With that single moment, all sorrowful and desolate sounds transformed into boundless, sweeping rage. A wind formed of sheer fury swept toward the Aediru Gardens—a blackness intent on obliterating everything. It blotted out the sun, cloaked the sky in a dreary gray expanse, where only the ferocious, roaring black wind remained.

The CIA had fallen.

It was fortunate for the Aediru Gardens that every remaining eye could witness this, yet no one felt fortunate now, for they knew a monster far more terrifying than the CIA had been born—the Seven Luminary Trees, drenched in vengeful wrath.

The Seven Luminary Trees were already the apex beings among the Holy War Angels; no one knew the true extent of their dreadful power. All they knew was that in the distant era ruled by the Seven Luminary Trees, no force could stand against them.

The people of the Aediru Gardens were not unfamiliar with the Seven Luminary Trees, as they hosted two within their borders. But they had never felt fear toward them before, because they had never witnessed a Seven Luminary Tree unleash its full might.

Though all Holy War Angels were female, they encompassed both gentleness and brutality, aggression and peace, much like humanity. Yet, for some unknown reason, every Seven Luminary Tree known to them possessed an exceedingly kind disposition. Take the two within the Aediru Gardens: they hardly ever quarreled with anyone, treating every soul with kindness and tenderness—truly symbols of perfection. While they never forgot the terrifying power they possessed, they weren't paralyzed by that latent strength. But then—

As that black wind swept over them, they finally understood: never mistake courtesy for weakness. The Seven Luminary Trees had good temperaments, but they were not to be trifled with by just anyone. When a Seven Luminary Tree became enraged, it transcended the level of a mere monster; it became—a catastrophe.

...Upon one of the floating cities in the Aediru Gardens, two young maidens resided. The smaller one, appearing barely eleven or twelve, sat on the railing, dangling her feet and humming a gentle tune. The other, looking about sixteen or seventeen, stood behind her, steadying the smaller girl as she listened to the song.

Both maidens had golden hair. Despite their age difference, their features bore a certain resemblance, and their hair was laced with threads of thin frost. Behind their ears rested several delicate ice crystals, seeming as if they would never melt.

"Lanzhu, must you really go?"

When the singing ceased, the smaller maiden suddenly turned to the girl behind her. "Why must you fight Mezalance? Can I meet her? I truly wish to see her, because I've always wanted to meet the other Seven Luminary Trees, and sing alongside her. That has always been my dream."

The maiden addressed as Lanzhu shook her head, replying gently, "Let's go rest for a bit first. You still have a fever. If you get sick, he will worry too."

"But... is it impossible?" A few tears welled in the maiden's eyes. "Why must there be fighting? I don't want to see the Seven Luminary Trees battle each other."

"Because some things, in the end, are unavoidable," Lanzhu sighed, gently wiping away the tears at the corner of the smaller girl's eye.

"Lanzhu, it is time for us to act," just then, a young man entered.

"I know. Wait for me," Lanzhu responded. She carefully settled the small maiden onto the bed, then returned to stand beside the young man, letting out a soft sigh. "It truly pains me that we cannot prevent the Holy War Angels from slaughtering one another. Will the day of ending never arrive...?"

"Perhaps that day will come, but for now... the rampaging Seven Luminary Tree must be stopped," the man said, gazing into the distance where the black wind raged.

Lin Luo had not attempted to stop Lei’s rampage. After viewing Shiya’s memories, he understood Lei’s current state of mind perfectly. Any person with even a shred of humanity would find their anger unable to be suppressed; moreover, for Lei, Shiya was her dearest friend, perhaps even kin.

Who says anger must always be a negative force? Who claims that gentle and kind souls cannot wield vengeance to annihilate their enemies? Is there fault in fighting an enemy with a heart full of revenge? Even the ancient sages declared: repay kindness with grace, and repay vengeance with retribution.

If this heavy hatred is not avenged upon the enemy, how can the rage threatening to swallow one's very soul ever be soothed?

"Fight, Lei. Vent the fury in your heart to your heart's content. I am with you," Lin Luo stated solemnly. At this moment, it was no longer he wielding the weapon; it was the Verdant Gale Blade fighting through his body.

The maiden said nothing, only glancing at the raging black wind tearing through the sky. As it coiled up, that tearing black gale solidified into a massive black column, shooting forward like a laser beam. In an instant, it pierced through a floating city, which then shattered and began to plummet.

No one knew if anyone had been aboard that city, or how many were there, only that anyone on that floating structure was certainly doomed.

But it wasn't over.

The black wind raged again. This time, the wind column surged toward the largest floating city visible to the eye.

