Lin Luo had received two letters before arriving in Gensokyo, one from Evangeline and one from Suigintou, and the contents were to be read only after he could summon a Contractor. Lin Luo had not forgotten this. In fact, after leaving the Yakumo residence and advancing to the Earthly Rank, he had already gained the ability to summon Contractors, and he had read the letters around that time.

As he had anticipated, both Evangeline and Suigintou wished to visit Gensokyo, though they hadn't specified their exact intentions. Lin Luo could make a reasonable guess as to what they were after.

Given his power level at the time, only Suigintou could be summoned. While summoning Suigintou to Gensokyo wouldn't have caused significant issues, he was under a curse then, and for various other reasons, it was inconvenient to call upon a Contractor, so he shelved the matter temporarily.

What followed was the rigorous training within the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Focused solely on cultivation, he didn't give summoning another thought. However, mastering the Seventh Consciousness and advancing his realm led to a substantial increase in his power of rules, reaching a level where he could summon both Suigintou and Evangeline simultaneously.

Finally, after making contact with the Dark King and learning of the impending attack by the Evil King on Gensokyo, Lin Luo began seriously considering summoning. Although he felt Gensokyo’s fighting strength could likely handle an Evil King without too much trouble, nothing was certain, especially since this foe was the foremost among the Walkers; he needed to secure every possible trump card.

Thus, on that night at the Hakurei Shrine, Lin Luo initiated the summoning, and the first one brought forth was Evangeline.

Evangeline possessed the great inheritance of the Creator, along with artifacts as heaven-defying as the Time House. Lin Luo was confident that her cultivation during this period must have seen tremendous progress. The result, however, far surpassed his projections. Evangeline had indeed grown; not only had she become a complete Earthly Rank expert, but she was already pushing toward the Mid-Earthly Rank!

It could be said that Evangeline's current strength, if placed among the Walkers, would be second only to the Three Kings.

Considering Evangeline's immense power, Lin Luo decided to keep her as a hidden card, an ambush force concealed within Gensokyo... In a vast place like Gensokyo, with her strength, hiding Evangeline without detection would not be difficult. This way, through the connection between Hosts, she could rush to the rescue at the fastest possible moment should any Host encounter danger—just like now!

Sakuya was trapped, yet she hadn't lost her senses and could clearly perceive everything outside. Seeing Remilia in peril, she felt it as if it were her own crisis. This feeling resonated deeply with Evangeline, whose seal on the World Heart had been completely broken, allowing her to appear at this most critical juncture.

Upon her entrance, Evangeline held nothing back, unleashing her full Earthly Rank power.

What appeared to be a light grasp was actually her utilizing her full strength. The Silver Greatsword had been engaged in battle with Remilia for a long time and must have expended considerable power. One was a fresh combatant, the other a battle-weary veteran, and coupled with the already significant disparity in their strength, this one squeeze shattered the Silver Greatsword instantly, not even allowing the soul-belief contained within to escape—Evangeline swallowed it whole!

In that single instant, an incomplete Earthly Rank powerhouse was utterly annihilated.

After consuming that surge of belief, Evangeline immediately converted it into offensive power, unleashing her strongest attack: "May death be equal to all things that possess life. This is the peace... World Freeze!"

Clatter! Clatter!

A wind of absolute zero swept through the vast chamber instantly, and the first to greet this attack were the four Earthly Rank experts who had just recovered from assaulting Remilia... Absolute zero brought them a profound threat, one that could seep into the very dimensions!

With a crack, the ice-wind passed through, shattering the high-dimensional barrier that imprisoned Sakuya. She broke free, and the biting cold rushing towards her made her shiver uncontrollably. Instinctively, she tried to resist, but found that the icy wind bizarrely curved away before it reached her, sweeping past her side.

Although absolute zero permeated the entire room, it could distinguish friend from foe, bypassing Sakuya to strike directly at the countless minions surrounding them... The reason Remilia had "died" more than a dozen times in mere minutes, exhausting all her strength, was not solely due to those five Earthly Ranks; she also had to contend with these low-level enemies.

Patchouli, unconscious, and Hong Meiling lacked combat capability. Flan, confined within the despair of her memories, was reduced to a helpless child. To protect these three, Remilia had to divert some of her strength, otherwise, they would have been crushed by the minions in a very short time.

But now, with the advent of absolute zero, aside from the four Earthly Rank experts who could resist, all the minions were instantly frozen solid. With a mere snap of Evangeline's fingers, they instantly dissolved into ice shards.

The vast room transformed from blood-red to a blinding white expanse. In the space, countless ice shards danced in the wind, resembling a snowy night.

