Aaaahhhhhhh!!!
Watching his beloved, Noelle Noah, sacrifice herself before his very eyes, You’er’s eyes streamed with tears of blood, and the roars tearing from his throat were utterly heart-wrenching.
In that moment, a furious madness consumed You’er’s heart, igniting an urge to obliterate everything, to use all that existed as a burial shroud for Noelle Noah.
Blinding, ethereal blue light and fierce, hellish black radiance—two vastly different yet equally potent magical energies—erupted from You’er’s body simultaneously.
The instant the ethereal blue light blossomed, the fatal wounds scarring You’er’s body began to heal autonomously, at a visibly rapid pace.
The bloodline of the Ice Elf King, which had been transferred to Noelle Noah, finally revived within You’er at this critical juncture, as he teetered on the brink of death.
The moment the hellish black radiance erupted, an endless tide of dark aura surged forth from You’er, a darkness far more viscous, more concentrated, and more steeped in terror than even Galakriffin’s dark magic.
Ancient, mysterious dark runes, forming intricate chains, gradually crept across You’er’s entire body, culminating in two diagonally crossed chains of dark patterns etched upon his cheeks.
In that instant, You’er truly resembled a demon born of purgatory, an fiend risen from the abyss.
The very moment the chains of dark patterns solidified, You’er’s aura surged dramatically, escalating from the initial stage of a Great Swordsman, rapidly advancing to the middle and then late stages, until finally breaking through to become a Sword Master.
The immense Divine Soul power You’er had preserved within the Divine Soul Tree Fruit—the crystal orb—also roared forth like a tempest, manifesting as a colossal, invisible storm around his body.
“That power… is it a Dark Divine Seed?!”
From a distance, Galakriffin fixated on You’er, his gaze scrutinizing the dark aura emanating from within him, the dark divine runes clinging to his skin… until, with a tone of utter shock, he finally revealed the origin of this mysterious power.
Ten thousand years ago, the Dark Lord God detonated their divine body, scattering Dark Divine Seeds across the continent of Arnor. Those blessed with a Dark Divine Seed, if they could resist its corruption and master its power, would gain an unparalleled affinity for darkness, thereby acquiring formidable dark magic.
The Dark Divine Seed also served as a symbol of status; those who possessed one were invariably devotees of the Dark Lord God. Without exception, they would be taken in by the Dark Papacy, afforded the highest courtesies, and nurtured with every resource.
Galakriffin struggled to comprehend why someone within his Death Arena harbored a Dark Divine Seed, especially when that person was someone he had observed and admired for so long.
‘Just who exactly was Gugu You’er?’
For the first time, Galakriffin harbored doubts about You’er’s true identity, but under the present circumstances, it was clear he couldn’t possibly question You’er.
For Galakriffin knew with chilling certainty that You’er had already descended into madness, driven insane by the Dark Divine Seed’s insidious corruption—a madness beyond redemption. He was no longer a man, but a mere machine of slaughter, a rampaging fiend.
Of course, none of that truly mattered. What mattered was that he, Galakriffin, was on the verge of acquiring a wild Dark Divine Seed!
With this Dark Divine Seed in hand, his cultivation would soar dramatically, allowing him to attain the ranks of Dark Archmage, Celestial Archmage, or even the dreaded Dark Saint of Magic!
Armed with this Dark Divine Seed, he could infiltrate the Dark Papacy and seize a position of power within it… He harbored ambition, he harbored grand aspirations; his ultimate goal was to become the supreme ruler of this continent!
“Dark Spirit, who emerges from the void, bearing the sorrow that shatters all, bringing despair to my foes… I, Galakriffin Olnyte, beseech thee—
Spirit Magic—Dark Annihilation Storm!”
With such near-ecstatic fervor, Galakriffin launched his attack, chanting the incantation and unleashing the most potent offensive magic at his command.
The Spirit Magic, Dark Annihilation Storm, lived up to its name; the moment it manifested from the magic array, it conjured a towering, tumultuous dark storm that plunged the sky into chaos, rent the earth asunder, and left the arena in utter devastation.
“Roar!”
Meanwhile, You’er, at the heart of the dark storm, let out a guttural roar as he raised his hands towards the heavens, channeling an immeasurable surge of Divine Soul power. In the most direct and terrifying manner imaginable, he utterly tore apart the encroaching Dark Annihilation Storm.
“Impossible! This is utterly impossible! What kind of power does this fellow wield? It’s horrifying!”
That his destructive magic, unleashed with such immense effort, proved so utterly fragile, brought a look of profound horror to Galakriffin’s face for the first time. He watched You’er from afar, who now resembled a demon god descended to the mortal realm, his gaze filled with apprehension, long hesitant to advance.
After tearing apart the destructive magic, You’er inexplicably ceased all movement, as if frozen in time and space.
“Lord Kraffin, allow us to deal with this arrogant brat for you!”
From the fourth ring, shouts rang out. Seeing that Kraffin had hesitated to act for too long, the two wardens, North and South, believing their moment to shine had arrived, soared into the arena. Their potent Sword Master-level auras erupted as they charged, sneering, towards the motionless You’er.
At that very moment, You’er opened his eyes. Within their depths, no pupils were visible, only two profound, abyssal divine runes.
