Chapter 286: Slicing and Juicing, Eating and Drinking

Under the blinding light, a massive alien monster emerged from the void—beings that existed as enemies of humanity, yet obeyed the young alchemist before them.

Alca-noise resembled conventional noise but took even stranger forms: small ones moved like transparent droplets on the ground, humanoid ones spat out substances that decomposed all matter and wielded giant pincers, and large ones resembled octopuses or jellyfish.

But no matter the type, all were shape-shifting killing tools; to those afflicted by the "Balar Curse," there was no difference—they needed only a light touch to kill any human, forcing even "Masters" and "Disciples" to avoid them.

To be caught in such an encirclement was essentially a death sentence.

That day, people remembered once more the fear of being ruled by noise.

During the concert, he'd rushed to save lives and hadn't looked closely—he'd just destroyed them all. Now, taking a proper look, Jia Ji felt no fear; instead, he found these grunts oddly amusing and strangely familiar.

Maybe they looked a bit like disk-shaped creatures.

He extended his hand, gesturing at the plump, juicy Alca-noise, fingers curled into blades, assuming a bizarre bird-like posture; Carol seemed to faintly hear him muttering:

"Juice first, or slices first? Or should I do both at once?"

Carol couldn't understand why this man called "Jagi" dared to be so confident.

If he were an alchemist, his muscles were far too large—and that stance…

A strange thought suddenly struck her—could he possibly intend to fight Alca-noise barehanded?

If Jia Ji knew, he'd surely say again: "Unrestricted barehand blade-light, do you get it or not?" "The hand is the greatest tool in this world!"

But to fight an alchemist, one must use an alchemist's method.

Since he said he'd cut, then cut he would—

Jia Ji took a deep breath, clapped his palms together, then rubbed them up and down; a metallic screech rang out like clashing swords, blue sparks spraying forth, a storm of aura surging violently.

"Southern Dipper Ma Chunhua!"

With a roar, he stomped the ground and leapt upward, arms spread wide like a phoenix diving for prey; midway through his descent, his arms carved a cross shape through the air.

Amid a piercing wind howl, the qi-wave cross-cut tore through space, causing violent tremors as if the fabric of reality might shatter at any moment.

"Hummmmm—!"

Accompanied by wind and slicing sounds, the vertical slash pierced straight through the bodies of the Alca-noise.

Let it be known: in the Southern Dipper Phoenix Fist tradition passed down by the golden-haired slick-back, there is no technique called "Southern Dipper Ma Chunhua"—only an ear-approximation that sounds joyful: "Southern Dipper Exploding Star Wave."

His double slash cleanly passed through the Alca-noise bodies, continuing with unrelenting force to slice into the wall behind them.

"Crackkkk—!"

A cracking sound rang out; the black wall shattered instantly, rocks exploding outward in a violent gust of wind, yet little dust rose.

The cross-shaped light wave, unstoppable, cut cleanly through layer after layer of labyrinthine walls; the grand city of Tifoy, with its endless architecture, was split apart in its path, vanishing into the far distance.

From the cross-shaped opening in the first shattered wall, one could see straight through to the void beyond the castle.

Yet facing this terrifying slash, the golden-haired girl's mind conjured one word:

"Idiot…"

She felt no elemental fluctuation, no holy relic resonance—and the Alca-noise's behavior confirmed it: the surging monsters emitted strange noises, their functions unimpaired, continuing their assault.

Meaning: no matter how powerful his fists, they were merely human fists—he could not possibly defeat her.

But the Fist of the Otherworldly Phoenix was not as simple as the alchemist imagined.

Jia Ji landed, turned, and smiled again:

"Let me ask again—will you save the world?"

Pops! He snapped his thumb and middle finger.

Dozens of Alca-noise behind him froze as if receiving an order.

The next instant, they moved—uniformly splitting apart, like tofu cubes about to be made into mapo tofu, each cleaved into four pieces, sliding apart, top and bottom falling to either side.

Then, the fragments dissolved one by one into tiny red powder.

Like eating and drinking, he delivered delayed massive damage.

"Save the world…?"

After her shock, a flush of angry color rose on Carol's delicate, exquisitely beautiful young face—how dare he grow so arrogant after merely clearing some grunts!

"There's no point saving a world you can't even see!"

As she spoke, hatred, fury, and sorrow flashed across her eyes; her gaze, thick with madness, locked onto Jia Ji, then she suddenly spoke:

"Aaah, the canon of pursuit toward the end echoes here."

The grand, angelic singing solidified into tangible power—

Light tore through her clothes like invasive threads; purple armor replaced her alchemist's witch robe, four-colored gemstones representing earth, fire, water, and wind embedded in a crown-like headdress, her back adorned with unfurled strings, her short armor barely covering anything, vast stretches of her pale skin exposed.

But most shocking was her body transforming instantly from a child into a mature woman's form—her cold, resentful expression only heightened her allure.

"Carol Mars Dinhaim's alchemy exists to destroy the world and fulfill the Revelation of All Things—your delusion of saving the world shall vanish with you!"

As an alchemist, she did not use the Symphogear system, but the heretical technique known as the Faust Robe.

Durdablauaithne

—the harp of Dagda from Celtic mythology, the holy relic used by Carol Mars Dinhaim's Faust Robe, normally stored in an alternate space and only drawn in battle.

"I am the killer of miracles! I shall erase all miracles from this world!"

Fourteen layers of alchemical arrays ignited before her gloved hands as she played, releasing boundless magical elements, converted in a tenth of an instant into pure wind and fire, forming two roaring tornadoes that poured forth.

With incredible speed, they crossed toward the Northern Dipper man.

And what met them was a hand already raised.

(End of Chapter)