"Evangeline, why did you..." Only now did Sakuya find a chance to speak, staring at the golden-haired maiden floating mid-air, utterly stunned. She had never imagined that this person would come to Gensokyo, let alone the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"We'll discuss that later; first, deal with the enemies," Evangeline smiled faintly, then directed her gaze toward the four Earthly Rank experts who had narrowly escaped. Although absolute zero had high lethality, she hadn't yet reached Mid-Earthly Rank; eliminating four peers in one fell swoop was clearly impossible.

Of course, even without being killed, the four had been rendered somewhat disheveled while evading the attack of absolute zero. Facing Evangeline, whose power neared Mid-Earthly Rank, they felt immense pressure.

Remilia, having narrowly escaped death, used the ten-odd seconds of absolute zero to briefly recover some strength. She also sensed the vampire bloodline in Evangeline, which seemed even superior to her own. Despite harboring doubts, seeing that Sakuya knew Evangeline, she said nothing more and immediately lunged at the enemy once the absolute zero subsided.

Though she was already at her limit, the arrival of a powerful ally drastically boosted her confidence. The ferocity of her attacks was no different from her peak state; with a single strike, she sent the mage, who was just regaining his composure, flying backward, then ignored the presence of other enemies and blasted forward again at full speed... She no longer needed to fight multiple opponents, because!

Boom!

Evangeline struck out like lightning. Her world-shattering punch slammed into the Black Assassin who was attempting to strike Remilia. With just one blow, his body was driven deep into the ground, flesh flying amidst his screams, before Evangeline turned toward the white-haired man.

"Sakuya World!"

With a crisp cry, a dozen gray clocks materialized around the assassin, instantly stopping his time. Then, countless throwing knives shrouded in crimson mist descended from the sky, spiraling toward his head.

"Engrave the Soul of the Murderer!"

Sakuya knew that with her current strength, even if these Earthly Rank experts had expended so much power, a one-on-one fight was impossible. But she was clever: if a frontal assault was useless, she would use other methods... Kicking a fallen dog was certainly not absent from the vocabulary of a demon's attendant.

The knives forming the spiral possessed killing power incomparable to previous attacks. This strike, in terms of sheer destructive force, surpassed the peak of the Spiritual Rank, and with the added effect of time acceleration, the piercing shriek of the wind as they descended sounded like a wail of ghosts and howling spirits.

Boom!!!

The Black Assassin, whose time had been stopped, had no means to evade this onslaught. In an instant, his head exploded, the resulting gore too gruesome to witness. But the killing spree would not end there.

As Sakuya let out a sharp cry, the gears of the clocks began to turn. The headless body suddenly lifted into the air... This was time flowing backward. The process of the Black Assassin being blasted down by Evangeline began to reverse, though the shattered head did not regenerate.

"Vanish completely!"

At Sakuya's merciless command, hundreds of throwing knives materialized around her and shot toward the headless torso in a flash, performing thousands upon thousands of cuts in less than a second. In that brief moment, the Black Assassin dissolved into mist, leaving not even a shred of remains.

"The reversal of the weak overpowering the strong is always exciting, isn't it?" With a swoosh, a blood-red throwing knife returned to Sakuya's hand. The young maid said coldly.

While Sakuya was slaughtering the Black Assassin, Remilia's one-on-one duel with the mage gained a decisive upper hand. Her storm of attacks left the mage with no strength to retaliate, and amidst a demonic roar, her sharp crimson nails tore off one of his arms.

"Ah!!" The mage screamed miserably, a thought of retreat forming in his mind. But the moment the thought surfaced, he felt a danger erupt behind him. Instinctively looking back, he saw a streak of crimson rocketing toward his forehead, and then...

Swish!

The Divine Spear Gungnir returned to Remilia’s hand after piercing the enemy’s skull. The crimson demon stood firm. "The assured fatal spear has never missed its mark."

Meanwhile, Evangeline's fight against the white-haired man also reached its conclusion simultaneously. The suppression of strength and the complete counter of condition meant this battle held no suspense. Within three seconds, the white-haired man was frozen into ice by Evangeline, then shattered with a single punch!

"How could... this happen?" In less than ten seconds, three Earthly Rank powerhouses were completely slain. The remaining Black Robe, witnessing this, was filled with utter terror, his will to fight completely extinguished. He turned to flee, but!

"Hey, want to play with me?" The moment he turned, a young girl materialized before him, grinning, revealing bloodthirsty and savage eyes. "If you don't play with me, I might break you!"

Under the Black Robe's astonished gaze, the girl extended her hand and clenched it fiercely.

Crash!

The Black Robe's body disintegrated entirely.

"I can finally see the markings on you. Thank you for finally liberating me from the past." Flandre looked at her own hands, a cruel smile spreading across her face.