Chapter 236: Nirvana (5)
Whoosh—
The Sin Barrier surrounding the corpses suddenly shattered with a loud crash, golden fragments scattering like confetti, raining down from the scarlet night sky. Dead Smoke and Black Fire erupted amidst the Infernal Fire’s golden brilliance, and the petite silhouette of the girl was sent flying backward by the explosive shockwave.
Her eyelids fluttered shut slightly, star-like droplets of bl**d streamed from her nose and mouth, forming a dark red line against the night sky.
“Buzz…”
At that moment, the giant corpse opened its jaw and let out a terrifying hum, mixed with an undertone of agony—definitely not as intimidating as before. Its horrifying head drooped slowly, body swaying from the shock of the explosion, and the flames in its eye sockets quickly dimmed.
In the next instant, the girl, tumbling through the air, spun wildly. As the explosion’s shock began to wane, she suddenly charged back, her small frame darting through the shards of the Sin Barrier, diving headfirst into the burning flames engulfing the corpse. She leaped onto its grotesque head, stomping on the scalding bl**d-fire, her scarlet scythe raised high, swinging down with all her might—
Clang! Bang! Crash!!!
The sharp blade struck the skull, and Dead Smoke surged forth. A dazzling red light flickered, and the intense shockwave exploded outward in an instant.
In the midst of the massive bang, the corpse jerked as if deeply wounded, its cries abruptly stopping. At the same moment, the girl standing on its head stumbled, her grip breaking, bl**d gushing from her mouth, mixing with the raging flames and evaporating. The scythe in her hand was lifted again by the recoil.
She was about to tumble off the corpse’s head, but quickly steadied herself, her expression fierce. Seizing the moment while the Deity seemed dazed by her aggressive attack, she tightened her grip on the scythe’s handle, holding her breath and swinging down with all her strength at the same spot on the skull!
“Ahhhh!”
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!!!
The girl wielded the scythe like a hammer, ignoring her injuries, oblivious to the Infernal Fire roasting her body. With all her might, she pounded the deadly blade against the corpse’s skull. The ferocious onslaught made it hard to withstand; bones shattered amidst the chaos, and the giant head shook violently. A bony arm shot up, swirling with Black Smoke and Fire, aimed straight at the girl!
Almost simultaneously, realizing she wasn’t making any headway against the rock-solid skull, the girl activated her Moon Step, suddenly soaring into the air. She flashed three times in mid-air, becoming three afterimages, which then converged, accompanied by a whirling wind, like a bird swooping down—the elegant sword style, the Void Blade unleashed. Dense Dead Smoke enveloped her scarlet blade, targeting the corpse’s head for one final strike.
Boom—!!!
Crack!
The blade collided violently with the black bones, the rumbling sound echoing as a crack opened in the skull. The girl was propelled upward, losing her momentary sense. Once she regained herself, the giant bony hand was almost in her face.
Thump!
She was hit head-on.
“Cough!”
bl**d sputtered from her lips, her armor cracking piece by piece. Fragments shot out, and her petite body was blasted away like a cannonball, sailing through the air and crashing into the molten lava below with a “whoosh!”
Boom!
Fiery red sparks exploded.
“Buzz—”
In the scarlet night sky, the Deity let out a long, mournful cry, resembling a wail.
It had almost emerged from the crack, but after the girl’s brief yet fierce counterattack, its massive body was starting to fall back into the swirling darkness.
The crack behind it began to close at a slow but steady pace. The corpse appeared anxious, struggling to free itself after tossing the girl aside, swaying its body as if to pull itself out completely.
But in the next moment, from the boiling lava in the distance, the girl suddenly stood up.
Glug, glug, glug…
Scalding lava dripped from her face, her body, and the tip of her scythe. Her skin turned an unusual shade of crimson, and hissing sounds echoed as it burned. White mist rose, enveloping her shattered armor, now barely holding any shape.
She didn’t have any strength left to form new armor.
With her bloodied face held high, her eyelids drooped partially, her pupils dulled. The hand gripping the scythe trembled uncontrollably, as if it would collapse at any moment.
On her forehead, a bright red pair of sharp horn-like protrusions seemed to still be growing, as did the wings on her back. They resembled bat or dragon wings, without feathers, coiled tightly against her back, the infant wings dripping with lava and glowing with a fiery red under the scorching heat.
She was still in a state of transformation.
The energies within her were wildly chaotic, torrents of Infernal Fire, Chaos, and Order surging, threatening to explode her tiny body. The turbulent energy was like three fierce beasts rampaging within, becoming increasingly uncontrollable.