"Not good! The Seven Luminary Tree has targeted us!" The high-ranking officials of Aediru Gardens, who were observing, panicked immediately, for the all-consuming black wind was hurtling toward them.

However, the anticipated catastrophe never struck. Just as the black wind reached halfway, the screens were suddenly filled with a blinding white light. A gigantic ice dragon materialized out of thin air, engaging the black wind in a violent swirl before both dissipated.

"It's Lanzhu and Oruha!" The survivors cheered with relief.

"They've finally shown themselves—the ice-attribute Seven Luminary Tree," Lin Luo realized immediately upon seeing his attack blocked. Only another Seven Luminary Tree could intercept an attack from one.

"One of the Seven Luminary Trees, Mezalance of the Verdant Gale..." A voice whispered next to Lin Luo's ear. Following the sound, he saw a young man standing on an ice pillar not far to his right, gripping a massive ice greatsword. The speaker, however, was not the man, but the ghostly silhouette of a maiden manifested behind him.

The maiden's gaze fell upon Lei's ethereal form, her tone devoid of any hostility. "Mezalance, pleased to meet you. I am Lanzhu. I truly wanted to see you. We really do not wish to be enemies with you. If possible, I hope everything can end here, can it not?"

"End here? Why? Did you ever consider ending things when you treated Shiya the way you did? By what right do you utter such words now?" Lei stared coldly at her.

"I know she suffered greatly and lost so much, but that is not something I could alter. And her sacrifice was for the Aediru Gardens to become a truly ideal world..."

"Ideal world?" Before the other could finish, Lei interrupted, her voice sinking. "What is an 'ideal world'? What is the 'Paradise of the Holy War Angels'? Lies! It is all lies!"

Suddenly, the maiden roared, and the black wind escalated into a fresh frenzy.

"It was you... It was Aediru Gardens that turned Shiya into that state, luring her in with false affection! Not only did you treat her as an experimental subject, but you even stole her only child to use in your experiments! And when she was no longer useful, you arbitrarily reshaped her into that monster and locked her away for centuries... It was you. Aediru Gardens destroyed everything she had. This is absolutely not an ideal world! I will not forgive you. I absolutely will not forgive you!"

Infinite resentment and the thirst for vengeance flashed in the maiden's eyes. The phantom of her soul seemed to materialize in that instant; her deep blue hair whipped in the wind as a colossal black tornado rushed directly toward the opposition.

"It seems words alone truly are useless. Sigh," Lanzhu lamented. The next moment, a brilliant white ice explosion unfurled, instantly freezing the black wind heading toward her.

"As expected of a Seven Luminary Tree; their inherent power levels are nearly equal," Lin Luo commented with a nod.

"That is only natural. A Seven Luminary Tree should not be inferior to another Seven Luminary Tree," the man standing atop the ice peak declared proudly, then added, as if mocking them, "However, the bond between you two seems far more fragile than it appears on the surface."

"Oh? On what grounds do you draw that conclusion?" Lin Luo looked at him calmly. The opponent made no move to attack, stating casually, "From that last attack. It was significantly weaker than your power when you were airborne earlier."

"Is that so? You think that way, do you? Then allow me to show you something."

"Hm?"

"Begin, Lei."

The true strength a Holy War Angel and her Contractor could manifest in combat depended not solely on the Angel's inherent strength or the Contractor's skill, but crucially, on the connection between their minds. If the two minds were uncoordinated, even a full-power attack might only yield fifty percent effectiveness. But if the pair achieved perfect unity, even ten percent of their strength could manifest its full power.

In the previous exchange, Lin Luo had merely functioned as Lei's cannon fodder, not deploying his own strength, nor establishing mental synchronization; Lei had simply been thrashing wildly on her own. This did not imply, however, that the two were incapable of synchronization.

On the contrary, this was precisely the moment their synchronization was at its peak, because Lin Luo, too, was overflowing with anger that demanded release.

When Lin Luo finished speaking, the roaring wind finally stilled. But this quietude did not bring comfort to the opposition. Oruha, being a wielder of a Seven Luminary Tree himself, felt an overwhelming threat, like the eerie calm preceding a massive tempest.

"People of Aediru Gardens, can you see the black harbinger of death approaching along this path?"

Amidst a cold sneer, Lin Luo assumed a swordsman's stance, and Oruha immediately tensed for battle.

"Place the Crimson Wave Arrow upon the bowstring, and in an instant... gently draw the Eightfold Wave—the West Wind, Ah."

This was the third form of the Four Wind Slashes wielded by the Verdant Gale Blade—West Wind, Ah, a crescent-shaped slash.

The moment it was unleashed, a crescent of black light tore through the ice layer and shot toward the heavens, aimed directly at the largest floating city, V.