Brain bloom

"Quickly! Open the door!"

"How do I open the door?"

That moment of hesitation caused their last chance to slip through their fingers.

A massive attack has been unleashed!

At this moment, the world was no longer divided into night and day; all colors were erased from the world, leaving only a monotonous yet vibrant single hue. For the incomparably dazzling silvery-white luster gently embraced the entire world.

It was like a giant sun that had been forcibly dissolved into liquid and hung down on the world.

The light spread out, threatening to scorch everything in the world.

An overwhelming force crashed down, leaving no one able to stand firm. The area surrounding the church, and indeed the entire Silver Ring City—no, even the vast continent at large—was violently shaken.

Giant waves surged up, tearing at the coastline.

The mud and rocks on the cliff were also shaken off, smashing many suburban buildings.

Having witnessed everything, Mori couldn't even remember how to escape. The church she was in was enveloped in boundless light, rendering it meaningless. But she was still alive... or rather, she didn't feel any pain, only a blinding light.

"Am I not within the attack range...?" she murmured to herself, feeling puzzled.

"It seems... that thing wasn't aimed at us." Master Woodpecker was also still shaken, his voice becoming hoarse.

If that's the case, then who is this power aimed at? Naturally, Sen Shi first thought of the three divine aspects of the sea god. In order to hold back him, who seemed to be a very powerful coffin carrier, they came as a group and secretly created an illusion.

So... what you want to get rid of are those three personalities?

But Mori felt something was wrong, because the threatening evil god's divine status was more threatening and should be treated first, while these three little cats shouldn't be receiving this kind of treatment...

When Mori was filled with doubt, she suddenly felt a sense of inexplicable familiarity.

Immediately afterward—the world's silvery-white radiance faded, but not because of exhaustion.

Instead, it was erased.

It was erased from the world by a soft black.

This was a purely evil force, belonging to devils, demons, or the many inhabitants who live in shadow and darkness. Its sudden appearance revealed an even more chilling scene—

It actually devoured the divine power that filled the sky, and instantly replaced it with its own color.

The world was plunged into darkness by this force.

A feeling of utter disgust permeated every corner of the air. It was murky, viscous, and like a centipede crawling on one's skin. Mori heard screams from all the believers in the church; the feeling of being violated by evil was terrible.

The woodpecker master reacted even more intensely, trembling uncontrollably as if it were about to faint from bliss. Saliva still clung to its beak, and it would occasionally utter, "That feels so good!"

Only Mori felt a strange sense of familiarity with this kind of evil...

It was like... when the Ancient Demon King froze the world, when he took her to see the stories of memories, and when he murmured about his daughter. Yes, it was the power of the Ancient Demon King... but with an added touch of feminine gentleness, as if adding a sweetness to evil.

愿？

In the darkness that belonged to her, Mori Toki finally understood whose power this was.

The evil blackness had no intention of devouring the world; it was then withdrawn. Everything finally returned to normal: the city, the people, the church, the forest and the cliffs, and the distant sea. Their colors were regained, and after disappearing once, they seemed even more vibrant.

However, Mori felt waves of inexplicable sadness.

She kicked the stained glass, shattering it, and without caring that they were dozens of meters in the air, she grabbed Master Woodpecker and jumped down. A gentle, malevolent aura lingered nearby, not yet completely dissipated.

"Why...why did you jump off the building?"

"Go see someone."

"How do you plan to land? I can't drag you down."

Mori sighed. She didn't know any flying magic, but she used ice magic to create a slide beneath herself. After stumbling and landing hastily, she struggled to get to that spot.

May you be there...

Could it be that the divine power just now was directed at her?

Ignoring her own panting from running, she squeezed every last breath out of her lungs and shouted—

"……willing!!"

"Mori, Mori-neechan!" The response she received was another bitter voice.

"Fufu?"

A pale blue light flew in; it was the little salt sprite she knew. Fufu seemed to have a lot of questions and angry words to say, yet it also revealed a sense of helplessness, and sadness made it difficult for it to speak.

"We... just wanted to find you, Mori-shita-neechan... why did you do this?"

"what?"

Mori witnessed the answer with his own eyes...

It was indeed Yuan who was attacked.

She stood on the road—the cobblestone path leading to the church. Her head was bowed, and her once flowing, jet-black hair was now disheveled. Several feathers from the feather decoration on her one-shoulder cloak had fallen to the ground.

Dejected and distressed.

Her expression was complex, but she stood there motionless, her arm bleeding profusely from dark red blood. Sen Shi could feel the traces left by divine power.

Some evil power still lingered around her, but it had mostly dissipated. Undoubtedly, she had defended herself against the divine power, but she had paid a heavy price for it.

"...Why?" She noticed Mori's arrival, slowly raised her head, her face full of bitterness and grievance. "What...did I do wrong? Why...hit me?"

"No, it wasn't me..." Mori's mind was completely blank.

