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The second phase of the evil god was indeed utterly bizarre.
Those chaotic tentacles, eyeballs, and mouths appeared to have been arranged by an invisible force. While they were still grotesque and terrifying in form, they now exhibited a non-human, almost geometric 'harmony'. It was no longer merely a chaotic collection but had become a conscious, self-perfecting ultimate 'existence'.
There it floated, at the center of the distorted world, like a living, blasphemous cosmic singularity. It radiated a pressure so immense that it could freeze one's soul.
"As expected... bosses are always harder to deal with after entering Phase Two."
Ian stared at the 'perfected' ultimate evil god before him, feeling the crushing pressure that seemed capable of grinding his very soul to dust.
He knew that this was beyond the capabilities of a wizard. Perhaps not even the ancient Egyptian gods could triumph over it. Otherwise, why hadn't they appeared by now?
Understanding that was one thing.
Submitting to it was another matter entirely.
Ian's hand still gripped his elder-wood wand tightly.
"Do you have any more tricks?"
The evil god, convinced of its absolute victory, spoke calmly. It wasn't just to toy with its prey; it also wanted to extract more magical knowledge from Ian.
That, too, was power.
"My methods?" Ian replied coldly. "I have enough to fight you until the end of time."
Ian Prince stood atop the ruins, his robes fluttering violently in the distorted energy radiating from the evil god. Facing Set-Apep in his horrific second form, the legendary wizard knew he had to give everything he had.
He raised his wand.
Ancient runes flared in the air.
Destructive spells erupted simultaneously.
Pointing his wand towards the ground, he watched as the earth instantly split into countless fissures and blazing magma surged forth like enraged beasts.
This wasn't ordinary volcanic magic. It was an advanced form originating from deep subterranean elemental forces. Arcane runes flickered within the lava, and every droplet of magma had an auto-tracking magical property.
Dozens of magma pillars erupted into the sky, attacking the evil god from all directions and dyeing the sky blood-red.
Set-Apep merely let out a sharp, mocking laugh.
"Heh… it seems you're out of ideas."
His body, now like viscous liquid gold, suddenly hardened into prism-like shields. The magma struck them, but instead of causing damage, it was refracted and absorbed, converting into the evil god's own energy.
"Too warm, Ian Prince. Not hot enough."
Millions of overlapping voices echoed once more. Ian showed no discouragement; his second spell was already prepared. He traced complex frost runes with his wand, and the moisture in the air instantly crystallized.
This was no ordinary freezing charm. It was his own creation, combining absolute zero theory with magical confinement. The temperature plummeted to a level where even time itself seemed frozen.
The air around the evil god solidified into a transparent crystalline prison.
Countless ice shards spun like blades, cutting relentlessly.
This was Ian's fusion of science and magic... ice and fire in perfect opposition.
It should have been devastating.
However, the evil god once again proved that the magical world did not answer to scientific logic.
Its movements slowed for a moment, and frost covered its surface. The next second, however, saw the writhing faces across its body open their mouths simultaneously and release a silent scream.
The crystalline prison shattered instantly.
Those mouths greedily devoured the extreme cold energy.
"A refreshing sensation... but not enough to cool my passion."
The evil god's voice carried mocking delight. Cold sweat formed on Ian's forehead, but he did not stop casting.
Another spell followed.
A dark light burst from the tip of his wand. This was no ordinary spatial magic; it was a dangerous technique born from his research into the nature of the void.
The space around the evil god suddenly collapsed, forming countless micro black holes. These interwove to form a destructive network that tore apart even light itself.
For the first time, a hint of interest appeared in Set-Apep's compound eyes.
"Oh… now this is somewhat interesting."
Its tentacles suddenly split into countless threads, each one inserting itself precisely into a micro black hole.
A horrifying sight followed.
The black holes themselves began to turn gold. They became a source of power for the evil god.
"Even space itself bows to me. Do you still not understand, Prince?"
The countless voices declared triumphantly. This time, they addressed Ian by his surname alone.
Ian said nothing.
He simply continued to unleash magic.
Another deadly move followed. Ian drove his wand forcefully into the ground, releasing a gravitational distortion field centered on himself.
Then... The gravitational force increased at a rate of 100× per second.
The surrounding pyramid ruins were crushed into powder, and the ground caved inwards to form a massive, bowl-shaped depression.
