The surging magical power fully materialised, and a sapphire rhombus rune appeared between Wayne's eyebrows.
This was followed by a startling dragon's roar, audible even to the beasts within the crimson world, who responded with restless, agitated bellows.
Their primal instincts warned them of danger; the sky crackled with lightning and thunder, an apocalyptic scene enveloping the world.
The phantom of the Dragon King traversed the spatial passage, soaring towards the starry dome, roaming amidst the sea of stars.
Soon, one of the stars blazed with intense light, and Wayne lowered his wand, aiming it at the crimson miniature world.
"Starfall Cascade!"
The randomly chosen fortunate star rapidly descended, transforming from a tiny point of light into a colossal planet so vast it could barely fit through the rift, encircled by a brilliant aura of arcane radiance.
The moment the star was summoned, the nearby void trembled, and the crimson world wailed incessantly.
Wayne watched coldly as the star fell—its speed not particularly fast relative to the vast void, but both the crimson world and the star he had summoned were too immense for anything to evade.
This was the most powerful magic he could currently wield: commanding the stars with the authority of the Star Forger Dragon King, augmented by the arcane comet's reinforcement to amplify the impact.
It seemed formidable, but in most situations, it was rather impractical.
If he were to use this move on Earth, he would have to be prepared for civilisational extinction.
Under the impact of an asteroid dozens of kilometres in diameter, ninety-nine percent of humanity would perish.
But in the void, it was just right.
He had come here to destroy.
The moment the two collided, the void seemed to plunge into an eternal, absolute stillness—everything frozen in place, only to transition from extreme stillness to extreme motion in an instant.
Crack!
Crack!
The world's membrane disintegrated, tearing apart continuously.
Runes surfaced across the asteroid, transforming into magical hurricanes that ravaged the membrane, widening the fissures relentlessly.
The force was too violent; Wayne retreated steadily, knowing an even greater collision was imminent. Once the membrane's power was fully depleted, this miniature world would face annihilation.
Boom!
The crimson light dissipated, and the miniature world truly shattered into countless fragments. Serpents kilometres long were crushed, and the beasts within, subjected to the thousand-fold atmospheric pressure, were pulverised into paste.
Streams of soul energy, influenced by his innate Dark Harvest, flew into Wayne's body, not only replenishing his recent magical expenditure but also causing his total magical power to surge once more.
The final explosion released staggering energy, as dazzling as a sun rising from the horizon. Then, the 'sun' rapidly flattened, eventually dispersing into devastating shockwaves that rippled outward.
The powerful impact forced Wayne to continuously channel magical power to maintain the defence of Rho Aias, while also controlling the direction of his blast-induced flight. Spatial turbulence fell like rain, the seven layers of protective shields constantly shattering and reforming, making Wayne frown in frustration.
Wayne summoned the Dimensional Altar, which incessantly transmitted curses and complaints into his mind, placing it before him like a shield.
The divine artefact remained unyielding and steadfast under the washing of spatial chaos, finally allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.
The void had now become extremely unstable. Sensing his connection with Ho-Oh continuously weakening, Wayne decided to abandon further exploration out of caution.
Although he hadn't gathered much useful information, he had gained sufficient understanding of the situation near the main plane.
[Ding!]
Just as Wayne was making his escape, a sudden notification sounded in his mind.
[Congratulations, host, for gradually mastering the ways of the Chaos Demon King. Acting on impulse to destroy worlds, completely exterminating the descendants of Jörmungandr. Reward: 50,000 points, one critical hit gift pack. Please continue your efforts to make your fearsome reputation even more deeply rooted in hearts.]
Wayne chose to ignore the system's seemingly complimentary yet darkly suggestive evaluation. What caught his attention was the system's identification of those giant serpents' true identity.
Jörmungandr?
The massive sea serpent from Norse mythology that could encircle the entire world?
Those serpents in the crimson world were indeed enormous, each comparable to a mountain in size, but they paled in comparison to the legendary Jörmungandr, so much so that Wayne hadn't even considered the possibility.
Then again, legends were just legends—the more exaggerated they were, the more believers they attracted.
The system's notification further solidified Wayne's judgement: these small worlds and subspaces were fragments that had broken away from Earth long ago.
Their renewed attraction was due to changes in the main world's tier.
Once Earth completed its ascension, these departed relics would eventually return.
'What a nuisance.'
Wayne cursed inwardly, already anticipating what the future held, and silently increased his flight speed.
He didn't know how long he'd been away, so he needed to return quickly to prevent Grace and the others from worrying too much.
After flying for an unknown duration, Wayne's connection with Ho-Oh grew increasingly stronger. After confirming the coordinates, he forcefully tore through the dimensional layers, arriving near the world's membrane.
Wayne didn't randomly choose an entry point into the main world. If he ended up outside Earth's range and appeared in some unknown galaxy, that would be even more troublesome than getting lost in the void.
