The Target

The Lunar Capital was established by Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto and founded by Omoikane-no-Mikoto. Far removed from the calamities of the earth, it enjoyed eternal stability and immortality. Possessing technology that transcended the eras, it was the paradise dreamed of by those on the ground who struggled with worldly afflictions—a pure land comparable to the Celestial Realm. This was the source of the lunarians' pride.

But now, this pristine, giant metropolis had vanished in an instant, annihilated by a white light. The pride of the lunarians had led to their defeat in the war. Taking such a massive gamble after losing the war meant there was never a chance of winning from the start. The moment Chang'e obtained a body, the fate of the Lunar Capital was sealed. The lunarians had finally paid the most painful price for their own arrogance.

"It's gone... the Lunar Capital... is gone..." On the edge of the giant crater that was once the Lunar Capital, Kishin Sagume's legs gave way, and she knelt directly on the ground. Looking at the perfectly uniform, super-massive pit before her, her expression froze. Her mouth opened and closed, repeating the same simple words over and over.

As a typical Lunarian, Sagume possessed their characteristic arrogance. Not long ago, the fleet had set sail, and the once-mighty Lunar Capital had been reduced to nothing in the blink of an eye. This left her completely stunned, lost and unsure of what to do.

"Has Chang'e... truly been revived? Damn it... Ao... what have you done?!" Standing beside Sagume, Yorihime gripped the long blade in her hand tightly, her expression filled with intense hatred. Because she had been warned by Toyohime beforehand, she understood exactly what was happening.

Although she had opposed the Lunar Capital, Yorihime was still a Lunarian at heart. Her and Toyohime's goal from the beginning had not been to destroy the Lunar Capital, but merely to change its regime. They wanted to dismantle the Council of Sages, establish a new Lunar Government, change the status of the moon rabbits, and put an end to the research on Chang'e.

She never imagined that the Council of Sages would take such a desperate risk to preserve their rule, attempting to awaken Chang'e and causing the destruction of the entire Lunar Capital and nearly all the lunarians...

Perhaps, from the very beginning, Ao had intended to drag the entire world down with the Lunar Capital...

"What... what will become of this world..." Yorihime murmured, staring at the massive, elegant figure in the center of the distant crater.

In the forest on the other side, countless moon rabbits were bowing blindly toward the giant crater where the Lunar Capital had once stood. Beside them, Toyohime and Nura Rihyon stared in shock at the distant pit and the figure floating above it.

"The Lunar Capital... just like that... destroyed... so simply... destroyed..."

"That thing... what on earth is it?!" Looking at the massive Moon Feather Princess in the distance, Nura Rihyon couldn't help but tighten his grip on his blade. Then, he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. His legs weakened, and he nearly collapsed as a surge of nausea rose from his chest.

"This is..."

Nura Rihyon's eyes widened, and he pressed his hands against the ground, nearly vomiting. Toyohime, who was also experiencing severe discomfort, immediately endured the sensation and propped up a barrier, enveloping the surrounding moon rabbits and Nura Rihyon within it.

"Pu... purity... This is the erosion of Chang'e's purity... she is the Source of purity... If you don't want to become a mindless, inanimate object, do not move!"

"What... Chang'e... purity..." Hearing Toyohime's words, Nura Rihyon prepared to ask more, but the intense discomfort choked the words back as soon as he opened his mouth.

Forcing herself to stay conscious through the haze, Toyohime barely maintained the barrier. However, it still couldn't completely block the erosion of purity coming from Chang'e. She could already see the surrounding trees beginning to turn into white crystals, frozen in an eternal state.

At that moment, Toyohime suddenly realized that even if the Moon Feather Princess did nothing and simply floated there, she would bring total disaster to every living being in the entire Lunar Secret Realm.

"Damn it... if we don't do something..."

On the other side, Sagume and Yorihime also opened barriers to resist the incoming erosion of purity, but with little effect. Just as they were about to fall into despair, the Moon Feather Princess made a new move.