Suddenly, Yuan let out a small, mournful cry. She gritted her teeth, her face contorted in pain, and hugged her shoulders.

Every now and then, black, electric currents would explode and crackle on her body. The intensity of these bursts made Master Woodpecker gasp and cry out, "The curse of the ancient demon king!"

At this moment, Yuan resembled a terrifying demon, shrouded in an extremely dreadful black mist. Just like the illusion she had created when she arrived by boat, to make herself appear more like a demon.

But now it seems more like things are out of control...

Just then—Sen suddenly heard faint sighs and laughter, a harmonious trio. The sighs were of regret for her survival, while the laughter was of triumph, his plans having gone perfectly.

"Hodge!!!" Mori was furious.

Her shout silenced the laughter, as if it had fled.

At first, Mori thought that Hodge was afraid of him. But then, the sighs of Master Woodpecker and Fufu brought the extremely resentful Mori back to his senses, and he understood why it had run away—it didn't want to get involved.

Because the second strike of divine power has arrived.

A silvery-white light once again spread across the sky, still above their heads, directed towards their wishes.

Mori almost ground her teeth to powder; it was too late for her to escape. She didn't seem like the type to open a portal to the Demon Realm and escape.

Mori tried to fight against this force, but her magic seemed so insignificant. As for that ridiculous slingshot, it was utterly useless in this situation.

She decisively tossed aside her staff and slingshot, then turned and handed the Book of Trillions of Stars to Yuan. This thing contained countless stars; perhaps it could offer some protection…

Immediately afterwards, Mori unleashed the power of the true god without hesitation.

"Stop!"

She desperately burned with something akin to faith, mobilizing all her spiritual power, hoping to command this force. Her pupils were filled with a silvery-white light, wishing it would submit to her will.

"Stop!"

Behind her, she wanted to fight back, but an unbearable pain prevented her from using her full strength.

She tried to open a portal under Morishita's feet to let her leave, but all she could open was a tiny hole, barely big enough to squeeze Fufu in.

The divine power seemed to be hindered by Mori's will, and its descent slowed slightly. This time, Mori held the first Pope's skull in his left hand and raised the first Pope's spine high in his right, pointing it straight to the heavens.

Unfortunately, the lines she was preparing were too long, and ultimately they didn't last long enough to be effective.

A massive, silvery-white waterfall cascaded down with a thunderous roar.

It was too late. Mori could only turn and pull Yuan into her arms, pinning her to the ground and using her back to resist the abhorrent divine power. Fortunately, its destructive power was ineffective against her; the only pain was the impact of the torrent of power—

A huge impact.

Mori was almost overwhelmed, knocked unconscious, and had her consciousness detach from her body. But she held on, because true gods are willful and can decide the world according to their own will, rather than bowing down and submitting to the tide of the world.

"This thing can't hurt you or me," Mori said to Yuan with unwavering conviction.

As she had hoped, the divine power failed to wash away their lives.

But in order to maintain his will and influence reality, Mori burned all the power in his soul.

Spiritual power, the power of faith. Then, her bag pouch broke free of the bow, scattering nearly three thousand gold coins across the world. Every time a holy letter flew past Sen Shi's eyes, she couldn't help but curse those foolish humans.

They actually left this loophole, giving Hodge a chance to pull some tricks...

In the end, not a single gold coin was left.

Mori thought she was going to die—but a certain radiance within her body quietly appeared, beginning to sustain the energy required for her divinity. In her hazy consciousness, Mori realized that this seemed to be the origin of the Four Seasons... a kind of dark but enduring... radiance?

“Mori Toki…” Yui’s eyes glistened with tears.

"Don't worry, I'm here."

Wiping away her tears, she feigned surprise and said, "So you didn't mean to hit me... I thought you didn't want to be my friend anymore."

This caused Mori to momentarily forget to maintain her divine status, and she was almost overwhelmed again. After barely managing to hold on, she simply covered Yuan's mouth with her hand. But in her small palm, she could feel a pair of soft lips trying to reveal a smile.

The impact of divine power lasted only a few seconds, but for Mori, it felt like an eternity.

The cost required is simply too high.

"Won't you be strong? You took the hit all by yourself..." Mori thought to himself. At the same time, he prayed to himself that this long period of time would end soon.

But something devastating happened to Mori.

Perhaps realizing their attack was ineffective, those foolish believers summoned a third strike. Before the second attack had even been fully parried, the relentless third wave was already upon them. She felt utterly desperate, for this time there was absolutely no way out.

"Where's your father..." She released her grip, allowing Yuan to speak freely.

"They probably overslept."

"The luggage... the picture frame, contact, stop..." Although it was too late, at least after the coffin carrier was killed by his own stupid followers, he could stop and no longer harm Yuan.

The third blow is imminent.

……

Master Woodpecker exhausted all his strength and barely managed to open a small passage, just big enough for him to pass through, leading directly to the realm of demons.