Chapter 600: The Earth Falls, The shrine maiden Kikyo
Under the horrified gazes of the crowd and the solemn stares of the warriors, the black giant axe descended from the sky once more.
But this time, no one had the chance to pray for their own safety.
A streak of white light shot across the battlefield like a falling star.
It collided head-on with the black giant axe.
Like a comet striking the earth, two completely incompatible forces clashed, fused for a brief moment, and then, Exploded.
Rumble!!!
The earth shook violently.
A wave of black-and-white light rippled outward from the center of the explosion, sweeping horizontally across the entire underground world.
Wherever it passed, the unbreakable Magic Ore Pillar Mountains, the reinforced boundaries of the cavern, everything was torn apart without resistance.
Peng!!!
Boom!!
Aboveground, in Sand City, everyone, from pedestrians to spectators, felt the ground jolt violently, as though the entire world had sunk beneath their feet.
In fact… it had sunk.
Centered around a massive magic mine, everything within dozens of kilometers dropped by at least ten centimeters.
An entire underground layer had been wiped out by the impact, leaving a gap, and the surface collapsed downward like a castle losing one of its floors.
Some areas sank by several meters, their terrain permanently altered.
Fortunately, the foundations beneath Sand City had been heavily reinforced.
Even if the ground collapsed, it would collapse evenly, rather than splitting apart unevenly.
Hoooo…
As the tremors gradually subsided, the people watching the live broadcast remained pale and shaken.
No one even bothered to fix their awkward postures after the ground dropped. All attention was fixed on the screen.
Only by being so close could they feel true helplessness, that terrifying power that casually reshaped the land.
They had been dancing on the edge of death.
The thrill made adrenaline surge through their veins.
Some suddenly felt shock at their own courage, watching a live broadcast practically next door to where the battle occurred.
Others silently vowed that next time a grand ceremony happened, they would watch from home. They would never come in person again.
---
Underground space.
As the expanding energy ring swept out, the dust was once again blown away by the desert storm.
the Demon King Desert, could manipulate sandstorms freely, dispersing dust as part of his power.
As the air cleared… everyone, including the demon army, turned their eyes toward a single direction.
There, floating in the air, was a girl dressed like a shrine maiden, a quiver on her back and a longbow in her hand.
Beside her hovered a plump koi carp and several butterflies of strange colors.
Her attire, combined with the two mysterious creatures beside her, made her identity unmistakable.
But that wasn't the most shocking part.
The most shocking part was, the white light earlier had come from her.
"It's her! The shrine maiden Kikyo, how is this possible?!"
"That white light was her arrow?! How can she be this strong?!"
The moment her figure became clear, even the magic pattern users couldn't hide their fear.
Most of them knew Kikyo.
When she first appeared at sea, she displayed incredible strength, helping an island defend against a powerful pirate crew.
The crew's captain had a bounty over 400 million, was a B-level magic pattern user, and commanded many elite fighters.
But before Kikyo, his entire crew was crushed with ridiculous ease and delivered straight to Impel Down by the Marines.
And that wasn't even the most shocking incident.
Recently, at a newly discovered medium-sized magic mine, Kikyo had defeated several top-tier demons lurking inside, utterly annihilating them.
Ultimately, the Kingdom of Miracles took control of the mine, and Kikyo reached an agreement with them.
Reports said that 30% of the mine's profits would go to global disaster-relief efforts.
Although Kikyo had only been active for a short time, she was already known across the seas, Strong, kind, and beautiful.
Such a combination naturally drew admiration.
Still…everyone knew she was strong.
After all, she could instantly kill top-tier demons.
But none of them expected, this level of strength.
The War King's earlier attack had been suffocating, its power and destructive force making many realize just how terrifying the Demon Kings truly were.
Power like that… even an Apostle might not exceed it.
And Kikyo had blocked it with a single arrow.
She had saved all of them from certain death.
This shrine maiden might really become a god one day…Some even dared to think that.
---
"Shrine maiden Kikyo… another powerful human."
The War King looked at the slowly approaching Kikyo, his voice clearly displeased.
"It's really irritating… being stopped every single time."
"In that case, I'll stop holding back and really stir things up."
He planned to unleash his full power.
The War King possessed a unique ability, As long as battle raged around him, he could transform conflict into magic called Breath of War.
This magic accumulated inside him, stacking upon itself and boosting his strength.
The black lines on his armor were merely outward signs of the Breath of War stored within him.
To gather enough of it, the War King had even manipulated humans into creating wars on his behalf.
As a Demon King, he was restricted in where he could go. To circumvent this, he founded the illegal guild War Carnival.
Over the past two years, he had condensed an enormous amount of Breath of War, more than ten times an Apostle's magic power.
He had reached the limit of what his body could store, with additional reserves sealed in special containers.
He was essentially a walking powder keg.
Although his maximum output was on par with an Apostle, if he released all his magic at once, he believed he could overpower an Apostle, at least for a short time.
Because of this ability, even the Apostles acknowledged his potential.
Rumble…
As Kikyo approached, the War King let out a cold snort.
The Breath of War in his core began to boil, ready to erupt and push his combat strength.
But then, everything suddenly went still.
His boiling magic grew silent.
For a simple reason, An Apostle had arrived.
---
"War King, I know you're like a barrel of explosives, touch you, and you blow up."
"I knew something would go wrong when I assigned this task to you."
Behind the War King, a massive whale floated lazily in the air.
Beside it was a demon with dark, cloud-like hair and a ghostly appearance.
Their arrival sent waves of terror through everyone present.
Apostle Kujira.
Apostle Gekiryū.
Two Apostles with fearsome reputations across the entire sea had come simultaneously.
But before panic could consume them, their saviors appeared as well.
Two figures descended on the human side: The legendary Saint Hunter, Flower Queen Nozomi and a woman wearing a ghost mask and a white coat, her figure hot enough to draw stares even amid chaos.
People knew Flower Queen well, her strength was enough to overpower even the Apostle Kujira.
The other woman was mostly unknown, her face hidden.
But the clever few recognized her identity: Holy Knight, God's Skillful Hand Zhuoxi.
Though her reputation wasn't as overwhelming as an Apostle's, her name carried enormous weight.
And then, the three mechanical balls that had blocked the War King's attack earlier flew back to her, circling her like swallows returning home.
They merged with nine identical spheres and began rotating around a much larger central mechanical core.
Only then did people realize, This was a true hidden boss.
(End of this chapter)