The sea of stars collapsed, the Celestial Realm trembled, and the earth crumbled.
A clash that lasted less than a few dozen seconds felt as long as several centuries to the gods of the night.
It was a battle that transcended the limits of what the 3-Digit Almighty Domain could comprehend, a battle that only those in the 2-Digit Full-Authority Domain were qualified to observe.
The clash at the sixth cosmic velocity, a speed exceeding that of light, was something even the eyes of the gods could not fully capture. The universe-destroying offensive left the gods capable of nothing but trembling.
The contest of truths from the deepest depths of the Zoroastrian cosmology was beyond even the Full-Authority Domain's understanding.
The only things the gods could comprehend were the stars constantly falling from above, the gale-force winds piercing through the three realms, and the destructive pressure that seemed poised to annihilate Little Garden.
And after enduring what felt like suffocation, the two figures reappeared on the now unrecognizable battlefield.
Su Mo was still the black-haired, black-eyed youth, holding a pure white longsword forged from aura. His fair and handsome face was expressionless, even appearing somewhat nonchalant.
Only the crimson flames deep within his dark pupils gave off a sense of mystery and unease.
Across from Su Mo, Azi Dahaka's state was completely different.
His once burly body was now riddled with wounds, and of his six ruby eyes, only one could still light up. Of his three monstrous heads, only the last one remained.
One of his savage claws had been severed, leaving only a bare stub of bone, and his body was covered with countless other fatal injuries.
Most importantly, the scale of his Divinity, which had once surpassed the Full-Authority Domain, had now shrunk to that of an ordinary 3-Digit Almighty Domain being.
Even though the vast majority of gods had not seen the previous battle clearly, they could distinctly understand the outcome.
It was a rout, a complete defeat for the Last Embryo of Humanity.
"A fearsome opponent!" Despite being in a state of barely hanging on, Azi Dahaka still stood tall. His gaze towards Su Mo held not a trace of hatred, but was filled with shock and admiration.
"To think you could force me to expend all my accumulated Divinity on self-healing, just to preserve my life."
"In the realm of martial prowess, I shall call you the strongest!"
He offered this praise with genuine sincerity. If their positions were reversed, he could never have achieved what Su Mo did. If they had the same physical stats, he would likely have been instantly killed at the very first clash.
He was in awe of Su Mo's strength and had no further thoughts of challenging him.
"Oh?" Hearing Azi Dahaka's words, Su Mo raised an eyebrow. "If you're saying this to stall for time to heal and recover your strength, I don't mind waiting for a moment."
"But you haven't done anything so far. What do you mean by this?"
"..." Faced with Su Mo's question, Azi Dahaka was silent for a moment, then looked down at his now broken body.
Although the scars from a hero were a Demon Lord's badge of honor, with his current physical condition, his injuries were clearly too severe.
"With my current physical condition, if I were to expend more Divinity on healing, I'm afraid the remaining strength wouldn't even be enough to maintain the sixth cosmic velocity!"
Given the intensity of their battle just now, an existence unable to maintain the sixth cosmic velocity for a prolonged period had no right to step onto the battlefield.
Looking at the three-headed dragon—no, the now single-headed dragon, Azi Dahaka's rare contemplative posture, Su Mo was a little surprised.
For a Last Embryo, he was displaying an excessive amount of emotion.
"What... have you run out of schemes? Has your fighting spirit withered? Has your hope collapsed?" Su Mo took a step forward, taunting him. "Oh, Last Embryo! You who were just now awaiting a hero, are you ready to accept defeat?"
"..." Faced with Su Mo's relentless pressure, Azi Dahaka fell silent again.
Although the Su Mo before him was indeed the hero he had long awaited, why were his lines more demonic than his, the Last Embryo's?
Who was the tester, and who was the one being tested? Why did it feel like their positions were completely reversed?
"Defeat? Of course not!" Azi Dahaka once again brandished his jet-black shadow blade, letting out a roar that pierced the clouds.
Although he had now exhausted all his options, having used every single trump card and barely managing to survive Su Mo's previous onslaught, even he could see no hope of victory if the fight continued.
But, as a Last Embryo, he had his pride.
"The reason I don't want to heal my wounds is not to surrender, but to face the final slaughter in my best condition!"
It didn't matter that a head had been severed, that only one arm remained, that his body was gashed open.
As long as he still had his sharp fangs and claws, and enough Divinity to reach the threshold of the sixth cosmic velocity, he was qualified to step onto the battlefield.
