Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

But is the world truly a prison?

If this were a world I had created, I would certainly set up numerous monitoring measures and patrol agencies, and establish comprehensive and well-equipped testing and maintenance institutions outside the world.

Deceiving the world? Ah… that method is indeed feasible, but just as a competent programmer doesn't need to spend much effort to detect and fix a serious bug that severely impacts system operation, this 'fake door' I created shouldn't take long to be eliminated once it starts operating.

However, this shoddy gate to the world has persisted to this day.

Alice raised a finger, and the magical energy within her gathered at her fingertip before erupting. The surging light and heat destroyed everything in front of her, including the air, and struck Esdeath precisely three microseconds later, successfully peeling off a layer of her skin—however, the damaged flesh was reconstructed in an even shorter time. Immediately following this was a retaliatory blast of frost at a temperature as low as -270 degrees Celsius.

The witch ignored it, because Goliath's massive hand, hanging down and the energy barrier attached to it, was enough to handle this level of accident—she simply held the Shadow Scythe, filling it with enormous energy to ensure that this weapon, which was ultimately just a mortal object, would not break directly from a few simple collisions.

Immediately following, as the feeling of time and space distortion came over her, a certain triggered spell on her body was suddenly activated. In the blink of an eye, everything turned gray and time stopped. Under the effect of the triggered spell, she regained her color and made the giant scythe and the rapier collide again in the gray time-stopped space.

'Gala————'

Not only was the rapier shattered, but also half of Esdeath's body. As the giant scythe struck the rapier, Goliath, the colossal war machine that should have been restrained by time stop, also slammed into Esdeath, causing the space to collapse.

In the battlefield of the heavens, the pitch-black cracks created by the spatial rupture instantly spread across a massive airspace covering a cubic kilometer. The surrounding matter was then pulled, torn apart, and refilled into the rapidly returning void under the self-correcting force of space—Alice's Shadow Scythe broke and reconnected bit by bit, while a kilometer beyond her vision, Esdeath's half-body, which had been blasted to the point of being reduced to a skeleton, was also rapidly repaired in an instant.

Alice was not injured at all; she only lost energy, and the energy she possessed was almost inexhaustible.

Esdeath had suffered countless wounds, enough to kill a flesh-based ability user who had just entered the third stage of the gene lock a thousand times over. But now, all those wounds have been completely healed.

A brief pause occurred on the battlefield.

Alice took a soft breath—she didn't need to breathe, but she still did it habitually. She could clearly sense that the obsession structure within her body, which was used to construct her soul body, had drastically changed and strengthened in the previous battle, reaching the critical point of advancement from the peak of the ordinary True Demon level. Moreover, her new physical body, which had also reached the limit of the third level, was also touching the same level—spirit and flesh were incompatible, but both spirit and flesh were about to transcend the extraordinary.

Almost there.

They were just a little short of crossing the gate to the extraordinary and establishing the foundation for immortality.

Alice raised an eyebrow and looked at Esdeath, who was hovering a kilometer away and whose injuries had been completely healed. She quickly concluded that Esdeath was at the same stage as herself.

The gap between the mortal and the extraordinary is enormous, a difference as vast as clouds and mud, a fundamental disparity in the nature of life. Even if the world's will favors its chosen people, forcibly creating a fourth-tier being in a short period of time is extremely difficult.

She realized this, and Esdeath on the other side must have realized it as well.

When their gazes met in mid-air, a bolt of lightning appeared in the void at the midpoint, and a small storm quickly formed, unfolded, and cleared away all obstacles between them in half a second.

“Alice Margotrovid.” The Imperial General stretched her limbs, dense, ultra-low-temperature freezing air swirling around her, forming a massive cloud of boson condensation. The terrifyingly low temperature, nearing absolute zero, was restrained and controlled by a power of some kind of bloodline resonance—a power powerful enough to freeze light!

"I longed for the pain you would inflict upon me, for the defeat you would give me. But now it seems you can't keep up with the pace of my growth." Esdeath's tone was indifferent; the fervor and affection she had previously displayed gradually faded as she went from being half-dead with a single move to only suffering minor injuries after an attack. And now, she had reverted to the cold indifference she had shown when they first met outside the starship.

