110. The Battle Between the Hero and the Ancient Gods
The Ancient Gods are beings of unimaginable antiquity.
They do not die; each dissipation is merely a prelude to their next rebirth.
And with each rebirth, their power changes. Some speculate that this change in the Ancient Gods is due to the development of the times, the progress of the world, and their own evolution and progress.
They are like the underlying logic of the world; as the world expands, so too do these underlying logics.
These ancient beings—no one to this day knows how they accomplished this.
But everyone knows one thing: the Ancient Gods are older than all other living beings; they are witnesses to ancient history; they have even seen… the Hero.
The moon was sliced open…
Witnessed by survivors and countless patients afflicted with the disease, the moon, forever suspended overhead them, was, in full view of everyone, forcibly… sliced open!
Garan stood by the window, the pale moonlight illuminating his face.
He witnessed the trajectory that severed the moon.
The signal, he received it.
He turned away silently. A heavy black leather trench coat was draped over his shoulders, a wide-brimmed hat pulled low, and shadows completely obscuring his eyes. A gleaming, unusually long-barreled large-caliber pistol was holstered under his arm, and a short blade resembling a butcher's boning knife was tucked behind his back into his sleeve.
"This night... has been going on for too long."
"The time has come for this nightmare to end."
These living beings in the dream, these inhabitants whose wills were slowly twisted and assimilated by the Ancient God, were both the chains binding the Ancient God, anchoring It to the dream form, and also part of Its body!
As long as one such living being exists, even if the Ancient God is killed in this dream, It will be resurrected in these people!
To truly end the Ancient God, the anchor that sustains Its existence must first be severed!
The only one capable of this is the other controller of this dream: [Garan].
"Go, stranger," Garan's gaze seemed to pierce through the rooftops, fixed on the torn moon, where a battle raged, powerful enough to shake the very foundations of dreams.
"Go and bring utter death to that damned ancient god!"
"The rest… I'll handle it."
While all the survivors were still gripped by collective bewilderment, shock, and chaos from the dramatic shift in the sky,
Garan, alone, stepped into the deathly quiet streets of the town. His heavy boots echoed rhythmically and dully on the cobblestones, like a death knell tolling for this decaying world.
Tonight.
Garan.
Join the hunt.
—
On the battlefield of the pale moon.
Xiling's figure transformed into a silver-white shooting star on the battlefield!
Countless tentacles formed from solidified moonlight, like destructive beams of light shot from the void, tore through the viscous darkness, hurtling toward Xiling at a speed that defined comprehension!
However, at this moment, Xiling was even faster! Faster than he had ever been! Faster than what he could even imagine!
But he was oblivious to this, or rather, he didn't care at all. In his burning eyes, there was only that monster with Elaina's face, surrounded by countless frenzied tentacles!
Kill! Only one thought roared madly in his mind, crushing all reason and pain!
Sword light cascaded like a waterfall! One after another, the moonlight tentacles snapped and shattered, emitting shrill screams that turned into scattered pale light fragments.
This violent scene seemed to please the ancient being.
The ancient god with Elaina's face grinned, a joyful and twisted smile completely unlike Elaina's own appearing on its face.
An indescribable murmur echoed again, "You heroes are truly monsters..."
"Clearly you are just a newly matured cub... yet you can achieve this level... very good... very good..."
On the face that belonged to Elaina, an expression of greed almost overflowed, "I'm becoming more and more satisfied with you, my vessel..."
The other party was clearly another being who knew what a hero was.
However, Xiling was completely unconcerned. His purpose in coming here was pure to the extreme— Kill it!!!
Anger was the fuel!
The holy sword in his hand emitted an even more piercing hum, his speed increasing further! He stomped the ground beneath his feet, his body like an arrow released from a bow, instantly tearing through all obstacles, fiercely charging to that smiling face so close! Facing that all-too-familiar face—Xiling's eyes showed no wavering, only the purest killing intent!
