Chapter 284: Old Acquaintance? Old Acquaintance!

The power of the chariot, unbound by the spell of time-stoppage, saturated the space around Wang Yu, tightening its grip on things already locked in stasis.

The devil known as "Five," an initiator who should have moved freely within the frozen flow of time, found himself utterly incapable of action.

As the caster, he remained unaffected by the temporal freeze, yet Wang Yu had shackled everything surrounding him; he was trapped as if encased in a solid mold perfectly fitted to his form, leaving no room for even the slightest movement.

"What has this creature done?! There is no fluctuation of Void energy upon him, nor any trace of magic. Can the secret legacy left by Roland truly be this formidable?!"

"No, that passage! To the outside world, this place is frozen; they will surely seize this opportunity to prepare forces against me."

The locked-down devil "Five" focused his attention entirely on Wang Yu, who was held fast by the temporal spell, and the two-way portal hovering above him like a halo.

The range of a time-stoppage spell is finite; at its periphery, a zone of temporal deceleration acts as a buffer, preventing a rupture between the normal flow of time outside and the stagnant space within.

The space connected to the portal above Wang Yu was the material world, and clearly, the space outside that passage lay far beyond the reach of the spell.

This meant that those outside saw Wang Yu and the devil "Five" frozen together, unable to act, while they themselves had two full minutes to prepare for anything.

The devil "Five" realized that the moment the spell ended, countless attacks would emerge from that portal; he had to be ready to dodge with every ounce of his strength.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

He counted down in his mind, constructing within his remaining conscious space the wizard runes he had always disdained to use.

He had to channel Void energy the instant time resumed to evade.

A devil’s instinctual ability to warp reality with Void energy could not replace these runes; the former had a delay, while the latter, if prepared in advance, were instantaneous.

"Click!"

The phantom sound of a clock hand ticking echoed, and the stagnant time suddenly surged into motion. The moment the spell broke, "Five" unleashed the prepared wizard rune.

Void energy flooded the rune, and spatial ripples manifested upon his body. Void Walk—the simplest spatial movement spell and one of the fastest to cast—was his chosen path to distance himself from the monster that was Wang Yu.

To "Five's" astonishment, the expected storm of attacks from the portal did not descend. Instead, at the very instant time resumed, a phantom lens of pure magic appeared over Wang Yu’s right eye.

"What is that?"

The moment the question crossed his mind, Wang Yu thrust his Blade of Destruction toward a specific point beside him without a second's hesitation.

"Clang!"

A soundless chime resonated; the blade struck something in the void, and the materialized Void energy coating the edge shattered the target instantly.

Then, the devil "Five" watched in horror as his half-cast Void Walk collapsed. The energy guided by the rune dissipated, and his body, which had already begun to tear through space, halted in place.

"Five's" mistake was using a wizard rune, a tool created by wizards; as he channeled it, the mages observing through the portal immediately identified its structure.

Like a magical circuit, a wizard rune collapses if its key nodes are destroyed.

After analyzing the Void Walk, Avia had adjusted the Perfect Fractal structure within half a minute, delivering it to Wang Yu just as the time-stoppage ended.

The Perfect Fractal lens deconstructed the spell in an instant, highlighting the rune's nodes for Wang Yu. All he had to do was strike.

With Avia’s help, Wang Yu completed this unconventional counter-spell and, without pause, swung his blade at the devil, who remained frozen by the failure of his spatial shift.

The pitch-black edge carved a dark trajectory through the air, moving so swiftly that it traversed the devil's body several times in a single breath. By the time Wang Yu withdrew the blade, the devil "Five" had shattered into countless fragments, dispersing without a drop of blood.

Simultaneously, Wang Yu reached his free hand into the halo above, pulling out a swirling black vortex.

Countless tiny, dark spheres orbited the vortex in his palm, exerting an invisible force that dragged everything nearby toward the center.

Fifth-tier spell: Void Manifestation.

Wang Yu pressed this spell of immense destructive power directly onto the scattered remains of the devil.

The black vortex pulled the fragments inward, while the rotating spheres collided with them, grinding and tearing the remnants into nothingness, ensuring no trace remained.

Confirming the death of "Five," Wang Yu rushed toward Mira, who was protected by the Oath of Gold and Stone. It was time to send Avia’s mother home.

Lifting Mira, he sent her into the portal—a passage created by the "Wish Coin" potion, bridging the Void and the material world.

The halo expanded, allowing Mira to pass through safely, returning her to the material world.

Through the portal, Wang Yu gave a thumbs-up to Avia, Lilia, and Garcia, who were watching from the other side, before turning to run in the opposite direction.

