Beating the dragon wings on its back, the Beast God charged with all its might toward the blue giant high in the sky, only to suddenly freeze in place at that very moment. An overwhelming sense of danger pressed down on its newly born consciousness, a mind that until now had contained nothing but the urge to fight.
All living creatures fear the unknown. Even a monster born solely for battle would still start to question what fighting even meant. Unfortunately for the Beast God at this moment... this was fear of a known unknown.
The blue giant in the sky vanished.
What remained in its place was a man standing in midair, wearing a black coat and a mask.
Compared to the blue crystal giant, whose overwhelming and majestic form seemed capable of blotting out the sky itself, the man's build could only be called lean and strong, far inferior in sheer presence.
And yet, to the Beast God, the pressure from that man in the sky was nine or even ten times more terrifying than that of ten blue crystal giants.
It could not understand.
With its simple mind, the Beast God simply could not comprehend why this man in black, who gave off no pressure at all and showed no trace of any special energy flowing from his body, could fill it with such indescribable fear.
My little treasury... got blown up...
Cid silently parted his lips. The light in his eyes faded as he stared blankly at the floating golden ring in front of him, as if he had suffered some devastating blow.
I'm tired.
Let it all be destroyed. This garbage world can go to hell.
A thread of pitch-black Magical Power rose from Cid's body in response to that thought. In the next instant, endless black Magical Power surged into the sky like a violently erupting spring.
The incomparably dense black Magical Power, centered on Cid, began devouring everything around it. Its immense suction force effortlessly shattered the stability of space itself.
The Beast God, the one closest to Cid at that moment, saw the tidal wave of Magical Power rushing toward it. At last, its instinctive fear of death overpowered its desire to fight, and it turned to flee.
But it was too slow.
Its flight speed was far too slow compared to the rate at which that black Magical Power consumed everything, and in an instant, the Beast God was swallowed whole.
The strongest body below the world's top five. Useless.
The special abilities of countless mythical races. Useless.
The endless divine power brought by burning faith. Useless.
Things that could easily have created a top-fifteen powerhouse in the world were, in the face of this true heaven-destroying natural disaster, only enough to let the Beast God release one final roar of unwillingness before it was devoured.
After swallowing the Beast God, the black sea of Magical Power did not stop. It continued spreading outward without end.
A scene like an extinction-level meteor strike appeared in this world.
If anyone had been standing in outer space at that moment, they would have seen a black sphere, one fully a third the size of the planet, hanging beside it.
"Crack!"
Simply by existing in the world, the sphere's terrifying density warped the dimensions of space, while its powerful pull continuously drew in everything around it.
At that very moment, anyone in the Northern Hemisphere only had to look up to see that meteor of annihilation hanging in the sky.
The planet's gravitational balance began to collapse, and tsunamis and earthquakes swept across the globe.
At the critical moment, every major faction reacted in time and took action. One special barrier after another appeared to block the tsunamis, while magic formations mobilized the spiritual veins of the earth to suppress the movement of the continental plates.
Even in World No. 3, the weakest of the three, super-large magic formations whose patterns stretched across every nation drew power from the earth's veins and emitted a special radiance to calm the disaster that was about to erupt.
At first glance, nothing seemed too wrong. Everything looked calm and under control. The major forces were relying on their own power to protect their territories and their people.
Or at least, that was how it seemed...
As they stared up at the massive sphere in space, not a single person had the blind confidence to say, "As long as we're here, we'll be fine."
Go away...
Don't fall...
It's just a giant meteor passing by...
All kinds of wishful thoughts rose in people's hearts, but unfortunately, reality was not going to change just because they hoped it would.
The black sphere began to descend.
There was no wind, no sound.
Its descent was utterly silent, because everything along its path was being swallowed.
There was no doubt about it. That sphere would easily punch straight through the planet's core, and the world beneath their feet would break apart and be destroyed in the cosmos.
Even anyone lucky enough not to die beneath the sphere would still die when the planet disintegrated.
The fear lingering in everyone's hearts never faded. As they watched the sphere descending from the sky, some had already begun imagining the moment the planet shattered apart.
The sphere was getting closer and closer, with part of it already breaching the atmosphere.
Itogami Island, the place closest to the sphere and effectively directly beneath it, was in the deepest despair. Everyone there who could still see the sky let out cries of unwilling terror.
At that moment, the black sphere was less than a thousand meters from Itogami Island.
