her feet, prepared to rise.
And that was when she felt it: a ripple of Preservation energy building up in the distance.
Recognizing the threat, Phantylia tried to break free—to hurl a devastating attack toward the source.
But she was too late.
At that exact moment, Stelle received a transmission from Pei Guang through the shared inventory.
After scanning the contents, Stelle exchanged a quick glance with March 7th. No words were needed. They both knew what to do.
Stelle drew her War-flaming Lance and charged forward. But this time, she wasn't going in alone.
March 7th's voice rang out. "Go get her! Make sure she remembers this humiliation!"
"I'll make sure of it!" Stelle roared, blazing with determination.
Beneath Stelle's feet, sheets of Six-Phased Ice formed a path. Inspired by the construction of the lightspeed vessel, March 7th had developed a technique to amplify speed using the same principles.
And this time, Stelle wasn't just going for a direct hit—she was about to drive it home with flair.
March 7th had a nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right. But before she could voice her thoughts, Stelle had already shot out like a bolt of lightning, skating across Six-Phased Ice with her War-flaming Lance blazing.
"War-flaming Lance, charge!"
Phantylia, still locked in a power struggle with Pei Guang's Lighting Lord, felt an ominous sense of foreboding as Stelle's battle cry echoed through the chamber.
By the time she realized what was happening, it was already too late. A streak of crimson, tinged with amber, raced toward her—and not only that, but Stelle's weapon picked up a flame from the Lighting Lord mid-charge.
With a burst of speed, Stelle slammed her lance straight into Phantylia's chest, piercing the area she had been supporting with both hands. At the point of impact, a fresh burst of Savory Fire erupted, setting her aflame once again.
Unfortunately for Stelle, the flames only lasted a few seconds before being extinguished. But in those few seconds, yet another chunk of roasted material fell from Phantylia's body.
Stelle didn't even glance at the charred debris—after all, Walter was already busy collecting it. She had no interest in oversized ingredients at the moment, she was just focused on efficiency.
Cooking experiments could wait until later, preferably after the fight, when she and Pei Guang could sit down and figure out whether Phantylia's leftovers were worth tasting.
For now? Efficiency was the priority.
Stelle smirked, twirling her War-flaming Lance. "I told you I was going to knock Nanook's teeth in. Since you're his little pawn, let's see if this spear can shatter your bones first!"
War-flaming Lance in one hand and baseball bat in the other—both ignited with flames borrowed from the Lighting Lord—Stelle unleashed a relentless flurry of thrusts and swings at Phantylia's chest.
No fancy techniques. No calculated strategies. Just raw aggression and firepower.
Every hit triggered bursts of colorful fireworks, as more and more material peeled off Phantylia's body and scattered across the battlefield.
But even as she smashed away, she felt dissatisfied. This was a massive peach just begging to be plucked in one go—and she wasn't one to leave work half-done.
What? Guilt? Remorse? Would a vampire feel guilty about eating bread? Probably not. And while I have no idea how a vampire could turn bread into donuts, when it comes to enemies, no attack or humiliation is ever too much.
And as Stelle saw it, Phantylia was just another monster—a living weapon to be dismantled piece by piece.
Her attacks weren't just working—they were getting under Phantylia's skin.
By now, Phantylia's rage had reached its peak. She vowed to tear Stelle apart and then hunt down Pei Guang to finish the job.
Channeling Destruction energy into her hands, she lunged at Stelle with a devastating strike.
But Stelle simply smiled.
Just as Phantylia's attack was about to land, Stelle pulled out Pei Guang's wooden sword, sliced off the largest chunk of material she could, stuffed it into storage, and vanished in a flash of light—teleporting out of harm's way.
The attack missed, and as Phantylia's blow struck empty space, Pei Guang seized the moment.
With a single command, the Lighting Lord rammed its flaming ladle straight into Phantylia's mouth.
Phantylia's instincts kicked in—she saw this as her chance to crush the Lighting Lord once and for all.
She reached out, her hands glowing with destructive energy, ready to deliver the final blow.
But Pei Guang had already anticipated her move; before Phantylia could grab hold, the Lighting Lord dropped its ladle and clenched its massive fists.
Then it started punching.
Again. And again.
The sound of heavy blows echoed through the chamber as the Lighting Lord pummeled Phantylia's face, flames erupting with every hit.
Chunks of roasted material broke free with each strike, feeding Welt's relentless collection efforts.
At first, Phantylia dismissed the flames as little more than a nuisance—an irritating but manageable annoyance.
But it didn't take long for her to realize that these weren't ordinary flames at all.
She in fact realized that her body's regenerative ability was slowing down, and some of the areas that had been damaged could no longer heal.
Phantylia roared in frustration, "What did you do to my perfect body?"
Pei Guang shrugged. "No idea. Maybe you're just bad at this?"
Phantylia was completely enraged. When she first received Nanook's blessing, her plan was to use this body to destroy the Xianzhou and kill this infuriating player.
But now Phantylia understood—there was no time for delay. The player's strength was too bizarre, shifting unpredictably based on the situation, and all her preparations had been rendered useless.
Since there was no time to stall, Phantylia decided to sacrifice this body to bring destruction to the Xianzhou.
Phantylia sneered, "Pathetic insects, can you withstand this attack?"