The source of the killing intent was something Imu could not grasp, despite using every trick in his arsenal.
It felt omnipresent, yet left no trail.
But he was being targeted.
Death could come at any moment.
Yet he couldn't pinpoint the location of the threat.
This sense of powerlessness ignited a flicker of irritability.
He was the god of this world, the king who dictated its rules!
How could he be unable to locate a mere sliver of killing intent?
That man... that damn man! What method had he used?
For eight hundred years, everything had been under his thumb.
Now, sitting upon the Empty Throne, he had become the prey of a mysterious stranger.
The unknown crisis brought a creeping anxiety.
This irritable unrest fueled the searing pain deep within his soul.
Suddenly, Imu snapped his eyes open.
His pupils, swirling with endless darkness, locked onto the void directly above the great hall as he stiffly raised his head.
Right there.
The space—which had remained static—suddenly warped.
Invisible ripples quietly spread outward.
There was no sound.
Then, a pitch-black rift was forcibly torn open by an invisible, domineering power, devoid of any sound or energy fluctuations!
A pure golden energy sphere, condensed to the absolute limit and roughly the size of a fist, slowly emerged from the black rift, bringing with it a suffocating pressure.
The moment this energy sphere appeared, the light in the dim hall was completely devoured.
It was the source of light, yet it consumed light.
Then, a divine aura radiated from the small golden sphere. This presence was so overbearing that even the dwindling remnants of the dark origin within Imu's body instinctively recoiled in fear!
"!!!"
Imu's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
He didn't need to analyze, nor did he need to think; his instincts as a warrior and the King of the World were screaming a frantic warning!
The energy contained within this seemingly insignificant golden sphere was enough to completely and utterly erase Pangaea Castle and the Holy Land of Mary Geoise beneath it from the face of the earth! Not a single speck of dust would remain!
Was this the "parting gift" that man had spoken of?!
That bastard! How dare he? How was he even capable of this?!
There was no time for contemplation, nor was it permitted!
Imu's soul roared!
He understood instantly!
The powerful killing intent he had been sensing for so long!
It came from this energy sphere, which had crossed space and time to appear with absolute precision above his hall. This was that man's true killing blow!
That damned wretch, plotting against him time and time again!
Ignoring the heart-wrenching pain deep in his body, Imu immediately attempted to mobilize his supreme authority as the King of the World!
He would warp space!
He would banish this cursed bomb! He would detonate it in the endless void far from this world!
However, the moment his will moved—
"Aaaaagh!!!"
Right as he acted, the soul backlash from his forced descent upon God Valley struck like a master assassin seizing the perfect moment. It transformed into ten thousand red-hot steel needles, plunging once more into the very core of his soul!
Damn him! Why was the backlash hitting now?!
Pain!
Indescribable pain caused Imu's will to suffer a fatal lapse—a freeze lasting less than a hundredth of a second!
To a mortal, 0.01 seconds is but a blink.
But in a clash between masters, life and death are decided in an instant.
Because of that 0.01-second delay!
The pure golden energy sphere had completely emerged from the spatial rift, hovering beneath the hall's dome like a sovereign!
Then, something even more terrifying happened!
It began to expand!
It grew at a rate that defied every physical law of existence, expanding with an irrational, violent speed!
*Buzz—!*
In a heartbeat, it grew from the size of a fist to the size of a millstone!
Within a few breaths, the insignificant sphere transformed into a prototype of a small sun, radiating endless light and heat from the heart of Pangaea Castle!
The golden light no longer remained contained; it erupted like a bursting dam, illuminating the dark hall as bright as day!
Most terrifyingly, Imu could feel that the energy structure inside the sphere had become extremely unstable due to this frantic expansion. It felt as if it would detonate at any second!
It was over!
Imu's heart sank into a bottomless abyss.
That man!
That damned man in the white mask!
He realized he had completely missed the window to deal with the threat.
Now, he had been forced into an absolute dead end.
Either he would immediately abandon this physical body and flee into the void—but the cost would be the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, the center of power he had cultivated for eight hundred years, along with the unconscious Five Elders and Holy Knights, all of whom would be vaporized in the explosion!
Or...
He, the King of the World, the supreme being who had ruled for eight centuries, would be forced into a stalemate in his own domain, in his safest and most core sanctuary, by some unknown brat using such a mocking and humiliating method!
Flee?
He could flee! With his abilities, he could tear through space and leave before the explosion!
But the cost?
The cost was Pangaea Castle, the symbol of the World Government's eight-hundred-year reign, along with the countless secrets and foundations he had amassed, all becoming cosmic dust!
He, the King of the World, would become a complete stray dog, unable to even protect his own nest!
Not flee?
Tank it?
To face a "sun" capable of leveling the Red Line while in this near-death state with a depleted origin?
That would be like a mantis trying to stop a carriage—pure suicide!
*Boom—!!!*
The expansion of the energy sphere seemed to reach its limit!
Its brilliant white surface began to emit a destructive radiance! A terrifying energy storm had already formed within the hall, causing even the indestructible walls carved with ancient runes to develop fine, spider-web cracks!
All of Pangaea Castle seemed to tremble!
Just before the light erupted to swallow everything—
"ROAAAAAAAARR!!!"
A roar blending rage, horror, humiliation, and endless resentment exploded from the Empty Throne!
Since it had come to this...
Then there is only one way...
Imu's flickering form began to warp violently and frantically. Dark energy and his remaining will intertwined, as if he were making a final, life-or-death decision!
He, the King of the World, had been pushed to the edge of the cliff!
A choice had to be made!