"For a few women, you're launching a suicide attack on me?"
"Interesting, but foolish. Incomprehensibly so."
Like a god high in the heavens judging a mortal who had defied divine authority, the Beast of Pity, who commanded the band of light in the sky, declared the death sentence of the enemy before him.
"Then, allow me to reap your three remaining lives!"
Almost in the same instant he spoke those words, a killing intent so tangible it was almost solid erupted from him as the epicenter, blasting towards the sky before spreading out as crushing pressure.
The man who had inherited everything from the King of Mages—including the martial art that could rival the God of the Old Testament, Jacob's Limbs—transformed into a blur of light.
When he reappeared, he was already in front of Li Zihan.
He threw a punch.
There was no swirling storm of magical energy, no sword qi that could cleave through all creation, no bombardment that could instantly turn buildings to ash, nor a heavy blow that could shatter the earth.
There was only this simple, unadorned strike.
Yet, the very moment he executed the move, a profound sense of crisis slithered over the young man's body like a cold, venomous snake.
This was Jacob's Limbs.
An ultimate martial art that, when mastered to its absolute peak, could slaughter an Archangel.
I have to go all out!
Without a moment of conscious thought, the young man followed his instincts and brandished his long spear.
The divine spear originating from Indra shot forth.
Thus, the spear of Indra met the iron fist adorned with the ten rings.
Something strange occurred. When the Ten Rings of Solomon, bestowed by Yahweh, clashed with the divine spear of the God-King Indra, they vied for supremacy without producing a single sound.
It was as if they had merely been placed against each other.
However, to Mash's eyes, which held the inherited combat genius of Galahad, this scene was utterly terrifying.
This was a balance that could not possibly be maintained.
And then—
As expected, a terrifying aura erupted from both the fist and the divine spear. Like a tempestuous storm, a fearsome presence swept outwards, threatening to crush and engulf everything in the mortal world as it expanded without limit.
The ruins of the temple were flung into the sky, rubble and sand filled the air, obscuring the sun and burying the surroundings in a thick layer of earth.
Then, a solar flare erupted from the divine spear.
A terrifying heat surged through the space, continuously distorting the air. The swirling winds carried dreadful sparks.
Just imagine the fate of any human or demonic beast who stepped into this area.
The superheated air would first destroy their mouth and nose upon inhalation, then their throat, before flowing into their lungs and burning them to charcoal.
It would be the most excruciating form of execution.
And such a current of air was merely the excess heat that had dissipated from someone swinging a weapon.
A violent vortex of fire exploded across the ground, transforming into a shockwave that carried a澎湃 surge of air, expanding madly in all directions and creating a scene straight out of hell.
Faced with such infernal flames, Goetia's expression remained indifferent.
The radiance of magecraft rose from his body.
Solomon was the King of Mages. As his successor, Goetia could command all modern magecraft. Applying amplification spells to himself was as natural as breathing.
Then, he swung his fist once more.
The air parted around his rapidly advancing iron fist, and the rings symbolizing wisdom shone brilliantly.
Goetia's Strength parameter, when he was willing to display his power as a Demon God Pillar, completely surpassed the rank of A. Combined with countless magical enhancements, he was practically a great dragon compressed into a humanoid form.
Like a dinner knife slicing through butter.
The terrifying force of his punch tore through the purgatorial flames.
The surrounding earth exploded, one section after another, as if struck by the tip of a tornado. The landscape was utterly devastated, as if caught in a cataclysm of utter ruin.
Such a display, in any mythology, would have earned him the title of a War God or a Martial God!
However, for his opponent, such a punch was clearly not something he was incapable of handling.
At some point, the young man had put away the Sword of Rupture—the weapon that would deliver the final blow to Goetia—and shaped his hand into a palm.
The Cult Master of the Demonic Sect from the world of God-Slayers possessed martial arts that could overwhelm nearly every other God-Slayer. Even the King of Swords, whose swordsmanship was divine, could only match him in that specific field.
And that Cult Master was already dead.
Slain by Li Zihan, who possessed the Authorities of the Fire-Thief and the Plundering Circle.
A palm style that blended hardness and softness, embodying the profound principle of yin and yang's opposition, grazed past the ferocious fist.