Not to mention, the mission he was born with was to welcome defeat. However, the defeat he welcomed was absolutely not a surrender, but another form of absolute defeat.
Therefore...
"Surpass me! Justice lies upon my corpse!"
In the final moments of his life, Azi Dahaka roared, transforming into a rainbow of light at the sixth cosmic velocity, launching a final, desperate attack on Su Mo.
As a Last Embryo of Humanity, as the evil god of Zoroastrianism, it was his mission to build good upon his own body.
For this evil god, there was only one greatest happiness: to be defeated by the hero he had acknowledged and awaited.
And so...
SCHLICK!
In a flash of lightning, in the blink of an eye.
The moment Azi Dahaka passed by Su Mo, the pure white sharp sword completely pierced the Last Embryo's heart, severing his life force. His once burly body became completely powerless, his limbs hanging limp, as if impaled on Su Mo's sword.
Faced with this expected yet all-too-swift conclusion, Azi Dahaka opened his eyes, his remaining ruby eye meeting Su Mo's in quiet contemplation.
Confirming that the other had been defeated, Su Mo began to reclaim Azi Dahaka's gradually dissipating original Divinity while engaging the Last Embryo in a final, pre-death conversation.
"How does defeat taste?"
"A little... relieving," Azi Dahaka said slowly. "I have experienced many defeats before, but this is the first time as a Last Embryo. It feels like a mission accomplished... though, there's no one left to receive my mission report now."
Unlike his earlier excitement, the defeated Azi Dahaka seemed exceptionally calm. In his eye, there even flickered a hint of nostalgia and sadness that should not appear on the face of a Last Embryo.
Faced with Azi Dahaka's complex gaze, Su Mo thought for a moment and said, "Is there anything you want to ask? Depending on the situation, I can help clear your doubts."
"Oh? So generous?" The dying Azi Dahaka looked at Su Mo with some surprise. If it were Indra who had come up to reminisce, he wouldn't have been surprised, but he still knew too little about Su Mo.
"Willing to enlighten a defeated foe... is this the magnanimity of the hero I have long awaited, or is it simply pity for the loser?"
Faced with this question, Su Mo shook his head. "No, it's just a simple end-of-life care."
"Don't look at me like that. Although I am indeed human, I am also the Master of the Christian Church. Is it so strange that I've mastered a few skills exclusive to a priest?" Su Mo's tone was calm, as if there was nothing to be surprised about.
"..." Azi Dahaka fell silent again.
Although he really wanted to refute Su Mo, to say that an infidel like him didn't need any end-of-life care, and that him, the God of Christianity, giving end-of-life care to an evil god from another religion was a violation of his own teachings...
However, considering the miscellaneous nature of Su Mo's possessed Divinities, and the final countdown of his own life, he decided not to waste time on such matters. Compared to such trivial things, there were obviously more important matters.
For example, how Su Mo had truly defeated him.
Don't misunderstand. Here, Azi Dahaka was not questioning Su Mo's martial prowess, but the fundamental rules required to defeat a Last Embryo of Humanity.
By rights, one needed to defeat him in both intelligence and martial prowess to completely vanquish a Last Embryo. In the realm of martial prowess, there was no doubt that Su Mo had met the conditions.
But in the realm of intelligence, to defeat him, one had to first solve the riddle of him as a Last Embryo. It was obvious that from beginning to end, Su Mo had never made any attempt to solve the riddle, nor did he even have any intention of exploring it.
However, his Divinity told him that Su Mo had indeed broken his trial.
How was this done? Could it be that he carried the Divinity of the Third Stellar Particle? Was he the Son of Heaven, destined to defeat him?
"..."
Opening his mouth, Azi Dahaka chose not to ask.
Since Su Mo had defeated him, officially surpassing his trial, it proved that he must have met the conditions.
As for how he had come to understand the riddle of his Divinity, how he had broken it, these things, though important, no longer concerned him.
His mission was accomplished, the future of humanity was established, and he no longer needed to worry about such things.
And besides that, the only thing he was a little concerned about before his death was actually another matter.
That was the figure of the long, straight-haired black witch corresponding to the pink-haired goddess when Su Mo mobilized the deep cosmic truth of dualism.
Although it was not the one he knew, Azi Dahaka would never mistake the aura that symbolized the original scripture of evil.
So, after a pause, he voiced his final question. "The black-haired highness on your left just now, is she the Mother of Evil Gods of this generation?"