What kind of summon was this?!
Mirage felt a deep sense of injustice. The Nova Legion had moved mountains to secure the Lucerne Text, only to fail in summoning the Firenze Empire.
To think someone had actually managed to summon the entirety of Antut!
How was anyone supposed to fight that?
"What the..."
It wasn't just Mirage who was spiraling; the other observers lurking in the shadows were stunned into silence. Under the vast, overwhelming aura radiating from Antut, they were all trembling like leaves.
They couldn't gauge the exact power level, but it was certainly beyond anything a Tier 3 could resist. Even a Tier 4 likely stood no chance, as Alaya was already on the verge of total annihilation.
GULP.
A certain Tier 3 observer swallowed hard. Despite the terror shaking his bones, he knew one thing: witnessing such a scene was worth the risk.
"Is this truly Antut?"
The legendary, dreamlike kingdom capable of granting any miracle.
"VISAD!!!"
As the churning black blood was purified into nothingness, Alaya shrieked in agony beneath the holy power. Perhaps as the corruption burned away, a sliver of clarity returned to his mind.
He stared at Visad, his eyes brimming with undiluted hatred. The grotesque heap of twisted, rotted corpses that formed his body rapidly crumbled into ash.
Alaya refused to accept it.
Having finally clawed his way back into the present, he was dying at Visad's hand once again. Was it truly, as Visad said, his fated destiny?
Destiny!
A sudden realization struck Alaya. He remembered someone.
Someone who had held the strings of everything since the Era of Gods and Kings. He, Visad, Antut, Hlevi... As the realization set in, Alaya burst into manic laughter.
"HAHAHAHA! Visad, if you say my fate is pathetic, what does that make you? You and I... our destinies have always been played like puppets in the palm of her hand..."
His dying words were a mockery of Visad's own impotence. With that, every pale, rotting corpse dissolved into dust and scattered in the wind. Alaya had fallen.
Barely had the war begun, and two deities had already perished: Alaya being the first, the other having been dispatched by a single strike from Chloe.
Including Starry, there were only four summoned entities remaining in this war.
As the phantom of Antut faded, Visad turned his gaze toward Mirage's hiding spot. "Participant, if you wish to continue this battle, you must face me head-on."
"I forfeit!"
Mirage's nerves snapped. He raised his hands and decisively severed his own contract. Theoretically, a combatant could continue to fight even after losing their summoned entity, but that was under the assumption of a fair match, not when facing a walking miracle.
Facing these mythical, legendary existences alone was a death wish. Mirage knew his own limits all too well; he chose to forfeit without a second thought.
"The first participant has been eliminated," the spectators whispered to themselves.
In truth, Mirage wasn't the first. The Transcender whom Starry had sliced in two with a single blow was the first to be eliminated: he had simply been astronomically unlucky.
That meant there were now five participants remaining.
The appearance of Antut had been shocking enough, but Alaya's dying words left everyone in a state of confusion.
"Her?"
No one could decipher Alaya's meaning. Was there some exceptionally powerful or high-ranking deity from the Era of Gods and Kings? Someone powerful enough to hold their fates in the palm of her hand?
History and legend seemed to contain no such records.
The Era of Gods and Kings wasn't so ancient that it was completely unreachable. If such an entity truly existed, they would surely still be lurking in the world. The thought sent a chill down everyone's spine.
The more they pondered, the more terrifying it became.
...
Elsewhere.
Luo Changkong felt the massive energy fluctuations from Antut and turned his head. "Someone is already fighting? Faster than I imagined."
"A pointless farce."
Agal had no interest in participating in such a farce, but a split second later, a look of delight crossed his face. An intense battle intent erupted from him, startling Luo Changkong into a yelp.
"I feel the aura of an old friend!"
With that, he abandoned Luo Changkong without a second thought. In a flash, he appeared atop a set of ruins, eyes fixed on a knight clad in armor standing amidst the debris.
Julius.
This was a site of the former Firenze Empire. The Transcender from Decussate Star had made an exceptionally wise choice by summoning Julius here.
Old rivals meeting again. The moment their gazes locked, Agal's face lit up with raw excitement. The only reason he had answered the summon was for the chance to cross blades with Julius once more.