Caught off guard, Goetia's fist was deflected from its intended path.
And then—
The young man, fighting entirely by the rules of classical martial arts, unhesitatingly launched a kick at Goetia's exposed chest.
Li Zihan's power was on a broken, overpowered level.
This was a fact.
He had once carved the stigmata of Dracula, fused with a composite Saint Graph of three top-tier Servants, undergone the rebirth ritual of a God-Slayer, and had the entire Sea of Life providing him with support.
His Strength was absolutely a tier above broken.
To be struck by a kick from such a cheated character, forget a person, even a divine beast would have its internal organs explode out of its mouth.
Sensing that terrifying power, Goetia's expression changed, and he shot backward in retreat.
But he was too late.
The kick, carrying enough force to destroy at least ten Raven Villas, landed squarely on Goetia.
As if struck by a great dragon, Goetia let out a muffled grunt and was sent flying. He slammed violently into the ground, making the sacred mountain itself tremble.
Did he win?
From the start of the battle, Mash could only hug the Triumphant Bow and watch from the sidelines, completely unable to intervene. Seeing the Demon God beaten back, a flicker of joy ignited in her heart.
Then, her expression turned ashen, even terrified.
The band of light in the sky was beginning to glow.
"A rather nice combat experience."
The man climbed out of the deep crater, a trickle of crimson blood at the corner of his mouth.
He spoke, his voice as cold and detached as ever, as if he wasn't the one who had just been grievously wounded.
"However, a true battle is not decided by fists and feet."
"That was just a little test. Don't die on me so easily now."
In an instant, the Demon God activated his magecraft and ascended into the sky, crying out the name of his Noble Phantasm.
"Then let me show you! The end of your journey, the finale of human history, the moment my grand work of remaking this planet is complete!"
"Third Noble Phantasm, Deploy—The Time of Birth has Come, He is the One who Masters All. Ars Almadel Salomonis! Come, burn to ashes like worthless weeds!!"
From the ring of light forged by the incineration of human history, light and heat began to pour down and condense.
Numerous bands of light broke away from the celestial ring, converging on a single point, becoming one.
Then, it plunged downward!
Even if it wasn't a full release, one could imagine that the power contained within that beam of light was more than enough to slay a god!
It bared its fangs at the young man on the ground below.
"Heh, so stingy, are you? Using only this much power?"
The young man chuckled lightly, extending a hand as Honkai energy manifested.
A spatial gate inexplicably appeared beneath Mash, who was raising her shield while clutching Vijaya, and tossed her far into the distance.
This was no longer a place she should be. It was better to let her join Gudako and await the outcome.
And then—
On the young man's pale, almost sickly skin, gruesome bloody gashes appeared one after another, as if he were being carved by sharp blades. His skin began to peel away, piece by piece, as if someone were stripping off his armor.
Bright red blood dripped to the ground, blossoming into shocking crimson flowers.
"Care to test a lightning that even the God-King Indra could not command, Goetia?"
His appearance now utterly ferocious from being drenched in his own blood, the young man's eyes flashed with an unprecedentedly cruel light.
Indra's spear, Vasavi Shakti, had two methods of release.
One was A++ rank. After its use, the Sun's Armor would be restored, allowing for multiple uses.
The other was EX rank. It would dissolve all concepts except for the "World" itself in a torrent of infinite lightning. The price was the permanent loss of the Sun's Armor.
—This was the divine spear that had repelled the giant god Sefar, whose bones could withstand the heat of a star, the spear that had destroyed the civilization of the Age of Gods and its deities.
Without a doubt, the spear was being released in its second form. Endless lightning began to dance and crackle upon it.
"Powered by the endlessly cycling tides of chaos, this is the spear of Indra!"
The young man, his body covered in bloody wounds, suddenly raised his head and roared at the Beast of Pity, who had activated his third Noble Phantasm.
"Extinction is contained within this single thrust. Burn completely—'O Sun, Abide to Death (Vasavi Shakti)'!!"
Like a sharp blade, the divine spear transformed into a bolt of lightning, brutally carving open the domain of lethal flames.
The brilliant lightning churned the atmosphere for dozens of kilometers. The terrifying shockwave formed a ferociously violent gale that, in a split second, swept from the clouds above to span the heavens and the earth.
