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"You're nothing but a monster, cobbled together from countless shattered souls!"
Ian's words were like the sharpest blade, piercing through Set-Apep's divine disguise and exposing his true form.
In that instant, the frozen space and time seemed to shatter like glass struck by a heavy hammer. For the first time, real cracks appeared on the golden face of the evil god.
"Silence!" Set-Apep's voice split into countless tones, some shrill and some deep.
"I am myself! I am perfect! I am eternal! I am..."
"You are nothing," Ian interrupted coldly. "You're just a monster pieced together from countless broken souls. I am all beings, yet not all beings are me... that is the true meaning contained within the Sun!"
That sentence seemed to trigger something.
The evil god suddenly clutched his head and let out an inhuman howl. His body began to swell and twist irregularly, at times turning into a monstrosity with many arms and legs, then snapping back into a perfect human form.
The faces on the light wings behind him all opened their eyes and made different sounds: some wept, some laughed hysterically, and others chanted long-forgotten spells.
These changes confirmed Ian's suspicion: this so-called 'perfect being' could not control the countless souls it had devoured.
"You can't even maintain your own form anymore, Set-Apep," Ian continued, quietly drawing a complex magical formation behind his back with his wand. "Or should I call you… 'them'?"
Mastery of language was one of Ian's greatest strengths. As one of Hogwarts' most eloquent students, he had once debated against both Slytherin House and Voldemort himself without losing ground.
"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!"
The roar of the evil god exploded like a thousand thunderclaps at once. His body suddenly expanded and transformed, and dozens of struggling human faces emerged beneath his skin. Twelve radiant wings flapped with berserk fury, unleashing destructive energy storms with each beat.
The massive stones of the pyramids were hurled into the sky, and the waters of the Nile flowed back into the city, flooding it.
The entire city trembled under divine wrath.
Ian had already prepared. With a sweep of his wand, he drew a perfect circle.
"Magic Matrix Defense System... activate!"
Seven differently colored magical barriers unfolded before him, each inscribed with rotating ancient runes. This composite defense system had taken him three years to develop:
It consisted of:
- an enhanced Protego on the outermost layer;
- a magic-resistant barrier;
- elemental deflection;
- mental protection;
- physical isolation;
- magic reflection; and
- an Absolute Domain at the core.
It was far more powerful than any defensive method Ian had used before.
After all... It wasn't only the evil god who could grow during battle.
Ian could too.
The first wave of attacks arrived instantly.
The golden storm created by the flapping wings slammed into the first barrier. Cracks spread across the blue shield like a spider's web, but it successfully dispersed the energy throughout the entire matrix.
The second wave followed immediately: hundreds of miniature suns shot from the evil gods' palms. However, they exploded upon reaching the third layer, their blazing plasma being redirected underground by elemental deflection.
"Useless! Useless!" Set-Apep's voice twisted and shifted, sometimes sounding male and sometimes female. "I will tear you apart and nail your soul beneath the eternal sun to burn forever!"
The third attack was the most terrifying.
The evil god opened his mouth and unleashed a pure white beam of light. Wherever it passed, space itself warped and dissolved. It effortlessly pierced the first five layers, only being barely deflected by the sixth... Magic Reflection.
The refracted beam swept across the north-west corner of the city. An entire district was instantly vaporized, leaving behind only a glowing crater of molten lava.
Cold sweat formed on Ian's forehead.
His magic matrix could withstand conventional forbidden spells, but under the full assault of the evil gods, even the innermost Absolute Domain was beginning to destabilize.
He had to switch from defense to offense.
Seizing the brief gap between attacks, he suddenly withdrew his defenses and pointed his wand at the sky.
"Elemental Torrent - Full Release!"
This was the ultimate elemental magic that he had developed under Albus Dumbledore's guidance on the Path of the Fire God.
In an instant, all four fundamental elements erupted:
The Nile surged skyward, forming a colossal water tornado; the earth split open, spewing pillars of molten lava; vaporized water condensed into countless blades of ice; and scattered pyramid stones rose as towering stone giants.
The water tornado struck first, engulfing the evil god at its center. Then lava poured into it, triggering violent explosions. Within the steam, thousands of ice blades shot into the core like a storm of hail, while the stone giants' fists crashed down from above.
The entire city trembled under the force of this single strike.
The shockwave swept across miles, shattering every remaining piece of glass. Ian had to raise another protective shield and squint towards the center of the explosion.