She still doesn't remember those memories from back then, but those long-buried powers are churning out from the depths of her consciousness.

“You still cannot defeat me,” Alice said softly, her voice echoing equally loudly in every corner within a kilometer radius. “And I can still easily injure you.”

“It’s just a superficial serious injury,” Esdeath scoffed. “My body has reached a point where it’s about to undergo a qualitative change. My internal organs, bone marrow, and brain matter are all things that can be replaced and regenerated at any time. What you call a ‘serious injury’ is actually the same as losing a hair or cutting a nail for me. You can’t pose a fatal threat to me at all.”

“If that’s really the case, then we can certainly continue fighting. But… your average regeneration rate is twelve percent slower than it was five minutes ago.” Alice smiled gently. She waved her hand, and the faith energy surging from the void gathered around her, forming a barrier of light and heat. The Shadow Scythe, which had been constantly breaking and rebuilding in the rapidly escalating battle, also began to operate, instantly devouring nearly a third of the intense light.

The sky changed color due to the convergence of light and heat, gradually turning yellow and then gold, as if a second sun had appeared in the sky.

[Prerequisites fulfilled.]

“Let’s keep fighting. We’ll eventually have a showdown.” The girl raised the handle of her giant scythe, ready to reap the life before her that was transforming from something commonplace to something unique. Her eyes weren’t sharp, and her expression wasn’t particularly serious, but Esdeath knew that this girl who called herself Alice had the confidence to continue her entanglement with her.

Esdeath's fingers trembled slightly.

"I take back what I said earlier. You are not unable to catch up with me. The injuries you inflicted on me were not entirely ineffective—I have to admit that continuing to drag this out is more disadvantageous for me. Perhaps I can cross that step in time and use the extraordinary power above it to completely defeat you. But that possibility is less than one percent—you have a more than ninety-nine percent chance of defeating, or even killing, me before I become strong enough."

She paused.

But you didn't do that.

“You’re right,” Alice nodded slightly. “I didn’t do that. And you should know why I didn’t kill you immediately.”

“You need a whetstone.” Her eyes were intense. “You also want to take that crucial step that transforms your life.”

“Wrong. All I need is a stepping stone.” Alice scrutinized her closely, her indifferent gaze as if she were examining a dead pig. “I’m in control. I’ll win sooner or later, and I will win eventually. If this plan fails, I can execute it again next time. And a stepping stone isn’t as special as a whetstone; I can always find another one.”

Esdeath fell silent.

She took a deep breath, and the boson condensation cloud around her churned and rolled back and forth with her turbulent emotions.

“If I win,” she said, emphasizing it again. “If I win, I will lock you in a fine cage. I will spend ten years slowly turning you into a pile of minced meat, and then, after you have recovered, I will repeat the process in a different way… I believe I will not lose interest in you for at least a thousand years.”

Alice just watched her quietly.

Clearly, she was showing weakness. And it was a weakness born of pride—since she had stated her conditions for victory, it meant Alice could also state her demands. And in exchange for these demands, she longed for an opportunity to transcend the divine realm, rather than being killed or dragged to death by Alice, who was now unleashed.

“If I win,” Alice said softly, “your life will be at my disposal once, and even if you die, I will find a way to make you loyal to me.”

Esdeath did not object. She simply clasped her hands together, interlocking her fingers to form a mudra resembling a water bottle, and raised them above her head. The cloud of condensed bosons quietly gathered towards the mudra she had formed, gradually flowing into the bottle at a relatively slow pace.

“Just now, a move appeared in my memory.” She said calmly. “Although I don’t know when I learned it, I feel that as long as I can use it completely, I can successfully cross that level and become some kind of terrifying being beyond imagination.”

She stared at Alice and spoke, word by word.

"One strike, and the outcome is decided."

Alice did not answer, but the sea of ​​messages around her began to boil.

She watched as the boson condensation cloud, nearing minus 273 degrees Celsius, gathered and compressed within the water bottle-shaped hand seal, gradually approaching the boundary that represented 'absolute'. Esdeath seemed completely unconcerned that Alice might take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack. This woman abandoned all defensive measures while compressing the condensation cloud, simply hovering quietly in the air, devoting all her energy to this move that exceeded the limits of her abilities.

