At the same time, on Avalon Island.
A faint streak of light cut across the sky, passed through the World Tree's light barrier, and then, like a falling star, wobbled as it plunged toward the lake.
At the last possible moment, a tall blonde goddess dressed in South American attire shattered the reef beneath her feet and leaped into the air. Blazing wings unfurled from her back as she shot upward, spreading her arms wide. Ignoring the scorching heat and force of the falling star, she caught it tightly against her chest.
"Samael!"
Big Sister Quetzalcoatl, who had arrived on Avalon Island at some point, carried Samael to the front of the great hall. She poured every ounce of her gentle, healing divine power into him and called his name in alarm.
"Phew, stop shaking me. I'm not dead yet."
The Ancient Serpent struggled to open his eyes, coughed up a mouthful of clotted blood mixed with fragments of organs, and weakly pressed down on Kukulkan's arm.
"That's good... that's good..."
Quetzalcoatl let out a long breath of relief and carefully helped the gravely injured man in her arms sit up. But when her amber eyes fell on Samael's severed left arm, her heart clenched again.
"It's fine. My immortality is still holding. Even if I were reduced to just a head, I'd slowly recover."
Samael raised his hand and patted Big Sister Quetzalcoatl on the shoulder. Leaning against a stone pillar, he gave her a faint smile of reassurance.
Fortunately, Kukulkan was not the overly sentimental sort. She quickly composed herself, glanced toward the sky beyond, and asked solemnly.
"How are things over there?"
"I did not fail the mission. By now, our all-knowing and all-powerful God should already be fighting the one in Crystal Valley."
Samael exhaled a long breath of stale air. His narrowed snake pupils carried a faint, mocking chill.
In truth, the ninth defensive line, Crystal Tree Sea Valley, referred to two completely different regions.
One was the Maya Tree Sea.
The other was... Crystal Valley.
And the reason the two had been separated was because Crystal Valley hid an earth-shattering secret.
Namely, a UO from Mercury was sleeping within it, the Mercury Giant Spider known as "ORT."
UO was short for Ultimate One. An Ultimate One was an individual that stood at the very peak of a planet's biological system, the strongest lifeform on that planet.
According to the hierarchical principles of the food chain, the higher a species stood on the chain, the more its individuals tended to show a certain trend. Intelligence and ability increased, while reproductive capacity weakened.
Thus, the higher a species stood on the food chain, the fewer its numbers and the weaker its ability to reproduce, while its capabilities as a lifeform grew stronger.
Taken to the extreme, when a species developed to its limit, reaching the pinnacle of evolution, its population would be one. That single individual would be the species itself, possessing the traits of both sexes and existing without aging or death. That was the definition of an Ultimate One.
Because of this, they were often incarnations of planetary spirits, beings that stood above Divine Spirits.
In theory, the Great Spider ORT was the planetary spirit of Mercury among the eight planets of the solar system, equal in rank to Gaia, the Star Spirit of Earth.
The Ancient Serpent from the future had heard of this as well.
In 2011, NASA's Mercury probe "Messenger" entered Mercury's orbit and observed a strange phenomenon from above.
The impact craters on Mercury were highly unusual, forming an outline similar to a "spider."
Perhaps, in this world, that spider truly existed. Perhaps it had fled its mother planet long ago and come to Earth to make a living.
And according to what Quetzalcoatl knew, this Mercury species, which had landed in South America at some unknown point, seemed to intend to transform Earth into an alien planet suited to its own survival.
Fortunately, ORT lacked initiative. It was merely a lazy giant spider. Since arriving, it had hidden in the valley where it landed, sleeping every day, or perhaps it simply had no intention of violently harming Earth.
To think of it more optimistically... maybe it just had no interest in invasion.
In short, this absurd thing had holed itself up in South America, sealing itself inside Crystal Valley.
But that did nothing to diminish ORT's terrifying strength as a UO.
Its outer shell was harder, softer, sharper, and more resistant to temperature differences than any material in this world.
Beyond its overwhelming brute-force parameters, this Star Spirit also possessed a special ability similar to a Reality Marble: Crystal Valley.
As long as it existed, Earth would transform according to the environment it inhabited. In other words, it rewrote the laws of physics, gradually converting everything into an "alien order."
Therefore, even if the Mercury Giant Spider merely moved, the authority it emitted would crystallize all manner of trees, turning them into Crystal Valley and transforming the surrounding environment into a domain under its control.
Of course, with such a great calamity curled up at their doorstep, there was no way the Maya gods would not worry.
So, quite a few Divine Spirits had once probed the one in Crystal Valley.
And after several reckless gods delivered themselves to their deaths, Quetzalcoatl summarized another trait from the Great Spider ORT.
Namely, unless it was harmed or treated with hostility, it would not take the initiative to attack.
As early as the night when the Ages of Gods were gathered and everyone reunited in Uruk, Kukulkan had told Samael all the relevant information.
Therefore, considering the situation, and considering that the Great Spider's Crystal Valley could form a sealed alternate dimension whose battle shockwaves would not spread to Earth, Samael and Quetzalcoatl had long since secretly planned to use the Great Spider ORT of Crystal Valley as a necessary trump card.
It was risky, but worth trying.
Even more conveniently, Marduk's earlier strike had shattered the Ten Ages of Gods into many world fragments.
So from the moment the Ancient Serpent stepped out of Avalon Island, he had already prepared to collude with Kukulkan, lure this Outer God into Crystal Valley, and provoke a fight between the two monsters.
His repeated dives into different world fragments had all been to wear down Marduk's caution. The verbal provocation had also been meant to confuse his senses and judgment.
As for why the world fragment carrying Crystal Valley had just so happened to drift behind him at the perfect moment, did that even need to be said?
Samael and Kukulkan exchanged a glance, and meaningful smiles bloomed on both their faces.
"It actually worked. It's almost unbelievable."
Even now, Quetzalcoatl still found the sudden reversal of the situation hard to believe and could not help sighing again.
"I've fought Old Ma back and forth for thousands of years. I dare say no one knows this God better than I do. Planning beats no planning, and more planning beats less planning. This isn't the first time he's been tricked by me, so this may seem unexpected, but it also makes perfect sense."
Samael snorted lightly, unconcerned, a mocking curve rising at the corner of his mouth.
"So, we can relax now?"
Kukulkan murmured as she let out a long breath, the crease between her brows gradually easing.
"It won't be that easy."
Samael immediately shattered Quetzalcoatl's illusion, his expression grave.
"Old Ma has already fused with the will of Velber, the predatory wandering star. Countless planetary civilizations have died under that thing's hands. How could it be defeated that easily?"
Then the Ancient Serpent's eyes flickered. He frowned toward the sleeping blue embryo beneath the lake and sighed quietly.
"Even Gaia, fighting on her own home ground, was no match for that monster. I'm afraid ORT won't be able to defeat Marduk either. After all, this isn't Mercury..."
Beneath the sky burning like flame, his dark vertical pupils narrowed slightly. The Ancient Serpent turned, lowered his head, and moved his lips.
"Then the next plan should be put on the agenda. What do you think, Old Man?"
"Your Majesty, everything is ready..."
An old man in coarse linen robes spoke calmly, walking out of the darkness with his staff in hand.