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*****
"Ashes, come to me!"
George casually crooked his finger. The box containing the Saint's Ashes immediately lurched into the air, flying toward George's outstretched hand like a bird returning to its nest.
Seeing his long-coveted prize about to slip through his fingers, Ince Zangwill was consumed by a cold, desperate fury. He was not about to let this unknown intruder walk away so easily.
"Die!"
As a top-tier Sequence 5 "Gatekeeper"—one who had come agonizingly close to a successful advancement to the Sequence 4 "Undying"—Ince's direct combat prowess was formidable. Even if this mysterious entity before him projected an aura of overwhelming power, Ince refused to be intimidated without a fight.
Did he truly believe that a few pairs of decorative wings made him a genuine Angel?
Ince thrust his hands forward with a violent shove. An immense bronze door, etched with ancient, indescribable patterns, manifested in the air. It creaked and groaned as it swung open just a crack, revealing a sliver of the abyss.
Within that gap lay a darkness that seemed to stretch into eternity, filled with a dense cluster of unspeakable, lidless eyes staring out at the world of the living. As if answering Ince's summon, countless pale, necrotic arms reached out from the depths of the Underworld, clawing toward George to drag him into the void.
"Is that all?"
George let out a cold snort of disdain.
"Super Magic: Fairy Glitter!"
A magnificent, blinding pillar of pure, incandescent light descended from the heavens. It engulfed the Gate of the Underworld entirely. The shrieks of the undead, raw and agonized, echoed throughout the streets of Tingen.
Within seconds, the gate leading to the Underworld was forcibly slammed shut and vanished from existence as if it had never been there at all.
"A Priest of Light?!"
Ince Zangwill's face drained of color. The move his opponent had just unleashed bore a striking resemblance to the "Holy Light" used by a "Priest of Light"—the Sequence 5 of the Sun Pathway.
However, it made no sense. If the opponent were merely a Sequence 5, it would be impossible for a single Holy Light to completely neutralize and erase his Gate of the Underworld. Ince was a top-tier Sequence 5 himself, backed by the experience of a near-ascension.
Could he be a Sequence 4 Demigod?
Seeing the box of ashes safely in George's hand, a flicker of hesitation crossed Ince's eyes. He made a split-second decision; he had to retreat through the Underworld immediately. He knew he only had one shot at this, and since it had failed, staying any longer was suicide.
Aside from this potential Demigod, the "Machinery Mind," the "Punishers," and reinforcements from the Holy Cathedral were all closing in. He still possessed the Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, 0-08—the Quill of Alzuhod. As long as he remained patient, he could orchestrate another path to the Saint's Ashes eventually.
"Did I give you permission to leave?"
Seeing the puppet master attempt to flee, George snapped his fingers.
The ground beneath them instantly transformed into a vast, shimmering mirror. Everyone present—Ince Zangwill, the Spawn of the True Creator, Klein, and the Nighthawks—was instantly pulled into a separate, distorted dimension.
George had harvested a vast wealth of occult knowledge regarding the Sun Pathway from the Eternal Blazing Sun. Consequently, he had converted many light-based spells into his repertoire.
"Fairy Glitter" was one such spell, though it had been adapted to fit the laws of this world's power system. While it looked like the Sun Pathway's "Holy Light," its potency was on an entirely different level. While Holy Light merely borrowed a sliver of solar power, Fairy Glitter gathered the collective energy of the surrounding stars. Even with George's current spirituality at the level of a Sequence 6 Faceless, the spell was powerful enough to severely wound a Sequence 4 Demigod.
In truth, if George hadn't intended to keep Ince Zangwill alive, that first strike would have erased him from existence on the spot.
As for this "Mirror World" magic, George owed its creation to the occult knowledge he had "acquired" from the Primordial Demoness. Beyonders of the Demoness Pathway could utilize the power of mirrors to travel or create hidden spaces. This knowledge had allowed George to swiftly develop the "Mirror World" spell.
"A mirror ability of the Demoness Pathway?!"
Ince Zangwill was truly bewildered now. He had assumed his opponent belonged to the Sun Pathway, so how could he possibly possess the signature abilities of a Demoness?
However, he didn't have the luxury of pondering the mystery. His priority was to kill the creator of this mirror space and escape.
"We have to work together, or we both die here!" Ince shouted, turning toward the pitch-black infant that had now fully clawed its way out of Megose's womb.
At this moment, an alliance with the Spawn of the True Creator was his only hope for survival. He would worry about the True Creator seeking vengeance for his scheming later; he had to live through the next few minutes first.
The black infant, no longer restrained by the Saint's Ashes, looked at George with an expression of pure, unadulterated malice. Despite its fury toward Ince for forcing its premature birth, the creature let out a low, guttural hiss and nodded. It recognized that George was an enigma it could not see through, and survival took precedence over all else.
If it lived, it could recover its strength and eventually allow its Father to descend into its body, reclaiming his power and crushing the three traitors.
"We'll help you distract the Spawn! Kill that man as fast as you can!"
Dunn Smith, having regained consciousness, saw the two monsters attempting to join forces. He immediately took the "Quiet Hair" back from Kenley. He was prepared to lead the Nighthawks in a suicidal charge to tie down the newborn Spawn, buying George the time needed to finish off the mastermind.
"No need," George replied with a faint, calm smile. He then prepared his second light-based Super Magic.
"Super Magic: Fairy Law!"
An all-consuming, brilliant white light flooded the entire mirror dimension. Amidst the radiance, the Nighthawks heard two blood-curdling, despairing shrieks.
Compared to "Fairy Glitter," the destructive power of "Fairy Law" was terrifyingly immense. This wasn't because Glitter was inherently weaker; in terms of pure physical destruction, Glitter often surpassed Law.
However, "Fairy Glitter" relied primarily on the caster's internal magical energy (spirituality). Since George was currently operating at a Sequence 6 level, the spell's ceiling was capped at wounding a Sequence 4. "Fairy Law," however, functioned differently. It primarily consumed the caster's life force, with spiritual energy being a secondary fuel.
With George's "Universal-level" life force, if he were to unleash the full power of "Fairy Law," even a Sequence 1 Angel would be left on the brink of death.
Consequently, even though the Spawn of the True Creator had successfully descended and was joined by Ince Zangwill, they were instantly crushed. The light left them both incapacitated, clinging to life by a mere thread.
Before the white light had even fully dissipated, George produced a set of Russian Nesting Dolls (Matryoshkas). He cast a sealing spell from the world of the Sorcerer's Apprentice, dragging the two broken figures into the dolls and sealing them away.
The Spawn of the True Creator was too valuable to kill just yet; it could be used for divination regarding the Evil God or as a subject for magical experimentation. As for Ince Zangwill, George intended to keep him until he could convert a memory-searching spell. There was a wealth of high-value information locked inside that man's head.
"An instant kill..."
As the light faded and the Nighthawks realized that both Ince Zangwill and the Spawn had vanished, they stood frozen in shock. Dunn and the others stared at the empty space, their faces masked with disbelief. They had never imagined that this unexpected helper would possess such overwhelming, god-like power.
(End of Chapter)