The covenant between man and god is established, the time has come, and I have not broken it. Therefore, it is time to complete the final handover.

She severed her connection with all believers, allowing their longing for 'peace' to soar freely into the heavens. And 'peace' is 'tranquility,' and above 'tranquility' lies a sky bathed in intense light and heat, glowing golden!

The emperor is dead, and dead without an heir. The dynasty is over, and before that, oppression and rebellion had already ignited sparks across the continent.

The old dynasty is dead, the old order has been broken. And after destruction, creation will naturally follow.

"The sky is dead, and the sky is dead."

Her voice traversed the endless battlefield, drifting like a gentle breeze along the information network, brushing past the ears of every ordinary person who knew the name of the Path of Tranquility. And these eight words, which should not have been understood by the people of this world, instantly transformed into clear interpretations upon being conveyed, and then were completely instilled into the hearts of everyone.

I promised you peace in exchange for your faith, and now I bestow upon you tranquility as my reward. The empire that oppressed you is gone, and the world that follows is in your hands.

Above the sky, golden light expanded outwards, covering the earth and sweeping across mountains and rivers in the blink of an eye—the golden light brushed past swarms of insects on the surface and underground, but had no effect on them. The radiance continued to spread, and in an instant, it engulfed the northern capital.

The light brought neither harm nor benefit. It swept over the ruins of the capital, over the common people struggling to survive in those ruins, over the oppressed yet accustomed populace across the empire, and over the soldiers and officials who, though perhaps unwilling to do evil, had long been numbed by society and class.

The light did not bring about any change, but change was happening quietly.

Because within this golden radiance, only the single thought infused by the witch resonates and echoes.

—You are free.

From this day forward, you will be the masters of your own destiny.

The next moment, a burning fire ignited in the heart of every citizen of the Empire. They looked at each other, and in the instant their eyes met, a tacit understanding arose within them. It was as if an invisible net had connected them into a whole, bringing equality while maintaining the individuality of each person.

At that moment, Alice spoke her second sentence.

"In the year of Jiazi, great fortune will come to the world."

Esdeath, hovering a kilometer in front of her, suddenly opened her eyes. Ignoring the incomprehensible whispers in her ears, she immediately unleashed a spell, sending a freezing current that blocked every corner the witch could hide in!

"Aurora Execution!" she screamed, letting out a battle cry.

Not only her, but even Logando, who was hiding in the distance and wielding the Supreme Imperial Arm, suddenly made a move. A destructive laser beam, ten times stronger than the original Supreme Imperial Arm, shot out and instantly covered the logistics camp she had set up and the nearly ten million believers staying in the camp!

The next moment, her form shattered completely before Esdeath's incredulous gaze, turning into dust. Because she neither dodged nor blocked, but instead allowed that near-divine attack, infinitely close to absolute zero yet not quite reaching it, to strike her!

The Book of Revelation was compiled; destiny is ever-changing...

I am... Zhonghuang Taiyi

Section 67 Patchouli

Zhonghuang Taiyi, a god of fantasy, is essentially a deity that does not exist in either this world or the historical era known as the Three Kingdoms. Its origins lie in the fabrication of the Daoist Zhang Jiao, who claimed to be the supreme ruler of the Five Emperors and Five Directions. It emphasized the legitimacy of its uprising by using the theory of the Five Elements' circulation, with the Yellow Turbans' Earth element replacing the Fire element of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

It is merely a flag, possessing neither power nor authority. In fact, in this shoddy world where no one knows what the Three Kingdoms are, it cannot be manufactured according to the standards of the Apocalypse. Because no one in this world has ever uttered its name, and it is not recorded in any legends in history.

Therefore, this will be the most useless apocalypse in the history of magic. It futilely consumed immeasurable amounts of information and enormous energy, yet ultimately failed to create any ripples in the real world. It caused no destruction and did not harm anyone in the slightest.

The only thing it did was to inscribe the concept of 'Zhonghuang Taiyi' in this world.

This concept possesses no power and wields no authority.

And this was exactly what the witch who cast the spell hoped for—the moment the Book of Revelation was completed, Alice blinked gently, and her soul immediately left her body.

