I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

Thus, the power of deus ex machina continues.

The Lady of Fragrance, who was fighting with the Mute in the sky, suddenly pulled her hand away. The strength of the Mute clone in front of her suddenly decreased significantly. Although the duration was very short, it still caused the Witch of Miracles to temporarily free her hand and directly throw two miracles at the burning Talia.

Two miracles called "nuclear explosions".

"boom--"

Two mushroom clouds exploded one after the other around Talia. Lady Scarlet's control over her power was astounding; she even managed to confine the force of the explosions to a one-meter radius around Talia. These two consecutive explosions rendered her soul transparent.

"Not enough."

Duke was still restraining his body, suppressing the urge to make a move.

Even if her soul was blown to smithereens, her experience and skills in soul battles were still legendary, along with the power of her legendary destiny. She was still an unbeatable opponent for Duke, so it was not fair to say that they were on equal footing.

Suddenly, the crystal crown on Talia's head shattered, and the dream she was deeply connected with suddenly lost contact. The believers in that dream who worshipped the goddess of creation, who were originally Talia's supporters, were now directed towards other objects.

The situation is even worse than that, because this great dream was constructed through the power of the Goddess of Creation, and when the number of believers in the Goddess of Creation decreases until there are almost none... the end of this great dream will also come.

"No...no..." Talia's voice was incredibly fragile, even tinged with tears. Faced with this raging torrent, she was like a small boat, drifting helplessly, powerless to resist. "No, the world will be destroyed..."

But her prayers did nothing.

The dream has just ended.

People woke up one after another.

Talia's persistence and obsession shattered.

Duke slowly exhaled.

"enough."

That's his opinion, but Deus Ex might think one side has overbet.

Thus, among the masses who were just waking up from their dream, Duke fatefully encountered half a skeleton.

In that fleeting glance, he confirmed that it was Annie.

Her right side was completely covered in bones, and even her left side was stiff like an undead creature. After waking up, she fell back down silently the moment she did.

Duke finally understood why Annie was so anxious about her impending death in the dream: she already knew her situation and that her soul would not be far from death after leaving the dream!

She didn't care about her own safety, only his...

Duke struggled to swallow the blood that rose to his throat. His exhausted body finally reached its limit, and he collapsed, his soul leaving his body once again.

At this moment, as I awaken from my deep dream.

Two souls, both physically and mentally exhausted, stood before each other.

Duke and Talia stand face to face at the center of the world.

"enough."

They spoke almost in unison.

Chapter 173 Clash of Souls

"enough."

When Duke and Talia spoke almost simultaneously, the once lifeless world gradually began to show the vitality that a normal world should have.

Around them, the myriad beings in the underground void were gradually awakening. They opened their eyes in the nutrient solution, and the devices filled with the nutrient solution seemed to detect the awakening of life within them, opening their hatches one after another.

After sleeping since the beginning of time, the people who had been asleep finally came into contact with real air, earth and water again after coughing up nutrient solution, and after an unknown period of history, and finally saw each other in real life again.

The dream has just ended.

Some people regained consciousness very quickly, as if by divine revelation. They woke up immediately and recalled all their memories before the collapse of the Great Dream. When they looked up and saw the Aphasia clone in the air, they cried out with tears in their eyes, "My Lord!" Then, they flapped their wings and tried to intervene in the war between Scarlet and the Aphasia, but they were just moths to a flame and brought about their own destruction.

Some people, however, cannot wake up from that great dream. Countless memories of reincarnation accumulate in the dream, and when they wake up, they burst forth all at once, filling their brains and leaving them only able to open their eyes in confusion, unable to see the real world.

Some people are neither immersed in nor succumb to the dream. For them, the long, chaotic dream of the night is just a confused illusion. The day of creation seems like yesterday, and the destruction of the world is already tomorrow.

But no matter what the masses of people are like.

The world's spotlight will only focus on those two people, those two who stand at the center of the world.

Duke and Talia.

Both of them were in a spirit state at this moment, and after a series of deus ex machina events, they were brought to a relatively equal situation.

enough.

There are enough reasons to start a war.

A level playing field is sufficient.

We have enough conditions to completely defeat the opponent.

These are true for both sides.

When Duke and Talia spoke almost simultaneously, a fierce battle broke out in a short time.

Talia was the first to make a move.

"I'm going to kill you, Duke!!!"

With bloodshot eyes, Talia charged toward Duke. She could sense the world's destruction restarting. At this moment, as all living beings awoke from their deep slumber, the world's ideologies began to disrupt the fragile balance.

The world has entered its countdown to destruction.

This is unacceptable to Talia.

Despite her anger, her mind remained calm. She knew this was her last chance; only by eliminating Duke immediately and continuing the crowning of the witch game could her plan have a chance of success.

