The surge of kingly might faded as quickly as it appeared, and the Lord of White Night returned to her usual expression. Yet her aura and temperament had already undergone a transformation.
This made Riku's lips curl into a satisfied smile. 'This is the true Lord of White Night. The person I wanted to invite.'
"Then, let's return to Skyborne City, to the Skyborne Palace," Riku said warmly. After nourishing the Celestial Stone for a full year, it had already absorbed enough energy. From here on, it only needed the natural process of gestation before Sun Wukong would be born. Thus, his presence here was no longer necessary.
"Before that, tell me, Riku, what exactly is this stone?" The Lord of White Night held her folding fan, engraved with the emblem of the sun, and pointed toward the Celestial Stone, her tone curious.
From what she knew of Riku's personality, he would never waste so much time on just an ordinary rock. Moreover, she vaguely sensed that this stone was anything but ordinary, so she couldn't help but ask aloud.
"[Celestial Stone]. Inside it, a Star Spirit is being nurtured. More precisely, it is a half–Star Spirit from Earth," Riku explained concisely.
"A Star Spirit of Earth? The Earth actually birthed a Star Spirit, and a half–Star Spirit at that..." The Lord of White Night's pupils contracted, her expression filled with shock. She didn't fully understand the significance, but she knew it was extraordinary.
"Riku, do you know something about this?" The Lord of White Night suddenly looked at him, curiosity flashing in her eyes.
"Mm. I think you should have heard of the mythological tale Journey to the West," Riku said with a faint smile.
"Journey to the West? What does that have to do with this... Wait!!!" Hearing those words, the Lord of White Night was first puzzled, but then her expression stiffened, her face changed, and her eyes gleamed sharply.
"The Celestial Stone... the Star Spirit of Earth... Could it be..." The Lord of White Night's eyes shone as she stared at the stone in astonishment.
"Exactly that. This half–Star Spirit of Earth will be born in [Little Garden] under the name of 'Great Sage Equal to Heaven' Sun Wukong." Riku's lips curved upward as he uttered the famous name.
"I see." With those words, the Lord of White Night finally confirmed her suspicion. She gazed at the Celestial Stone, her face filled with awe.
The Great Sage Sun Wukong, nurtured by the Celestial Stone, a half–Star Spirit of Earth. This was no simple matter. Even in the miracle-filled [Little Garden], such an identity was utterly unique.
"No wonder you would spend so much effort guarding it." Understanding now, the Lord of White Night looked at Riku, huffing softly. "You wouldn't be thinking of bringing it into the community, would you?"
"Mm, I do have that intention. The potential of the Great Sage Sun Wukong is absolutely terrifying." Riku admitted his goal without hesitation.
"That point, I won't deny," the Lord of White Night nodded, then her expression grew solemn as she fixed her gaze on Riku. "However, the Great Sage Sun Wukong, being born in [Little Garden] as a half–Star Spirit of Earth, must carry some important mission. If you intervene in its karma, something ominous may happen."
"That is nothing to fear. As a [Demon Lord], I must not fear anything in this world. Gods, Buddhas, heaven, earth, even fate itself, everything can be destroyed." Riku said calmly.
"Forget it. Do as you will." The Lord of White Night clearly did not wish to quarrel with him and shook her head, dropping the subject.
Afterwards, Riku withdrew his hand, preparing to return together with the Lord of White Night to Skyborne City, to the Skyborne Palace. The Celestial Stone also returned to looking like an ordinary rock, no longer glowing or exuding divine charm. It appeared plain and unremarkable.
At that moment, brilliant lights suddenly appeared in the sky. Waves of overwhelming auras descended upon the valley, making Riku and the Lord of White Night, who had just been about to depart, narrow their eyes.
Soon, countless divine lights emerged, and hundreds of figures appeared in the sky.
Some radiated sacred brilliance, clearly powerful gods. Some emanated dark auras, astonishingly rare demons of the four-digit class. Others were phantasmal beasts.
At the forefront stood a mighty God-King, whose power had reached the three-digit level.
Upon each of their bodies, whether different or the same, was the sigil of the Twin Goddesses. This revealed their identity [Thousand Eyes].
"So it seems I've been under surveillance. This bunch really is irritating." The Lord of White Night gripped her folding fan, cold light flashing in her eyes as the ferocity of a Demon Lord erupted, shaking heaven and earth.
"Being watched is normal enough. Still, it is annoying," Riku said calmly, gazing indifferently at the uninvited guests in the sky.
