The ground beneath was shaking violently.
"It seems this is indeed a solution." Ian stared at the massive Helbo in the distance, seeing the terror on Helbo's face, his suspicions were somewhat confirmed.
Under the catalysis of Ian's magic, Mount Vesuvius was like an ancient beast awakened, roaring thunderously, ready to devour anything that crossed its path.
The power accumulated over countless years was completely unleashed at this moment.
Its eruption was like the coming of the apocalypse. Billowing smoke, mixed with scorching lava, surged from the crater with unstoppable force, turning the sky into a bizarre blood-red color.
The dense volcanic ash, still carrying flames, swept across, the air filled with the acrid smell of sulfur and the searing breath of lava, every breath felt like it was burning the lungs.
Even the sunlight was obscured by the thick volcanic ash.
"This... this is the end of the world!"
Lava flowed like countless black giant dragons spiraling upward. The priests beside Ian were already paralyzed with fear, never imagining they would face such a terrifying natural disaster.
Facing the surging, unstoppable torrent of lava, all the priests seemed to have completely lost the ability to think, they even lost the courage to pray to the Gods.
"This... this is the punishment of the Gods!"
Indeed.
Some of the older wizards, collapsed and laughing wryly.
Most people stood there dumbfounded, their eyes blankly staring at the gradually reddening sky, as if they had already lost the ability to think. Even those who usually prided themselves on being extraordinary wizards felt their insignificance at this moment. Their magic seemed so trivial in the face of this natural calamity.
They had even lost the courage to seek protection from the Gods—it's no wonder these people had a mental breakdown, after all, the disaster in Pompeii was one of the biggest volcanic eruptions in human history outside of the one that caused the extinction of dinosaurs, the whole mountain range awakening with a roar, symbolizing the power of nature.
Even Gods would pale in comparison to such power, let alone the mortal wizards?
"This is a scene I have never foreseen."
The little girl Cassandra tightly held onto Ian's leg, her body trembling violently, her face as pale as paper.
"My lord, what have you done?" Her voice carried an uncontainable terror, sounding so small amid the volcano's roar, as if at any moment it could be torn apart by the volcano's roaring.
However, Ian heard it quite clearly, as the volcanic ash fell like black snowflakes, covering the earth, he gently stroked the little girl's hair.
"I am saving you."
Ian's wizard robe flapped in the heat waves, he gazed at the doomsday he unleashed with his own hands—this was not an ordinary volcanic eruption, but a "history anchor" brought to an early awakening by time magic.
The arrival of this moment was inevitable, an unchangeable point in history, something even the Gods could not stop, let alone Helbo, who had yet to achieve his ascension to divinity?
This was the best countermeasure Ian could think of, after all, the ancient city of Pompeii had already been destroyed by Helbo, surely those assimilated souls would not mind this bit.
Knowing he couldn't match Helbo's power, Ian chose to trigger the historical point of natural disaster earlier, just nudging destiny slightly to bring it forward to this place.
The plan went smoothly.
However.
Helbo found it completely unacceptable.
"How can this be! How could this happen! Just mere mortals, wizards at that, how can they alter the sequence of time!" Helbo roared with disbelief and anger.
His power originally stolen from the "errors" in fate.
Now "correct" fate pressed upon him.
This caused his divine state to seem precarious under the might of the volcanic eruption.
"Tell me! What gives you the right!"
Helbo's voice was filled with anger and fear. His divine state began to collapse, the divine radiance around him gradually dimmed, as if the "erroneous" power he had drawn upon was leaving his body.
Faced with the accusations of this ancient dark wizard, Ian did not answer him, he simply watched the rampaging lava silently. The lava flowed like a raging torrent, engulfing everything. The searing heat seemed to want to swallow the entire world whole, including him and those priests.
However.
Just as the lava was about to reach them, a golden light suddenly descended from the sky, enveloping Ian, Cassandra, and the surviving wizards.
It was the power of the Fierce Goddess, as Helbo's paradox domain faded, his power waning, she also managed to break free, using her divine power to shield this group under the onslaught of the natural disaster.
"You are absolutely mad!"
The Fierce Goddess's voice was filled with shock and anger.
"This is a tactic of mutual destruction!"
She landed beside Ian, outside the golden light, was the raging torrent, now like a great wave flowing down the ridge, engulfing the city below the mountain.
"Aren't you here? I always trust my teammates." Ian quietly put the tool he prepared back into his pocket, and with a slight smile, showed his trust in the Fierce Goddess.
This greatly increased the good impression of the Fierce Goddess who was easily persuaded.
"My rescue is indeed never late." The Fierce Goddess was clearly touched by Ian's words, her originally angry expression turning into regret over the destruction of the ancient city.