It was a bug.
Logically, the stats he gained through [Fallen Death] shouldn't be affected by [Physical Destruction]. Previously, the best Nol expected was just "to recover the suppressed stats, with values twice as strong as before".
However, due to the insufficient details in the descriptions of [Supreme Blessing] and [Physical Destruction], Nol wasn't sure if the curse could be removed smoothly. Using it rashly might just waste a rare item, and his curse would remain unshaken.
Thus, Nol first gave the [Supreme Blessing] to Teest, along with Teest's own pendant that "exempts all abnormal states", ensuring the successful removal of the curse.
Nol carefully explained the above plan to his companions.
Nol was cautious. This time, there was no existing bug for him to exploit. He had to anticipate the worst-case scenario and steadily win the battle.
Who would have thought the system itself had stumbled into a colossal bug!
Nol had never felt like this before. System errors popped up non-stop, wildly pouring power into his body. In a trance, through the system, he could feel the entire world.
Around his neck, the two-colored bead on the pendant floated up, emitting a faint glow.
[Administrator power standards achieved.]
[Loading developer permissions…]
[Integrating permission fragments…]
[Fantasy "Playing House" permissions integrated.]
[Novel "Armored Holy Throne" permissions integrated.]
[Game "Prosperous Shopkeeper" permissions integrated.]
[…Abnormal permission fragments integration complete…]
With a snap, the bead from the destroyed worlds shattered into powder, turning into countless warm light spots. They circled Nol for a moment before gently dissipating into the night.
That feeling of "being connected to the world" became increasingly clear, as if the planet was embedded in his flesh.
[Game "Tahe World" permissions integrating]
["Tahe World" permissions incomplete. Integration failed.]
[Recommendation: Eliminate illegal invaders. Retrieve your authority.]
"That's what I'm planning to do," Nol said silently.
As flesh tendrils exploded near him within two seconds, more crowded in. Nol casually glanced at them and swiftly adjusted his plan—
Beat them down.
Beat them decisively, professionally, with the ferocity of a storm, giving no chance for escape. Nol, usually a mage, wasn't skilled in close combat, but he possessed the most destructive knight in the world.
Nol raised his hand, and blue fire instantly climbed the flesh tendrils, burning the "shell" disguised as the night sky. The night shattered, and the fake night sky turned into a sea of fire.
Nol, with back against the burning sky, smiled down at someone below—
"Teest!"
...
Flames rose all around, and Teest's mind went blank for a moment.
Without needing to check the panel, he could feel Nol's terrifying power surge. The God of Creation, previously within reach, suddenly returned to divine heights. Once again, that person shone a light bright enough to ignite him.
Still so brilliant, he thought.
The path of the Mad Monk had reached its end, and a new signpost emerged. How could he lag far behind his God? Teest stretched out his hand joyously—
"Teest!"
Listen, Nol was calling him.
The next second, Teest soared into the sky, happily grabbing Nol's wrist. His toes touched Nol's, and his sword still blazed with striking golden flames.
"I think it's time we committed a crime together," Nol whispered. "Teach me, love."
"Of course, honey."
Within five meters, Teest's burning golden threads wrapped around Star Stealer Sol, the flames searing the flesh. Those golden threads traced beautiful, precise "auxiliary lines", and Nol's magic followed suit.
25%, 22%, 19%…
On the other side, soft golden threads wound around Nol's wrists, ankles, and waist. They moved lightly like the wind, helping Nol adjust to the most comfortable attack position. Occasionally, their palms brushed, fingertips touched, as if they were dancing in the air.
17%, 12%, 7%…
The health of Star Stealer Sol plummeted. The Players didn't care about those two unusual figures. All eyes were glued to the Boss' health bar. The blue fire cracked the heavens, exposing more of the monster's body, and the Players' assaults grew more frantic, nearly tearing it apart with their teeth.
Tendril-like flesh limbs thrashed around, and black-red magic poured from the sky. However, the rate of Player deaths had dropped significantly—
In the most intense battle zone, a young man with pale golden hair appeared silently. Numerous space fire circles opened and closed, shifting lethal attacks for the Players or moving the injured to floating islands.
Beside him, Anakin continually cast recovery spells, and Solo, with eyes closed, threw support spells nonstop.
Real or fake Drake? NPC or Player? At this moment, no Player cared.
Those who came to help, whether human or dog, were friends now. They only knew that someone had launched a terrifying burst of power, making the Boss' health bar plummet dramatically!
In this situation, there was no need for command. Everyone knew what to do—squeeze out the last bit of strength and maximize output!
Under the shattered sky, amid the dragon's roars, Players surged like moths to a flame, rushing towards the unreachable high heavens. No one noticed the many strangely shaped bosses that had appeared on the edge of the battlefield, adding bricks and mortar to the New Year's fireworks-like magical assault.
5%.
Star Stealer Sol tried to restrain Nol with its massive body.
"Expel!" Teest laughed.
The pressing flesh was immediately repelled by an invisible force, flung far away. Nol took the opportunity to twist his body and punched it into a pulp.
"This is my territory, recognized by the system," he said.
4%.
Nol grabbed Teest's white armor, shielding him from a wave of deadly magical strikes. Ominous magic exploded on him, only succeeding in blasting open the back of his clothes.
[HP – 0]
The sky was filled with blue flames, shaking more and more intensely. Star Stealer Sol's body writhed rapidly, unsure whether it wanted to move away from the rift or abandon Tahe.
But that didn't matter.
Teest hooked Nol's waist, and the two elegantly switched positions. A wave of golden flames blasted back the way it came, piercing through the massive body opposite of them.
3%.
[I surrender!] A sharp, booming voice exploded directly in their minds. [I am willing to return the permissions immediately. We can talk—]
2%.