"You deserve to die!"
The holy sword slashed fiercely towards the face's brow!
A deafening metallic explosion rang out! A gigantic scythe, its shape grotesque, seemingly forged from pale moonlight and withered bones, appeared out of nowhere before the Holy Sword's trajectory!
The terrifying shockwave from the impact, like a tangible tsunami, spread wildly from the two figures! The moon's surface beneath their feet, hard enough to withstand the effects of continental plates, shattered and vanished like fragile biscuits!
The Ancient God, bearing Elaina's face, hovered steadily amidst the raging energy turbulence, that nauseating smile still etched on Its face. Through the gaps between the crossed sword and scythe, It gazed into Xiling's burning pupils:
"Young hero..."
Its voice carried a condescending amusement, "I understand the characteristics of your race better than you do."
"Is that so?"
"Then how about this!!!"
No stalemate, no probing!
The Holy Sword and the scythe transformed into two destructive storm cores! The unimaginably hard earth crumbled, shattered, and turned to dust like a sandcastle under their ferocious clash!
"Young hero…" The ancient god's tone suddenly carried a hint of feigned doubt, as if questioning a disobedient child, "Didn't your elders… teach you the proper way to fight?"
However, the scythe in His hand grew faster and faster, its angles more and more cunning, its power increasing as if inexhaustible! In this clash of pure skill at its peak, He was slowly gaining the upper hand over Xiling!
Just as a heavy scythe strike deflected Xiling's sword momentum, his body showed a tiny moment of hesitation!
A moonlit tentacle silently shot out from the spatial rift beneath Xiling's feet! Its target was his back!
But the Starry Cloak, imbued with a large amount of magic power by Xiling, suddenly struck out and collided with the tentacle, blocking the attack for Xiling.
The ancient god's smile deepened.
Like opening Pandora's box, countless tentacles shimmering with cold moonlight surged forth! They lunged at the enemy with suffocating malice!
Xiling was instantly engulfed in a raging torrent of tentacles!
The Ancient God hovered in the air, his face bearing Elaina's flawless yet eerily hollow features, looking down with elegant composure, as if merely awaiting a predetermined end.
However, as it was mentioned before, it understood perfectly what kind of ultimate life form the so-called Hero truly was.
Death? No, for this monster, pure violent destruction… was a joke.
It knew better than anyone how twisted the essence of the Hero's existence was, especially since It was not at Its peak.
Its authority—the moon—manifested here, but the other, more fundamental and powerful forces of law were locked away by that clinging priest… through this dream!
The thought of the being that sealed It caused a horrifying twist to contort on Elaina's beautiful face! But this rage vanished in an instant, replaced by an almost manic excitement!
It even wanted to thank the priest!
Look! A naive hero! And with a fragile insect, as insignificant as dust! This was blatant seduction!
Yes, a hero is difficult to kill completely by external forces. But he can… kill himself! Just like now!
This foolish cub, to enter the dream of this dead man, used that damned holy sword to pierce his own heart! He deliberately suppressed his will, using the holy sword's properties to forcibly suppress his own life, placing himself in a state of neither life nor death!
All of this, for that pitiful girl!
And all of this… wasn't it all Its carefully orchestrated plan? Using that girl, the monster lured the young hero step by step, into this soul prison tailor-made for him!
The ancient god raised Its hand, stroking Elaina's smooth cheek with Its fingertips, as if admiring a perfect work of art.
What a contradictory and foolish life!
Possessing power enough to shake everything, yet bound and driven by those insignificant, mayfly-like bonds... even willingly walking towards the altar of self-destruction.
This is the hero's greatest weakness.
Just like...
Recalling that figure in Its mind...
The ancient god shook Its head, as if trying to shake off the unpleasant remnants of memory.
