Chapter 208: New Things, Reflection of the Stars

“Ugh… no, no, let me die, I don’t want this, crack.”

Within the perimeter swallowed by the God of Fear’s “Divine Kingdom,” a nobleman who had secured a seat on the Council and attended the celebration now gripped his own throat with both hands.

Muscles strained, and blue veins bulged across his hands and neck. Tears flowed uncontrollably down a face turned purple from the asphyxiation caused by his own crushing grip.

His teeth sank into his lips, blood oozing from between them, while the muscles of his face knotted in the grip of the purest terror, his wide-open eyes laced with crimson.

His pupils began to dilate—partly because his brain refused to acknowledge sight, desperate to avoid witnessing the ultimate, unspeakable horror, and partly because his hands, driven by uncontrollable muscular spasms, had already snapped his own neck.

The corpse, eyes still wide in death, lay face-up within the God of Fear’s domain, its vacant gaze seemingly fixed upon the Sovereign atop the dome of the hemispherical realm.

There were many others like him. The first wave of people caught within the God of Fear’s reach had already begun to kill themselves, one by one, under the influence of the ever-intensifying dread permeating the environment.

A multitude of corpses, eyes staring blankly at nothing, lay amidst pools of blood across the plaza and its surroundings. The lively celebration, intended to commemorate a victory in war, was now utterly consumed by darkness, carnage, and fear.

Suddenly, a black hand brushed across the face of the man who had snapped his own neck, closing his staring eyes. It was a black humanoid figure, featureless and silent in its movements.

Similar figures began to emerge in the vicinity, varying in height and stature. They looked down at the fallen, performing the same ritual for each, closing the eyes of those who had died in terror.

The colossal shadow at the apex of the “Divine Kingdom” remained motionless, yet its domain continued to expand. The emotion of fear was the source of its power, and the attacks launched from the outside by the Stevenson Academy of Magic and the Royal Family were proving entirely futile.

……

“Can’t you people do something? The Night’s Edge should be experts in this field! Is there really no record of how to deal with this kind of divine descent?”

A city guard, assisting the Night’s Edge technicians in analyzing the boundary of the God of Fear’s domain, angrily questioned the members of the Night’s Edge, who were grimly attempting to decipher the phenomenon.

“We are experts in the Void. This descended deity is considered a true god; its connection to the Void is limited. We can only keep trying.”

The Night’s Edge technician did not turn back. He continued his work with grim focus, casually responding even as he was forced to discard a piece of equipment that had been rendered useless after coming into contact with the encroaching field of fear.

“Damn it! The history of the Night’s Edge must be ancient! How can you have no experience, no record of anything like this happening before?”

The guard was clearly losing his composure, his speech rapid and laced with a frantic, aimless rage.

“Ha. If everything could be solved by looking up old files or relying on experience, that would be wonderful.”

“New things always emerge, and we never know when we will face them. Unfortunately, what we are facing now is something entirely unprecedented. A terrestrial Divine Kingdom—I’ve never seen that mentioned in any archive.”

The technician’s voice was low and cold, forcibly suppressing his other emotions to ensure his full attention remained on the analysis of the God of Fear’s domain.

“Ugh, ah, phew. Sorry, I shouldn’t have distracted you. I’m just… tch. My home is only a few hundred meters from here. At the current rate of expansion, it will be swallowed in half an hour. My emotions got the better of me.”

After hearing the technician’s words, the guard struck himself twice, apologizing for venting his irrational anger on the man who was focused on the analysis.

“It’s fine, I understand. My home was near the plaza; it was swallowed within fifteen minutes of the descent. I don’t even know if my daughter managed to escape.”

The words were indifferent, masking a devastating reality.

“……” The guard was speechless. He simply raised his sword, aiming it at another member of the Abyss Gate organization who had just lunged from the alleyway behind them.

Beside him lay several corpses of city guards, interspersed with the far fewer bodies of the Abyss Gate members.

…………

Blood flowed rapidly along Wang Yu’s arm, driven by the secret arts of the Blood-Fury Knight. Using his arm as an acceleration track, the blood reached a terrifying velocity before splitting into several streams, shooting out from between his fingers.

The moment they left his fingertips, the ripples of his Material Molding Sword Art altered the nature of the blood, transforming it into five blades, each roughly the size of an index finger, which whistled through the air.

“Pfft, pfft, pfft!” The two Abyss Gate members blocking Wang Yu’s path were struck in various parts of their bodies by the blood-blades, both emitting muffled groans as they stumbled backward.

Maintaining his sprint, Wang Yu made a pulling motion with his hand. Instantly, the blood-blades embedded in the two men liquefied, tearing and ravaging their insides with frantic intensity.

Before they could even scream in agony, Wang Yu unleashed his battle aura, lunging forward to close the distance. As he drove his knee into one of them, his mental energy communicated with the Weaver’s Grimoire at his waist.

