At the same time, the White Giant God, having broken free from the twelve Spears of the End, slowly opened its eyes. Facing the maggots still resisting on the surface, it spread its arms in the air and coldly declared the end of the world.
"Spirit particle convergence. Divine might loaded. The world has already rotted. Destruction is rebirth!"
In an instant, countless Magecraft arrays, large and small, overlapped and interlocked before the White Giant God's arms like tightly meshed gears.
Dense, endless, beyond counting.
"You insects parasitizing this planet, taste the power of Genesis Light! Canal of Creation, reverse the light-years! [Ain-Soph Aur (Infinite Light)]!"
Immediately after, layer upon layer of light pulsed. Ether light clusters compressed to the extreme descended over Earth like countless comets.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
Then dazzling arcs of light dragged long tails of flame, tearing across the abandoned world's dim sky.
That piercing whistle was like the grief of the universe.
Those long, narrow streaks of light were like the tear marks of the stars.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
In an instant, a meteor shower from the highest heavens plunged down, ripped through the World Tree's light membrane, and struck its branches.
At once, many of the World Tree's branches were shattered. The Ten Ages of Gods it connected and sustained followed with mountains collapsing, cities sinking, rivers and seas boiling, and plates tearing apart. Countless lives turned to ash in the blazing white explosions.
One shard of the Age of Gods after another, crystal-like and reflecting the apocalyptic sight of ruin and death, broke away from the main body of the World Tree and shot in every direction. They were gradually seized and corroded by the tide of nothingness, then decomposed into spirit particles and absorbed.
The fall of each world fragment meant the annihilation of tens of thousands of lives.
Too strong!
With that one strike alone, the entire World Tree's defense system had nearly been dismantled!
On Avalon Island, Samael stared at the stellar projection as the pale color expanded further, covering nearly two-thirds of Earth's surface. His pupils shrank sharply, and his heart sank to the bottom.
It's over! It's all over!
Seeing that terrifying scene, Aurora's mind flashed with the ending where the fairies were lined up one by one to be sacrificed to the heavens. Her face turned deathly pale, and she looked utterly lost.
There was no chance of winning...
Even if they built that thing, there was no chance of winning...
Besides, forget building it. At this rate, even lasting until sunset was a luxury.
Just as Aurora's mind reeled, a quiet whisper came from Avalon Island.
"Old Man!"
Aurora stiffly turned her graceful neck. Behind the man, in the air rippling faintly like water, she saw a skeleton-masked swordsman appear without a sound, his whole body radiating ill omen and deathly silence.
When had he slipped in? She had not noticed him at all...
Dazed by one shock after another, Aurora's thoughts began to blur. Her eyes turned slightly vacant as she looked at the skeletal swordsman who had suddenly appeared.
"If these fairies slack off, or if they fail to finish that thing before sunset, slaughter every last one of them and offer them to the heavens!"
The Ancient Serpent looked up at Aurora in the water. The malice he unleashed made the elegant Wind Fairy shiver violently.
Clang!
The pitch-black greatsword, carrying the aura of death, slammed heavily to the ground and buried itself in a crack in the rock. Beneath the skull mask, flames ignited in the Assassin's eyes, and his solemn murmur sounded like the proclamation of a death god.
"I accept this oath. This sword shall carry it out."
What the hell...
Feeling as if a blade had already been set against her neck, with her life in danger at any moment, Aurora could barely maintain her elegance. An urge to curse surged up inside her, and the grief and indignation from being oppressed instantly washed away the fear of the approaching apocalypse.
What did we do to deserve this? You just keep picking on us fairies, don't you?
Yet before Aurora could voice her complaint, Samael had already condensed dark flame into a spear, turned scales into armor, and shaped metal into wings. With a solemn murmur, he rose and walked forward.
"Good. Watch this place and watch them. I'll hold off Velber and buy you this final stretch of time."
Watching the figure spread his wings, break through the World Tree's light membrane, and fly toward the White Giant God, the swordsman nodded solemnly and offered his highest respect.
Farewell, Your Majesty. May you return victorious...
...
At that moment, over the pale and empty surface, one Gate of Heaven after another opened wide. Many surviving angels gathered around the towering White Giant God, burning fiercely as they danced in joy.
Their Lord had awakened. No stumbling block could ever hinder His steps again.
The world would surely face judgment. The day of the planet's reforging was today.
The angels, overcome as one, circled the White Giant God like tamed hyenas. Diligent and humble, they guided it toward the World Tree's trunk while singing hymns of praise.
"Holy! Holy! Holy! The Lord is the Almighty, who was, who is, and who is to come!
His glory fills all the earth. He shall reign over the nations!
King of Kings! Holy of Holies!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!"
Yet from the rippling air ahead, a figure with twelve pitch-black wings emerged. His snake-like pupils narrowed, and he sneered coldly.
"Marduk, we meet again. By the way, aren't you sick of listening to this rainbow flattery all day?"
"Blasphemy!"
"Blasphemy!"
"Blasphemy!"
That arrogant, biting mockery instantly whipped the senior bootlickers around the White Giant God into a rage. Furious beyond measure, they rushed forward.
"You're... too noisy!"
Samael pointed his spear forward. Divine might pulsed, and the angels seemed to sink into purgatory. In an instant, they were crushed by hundreds of millions of tons of pressure, reduced to scattered points of starlight, and blown away by the wind.
Now the world was finally quiet!
The Ancient Serpent picked at his ear, his brow relaxing. Without that swarm of buzzing flies, he felt much better.
"Mongrel, you dare appear before this King?"
The White Giant God stopped instinctively. The blazing white shadow in its right eye shook violently. Facing the insect-sized old enemy before him, a sinister grin rose across his face.
"Rest assured, this King forgives your insolence. I will save your pathetic little life until the very end, so you can watch with your own eyes as everything you care about is destroyed by me, one by one! Ahahahaha!"
"Oh, that's nice. I didn't mean anything else. I just came to see whether the claw from back then still hurts. Also, your Tablet of Fate has been very convenient to use... Since I'm already here, you really didn't need to be so polite..."
Samael smiled as he glanced toward the blazing white figure's right hand. The corners of his lips rose in pleasure, his taunt fully charged.
When enemies met, their eyes naturally burned red. And a snake's bite sank three parts into the bone, especially when facing the mortal enemy who had ruined his plans time and again.
With his natural talent for venomous words, Samael made Marduk's cheek twitch violently in just a few lines, his face dark as the bottom of a pot.
Then the Ancient Serpent thought for a moment and offered a deeply earnest warning.
"Oh, right. Speaking of bloodlines, after merging with Velber, even your identities as [god] and [Earth lifeform] are questionable. So don't go around calling yourself a mongrel. It's unlucky to introduce yourself that way. Just say it in your heart..."
"You're courting death!"
The proud and sensitive Marduk's rage climbed to its peak. Furious beyond restraint, he let out a deafening roar.
"Awaken!"
In an instant, the rampaging White Giant God spread its arms. Intersecting ring-shaped light patterns appeared before the monster like thousands of focused cannon muzzles.
"Damn long worm! Die! Die! Die!"
Curses filled with endless resentment and malice transformed into Mana beams, pouring toward Samael like a violent storm.
Tsk. His mental defenses are way too fragile. We're barely getting started. I haven't even used thirty percent of the power I had back when I fought entire crowds on Tieba.
The title of number one troll wasn't just for show.
Samael shook his head teasingly, slipping through the downpour like a fish in heavy rain as he fought and retreated.