On the face that belonged to Elaina, a morbid excitement once again took hold. Forget all that nonsense; this was just a cub. Now THEY were almost invincible. This dream, though a prison, was also a constraint for the hero, unless he was willing to draw his sword and kill all these creatures.
But was that possible?
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
If he did that, the other party wouldn't be a hero.
Therefore, the scales of victory had already tipped—THEY were destined to win!
However, just as the ancient god was immersed in this twisted rehearsal of victory, the smug expression on Its face suddenly froze!
Deep within Its soul, a series of crystal-clear, ear-piercing sounds, like tangible chains snapping, resounded! That was the very foundation that sustained Its existence in this dream—those soul links that served as anchors, were… rapidly vanishing!
"What's going on?!"
For the first time, terror truly gripped this ancient god's heart! Its inhumanity instantly reached the town!
His gaze locked onto a figure moving through the dilapidated streets.
That fraudster! That swindler who stole the Sealer's identity, a fraudster whom He considered as insignificant as an ant!
How could he…? The lives of those anchors were deeply intertwined with His will; ordinary power could not completely kill them and sever the links!
That required touching upon the fundamental rules… the authority!
No! The Ancient God's vast perception instantly grasped the key! Not the fraudster himself! It was the weapons in his hands! Those two murderous weapons were imbued with an aura THEY would never forget, etched into THEIR very being!
"That was… Damn it! It's the guy who sealed me!! It's the remnant of his power!! "
The ancient god's will emitted a silent shriek! That damned sealer had actually left a trump card! He bestowed the power sufficient to sever Its anchor point upon a… fraudster!
No, It absolutely couldn't let this continue.
It had to stop him!
This was Its only, and most likely, chance to obtain a hero's body!
It absolutely couldn't let someone else ruin it!
However, just as It was about to act—
An indescribable torrent of silvery-white magical power exploded from the raging tide of moonlight tentacles that had devoured Xiling below!
Like the sun igniting! Everything that was engulfed by this terrifying power was instantly torn apart and evaporated!
At the core of that all-destroying magic—a figure traversed space, instantly appearing before the Ancient God!
It was Xiling! The holy sword in his hand erupted with extreme light! His star-studded cloak shone brighter than ever before! Those burning eyes held only absolute killing intent that froze the soul and… a kind of reckless determination!
The sword fell!
The Ancient God hastily swung Its skeletal scythe to block again, but this time! A chilling, cracking sound rang out! A crack was actually forcefully broken into the scythe's indestructible blade! A terrifying force, penetrating the scythe, slammed heavily into the Ancient God's defense!
"Uh?"
The Ancient God's face, once belonging to Elaina, showed astonishment!
It hadn't even seen Xiling's movements! A knee strike heavy enough to shatter stars slammed into Its abdomen!
An irresistible force struck! The Ancient God, like a kite with a broken string, crashed with a deafening sonic boom into the moon's surface, composed of solidified darkness and shattered light!
The instant the Ancient God was slammed into the moon's surface!
Xiling's figure hovered high in the sky, sword tip pointing straight to the heavens!
"[Ars Almadel Salomonis]"
The entire dream space trembled violently! TA silver halo instantly enveloped the whole dream world's sky! The halo seemed to encompass the entire dream world!
Burning with the magic of a hero, an indescribable brilliance and destructive energy... A torrent of energy crashed down from the center of the enormous silver halo!
The torrent of energy instantly struck the ancient god, its body slammed into the moon's interior by this irresistible force, then... pierced through! It plummeted towards the pitch-black darkness at the edge of the town!
The torrent of energy did not stop, continuing to wash over the massive wound on the moon, its blinding light illuminating the dream space.
Before the light had faded, Xiling's figure, which had been hovering above the moon's wound, vanished. As if teleported, he had silently appeared directly above the dark abyss that had swallowed the ancient god.
Xiling knew that the other party was not dead, nor could It have died so easily. A hero's intuition clearly told him this.
The holy sword pointed directly at the churning, writhing darkness below.
