Chapter 224: Divine Battle (Final)
Hisssss—
Clutching a gigantic scythe, its blade hissed like a venomous snake in the scorching scarlet glow, steam wafting from the blade like an overloaded heat weapon about to blow a gasket.
The intricate crimson patterns coiling around the black handle twisted and turned like gnarled branches, extending all the way to my wrist. The vibrant red light blossoming from these patterns pulsed like a heartbeat, growing even brighter after slicing through the bl**d Shadow and being stained by dark red bl**d.
Captain Gray sure looks evolved…
And not in the way I initially thought—like getting the world’s best blacksmith to reforge its blade or tossing it back into Shanter Castle’s furnace for a makeover. No, it resurrected in a bizarrely inexplicable fashion, coincidentally reincarnated alongside the hatching Deity Body, bathed in divine bl**d and flames, acquiring the most pure, Chaotic Power of Sin Fire.
It’s probably at a level comparable to a Divine Reliquary now…
Or maybe Captain Gray is the literal definition of a “Divine Reliquary” now… who knows?
These thoughts flit through my mind for just a moment, then I quickly crush my excitement. I have plenty of time to study Captain Gray’s evolution later, but now is not the time for deep dives into existential questions.
I can hear the wind and slithering noises behind me intensifying again—the unkillable vascular tendrils charging at me from all directions once more.
That last slice struck the Deity Body’s spine, carving a shallow wound into the sticky black bone. Now, that wound is hissing and puffing out tendrils of black mist. The corpse must sense something, for it shifts its massive form with a thunderous roar. I immediately lose my balance, staggering a bit before, in a split second, executing a Moon Step to leap into the air just as the tendrils come crashing in.
Boom!
The icy platform explodes in mid-air, thick white fog billowing outward, instantly engulfing a nearly hundred-meter radius. Countless vascular tendrils rush into the spreading frost, freezing in a symphony of crisp sounds, their motion stilled, when suddenly—whoosh! A young woman bursts through the mist, flame wings spread wide, wielding the giant scythe, rocketing toward the Deity Body’s chest!
Boom! Boom! Boom—
Three explosive booms resound above the scabrous spine, whirlwinds of air gathering and dissipating before the petite figure, instantly reappearing at her waist. Shockwaves rip through the air, and the white whirlwinds swirl around her like a playful vapor dress, vanishing in the blink of an eye, she’s already at the side of the Deity Body’s ribcage!
Thud thud.
Thud thud—
A bl**d-red, mountain-sized tumor pulses ominously right in front of me, nearly obscured behind rib bones as thick as tree trunks, crisscrossing sinewy filaments connecting that monstrous heart—the Deity’s massive ticker—to the spine and other bones, suspended in the empty cavity of its chest, thumping with life.
This is it…
I take a deep breath, my eyes gleaming with a bl**d-like glow.
Out of the corner of my eye, in the distance faced by the corpse, the gray sky is flaring up with embers—suddenly, a dark fissure splits open in the once-dull sunlight.
“Buzz—!!”
In the next moment, the gigantic corpse lets out a mournful wail, the violent soundwaves crashing down from above, nearly sweeping me out of the air.
“Ah!”
I scream in pain, as unprepared as a pixie at a rock concert, feeling like my skull might explode from the close-range sonic attack. My ears ring like a church bell, and warmth seeps from my nose, ears, and eyes, blurring my vision.
This is it…
I’m tearing that disgusting tumor apart—
“Ahhhhhh!!”
I go berserk, unleashing a primal roar, pouring all my strength into condensing Dead Smoke atop the scythe, then compressing it—black mist erupts, transforming into raging black fire, enveloping the entire scythe shaft. In the next instant, I hurl the scythe with all my might.
Ka-ka-ka-ka!
Gears grind as the horrific scythe handle snaps under the weight of black flames, revealing scarlet chains that splatter magma-like liquid everywhere. The sharp black blade slices through the enormous gap between two ribs, plunging deep into the thrumming heart.
Puff!
No resistance at all—it slides right in like pushing through soft jelly, causing the Deity’s massive form to shudder as though an earthquake had struck.
This definitely isn’t enough…
I keep fueling the Chaotic Power, the raging black flames detonating from where the scythe bites in—boom! The gigantic heart explodes open, bits of flesh showering the area like confetti, rancid dark bl**d spraying forth like a pump at maximum pressure, drenching every inch of the mountainous spine and ribs in crimson.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle—
Thick bl**d rain pours down, drenching me, my face, rising up in clouds of steam. A searing sensation hits me out of nowhere, and I almost can’t keep my eyes open, but I grit my teeth and hold firm, yanking the scythe from inside the Deity Body, and icy frost bursts forth from my left hand, rapidly creeping up my arm.
