"The fact that you could come up with such a method... it's truly impressive." She didn't hide her shock at the Little Wizard's creativity; she had never seen any Wizard with such courage and madness.
To dare attempt to manipulate fate, to manipulate the nodes of history. The most crucial part was that it succeeded, leaving the Fierce Goddess at a loss for words to evaluate Ian's actions.
She had never seen anyone so insane, nor had she seen such calm madness.
"This is beyond something that can be described as a miracle."
The Fierce Goddess's mood was no calmer than Helbo's. However, the most turbulent feelings naturally belonged to Helbo, as he was currently falling step by step from the Divine Tier he ascended to.
"Winning is all that matters."
Ian looked up at Helbo in the distance, who still hovered mid-air, the divine light around him gradually dimming, as if his power was being consumed by some invisible force.
The features of his divine visage began to dislocate.
"No! It shouldn't be like this!"
Helbo desperately tried to fight back, to prevent his own downfall, yet his ability to form closed loops by causing results before causes couldn't function as it should have.
He prided himself as a god, believing he had transcended the limits of mortals and could alter the trajectories of history at will. However, when faced with the inexorable force of history, he experienced an unprecedented sense of helplessness.
"Stop! Vanish!" The divine power around Helbo surged and continually attempted to take effect, as he desperately tried to reverse the disaster with his strength, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't alter the eruption's progress, watching powerlessly as magma, indistinguishable from earth and sky, swept over him.
The faces on his torso screamed in anguish. The Pseudo-God, amalgamated with countless lives, showed increased resentment and fear; the mummies meant to elevate him were vaporizing into smoke in the magma.
It wasn't the magma that harmed him.
But the torrent of fate, like an invisible hand, turned all his efforts into nothing. Helbo could only do his best to protect his two Angels.
As long as the Angels were around, there was still hope for him. At this moment, Helbo's Divine State was crumbling, yet he was powerless because he lacked an Angel and couldn't truly achieve Ascension to Divinity.
His body began to crack, like a shattered statue.
"I haven't failed yet!"
Helbo realized.
At this time, he had no choice but to make a last-ditch effort.
He gathered ancient Magic Runes, concentrating them in his eyes, which burned like starlight as he sought to attack Ian, forcibly transforming him into an Angel.
"Watch out!"
The Fierce Goddess sensed Helbo's intention, and radiating golden light, she stood in front of Ian. Yet Ian, feeling Helbo's power still crossing the Fierce Goddess's barrier, decisively chose to fight back.
"Soul Stealing!"
He could only rely on Magic, of course.
However.
Magic may have limitations against a Divine Spirit, but Helbo's soul was merely a Wizard's soul. Seeing through this, Ian met Helbo's gaze.
The next moment.
An invisible clash of powers ensued.
Helbo was guided by Ian into the realm of the subconscious. The volcano disappeared, the doomsday was gone, the roaring ceased, and unprecedented peace permeated this strange space.
Towering skyscrapers, busy traffic on the streets, hurried pedestrians, no one knew what they were so busy with, perhaps not even themselves.
"Hmm?" To Helbo, all this seemed unfamiliar and bizarre. He had never seen such sights—enormous structures of steel and glass, roaring mechanical vehicles, and people in strange clothes. A hint of shock crossed his eyes, quickly replaced by bewilderment and ecstasy.
Helbo stood in the middle of the street, his eyes filled with astonishment and delight.
"Is this... your mental world?" He laughed wildly toward the sky, "What a foolish action! You dare to reverse-pull my soul into your mind!"
"Do you think, as a Wizard who has reached the human world's limit, your soul can contend with mine? Ridiculous! You have no idea the suffering and trials I've endured in the Netherworld!"
"My soul is a thousand, ten thousand times stronger than yours, you... you are courting death!" His laughter echoed through the streets, as the Little Wizard's voice and response followed.
Ian's voice came from all directions: "I wouldn't say so, I have real examples proving that here... in my domain, I am unprecedentedly strong."
The calm, indifferent voice couldn't be traced back to any place, and Helbo searched among the diverse crowd around him but failed to find Ian hidden among them.
"You want to play hide and seek with me?"
Helbo sneered with disdain at Ian's response, directly taking action, attempting to use his soul power to destroy this space, then occupy Ian's body to forcibly complete the creation of the last Angel required for Ascension to Divinity. The impact of that power was horrifying.
The thousand-year resentment and greed, like a ferocious beast.
"All of you, disappear now!"
His tone was arrogant.
However.
His expression quickly turned rigid. The reason being, upon the explosion of terrifying soul power, he was shocked to find his rampaging soul power couldn't harm this space in the slightest.