This was not just a simple gravity spell but a composite form of magic that Ian had created by incorporating the laws of celestial motion.
Under 100× gravity, the evil god's body was forced to deform. The writhing human faces twisted into grotesque shapes. However, after only three seconds, Set-Apep began to adapt once again.
The divine authority he represented was like an incurable affliction.
His bones emitted strange cracking sounds as they restructured themselves to support his body. Under Ian's increasingly grim gaze, the evil god straightened up within a gravity field strong enough to crush steel and gracefully stretched his limbs, which now resembled structural supports.
"Useless! Useless! Embrace the void, Prince! Everything you do will ultimately become part of me!"
Countless voices mocked him from all directions. Every cell of the evil god seemed to be laughing.
And in the instant when Ian Prince was exhausted from casting high-tier magic in succession, a tentacle hidden within the shadows suddenly struck.
Its surface was covered in constantly blinking eyes, and its tip was sharpened like a needle. Moving faster than the speed of sight, it lashed towards Ian's ankle.
"Damn it!"
Ian's magical defenses activated automatically, seven-colored light flowing across his body. But the eyes on the tentacle blinked in unison, releasing fluctuations that disrupted the magic.
It was a counterspell ability gained from devouring countless wizards.
The protective shield shattered like glass.
The tentacle made direct contact with Ian's skin.
"AAAH!!!"
Ian let out a piercing scream.
This was not ordinary physical damage but conceptual corrosion: his left leg, from ankle to knee, instantly carbonized. Every cell died instantly; the pain had barely begun before it was over.
Even worse, the carbonization was spreading upwards, driven by a malevolent force intent on consuming his entire body.
"I'm not dying in a place like this!"
At the brink of life and death, the legendary wizard displayed astonishing decisiveness. Ian Prince did not hesitate; he raised his wand and pointed it at the root of his thigh.
A sharp flash of light, his entire left leg was severed at the base. Blood gushed out like a waterfall.
Staggering backwards with a pale face from pain and blood loss, he still managed to cast a hemostatic spell in time.
"Ultimate Healing!"
White light enveloped the wound. The bleeding stopped, and the muscle tissue rapidly sealed to form a smooth surface.
However, the lost limb could not regenerate.
The evil, corrosive energy prevented any form of regenerative magic.
"Hmmm... Now that's a new piece of information. Perhaps I should call you Professor."
At that moment, the evil god's scattered bodies merged back into one and slowly approached the heavily wounded wizard. With each step, a corrosive footprint was left on the ground.
The air was thick with a sweet, rotting stench.
"Do you know?"
Set-Apep's voice suddenly became eerily calm, far more terrifying than his earlier frenzy.
"I once despised this form of mine. As a god born of the new era, I yearned for perfection, for symmetry, for a kind of beauty that lesser beings could understand... the beauty you tried to impose on me."
He displayed his constantly writhing body, with its protruding human faces and ever-shifting limbs.
"But you made me understand, Prince… this is true perfection. To embrace all possibilities. To adapt to all environments. Ugliness and beauty, symmetry and distortion, these inferior dualities have no meaning to me anymore."
"You are nothing but lower life forms yourselves; what right do you have to define beauty and ugliness?"
The evil god had completed his own logical loop.
Ian leaned against a broken stone pillar, breathing heavily. His magic was almost gone, his body was badly wounded, and he had used up all his trump cards.
Even Hogwarts' most legendary wizard seemed to be facing unprecedented helplessness before such an incomprehensible existence.
Of course that was only how it appeared.
The evil god noticed nothing unusual.
"Thank you, Ian Prince."
Its compound eyes flickered with an eerie light. Those countless eyes suddenly blinked in synchrony, as if performing some ancient rhythm.
"Now, I have perfected all flaws. I no longer reject any form, nor deny any possibility; I am everything, and everything will eventually become me."
"I will become the only god in this world, infinitely close to that so-called Creator… who may never have existed."
This evil god's entire knowledge came from wizards.
And because of that, like most wizards, it did not truly believe in the existence of a Creator.
It extended a petal-shaped arm and gently brushed against Ian Prince's cheek.
The touch was both icy cold and burning hot, carrying with it an energy that defied life itself and was blasphemous.
Wherever it touched, crystallization began instantly.
Ian's skin transformed into a transparent crystalline structure that spread rapidly outward.
"As a token of gratitude, I will devour you last."