"HAHAHAHA! It seems the heavens favor me after all, Julius! Our victory or defeat remains undecided: let me see if the sword in your hand is still as sharp as I remember!"
A flicker of nostalgia passed through Julius's eyes.
A trace of a smile, so faint it was nearly imperceptible, vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
He drew his longsword.
"As you wish."
The mere collision of their auras pierced the heavens, shredding the clouds into ribbons. Beneath the clear, boundless sky, the formidable King reached up and clenched his fist against the void.
Agal's laughter was unrestrained.
"Julius, after two thousand years, this is the gift I've prepared for our reunion!"
RUMBLE!
A suffocating pressure hammered down from the firmament. The sky looked as though it were collapsing; the very atmosphere shivered, and a frantic sense of impending doom instantly gripped the entire planet.
"This is..."
Miles away, beyond the immediate reach of the Lost Lands, the Tier 3 observers were unable to sit still. A violent, sickening palpitations made it hard for them to breathe. The Commander-in-Chief of the Raitei Legion bolted to his feet, rushing to the window to stare up at the sky.
His pupils dilated in terror.
In the heavens, the stars were growing unnaturally large and vivid. They weren't just stars: they were massive, planetary bodies, each comparable in size to this world, being dragged down toward them from the depths of space.
The collision hadn't even begun, but the shift in gravity was already devastatingly apparent. If this continued, they were all finished.
"What the—!"
The Commander's soul turned cold; he nearly leaped out of his skin.
"Doesn't the contract forbid this kind of overkill? What kind of bastard is pulling this stunt?!!"
Down on the surface.
Ordinary people stared blankly at the massive spheres looming in the sky, their bodies feeling light and floaty, assuming they must be dreaming.
"I think I'm starting to float!"
"Look how big the stars are!"
The Tier 3 watchers were frozen in stunned silence. They had kept their distance, yet it was clearly not enough. Who could have expected such an apocalyptic scale of combat?
"Wait a minute... wasn't the contract supposed to confine the battlefield to the Lost Lands? How do you explain this?"
"Do I look like I know?"
"We're all getting a collective reset."
"Reset? Buddy, you're too optimistic. With the amount of bad karma you've racked up, there's no afterlife for you. Just find a patch of shade, lie down, and enjoy your final moments."
Mirage, who had been on the verge of fleeing the Lost Lands, looked up and calmly lit a cigarette. The slight tremor in his hand betrayed his composure.
The situation was dire.
Panicking wouldn't change that.
He had only one thought: exactly which divine lunatic was capable of such a feat?
...
BEEP-BEEP!
The dull, rhythmic honking of horns echoed down the street. It was bustling with foot traffic. If this were a film, adding a black-and-white filter would give it that perfect, gritty period-piece aesthetic.
While everyone else had chosen to perform their summoning in the seclusion of the wilderness, Baisha had opted for the middle of a crowded, bustling downtown center.
In the sea of people, two figures stood out. The man in the black, cape-like long coat was Baisha, a Tier 3 Void Wanderer.
He didn't belong to any Legion, but the fact that he had secured a combatant slot within the Mystic Faction meant his strength was beyond question.
Beside him stood a handsome individual with sharp, flowing green hair. His features were impeccably refined, yet possessed a soft, feminine grace.
It was impossible to tell his gender. In truth, he didn't have one.
Gaia.
The personified avatar of the planet's own consciousness—a Tier 4 powerhouse capable of wielding the entire energy reserves of the globe. He had answered Baisha's summons to take part in this war.
Baisha's relic hadn't been directly linked to Gaia, but the planet had answered the call of its own volition.
Gaia was the world itself. He understood exactly who had been summoned to this war, and those entities made no effort to mask their presence or the impact of their arrival.
For the sake of the planet, Gaia had been forced to manifest through the ritual. Thanks to the constraints of the contract, the odds of total planetary annihilation remained slim.
However, the sinking of the Lost Lands and permanent, irreparable damage to the crust—or even the planetary core itself—were very real possibilities. Gaia was here to prevent that outcome.
"So, this is the handiwork of some legendary figure, isn't it?"
Baisha stared up at the planets looming in the sky, ready to collide. His calm, composed demeanor stood in stark contrast to the panic gripping the people around him.
