[Vol. 8] Chapter 60: Twilight Encirclement, a Deadly Trap
“Zzzzzzzzzzzzz~~!!!!!!!”
The green lightning, filled with a strange and wild power, clashed head-on with Violet’s layered defenses. The sound of the impact was sharp and painful to hear, like grinding metal.
The front layer of holy shields shattered quickly under the god-level attack, but more shields kept forming, powered by the priestess’s endless magic. As she held the line, Violet didn’t just stand there and take the hits. She used her sense of energy to quickly figure out what that giant snake really was.
There was no mistake. It was the source that had helped [Wild] absorb the life force of hundreds of thousands of living beings, giving it power in this world through an unnatural method. It was the main body of all those Soul Eater Mother Bugs!
It was an undead creature. Even though it didn’t have a god’s soul, it still had power equal to a god!
As soon as Violet realized this, a beam of holy light formed behind her, quickly shaping into a pure being of light. An angel-like figure made completely of golden crystal and modeled after Violet herself!
“Ssszzzz... ssszzzz...”
Golden lightning, charged with the power of pure light, swirled wildly around the holy spear in the spirit’s hand. Without hesitation, the spirit raised its arm and threw the spear straight at the giant undead snake!
A powerful counterattack!
On the other side, the dragon girl didn’t just hide behind her master’s shields. The moment Violet activated her [Composite Barrier: Holy Shield Wall], the dragon girl had already disappeared from her spot, turning into a flash of lightning even faster than the holy spear, flying directly toward the three-headed bone dragon that was leading the undead serpent!
The Dragon God had sharp eyes too. She could clearly see that this massive snake, stronger even than the God of the Wilderness, did not have a will of its own. It was being controlled by someone, through the bone dragon... or rather, by a small figure riding on top of it.
That person looked kind of familiar. She didn’t know exactly who it was or what was going on. But anyone who dared to attack her master was her enemy!
[Your opponent is me!]
But before she could reach her target, [Wild], who had flown into the sky with the giant snake, suddenly charged in and blocked her path, forcing her into a one-on-one fight.
Even though [Wild] was already badly hurt from the earlier [Ultra Annihilation] attack, and wasn’t using their full body, they still had enough power left to hold her off. After a few clashes, they were clearly starting to lose, but a dying camel is still bigger than a horse.
If a real god is determined to block someone, even someone as strong as Xiao Guang can’t break through quickly. Unless she uses her divine power, the [Primordial Flame].
“Tch, you're really like a rock in a dirty toilet... Get out of my way!”
While beating down [Wild], who could now only rely on defense, the dragon girl secretly glanced at Violet below. She felt a bit more at ease.
They had a bond that let them talk through their contract, so they didn’t need to speak out loud during battle. Even though she was ready to use her power at any time, Violet had just sent her a contract message telling her not to use the [Primordial Flame] yet. That meant the situation was still under control. So the dragon girl didn’t panic, she was just annoyed that [Wild] kept getting in her way.
After all, she preferred a fair fight, not beating on a punching bag that refused to break.
At that moment, the holy spear, thrown by the Light Elemental Spirit, finally pierced through the sky. Surrounded by golden lightning, it stabbed hard into the head of the undead serpent, causing a massive explosion of magic power!
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!!!
This was no simple test attack like the earlier 8th-tier spell. This was a full-powered strike from a level 110 elemental spirit avatar. The giant snake’s head, which had been spitting out green lightning, was blasted to the side violently. Thunder and lightning went flying everywhere, and its threat was immediately reduced.
As the spear dug into the snake’s body, it spilled out a flood of dark green energy, not blood. At the same time, the flying bone dragon started to wobble in the air, as if Violet’s powerful strike had hit the snake and somehow damaged the link controlling both the dragon and the serpent.
Realizing that even with the undead serpent, the battle was still going badly, [Wild] suddenly forced Xiao Guang back with a fierce strike, then looked up to the vast sky above the wasteland and shouted in anger.
[What are you all waiting for!? If you won’t act now, then when!?]
CRACK!!!!!!
