Ian seized the opportunity to throw out a silver chain.
"Imprisoning Shackles!"
The magic chain wound around the Ghost Bride's limbs like a living snake, but in an instant transformed from solid to a phantom shadow, passing directly through her body.
"Physical attacks are ineffective, elemental absorption, even space confinement can be nullified..." Ian's brain was racing while continuously changing spells. He attempted at least twelve different systems of magic, from Hogwarts' standard spells to ancient Egyptian witchcraft, even daring to use two of his own half-developed spells.
The closest he came to success was the "Time Stop Spell". When the silver-blue web of light enveloped the Ghost Bride, she indeed froze for about two seconds. But then the golden sands within her began to rotate counterclockwise.
Forcibly nullifying the Time Magic!
"It's useless... It's useless..." The Ghost Bride's limbs began to elongate unnaturally, stretching like rubber towards the two, "The bride... needs... bridesmaids..."
Ian suddenly noticed a detail—every time the Ghost Bride recovered, a vortex above the distant Temple subtly flickers. And those golden sands, before recomposing, always formed that familiar pattern of three concentric circles.
"Cam!" Ian shouted while dodging the golden lines, "Look at her golden sands!"
Cam barely managed to focus his attention, suddenly widening his eyes: "That's... the mark of the Temple?"
"It's not just a mark!" Ian flipped sideways to dodge the piercing golden line, his magic wand drawing complex runes in midair, "This is a state of seeming life yet not living!"
The Little Wizard sensed something was amiss.
Even though Ian's power overwhelmed, the Ghost Bride could still recover from Reducto and other states as if she was constantly fixed in a complete state; any changes were meaningless, she would return to her original form.
"Hee-hee~"
The Ghost Bride's movements suddenly paused for a moment, as if reacting to the phrase. Ian seized this fleeting opportunity, the tip of his wand bursting with dazzling blue light, "Reveal your true form!"
The magic beam shone on the Ghost Bride, revealing a horrifying truth—her physical form did not exist! Those seemingly solid parts were actually countless microcosmic golden sands in a superimposed state. Each grain of sand was a miniature sun totem, maintained in shape by the magic resonance of the Temple's embryo.
"Just like Schrodinger's Cat..." Ian finally understood, "She simultaneously exists in a superimposed state of being and non-being, only the observer's consciousness can temporarily solidify her form!"
This kind of scientific, somewhat AI-like explanation was naturally something Cam couldn't possibly understand, as Cam was merely a straightforward Ancient Wizard.
However.
Ian knew his judgment was correct. As if to confirm his hypothesis, the Ghost Bride suddenly split into three phantoms, each attacking from different angles. Ian instinctively wielded his wand in defense, only to find two of them were illusions—but the moment he realized this, the illusions transformed into reality!
"Multiple Bindings! Thunderstorm Strike! Soul Shock!"
Ian gritted his teeth and swung his wand repeatedly.
The three high-tier magics blasted simultaneously. Lightning cracked, chains entwined, and soul waves impacted her core. The Ghost Bride's body was blown into pieces, her head flew off, limbs shattered, black mist filled the entire clock tower.
However, merely three seconds later, all the pieces suspended in air as if pieced together by an invisible hand. Her body reformed, wedding gown intact, red veil fluttering, as if the destruction earlier had never occurred.
She still stood in place, red eyes locked onto Ian, blood mouth slowly opening: "...Sacrifice... Irreversible..."
Still in that same form.
Once again Ian realized his judgment was indeed correct—her "completeness" was constant. No matter if blown apart, petrified, frozen, or even stripped of her soul, she would instantly "return." Her existence seemed anchored by some higher level rule, immune to physical and magical change.
"She's not 'recovering'..." Ian had a flash of insight, "She has... never been changed."
Just like Schrodinger's Cat—before being observed, she was both shattered and whole. But her "observer" wasn't us, it was that Evil God Embryo. As long as the embryo remains, her "state" is anchored as "complete," any damage to her would be "corrected" at the rule level.
"So that's it, she is an extension of the embryo's will. To kill her, one must first destroy the source of 'why she exists.'" Ian murmured quietly.
The Ghost Bride also seized the opportunity.