She silently watched as her body, which had reached the limit of the third stage and was even about to touch the fourth stage of the genetic lock, was completely destroyed by Esdeath's Aurora Execution technique, which was infinitely close to absolute zero. It collapsed completely at the molecular level. The survival instinct of life made it operate all its functions to the limit before it collapsed, thus ensuring the integrity of the compilation of the Apocalypse. And when the body was annihilated, her own will guided her invisible, obsessive soul, taking advantage of the great momentum of the energy dissipation, to silently fly into the Yellow Heaven.

Esdeath couldn't sense her obsessive soul because she had left almost all her energy and physical body as a target, allowing only the pure obsession to ascend. Just as she had been unable to find any trace of the angels in the world of Shinigami in the past few days, Esdeath, who hadn't truly reached the fourth rank before obtaining the correct means of observation, couldn't sense her presence either.

She escaped unharmed.

Then, tens of millions of souls and faiths, whose main bodies had died rapidly under the bombardment of the Supreme Imperial Arms and thus lost their support, rapidly converged towards the area where she was located.

..........................................

[I've been tricked. This was her ritual for ascending to godhood. And an ordinary native couldn't possibly possess this level of power and knowledge. She's a reincarnated being, my enemy!]

Ex's voice echoed in Logandao's mind. Unlike her previous indifferent and aloof demeanor, Logandao could clearly sense that she had developed a genuine interest in what was happening. It wasn't the shame and annoyance of being schemed against, nor the anger of being offended, but rather a kind of pleasure akin to a hunter spotting its prey, a sense of eager anticipation.

"Go quickly, Logan, break through that golden cloud in the sky. She's going through a crucial period of transformation; how can she be spared a test?" Ex's voice was light and cheerful.

“…I…I can’t beat that thing!” Logandao gritted his teeth. He knew perfectly well that he wasn’t even qualified to participate in the battle between Alice and Esdeath. Moreover, back then, the two were nothing but dust in Esdeath’s eyes. Now that one of them had piqued Esdeath’s interest, charging into it would be tantamount to suicide!

"I can't...it's impossible!" He struggled against it, refusing to let his hands, which moved involuntarily, touch the control mechanism of the Supreme Imperial Arm. He was mentally prepared for Ex's scolding...even punishment. But something that was tantamount to suicide...he absolutely would not do it!

Don't want to die.

I must not die.

No matter what... we absolutely cannot disappear from this place!

"It's fine if you don't want to." Axe's voice returned to its original indifference, her answer taking Roger's expectations by surprise. However, just as a feeling of relief at escaping death was about to rise in his heart, Axe's next words plunged him into an ice cave.

But if you don't kill her, someone else will come and kill you.

Before he could finish speaking, everything went black before his eyes, and excruciating pain shot through him! The shared senses with the Supreme Imperial Arm made him think that his chest had been blasted open by a hail of bullets! His vision stretched and shifted rapidly, and the wind resistance behind him made him feel as if he were sliding through a clump of glue. When he reached the end of the slide and hit the barrier that stopped, the enormous potential energy transformed into excruciating pain that spread throughout his entire body!

The excruciating pain caused him to vomit a large amount of blood!

He looked up and, through the shared Imperial Arm's vision, saw that his location was at least half a kilometer away from where he had previously been hiding. A wide chasm had been roughly torn in the ground between them, and a figure shrouded in icy aura hovered where the Supreme Imperial Arm had been. Just as Logandao saw her, she retracted her punch!

The machine is damaged... by 3.44%. The entire Supreme Imperial Arm, with its massive mass of 200,000 tons, has had nearly 3.5% of its mass reduced by this single attack! If the Supreme Imperial Arm were considered a human, its chest would be a bloody mess. In addition to the direct loss of mass, nearly 10% of its operating systems have been damaged to varying degrees. If it were to be attacked two or three more times, the entire Supreme Imperial Arm would collapse on the spot!

"So it was you who interrupted my duel? Preventing me from successfully crossing that first level of the divine realm by relying on the pressure of a death battle?" Esdeath's tone was icy, like the unyielding ice of the Arctic. But contrary to her outwardly cold demeanor, she was actually seething with rage inside!

So close!

So close!