Chapter 404: Heaven and Earth Eternal and Simulated Black Hole
"Heaven and Earth... Eternal..."
The ancient Sword Art Mental Technique flashed through her boiling mind. The core concepts of the final move—which she had previously been unable to grasp due to an insufficient state of mind—suddenly clicked into place. The deep intent of absolute resolve, of mutual destruction, and of using one's own sincerity to draw upon the righteous energy of heaven and earth to burn away evil...
Right now, it connected impossibly with her boundless rage toward the swarm. Her extreme will to purify and eradicate them completely, no matter the cost, fueled the ancient technique.
Danger.
An aura of extreme peril exploded outward, centered entirely on Stelle. Its sheer intensity instantly overwhelmed Bringer, making the shrieking sea of insectoid Ethereals seem like nothing more than noisy, insignificant background static.
"This... what is this...?!" A look of near-shocked panic broke through Yanagi's usually composed expression for the very first time.
She had faced countless powerful Ethereals in the line of duty. She had even felt Miyabi's chilling blade intent during her captain's full-power bursts. Yet, never had an aura made her tremble down to the marrow of her bones like Stelle's current presence. It felt as though she were standing directly in the path of an apocalyptic natural disaster, completely stripping away her ability to muster even the slightest will to resist.
Did such terrifying, world-ending power truly slumber within this gray-haired girl who usually seemed a little spacey and obsessed with trash cans?
Miyabi's feelings were far more complex and intense. Her fox ears twitched nervously, her entire focus drawn to Stelle's current state.
That surging aura had already completely surpassed the scope of strength as she understood it. The legend of the first Void Hunter flashed through her mind. No... perhaps the suffocating pressure emanating from this girl right now was even more heart-stopping than that of the legendary first Void Hunter.
Lumine, Paimon, March 7th, and Dan Heng were equally shocked, though their reactions were heavily laced with worry and deep confusion.
"Stelle... why would she..." March 7th's voice trembled as she clutched her bow tightly. She simply did not understand what could have pushed her usually laid-back friend into such a terrifying state of frenzy.
However, the target firmly locked onto by this terrifying aura—Bringer and his sky-darkening swarm—experienced something entirely different.
It was absolute suppression, originating from the most fundamental level of life itself.
The deafening shrieks of the bug sea ceased abruptly, as if thousands of chickens and ducks had their necks wrung simultaneously. The previously orderly, terrifying attacking formation completely collapsed. All the insectoid Ethereals froze in place, their dark red carapaces rubbing together with fearful, rhythmic clicking sounds. Some immediately prostrated themselves on the cracked ground, trembling violently, their most basic attacking instincts completely frozen by pure terror.
Bringer was struck as if by a physical bolt of lightning. The sickly light of his pale core flickered violently and erratically. It no longer conveyed cold rationality or predatory malice, but rather boundless terror and an absurd sense of self-doubt.
His perception of strength, newly established through the Primordial One's enhancement, proved to be as fragile as a soap bubble in the sunlight before this magnificent, sun-like aura.
'So... I have been fighting... an existence like this all along?''So... even after receiving the Primordial One's grace and completing my ultimate evolution... before true power... I am still as insignificant as these bugs beneath my feet that dare not even move?'
Thoughts that threatened to completely shatter his conviction surged uncontrollably through his corrupted mind. The two demonic blades gripped in his hands trembled slightly. It was not from a rising fighting spirit, but from an inescapable, primal fear.
He felt like a pathetic ant attempting to shake a towering mountain. All his previous madness, ambition, and deep-seated resentment now seemed laughable and utterly insignificant.
Just as Bringer lost control of his mind and fell into a brief, despairing stupor, Stelle's charge reached its absolute peak.
The star sword in her hand slowly lifted toward the artificial sky of the Hollow. The movement appeared agonizingly slow, yet it forcefully drew in all the calmed aether energy within the entire Hollow, dragging along deeper, intangible currents of righteous energy.
There was no furious roar. There was no grand declaration of justice.
Only a breath, light as a passing sigh yet heavy as the collapse of a mountain range.
"Heaven and Earth... Eternal!"
The sword descended.
A beam of light.
