"Odin!"
At that moment, another figure flew in from the distance.
Odin immediately recognized him.
It was the young man who had split Leviathan in half with a single strike, Chu Zihang.
Chu Zihang forced Xia Mi and Norton back with one decisive slash, then stood alone before Odin.
"Well done," Odin said with a faint smile, taking the initiative to show goodwill. "Young man, you seem familiar. Have we met before?"
For a moment, he could not remember where he had seen him.
To Odin, ordinary mixed bloods were nothing more than disposable resources.
Chu Zihang slowly rotated his Zanpakuto. The blade vibrated softly, humming with restrained power. His voice was calm and steady.
"I've been searching for you for many years, Odin."
"Oh?" Odin laughed lightly. "Then it seems we regret not meeting sooner."
He raised his voice deliberately, making sure everyone could hear him.
"Listen well. You, and all of you here, are the most outstanding humans I have ever seen."
"Look at the Black King before us. It has fallen."
"This marks the dawn of a new era. An era where we become the gods."
"Why continue fighting? Come, join me. I can fulfill any wish you desire and lead you all to godhood."
His cloak billowed behind him, his posture proud and commanding, every inch the ruler addressing followers.
Chu Zihang looked at him coldly.
"Godhood is meaningless," he said. "There is only one thing I want."
Odin smiled with confidence. "And what is that? I can grant it."
Chu Zihang lifted his blade slightly.
"To kill you."
The air fell silent.
For two years, Chu Zihang had searched for Odin.
Two years ago, that man had stood before him on a rain soaked overpass, his back to the Maybach, raising his blade against a god.
Now, the roles were reversed.
This time, Chu Zihang would burn a god with his own flames.
Even now, Odin showed no anger.
"I wanted to help you," he said calmly. "Why do you insist on killing me?"
"Do you remember the rainy night two years ago?" Chu Zihang asked. "The Maybach on the overpass."
Odin froze for a brief moment.
"…So it was you. The child who escaped."
Back then, he had spared Chu Zihang without a second thought, never imagining the boy would reach this level.
Odin glanced aside.
"You have already rescued your father, haven't you?"
"I spared your life once. How about we call it even?"
He extended an olive branch.
The flames along Chu Zihang's blade surged higher.
"What belongs to God belongs to God," Chu Zihang said quietly. "Your life belongs to me."
Odin nodded slowly, as if understanding.
"What a pity," he murmured. "Truly a pity. But can you do it, Chu Zihang?"
"You talk too much to your enemies. It's already too late."
Suddenly, Odin ripped his hand out of the Black King's skull.
In an instant, the massive catfish like body shriveled completely, its flesh and blood drained dry.
The friendliness vanished from Odin's face.
A proud smile appeared instead, the smile of someone seated above all others.
He had been stalling for this exact moment.
His blood boiled.
His perception of the elements expanded rapidly.
The world itself seemed small in his eyes.
"Ah," Odin breathed, intoxicated. "This is supreme power."
He rose into the air above the Black King's corpse as countless white filaments burst from his body, spreading across the sea like a growing nest.
"Dragonization," Xia Mi shouted from the air, her expression changing sharply. "It's over. He really swallowed the Black King. He's becoming a Supreme."
Even so, her eyes gleamed with calculation.
"If he becomes a Supreme, I wonder if he'll actually be stronger than me."
She clenched her fists.
"Doesn't matter. He swallowed the Black King. Kill him and sell him, the points will be the same."
She was eager to charge.
But Chu Zihang stood at the very front.
Facing Odin's transformation, he made no move to interrupt.
He simply tightened his grip on his Zanpakuto.
His voice was deep and slow.
"Bankai. Zanka no Tachi."
Boom.
Boundless flames erupted instantly, surging from the blade into the sky.
Chu Zihang's arm scorched red from the heat. His sleeve turned to ash in a heartbeat.
A terrifying heatwave swept through the entire Nibelungen.
The flames coating the Zanpakuto burned with a temperature rivaling the core of the sun.
"Oh hell," Lu Mingfei shouted in panic. "Senior is using his ultimate move. Run!"
He dismissed his Susanoo instantly and fled with Su Xiaoqiang.
Everyone else followed without hesitation. Anyone who stayed behind would be courting death.
The moment the heat erupted, the Nibelungen around Chu Zihang began to collapse.