"Is this the kind of trash you call your ancient gods?"
The churning darkness suddenly paused, and then, a strange laugh exploded from its deepest depths!
"Hehehe... Hahahaha—!!!" "
Accompanied by laughter, an unimaginably pale, gigantic hand suddenly ripped out of the darkness! Its size surpassed even the tallest tower in town! Immediately afterward, a second enormous hand gripped the edge of the darkness, tearing apart a thick curtain.
The darkness was brutally stretched and ripped open!
The figure of a colossal being crawled out from within.
This was Its true form after Elaina's beautiful exterior had been torn apart!
Its body was slender, its face resembling a fox, yet also like a rabbit, and vertical stripes on its back, resembling tentacles or a tail, swayed in the air.
This was the true form of the Ancient God.
"So… creatures like you, no matter the era… should never be underestimated!"
Before the words had even finished, a massive skeletal scythe appeared without warning in one of Its giant hands! The scythe tore through space and slashed down in one direction!
Xiling's figure appeared in that direction without warning, the Holy Sword slid down violently, and a terrifying shockwave powerful enough to destroy a city rippled around the two of them.
"Damn it! Something's wrong with this guy!"
The Ancient God felt things were getting out of control. This hero was strange. THEY knew the hero, which was why THEY were so certain of the hero's transformation speed—it was too fast.
The hero had been easily suppressed by THEM before, but now He was able to suppress THEM.
"Clearly...clearly! The one from before, even at the end, only steadily increased in power; it was impossible... such an outrageous, illogical, terrifying change couldn't occur!" The Ancient God felt a panic, a complete upheaval of Its understanding.
Its proud knowledge crumbled before this outburst that defied all reason!
It had been too complacent! Heroes weren't a one-size-fits-all template! And this being before THEM, named Xiling… he was simply the most unreasonable, the most unconventional, the most… outrageous anomaly among all heroes!
"Pale Moon."
A strange power erupted from the Ancient God's body, and a gigantic moon expanded outwards from it, absorbing everything, even the bottomless darkness. Xiling instantly moved from his original position, his sword tip pointing upwards once more.
"[Ars Almadel Salomonis.]"
Above the sky, a silver halo responded to its master once more!
A beam of light instantly tore through the dream's celestial curtain, piercing the expanding pale moon with perfect precision!
The moon was instantly pierced! It slammed heavily into the Ancient God's twisted and enormous body. Upon its true form!
The powerful impact shoved it heavily into the seemingly endless, dark abyss from which it had just crawled! Even such an attack didn't cause it much damage.
But the crucial point was that it could sense that the chains binding it were almost completely broken.
If this continued, its plan would fail!
However, it didn't give it much time to think. As Xiling, wielding the holy sword, plunged It into the darkness.
The tiny hero and the terrifying behemoth resumed their hand-to-hand combat, the ancient god's frantic mutterings struggling to maintain composure.
"Hey! Hero, you should be able to see what that fraudster is doing in the town right now!"
The holy sword sliced through the ancient god's body, terrifying pain spreading from the wound.
"Hero, why are you unmoved!"
Countless tentacles formed from moonlight tried to entangle Xiling, but they couldn't keep up with its speed.
"Don't the people in the town count as lives in your eyes?"
Xiling seemed not to hear the Ancient God's words, wound after wound appearing on the Ancient God's body.
"Enough!"
The terrifying pale moon descended once more, and Xiling instantly vanished from his original position, reappearing in the distance.
The Ancient God was no longer elegant, but a wounded beast, its crimson eyes fixed intently on Xiling.
"What kind of hero are you! Those inhabitants have all lost their lives in your perception!"
As if the roles had reversed, the Ancient God sternly questioned the hero.
"Everyone has their own decisions. What I must do is to kill you completely here, freeing all those you have assimilated."
The holy sword pointed at the beast.
The terrifying battle resumed.