Initially, only a single point of supremely condensed, brilliant white radiance bloomed from the very tip of her blade. Immediately, that radiance silently expanded and spread outward.
There was no deafening explosion. There was no space-tearing shriek. There was only light. It was light that was pure to the extreme and blazing to the extreme, as if a true, physical sun had suddenly been born within the dark confines of the Hollow.
Gently yet mercilessly, it devoured and completely covered the locked-on area—Bringer, and the boundless sea of bugs writhing behind him.
Reflected in everyone's widened eyes, the hideous bug sea silently melted the instant they touched the light. Whether it was their dark red carapaces, their pale, scythe-like appendages, or their flickering red compound eyes, they all dissolved like fresh snow thrown into a fierce furnace. Not even a single wisp of smoke rose from their destruction.
Even the most basic aether energy that should have remained after their physical dissipation was swallowed and thoroughly eliminated by the purifying light, returning entirely to nothingness.
The light continued to spread and proliferate, seemingly without any end in sight.
The destructive energy contained within its core was simply too vast. Stelle, having exerted her absolute full power in a fit of blinding rage, was subtly losing control of the apocalyptic force she had summoned.
The edge of that artificial sun began to destabilize. Dangerous black and red ripples appeared within the brilliant white expanse. The sheer heat radiating from it caused distant metal shipping containers to melt and distort into slag, and the very spatial structure of the area groaned loudly under the unbearable load.
If the aftermath of this strike were allowed to fully erupt, the entire Epis Port Hollow would likely be torn apart and completely destroyed from the inside out by this unreasonable, destructive energy.
Just at this critical moment, the air shifted.
Between the uncontrolled sun and the fragile Hollow barrier, a point of darkness materialized out of thin air. It was a darkness so deep it could swallow light itself.
That darkness rapidly spun and expanded, instantly forming a pitch-black sphere several meters in diameter. It was a Simulated Black Hole, constructed purely from a masterfully manipulated gravitational field, radiating a terrifying, crushing gravitational pull.
It was Welt Yang.
He had arrived just in time, having sensed Stelle's rampage and the terrifying energy reaction from afar. He had similarly broken through the Chat Group's activity balance mechanism without a single moment of hesitation.
His gaze behind his glasses was incredibly sharp. His right hand extended forward, his fingers slightly spread, as he fully controlled this mighty power capable of swallowing stars.
Buzz—
The terrifying gravitational field generated by the Simulated Black Hole acted like the jaws of the most gluttonous behemoth. It firmly locked onto the excessive, rampaging energy overflowing from the light of Heaven and Earth Eternal.
The destructive torrent, interwoven with brilliant white and chaotic black-red, was forcibly twisted and pulled. It rushed madly into the deep darkness, resembling a hundred raging rivers flowing into a bottomless sea.
Violent ripples appeared on the surface of the black hole, yet it steadily swallowed and suppressed the apocalyptic energy.
Almost simultaneously, two other distinct forces quietly intervened on the battlefield.
Several massive Stone Steles erupted from the cracked ground around the periphery of the blast zone. They perfectly encircled the exterior of the Simulated Black Hole, forming an incredibly sturdy, towering dam.
A pale golden screen of light flowed across the surface of the Stone Steles. It tightly confined the subtle energy turbulence that inevitably leaked out even after the black hole's massive consumption, trapping the terrifying heat radiation and shockwaves within a highly specific, controlled area.
Meanwhile, the formless Thousand Winds transformed into countless gentle, emerald currents. They wove between the Stone Stele barrier like the most nimble and experienced weaver.
The wind gently guided and dispersed the confined energy turbulence, transforming the lethal heat into harmless breezes and floating specks of light dust, completely preventing any secondary damage to the fragile Hollow structure.
It was Zhongli and Venti.
Unlike Stelle and Welt, they did not forcibly break through the balance mechanism. Instead, they used their clearance to the absolute maximum extent permitted by the rules. One used the unyielding heaviness of stone to stabilize the violent aftermath, and the other used the gentle agility of wind to dissolve the kinetic impact.
The two ancient Archons worked smoothly together, barely managing to eliminate the final, lingering threat of this world-shattering strike.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]