Chapter 85: Prison (Part Five)

Chapter 85: Prison (Part Five)

A sharp blade flashed.

As Rong Mi's mental energy was infused, the originally palm-sized silver blade radiated a bright purple aura of mental energy.

Flames danced as the blade cut through steel, severing Seiko's arm.

Seiko: "!!"

Its eyes widened in shock, never having imagined that Rong Mi had actually been immune to its hypnotic control all along.

Despite its astonishment, its reaction was swift.

The human arm hit the ground, blood gushing from the stump along with countless crimson ice butterfly spirit threads.

Flesh wriggled within the wound, melting into the energy of the ice butterfly, finally making its body appear less human.

The surging ice butterfly spirit energy coiled around Rong Mi's arm. At the same time, bulges emerged from the shoulder blades on Seiko's back, releasing tens of thousands of spirit threads that forcefully ripped the black wormhole apart.

"Vibrating..."

Tearing through the wormhole, the pull from behind it intensified, dragging it backward rapidly.

Rong Mi was also being pulled towards the wormhole.

It was bound to take Rong Mi with it into the Ice Butterfly Star Region.

This was what Butterfly had requested.

Seiko's gaze was fixed on Rong Mi, observing as their mental energy connected with the young man's arm.

In the next second, the silver dagger shimmered brightly.

Silver rays shot out, severing and dissolving the Ice Butterfly mental energy surrounding Rong Mi.

However, Rong Mi's body was still being sucked into the wormhole.

The strength of a human body couldn't withstand the gravitational pull of the black hole... But Rong Mi hadn't intended to retreat in the first place!

Instead, he took a step forward and closed in. The youth's palm was wreathed in a dazzling purple flame, which wrapped around Seiko's throat.

The man and the butterfly were incredibly close, so close that Seiko could see the reflection of his own shocked and perplexed expression in Rong Mi's purplish gaze.

Seiko: "You...?"

His upper body was already tilting into the wormhole. The black, distorted space expanded, engulfing his head.

Rong Mi's hand followed right after.

He felt an intense pain in his hand.

The chaotic distortion seemed to dislocate and scatter his flesh and bones. Next, his entire arm was about to be dragged into the wormhole...

"Buzz—buzzzz—"

The humming of countless ice butterflies resonated through the twisted connection, growing louder like a rumble from another world.

The limbs of the butterflies reaching in from the other end of the wormhole waved and bent, pressing down on Rong Mi's body, attempting to force him completely into their realm.

Rong Mi: "Ayin!"

In that instant, the spirit energy chains on the wolf's body soared into the air.

The fire dragon leaped, leaving a trail of flames behind as it shattered the insect's limbs. Frost condensed in the void.

Ice and fire did not repel each other.

A silvery radiance enveloped Rong Mi from all directions, pressing down on Seiko and the warped spatial passage behind it.

The wolf's domain descended, just like every time before.

"Aoohh!"

Ayin's eyes gleamed with joy, thrilled that Rong Mi had called his name again – a sign that Rong Mi was truly unharmed!

"Boom."

"Bang, bang, bang."

Amidst the prolonged howl, thick ice crystals emerged and solidified within the tunnel, resembling seals nailed onto the wormhole, forcing it to close back up.

With a firm grip on Seiko's throat, Rong Mi exerted force on her wrist, dragging the creature outward. She raised her other arm, which held a silver short blade.

"I remember now," Rong Mi whispered. "You had Cheng Die's spirit energy fragments. I saw them in the hospital on the Capital Star."

"No wonder…"

"Even with the knowledge of your issues, I still sought opportunities to engage with you."

His visit to the military prison today would have transpired regardless, as he had intended to see Seiko.

Rong Mi: "It turns out I was aiming to extract something from you!"

This reminiscence was triggered because just now, Rong Mi sensed Cecil's spirit energy emanating from Seiko once more!

The spirit energy he perceived was weak, as if it were isolated and confined, not yet fully awakened.

This was the perfect opportunity to seize Cecil's spirit fragments!

Rong Mi certainly wouldn't let it slip away!

He gritted his teeth tightly, ignoring the excruciating pain in his arm. With a swift twist of his wrist, the sharp blade sliced ruthlessly towards Seiko's forehead.

Indeed, this was an exceptionally unique and effective dagger.

Not even Cecil's body could withstand its razor-sharp edge... let alone the transformed Seiko, who was now just an Arachne!

Blood spurted out in an instant.

Just like when his arm was severed, beneath Seiko's near-perfect human disguise lay the energy and structure of an Ice Butterfly.

The gash on the forehead became a fountain's source, pouring out a torrent of Ice Butterfly energy.

The surging energy widened the wound, splitting Seiko's head into two halves that hung precariously from a thin bridge in the middle.

They rushed towards Rong Mi, engulfing the young man in an instant.

The energy was abundant and densely packed, and though large swaths were severed and dissipated by the silver light, as well as frozen and melted by the surrounding ice and fire, the residual threads still tightly entwined Rong Mi.

Rong Mi's face bore bloody marks.

The corrosive mental strands burnt his exposed skin.

Rong Mi's mental energy did not shield him, for the youth had poured all of it into the palm holding the silver dagger.

He didn't dodge or retreat; instead, he reached out and delved deeply into the mass of energy within Seiko's skull.

Then, his fingertips touched something metallic.

"Buzz—!"

"Buzzzz—!"

"Ahh!—"

The impact of the surrounding energy was chaotic.

A wolf lunged from behind, fiercely slamming into Seiko.

All of Ayin's mental energy had been devoted to suppressing the spatial wormhole.

Distortion of spatial energy wasn't within its expertise; it lacked Ayadele's abilities, so it could only rely on the sheer strength of its mental power to correct the already-existing spatial distortions.