You’er raised his arm, and in an instant, a Divine Soul Sword, shimmering with the deepest, darkest obsidian hue, materialized.
“Divine Soul Sword: Heavenly Wheel!”
Accompanied by a muffled, eerie demonic hum, an abyssal light wheel startlingly manifested, carrying an unparalleled might. It cleaved the sky above the arena, tore through the earth beneath the fourth ring, and simultaneously bisected the two wardens, North and South, who had charged at You’er!
[Divine Soul Sword: Heavenly Wheel]—by temporarily stepping into the Sword Master realm with the power of the Dark Seed, and harnessing the immense Divine Soul energy stored within the Divine Soul Tree Fruit, You’er finally unleashed this incomparably potent Divine Soul sword art.
Where the Heavenly Wheel passed, the sky shattered, the earth split, and the two Sword Master-level wardens were utterly annihilated, leaving not a trace of their bodies!
“You will all die!”
You’er slowly raised his head, his gaze fixed on the sky, yet his chilling, profound, and deathly words were directed at Galakriffin in the arena, at the spectators in the fourth ring, and at the Death Arena itself…
“Heavenly Wheel!”
In the next instant, countless colossal abyssal light wheels tore through the endless sky, scattering in all directions.
As the first abyssal light wheel struck the fourth ring, as that line of spectators met their demise, as the arena walls were gouged with kilometer-long gashes…
Only then did the spectators finally realize that the shadow of death had already enveloped them.
The spectators were seized by terror and panic; they sprang from their seats, desperate to escape.
Yet, at that very moment, the second abyssal light wheel, then the third… and countless others, followed in rapid succession.
The spectators had come to witness thrilling performances and exhilarating battles, never once imagining that a day would arrive when they themselves would become sacrifices in the slaughterhouse.
This night was destined to be a bloodbath, destined for utter devastation.
“Bastard! Stop this at once!”
Witnessing the arena’s destruction and the slaughter of the spectators, Galakriffin’s expression slowly twisted into a furious rage. These spectators were mostly noble clansmen of the Eternal Night Empire, largely his supporters and followers, whose influence would be crucial for his future bid for the imperial throne! If all of them perished, even he, a royal prince, would find the consequences unbearable.
He roared at You’er in this manner, but his only reply was an abyssal light wheel radiating a terrifying, malevolent power.
“Damn it! Pitch-Black Shield! Pitch-Black Demonic Devour!”
Even Galakriffin, once targeted by the Heavenly Wheel, was overcome by an extreme, deadly sense of peril, forcing him to erect his defenses with all his might.
Pitch-Black Shield: a gigantic dark shield, nearly ten meters in size.
Yet, this shield, forged barely three seconds prior, was forcefully cleaved in two by the abyssal light wheel, obliterating Galakriffin’s first line of defense.
Pitch-Black Demonic Devour: a massive demonic maw conjured from Galakriffin’s dark magic.
The maw gaped wide, swallowing the abyssal light wheel whole like a whale, but in mere seconds, it abruptly swelled before explosively rupturing!
“Great Dark Demon Armor!”
With a look of profound horror, Galakriffin deployed his final defense: a colossal demon armor shimmering with dense black light.
Though both the Heavenly Wheel and the demon armor were rooted in darkness, their clash unleashed a blinding flash of light.
The demon armor was ultimately sliced into two halves, and the Heavenly Wheel finally expended all its power.
Galakriffin, drenched in cold sweat, stared at the abyssal light wheel that had dissipated mere inches from his nose, feeling utterly drained as if he had narrowly escaped death.
Yet, before he could even celebrate his survival, he saw it: a colossal, moon-like abyssal light wheel suspended above You’er’s head, instantly striking terror into his very soul.
“Bastard! You damn bastard!”
Galakriffin cursed, stamping his foot. He absolutely could not allow You’er to unleash that abyssal light wheel, for it signified not only the destruction of the arena but also his own demise.
“Dark Spirit, darker than darkness itself, deeper than the night, great existence in the abyss sea, I, Galakriffin Olnyte, beseech thee—
Abyssal Demonic Erosion!”
Galakriffin slashed his wrist, drawing a magic array with his blood, and completed the incantation in a low, resonant voice.
Abyssal Demonic Erosion—a horrifying shadow demon spirit that crawled from the abyssal mire. It coiled around You’er’s body, its enormous demonic claws piercing the abyssal light wheel above You’er’s head, ravenously devouring and dissolving the power within the wheel.
The shadow demon spirit’s body possessed a terrifying erosive power; as it entangled You’er, his body was visibly corroded, his skin festered, his cellular tissues necrotized, and even his exposed bones withered away!
Meanwhile, the ethereal blue light, the power of the Ice Elf King’s bloodline, frantically worked to repair the necrotic body, desperately resisting the shadow demon spirit’s erosion.
Throughout this ordeal, You’er remained oblivious to everything but his singular focus: maintaining the final Heavenly Wheel above his head with his utmost effort.
Finally, under Galakriffin’s gaze, which was saturated with terror and despair, the last Heavenly Wheel, the largest and most dreadful abyssal light wheel, ultimately descended.
Just as it had first appeared, it cleaved the sky, cleaved the earth, cleaved the Death Arena…
And cleaved Galakriffin himself.