The destruction spread rapidly.
In less than half a minute, the entire Nibelungen would be incinerated.
That single Bankai was enough to evaporate an ocean.
As for Odin, standing directly before Chu Zihang, he felt only regret.
"What the hell is this ability?" he cursed. "What kind of monster power is this?"
Even compared to the true Black King, this was not much weaker.
How was he supposed to fight this?
For the first time, Odin regretted not binding the system earlier.
But he still believed he could save himself.
"Don't underestimate a Supreme, Chu Zihang," Odin roared.
"The Black King's crown belongs to the world. No matter how strong you are, once the world line restarts, you will have nothing!"
Without hesitation, Odin restarted the world line.
Before devouring the Black King, he could only make limited changes to causality.
Now, with the Black King's authority in hand, this restart was complete.
In Odin's eyes, the entire world began flowing backward.
Everyone vanished from the Nibelungen.
The YAMAL retreated toward its port.
Time rewound to the moment the system binding prompt appeared.
Odin stared at the dialogue box and burst into laughter.
"Good. Very good. This time I'll bind the system."
"I'll sell the Black King first and crush every variable. Let's see who can overturn my board now."
He smiled confidently and clicked "Yes."
Nothing happened.
"What?" Odin frowned.
He clicked again.
Still nothing.
Again and again, faster and faster.
The system remained unresponsive.
"Heh. Stop clicking. It's useless even if you click ten thousand times."
A childish voice suddenly spoke beside him.
Odin froze and turned.
A boy dressed in elegant noble attire sat calmly on a chair that had appeared from nowhere, sipping steaming coffee.
"Did you create this system?" Odin asked, narrowing his eyes.
"No," the boy replied with a polite smile. "I don't have that person's ability."
"I simply received a few gifts," he continued, his gaze sharpening. "And came to punish a traitor."
"Traitor?" Odin's pupils shrank. "Impossible. Are you saying all of this is fake?"
The coffee cup in the boy's hand transformed into a Zanpakuto.
"What made you think this wasn't an illusion?" Lu Mingze said softly.
"Shatter. Kyoka Suigetsu."
The illusion collapsed.
Odin's vision shattered and reformed.
He was back in the Nibelungen.
Chu Zihang still stood in the sky, Bankai active.
The Black King floated intact on the sea.
Around them, everyone stared in shock, expressions twisted with rage or despair.
"An illusion?" Odin whispered. "When did you cast it?"
Lu Mingze was gone, but his voice echoed.
"Do you remember the people walking around the ship with Zanpakuto? I was just one of them."
Kyoka Suigetsu had already been activated aboard the YAMAL.
Everyone had unknowingly acted out a false ascent to godhood.
Now, the illusion was broken.
Odin smiled bitterly.
"A thousand years of planning," he said quietly. "To lose like this. I have no regrets dying to another Supreme."
"I won't dirty my hands," Lu Mingze's voice replied. "Look up, Odin. Meet your destiny."
Odin raised his head.
The flames from Chu Zihang's blade descended.
He was burned to nothing.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, mission complete (end)!]
The instant before the Nibelungen collapsed, everyone received the system notification.
...
Above the Arctic Ocean, Malrick floated silently.
He had witnessed everything.
Those seeking revenge had achieved it.
Those pursuing missions had gained their points.
And he had collected the bloodlines of every Dragon King.
A perfect ending.
"Eriyi sold the White King's bloodline a few days ago," Malrick murmured.
"Now the Black King's is acquired as well."
"The Black King, Lu Mingfei, and Lu Mingze resemble the Holy Trinity described in the Bible."
"Together, their bloodlines form the complete supreme power of this world."
Satisfied, Malrick found a quiet place and began his genetic research.
Several days later, when the M body within the universe successfully returned to being the World Consciousness, Malrick knew it was time to leave.
He prepared to activate his Crossing ability.
Then he paused.
"Hmm? Someone bought Rejedo's trial again?"
"All of them… bought by Eriyi? Over a hundred copies?"
That meant over a hundred thousand points.
Eriyi had earned a fortune selling the White King, and the Black King's sale had also brought her a share.
She spent everything on trials.
"She's already Cosmos Ultraman," Malrick said softly. "Does she intend to become Rejedo?"
After a moment of thought, Malrick decided to see Eriyi one last time before leaving.