The sky was clear for thousands of miles. The air currents that should have been moving without pause had gone completely still. Only a few birds flapping their wings stirred faint ripples in the air.
The sphere accelerated as it descended. It was now less than a hundred meters from Itogami Island.
The surrounding sea was retreating. The creatures in the ocean defied the food chain itself, ignoring the predators beside them as if they did not exist, doing nothing but frantically thrashing their tails in a desperate attempt to get away.
Like a black hole devouring a planet, the world was now less than ten meters away from destruction.
The people on Itogami Island fell into despair, venting the resentment they had built up in daily life by cursing others in silence.
"Bang!"
As if it had slammed into something unimaginably hard, the black projectile, which had originally been a sphere, flattened like a water balloon hitting glass under the force pushing it from behind, and then...
"Boom!"
The black sphere burst apart like a real water balloon, and the high-density Magical Power sealed beneath its black outer shell erupted outward.
That powerful Magical Power, which could easily devour everything, did not pour toward Itogami Island. Instead, it spread into the sky across the entire world.
"Whoosh!"
Even so, the diffusing Magical Power still stirred up a tremendous air current that struck Itogami Island like an air cannon. Sand and debris flew everywhere across the island. For a moment, many people felt that sudden gale pressing on them from both inside and out, an inexplicable weight crushing their chests, as though they had been dropped into deep water.
"Hisssss!"
The pitch-black Magical Power spread through the sky like storm clouds blanketing the heavens, plunging the whole planet into darkness. No matter where they were, anyone who looked up saw only dimness.
But at this moment, no one cared that the light had been taken from them for a while.
They looked at the vanished black magic projectile, then at their own unharmed bodies, and all they could do was celebrate wildly that they were still alive.
"We're alive... we're still alive..."
"I'm really not dreaming, right? One moment the world was ending, the next moment it was being saved..."
"I get it now. What's the damn point of making so much money? If I only earn it and never spend it, why even make it? I'm going to spend my money. I'm going to do what I actually want to do..."
Listening to the cheers rising from below and feeling the joy spreading across the globe, Cid stood expressionless above the dark storm clouds made of Magical Power.
Human joy and sorrow are never the same. All I feel is that they're noisy.
Why did I stop?
Wouldn't it have been better to destroy this trash world and then run?
Who am I? Where am I? Where am I going?
Standing high in the sky, Cid quietly pondered life's three great questions until two figures suddenly streaked past him and fell into the Magical Power clouds below.
Kojou? The Hundred-Form Monster? It's still alive because of Substitute Death?
Although the Hundred-Form Monster had shrunk drastically and most of the disgusting features on its body were gone, the hatred burned too deeply for Cid to mistake that lion head.
Should I save Kojou first, or go kill the Hundred-Form Monster first?
That question flashed through his dazed mind. After thinking for more than ten seconds, Cid made his choice. He shifted his body, kicked off with the tip of his right foot, and shot forward toward the Hundred-Form Monster.
After all, Kojou was the Fourth Primogenitor. His immortality was second only to the three Primogenitors. A fall from that height was not going to kill him, so there was no need to worry.
On the other hand, if the Hundred-Form Monster escaped, Cid knew he would not have the heart to play the Eminence in Shadow for a very long time.
With that in mind, Cid accelerated again, pierced through the Magical Power clouds, and beneath the mask, a trace of savagery could be seen on his face.
"If I don't kill you, I'll never get over this hatred!!!"
...
"Ha, ha, ha..."
Panting heavily, Asagi Aiba clutched her chest and pushed herself upright, calming the Magical Power that had just run wild under that inexplicable pressure. Through the huge hole above her, she looked at the dim sky darkened by the dense Magical Power clouds and swallowed hard.
She had no idea what had happened.
From her point of view, they had been in the middle of fighting when suddenly a terrifying pressure squeezed her chest, as if someone had grabbed her heart in their hand. Her movements instantly faltered. Luckily, the people on the other side had made mistakes too. Otherwise, the three of them would already have been dead.
Then the light overhead vanished. She instinctively looked up and saw a magic projectile descending, at the absolute least twice the size of Itogami Island. For a moment, she really thought the world was ending.
Fortunately, the magic projectile exploded before it reached Itogami Island. As if by a miracle, that terrifying black Magical Power, the kind that looked overwhelmingly dangerous at a glance, did not fall onto the island and instead spread outward, creating this dim sky.
