Chapter 1296: You Die Once Too
A thick black demonic cannon tilted downward and shot into the ground, eventually vanishing deep underground. Yet, the mere aftershocks of its impact triggered a magnitude-10 earthquake across the entire city of Kinojo!
Goetia's Human Order Incineration Cannon, as the name implied, was a full-power strike fueled by incinerating all of humanity across three thousand years of Earth's history, turning them into nourishment.
It possessed such immense power that it could even pierce through the planet's core. Throughout Earth's fourteen-thousand-year history, there was not a single offensive Noble Phantasm capable of confronting it head-on!
That such an attack could be unleashed without destroying the entire digital world was a testament to Mooncell's interference capability—truly a dimensional-level suppression.
In the underground cavern.
"Ugh...!"
Goetia's eyes widened, her hands clutching her chest tightly, her face as pale as a critically ill patient.
It took a long while before she gradually recovered.
Recalling the earlier scene, Goetia shuddered with lingering fear.
"Unbelievable! In such a situation, he could still sever causality and nearly killed me again!"
At the moment she fired the Human Order Incineration Cannon, Eiji also delivered his final slash.
It was that very slash that forcibly severed the causality-reversal power imbued in the Human Order Incineration Cannon. Moreover, it bypassed the cannon itself and struck Goetia directly, sending a tremor through her entire being.
Had the Human Order Incineration Cannon not weakened the slash's power significantly, she would likely have died yet again!
That such a terrifying swordsmanship existed in this world truly opened her eyes!
Goetia lowered her head.
She gazed at the Ten Rings in her hand, overwhelmed with emotion.
Originally, she had somewhat looked down on the Ten Rings.
But now, it seemed that without them, she would have died three to five times in that battle.
Mastery over all magecraft meant that, aside from True Magic, there was nothing she could not accomplish.
Therefore, not only could she simulate Heroic Spirits' Noble Phantasms with magecraft, but even replicating the functions of divine artifacts was as easy as lifting a hand.
Earlier, she had attempted to simulate the Fragarach of the Celtic god of light, Lugh, to reverse the order of events, but unfortunately, it failed.
"That guy's anti-magic sword also has its merits. I should try to replicate it... Hm?"
Just as Goetia thought about simulating the Raikoken, she suddenly frowned.
"It can't be replicated? Is that not magecraft? Or could it be Chinese Thought Magecraft?"
If it were magecraft, she should have been able to replicate it without fail.
Unless it was Chinese Thought Magecraft.
Unlike Western magecraft, which universally utilizes mysteries flowing from the Root, Chinese Thought Magecraft—or Taoism—was created by Chinese deities who jointly fashioned a miniature Root. Practitioners of Taoism each received their own accounts and passwords, accessing this miniature Root to wield their respective Taoist arts.
In other words, the Chinese system was fundamentally different from the Western system. They did not need to worry about the dwindling supply of mysteries nor care if their arts were disseminated abroad, since only a limited number of people could connect to the miniature Root, with accounts and passwords passed down through generations.
During the Heian-kyō Sub-Singularity, the reason Rashiō Dōman ultimately failed to successfully activate the Chinese magecraft to escape was that although he obtained the account of the small Root that had drifted to the island nation, he lacked the corresponding password and was treated as an unregistered user by the group admin, Primordial Tianzun, and others.
Someone like Taigong Wang was different—he was a group administrator with a super VIP account, capable of wielding any Daoist art effortlessly, which is why his Ideational Keys were EX-ranked!
After all that explanation, the point is just one:
Chinese Daoist arts are not within the scope of what the Ten Rings can directly use.
Of course, she could also achieve effects similar to Daoist arts through the Ten Rings.
But Goetia felt that Eiji's Demon-Slaying Sword was probably more than just Daoist arts—it wouldn't be so easily replicated.
"Ugh...!"
Suddenly, her expression twisted fiercely, and she abruptly clutched her head.
"Don't disturb me, Sodom...!"
Was she reacting to that guy's death?
Were he and Nero lovers or something?
"It's useless! He's already dead! I embedded soul-destroying magecraft within this Human Order Cannon blast, and through the rules of the Seventh Beast Crown—"
She saw with her own eyes Eiji being directly hit by the Human Order Cannon, annihilated without even ashes remaining!
Combined with the soul-destroying magecraft and the Seventh Beast Crown's rule linking the lives of the avatar and the main body, it should have permanently killed him!
However.
"...Is this for real?"
Goetia's eyes suddenly widened in shock.
"The rule I personally established... when did it disappear?!"
She scanned her surroundings but couldn't detect anywhere the rule she had personally set to bind the avatar and main body!
She suddenly recalled the slash Eiji had delivered earlier.
The one that severed causality, as if even the world couldn't withstand it!
"So that was the true purpose of that slash!"
Goetia's expression turned extremely grim and irritated.
"What an annoying man! There's no helping it—I'm too severely injured right now. I should focus on recovering my strength first."
She let out a long sigh.
Then she stepped into the Greater Grail behind her.
Having died once and a half, even with a materialized soul, she had suffered significant energy depletion and needed proper replenishment. If she tried to do anything else in this state, she'd likely just become easy prey for others.
...
Meanwhile.
When the Human Order Cannon fired, shaking the entire Kojiko City to its foundations.
On the rooftop of a certain building.
"Just how many contingency plans did that Goetia prepare in advance...?"
Eiji smiled wryly.
Usurping Beast VI's Saint Graph, reclaiming the Ten Rings, maintaining control of the Greater Grail until now, the energy for the Human Order Cannon... She truly lived up to being the creator of this Singularity.
Compared to someone like Kishinami, who could at most scavenge some nutrients from cyberspace as benefits, Goetia was different—she hoarded all kinds of valuable resources for herself!
"Are you alright?"
Merlin approached, looking at Eiji with concern.
Eiji gave him a faint smile.
Immediately after, his body began to disintegrate like sand, crumbling into fine particles until not a trace remained.
"H-he's dead?!"
Merlin's pupils trembled violently, his face a mask of shock.
How could that be?!
With his abilities, even if he couldn't defeat Goetia, he should have had every opportunity to escape alive!
If this guy died, what would happen to the UO position?
Where to find the next UO that doesn't interfere with human development?!
"Die, my ass!"
A crude shout came from nearby.
Scáthach reached out and traced symbols in the air. Runic energy surged forth, coalescing something drifting in the air and cradling it in her hand.
She glared disdainfully at Merlin.
"You're supposed to be a Grand Caster, aren't you? Can't you even tell that his soul hasn't been destroyed yet?"
"Ah, this!"
Merlin froze for a moment, sweating in embarrassment.
"Sorry, sorry! I got too carried away just now…"
The shock of Eiji's apparent death had been so overwhelming that he'd forgotten to check the state of Eiji's soul.
That guy is a True Ancestor—his body dying doesn't mean he's truly dead; only the destruction of his soul counts as real demise.