Let us turn the clock back a few steps.
While Yaxiu and the others were locked in their battle of wits with Rajesh, the war on the other side of the city had also reached a fever pitch.
High in the sky, Igola spread his virtual wings and soared through the golden rain. His gold and silver wings traced elegant arcs, like a swift darting through a tempest. The demon Yinzhi clung tightly to the Deceiver's waist from behind, the howling gale whipping through her pinkish-purple bangs.
When the Grieving Shadow Evil Dragon abruptly teleported right in front of him, his voice and Yinzhi's rang out in rapid succession: "The golden rain here is the Flowing Gold River!"
"The air here is indestructible!"
The Grieving Shadow Evil Dragon lashed its tail violently. Its spiked, saw-toothed tail, coiled with crackling black evil lightning, slammed against the space before them. The surging shockwave blew away all the golden rain around them, yet failed to pierce even the thinnest layer of the air wall.
Standing atop the dragon's head was a dark-haired young man in a tailored black suit with a white corsage pinned to his chest and white gloves on his hands. He looked coldly down upon Igola and Yinzhi. Before the Flowing Gold raindrops could splash onto them, the dragon and its master teleported to the peak of another skyscraper, perching atop it like an aloof sovereign.
Below, the city had turned into an ocean of molten lava. Streets were swallowed whole, buildings gradually reduced to charred rubble, and pungent toxic fumes curled into the air. What had once been a prosperous downtown district was now a forbidden zone devoid of life.
On an isolated isle amidst the sea of lava, a petite snake-haired girl gripped a ruby staff at the forefront. Despite the blistering, roiling magma all around her, she stood barefoot, clad only in flimsy garments resembling a swimsuit.
After the battle of the Spectre Inheritance, the world naturally knew that these snake-haired elves were a unique race dwelling in the Realm of Paradise—the Curse Elves! Yet compared to the girl, the orange-haired young man behind her was even more eye-catching. Wearing beach shorts and plastic flip-flops, he had somehow procured a drum kit from god-knows-where and was playing background music for this war all by himself.
On the other side of the battlefield, Harvey stood atop a toppled tower, raising both hands to gather a blood moon.
Stripped to the waist, his flesh deathly pale and his eyes scarlet, he had already activated the cold flowing fire and transformed into the Blood Moon Corpse King. Sitting upon his shoulder was a little boy whose body was covered in blooming black roses, with sinister blossoms unfolding even from his eye sockets.
These were the four forces currently locked in combat: the demon Yinzhi and Igola; the demon Yejian and Harvey; the demon Longyuan and the Grieving Shadow Evil Dragon; and the demon Lehuai and the Curse Elf.
When Harvey completed his Blood Moon miracle, an eerie blood moon rose with a rumble, hanging high in the sky curtain and blotting out the stars. Wherever the crimson radiance shone, even the golden rain was extinguished and scattered.
At that exact moment, the Curse Elf fire sorcerer unleashed her legendary ultimate move. The boiling ocean of lava surged upward like a sweeping curtain, transforming into three blazing phoenixes!
Miracle: Blood Moon Radiant Illumination!
Divine Miracle: Law-Burning Phoenix!
The blood-red light fell equally upon everyone, and the three Law-Burning Phoenixes split up, hurtling toward the other three factions. Yet when the bloody brilliance bathed the Law-Burning Phoenix, that bizarre crimson light actually began to ignite—as if the Law-Burning Phoenix were the very concept of burning itself, an inferno from which even miracles could not escape!
"The light shall bypass us! The air before me shall solidify into a cosmic barrier that repels all flames!"
Under Igola's command, the eerie light of the blood moon truly curved around them, but the cosmic barrier before them could not halt the Law-Burning Phoenix for even a split second. The wall of air spanning heaven and earth instantly burst into flames, turning into a towering curtain of fire.
"Igola, that won't work!" Yinzhi chimed in unhurriedly, not the least bit panicked even as the phoenix bore down upon them. "This is a fledgling phoenix summoned by the Curse Elf using fragments of the laws. Every tangible thing serves as its fuel—Sanctuaries, sorcery power, miracles, and even the Flowing Gold River. So, you should know how to handle it by now, right?"
Igola raised his hand toward the phoenix without hesitation. "Before me lies absolute vacuum."