A small mushroom cloud had formed there.
The air was filled with the scent of scorched ionization.
"Did it work?" Ian panted, having already depleted more than half of his magic power.
He didn't feel any joy. He knew the old saying well: where there's smoke, there's no real damage.
Sure enough, the smoke was suddenly blown away by an unseen force.
Set-Apep was still floating in place, but his form had changed completely. His golden skin was now covered in flowing human faces, and three of his twelve light wings had broken.
The remaining ones were incomplete as well.
Most horrifying of all, his head displayed seven different faces, which rotated in a terrifying cycle.
"It hurts… it hurts…"
Seven voices whimpered at once, only to burst into manic laughter the next second.
"But it's not enough! Not nearly enough!"
"You dare disturb my mind... You deserve death!"
The voice of the evil god could no longer remain calm. The Eye of Ra on his chest erupted with an unprecedented blaze of light. The light condensed into a massive golden beam and shot towards Ian.
"Lies don't hurt... truth is the sharpest blade."
Ian knew he had found the right angle. The pressure dropped sharply, and he swung his wand to meet the furious attack immediately.
"You cannot understand! I am right!" The evil god roared, his voice cracking for the first time under immense pressure. "My equality is the ultimate salvation! No war, no hunger, no separation by life or death! All souls will attain eternal peace! Isn't that the greatest good?!"
He was trying to stabilize his own mind.
"The greatest good?"
"When you strip people of the right to choose pain or joy, take away their freedom to love and be loved, and erase their ability to create and destroy, the 'peace' you offer is nothing but eternal death! True goodness is allowing imperfection to exist and respecting every soul's chance to live life to the fullest. Your 'salvation' is the greatest blasphemy!"
Ian's gathered magic was his answer to that declaration.
"Falling Star - Echo of All Worlds!"
At that moment, he mobilized an ultimate arcane principle that transcended dimensions and was rooted in ancient British magic. Drawing on the essence of the Hogwarts Restricted Section and his deeper understanding of worlds across timelines, Ian had created astral magic.
Yes!
He would become the astral mage of the Harry Potter world: Ian Prince.
It was not just a cool name. He had a devastating power to match.
As Ian cast the spell, the ground beneath his feet exploded. Countless ancient runes surged up from deep underground and crawled along his robes as though they were living beings.
The sky, already warped by the blood-red divine aura and the Eye of Ra, was suddenly torn open by a massive, pitch-black rift.
Beyond that rift, however, was not the void of space but rather countless bizarre, flickering visions of other worlds: Castles floating within seas of clouds, polar lands burning with crystalline ice, and rivers flowing with liquid gold.
Among them, the iconic spires of Hogwarts and the Astronomy Tower could be faintly seen.
This was the Echo of All Worlds.
A magic that vaguely touched upon the authority of creation itself.
For the first time, the evil god felt true fear. The gathering magical power was not merely an accumulation of force; it embodied the will of two worlds and countless living beings.
A longing for freedom.
A love for life.
And an acceptance of imperfection.
This power was the complete opposite of his doctrine of 'absolute equality,' a flaw that his so-called perfect body could never contain.
"No! Impossible! Chaos must be purged!"
The evil god shrieked hysterically. Seven golden rings shattered instantly, scattering into fragments across the sky. The Eye of Ra on his chest blazed to its absolute limit in an attempt to purify this 'chaotic' torrent with absolute light.
Ian remained unmoved.
Then...
A 'star,' formed purely from condensed magical power and over a hundred meters in diameter, came crashing down from the rift!
It wasn't physical, yet it carried world-ending momentum. Wherever it passed, space screamed like shattering glass; the air was compressed into liquid-like shockwaves; and the ground fractured into massive, spiderweb-like cracks as if struck by a colossal hammer.
Even sand and stone vaporized instantly under the extreme heat, leaving behind a molten trench stretching to the horizon.
"BOOM…!!!"
An indescribable explosion swept across heaven and earth.
The golden beam and the magic star collided violently in mid-air, erupting into a brilliance millions of times brighter than the Sun. The shock wave spread outwards in all directions.
Everything in its path... ancient temples, towering obelisks, and endless city walls... was wiped away like sandcastles, reduced to dust in an instant.
In the distance, the desert itself was carved away, exposing the deep rock layers beneath. A colossal sandstorm driven by the shockwave formed a crystalline wall thousands of meters high.