"Whoosh!"
"Rip..."
The sound of something slicing through the air and the tearing of flesh came from ahead. Asagi Aiba pulled her gaze back from the sky and looked forward.
The good news was that the two people attacking them had turned on each other, which had greatly reduced the pressure on their side.
Zeta stood in front of Petos, her eyes filled with cold killing intent. She swung the golden ring-blade in her hand and sliced off the lower half of Petos's body.
The ground was covered with blue-haired little girls wrapped in biological protective layers. Ever since that magic sphere had appeared, all of the fused Nalakuvera had stopped moving and reverted into these little girls lying across the ground.
Petos's immortal body had finally reached its limit. It no longer regenerated, and he could only lie on the ground, letting out endless screams of pain.
Zeta felt no pity at Petos's cries. If anything, she seemed to find them pleasing, and a trace of satisfaction appeared on her face.
"Clang!"
The bad news was that even with the pressure eased, they still did not seem capable of beating Zeta.
Watching the golden ring-blade fly past her face, then seeing Zeta slowly walking toward her amid Petos's screams, Asagi Aiba fell silent.
On her side were Yukina Himegari and Sayaka Kirasaka, both breathing heavily, their Spiritual Energy and stamina nearly exhausted, forced to lean against each other just to stay standing.
As for Asagi herself, she did have some combat ability, but it was limited and came with a time limit. And after supporting Sayaka Kirasaka and the others against Nalakuvera just now, both her body and Magical Power had already reached their limits. If she pushed herself any further, she would explode.
On the other side, Zeta seemed to be in some kind of god-descended state, and the god she had called on was absurdly generous. From the start of the fight until now, Zeta's Magical Power had not weakened in the slightest.
Then again, that made sense. Her boss was Shadow. The Khaos Brigade led by the Infinite Dragon God had "Snake," so for someone equally standing at the top of the world, it was not strange for Shadow to have a similar technique.
Right now, Zeta's mental state was at its peak. On top of that, the target of her vengeance for slaughtering her family was right there beside her, practically giving her a berserk buff that only made her fight harder and harder.
They could not beat her to begin with, and in this state, there was even less chance. They really could not win with this lineup.
"Smack!"
Just as Asagi Aiba was sinking into despair, a figure fell through the huge hole overhead and landed on the ground between her and Zeta.
Everyone on the battlefield froze for a moment. Before they could even react, another black figure dropped to the ground.
Getting to his feet and looking at the Hundred-Form Monster lying on the ground, Cid let slime flow out from his hand and shape itself into a pitch-black blade. Killing intent boiled in his eyes.
"My lord!"
Before Cid could drive the blade into the Hundred-Form Monster, a familiar voice reached his ears.
He glanced sideways at Zeta, who was kneeling on one knee nearby, and narrowed his eyes.
He did not respond. He simply kept walking toward the Hundred-Form Monster with the black blade in hand, though his movements inevitably slowed a little and took on a more solemn air.
No need to overdo the act. Killing this Hundred-Form Monster and avenging my little treasury comes first.
"Zeta, save me! Save me! Haven't you always wanted the Black Death Emperor faction? I'll trade the whole Black Death Emperor faction for it! Shadow is your boss, so if you help plead for me..."
The intense pain jolted Gardos back to clarity, but the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Shadow walking toward him with a blade in hand.
His mind had never been clearer. In the face of mortal danger, Gardos immediately noticed Zeta kneeling nearby.
Thinking of the relationship between Zeta and Shadow, Gardos instantly called out, trying to get Zeta to plead for him.
The moment he heard how Gardos addressed Zeta, Cid's movements suddenly froze. He remembered what Zeta had told him the first time they met, when he had asked whether the Hundred-Form Monster had any connection to her, and his eyes narrowed.
The atmosphere on the battlefield instantly turned heavy with Gardos's words.
Slowly turning around, Cid looked at Zeta, still kneeling on the ground, and asked in a cold voice with anger hidden beneath it,
"Zeta... do you know him?"
From the moment Gardos spoke, Zeta's face had gone deathly pale. She had been glaring at him with eyes that looked ready to kill. When she heard Cid's question, she clenched her teeth and answered with difficulty,
"Yes. We had a cooperative relationship."
Cid fell silent.
He stared blankly at Zeta, and for a moment, he did not even know how to respond.