Chapter 1151: Buying Time
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At the deep, terrifying cracks in the astral barrier, grayish-white fog suddenly began to spread.
The fog quickly obscured the fissures, rendering them invisible and untouchable.
It was as if they no longer existed.
As a result, the astral barrier stabilized.
The Lord of Mysteries-where truth bes falsehood, and falsehood bes truth!
This time, the Outer Deities beyond the barrier did not retreat. Instead, They intensified Their oppression. Their brilliance grew brighter than before, especially the golden star, which rapidly expanded, first transforming into a zing star with countless mes leaping from it, then into a genuine sun. It erupted with light that illuminated the entire astral world, revealing colossal, shadowy entities cloaked in darkness and terrifying forms shrouded by storms.
Once again, the astral barrier emitted a cracking sound that transitioned from abstract to real.
Lord of Mysteries Klein raised his hand to adjust the silk half-top hat on his head. His body dissolved into a dark vortex bristling with slick tentacles, which then merged into the invisible barrier.
ng!
An ancient bell tolling across eras reverberated throughout the astral world and the spirit world that spanned the universe. The eight differently colored stars froze in ce, and their exploding light fractured into countless cones.
The astral barrier was thoroughly stabilized.
Klein then turned his gaze toward the earth.
In the World of Ruins, except for the few areas under protection and some distant regions in the Western Continent, the Spirit Body Threads of all other living beings suddenly floated skyward, ascending into the astral world.
These included wed bird-like infant monstrosities, oak giants, herds of deer, and various animals, as well as creatures mutated into the Brood Hive''s followers. The countless beings- numbering in the tens or hundreds of billions-shuddered and turned their bodies to gaze uniformly at the massive, stationary blood-red moon hanging in the air.
The next second, these innumerable creatures writhed and transformed. Each one instantly morphed into a version of Klein Moretti,plete with a silk half-top hat and ck trench coat.
Countless Klein Morettis surged toward the massive, blood-red, perfectly round moon from the sky,nd, sea, and all directions.
Near the dense fog surrounding the Western Continent, Omebe, who had grown into a young girl over less than a year and now stood five or six meters tall, burned with ck mes that emanated destruction. Her eyes were vacant as She watched each Klein Moretti pass by.
Her body had already fragmented substantially, and Her soul was nearplete dissolution. All that remained was Her confusion and sorrow.
She couldn''t understand why Her mother wanted to kill Her.
Atst, Omebe''s remaining consciousness, spirit, spirituality, and shattered body were devoured by the Fire of Destruction, rapidly turning to ash.
With Herplete death, the mountain-like, nest-like protrusion on the surface of the blood-red moon let out a wail filled with hatred and resentment: "Child! My child!" The struggle intensified.
As the Klein Morettis approached the densely concentrated world of the blood-red moonlight, they began to undergo transformations.
Some withered rapidly, others'' bellies swelled as their flesh and blood concentrated into offspring that were not marites. Others gained new life and consciousness, ceasing to be mere puppets and starting to resist the Maritist controlling them.
The Klein Morettis turned on each other, engaging in fierce battles. Yet whether it was the marites'' offspring or those reborn, they soon became toys in the hands of the
Maritist, entering a new cycle.
Many marites attempted to use various abilities, but the majority of these powers betrayed their original owners, instead destroying them.
The situation reached a stalemate as numerous inexplicable phenomena unfolded in the region.
The true body of Klein, unable to leave the astral barrier, never expected to defeat or seriously wound the Mother Goddess of Depravity using marites or parasitic methods. He simply aimed to scatter Her focus, forcing Her to divert significant attention to fend off the relentless, unending assaults. His true goal was to dy Herplete fusion with the Brood Hive!
Even if I can''t defeat you, can''t I at least make you miserable?
-
Within the protected zone, Backlund, at the home of The Magician Fors and Judgment Xio. After hearing Franca''s ount, The Magician Fors exhaled slowly and said, "So that''s what happened...
"No wonder I had a bad feeling..."
Due to the istion of the protected zone and the extremely high level of the current events, neither she nor Judgment Xio had managed to understand what was happening in time. All their attempts at divination had failed.
Before anyone else could speak, Fors looked around the room and solemnly said,
"Everyone, prepare yourselves."
Her n was to relocate the humans in her "sphere" to the edge of the universe, to a still- habitable that hadn''t yet been discovered by the Outer Deities. She had already gathered the Abrahams into a nearby neighborhood.
Franca opened her mouth as if to say something but held back. Anthony remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Madam Magician smiled slightly and turned to Ludwig.
"Your godfather probably wanted to feed you the danger of the thirdyer of the Box of the Great Old Ones, but I''m not sure if there''s still time for that..."
Before she could finish, she suddenly froze, turning her head toward the window and gazing at the crimson moon in the night sky.
