Looking at Caelus before him, Jing Yuan felt mixed emotions.
Firstly, the Xianzhou were loyal followers of Lan. Respecting and protecting this god was naturally their duty. Yet Caelus now stood on Xianzhou territory, right before him, an Emanator of The Hunt, declaring his intent to kill Lan—such blasphemy was incredibly bold...
Although the Xianzhou wasn't a place that widely practiced prosecution for speech, Caelus's behavior was too outrageous. Logically and emotionally, he, as the General, shouldn't just stand by.
But the problem was, after Caelus made such crazed pronouncements, he actually did summon Lan himself. And He even directly acknowledged the other's conviction and bestowed a blessing. With the main party involved showing no concern, if the Xianzhou continued to pursue the matter, it might seem somewhat petty.
Besides, it wasn't like Jing Yuan was underestimating himself, but how many people on the entire Xianzhou had actually seen Lan properly? Even among them, the Seven Arbiter-Generals, few had directly received acknowledgment and power from Lan.
From this perspective, Caelus's current Hunt concentration was much higher than the Xianzhou's. For them to reprimand Caelus for disrespecting the Aeon of The Hunt felt somewhat like defying heaven...
Thinking of this, Jing Yuan sighed softly, ultimately choosing to pretend he saw nothing.
After all, despite his intuition constantly screaming that something was wrong, the overall relationship between the Xianzhou and the Express crew was currently good. Why fuss over some boastful words? Even if the current Caelus gained the recognition of more than one Aeon, he was still far too distant from his goal.
There was an insurmountable chasm between mortals and gods; otherwise, Nanook and Yaoshi should have been dealt with long ago.
After some thought, Jing Yuan looked at the heavy and subtle atmosphere among the Express crew members and thoughtfully chose to distance himself, giving them some private time.
"That just now was..."
Welt wiped the cold sweat from his brow, only then realizing he had forgotten to breathe earlier.
Even though Lan's presence was merely momentary, the pressure it brought still left everyone shaken. Unlike Aha, who thoughtfully withheld any malice or pressure, Lan had genuinely targeted Caelus when casting His gaze. The resulting deterrence was naturally incomparable.
Especially when, one second your companion was badmouthing a god, saying they'd kill them, and the next second the god suddenly appeared on the spot... This feeling couldn't even be described by the word 'terrifying'.
Fortunately, no major problems ultimately occurred—well, perhaps one couldn't quite say that...
Placing his gaze on Caelus, Welt could now be certain that some part of the current Caelus was definitely broken. After all, he didn't have many mortal enemies in his life, and the two most prominent lunatics among them shared a somewhat similar aura to the Caelus right now.
Especially that Kevin Kaslana!
Originally, Caelus's gray hair and hairstyle occasionally made him see illusions. Now, coupled with this outwardly normal yet inwardly crazy aura, Welt felt his PTSD begin to stir... Damn it! If only someone could help him deal with all these lunatics—
"..."
Welt's expression suddenly froze. He vaguely remembered someone indeed telling him they would help him beat up lunatics... He couldn't recall who it was. Was it that forgotten child named Twilight?
"I know you must have many questions... Anyway, let me synchronize this memory with you all first."
Explaining everything himself would take too long. Fortunately, the current Caelus was incomparable to his self from minutes ago. The sponsorship from Aeons Aha and Lan had caused his strength to skyrocket, bringing significant growth in other aspects as well.
For example, he could now share the memory obtained from the resonance between the Ambrosial Arbor and the Stellaron with the other members of the Express crew through the means of Harmony, allowing them to empathize.
Caelus didn't show them all his memories with Twilight, like their private moments together, or the life spent in the Dream of Unity [Ena]... He only synchronized what the others needed to know, while keeping the rest as treasured memories belonging solely to him and Twilight.
The specific information instantly stunned the other Express members, leaving only Caelus standing silently in place.
Just now, the moment Lan locked onto him, he thought he was dead for sure. After all, having obtained Twilight's memories, he knew Lan wasn't exactly a benevolent god who spared the old and young. Even with this Xianzhou full of His faithful children, Lan could still shoot down a light arrow without hesitation.
It was just that Lan ultimately didn't strike this time...
Did the change in causality perhaps eliminate the arrow aimed at Twilight, along with the fate determined by that arrow, yet couldn't affect Lan himself? If willing, He could absolutely continue attacking, ensuring Caelus and the Express crew died without a burial place.
Yet He ultimately didn't act. Was it because Twilight was dead, and the remaining ones were no longer within His 'must-kill' range?
Caelus couldn't figure out why Lan insisted on killing Twilight, yet could let him go... But it didn't matter anymore. That answer wouldn't affect his future actions.
However, killing an Aeon was clearly not a simple matter. He was mad, not stupid. Of course, he couldn't just run around the galaxy with a baseball bat chasing Lan like Lan chased Yaoshi. Caelus's gaze fell upon the silently thoughtful Acheron nearby. Wasn't there a senior here whose purpose was precisely to kill Aeons?
"How can one truly kill an Aeon?"
"...Unclear."
After long deliberation, Acheron finally uttered these two words seriously.
If the method to eliminate Aeons was so easily found, she would have already chopped that damned black egg-like thing to death long ago. Why would she still be wandering aimlessly through the galaxy searching...
"Your goal will be difficult... perhaps even harder than mine," Acheron spoke her true thoughts. After all, unlike Nihility, which was cosmic background noise few cared about, Lan had quite fervent followers in the galaxy. If Caelus targeted Lan, he would surely encounter many enemies, while allies... might only consist of some crazed followers of Abundance.
Wait, perhaps he could also find an Aha looking for entertainment...
Caelus paid no mind to Acheron's words. Even if the path ahead was difficult, he wouldn't change his mind. After all, he only had this one goal left now.
Those other dreams from the past had all crumbled to dust with Twilight's disappearance... If the person he loved most wasn't even beside him, and he couldn't even avenge her, what meaning did anything else hold?
"No matter the cost..." Caelus silently clenched his fists. "I will definitely—"
"No, Caelus, calm down!"
A loud shout interrupted Caelus's impending declaration. The speaker was none other than Welt, drenched in sweat!
Close call... Just a little more, and Caelus would have uttered lines similar to that madman's!
Welt knew this world held some similar existences to his former home, like the familiar faces he saw on Jarilo-VI, like Acheron... Although they were different people, besides appearances, their personalities also held many similarities, overt or subtle.
And the current Caelus made Welt extremely suspicious that he might have a similar relationship with that man!
Therefore, he had to stop Caelus from saying such words! He had to try everything to straighten Caelus's personality back out, prevent him from becoming a madman like Kevin who resorted to any means to achieve his goals!
Otherwise, even Twilight wouldn't be happy!
But how? The current Caelus was already heartbroken and crazed. Unless Twilight revived, otherwise...
Revival?
Suddenly remembering a piece of information he learned back home, Welt hesitated, but ultimately decided to try anything at this point.
"Caelus, did you know? Sometimes, people who die in one world... might appear in another world."
Was there scientific basis for this? Welt didn't know, but—
He knew Otto did it!
If not for that madman Otto driving the Cosmic Juggernaut, dragging Fu Hua along to search for his Saintess who had been dead for 500 years, leaving Earth, they wouldn't have been beaten so badly by Kevin back then... But putting aside Otto's moral compass, his intellect and technological level were clearly extraordinary.
Therefore, since even Otto believed his deceased Saintess could be found in another world, it meant the possibility of dead people appearing in another world was real!
Welt was willing to stake his reputation on Otto's technical prowess regarding matters related to that Li Hua!