Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Saito Hajime's physical form had long since disintegrated into ashes.

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I'm going to finish the Bleach arc today with 15,000 words! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

Chapter 43. Now, we are one.

The connection between heaven and earth is severed, and there is no way to be demoted.

The connection between heaven and earth is severed, and there is no way to be demoted!

For the first time, Zheng Zha realized how difficult, heavy, and cruel it was to make a choice. He didn't want to die, and he couldn't let his companions die in vain. Therefore, he would inevitably choose to bestow titles, choosing to let Patchouli bear everything alone in this world until she completely vanished.

He knew he would make this choice, and she knew he would make this choice too. And that's why his heart ached even more.

Zheng Zha is a good person… no, the word "good person" alone is not enough to describe him. He should be called a kind-hearted person, a great philanthropist, and even a bit of a saint. He not only protects his companions, but also the innocent, the bystanders… or rather, everyone who is not his enemy is under his protection.

And now, this kind-hearted, somewhat saintly good-natured man is about to personally send one of his companions to his death—a death from which there is no reincarnation, a death more complete than the annihilation of the soul, a death that even the supreme god cannot resurrect. His inner feelings… are unimaginable.

If it weren't for the heavy power armor protecting him, his fingers would probably have already pierced his palms. And two of his unprotected teeth had even been crushed. Hot blood gushed down his throat, then steamed in his stomach, assaulting his already battered heart.

Conscience is the most powerful weapon to kill good people, and Zheng Zha is no exception.

But he will not die, nor can he die. If he dies, the hope of the Central Continent Team will truly be extinguished. No one can withstand the seventh horn of the Doomsday Judgment, no one can withstand the full force of a fourth-tier limit, a quasi-saint level attack. Because that is a terrifying power capable of turning a planet into dust, the only one who can stop the Emperor of the Netherworld in this world is the Emperor of the Netherworld himself.

If Tianbi doesn't stand firm, death is certain. Zheng Zha knows he will have to make a choice sooner or later.

He took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on Patchouli, as if trying to imprint her face into his soul. Then, after several more seconds, he slowly asked, word by word.

"What's the name of that extraordinary being... that quasi-saint?"

“By the name of the emperor,” Patchouli replied.

“Binana-no-ju…Emperor.” Zheng Zha lowered his head, gently loosening his clenched fist, then slowly clenching it again after a few seconds. “Binana-no-ju Emperor…Alright, I remember. Binana-no-ju Emperor.” He suddenly raised his head again, looking at Patchouli.

“What should I do?” he asked.

“It’s very simple.” Patchouli clasped her hands together, and a massive energy vortex suddenly rose above the base where the two were. The endless energy, light, particles, radiation, and waves all converged, and a complex ritual array was created.

“I have made all the preparations for mending the sky. The earth's veins have been connected, the energy is plentiful, and the energy structure and nodes of the celestial wall have been calculated. The only thing missing is the concept of Nuwa. But now the ritual has changed from Nuwa mending the sky to severing the connection between the earth and the sky, so what is still missing is only a concept.”

“You only need to say ‘I agree,’ that one word is enough. I’ll take care of the rest.” She floated in mid-air, the oppressive aura generated by the highly concentrated energy radiating outwards. In the blink of an eye, the total amount of energy she could control surpassed the limits of mortal reach, officially stepping into the realm of the extraordinary!

She is ascending; her life is leaping towards a higher level.

Zheng Zha watched her, watching her body gradually blur in the endless ocean of energy. He took a deep breath, then exhaled. Then he took another deep breath, and exhaled again. He repeated this cycle three or four times until his heart finally returned to peace.

“I’ll get my money back, I swear.” He gritted his teeth, the sound of them grinding together sharp and chilling. Then, he finally uttered the word.

"I agree!"

The next moment, the energy converged and gathered, a massive energy wave surging from the ground and radiating outwards from Patchouli's location. Countless converging rays of light transformed into a vast net in the sky, obscuring the earth and covering the sky, completely enveloping the entire planet within this net. In the process of this envelopment, all the remaining angels or ancient angels on the ground were annihilated in that instant.

This planet will become a self-circulating, closed system. Only the heat and natural light, repeatedly disrupted and reorganized within the complex barrier of the celestial wall, will be allowed entry. Before that, more mass must be acquired.

More water, more matter, more nutrients and supplies.

The net then continued to extend upwards, passing through the troposphere, the stratosphere, the ionosphere, and finally reaching the exosphere. It stopped at an altitude of 10,000 kilometers above the ground. Within the net, even more energy threads then emerged, forming a robust energy membrane.

The Earth was enveloped, like a translucent eggshell encasing a transparent egg white, with the egg white surrounding the yolk. From this day forward, the inhabitants of this planet will never again be able to touch the brilliant starry sky, nor the blazing sun or the cold moon. They will be forever sealed within this eggshell formed by the celestial barrier, forever protected.

