Chapter 278: The Final War
The black hole at the heart of the Abyssal Entity no longer pulsed with mere waves of despair. It began to contract, a violent, ominous condensation that drew in all light and hope. A colossal core of abyssal energy, radiating with intense power fluctuations, rapidly took shape, expanding at a rate visible to the naked eye.
A soul-shivering sense of oppression, like a rising tide of dread, washed over everyone's hearts. Even the ordinary civilians on the ground felt an indescribable palpitation, a primal fear that made them look up at the ever-deepening darkness in the sky.
"That thing... what is it making?!" Paimon shrieked, hiding behind Lumine with wide, terrified eyes.
Everyone had noticed the deadly abnormality, including Mavuika, who was suspended high in the heavens like a second sun.
"You will not!" she declared, her voice a clear, ringing command.
Fire condensed in her hand. She threw a fierce punch toward the forming energy core, her attack transforming into a crimson-gold streak of light that tore through the sky, a desperate attempt to nip the catastrophe in the bud.
However, the Abyss was clearly prepared.
The countless ethereal black cubes rotating around the Abyssal Entity instantly swarmed together, stacking and interlocking to form a massive, distorted dark barrier that seemed to absorb all light and heat.
Boom—!
The blow struck the dark shield, unleashing an devastating roar. The dissipated energy blasted the surrounding clouds into nothingness, but the barrier, after fluctuating violently, actually withstood the attack.
The condensation of the energy core paused for only a fraction of a second before continuing to expand at an even more ferocious rate.
Mavuika's expression turned solemn. She could feel it—the sacred fire wasn't burning fiercely enough, and the power she had inherited had not yet fully merged with her soul. In this state, she couldn't possibly shatter the Abyss's full-throated defense.
Just then, in the corner of everyone's vision, the Chat Group's mission assistance system flashed to life. Crimson alert text blazed with an unmatched sense of urgency.
[System Alert! The Final War has begun!]
[Commission Objective: Work together to help Natlan repel the Abyss!]
[Danger Level: Extremely High]
[Hint: Prevent the Abyss from fully erupting. Destroy its manifested giant.]
But even without the system's prompt, every member of the Chat Group had already fixed their gaze on the Abyssal Entity in the sky. As it brewed ultimate destruction, their minds raced, calculating how to intervene.
Zhongli and Venti, who had been quietly observing from the sidelines, no longer stood by.
Zhongli's gaze was calm as a wisp of impossibly pure Geo divine power flowed almost imperceptibly from his fingertip. Beside him, Venti quietly plucked a string on his lyre, and a free, nimble current of Anemo divine power rose with the note.
Two distinct yet equally vast powers did not attack directly. Instead, like twin streams flowing into a great river, they crossed the expanse of space and silently merged into the divine fire burning around Mavuika.
The Pyro Archon, who had been feeling her power wane, suddenly felt two pure and potent external forces converging within her. Though their attributes were different, they complemented her current state in a way that felt miraculous. A power far greater than her own instantly filled her entire being.
Her eyes blazed with light. Seizing the fleeting opportunity, she poured all of this new power—a fusion of Geo's unyielding steadfastness and Anemo's untamable swiftness—into her next strike.
The sun totem behind her erupted with blinding light. All her power gathered between her hands, condensing into a colossal greatsword of flame that spanned the sky.
"Strike!" Mavuika's clarion call echoed across the heavens.
With an indomitable momentum, the flaming greatsword slashed down upon the layered abyssal barrier.
Crack—!
The crisp sound of shattering glass echoed again and again as several layers of the dark shield broke apart.
The greatsword's momentum remained nearly undiminished. Though it failed to destroy the core completely, it successfully severed the most vital energy channel connecting the core to the main Abyssal Entity.
The Abyss's energy accumulation was forcibly interrupted.
The dark purple core, which had already expanded to an alarming size, flickered violently as if it had lost its support. It broke free from the Abyssal Entity's control and, with a mournful, keening howl, plummeted like a meteor toward the depths of the Crag Gorge below.
RUMBLE—!!!
An devastating roar erupted from the gorge. Even from a great distance, everyone could feel the violent trembling of the ground beneath their feet. In the direction of the impact, a massive cloud of dust and debris rose like a mushroom cloud, obscuring the sky.
Everyone's heart was in their throat, their eyes fixed on the dust-shrouded area.
The dust, carried on Natlan's winds—perhaps with the quiet assistance of a certain Anemo Archon—slowly began to disperse.
And when the scene behind the curtain of dust became clear, even those who had witnessed behemoths like the Doomsday Beast and the Creation Engine couldn't help but gasp.
A monster of unimaginable size stood in the Crag Gorge.
Its terrifying height, well over a hundred meters, made it look like a moving mountain of pure darkness, animated by malice and a singular desire for destruction. Rough, dark, crystal-covered scales served as its natural armor, and every movement of its twisted, colossal limbs caused the very earth to groan in protest. Its mere existence radiated a suffocating sense of oppression.
"This... this is..." Belle subconsciously took half a step back. She had never seen such a gargantuan creature. The largest Ethereals in New Eridu would look like toys next to it.
Wise's expression was grim. He clenched his fists, feeling an unmatched pressure bear down on him.
Hu Tao's usual smile had vanished, her plum-blossom pupils filled with a deep seriousness. She murmured in a low voice, "What in the world is that thing...?"
Even the well-traveled Welt and Himeko wore expressions of extreme gravity.
Into this oppressive silence, Stelle's characteristically off-kilter and optimistic voice rang out, shattering the frozen atmosphere.
"Whoa... this thing is huge!"
She looked up, her golden eyes reflecting the giant demonic shadow, her tone more one of awe than fear. "It feels like it's several times bigger than the Doomsday Beast we ran into at the space station, right?"
She paused, then added thoughtfully, "I say... why don't we hurry back to Belobog and borrow their Creation Engine? Otherwise, with our tiny bodies, rushing up there would probably only let us give this big guy a pedicure."
The absurdly down-to-earth analogy and whimsical suggestion inexplicably eased the crushing tension.
March 7th couldn't help but retort, "Stelle! Now is not the time to be thinking about borrowing weapons! And the Creation Engine isn't even a combat machine, is it?!"
Dan Heng let out a helpless sigh, but the hand gripping the Cloud-Piercer relaxed slightly. He had to admit, facing an enemy of this magnitude, conventional combat methods seemed almost laughable.
Stelle's joke was like a pressure relief valve, allowing everyone to recover from the initial shock and oppression.
The fear was still there, but it was now overshadowed by a rekindled fighting spirit. No matter how massive the opponent, they were already in this "Final War." There was no escape.
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