Gaia nodded.
"The Ancient Era. The King of the legendary Agal Empire."
As the planets grew larger and larger, a sense of crisis spread like wildfire. The panicked crowd, unsure of what to do, dissolved into chaos.
Just when everyone thought the heavenly bodies were about to crash down, a brilliant, blinding white sword beam erupted toward the heavens. Its vast, rolling momentum tore through the sky itself.
People were forced to shield their eyes.
A moment later.
BOOM!
The sword light faded.
The massive planets above were gone without a trace. Only a scattering of asteroid fragments remained, streaking through the atmosphere and burning with brilliant orange flames as they showered down upon the earth like rain.
Even as composed and level-headed as Baisha was, he couldn't help but want to curse out loud. He turned to Gaia. "Can you handle a situation like this?"
Gaia was brutally honest.
"No."
Baisha felt a headache coming on. "Then how are we supposed to fight?"
"Just fight. If it truly comes to it, just forfeit. I can only do my best to protect this world. If you still have the stomach for this, strike first and strike fast. Waiting for them to come knocking would be far too passive."
"Detected any other opponents?"
As the planet itself, Gaia essentially possessed a global map. Within his sensory range, a girl with white hair and red eyes was closing in.
Baisha grew thoughtful.
"I think I know who that is. Is she alone?"
Gaia confirmed, "I detected no traces of a summoned entity accompanying her."
Baisha didn't dare act rashly. He had no intention of sparking a war in the middle of the city. He relocated to the desolate wilds, intending to hide and gain the advantage of a surprise strike.
However, when the girl Gaia mentioned entered his line of sight, it was indeed Chloe, but the situation was not as Gaia had described. Baisha frowned.
"Didn't you say she was alone?"
Beside Chloe, there was clearly another person.
Gaia's expression stiffened.
"Beyond a shadow of a doubt... that must be the one she summoned."
Even though the figure was visible to the naked eye, there was absolutely no trace of his existence within Gaia's sensory perception. If he weren't seeing it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed such a reality possible.
There was only one conclusion.
The opponent's stealth capabilities were far beyond his range of detection.
Perhaps Tier 4.
Perhaps even higher.
Baisha suggested: "You deal with Chloe's summoned entity. I'll lurk in the shadows and wait for an opening to strike Chloe. I'm no match for her in a direct fight, but if we're lucky, we have a chance to win this."
"Hmm?"
Gaia was stunned. He was surprised by Baisha's plan—which sounded like nothing more than a death wish.
"That girl... she's the real deal. A Tier 4."
"Tier 4?"
Baisha's expression froze in astonishment. He knew Chloe was formidable, but to learn she was a bona fide Tier 4? Everyone was hiding their true strength far too well.
He decisively tapped out.
"What about the one beside her?"
"Tier 4. Possibly Tier 5. I wouldn't even rule out Tier 6..."
Baisha held up a hand, cutting Gaia off.
"We're done here."
He sighed, stepped out from his hiding spot, and threw his hands up in the air.
"I forfeit!"
With that, he deactivated the contract without a second's hesitation. Gaia, deprived of any chance to strike, dissolved and returned to the planet's core the moment the binding vanished.
In the shadows, various Void Wanderers and Transcenders scrambled to transmit this intelligence back to their bases.
The intensity of this war had blindsided everyone. In just the first day, one deity had been slain, and two participants had already surrendered and retreated.
...
Decussate Star Headquarters.
The Commander-in-Chief, who had been monitoring the situation in real-time, digested every scrap of data.
"Our Legion summoned Julius of the Firenze Empire. The identity of the one who summoned the King of Agal is unknown, but Antut has descended..."
It was an absolute slaughter, gods among men clashing.
With Mirage of the Nova Legion and the lone wolf Baisha out of the running, and Chloe's identity confirmed, the board was clearing.
"Theoretically, there should be one participant who hasn't revealed themselves yet."
In truth, that poor kid had already been sliced to ribbons by Starry. Since he didn't belong to the Decussate Star, the Commander remained blissfully unaware of his demise.
As for those who had answered the summons, the identities were becoming clear.
Julius of the Firenze Empire.