They are not free, because they can never leave their home planet. But they are also free, because they will never again be governed by the will of the emperor, and will never need to repeat the cycle of creation and destruction.

"I've succeeded," Patchouli thought. "I've obtained everything I wanted; the Seventh Horn will never be sounded again."

[Then... I should also pay the price I need to pay.]

Her body completely vaporized the instant it formed the celestial barrier and simultaneously commanded the powers of Gaia and Alaya. In this endless and vast surge of energy, her fragile flesh could not even survive for a microsecond.

After the body comes the soul.

He then ordered Chongli to sever the connection between heaven and earth. Chongli and Li were originally two different people, just as Gaia and Alaya were originally two opposing forces.

She felt herself splitting, one part becoming the heavens, the other becoming human. And with the disintegration of her soul, her thoughts and memories were gradually becoming blurred.

[I never imagined I could simultaneously become both the heart of Heaven and the heart of Man, both Gaia and Alaya... Ah, both are eternal and immortal deities. I never imagined... I never imagined even I could reach this level.]

I will disappear completely. Even if my soul and consciousness remain, my self-awareness will vanish entirely. I will forget... no, even if I don't forget, I will change. I will... stop loving her.

Alice, Alice, my life, my soul. How I long...

[…I'll hold your hand once more.]

“You can hold my hand now, Patchouli,” her lover’s voice rang in her ears. And she immediately opened her eyes wide.

"Alice?" Even though she was just a soul, when she turned her gaze, her eyes still held an overwhelming mix of surprise and fear.

Surprise comes from disbelief, fear comes from disbelief.

"Mmm." Alice reached out and hugged her waist. "Patch, I'm right here."

"Alice! Alice! Alice! Alice! Alice! Alice! Alice!" Patchouli hugged Alice tightly, then burst into tears. "I thought... I thought I'd never... never see you again!!"

“But I’m right here.” The girl gently patted her back, soothing her lover’s turbulent emotions on a spiritual level. “You’re crying in front of me again, Patchouli. You never listen to me.”

"Because, because..." she choked up and couldn't speak.

“Alright, that’s enough. The ceremony isn’t over yet, let’s continue.” Alice lowered her head and whispered in her ear, “A price that one person can’t afford can be shared by two. And thanks to Saito, I’ve found a way to share it. So, leave the rest to me.”

"Okay." Patchouli nodded obediently. "I'll do whatever you say."

In the next instant, knowledge and information were rapidly exchanged at the point where their bodies touched. Each person's thoughts and ideas were instantly perceived by the other. And immediately afterward, change began to occur.

What one person cannot do, two people can do together.

What one person cannot afford, two people can share.

Alice's soul began to split, with one half replacing Patchouli's half and rising into the sky. Meanwhile, the part of Patchouli's soul that had initially risen remained stationary, leaving only the remaining part to fall to the earth.

Chongli and Chongli are originally Chong and Li, two people, two gods. Alice was in this ritual from the beginning. Even though the ritual to mend the sky had changed, she did indeed knock down Jianmu while she was knocking down Buzhou Mountain.

The Jianmu tree is a ladder to heaven, so... she was qualified to sever the connection between heaven and earth!

Since cause and effect are equal, then responsibility must also be shared. And since Saito Hajime could escape the emperor's surveillance by splitting his soul, there's no reason why the witches couldn't use the same method to fool this Heavenly Wall ritual that doesn't even have consciousness!

Alice and Patchouli who remained were merely empty shells, only parts of the soul. The part that left this world... that was the essence!

Patchouli's wristwatch stabilized again. Her spirit weakened. She was not, after all, Alice transformed into a soul consumed by obsession. The dissociation of her soul… was fatal to her.

but……

“The Staff of Control can protect you, Patchouli.” Alice reached out and merged the person before her into her fragmented spirit. “Get some sleep. I will awaken you again when we return to the Main God Space.”

She heard a soft reply. Then, she felt herself and her lover merge into one, becoming a temporary whole through the medium of the scepter.

The ceremony was completed, and everything came to a close. The flow of time slowed down at this moment. A white meteor, representing the emperor, came from beyond the sky. It struck the celestial wall, and then the earth connected to the celestial wall began to tremble, and the earth's core began to emit an aura of destruction.

The emperor stopped what she was doing. She stood outside the celestial wall, looking expressionlessly at Alice/Patchouli in the center of the ceremony.

She couldn't get in. And she... couldn't destroy the planet either.

Her voice couldn't penetrate, nor could her spirit break through the barrier of the heavens. Yet, her expressionless face still revealed her will.

'You have won, but only temporarily. One day, you will suffer a utter defeat at my hands.'

So Alice/Patchouli did what she had done half an hour earlier: she pulled down her left eyelid, stuck out her tongue, and made a face.

"Go to hell!"