This still isn’t enough…
I need more!!
“Get back in your egg—”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
My left arm lunges forward, and the terrifying ice explosion erupts, churning a blizzard that wraps around the echoing winds, forming a super-chilled stream hitting the heart like a freight train, swallowing it whole in an icy embrace.
Rumbling—
In the next moment, the massive corpse begins to rise toward the sky, as if it’s trying to escape…
I realize this immediately. My body reacts the instant the corpse shifts, and I toss the scythe out again. The blade claws past the moving ribs—clang! It catches the edge of the bone, and I trigger the handle’s mechanism to pull the chains back into the scythe, using the force to lunge toward the corpse, firmly attaching myself to the rib closest to its heart.
Whoa—
As the corpse ascends, those frosty tumors pour down like rain onto the scorched earth below. Despite the frost white mist coating the heart, it doesn’t seem to slow the Deity’s escape; it’s full throttle towards the fissure in the gray sky.
That might be the exit to the outside world…
Realization sends a rush of adrenaline through me.
At this moment, I don’t care about what the dancer said; without the branches of the White Tree, no one can escape. I don’t know if it can force its way through a gap to the outside world with its incomplete divine power, and honestly, that doesn’t matter—I won’t let it escape!
I absolutely can’t!
“Ughhhhhh—”
My frail voice roars with defiance, the gruesome scythe clinging to the ribcage, that bl**d-splattered heart forever in my sight. I raise my left hand, summoning black flames and Moon Step blades, unleashing a torrent of Chaotic Power onto the continuously bleeding tumor.
Boom boom boom boom boom—
The explosive force launches a wave of bl**d, shards of ice drifting through the air like snowflakes, while in the midst of chaotic black mist, the Deity’s heart shatters, splintered and peppered with debris. The sinewy membranes connecting it to bones snap like thread under such brutal assault, the dark bl**d flooding forth like a dam bursting, and covering the charred ground below in crimson.
The corpse trembles violently.
“Buzz—”
The world-shattering soundwaves echo again, and suddenly it feels like I’m getting hit on the head with a hammer. My vision goes black, and my body feels like a boulder, my left hand goes slack, the scythe slides from the Deity’s rib.
Uh oh…
I start plummeting, almost tumbling out of the Sin Barrier’s protection in an instant. I flap my flame wings desperately, just as my momentum falters, push myself toward the Deity again, reaching out toward the rib, my green arm lunging out—smack, I cling to it once more.
“Phew, phew…”
The weight of exhaustion hits me hard; I’m practically gasping for air. My ears ache like someone’s driven a nail through them. Explosions, raging fire, and gusts of wind—they all fade into the background noise of my consciousness, the only thing crystal clear is the now half-sized tumor, glaring back at me.
“Mmm!”
I bite down hard on my tongue.
Just a bit more…
Hang in there, I’m close to victory…
I’m going to leave it right here…
The metallic taste of bl**d spreads in my mouth as I squint, that fissure in the gray sky drawing nearer, my eyes widening. Black flames spark in both hands, exploding in incandescent light, a force of nature crashing down on the heart once again!
Boom—!!
A world-shattering explosion erupts from within the corpse’s chest, the black flames billowing out, and winds carry the black mist rushing in. I finally can’t hold on any longer; my green arm slips off the rib, and in a cloud of ash, I plunge toward the earth.
The last… strike…
Will it work?
An overwhelming sensation of weightlessness washes over me—one second, two seconds… my consciousness spins and I shake my head, working to raise my eyelids, seeing the Deity Body looming in the distance and it looks like…
Boom…
A deep rumble cuts through the air, like the roar of a train. The once suffocating fog disperses from the gray sky, and the residual waves of the black flame explosion still churn within it, while the massive corpse begins to descend through the falling dark bl**d.
I stare at this sight, stunned for what feels like forever, until suddenly, it clicks.
It’s going down…
It’s going down!
My consciousness flutters, my eyes struggle to focus properly, everything appears to have a double vision. At this point, it’s hard to believe that the once-mighty Deity Body has been thoroughly sunk under my relentless assault, crashing down from the sky—it’s down, it’s hard to absorb this reality.
Is this really… happening?
It can’t be… am I hallucinating?
Far in the distance, the fissure in the gray sky begins to close slowly as the Deity Body falls, the air vibrating with a “rumble” sound.
At the same time, my heart, which has been hanging in my throat, finally lands back where it belongs.
It seems like…
I won…
“Heh, heehee.”
I can’t help but laugh.
As I laugh, the impulse to cry suddenly creeps up on me.
I think I really did win…
“Ha ha, ha…”
I really did win…