As if answering His call, a loud cracking sound suddenly echoed from beyond the sky. Five streams of glowing light, each a different color, shot down from the sky and poured into the massive undead serpent, lighting it up with a blinding radiance and granting it a nearly indescribable amount of divine power.
One of these lights transformed behind the serpent into a giant phantom figure holding a huge hammer. It charged at Violet, and as it approached, she suddenly felt an immense pressure, as if her body had become thousands of times heavier. Her legs could barely move, and she was forced to face the hammer descending from the sky head-on.
“CLANG!!!”
The avatar of light, already fully prepared, raised its holy spear without hesitation and blocked the massive hammer, which felt heavier than a mountain. When the two divine powers clashed, countless sparks and beams of light exploded into the air. Behind Violet, her six wings simultaneously spread wide, and the divine halo of [Ten Radiance of the Holy Light] pulsed regularly like breath, continuously pumping new energy into her body.
“Hmph… Something like ‘Gravity’ magic, huh? It’s a bit annoying, sure, but it’s still not as scary as that [Taotie] power! Now, lift it up!!”
As she spoke, light burst from the black-haired girl’s body again. With full support, her light avatar gained explosive power and began to push the mountain-sized hammer upward, slowly but surely. Until she gave it one final push, throwing it back into the air with raw strength.
“Xiao Guang!”
“Yes!!”
Understanding her master’s signal instantly, the dragon girl stopped wasting time on that stubborn, smelly rock. With a single kick, she launched the opponent away and retreated in a flash of golden lightning, returning to Violet’s side to face the real threat head-on.
And in just this fleeting moment of reaction, the giant serpent, empowered by otherworldly forces, began to transform again!
It seemed that the earlier clash between the giant hammer and the light avatar had made the enemy more cautious. The remaining four streaks of light from beyond the heavens no longer arrogantly manifested as illusory figures to attack, but instead unanimously chose to merge more deeply with the serpent's body. Along with the hammer phantom that had returned, they formed five glowing layers of magical armor around the serpent’s body, giving it even more terrifying strength.
“HISSS!!!”
The serpent, now more powerful than ever before, let out a thunderous roar and stopped using long-range attacks altogether. With its massive body blotting out the sky, it dived straight down, mouth wide open, aiming to bite the two girls below.
“Hmph! Just a stinking snake and some small fry, and you dare act tough in front of us?!”
“ROOOAAAR!!!”
With a loud dragon roar that shook the sky, the dragon girl turned into her true platinum dragon form. Wings spread wide, she soared high into the sky and fearlessly charged at the serpent, even though it was many times larger than her hundred-meter-long body.
The [Ten Radiance of the Holy Light] from Violet boosted Xiao Guang’s strength far beyond what she could manage alone. Before the two even collided, Violet raised her staff again and cast another three powerful instant buffs, including [Shared Battle Covenant], directly into Xiao Guang’s body.
“CRACK CRACK CRACK!!!”
The platinum dragon flew like a reverse meteor, clashing head-on with the serpent’s rock-hard skull. The impact exploded in the sky like a nuclear bomb. The shockwave alone was powerful enough to rival large-scale high-level magic, sweeping across the battlefield and toppling everything in its path.
Having no more strength to interfere, [Wild] quickly rushed to grab its two followers and pulled them away from the center of the god-level battle. Even the once-mighty three-headed bone dragon had to hide behind the giant serpent just to avoid being torn apart by the aftermath of this divine clash.
The entire battlefield trembled and hummed with the impact. The five colored lights wrapped around the serpent’s body flickered wildly, clearly struggling to withstand the brutal force of the ongoing clash. At the same time, the dragon girl, who had always relied on her overwhelming strength, found herself for the very first time unable to overpower her opponent in a direct confrontation.
It was an even match.
“……”
Standing safely behind her dragon, in the only place untouched by the shockwave, Violet continued casting spells, pouring one strengthening buff after another into Xiao Guang. While closely observing the battle, she couldn't help but feel a bit stunned in her heart.
…This is really a massive showdown.
Only she truly understood how terrifying Xiao Guang had become after evolving and receiving her full support. Just by stats alone, her health points had surpassed ten million, and her strength and agility had each broken through the 500,000 mark. A level no god, not even a main god, could reach without using divine powers.