Dazzling thunder exploded across the sky, occupying a vast swath of the firmament before spreading in all directions. The sound of the explosion echoed to the heavens, like the roar of a dragon.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOM————!!!!"
Cascading waves of sound expanded madly, as if ten thousand great dragons were roaring at once.
The Flame of Human Order from above, and the Thunder of the God-King from below, finally collided.
The very atmosphere began to boil. The earth melted away. A searing pillar of light shot into the heavens, and it seemed as if everything was being vaporized by the scorching heat, vanishing without a trace.
---o---
Was the Demon God Summoning, initiated with Solomon's rings, truly just a ploy to anger Goetia, who would never admit that "Demon Gods are the servants of humanity"?
The answer was no.
The Sea of Imaginary Numbers is a world far vaster than the real world.
Trying to find the Grand Temple of Time, which existed within this space, through sheer luck was an impossible task.
Therefore, a coordinate was needed.
A coordinate that existed within the Grand Temple of Time.
And the prerequisite for summoning and commanding a Demon God is to first establish a connection with it, is it not?
"So this is the foundation upon which my beloved son said the Beast of Pity relies?"
The colossal Dragon God soared through a space devoid of the concept of time.
And then—
Like a tsunami, the tides of chaos began to surge, pouring into it.
The Indian Ocean, with a total area of approximately 76.17 million square kilometers, makes up nearly fifteen percent of the Earth's surface, and Tiamat could make it all her own in just seven days.
So, how long could the Grand Temple of Time—a space created merely by expanding Solomon's remains—last if its defensive network was forcibly shattered by the power of the Herrscher of Erosion, with no resistance offered?
The number would be so small it would be negligible.
"DIE!!"
This was the roar of the Demon Gods stationed within the Grand Temple of Time.
A terrifying, demonic radiance gathered on each and every Demon God Pillar, then shot out with an aura capable of destroying everything.
Each Demon God Pillar was a monstrous entity requiring a dozen first-rate Heroic Spirits to subjugate. An assault from so many of them working in concert was something that even a Grand-class Servant would be forced to evade.
But their enemy…
…had already transcended the concept of a Servant.
The intruder was a being who, like Goetia, was a "Beast."
The Primordial Mother Goddess—Tiamat.
"——Aaaaaa————!!!"
The Dragon God's roar echoed through the heavens. A strange mist spread wildly, covering the entire sky and dyeing it the red of the apocalypse.
She didn't aim at anyone specifically, because there was no need to. The goddess, who could draw upon infinite magical energy through the Aether cycle, brandished her power, the very incarnation of the world's end.
"BOOOOOOM—————!!!!"
Space itself let out an anguished groan, unable to bear the divine might of the Primordial Mother.
As if it were the dawn of creation, pillars of magical light rained down upon the land. Devastating shockwaves radiated outwards from the center of each pillar.
If Goetia himself had been present, perhaps he could have mounted a counterattack, forcibly torn this sea apart, and then escaped with the Temple of Time.
Yes, he could only move the temple.
As the Beast of Regression, the "Mother," she could not perish so long as a single one of her children still existed in the world she occupied.
And just how many Lahmu were there within the Sea of Imaginary Numbers?
And where were all those Lahmu?
Just as Goetia was immortal as long as the Grand Temple of Time built upon Solomon's remains was not destroyed, Tiamat was indestructible as long as one could not annihilate every single Lahmu in the Sea of Imaginary Numbers in one fell swoop.
Even Goetia lacked the ability to kill Tiamat, not when she had already scattered her children to the far corners of the Sea of Imaginary Numbers beforehand.
No matter how unwilling he was, Goetia could only flee with the Grand Temple of Time like a stray dog with its tail between its legs.
Unfortunately for him, Goetia was not here.
Therefore, the Grand Temple of Time could not be moved.
And so, the Dragon God's attack fell upon the resisting Demon Gods.
Dust billowed, followed by scattering rubble and flying boulders. Even the hard bedrock deep underground was blasted into the sky.
The guardians of the Grand Temple of Time—the source of the First Beast Goetia's immortality—were all annihilated.
The black sea swallowed the temple.
Almost simultaneously, back in the Seventh Singularity, the expressions on the faces of the two combatants changed drastically.