Countless voices whispered gently. This gentleness was far more horrifying than any threat could be.
"You will witness the birth of the new world. You will see how your kind rejoices as they merge into the whole, shedding the limitations of individuality to become part of eternity. In the end, I believe you will gladly join me."
The evil god was supremely confident. Ian Prince wanted to resist, but the crystallization had already spread to his neck. He couldn't even speak. He could only watch as the evil god turned towards the kneeling masses, spreading its vast, sky-obscuring form.
"Awaken, my people."
Its voice was filled with a twisted kind of compassion that made the stomach churn.
"Open your blinded eyes. See your true destination. Embrace eternal unity and cast off the pain and loneliness of individuality."
The people looked up in confusion.
When they saw the true form of the evil god, their reactions were mixed.
Half of them went berserk instantly. Their eyes burst open, leaking multicolored fluids, and they screamed in inhuman voices.
The other half began to mutate. Extra limbs sprouted from their bodies, and their skin peeled away to reveal writhing flesh beneath.
Yet their faces wore eerie, blissful smiles.
The false sun in the sky pulsed even more violently and began to drip a viscous rain of light.
Each droplet corroded reality itself, transforming matter into nightmarish non-Euclidean geometric constructs. Stone became soft flesh, rivers crystallized, and air shifted between solid and liquid.
The laws of physics were being completely rewritten.
Crystallization now covered Ian's entire body.
He had become a transparent statue.
Only his eyes remained, frozen in shock as they stared at a reality being twisted beyond recognition. The evil god spread its immense wings and began to chant a blasphemous creation hymn. With each note, the fundamental rules of the world were reshaped.
Meanwhile, those who had not yet fully transformed were absorbed one by one into the god's ever-expanding body, becoming new faces among the countless others.
A new era was descending...
In the most terrifying way imaginable.
And yet... Even at the end of the world, as heaven and earth collapsed, the ancient Egyptian gods remained silent. The warped false sun cast its sickly light over the once-glorious land, staining it with despair.
In the distance, the pyramids gave off a low hum, the final lament of the divine power within the ancient shrines. But not a single god answered this last prayer. Priestess Karina knelt on the shattered steps of the temple. Her black ceremonial robe had been torn to shreds by the light rain.
When she looked up at the fully crystallized statue... The last light in her amber eyes finally went out.
Ian Prince... the legendary wizard from a foreign land. He was the one she had placed her final hope upon.
Now, he was nothing more than a transparent monument, frozen in shock and disbelief.
"So… the One truly doesn't exist…"
Karina's murmur was almost swallowed by the wind, but the priests behind her all heard it. Those words rang like a final death knell, shattering the last pillar of hope in their hearts.
Some of the younger priests began to sob quietly. But more of them fell into an eerie calm.
They were too tired... Too tired for despair to matter anymore.
Karina slowly stood up and drew a ritual dagger from her waistband. The blade was engraved with the Eye of Horus, which appeared to be weeping silently.
"Prepare the ritual to cross to the other shore."
Her voice was terrifyingly calm.
"We cannot be devoured by that monster. It is better to choose eternal rest than to become part of it."
The priests nodded silently and began arranging the final magical formation around her.
Incense burners were relit, releasing the bitter fragrance of myrrh and frankincense. They chanted funeral hymns to open the path to the underworld, their voices trembling yet resolute.
Each of them took out their ritual dagger.
The sharp tips were aimed at their hearts.
"At least you tried, foreign wizard. May Osiris guide your soul..."
Karina cast one last look at Ian Prince's crystal statue, a sorrowful smile forming on her lips.
She raised the dagger high.
The blade gleamed coldly under the false sun.
The other priests followed suit.
The entire scene was tragic, filled with despair.
Just as the blades were about to fall... In the shadows not far away, a raven silently folded its wings.
Its eyes were unnaturally bright, shining with an intelligence far beyond that of a mere bird.
As it tilted its head and watched the priests' collective suicide ritual, there was even a hint of helplessness in its gaze.
Yes.
That was the real Ian.
Ian Prince was far too cunning to confront an unknown evil god in his true form. Ever since his days at Hogwarts, he had been famous for his fondness for using clones.
Perhaps that wasn't anything unusual at Hogwarts, but in this ancient era, no one could detect them.
After all, the wizards here were far more adept at ritual and elemental magic than this highly technical branch of transfiguration.
(End of Chapter)