He could have left, but he no longer intended to be passively hunted. With "Five" and "Four" dead, he would now hunt the last devil to appear in this incident.

In the distance, at the edge of the cage barrier created by the external Cursed Wizard Tower members, the devil "Three" was attempting to use his authority of "Distortion" to break through.

He had witnessed the slaughter of "Five" and "Four," and the two portions of power returning to his own body confirmed their permanent demise.

These returning powers were diminished; "Five" and "Four" had been utterly erased. They would not resurrect. Even if the power granted by the Void remained, the entities themselves had ceased to exist.

The terror of this monster was etched deep into "Three's" soul. He no longer dared to fight; he only wanted to flee.

"How many powers are mixed into this barrier? Wizardry, spells, and things unrelated to either—divine arts?! Damn it, the Tree of Distorted Life cost me and 'Five' too much power. Even with this return, it is not enough!"

"Three" tried repeatedly to break the blockade, but as he had told "Five," he had exhausted too much of his Void-granted authority on the Tree. He was the weakest of them all.

Wang Yu was closing in, and the barrier remained unbroken. The threat of death crushed "Three's" mind; the devil who once laughed while toying with intelligent beings now descended into madness.

"I cannot die! I absolutely cannot die! Even if I lose part of my body, it is better than being completely extinguished!"

Staring at the approaching Wang Yu, "Three" stopped trying to break the barrier. He turned to face his pursuer, a twisted, chaotic sigil appearing in his hand.

"Stay back! Or I will make you die here with me!"

He roared, his featureless face contorted with absolute madness and rage.

"Thud..."

Upon seeing the sigil, Wang Yu actually stopped—partly because it looked familiar, and partly because of a tense warning from Avia transmitted through the portal.

The sigil in "Three's" hand pointed to a Void Evil God—one that was an old acquaintance of Wang Yu and Avia: the Lord of Extinction.

"Yes! Stay right there! If you come any closer, I will crush this sigil and summon the Evil God here. I might not be completely destroyed, but you will surely perish under the god's power."

"Three" watched Wang Yu stop, a flicker of joy appearing amidst the extreme tension in his eyes. It worked! The sigil of an Evil God was indeed a sufficient deterrent!

"You should understand that I will never let a threat like you live. A bomb hidden in the shadows that could explode at any moment—how can I be at ease? Perhaps paying the price of my own life to kill you is a worthy choice."

Expressionless, Wang Yu stated his view coldly. His murderous tone caused the anxiety in "Three's" heart to surge once more.

He could not read this creature, who lacked even the slightest micro-expression. He did not know if Wang Yu was serious.

"I have no reason to harm you or those you care about. This time was merely a coincidence. I swear to you, if I encounter anything related to you in the future, I will steer completely clear."

"Three" spoke rapidly, eager to prove he was no longer a threat.

"A devil's words cannot be trusted. From hell, favored by the Void, creating chaos in the material world for your own amusement—history is filled with the shadows of your kind. How can I believe your promise?"

The calm words were grounded in reality; the reputation of devils made it impossible to trust such harbingers of disorder.

"We are merely wandering souls expelled from the hell plane. We have no material bodies, are not accepted by the material world, and cannot return to hell. Only the Void accepts us."

"And our power, the favor of the Void, comes with a price: the more chaos and disorder we sow in the material world, the greater the power we receive."

"To manufacture catastrophe for the sake of one's own whims is merely to seek out a preferred method while sowing the seeds of chaos."

"In other words, even if I choose to continue spreading chaos in the material world, I have no reason to remain a threat to you; for us, making an enemy of someone capable of killing us is a losing proposition."

"Does this reason satisfy you? Truly, there is no need to perish alongside me under the power of an Outer God just to see me dead."

The devil known as "Three" spoke rapidly, spilling secrets of his kind unknown to the world, hoping to convince Wang Yu that they would no longer pose a threat.

"Is that so... It is not impossible; in fact, it is highly probable. Mind Flayers operate this way, spreading chaos to unbalance the order of the material world, harvesting the power of the Void by sowing the disorder that aligns with its essence."

"These devils are the same; as agents of the Void, they spread chaos and distortion in the material world to gain the sustenance of Void power."

"If so, their motives are perfectly clear. The chaos wrought by the great catastrophes of history has indeed been substantial."

Wang Yu did not reply, weighing the credibility of "Three's" words in his mind. He concluded that the devil was likely telling the truth; the reason these hedonists, who delighted in toying with sentient beings, acted as they did had finally been laid bare to the world.

"What is your answer..."

"Three" stared fixedly at Wang Yu, the mark of the Undying Lord in his hand flickering, terrified that Wang Yu, wielding the Blade of Ruined Meteorite, might suddenly lunge to strike him down before he could crush the seal.