She should have been resting at this time, letting her body and consciousness fall into a deep sleep, slowly adapting to the change, until her form fully evolved, until in the quiet, long dream, she could accommodate and wield this tidal force of energy.
But now, she had no such opportunity.
The girl was already in so much pain that she began to spasm.
She had almost lost all sensations except pain.
Still, she remembered what she needed to do at this moment.
Again, she activated her Moon Step, leaping decisively toward the corpse still trapped in the crack.
Whoosh—
In the next moment, the terrifying Deity swung its arm again, the bony palm slamming down fiercely. The girl, in mid-air, felt her consciousness blurring, watching the burning black bones press down like a mountain, trying to dodge but her body wouldn’t respond.
Boom!
In an explosive grunt, she was smashed down again, crashing back into the lava.
Before long, she climbed up once more.
She had nearly lost all control over her own strength, unable to recover from her injuries.
Yet, she surged up into the night sky once again.
With a determined, fatalistic semblance, she charged into the scarlet brightness of the sky.
Boom—
She was knocked down again.
The fiery lagoons around her roiled, burning her body, grinding down her last shred of will. For a moment, she lay in the searing heat, swaying, and with great effort, she stood up again, resolute.
Then, without hesitation, she charged again at the corpse for the third time.
Buzz…
The corpse seemed furious; the fires in its hollow eye sockets suddenly blazed to a brilliant gold. The bony hand came crashing down with tremendous force, unleashing radiant light, the power pressing down like a mountain. The girl had no means of resistance as she was propelled to the ground with a loud crash, creating a crater in the boiling lava.
Yet, after a long moment, she struggled and stood up once more.
Repeated blows had left her already frail body shattered, who knows how many bones broken. Her newly formed wings were already bent, bl**d gushing and ignited by Infernal Fire, enveloped by the overwhelming Dead Smoke. The light in her eyes had faded into a dull ash gray, on the brink of d*ath, yet the scythe in her hand had never loosened.
Standing in the flowing lava, she paused, then took a step forward, then another…
Bending her legs, it seemed she wanted to charge up once more.
But she finally couldn’t push herself any further.
This girl named Paylo, also known as the Pope Knight Silvya, who had once resurrected from the abyss, having narrowly escaped countless perils and defeated powerful foes, now stood amidst a patch of scarlet lava, armed with deadly weapons, gazing up at the Deity, gradually…
Her heartbeat faded away.
Breath ceased.
Yet, she still retained a flicker of consciousness.
In the final moments, she remembered what she had to do.
As her vision began to darken, she noticed the Deity, momentarily hindered by her attack, not managing to free its massive body from the crack, but instead sinking back a bit. At this point, the closing of the crack began to accelerate, quickly reducing to a point where it could no longer fit through.
It finally had no choice but to set aside its desire to continue attacking the girl, claws clinging to the edge of the crack, roaring and struggling, attempting to tear it open again.
In this moment.
Let me…
End it here once and for all…
This was the only thought remembered in the girl’s fading consciousness.
She swayed, using the last of her strength and will, gathering Dead Smoke and Black Fire around her body, gradually floating up, flying toward the night sky for the fourth time, heading toward the corpse.
The scorching winds swept through the burning wildlands.
At some point, from afar, in the collapsed chasm, dirt and stones burst forth, and amidst the flowing lava, countless figures rose from below the burning earth, shielded by a massive invisible barrier.
At the forefront stood a man with golden hair and blue eyes, holding a staff, gazing up at the spectacle above, watching that small silhouette swaying in the air, charging toward the Deity with resolute fatalism. The man stared, astonished, speechless for a long time.
“It’s her…”
“How is she… back again…”
Behind him, someone gasped in shock, still trying to grasp what had happened, while in the distance, the girl had already approached the Deity. Simultaneously, sensing something, the corpse suddenly twisted its head, gaping its jaw toward the girl’s direction as a flash of gold appeared in its mouth.
Buzz—
The divine miracle’s hum resonated through the night sky, but moments later, the corpse couldn’t spew anything out.
It was at its limit…
The girl sensed this and quickened her pace.
“d*mn, she’s risking it all…”
Someone’s eyes widened, their voice trembling.
“You idiot! You’ll get yourself killed—”
“Stop her!”
“Quick, stop her—!”
“Margaret!!!”
Among the chaotic shouting, some watched coldly while others rushed to action. The Church’s divine light flared once more above a sea of flames, yet the girl could neither see nor hear any of it.
She had already sped through the corpse’s towering ribs, flying into its chest cavity.
This thing has to…
d*e here…
In the next moment, Dead Smoke, Black Fire, and Frost exploded from her body, overwhelming the night sky with darkness and icy blue frost.
That was the last action she could muster.