The next moment, the God's timer ended, the story concluded, the captain's authority was granted, and the teleportation began. There were three survivors from the Central Plains team: Zheng Zha, Alice (who had lost her body and half her soul), and Patchouli (who had also lost her body and half her soul). In total, it was one plus a quarter plus a quarter, a person and a half.

The prophecy that Saito Hajime made on the first night came true.

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The story has ended, and the long journey of World War IV has come to a close. A summary will be posted after midnight.

Volume Conclusion [Death Apocalypse Ends]

Ah... I finally breathed a sigh of relief after writing this. The fourth world, which has occupied half of this article so far, is finally over. The plot of Death Apocalypse has finally come to an end. Readers who have been waiting for this story to finish can start reading now. I was almost driven crazy by you guys waiting for me to finish reading!

In short… well, I still have many shortcomings. The plot this time was too long, and that's definitely a sad problem. So I'll correct that from now on and never drag it out this long again. Each world will be resolved within 150,000 to 200,000 words. Yeah, that's it.

As for the specifics of World Championship 4... well, I think it's alright. The level of performance should be normal, except for the fact that it dragged on a bit... there shouldn't be any major problems.

Anyway, let's start the script for the next volume. The main content of the next chapter is The Legend of the Gods and Demons II and the resurrection of Boss Chu... the latter will probably be the focus. Damn it, if it weren't for the fact that he's going to appear and I was worried about not being able to describe him properly, so I decided to temporarily reduce the number of characters, I wouldn't have needed to drag this out for so long to develop the roles of each character... Okay, I won't blame anyone else, that's all _(:з」∠)_

In short, the next volume, World Five, will be a truly light and enjoyable one after the arrival of the much-anticipated Boss Chu... because I freaking don't know how I'll even get tense _(:з」∠)_

Ah...by the way, I need to ask for a day off. Today, August 4th, I'm going to be taking a break all day. Yesterday, I wrote a whopping 14,000 words in one day! I don't even know how I did it _(:з」∠)_

Fifth stop: The Return of the Gods and Ghosts

Section 1: This is... the latest operation

When Zheng Zha awoke from the teleportation of the main god and saw two other teleportation beams gradually dissipating in his field of vision, he was undoubtedly filled with a mixture of shock and joy. But as his gaze was about to move along the lower end of the dissipating beams, trying to find his surviving comrades, that complex emotion instantly turned into pure horror with the arrival of a beam of light that slammed into his face.

"I think you'd better go back to your personal space and stay there for now."

Alice's voice reached his ears, bringing him a sense of relief that he hadn't returned alone, along with a feeling of surprise that "this guy is still alive." At the same time, a seemingly powerful but actually energy-intensive magic cannon blast slammed into his face. It easily blinded his overpowered eyes and simultaneously propelled him out of the main god's teleportation beam with a relatively weak force.

Then, the poor guy slammed his hand on the door of his personal space.

Well, Alice doesn't yet have the ability to bypass the main god's authority and force someone into her personal space. Even if she could, she wouldn't waste time doing something so laborious and thankless. All she needs is a gap in her schedule, and that's more than enough time for what she needs to accomplish.

When Zheng rubbed his eyes, feeling dizzy and disoriented, and scrambled to his feet, the plaza in the Main God Space was completely empty. He stood there stunned for several seconds before he reacted, a boiling, deep anger surging from the depths of his heart, making him furious!

"What the hell did I do to deserve this?! You two damn lesbians want to show off your love, fine... fine, show off! But what's with firing a magic cannon at me?!" He angrily waved his arms, jumping around like a monkey whose banana had been taken away. Perhaps if his anger had gone any deeper, he might have even spontaneously developed a 'Great Sage's Chopping Fist' technique. However, he eventually calmed down, staring at the witches' personal spaces and letting out a scorching breath.

"I'll settle the score with you tomorrow!" he said angrily, casually finding a way out—after being slammed against the door by that pure magic beam, his mind, still somewhat muddled from undergoing captain certification, gradually calmed down. Then, several thoughts that would never have crossed his mind before surfaced in his thoughts.

First, the witches were in good condition, speaking with strong voices and controlling their powers well when they fought. This indicates they were unharmed. Their eagerness to leave now might be because they needed to relax their tense nerves.

Secondly, my own condition doesn't seem quite right. I'm easily angered, and my mind seems excessively tense. Perhaps it's the effect of that inexplicable Captain's Privilege certification when I left the Final Destination 2 world. It seems like my genetic lock was forcibly upgraded by one level… or something like that?

Third, Margot Lloyd wouldn't just randomly unleash a barrage of fire at herself for no reason. So... damn it! How could I possibly have thought of so many random things!?

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his agitated mind. Then…

"We'll deal with tomorrow's problems tomorrow! Tonight... I'm going to sleep!" he shouted, clenching his fist, before disappearing into his personal space without looking back. He slammed the door shut—a door that would normally never make a sound.

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