The King of the Agal Empire.
Antut.
Yet...
"Who exactly did Chloe summon?" the Commander wondered aloud.
Baisha had folded too quickly, and Gaia hadn't even had the chance to act. Mei had barely revealed her face, leaving the major Legions without a single shred of intelligence on her.
Identity unknown.
Strength unknown.
One thing was certain, however: it was at least a Tier 5. The Decussate Star hadn't been able to fully probe Gaia's identity, but they estimated Gaia held Tier 4 strength.
The fact that a Tier 3 couldn't fathom the opponent's foundation was the most telling evidence.
Which meant...
Chloe had summoned a Tier 5?
That was the Commander's best guess.
Otherwise, Baisha wouldn't have surrendered so decisively without even testing the waters. He must have sensed the terrifying disparity in strength between Gaia and that mysterious entity.
The Commander-in-Chief raised an eyebrow.
"Another Tier 5?"
He had no idea how this Tier 5 stacked up against Julius or Agal. As for Mei's strength potentially exceeding that, the Commander and everyone else didn't even entertain the thought.
It was only a Tier 3 battlefield, after all.
How much higher could it realistically go?
A Tier 5 was already absurdly out of place!
...
This mission world was truly teeming with familiar faces: Mirage from the Nova Legion, Luo Changkong from the Raitei Legion, and even Wild Hunt from the Diamond Legion.
They might not know who Mei was, but she was well aware of their existence. Mirage and Luo Changkong were obvious, as they were participants in the war, and Wild Hunt was no exception.
Civet, one of his subordinates, was missing.
It was a pity he couldn't have Civet by his side; losing such a powerful intelligence officer had made Wild Hunt feel truly out of his element. He had to make do by cobbling together an intelligence network using the abilities of other Diamond Legion members.
The results were a far cry from what Civet could achieve, but it was, at the very least, functional.
Since that world, negative energy had become one of Wild Hunt's primary sources of combat power. As his strength grew, his exploration of the negative energy domain had deepened significantly.
He could now fully immerse himself within that realm. In such a state, it was nearly impossible for anyone in the mundane world to track his whereabouts.
Conversely.
He could use that vantage point to peer into the world within a certain range.
In this war, Wild Hunt's luck had been surprisingly good. Even he couldn't have imagined that he would manage to summon the entirety of Antut; it was truly a stroke of blind, serendipitous fortune.
Antut was heralded as the embodiment of miracles, though its true upper limit of power had always remained a mystery, even to Wild Hunt himself.
All that could be said was that it was as strong as it needed to be, with an unfathomable peak.
Though Wild Hunt was neither arrogant nor prone to underestimating foes, he couldn't help but feel that victory was already in his grasp.
Deep within the negative energy domain.
After resolving the situation with Alaya, Wild Hunt had kept a close eye on the battle between Agal and Julius. He had considered intervening, but after careful deliberation, he decided against any rash moves.
Caution was the better part of valor.
Agal and Julius shared a mutual understanding: the enemy of one's enemy might be a friend, but barging into their duel would likely just provoke them into teaming up to wipe him off the map.
Before long, fresh intelligence arrived from a Diamond Legion member.
"Boss, two more participants have surfaced. One is Baisha, the other is Chloe."
"Did they start fighting?"
"No. They didn't even trade blows. Baisha just surrendered and retreated."
"Who did Chloe summon?"
"Identity currently unknown. Strength unknown. We estimate it to be at least Tier 5."
He pondered for a moment.
Wild Hunt decided to go and meet Chloe and the entity she had summoned. The power displayed by Agal and Julius was simply too overwhelming; Wild Hunt wasn't about to risk his neck against them.
If a clear victor didn't emerge shortly, forming an alliance could still be a viable path. Regardless of the outcome, he had to gauge the depth of their strength first.
...
In the mundane world, Visad turned and walked toward Chloe's position.
Wild Hunt asked him, "What are our odds of winning this war?"
"It's hard to say." Visad's tone remained level. "But to secure victory in this war, the entire strength of Antut is at my disposal. As long as no special circumstances arise, our chances are not low."
Wild Hunt was curious. "Will the Saintess of Antut also lend her strength to our cause?"
Visad shook his head.