No longer suppressing the surging energies within, she let them run wild, bursting forth from her skin, eyes, mouth, and ears, mingling with the flowing bl**d, releasing a torrent like starving beasts from their cage, immense power recklessly tearing apart everything it encountered, destroying and devouring, turning the Deity’s flesh and bl**d inside into a mushy mess.
bl**d and flames erupted, as chunks of flesh rained from the sky. The girl twisted through the chaotic bloodlight, gliding along the spine, once again darting toward the top of the corpse’s head.
Her mouth gaped, yet she couldn’t make a sound.
Using her last remaining strength, she raised her scythe high, Chaos energy swirling like a vortex, rushing toward the blade’s edge. With the momentum of her body, she whipped up a sharp wind as she neared the grotesque head, and in that instant, the blade swung down.
Clang—
The blade went precisely into the cracked skull.
Crack!
With a sharp sound, this time the blazing red tip sank deep into the cranium.
And in the wake of this strike, the Deity’s struggle to rip open the crack abruptly froze.
Time seemed to stop at that moment.
“Little Black Charcoal—!!!”
From a distance, the glimmering light could no longer be contained. Pope Angel flashed, breaking through the translucent barrier and appearing in the sky over a hundred meters away. The golden light faded, and a blinding orb floated above his head, the staff in his hand emitting a powerful hum.
“Margaret! Chris! Get ready to save her—!”
His voice echoed through the night sky, a frantic expression on his face, filled with urgency and a fierce determination. As he descended, he prepared to cast the miracle of teleportation once again, aiming to save the girl from the Deity’s clutches.
“d*mn it, move faster!!!”
In the next moment, a flash of golden light appeared behind him, and the old man in robes suddenly appeared, grasping Pope Angel tightly mid-air, blocking the young man’s reckless advance.
“It’s too late…”
The old man murmured.
As they slowly fell through the air, hot winds assaulted them. The old archbishop barely opened his murky eyes, spotting that in the sky, as the girl’s scythe pierced the skull, scarlet light erupted from the Deity’s head like a torrent of bl**d, engulfing the tiny figure.
“Silvya—!” Angel’s eyes reddened, roaring like a madman, “Trash! All of you are trash!!!”
“Pope! It’s already too late…”
“Where’s the Chain of Divine Lock! Twenty minutes have passed! Are you not prepared!?”
“Go—!”
“d*mn it… all of you are useless! All of you—!!”
“Ahhhhhh!!!”
Buzz—
With a flash of golden light, the roar faded into the distance.
Angel…
Amidst the sea of crimson light, the girl faintly heard that beastly roar.
She knelt atop the corpse’s head, clutching the scythe embedded in its skull, torrents of fresh bl**d streaming from everywhere, evaporating in the scorching heat. The girl’s mouth was slightly open, her ashen eyes unfocused, but as she heard distant sounds, her pupils suddenly shifted, and her lips twitched slightly.
A moment later, it seemed she showed a hint of a smile.
Heh…
This is my last…
Time to let you use me again…
Crack! Crack! Crack—
Almost at the same time, a colossal sound of shattering bones echoed.
In the night sky, the crimson light began to fade, the dark crack retracting at a faster pace, squeezing the Deity’s massive body, crushing ribs like twigs.
The Deity had long lost the ability to act.
The fires in its eyes, after flickering several times, were snuffed out completely.
In the sky, energy surged, as thick white smoke billowed from the giant bones, radiant red light igniting within. Standing off to the side, Margaret witnessed this scene, murmuring something as she assumed a prayer position, a hot tear rolling down her cheek and soaking her attire.
In the next moment, she vanished in a golden flash.
Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz——
The light of the divine miracle flickered back and forth, countless figures disappearing.
Then, flames erupted suddenly from the night sky.
Boom boom boom boom boom—!!!
An explosion swept out.
After a shudder, the massive Deity finally exploded with enough force to shatter the heavens.
The raging flames instantaneously enveloped the entire sky, raging heat waves rolling over the molten earth like crazy as the fire blossomed into a colossal, blazing sphere, resembling a new sun, obliterating charred ground and foliage, staining the nearby area with bl**d red for miles.
And at the center of the explosion, the girl slowly closed her eyes.
In a daze, she saw a girl standing cutely by the window, under the tranquil night sky, turning to look at her, gently touching the piano keys and revealing a slightly serene smile.
“Don’t be afraid, don’t be sad…”
She said.
“You have done well enough. Father and Mother will be proud of you…”
“Everyone should be proud of you…”
“You can rest now…”
“Just well…”
That smiling face gradually grew blurry in the encroaching darkness.
Until it vanished completely.
