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Baldr extended his hand, which almost entirely transformed into pure light. His palm became a blade, slicing downward.
Instantly, a fist-sized fragment cleaved from the supernatural crystal. From the break, streams of shadowy, negative energy poured out, invisible to ordinary eyes yet subtly perceptible.
Guided by the power of light, the negative energy was forced into the small fragment, endless and relentless.
Over time, the once radiant, multicolored crystal piece darkened, turning into a twisted, blackened shard that radiated an unsettling aura.
Baldr's lips curved into a faint, playful smile.
With so much negative energy concentrated, this shard would no longer slowly corrupt its wielder. Instead, its effect would escalate dramatically, forcing rapid, almost ruthless enhancement, accelerating the user's transformation into a "perfect" pawn.
Holding this blackened crystal in hand, Baldr's eyes gleamed.
It could simply be left here, waiting for the original three protagonists to arrive.
Or… he could choose another, far more spectacular approach—one that would capture the attention of the entire world.
A soft, amused chuckle echoed briefly through the night.
Then, suddenly…
Brilliant, blinding, holy light erupted skyward!
In an instant, a massive sun coalesced above the horizon, repeating the celestial phenomenon that had recently stunned the world—but now, it roared with explosive fury instead of calm majesty.
"Fallen follower, you shall be punished!"
The shout shook the darkness itself.
Endless streams of holy light gathered above, forming a towering, radiant giant dozens of meters tall. Encased entirely in light, it swung a fist the size of a house and struck downward.
Boom!
The ground shook violently. Mountains quaked. Earth roared.
"Hmm~"
A bizarre, sinister voice echoed, dripping with mockery and malice.
"The messenger of God? Is that all you've got?"
From the shadows, a vast black energy erupted, forming midair into a massive, formless giant as powerful as the holy colossus. It had no solid body, only a cloud of darkness, yet twin crimson eyes burned with infinite malice.
One god, one abomination. No words were exchanged; they collided immediately.
Light drove all before it, dark consumed and destroyed without mercy.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The earth split, forming monstrous chasms.
The two colossal figures clashed like mechanized armies, leveling everything in their path—houses, forests, all obliterated.
Suddenly, the dark entity unleashed a frenzied roar.
"Damn you! Are you insane?!"
"You just arrived and are unleashing this level of power. Don't you fear your own apostle body collapsing?"
"Die, fallen one!!"
A thunderous command echoed through the night sky.
A pillar of blinding light formed, stretching from heaven to earth, and then fell with catastrophic force.
The ground froze in silence. One second. Two seconds. Three…
Suddenly—
Boom!!!
A deafening explosion erupted, sending a towering mushroom cloud into the sky.
From its center came a chilling, defiant roar.
"I will not submit!"
"I have not yet guided my master's descent!"
"Roar! Roar! Roar…"
"I… will not…"
The explosion contracted briefly, then expanded violently, consuming and annihilating everything in its path.
Time passed, though no one could say how long. The world finally fell silent. The strange phenomena receded.
The battlefield, once wild terrain, now lay flattened, a barren expanse like sand, punctuated by massive craters marking the recent chaos.
At the very center, a terrifying pit yawned, seemingly endless, devouring both light and darkness. Just gazing at it sent chills down the spine.
A faint streak of dim light shot through the night sky and vanished into the heavens.
Minutes later, distant rumbles grew into a chorus of sirens and engines.
Armored police vehicles and military jeeps converged on the site.
Helicopters filled the sky, their rotors a relentless buzz.
Soon, officials arrived, staring wide-eyed at the destruction.
"Fuck!"
Exclamations and curses rang out across the scene.
Finally, an elderly general with a colonel's insignia landed via helicopter. Even having faced countless battles, he couldn't hide his shock at the enormous craters and the central pit.
"This… this wasn't a nuke, was it?!"
Rubbing his temples, the general realized the situation was serious.
Gods and demons had fought in the dead of night, right here in the U.S. It was anything but funny.
"....."