“Bang! Boom!” The immense force shattered the chest of the man he kneed, crushing his sternum and stopping his heart instantly, while a fireball generated in his palm at the same moment blew the other man’s head to pieces.

“Where did these guys pop up from? Did Sevintan lay this trap so far in advance?!”

Edward shook the blood from his sword, carrying Sufang on his back as he caught up to Wang Yu, who was slaughtering the Abyss Gate members with terrifying efficiency.

“I don’t know, but they are our biggest obstacle right now. Don’t forget, the Abyss Gate is, in a sense, the counterpart to the Night’s Edge… just because these guys are only at the Apprentice Knight level doesn’t mean they don’t have combatants at the Official or even Great Knight level.”

Wang Yu and his companions had encountered these Sevintan Abyss Gate members shortly after breaking out of the God of Fear’s domain.

They had already run into several squads, but their strength was only around that of Apprentice Knights—meaningless against Wang Yu and Edward, both of whom were formidable even among Official Knights.

“Rumble, rumble.” In a distant sector of the Royal City, a violent tremor shook the ground. A massive stone fist burst through the earth, rising up and crushing several buildings before slamming down, turning a large area into ruins.

A mage could be vaguely seen flying beside the giant stone fist, waving a staff—it was one of Alastair’s mages, currently locked in combat.

Given the divine descent and the ambush by the Abyss Gate, the target of the mage’s battle was self-evident.

“Their goal is definitely to stall us, to prevent us from stopping this area’s expansion. No one knows how far it can spread, but it will certainly cover the entire Royal City. The magi-tech communication devices are damaged by the God of Fear’s domain. Let’s head back to the Night’s Edge headquarters; the Professor and Captain Shugin will surely have a way.”

Edward shared his thoughts with Wang Yu, who nodded slightly in agreement.

“You go first. I’m going to Red Maple Street to find Avia, then I’ll meet up with you.” With that, Wang Yu sped off toward his home.

Edward didn’t waste time, racing against the clock to take the cat-girl to the Night’s Edge headquarters. Regardless of anything else, that place was safe enough—at least, it was more than capable of protecting Sufang.

“Clatter, crash!” Wang Yu burst into the house, which had long since been abandoned by its owners. He smashed through windows, kicked in wooden doors, and sprinted across rooftops and balconies, taking the shortest possible route to Red Maple Street.

Grabbing a tree branch by the roadside, he swung himself across a dozen meters, landing in his own courtyard.

“Avia!” Wang Yu had just called out when he saw her standing at the gate, dressed in mage robes suitable for combat, her golden hair tied into a ponytail, fully armed.

“You finally arrived. Shugin has a mission for you: deliver this to the Abyss of the Royal City’s Shadow. There are many Abyss Gate members on the road, so he sent me to help you, lest you die on the way. And this mage lady seems to intend to go with you.”

The Smoke Demon’s noisy voice echoed. Wang Yu had already noticed the formless, nimble mist gathering and expanding around the girl; he hadn’t expected it to be Shugin’s demon.

“I’m going with you.” Avia waved her staff, and with a surge of magical energy, several buff spells were cast upon Wang Yu.

“No problem.” Wang Yu did not try to persuade her to stay somewhere safe; he didn’t believe he had the right to make decisions for Avia.

“Did you bring the Perception-Surpassing Potion?” Wang Yu asked, looking at Avia.

“Yes.” The girl confirmed, producing a special vial that seemed to vibrate constantly, showing it to Wang Yu.

“Give me the Ancient Helmet-Breaker potion. I’ll carry it; we might actually need it this time.” After a moment’s thought, Wang Yu reached out his hand.

“Okay.” Avia traced a line in the air. A Phase Gate opened, and she reached into the spatial rift, pulling out a test tube filled with golden liquid and tossing it to Wang Yu.

His blood churned, enveloping the vial—a super-adrenalin concoction made from Zig-Dragon blood—and adhering it to his back.

This way, even if the vial shattered during combat, Wang Yu could instantly inject the potion, whose effects were so extreme that even he didn’t fully understand them, directly into his system.

This divine descent might be the greatest trouble Alastair had ever encountered; Wang Yu had to be cautious, and then cautious again.

“Ready. Let’s go.” With preparations complete, Wang Yu charged out of the courtyard. Avia manipulated the wind element, flying at a low altitude to follow him.

The Smoke Demon was more direct; just as it had with Shugin, it formed a suit of smoky knight’s armor, enveloping Wang Yu’s body. Two people and a demon set off toward the Royal City’s Shadow.

…………

“Boom, crackle, crackle.” At one of the entrances to the Royal City’s Shadow, several Abyss Gate members lay in ambush, waiting for the Night’s Edge team. However, arriving faster than the Night’s Edge was a composite spell.