The Ghost Bride raised her hand again, blood threads lashed out like a whip. Ian barely managed to dodge, but was caught by a thread slicing his arm, blood flowing freely.
"Mr. Ian!" Cam suddenly lunged over and pushed Ian away, who had actually been on guard all along. A golden thread grazed the young man's cheek, leaving a deep bloodstain that reached the bone.
At the instant the blood dripped, the Ghost Bride suddenly went berserk.
She stopped singing and emitted a high-frequency screech that shattered the tiles of nearby buildings. Countless golden threads erupted from her body, weaving into a celestial net.
Kalan raised his magic wand amidst the clash.
"Flaming Spear!"
He released an ancient magic with weak effect.
The spear shot out, but the Ghost Bride did not even turn her head, dismissively waving it away, extinguishing the fire spear instantly. She turned, her red eyes locked onto Kalan, and her bloody mouth opened as if to pounce.
"Grab me!" Ian seized Cam's arm, the magic wand traced a blazing white trajectory through the air. The Ghost Bride's golden threads pierced like a torrential rain, yet just before reaching the two, it seemed to hit nothing—
"Apparition!"
In the agony of spatial distortion, the last sight Ian saw was the Ghost Bride angrily tearing open her chest cavity, revealing the crystal core pulsing inside. The core was engraved with the rune symbols identical to the ones on the black-robed woman's face. When the view cleared again, the two stood upon the dunes outside Memphis City.
The whirling vortex of black smoke over the distant city was clearly visible, with seven Ghost Bride figures traversing through different districts. Cam collapsed on the ground, golden liquid seeping from the wound on his face.
"Wha...what is she exactly..." the young man's voice trembled.
"An embodiment of belief," Ian examined his wound, brow furrowed, "as long as the embryo in the temple still 'believes' she exists, any attack cannot truly annihilate her."
Cam's pupils began to dilate as the golden liquid from the wound continued spreading through his body. Ian made a split-second decision, pressing his magic wand to the wound: "Purify once again!" Silver light fiercely clashed with the golden liquid, emitting a corrosive hiss.
"What...should we do?" Cam asked weakly.
Ian glanced toward the distant temple, his gray-green eyes flashing with dangerous light: "Solve the source of the belief." He pulled out the Knowledge Crystal previously collected from the library, which displayed the distribution map of seven light spots, "Find the other Hermit Association members first, then—"
A sudden disconcerting palpitation interrupted his speech.
Ian abruptly turned, seeing a series of wet footprints appearing in the sand, extending towards them. The end of the footprints was empty.
But a faint melody drifted in the air.
"Bridegroom... can't wait... to come personally... for the wedding..."
The wet footprints on the sand suddenly accelerated in extension, with each step corroding pits emitting white smoke on the dry sand grains. Ian's magic wand flared a dazzling silver light, creating seven layers of protective barrier in front of him. Cam struggled to stand, but the golden markings spreading up his leg had already reached the knee.
"How...how can she chase us out of the city..." Cam's voice changed due to fear.
"Space-Time Anchor Point." Ian's pupils contracted to needlepoints, his magic wand drew complex monitoring runes in the air, "The embryo planted a tracking mark on her, as long as we're in this era..."
Before the words were finished, the air before them suddenly twisted and spun, like a water surface struck by invisible stones. A pale hand reached out from the void, its nails black as ink, the liquid dripping from the fingertips corroding the sand into honeycomb-like cavities. Then came the second hand, both palms clutching the air's "crevice," tearing it apart forcefully—
The Ghost Bride's head emerged from the crevice, golden sand cascaded from her hollow eyesockets. Her mouth was torn to the ears, revealing the spirally arranged sharp teeth inside.
Each tooth was engraved with a miniature sun totem.
"Found...you..."
Her voice suddenly turned excited.
Ian's protective barrier shattered layer by layer like glass. He grabbed Cam's collar and retreated rapidly, simultaneously flinging a series of Ancient Runes from his magic wand. Those golden runes formed chains in the air but disintegrated upon nearing the Ghost Bride—as if her very existence denied the validity of surrounding magic.
"Only that method remains!"
No choice.
Ian could only unleash his trump card.