The scene was utterly apocalyptic.
"You are wielding power that should not belong to a mortal."
The evil god hovered at the center of the shockwave, his body trembling violently. Two of his golden rings now bore fine cracks, and the light of the Eye of Ra on his chest flickered unsteadily.
It was clear that he was under immense pressure.
For the first time, he felt a true 'threat.'
Of course, the creature hadn't existed for very long, so its inexperience was to be expected.
"What difference is there between you and me?"
The voice of the evil god carried a trace of gravity for the first time. It was as if he had seen through the essence of the 'plunder' power that Ian embodied. His gaze swept over Ian repeatedly before turning to deeper greed.
"Such pure magical origins... enough for me to ascend further! All of it will belong to me!"
He spread his arms wide.
The blood-red 'Sun' merged with the light of the Eye of Ra, forming a massive, rotating vortex of devouring power. He intended to swallow both the falling 'star' and the interdimensional rift itself.
Ian's face turned pale, and more blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes burned brightly.
He pointed his wand towards the rift that the evil god was trying to consume.
The space along the edge of the rift started to twist and fold as though being crumpled by an invisible giant's hand.
The falling 'star' did not disappear.
Instead, within the distorted space, it accelerated and underwent a bizarre transformation.
It was no longer spherical.
Instead, it became a roaring dragon of ancient magic, formed from countless runes and stardust. Its ferocious head had eyes like twin supernovas, capable of annihilating everything as it lunged straight at Set-Apep!
The evil god pushed the devouring vortex to its limit. Golden light and blood-red radiance intertwined to form a force field capable of tearing space apart.
The ancient magical dragon slammed into it with a deafening roar.
The two forces were locked in a stalemate. The space around them warped and shattered wildly, forming countless tiny black holes that flickered with destructive light.
They constantly devoured surrounding matter, only to annihilate it in the next instant.
However... Due to the cracks in his mind, the evil god could no longer maintain his invincible stance.
When the beam struck him, there was no earth-shattering explosion.
Only an eerie silence.
His flawless body began to dissolve as though it had been dropped into acid. From the point of impact, countless spiderweb-like black cracks spread rapidly. The Eye of Ra on his chest let out a shrill wail.
Then... Its light dimmed rapidly, and, within it, countless phantom souls seemed to struggle and scream.
In the midst of the storm, countless tiny motes of light broke free.
They were the stolen fragments of souls: the spark of an artist's inspiration, the fragments of a philosopher's thoughts, the courage of a warrior, the obsession of a lover.
Like fireflies on a summer night, they flickered faintly yet stubbornly, scattering in all directions, some merging into the desert winds and others sinking into the dried riverbeds.
"Why… my light… cannot…"
The evil god's voice was filled with a confusion and fear that he could not comprehend. He looked down at his collapsing body, his handsome, Apollo-like face twisting.
"Equality... harmony... could it be wrong?"
"The idea isn't wrong," Ian said in a weary but resolute voice that echoed like a bell through the silent space. "What's wrong is how you tried to achieve it. Using devouring and erasure to pursue equality is the greatest injustice itself. True harmony is born from the dance of differences, not from a grave of sameness.'
His words were like blades, and they were beginning to unravel the very foundation of the evil god's existence.
But...
"No, no, no... NO! You're trying to deceive me! You're no different from me! You are also an evil god!"
It was as if he had glimpsed the true essence of Ian's existence.
His gaze hardened once more.
His damaged light wings suddenly spread to their fullest extent. Countless strands of light shot out from their tips and connected with the civilians kneeling on the ground.
The moment they were connected, they screamed.
Their bodies shriveled visibly.
Meanwhile, the evil god's injuries began to heal rapidly.
"Stop!" Ian roared, firing cutting spells at the strands of light, but more and more kept emerging. Within seconds, hundreds of people had been drained of life and collapsed into mummified corpses.
Even worse... The evil god began to transform.
New fleshy masses bulged from his back and split open to reveal four additional wings. Twisted horns emerged from his head. Below his waist, a serpentine tail extended outwards.
Now... Set-Apep had completely transformed into a sixteen-winged monstrosity, radiating a suffocating pressure.
It was as if... Under Ian's verbal assault, he had begun to accept his true self.
Through this 'evolution,' he was compensating for the flaws in his mind.
He was revealing his true form.
In other words, he was becoming the kind of villain he had always disliked.
(End of Chapter)