"Hmm, I think what you say makes a lot of sense."

Wang Yu nodded, the materialized Void energy on his blade fading as he sheathed the weapon at his waist.

"Phew..."

Though he had no need for breath, "Three" let out a sigh. He was relieved that Wang Yu had made such a "wise" decision; unless absolutely necessary, he had no desire to summon an Outer God from the Void.

"Are we late?"

A familiar voice echoed in Wang Yu's mind through the two-way conduit.

"No, just in time. Otherwise, I might have actually let this guy walk away."

A faint smirk touched his lips as Wang Yu transmitted his reply via the power of the Chariot.

"Bang!"

An explosive collision erupted beneath Wang Yu. Without warning, he lowered his stance, pushed off the ground with all his might, and transformed into a blur, charging toward the devil.

A powerful current of air poured from the halo above, wrapping around him and granting him terrifying speed.

"!! This monster, what is he doing? Does he want to die with me!? Is he insane!?"

"Three" could not fathom why Wang Yu would choose mutual destruction. The hesitation cost him a heartbeat; by the time he tried to muster his weakened strength to flee, it was already too late.

"Crack!"

Before the Void energy could coalesce, Wang Yu’s hands, reinforced by the Chariot’s power, clamped firmly onto the devil's head.

"Gack, gack, gack..."

Under the crushing pressure of Wang Yu’s grip, the devil's skull groaned, splintering and twisting under the unbearable strain.

"Why!? Must... you... do... this...?"

"Three" gasped, unable to comprehend Wang Yu’s choice. Did he not fear death?

"..."

There was no response. Wang Yu did not listen to chatter when he fought, nor did he speak; if he did, it was only because the target had an ulterior motive—like stalling for time.

"Snap, splat!"

The devil's head burst under Wang Yu’s grip, and his entire body exploded into a shower of fragments. Along with his body, his head, and his life, the seal of the Outer God in his hand—the beacon for the Undying Lord—was shattered.

A strange ripple pierced through all barriers, crossing the cages that bound the devils, and reached a point deep within the Void.

Almost the instant the seal burst, Wang Yu felt the space around him shift. Outside the ruins left by Roland, a giant emerged silently from the nothingness.

Endless, maddening, distorted power swirled around its immortal, colossal frame, and an absolute pressure descended upon the ruins the moment it arrived.

The structure itself remained intact, but Wang Yu felt a thousand-ton weight pressing down upon him; his bones groaned, and every movement of his internal power became sluggish and agonizing.

Wang Yu’s old acquaintance, the Undying Lord, had descended. In the Void, an Outer God was a true deity, far more powerful than most of the righteous gods who deigned to perform miracles.

"It’s no use, space is locked..."

He tried to return to the material world through the conduit above, but the halo remained unresponsive. Wang Yu muttered to himself.

He knew that with the arrival of the Undying Lord, this realm—a mixture of matter and Void created by Roland—was no longer free. The Outer God’s power had claimed everything the moment it appeared.

"Boom..."

An incomprehensible resonance echoed around the Undying Lord, vibrating incessantly. No one could understand the words it spoke; the Outer God was the embodiment of chaotic, twisted madness. Even that seemingly normal body was nothing more than an empty shell.

The chaotic, distorted power swept over the top of the building. The mere aftermath of this force caused the surrounding space to shimmer with the deep purple hues of a star-filled sky, as aberrant Void creatures began to manifest, hissing and leaping.

"Umm..."

An indecipherable sound emerged from the Undying Lord. It seemed to notice the tiny creature that was Wang Yu. This strange being, devoid of a soul, had not been twisted after being brushed by its power. Moreover, the entity’s appearance... it had a memory of this.

It was the knight who, alongside that peculiar girl, had once destroyed one of its avatars and made it feel the sensation of "pain."

An emotion called "wrath" flickered in its chaotic consciousness. The Undying Lord raised a hand and pressed it down toward Wang Yu.

An immense force bore down upon him. Having retracted the Chariot’s power, Wang Yu was now unaffected by the Void’s influence, including the power of the Undying Lord.

But the two-way conduit could not withstand it. It began to flicker, teetering on the brink of collapse. If the conduit were destroyed, Wang Yu would be unable to return to the material world, left to wander in an endless void until he starved to death.

Just before the Outer God’s power could shatter the conduit, a wisp of darkness suddenly emerged beneath its palm, growing and spreading with frantic speed, coating the surrounding space in a different layer of power.

A massive tree, its dark bark shimmering with the starlight of the night sky, surged from the Void and slammed against the descending palm of the Undying Lord.

The Tree of the Night Sky.