Gently flapping her wings, the Moon Feather Princess—half-human, half-beast, dressed in magnificent robes and manifesting as a beautiful woman—ended her long silence. She slowly raised her slender neck, looking toward the sky, her closed eyes seemingly staring straight at the distant blue planet.

Suddenly, the Moon Feather Princess violently flapped her massive wings. Her three-hundred-meter-tall form shot toward the sky like a rocket, vanishing into the heavens in an instant.

The moment the Moon Feather Princess disappeared, every living being in the Lunar Secret Realm felt a sudden release of pressure. The moon rabbits snapped out of their daze and looked around in confusion, while Toyohime and Nura Rihyon collapsed, panting heavily with their hands on the ground.

Amidst their relief, they were also curious about where the Moon Feather Princess was headed.

"Whew... where... where is she going..." Toyohime murmured, looking at the empty sky.

...

In the space between the Earth and the Moon, a large number of unmanned ships were sailing at high speed. Eirin and Miketsu stood anxiously in the cockpit; they were still some distance from the Moon.

Just then, the moon rabbits piloting the ship suddenly began to act strangely. They stopped their work one after another, staring blankly toward the Moon, muttering under their breath.

"She's coming... she's arriving..."

"For complete liberation... she is arriving..."

Seeing the reaction of the moon rabbits, Eirin and Miketsu were both stunned, looking at each other with grave expressions.

"Could this be..."

"Yes, there's no mistake. That boy Ao has likely caused a catastrophic error. She is coming toward us now! We must prepare for battle immediately!" As she spoke, Eirin's fingers flew across the screen. Instantly, all the unmanned ships deployed their weapons and entered a state of combat readiness. Meanwhile, Miketsu gripped the Blade of the Three Realms and hurried toward the airlock to leave the ship.

Eirin adjusted the positions of the ships. On the radar, a massive energy signature was shown approaching at high speed.

"She's here!"

At that moment, Eirin gave the order to fire. Over four hundred ships of the unmanned fleet fired simultaneously. A sky full of beam cannons and missiles surged toward the target on the radar.

The unmanned fleet mercilessly poured every bit of ammunition they had toward the target that had yet to appear in deep space. Their response was a dense rain of tens of thousands of silver-white light pillars that nearly covered the entire field of vision.

In an instant, countless unmanned ships were pierced by the white light, erupting into blossoms of red lotus fire as they were completely destroyed. On Eirin's screen, the dense icons representing the ships' status turned red in a massive wave. Nearly ninety percent of the unmanned fleet was destroyed in the first exchange. The entire fleet lost its combat effectiveness in a single moment, leaving Eirin frozen in place.

"What... what kind of power is this..."

The rain of light dissipated, and a speck of starlight appeared in the deep space ahead of the surviving fleet. The Moon Feather Princess, trailing long ribbons, flew elegantly toward them at high speed.

"Is that... Chang'e's vessel?"

Eirin murmured as she watched the massive figure flying toward them. At that moment, it was Miketsu who flew up to meet the Moon Feather Princess.

"Narukami-ga!!"

A giant blade of light, over seventy meters long, appeared in Miketsu's hand. Trailing a golden blade of light, she charged head-on toward the Moon Feather Princess. When she reached the figure, she swung the blade of light downward.

However, the moment the giant blade of light neared the Moon Feather Princess, the entire blade began to warp. The closer it got, the more violent the distortion became. Finally, the massive divine power composing the blade of light suddenly dissipated, erased into the darkness of the universe.

"What..."

Miketsu held her seven-branched sword, watching the massive form of the Moon Feather Princess fly right past her. She clutched her chest, feeling her godhead and divine power churning within her.

"The natural enemy... of the orthodox gods..."

Flying past Miketsu, the Moon Feather Princess ignored all other existences and continued her straight flight forward. Her target was the distant blue planet. Compared to entangling with Miketsu, she seemed to have a far more important objective.