A violent explosion of fire elements erupted at the top of the tunnel leading underground, shattering the bricks and stones above.

The resulting dust instantly filled the enclosed space, rendering the dim magic crystal lamps on the tunnel walls useless.

While the Abyss Gate members were still coughing in the smoke, the second stage of the composite spell surrounded them.

Thick stone walls rose from the ground, sealing off the escape route for the Abyss Gate members.

“Watch out for the enemy!” someone shouted, but the warning was futile. Before he could finish, a figure had already charged into the stone enclosure.

Quick-witted, several high-level Apprentice Knight members of the Abyss Gate caught the trajectory of the figure rushing in, drew their daggers, and lunged with blinding speed.

Most of the attacks failed to strike that agile, elusive figure; only a few daggers, guided by the narrow terrain and precise anticipation, found their mark, followed by the metallic clatter of impact echoing through the corridor.

"This armor really is something," Wang Yu murmured, a smirk playing on his lips, as several daggers jabbed forcefully into the Smoke Demon’s shroud covering his body, unable to even scratch the surface.

More importantly, this smoke armor, despite its heavy-plate defensive capabilities, lacked the sluggishness of traditional heavy gear, even granting Wang Yu a subtle, supplementary boost in strength.

"No kidding, look who you’re partnered with—that’s your Captain, and only with his internal potential can you fully unleash my power; using me as mere armor is a waste of my talents, though I suppose I can handle things myself."

The Smoke Demon’s arrogant, triumphant voice rang out through the passage.

Wang Yu charged forward, ignoring the daggers embedded in his smoky shell, and used his overwhelming strength to send several members of the Abyss Gate crashing to the floor.

With a blade of congealed blood held between his fingers, he flicked his wrist, the crimson dagger becoming a blur; aided by the ripples that rendered darkness and dust irrelevant to his vision, he pierced the throats of every fallen adversary, ending their lives in an instant.

The surrounding Abyss Gate members swarmed toward him, oblivious to the peculiar mist mingling with the dust that choked the corridor.

Animated and guided by the Smoke Demon, wisps of vapor detached from Wang Yu’s armor, silently gathering behind the men, coiling around their necks like ethereal silk before solidifying into tangible, strangling nooses.

"Gah—cough—hkk!" The crushing pressure and sudden suffocation forced the Abyss Gate members to their knees, their hands clawing frantically at their throats, desperate to tear away the smoky bindings and gasp for air.

Wang Yu, however, offered no quarter; he forged his blood into a longsword and, with a few powerful, two-handed strikes, extinguished the lives of the ambushers.

"Not bad, kid. Your combat instincts and abilities are truly commendable," the Smoke Demon’s voice emanated from the armor.

Wang Yu ignored the praise, preoccupied by the fact that these Abyss Gate members had already reached the entrance to the Shadow of the Royal City; the foes waiting within would surely be far more formidable.

Though he was powerful for a formal knight, Captain Shugin, with his Great Knight strength, would have fared far better—why had he been chosen for this?

Without halting his advance, Wang Yu and Aivia descended into the Shadow of the Royal City, and along the way, Wang Yu posed the question directly to the Smoke Demon.

"Shugin has his own affairs to attend to; this mission fell to you. As for why, among the current Night Blades in the Royal City, only he—with his 'Evil Spirit Possession' and a will forged in fire—and you, with your incomprehensible mental resistance, possess the fortitude to enter the Abyss without shattering. If not him, it could only be you."

The Smoke Demon’s reply was lucid: only Wang Yu and Shugin could carry the metal sphere into the Abyss and deploy it; other Night Blades, even with the prayer network to divert the corruption, would have their minds broken by the deep-layer abyssal taint before the diversion could take effect.

"So this thing can't just be tossed in?" Wang Yu gestured toward the metal sphere Aivia was levitating with magic.

"Impossible. It is a Wonder; it requires a human will to manipulate it for it to function."

"A Wonder? Strategic-grade?" Wang Yu was startled. What purpose could sending a Wonder into the Abyss serve at a time like this?

"You should have heard of this Wonder: the Reflection of Stars. It is the very artifact that forged the Shadow of the Royal City. The goal of this mission is to enter the Abyss and use this artifact to invert the entity within."

"The Reflection of Stars?" Wang Yu repeated the name, a sudden realization dawning upon him.

He had previously pondered why Alastair had created the Shadow of the Royal City, and why he sought to invert that mass of negative emotion, void energy, and psychic power with the Reflection of Stars before casting it into the Abyss.

He had already witnessed the thing gestating within—a chaotic, twisted abyssal will, brimming with malice and madness.

And if the Reflection of Stars were used to completely invert the entity gestating beneath the Abyss, what, then, would be born in its place?