Chapter 1218: The Goal Has Been Achieved
The goal has been achieved?
What is this person saying?
He clearly hasn't done anything while standing here!
And he's even watching the show with great enjoyment, cracking sunflower seeds!
Kento Yaha was confused, instinctively unwilling to believe it.
She knew quite a bit about the legendary Fourth True Ancestor, but among the Fourth True Ancestor's familiars, there shouldn't be one that would be particularly useful in this situation, right?
Tap!
Immediately after, a loud footstep echoed.
A golden figure emerged from space.
That armor was exactly the same as the Fourth True Ancestor's!
It could almost be said to be a clone of the Fourth True Ancestor who was sitting there leisurely watching the show!
No.
This was indeed a clone.
Kento Yaha understood.
"And besides, Aya, you were planning to use me all along, weren't you? You never actually intended to have the LCO pledge loyalty to me, did you? Once the Dark Oath was completed, you wouldn't need to honor any promises anyway, right?"
The second Fourth True Ancestor laughed delightedly.
As if amused by her foolish scheming.
Ten years ago, Kento Yaha triggered the Dark Oath incident on Itogami Island.
Specifically, she used the power of the Dark Oath to rewrite the world by drawing on the spiritual energy of the dragon veins and the power of the stars, creating a world without magic or spiritual energy.
Of course, such a world would only be temporary.
But for an island like Itogami Island that relied on magic to exist, it would be a catastrophic disaster. The island's construction and the connections between its various sectors all used magic. If magic disappeared, it could completely cause the entire island to disintegrate, resulting in the deaths of over 500,000 people!
That's why Natsuki Minamiya imprisoned her in the Prison Barrier.
Once such a world was completed, even if only temporarily, the Fourth True Ancestor within it would lose his power, and Aya could easily kill him afterward.
Because of this, she readily agreed to the LCO's pledge of loyalty.
In essence, she only intended to use the Fourth True Ancestor to defeat Natsuki Minamiya and escape the Prison Barrier.
But who would have thought.
While she was keeping Natsuki Minamiya occupied and drawing her attention, the Fourth True Ancestor had already secretly infiltrated the Prison Barrier and completed what he needed to do!
She had intended to use the Fourth True Ancestor, but never expected that she had already been used by the Fourth True Ancestor!
So.
It was you who kicked my butt?
"The goal has been achieved?"
Natsuki Minamiya frowned deeply.
She quickly tried to sense her connection with the Prison Barrier.
The connection with the prison had weakened considerably, but she could still barely sense its condition.
"It's empty..."
Natsuki Minamiya murmured softly.
The entire Prison Barrier was empty.
"Those prisoners - the Spirit Users, the Dragon Slayers, the descendants of the Celestial Tribe - they all boasted about how powerful they were, but in the end, there wasn't a single one who could withstand one of my sword strikes. I just kept killing until they were all gone."
Eiji spread his hands, smiling elegantly and amiably.
But Kento Yuma and the two witches who had retreated to the side shuddered with fear.
He just kept killing until they were all gone!
That prison barrier contained nothing but individuals like Shizuki Aya—criminals ordinary magical prisons couldn't possibly hold!
Yet in his words, they were like mere wooden stakes, chopped into firewood in a few strokes!
Since they were all heinous villains with countless lives on their hands, Eiji showed no mercy. Wielding the Bling Blade, he carved a path from the South Heavenly Gate to Penglai East Road without even blinking!
Within minutes, every notorious figure inside was utterly eradicated!
Not even ashes remained!
Shizuki Aya's expression turned perilous.
Without hesitation, she activated a spatial control spell and vanished from sight in an instant.
She didn't even have time to take Yuuma with her.
"...What exactly are you trying to do?"
Natsuki Minamiya ignored the vanished Aya, instead fixing a stern gaze on Eiji.
"What I intend to do should be quite obvious by now, shouldn't it?"
Eiji's tone remained cheerful.
He showed no signs of being intimidated by her expression.
"Don't tell me you plan to destroy the prison barrier?"
Natsuki Minamiya's expression was cold, but her eyes flickered with uncertainty.
"That's impossible. The prison barrier cannot be destroyed. Even I can only serve as its administrator. The essence of this otherworldly prison is humanity's collective subconscious—a restraint and curse upon the gods. Even if you destroy it now, it will reappear elsewhere in the next instant."
The prison barrier.
Or Tartaros, Cocytus, the Netherworld, castles in the air.
Though their names differed, these prisons that had appeared across the land since time immemorial—capable of imprisoning even gods—were all manifestations of humanity's collective subconscious!
In other words, as long as the human race endured, such prisons could never be destroyed!
Even if he shattered this stone island now, the prison barrier would simply manifest elsewhere in the next moment.
And Natsuki Minamiya would still have to become its administrator.
She would still be trapped—unable to leave, unable to grow—only able to experience the outside world through projections in a dream-like state.
Unless humanity perished, Natsuki Minamiya could never be freed.
"I already learned all this before setting my sights on the prison barrier."
Eiji remained unshaken.
His tone was utterly calm.
Indeed, this was knowledge shared by Nina and Koyomi Shizuka as well.
Because prisons like the prison barrier existed all over the world, and humanity had gained a complete understanding through millennia of exploration.
"However, that's only true while this prison barrier belongs to humanity's collective consciousness."
Eiji raised a finger.
In an instant, vast gray-black mist erupted from his fingertip, enveloping the entire prison barrier within his dream realm in the blink of an eye.
"Unlike you, I am the Fourth True Ancestor, possessing nearly limitless magical power. It's not impossible for me to seize control of the prison barrier."
It was as if a fragment of humanity's collective consciousness had been hypnotized into an eternal, boundless dream.
In that fleeting moment, the prison barrier had already changed owners!
"My prison barrier doesn't need an administrator."
"Wait, you—!"
The faint connection to the barrier was completely severed, and Nangong Nayue's expression changed.
She was about to say something when suddenly the world spun before her eyes!
By the time she regained her senses, the cold cathedral beneath her feet had been replaced by a coastline bathed in the setting sun.
Sunlight warmed her cheeks as the sea breeze brushed against her face.
For a moment, she stood there in a daze.
To Nangong Nayue, this reality carried the profound impact of a long-awaited reunion.
"Is... is this outside the barrier?"
Sendou Yuuma gazed around in astonishment—she and the two other witches had also been expelled.
"Teacher Nangong!"
The sound of rotating helicopter blades echoed from the sky as Kousaka Sayaka and Kisaki Kiriye leaped down from the security team's aircraft.