So he retraced his path, sensing the archway's location, and quickly found it.
...
In the Department of Mysteries, when Grace saw Ho-Oh's aura intensifying and heard its joyful cries, she finally relaxed her tense nerves. She knew Wayne must be safe.
Yesterday, when Ho-Oh had been anxious, it was completely different - it had nearly set the entire room on fire.
A human-shaped silhouette gradually coalesced within the archway, unleashing a powerful storm. Grace erected a barrier to suppress it, but the storm was too strong—she couldn't contain all the spreading shockwaves.
"My apologies, I haven't adjusted yet."
A gentle voice sounded as Wayne gathered the petals and emerged from the archway bathed in divine radiance. Extending his palm, the shockwaves that had already shattered several doors surged toward his hand, condensing into a small sphere that crumbled with a gentle squeeze.
The void was too dangerous - he had to maintain readiness for full combat at all times. But upon entering the main world, even the residual fluctuations of his magical power could completely destroy the Ministry of Magic building.
This was why he had evacuated all staff and posted patrols—to prevent himself from causing major trouble if he lost control.
"You're back, you're back safely."
Grace rushed into the young man's embrace, holding him tightly.
Without needing to check, Grace knew Wayne wasn't injured - otherwise, he couldn't possess such vigorous energy.
"How many days has it been since I left?" Wayne asked while gently patting her back.
"It's currently 5 PM on September 5th." Grace gave a time that somewhat surprised Wayne.
"That long?"
He had entered on the evening of August 31st, meaning nearly five full days had passed.
His own estimate had been around two days—quite off the mark.
"Yesterday, Ho-Oh became particularly agitated, as if sensing you taking action. What exactly did you encounter there?"
Having confirmed that he was unharmed, Grace's curiosity resurfaced, especially about Wayne's experiences over the past days.
"Substantial gains. I came across several small ruins that had left Earth, though they'd all become dead zones. Didn't find any concrete clues."
"As for Ho-Oh sensing fluctuations... I was destroying a small world at the time, one containing many descendants of Jörmungandr. Probably because of that."
Wayne looked toward Ho-Oh.
Grace froze.
"Jörmungandr? I've seen records about them in the Danish Ministry of Magic, too." Grace said, instinctively wanting to ask for more details, but then remembering the girls still at Wayne's house, she forcibly suppressed her curiosity.
"You should hurry home first. Hermione, Cho and the others are all at your house. They've even skipped school waiting for news of you."
Wayne's expression shifted slightly: "How do they know? Did you tell them?"
"Don't underestimate Hermione's cleverness," Grace said irritably. "With the big commotion you caused at the Ministry, it's not strange she could guess something."
Wayne couldn't stay seated. "Then let's hurry back."
Grace shook her head gently. "You go alone. I won't add to the chaos."
Wayne nodded slightly without saying more. Ho-Oh transformed into flames that settled upon him, and both man and bird vanished from the Department of Mysteries.
Returning home, Wayne expended even greater effort than destroying worlds to temporarily calm the young women who were both delighted and furious to see him.
Astoria, Gabrielle and Cho cried. Penelope kept pinching his waist. Hermione's eyes were red-rimmed, wanting to scold him but unable to bring herself to speak. Fleur picked up the wine jug from the table and drained it in one go, her hand trembling constantly.
They had no right to demand that everything Wayne did required their approval.
Everyone understood this principle, yet couldn't help feeling angry.
"Wayne, please think of us more, okay?" Cho said tearfully. "You must take care of your safety, and don't hide things from me. Don't make me worry."
"I promise there won't be a next time." Wayne smiled wryly. He hadn't expected Hermione to deduce so much from appearances and even find Grace.
Wayne deliberately rubbed his stomach with a sense of grievance. "Haven't eaten for days. I'm really hungry now."
Hearing this, the young women who had just been surrounding him all rushed toward the kitchen to prepare his dinner, leaving only Gabrielle monopolising Wayne's embrace.
During the meal, Wayne briefly recounted his experiences of the past few days, even extracting memories from his mind for everyone to view, proving that although the void was dangerous, it posed no threat to him whatsoever.
After witnessing Wayne destroy a world with a single strike, the young women's eyes held nothing but worship, and they completely relaxed.
Before long, the women could barely keep their eyes open, rising to return to their rooms to sleep.
These past days without news of Wayne had left them unable to rest properly. Now, with their minds at ease, they easily succumbed to exhaustion.
Wayne also carried the already sleeping Gabrielle back to his own bedroom.
...
Far away in the void, near the destroyed crimson world, a massive vortex had formed, tearing at the surrounding space. Several glowing spheres, each emitting a faint halo, were being pulled by this gravitational force, slowly drifting toward the main world.
Moving faster and faster.