Franca, Ludwig, and Xio quickly followed suit.
"Mr. Fool has be the true Lord of Mysteries..." As an Archangel of the Door pathway, The Magician was the first to sense this. She was both surprised and puzzled, but these emotions were overshadowed by an overwhelming sense of relief and security.
"When did Mr. Fool fully awaken?" Judgment Xio began to recall the circumstances of thest
two Tarot Gatherings.
Mr. Fool has truly awakened and be the Lord of Mysteries? Franca felt a moment of tion before realizing why Lumian had been so unhurried earlier.
Not long after, once things had stabilized and The Magician Fors finally retrieved rted information from the spirit world and stars, she exhaled in relief and said, "Although Earth
Mother has fallen..."
She nced at Anthony, sealing his hearing just as Franca had done when exining the Mother Goddess of Depravity''s impending fusion with the Brood Hive.
Only afterpleting this did The Magician continue, "But the Mother Goddess of Depravity''s progress in amodating the Brood Hive has also been dyed. Mr. Fool has timely ascended as the Lord of Mysteries and stabilized the astral barrier."
She paused, then looked at Franca and Ludwig.
"Of course, the danger isn''t over yet. If Lumian can''t amodate the City of Cmity before the Mother Goddess of Depravity fully fuses with the Brood Hive, and if he can''t cooperate with Mr. Fool to seriously wound Her and drive Her out of the barrier after bing the Origins of Disaster, we''ll still have to evacuate."
"Mm." Franca first responded solemnly, then forced a smile. "At least there''s still hope. That''s better than no hope at all!"
"Indeed." Madam Magician nodded in agreement, then released Anthony from his seal and briefly exined the situation in terms he could understand.
After finishing, she sighed and said, "Tonight is destined to be long."
Meanwhile, the Rorsted Archipgo, in the City of Generosity, Bayam.
The Blue Avenger docked at the harbor. Mr. Hanged Man Alger, wearing a captain''s coat, stepped off the deck and descended toward the port, embraced by the wind.
Under the crimson moonlight, his shadow stretched long and indistinct, as if he had three
heads.
Loen Kingdom, Cathedral of Serenity, in a certain room.
Mr. Star Leonard emerged from the darkness, wearing a white shirt under a dark trench coat.
He approached a table, picked up the red gloves ced before him, and slowly, methodically
slipped them on.
He then nced around, his figure vanishing inch by inch as if erased by an invisible hand.
Mission: Protect a region containing multiple "spheres."
Destination: Tingen City, Awwa County.
...
Above the gray fog, within the majestic pce.
When Mr. Fool left for the astral world, Lumian turned his gaze toward the charred fragments
of trees left after the Gift of the Land shattered and the brown mist rising and coalescing
above them. This mist corresponded to the powers of the Deste Matriarch''s boon.
Lumian reached out and grabbed, causing the brown mist to condense into a mass of soiln/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
sprouting grass, grains, and vines.
"Deliver this to Madam Justice," Lumian said, tossing the soil to Zedus beside him.
After the strike of the Sword of Destruction, Omebe''s remaining consciousness and spirituality within the Gift of the Land had beenpletely annihted, leaving behind no trace. The boon power, now detached from the corpse, became purified, containing only faint remnants of the Brood Hive''s consciousness and spirituality, unlinked to Omebe''s mystical
connections.
In essence, this mass of brown soil was akin to Beyonder items like the Circle of Binding or Fallen Mercury. It no longer bore ties to Omebe''s past but could no longer reliably connect with the Brood Hive for power, making each use of its abilities finite.
As he spoke, Lumian departed from above the gray fog with Zedus, returning to the vi
where he resided.
Naboredisley was already waiting there.
"You''ve finally returned," said Naboredisley, His ice-blue eyes betraying a visible sigh of
relief.
As Zedus vanished with the brown soil in hand, Lumian smiled at Naboredisley and said, "Let''s begin. This is the final chance."
With that, Lumian settled into an armchair in the living room.
Naboredisley gave him a look, sat on the long sofa opposite him, and smiled in reply, "Better
than no chance at all."
Before the words had fully left his lips, His body suddenly dissolved into a pool of ck liquid, a manifestation of all malice, desire, and evil intent.
The ck liquid, both real and illusory, quickly flowed toward Lumian.
Directly infiltrating my mind and spirit without imnting a spiritual brand? Heh... Lumian raised
an eyebrow, watching with a smile but offering no resistance. He allowed the foul, sinister liquid to seep into his body, spirit, and mind.
Feeling the surge of malevolence within him, Lumian retrieved a candle from his divine
kingdom, lit it, and ced it on the edge of the coffee table.
He then leaned back against the sofa, closing his eyes. The faintly sweet aroma of gray amber began to spread.