A massive black void suddenly engulfed the Law-Burning Phoenix. Because even light could not enter an absolute vacuum, to outside onlookers it was an expanse of pure pitch-black darkness. After letting out a clear, mournful wail that went unheard by all, the Law-Burning Phoenix rapidly shrank like a burnt-out candle until its final flicker of flame was thoroughly extinguished.
Smiling brightly, Yinzhi patted Igola's head and praised, "Igola, you're so clever!"
Though Igola had dealt with the Law-Burning Phoenix with apparent ease, without the ability to create a vacuum, that phoenix was a world-destroying divine miracle capable of incinerating entire nations and cities. Its most terrifying trait was that once summoned, it required no sorcery power to sustain itself; it would autonomously consume everything in the world to prolong its life. Earth, air, and even light would become its sustenance. If the caster did not voluntarily dismiss it, it could reduce the mortal world to an endless sea of purgatorial fire.
Yet creating a vacuum was something only a legendary of the space faction could achieve. The space faction was notoriously difficult to master, let alone cultivate to the legendary realm—the Starry Kingdom, for instance, had not produced a space faction legendary in over a century.
As long as no sorcerer could trap it within an absolute vacuum, it was an absolute dead end against which even resistance was futile.
Whether Igola's attainment in the space faction had even reached the Gold rank was debatable. Naturally, he had not relied on his own cultivation to produce a vacuum; rather, it stemmed from his magic. The term "magic" was something Yinzhi had introduced to him, for as a technique granted by a demon, it was inherently demonic magic.
His magic was akin to "wishing makes it so" and "the spoken word becomes law." If following Yaxiu's naming convention, however, it could be called "Rust Crow Mode."
In Rust Crow Mode, though Igola could not directly bewitch living beings, he could deceive all inanimate matter. Everything in the world could be altered by his falsehoods: turning air into fortresses, brewing storms out of nothing, sweeping the earth with lightning, or even summoning the Flowing Gold River with a single utterance. But the more he created something from nothing, the more sorcery power it drained.
Conversely, if he merely twisted and altered existing matter, the expenditure of sorcery power was negligible. Thus, deceiving the air and the golden rain offered the highest cost-effectiveness.
It was only because the Law-Burning Phoenix possessed a rudimentary intelligence that he couldn't easily turn it; against an ordinary miracle, Igola could have tricked it into turning around and striking its own caster! Just as the light cascading from the blood moon had bent around them because it heeded Igola's lie.
To deceive one is a lie; to deceive ten thousand is an ideal; to deceive all things is a law.
On the other side of the battlefield, the Grieving Shadow Evil Dragon perched atop the skyscraper did not attempt to block the approaching Law-Burning Phoenix at all, choosing instead to teleport directly beside Harvey. That was the magic of the demon Longyuan and the Grieving Shadow Evil Dragon: Teleportation. Without prerequisites, without restrictions—instant teleportation at will.
Compared to Igola's Rust Crow magic, the evil dragon's magic was simple to the point of crude. Yet paired with its savage, towering dragon body forged as if from the very aesthetics of violence, a cataclysmic monster capable of appearing anywhere at any second was born.
"I really, really dislike the parasite sorcerers of the Abyss," Yinzhi remarked, pouting as she noticed Igola's gaze. "They always love turning into hideous monsters. They never turn into pretty ones like fox-lantern dragons or moon shadow dragons. They don't feel nice to touch at all."
"Parasite sorcerers who can turn into creatures of the Void Realm?" Igola said neutrally. "You certainly know a lot about sorcerers."
Yinzhi rolled her eyes playfully. "Those were actually Amilo's words. I only emerged in the Stars; I'd never seen a sorcerer before!"
The Grieving Shadow Evil Dragon teleported beside Harvey but did not attack first. Instead, Harvey reached into empty air with both hands, causing blood-red light to condense into gauntlets over his fists. He charged forward to trade a blow with the dragon. A concussive detonation rang out, the splash of shockwaves shattering the buildings below, while Harvey and Yejian were flattened into a pool of pulverized flesh by the sweep of the dragon's tail.
Yet at that very moment, budding black roses sprouted rapidly across the Grieving Shadow Evil Dragon and the demon Longyuan—symptoms identical to those on Yejian when he had sat on Harvey's shoulder!