"That's... the leader of [Disboard], the God-Slaying Demon Lord, Riku Dola!" At that moment, the God-King above and the other members of [Thousand Eyes] also noticed Riku's presence and his identity. Instantly, their faces turned pale.
Riku Dola's fame was carved through real battles, not hollow words. He was absolutely not someone they could oppose.
Yet the God-King managed to stay calm. He took a deep breath and spoke respectfully to Riku: "Lord Riku, we are the Enforcement Squad of [Thousand Eyes]. We have been ordered to apprehend the traitor, the Lord of White Night. We ask that Lord Riku step aside. [Thousand Eyes] will certainly reward you generously."
Even as a God-King, facing Riku, he could only address him as "Lord."
His words were tactful, first showing respect, then invoking the authority of [Thousand Eyes]. Under normal circumstances, no community would dare resist. Unfortunately for him, this time he had miscalculated.
"You want me to step aside? Do you even deserve it?" Riku said coldly, his terrifying, murderous aura erupting like a storm, turning the world into a hellish abyss as it pressed down on the members of [Thousand Eyes], suffocating them with fear.
All along the way, Riku had crushed countless enemies, even slaying a double-digit being. His aura had long since condensed into something terrifying.
Even that God-King's eyes trembled with horror, anger and shock warring within him, leaving him far from calm.
At last, he could only grit his teeth, force down his rage, and speak with humiliation: "Lord Riku, we are the [Thousand Eyes] Enforcement Squad. We are under orders to apprehend the traitor, the Lord of White Night. We implore Lord Riku not to interfere, lest conflict erupt between [Disboard] and [Thousand Eyes]."
"Hmph. As the Lord of White Night, I was never truly part of your community. It was only that those wretched Twin Goddesses forced me in for their own surveillance. To call me a traitor, you've got some nerve." The Lord of White Night's kingly might erupted skyward, shaking the heavens and striking fear into the hearts of the Enforcement Squad.
"Remember this. From today onward, the Lord of White Night is a part of [Disboard]." Riku said calmly.
These words made the God-King's pupils contract, his face twisted in shock and fury as he clenched his fists. This was an open provocation against [Thousand Eyes]. And the Lord of White Night not only escaped their watch but joined [Disboard], an alliance branded with the name of taboo! Absolutely unacceptable!
"The second thing there exists no one who can threaten me. Therefore, disappear."
As soon as those icy words fell, Riku's body underwent a transformation. His entire form became wreathed in golden-red spiritual energy, his hair and eyebrows turning fiery red, his pupils glowing red, tinged with gold.
In an instant, he completed the transformation from human to god. The terrifying pressure swept across the area, leaving the [Thousand Eyes] Enforcement Squad frozen, staring at Riku in fear.
Elsewhere, they might have carried themselves with pride, each one a formidable powerhouse. But before Riku, they were as weak and helpless as newborn infants.
Riku then stretched out his right hand, his palm facing the [Thousand Eyes] Enforcement Squad. The golden-red spiritual energy around him surged violently, condensing into a massive sphere of destructive power.
"Wait, Riku Dola, are you serious!? This will ignite a war between [Disboard] and [Thousand Eyes]! We of [Thousand Eyes] will never let this go!" The God-King's scalp went numb as he roared in anger.
"The Twin Goddesses might have the qualifications to say that. But you, you're nothing but an insect." Riku looked at the God-King with cold indifference, the energy in his hand shining ever brighter.
In the next moment, the energy erupted, transforming into hundreds of tiny, pure golden-red beams of light that rained down with pinpoint precision upon the [Thousand Eyes] Enforcement Squad.
Even though every member of the squad was a renowned powerhouse and had long since been on guard, unleashing their divine abilities, before such an insurmountable gap in strength, there was no chance of resisting.
In less than a millionth of a second, the beams of energy pierced through the Enforcement Squad's defences, through their hearts or heads.
Only the captain of the [Thousand Eyes] Enforcement Squad, a high-ranking cadre and a God-King himself, managed to react. His divine aura exploded as he raised his divine shield to block Riku's attack.
Even so, he appeared utterly dishevelled.
Even with power not inferior to the current Lord of White Night, before Riku in his Super God Mode, he was still utterly powerless. And this was only because Riku had dispersed his energy.
"Oh? You actually blocked it?" Riku looked directly at the God-King and said calmly. "Your strength is not bad."
'To think he actually dared to strike... Truly, the people of [Disboard] are too brutal—let alone their leader!' Escape, there was no other choice. He was absolutely no match!
The God-King looked at Riku in terror, gritting his teeth. Without hesitation, he transformed into divine starlight and tried to flee.