Suppressing a tiny spatial wormhole was more challenging for the wolf than freezing a planet for Ice Butterfly, and no less arduous than confronting an adult butterfly's energy head-on. Yet, it couldn't bear to let Seiko harm Rong Mi.

The same applied to Lu Yi.

The wolf was invoking its energy at the expense of its mental domain. Above its mental sea, the reflection of Lu Yi's spirit tree shimmered brilliantly.

In a state of empathic connection, the Admiral's mental energy swiftly flooded into the wolf's body. Ayin's entire being radiated brilliance as she fiercely tore apart the icy butterfly energy cocoon that enveloped Rong Mi.

Rong Mi heard Cecil's shrill cry as the vibrant red energy swiftly dissipated.

The energy barrier, initially employed to conceal Butterfly's spiritual power vibrations and embedded within the pendant, now served as an obstacle hindering her from launching her assault.

Cecil's roar remained merely a furious outburst, powerless to prevent Rong Mi from grasping the spatial button in his palm and retracting his arm.

With a resounding explosion, its body disintegrated into fragments, transforming into a pure scarlet energy entity.

They seemed like a torrent, attempting to submerge Rong Mi once more.

The Silver Wolves stood towering before her, their massive form shielding her. The flames encircling the youth's palm appeared eternal, refusing to release the already captured Soul Butterfly pendant, nor would they halt their actions.

The balance of victory tilted in his favor without surprise. With a deafening boom, a large hole was blasted open above Seiko, far behind him, at the end of the military prison's passage.

A nimble, small gray military-grade mecha descended from above, its dual circular cannons on its chest glowing as they accurately locked onto the crimson Ice Butterfly energy mass.

"Buzz—"

The energy cluster that had been converging on Rong Mi and the Silver Wolves instantly dispersed, evading the gray mecha's targeting range.

"Such a hassle."

Seiko had lost its human form and no longer spoke. However, the vibrations emitted by each energy thread formed the semblance of human speech.

They regrouped from all directions, charging swiftly like a laser beam towards the wormhole entrance, which was still sealed by the silver spirit energy but had yet to dissipate completely.

"I'm going to get scolded by Cecil now."

"Bang! Bang bang!" Light splashed around as a sharp whistling sound echoed as the crimson energy stream exerted all its strength to create a tiny breach in the wolf's mental power.

Then, like magic, the vast expanse of crimson energy condensed into a narrow strip that swiftly penetrated the gap.

The latter half of the crimson energy was frozen and shattered by the wolf's mental power, but a significant portion still managed to escape.

"Pft."

With a sound akin to bubbles rising in a pool, the black spatial wormhole shrunk to a pinpoint size before vanishing completely.

Rong Mi clenched the pendant tightly between his fingers and took a step back. He was panting heavily, with numerous wounds covering his body; blood had formed a puddle at his feet.

"Ao."

Ayin turned to look at him, his ice-blue eyes filled with concern. The wolf gently nuzzled Rong Mi's unharmed hand, gesturing for him to climb onto his back.

Before the two, the newly arrived standardized gray mecha simultaneously crouched down.

The mecha extended its arm, signaling that it could serve as an elevator for both Rong Mi and the wolf, lifting them up to the surface level.

"The medical team is on standby above," the mecha pilot announced. "The situation down here will be handled by us for cleanup and investigation."

Rong Mi was covered in blood.

He was in great pain, but after glancing at the gray mecha and making a brief hand signal to wait, he turned back to stroke the wolf's head.

Then, Rong Mi stepped forward, passing Ayin, and stood where Seiko had just been standing. He bent down to pick up the space button lying on the ground.

When Seiko had transformed into energy to escape, the mecha's space button, which it had been holding, had fallen to the floor. Rong Mi's fiery energy had dragged it along, preventing it from falling into the wormhole.

Rong Mi's bloodied hand closed around the space button.

"This is Lu Yi's mecha that I borrowed. I haven't had the chance to return it yet," the young man murmured to himself. "It wouldn't have been good if Seiko had taken it."

Just as he was about to clasp his hands together and rise, he suddenly felt a momentary blurriness around him.

An eerie distortion of space suddenly reappeared in an instant.

The contours of the hallway bent, and Zhang Lingyu's blue mecha was swiftly engulfed by a thick veil of black not far away.

A buzzing of ice butterflies echoed from afar. A light blue butterfly wing glided overhead, its red venom gland dangling downward.

"Rong Mi."

Seiko's voice emerged amidst the incessant humming.

Another wormhole opened, and a myriad of crimson sub-butterfly spirit threads surged out from a pinpoint before Rong Mi, spreading into a crimson veil that descended upon him.

Rong Mi looked up, neither dodging nor evading; he didn't even attempt to do so.

Instead, he smiled.

The blood-stained gaze of the young man curved into a smile, radiating an untainted clarity with an air of inevitability.

"I knew you wouldn't leave so easily."

In the echoes of his words, the strangeness froze.

The veil of darkness and crimson faded swiftly, revealing once more the gray armor that had just been concealed.

The twin rows of cannons on the mecha's chest retracted backward, while the central disc bulged outward, unfolding to reveal another circular black box, its surface adorned with a glowing green indicator light.

Meanwhile, within the military prison, situated directly above and below the cells where Rong Mi and Seiko were confined, several engineering rigs meticulously installed their rudimentary spatial folding devices. In unison, these devices activated alongside the command initiation boxes carried by the gray mechas, commencing their operation.

"Beep—"

"Area of Spatial Fold: 0.01 stellar square units. Initiation of spatial fold at 1%... 100%..."

"Completion of spatial fold initialization."