Just then, Harvey and Yejian swiftly reconstituted from the gore. Harvey remained in his bare-chested Blood Moon Corpse King state, while Yejian, having just reverted to a normal boy, instantly sprouted black roses once more.
While the black roses served as mere ornaments on Yejian, on the dragon and Longyuan they continuously drained their life.
The moment a black rose bloomed, the limb it occupied withered away, and each blooming black rose replenished Harvey, granting him endless endurance.
This was the magic Harvey gained after Sorcery Spirit Transformation—Ghost King Mode.
Within a certain radius around him, all living beings would develop black rose corpse spots. Even Yejian could not avoid it; only Harvey, having transformed into an undead creature, remained immune. Furthermore, any damage source that harmed Harvey would also sprout black rose corpse spots. In this mode, he could regenerate from a single drop of blood, truly immortal and indestructible!
If the Grieving Shadow Evil Dragon's teleportation magic was high-skill finesse, then Harvey's Ghost King magic was an utterly shameless battle of attrition devoid of technique.
Because of the black rose corpse spots, harming him meant contracting the curse, and drawing close to him meant contracting the curse. With his immortal constitution making him nearly impossible to put down, he was like a sickening piece of chewed gum that could never be shaken off—a role that perfectly suited Harvey's position in their team.
Yet, faced with the black rose corpse spots, the Grieving Shadow Evil Dragon and Longyuan showed not the slightest panic. Black roses bloomed rapidly upon them, yet their limbs showed no signs of withering. This was a specialized application of teleportation magic: invincibility frames.
They appeared to stand still, but in every passing instant they were activating teleportation magic. In the moments immediately before and after a teleport, they enjoyed roughly one frame of total invulnerability to external effects. Consequently, even a persistent curse like the black rose corpse spots could be bypassed through endless micro-teleports.
By then, the other two Law-Burning Phoenixes had swooped in. Harvey did not mind letting them consume him in the slightest, yet the phoenixes surprisingly counted as living beings as well. Black roses sprouted and blossomed across their fiery forms, and the speed of their burning soon failed to keep pace with the rate at which the roses drained their life.
Simultaneously, black rose corpse spots appeared on the Curse Elf fire sorcerer standing on the isolated isle. However, these corpse spots were unable to mature; they detached from the elf's body almost instantly and were swept away by the wind.
Even now, Igola could not fully grasp the essence of the Curse Elf's magic, only certain that it was a defensive art useless for offense, which could be termed "Delay."
Any effect inflicted upon the Curse Elf was indefinitely delayed. When the Grieving Shadow Evil Dragon teleported right in front of her to slam its tail, that tail would not land on her face in ten thousand years. When Igola attempted to deceive the magma into sweeping over the island, the molten rock could not approach within seven paces of her. Harvey's blood moon brilliance remained permanently frozen in the sky seven paces away, and the black rose corpse spots never even had the chance to bloom.
The Curse Elf's defensive magic was even more absurd than Yaxiu's Observer Mode. In Observer Mode, Yaxiu was unable to attack others, whereas the Curse Elf could leisurely cast spells at her own pace—first generating a molten environment, then summoning the Law-Burning Phoenixes.
This was the reason why, despite such a fierce confrontation, not a single casualty had occurred thus far.
Igola's Rust Crow Mode could counter any offensive while retreating, and unleash cataclysms to destroy everything while advancing.
Harvey's Ghost King Mode slew foes via reflected damage, possessing the strongest regenerative capabilities on the field.
The Grieving Shadow Evil Dragon's teleportation magic combined offense and defense, rampaging unchecked with its vicious draconic frame.
The Curse Elf's Delay magic neutralized every assault, allowing her to dispatch enemies with her legendary fire arts.
Though the magic of these four legendary sorcerers differed in effect, without exception, all achieved a form of "absolute defense." Every side was low on offense and high on defense, so none could shatter the other's shield.
Yet this balance was merely temporary, for everyone's sorcery power was finite.
Every time Harvey regenerated, every time the Grieving Shadow Evil Dragon teleported, every time the Curse Elf triggered Delay, and every time Igola spoke, sorcery power was consumed. Whichever side ran dry first would be the first eliminated.
It had evolved into a delicate game of offense and defense: whoever could expend the least sorcery power while draining the most from their opponents would emerge the ultimate victor!