But clearly, he had thought too highly of himself.
Puch-
In the very instant he crossed thousands of li, a crimson gleam shot forth after him, at a speed surpassing the Sixth Universe, brutally piercing through his body.
"Arghhhh!!!" A violent [God-Slaying] power erupted, and this God-King met the same end as Zeus. With a shrill scream, his divinity shattered, and his body dissolved into starlight, vanishing from [Little Garden].
Immediately afterwards, the [Longinus: Spear of Godslayer] disappeared from mid-air, returning to Riku's hand.
"What a waste." Watching the God-King's miserable fate, the Lord of White Night shook her head.
They clearly knew of Riku's terrifying reputation, yet still dared to seek death by testing him. Against a taboo, they should have fled from the start, not brandished the name of [Thousand Eyes] as intimidation.
It could only be said that the name of [Thousand Eyes] was so renowned within [Little Garden], surpassing the vast majority of godly communities, that its members had grown arrogant.
"Queen, I'll trouble you." Casually returning the [Longinus: Spear of Godslayer] into the system's storage space, Riku spoke without emotion.
At that moment, space rippled, and the elegant Halloween Queen appeared there.
"So, it's you, Queen." Seeing the Halloween Queen before him, the Lord of White Night's face darkened, clicking her tongue in displeasure.
"Stupid White Night, it's been a whole year, huh? You've finally made up your mind?" the Halloween Queen snorted. "To think you needed so long to agonise over such a thing. Really, I can't believe you."
"You!" Hearing that, the Lord of White Night's anger flared, her aura bursting forth. She disdained to explain, and with no face to do so, could only glare furiously.
"All right, all right. From now on, you're comrades of the same community. No more quarrels," Riku said with a headache, playing the mediator between the two Problem Children.
"Hmph. If the idiot Queen hadn't provoked me first, I wouldn't have bothered with her." The Lord of White Night said irritably.
"You seem... a little different, idiot Queen." The Lord of White Night then cast a doubtful glance at her archenemy, the Halloween Queen, and asked curiously.
It was precisely because they had always been archrivals that they understood each other deeply. Thus, the trace of sultry allure in the Halloween Queen's elegance, something that hadn't been there before she was "nourished" by Riku, was instantly noticed.
"Heh, you'll naturally understand this in time." The Halloween Queen gave her a meaningful smile. "This time, you've just escaped from a pack of wolves, only to step into a tiger's den."
"...?" At the Halloween Queen's words, the Lord of White Night wore a look of utter bewilderment. 'What nonsense is this?'
"Ahem, let's not talk about that. It seems [Thousand Eyes] has already discovered the situation here. To avoid more annoying flies buzzing around, we should return first and speak later," Riku said, his composed expression slipping into slight awkwardness.
As the one directly involved, Riku instantly understood the meaning behind the Halloween Queen's words. Though this matter could not be hidden forever, it would be better to delay it a little. Otherwise, it might complicate matters regarding persuading the Lord of White Night.
The Lord of White Night shot a suspicious glance at Riku and the Halloween Queen, faintly sensing something unusual.
Still, she said nothing more.
A moment later, the Halloween Queen activated her authority over boundaries once again. In an instant, Riku, the Halloween Queen, and the Lord of White Night disappeared from the valley.
Only the seemingly ordinary Celestial Stone remained behind.
The reason Riku had held back his power earlier was precisely to avoid destroying this picturesque valley full of life. After spending a year here, he had grown somewhat attached to it.
When Riku, the Halloween Queen, and the Lord of White Night departed,
In the third layer of [Little Garden], at the headquarters of [Thousand Eyes]
The high-ranking cadres of [Thousand Eyes] all noticed the total annihilation of their Enforcement Squad. Through the transmission of their fallen members' divinity, they clearly witnessed what had transpired.
Of course, this too was deliberately arranged by Riku.
In an instant, the senior cadres of [Thousand Eyes] were filled with burning rage, mixed with unease.
The Lord of White Night had joined the new taboo community of [Little Garden], [Disboard]. This was no small matter; it was an earth-shaking event! Not to mention, before this, the all-knowing and almighty Great Demon Lord Laplace had already awakened from her slumber due to a certain prophecy, and the Twin Goddesses themselves had personally summoned all their cadres for a high-level meeting. In the end, they had chosen to place the Lord of White Night under house arrest at their headquarters.
Now, with this situation, they couldn't help but feel a foreboding premonition. Could it be... that the human [Last Trial] foretold in that prophecy was somehow connected to [Disboard]!?