And yet, even with that kind of power, a force that could destroy nations, her dragon girl still couldn’t beat that undead serpent in a head-on clash…
There was only one possible explanation, the five beams of light from beyond the sky that had entered the giant undead serpent all carried true divine power. Each one came from a real god. The five gods had combined their power and authority over the world, and with the serpent’s own special traits, they managed to create something so shockingly powerful.
If you added in [Wild] from earlier, and the god who was probably controlling the serpent right now, that made seven gods. Seven full members of the council had taken action. Even during the Age of Gods, such a lineup would have been extremely rare.
Heh… the Twilight Council really took them seriously. They were determined to win.
But honestly… it still wasn’t enough.
If all seven council gods had come down in person, they might have posed a real threat to her and Xiao Guang. But since they were just sending their divine power through the world instead, their strength was weakened, and they were losing a lot of energy in the process.
If this turned into a long battle, the council would definitely lose. Not to mention, she and Xiao Guang both still hadn’t used their divine powers and hadn’t used any of their hidden trump cards. They weren’t even fighting with full strength yet.
Unless… there was another surprise coming?
As this thought crossed her mind, the priestess suddenly felt uneasy.
Earlier, [Wild] had mentioned someone called the “Chairman,” and that word now quietly came back to her. She narrowed her eyes and stared closely at the undead serpent wrapped in five-colored light, and suddenly noticed something strange.
No… something was wrong!
Those five powers from the gods were all different, but none of them stood out as being extremely powerful. They were all around the same level. But according to what [Wild] had hinted at, the mysterious Chairman of the Twilight Council was supposed to be far stronger than the other members. If that was true, then the Chairman hadn’t done anything yet. If they were here… what were they waiting for?
Her long-dormant battle instincts suddenly screamed in warning. As if she had finally realized something, the priestess’s silver-blue eyes shrank sharply. Without hesitation, she raised her hand, and a bright star-like light began to gather in her palm.
“Whoosh!”
But at that very moment, a flash of silver light suddenly streaked across the sky. The platinum dragon, who had just been fighting the serpent, vanished into thin air as if erased on the spot!
That was… space teleportation! A top-level, divine kind of teleportation!
“Hissss!!!”
As if it had been waiting for this, the undead serpent wasted no time. Now without an opponent, it lunged straight at the black-haired girl standing alone, who looked completely unprepared!
Its massive body blocked out the sky as it dove toward her. The light-formed guardian behind Violet tried to rush in and block the attack, but the five beams of divine power around the serpent suddenly flared with full force. They combined into a final, all-out attack from the gods, knocking the guardian away!
Now that it was close, the priestess could finally see what had been hidden all along, the real danger.
It looked like a glowing galaxy, like a night sky full of stars, both beautiful and chaotic. This strange energy had actually been hiding inside the serpent the whole time, using the five divine powers to stay unseen. And now, as the serpent opened its jaws wide in front of the black-haired girl, that dangerous, galaxy-like light finally revealed itself.
Checkmate.
Everything that had happened before was just a setup for this one moment.
From the beginning, the priestess, who had shown the power of a Main God, was always the true target of the Twilight Council. If she was gone, then the dragon, who they thought had divine strength but no divinity, wouldn’t be much of a threat.
Divide and conquer. Take them down one at a time. This trap had been planned in full detail from the start.
“Heh… Are you really that scared? What a coward, Twilight Council’s… Chairman~”
“Boom!!!”
The serpent, at its most powerful, smashed through all the glowing shields in front of it. With its mouth wide open, it bit down on the priestess who had lost her strongest partner’s protection, swallowing her whole.
The galaxy-like energy inside the serpent exploded all at once like a supernova. The final strike, cold and ruthless, erupted in a sky full of light and sound.
“BOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!”
Under the terrifying explosion, the serpent collapsed in an instant, shrinking into a tiny point and vanishing into thin air. The priestess, who had been swallowed, disappeared with it. This incredible battle, so huge it was hard to even imagine, was finally over.
The Twilight Council had won.
But...
Probably no one noticed... that just before she was swallowed, the black-haired girl’s lips had curled into the faintest smile.