[You taught me a lot, Enbillick,] Nol said amid the fireworks-like spread of magical attacks, pausing briefly. [The most important of which is: whatever you say, not a word can be trusted.]
1%.
At the very end, Nol touched the spot over his heart, stopping the storm-like magic. He moved close to Teest, his left hand touching the other's hand holding his sword.
The sword, previously burning with golden flames, now blazed with blue fire, merging into pure white.
Teest looked at Nol. His God nodded and slightly opened his mouth—the gold wheel engraved with five names lay on Nol's tongue.
The Mad Monk's gaze shifted from curiosity to realization, and finally to unprecedented sweet delight.
Nol flew behind him, his hands on his shoulders. Burgeoning power swirled around them, silver-white hair fluttering in the wind.
Nol's power encircled the "Betrayer" while Teest provided both golden fire and the black power of corruption, brutally squeezed together.
Perhaps because the ancient Demon King's permissions had completely disappeared, perhaps due to the influence of the Creator's authority, or perhaps because the owner of the power was too excited—the black corruption and golden flames merged into one, hissing like iron being quenched.
The dark colors burned out and the golden flames became more intense, turning into pure gold in the shape of flames. The flames changed from scorching hot to ice cold, writhing like living things, emitting an incredibly dangerous aura.
[Everything is the arrangement of fate.] The Mad Monk shrugged.
[Wait—] Star Stealer Sol's body convulsed violently. It seemed to want to escape this world but was stuck to the fake sky, unable to break free immediately.
[Get out of my world,] Nol said.
The night sky split into two as if the light of day lit up.
Star Stealer Sol's health bar instantly bottomed out, its body frozen mid-air like a specimen. The tendrils that had whipped at Players now hung limply, broken and pudding-like. The sharp screeches in Nol's mind stopped. The magic fluctuations belonging to Star Stealer Sol rapidly faded.
The False God was dead. Its massive remains lost support and pressed into the still-burning night sky, creating more rifts. Black-red flesh fell along the edges of the rifts as the false sky cracked open. The whole world seemed to be trembling.
Nol gripped Teest's shoulders. Teest didn't turn back. The "Betrayer" in his hand was still emitting white light.
What a long journey.
Nol closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Like a chick breaking out of its shell, the sky completely shattered. The writhing chunks of flesh and hard shell fragments fell toward the ground. But the moment they crossed the cloud layer, whether the ugly chunks of corpse or the burning shell, all turned into colorful, beautiful confetti.
This was the privilege of the Creator.
[Illegal intruders eliminated.]
[Integrating game "Tahe World" permissions.]
[Integrating developer permissions.]
[Permission integration 100%.]
[Successfully created "world" authority.]
[Successfully returned "world" authority.]
...
[Execution complete.]
System prompts sounded one after another. Countless warm streams flowed in his veins. The world authority called the "System" integrated into his body. Nol knew he could use it at will—the feeling was a bit strange, like leading an overly obedient puppy.
Nol raised his hand, issuing the first command exclusive to the "God of Creation".
[The new Demon King has been killed.]
[Main Quest completed.]
Above the celebratory rain of confetti, a huge system popup appeared.
[Congratulations to all for reaching the end of the journey. Rewards will be settled within 3 days. Please look forward to it.]
Nol embraced the gasping Teest, maintaining a stealthy state, overlooking the Players frozen in place. Hesitating a few seconds, he finally added the long-overdue words—
[Welcome to Tahe.]
Behind the popup, the real sky emerged. At this moment, the stars faded. The dawn stained the sky a dream-like light purple.
Players looked up together as colorful confetti drifted down, like an overly beautiful dream.
At the same time, Teest, exhausted, hung on Nol, savoring the thrill of killing Star Stealer Sol. He felt like he was back twelve years ago, when he killed his first high-ranking member of the Eternal Church.
Too bad the cathedral in the Holy Land burned down, and the square was destroyed in an instant. Otherwise, displaying the remains of Star Stealer Sol would have been quite a spectacle. Just the thought gave him goosebumps.
Teest glanced at Nol unconsciously.
Nol was watching the Players on the ground. The mess caused by the war and the beautiful confetti that didn't match the battlefield was continually falling.
He knew he couldn't understand Nol's feelings at that moment. But he was determined not to ruin this significant moment—Teest decided not to disturb Nol and instead admire his spoils and to calm his mood.
A piece of flesh that hadn't turned into confetti.
It came from Star Stealer Sol's tendrils, which Teest had prepared earlier. When they returned to the Lost Tower, he could make it into Nol's breakfast.
The gold wheel was stained with blood and grime.
That was the gift Nol gave him, which he had finally taken back. Star Stealer Sol obviously didn't cherish it. Teest wiped off the dust, finding many fine scratches on the gold wheel.
As he looked, Teest's smile vanished.
The gold wheel was stained with a drop of blood. Perhaps because it had once belonged to a False God, Teest couldn't wipe it off. The bloodstain was precisely on the eye area of the king side face, forming extremely fine traces, like a line of blood tears.
Teest hurriedly flipped the coin over. The tiny scratches between the leaves and the sun were also… very familiar, shockingly so.
The day he was taken away by the Eternal Church, the shop sold its most expensive jewelry. His mother gave him a gold wheel as a gift when she sent him to buy bread.
During the endless darkness that followed, that was the only thing he kept. He had observed it countless times. He could never mistake it.
Just like now.
The author has something to say:
Husband duo fighting!
Let's send off Star Stealer Sol with drums and gongs.
Kinky Thoughts:
As Nian Zhong continues each novel, I find her writing of action scenes much better and more exhilarating. This whole scenario really drew me in, as if I were actually playing the game myself. It definitely made me reminiscent of my gaming days.