"Save for one specific person, the Saintess will not answer anyone's call."
"One specific person?"
Visad did not elaborate.
Rather than calling this a war to decide the victor of the Tier 3 battlefield, it was more akin to a convergence of karma that had been building for millennia, and all that karma tied back to one individual.
Wild Hunt couldn't fathom what kind of special circumstances Visad was referring to. In the myths and legends, there seemed to be no entity capable of shaking Antut at its zenith.
Nor did he have any clue who the one specific person Visad mentioned might be.
It wasn't until Visad reached Chloe and stood before her that he paused. As a warrior who prided himself on honor, he disdained ambushes or sneaky tactics, so he made his presence known openly.
Visad headed straight for Chloe.
However, when his gaze fell upon the person beside her, he halted mid-stride. After a long moment of stunned silence, he bowed in a gesture of profound reverence.
"I never imagined I would see you again."
Huh?
Hidden away within the negative energy domain, Wild Hunt froze. He studied the person standing beside Chloe, his confusion mounting. Visad knew this person?
Could they be a God-King from the Era of Gods and Kings?
If Visad's first sentence had merely surprised Wild Hunt, the second one left him utterly paralyzed with shock.
Visad's face bore a hint of relieved joy.
"That Antut could manifest in this world once more... that must be your handiwork. Otherwise, I cannot fathom any reason why Antut would deign to respond to this war."
?!!
In an instant, Wild Hunt's pupils dilated violently.
What the hell?!
His breath caught in his throat, and he was struck by a cold wave of terror at Visad's revelation. Someone could manipulate the nature of the contract with their own will? Just how powerful must that be?
Wild Hunt didn't even dare to breathe too loudly. He desperately wanted to ask Visad exactly who this was, but he didn't dare risk interrupting their conversation.
He suddenly felt that even hidden within the negative energy domain, he wasn't truly safe.
Mei offered a brief response.
"I have nothing to do with this summoning. Antut manifesting in this world was not by my will. If you must know, all of this is merely a coincidence."
Hearing this, Visad smiled.
"Regardless of how it came to be, it is good that this can finally reach a conclusion. Mother God... Antut's faith in you was never steadfast, but the Saintess, she alone remained. I implore you, grant her release, that she may forever remain by the Mother God's side..."
As he spoke, the phantom of Antut projected across the high heavens, and Visad's voice began to blur and fade. A vast, surging white light instantaneously swallowed the entire world.
At this moment, every living soul was cast into this strange white radiance, from Wild Hunt, hiding within the negative energy domain, to Agal and Julius, who were locked in the throes of their cataclysmic battle.
"What is this?"
Wild Hunt gazed at his surroundings.
The vast, boundless white light was saturated with the heavy, rich aura of history and passing ages. A second later, the history of Antut unfurled before everyone's eyes.
It was as if time itself were flowing backward.
From Antut's ruin, back to its glory, and further still to its founding, the sight of the Golden Ark descending upon the earth seared itself into their vision. The overwhelming power of the faith and willpower of countless souls washed over them, leaving them trembling in awe.
And then, deeper still.
They arrived at the time before Antut was even born. A young girl with golden hair sat in a dilapidated cathedral, carving a statue with her own hands. She looked upon the features of the Mother God, her expression radiant with joy.
"Thank you, Mother God, for your care. Thank you, Mother God, for your mercy..."
Time continued to rewind until they reached the dark, suffocating depths of that dungeon, the origin of it all. Nothing about Antut, nothing about anyone else.
Only the girl.
Her clear, untainted eyes stared up at the person before her. The young, fragile girl asked him: "Are you the god who has come to save me?"
This time, Mei smiled.
She reached out and brushed the girl's forehead. The warmth of her hand brought the girl a sense of absolute peace. The girl wore a pure, content smile. And then, time flowed forward to the day the Holy Cathedral was consumed by raging fire.
The girl opened her eyes, contentedly walking toward the light that greeted her, carrying with her all the attachment and longing she had held for the Mother God through the long, flowing ages of white light.
It all transformed into Mei's memories.
Only in this way could she serve the Mother God for eternity.
Not until this final moment did Visad realize that the Saintess had found her release on that very day, long ago.