Blood flames still burned on her body, and the flames caused her uncontrollable soul to emit painful cries, but even as she was constantly burned by the flames, Talia herself remained unshaken.

Or rather, even if everything goes in a worse direction, Talia will not waver in the slightest.

She knew that if she didn't seize this last chance, "Sleeping Beauty" would never be able to sleep again—she would either perish with the world today and never have the chance to enter dreams again, or she would be awakened by the destruction of her homeland before she could enter beautiful dreams again and again for the rest of her life.

So she strode up to Duke and swung her burning fist at him!

At this moment, Talia's appearance resembled Agni, her body burning with an inextinguishable flame. Enduring the pain in her soul, she raised her right arm, using her shoulder as a pivot, and swung her entire arm out with all her might, slamming it hard into Duke's face.

Talia used Flame Fist on Duke, and the effect was outstanding.

"boom--"

Duke was punched hard to the ground by Talia. He did not resist at all because he knew that he was unaffected by the blood flame. This punch was just a heavy one.

His gaze was fixed on Anne.

Amber and the others were fine, as they had only been in the dream for a short time and nothing unusual happened after they left. His companions woke up one after another, and everyone he cared about was alright... except for Annie.

To be honest, Duke didn't like this overly familiar and obsessive woman. Her excessive morbidity made Duke prefer to keep his distance, not to mention that he had already found his beloved and the people he cared about.

Whether it's his current official girlfriend Amber, or Guangbao, Natasha, Gret, or any of them, aren't they all easier to get along with than that dangerous yandere? Aren't their emotional foundations deeper than his with this girl?

To be honest, Duke still can't figure out when or why Anne became his die-hard fan.

But she saved his life.

This was enough to make Duke risk his life to try to save her. Rescuing Annie was also the biggest reason for Duke to oppose Talia and even go so far as to storm her stronghold and confront her.

If Duke confirms that Annie is in good condition, his killing intent may decrease significantly, and he might even choose to capture Talia alive to prevent this persistent ghost from returning like lightning once again.

But the reality was quite the opposite. Anne's condition was far from perfect; she was practically on the verge of death. Under such circumstances, Duke simply couldn't consider anything else.

To save Annie, she must be taken out of here as quickly as possible and brought before Eve or another witch with healing abilities. The normal methods wouldn't even provide enough time to leave, unless you complete the game!

The only obstacle to completing the game is Talia!

Die, Talia!

As Talia punched herself in the face with all her might, Duke also threw a punch at the same time. The moment Duke fell to the ground, his fist struck Talia's abdomen with all his might, causing her soul to flicker like a broken light bulb for a moment, which caused her fragile soul to fall heavily to the ground as well.

This is the injury left on Talia by Lady Scarlet's two nuclear attacks. This double blow gave Duke the right to fight the weakened legendary soul hand-to-hand.

The battle that unfolded between them was far too brutal. Duke and Talia were locked in a fierce struggle, devoid of any sophisticated techniques or powerful gadgets. They simply engaged in a brutal hand-to-hand combat, using the purest form of fighting.

Duke ripped off Talia's arm.

Talia bit off Duke's calf.

Duke tore Talia's chest apart.

Talia cut open Duke's abdomen.

There was no blood, no flesh, and no bones.

This battle of souls is not bloody, but even more cruel, because there will only be one winner in the end, and the loser will be completely devoured by the winner, and will not even exist anymore.

The winner... has an absolute advantage and is about to achieve victory.

It's Talia.

Her centuries-long obsession ultimately overwhelmed Duke's resolve.

Chapter 174 I Will Be Reborn from Your Death

Talia won.

Her centuries-long obsession won her the battle. In a contest of sheer willpower, or even the will to survive, Duke was no match for her, not to mention the inherent difference in the quality of their souls.

In hindsight, there was almost no reason why Talia couldn't win. Even in what seemed like a relatively fair fight, the difference was huge. Duke, who was completely surrounded by Talia in every aspect, ultimately couldn't defeat her.

However, Talia paid a heavy price to win this battle. Except for the area around her heart, her chest was riddled with holes, she was missing one and a half arms, and half of her once exquisite face was torn off.

These wounds are not fatal to the soul, but as they accumulate, she is not far from the dissipation of her soul.

But Duke fared even worse; he was torn to pieces by Talia and then swallowed whole by her. As the victor in this soul-death battle, Talia consumed the loser's soul and devoured Duke's existence.

Duke's body was left with its heart ripped out and on the verge of death, while her soul was swallowed whole and assimilated into her.

Talia has won decisively.

"...Duke?"

Amber, in the distance, let out a sound of disbelief. She stared in astonishment at Talia, having witnessed Talia swallow the last fragment of Duke. Amber even forgot to scream or break down; faced with the truth, she was so shocked that she didn't want to believe it.

Not only Amber was silent, but so were his other companions.