"Land eroded by magma ought to collapse!"
"The adjacent buildings happen to fall toward their position! Underground springs burst forth!"
Following Igola's and Yinzhi's declarations, the isolated ground beneath the Curse Elf and Lehuai suddenly caved in. Teetering high-rises on both sides collapsed toward them, while multiple jets of spring water erupted beneath their feet.
Igola glanced at Yinzhi, who flashed him a victory sign.
Igola found it hard to describe this sensation. Whenever he acted, Yinzhi immediately followed up with support, creating a flawless synergy without ever overshadowing him, as if they were truly inseparable teammates.
When he lied, she played the shill; when he killed, she helped stoke the fire. More importantly, against Igola's sharp guardedness, Yinzhi always managed to gently smooth his ruffled feathers—even though she was precisely the talkative, haughty type of woman he detested most.
Yet this brief partnership had already made Igola feel unprecedentedly comfortable, leaving him to wonder what kind of miserable dog's life he had lived before. If he could remain with Yinzhi in the future...
"That monster teleporting everywhere is far too troublesome. Let's guide everyone to gang up on that frivolous guy in beach shorts down there,"
Yinzhi whispered into Igola's ear. "His drums are so noisy. Let's kill him."
This matched Igola's thoughts exactly. In this four-way melee, the Grieving Shadow Evil Dragon would never be the loser; the moment it sensed danger, it could simply teleport away, and no one could give chase. Meanwhile, Harvey was his ally—even without saying so, Yinzhi had certainly deduced it. Therefore, the only team that could truly be eliminated was the Curse Elf's side.
"Don't you know him?" Igola countered. "If you hadn't introduced them, I wouldn't have known those two demons were named Longyuan and Lehuai. I thought you were friends."
"Amilo told me—"
"Everything is 'Amilo told you'?"
"Because without Amilo as my follower, I'm nobody, just an ordinary little girl." Yinzhi reached out to smooth Igola's bangs. "So of course it had to be Amilo who told me. If I learn more in the future, it'll probably be because you told me, Igola."
Yinzhi's well-timed vulnerability, evasion, intimacy, and thinly veiled flattery seemed to massage Igola's frayed nerves with every word and motion, leaving the Deceiver under the impression that he still controlled the situation—and even controlled the demon.
And that was Yinzhi's true goal.
Yinzhi knew full well that even if three teams joined forces against Lehuai's side, the probability of truly eliminating an opponent was minuscule. By comparison, cajoling Igola—an unaffiliated, wild sorcerer—into her own camp would be the greatest harvest of this Angel Hunt. Though this battle looked fierce, it was merely an initial clash between demons; even Yinzhi could find no miraculous opening to kick a rival out of the game.
Suddenly, the world illuminated by the golden rain dimmed.
Everyone looked up, but what met their eyes was not the starlit sky curtain, but a boiling, fathomless, ancient darkness.
It was colossal beyond mortal comprehension, instantly awakening the deep-seated megalophobia in the genes of the legendary sorcerers. All the sorcerers ceased their movements, watching in silence as it descended. An indescribable despair seeped into every fiber of their souls, extinguishing all desires, ideals, and ambitions in that instant. Even the basic will to survive dissolved into a solitary sigh.
Only the demons wore different expressions: Lehuai stopped drumming as his face turned grave; Longyuan raised an eyebrow; Yejian tilted his head; and the corners of Yinzhi's mouth curled upward.
As the distance closed, they caught more details of 'it'—menacing chains and churning black mist. Yet simultaneously, everyone entered its field of perception. Countless suffocating gazes swept down from the depths of the darkness; though none focused directly on them, merely glancing across the field, that alone was enough to send violent shudders through the sorcerers' souls.
They were legendary sorcerers standing at the pinnacle of mortals. Aside from the Six Divine Masters who ruled the world, only one kind of existence could look down upon them from above:
Those who had broken through mortal limits and stepped into the divine realm.
When he was young, Igola had often pondered a question: if the Divine Masters lived in the Kingdom of Heaven, where did the demigods dwell? Did they all live in Heaven as angels? Were there no wild demigods?
At this moment, the question from his childhood finally had an answer.
If the Divine Masters lived in the Kingdom of Heaven, then the demigods could only dwell in Hell!
Chapter 881