"Transform!"
As Ebner recited the incantation, the over-the-top electronic voice in his ear finally faded away. A swirl of grayish-white mist appeared before his eyes, within which countless scenes—both familiar and strange—glimmered like stars.
The Moon card in his hand guided his vision through layer upon layer of fog, finally settling on a figure clad in crimson armor, with a pair of massive, translucent "bat" wings unfurled behind him.
The function of the Transformation Belt was, in essence, "Yesterday Reenacted"—to locate a fragment of one's past self from the fissures of history and borrow its power.
The cards, meanwhile, served as quick "coordinates"… After all, Ebner had yet to recover his memories of Rhine, and could only rely on the link through the Unknown Land and ritual techniques to pre-mark the coordinates of that historical fissure.
In an instant, crimson light enveloped Ebner's entire body, merging completely with that blood-armored figure from history.
At the same moment, dozens of invisible sword lights abruptly appeared within Ebner's body—about to detonate.
That was, of course, the attack of the Glorious One, Boris Vasika. Seeing that Ebner's transformation was anything but ordinary, how could he possibly allow his opponent to complete it?!
However, those invisible sword lights—just as they were about to explode—suddenly "agreed" with one another and veered away from Ebner's body, detonating only after distancing themselves, as though they were unwilling to harm him.
That was the Authority of Beauty!
Though the Rhine Carendia of history was not the Goddess of Beauty Herself, he had been blessed by the Progenitor of Vampires and could share in Her Beauty.
"Rhine Carendia? How could it be you?" the giant Boris finally saw Ebner's current face clearly, his expression flickering with shock and uncertainty. But a moment later, realization dawned on him. "Ah… so that's it. I understand now!"
His single eye locked tightly onto Ebner as he said in a chilling tone, "You're still Oliver Constantine, aren't you?"
Huh? You managed to deduce the 'God of Luck' persona just from two of my identities? Were we close before or something? And why do I feel like your killing intent just spiked after recognizing me? Don't tell me we've got some deep blood feud—like I killed your father or stole your wife or something?
Ebner ridiculed inwardly, but outwardly he didn't delay in the slightest. He simply raised a finger, and a crimson light shone upon the scepter in the Glorious One's hand.
That scepter was a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, containing the Sequence 2 characteristic of the Mother pathway— Desolate Matriarch. It could transform vitality into decay, and vice versa.
Earlier, the giant had assumed Ebner's trump card was the Lord of Spirits, Vicente Miranda, so while talking, he had used the artifact to convert the Twilight-laden "decay" within the cage into abundant life force, intending to suppress the Death Consul's power.
Meanwhile, he himself could rely on the scepter's abilities to remain unaffected by the life energy of the environment.
Thus, that artifact naturally became Ebner's primary target.
If he could neutralize it, then within this time-frozen cage overflowing with life, the decaying power of Twilight would be rendered useless.
At that moment, the giant Boris seemed to stand there stupidly, making no effort to evade or defend. He allowed the crimson light to fall directly upon his scepter!
In the next second, the artifact itself seemed to feel the joy of all living things—the pleasure of growth and the ecstasy of new life. Its "head" rapidly mutated, opening reproductive organs that, moments later, "gave birth" to more than a dozen tiny "rods." Each one carried away part of its Extraordinary characteristic, forming entirely new "living beings."
After completing this round of "childbirth," the scepter swiftly decayed and cracked apart. Were it not for the abundant vitality within this cage, it would have already crumbled into dust.
Even so, stripped of all its characteristics, the scepter could no longer sustain its own spirit and consciousness—falling into corruption and becoming an evil spirit was now inevitable.
As for those dozen small "rods," or rather "miniature scepters," they each sent Ebner waves of psychic goodwill and affection, as though he were their "mother." If they'd had feet, they would probably already have clustered around him.
But Ebner had no time to spare them a thought, because the Glorious One, who had appeared stunned moments ago, was suddenly nowhere to be seen—
The being holding the scepter had merely been a time-frozen shadow!
While Ebner was allowing the scepter to experience the "joy of birth," Boris had used the ability of Light Borrowing Concealment to appear silently at Ebner's side.
As a Sequence 2 angel of the Warrior pathway, the Glorious One excelled at direct combat. Once he closed the distance, he had more than enough confidence to kill a Creator outright.
Moreover, he hadn't intended to abandon the scepter initially—but within this cage brimming with vitality, Rhine, as a Creator, could transmit the joy of life to any living or life-linked object in an instant.
And although Boris could use the Sealed Artifact's power to manipulate vitality and decay, he couldn't fully control it or sever its connection to life.
In effect, wielding that scepter made him a glowing beacon for Rhine's Creation authority. After a moment's calculation, Boris had chosen to discard the scepter entirely, using it as bait to close the distance.
And now, he had succeeded.
Without resorting to his usual stealthy silver rapier, Boris directly condensed a ten-meter-long orange-red greatsword. The moment it formed, the blade pierced straight through Ebner's torso.
This was the Sword of Glory, imbued with the powers of Light and Purification—highly effective against vampires. Its sheer energy was overwhelming; outside the cage, a single blow could have split a mountain.
Yet, the strike that could have shattered peaks inflicted no harm upon Ebner, for the sword once again felt beauty—and so it merely sliced through his armor, grazing harmlessly past his body.
Seeing this, the Glorious One, as though expecting it, immediately flipped his wrist and swung the sword in a horizontal arc.
Sensing the terrifying power within the strike, Ebner knew that even if he turned into pure "moonlight," he'd still be torn apart completely—and his opponent wouldn't grant him the chance to reform.
So, in that critical instant, he unleashed the Omniscient Eye to its fullest, seeking a way to break the deadlock.
Then, at the decisive moment, agony erupted from beneath the Glorious One's feet—a pain so unbearable that even the giant's angelic body faltered, delaying his swing.
Looking down, Boris realized he had "accidentally" stepped on the crumbling scepter, and the evil spirit within had used its final strength to gift him a taste of Desolation.
But that brief second of hesitation was all it took—his orange-red greatsword suddenly flared with a bizarre crimson hue. It seemed to awaken, turning on its master and dragging his hand toward his own head.
At the same time, Ebner, freed from that lethal barrage, didn't even pause for breath. The vast, spectral wings at his back flared wide, joining forces with the now-betrayed orange-red sword to hem the Glorious One in from every angle.
In his pure white eyes, the unique Wheel of Fate had reverted to a Die of Destiny—and he "rolled" a one for Boris Vasika.
Even if the environment favors me, fighting an angel of the Warrior pathway head-on isn't wise…
And the transformation won't last long. I may revert to Ebner before Lilith or the Goddess can reach me.
So the only viable solution—
"—is to shatter this temporal cage!"
If I were merely a Creator, that might be impossible… but I have the Pure White Eye!
And when it comes to breaking seals and prisons—the Omniscient Eye is the professional.
(End of Chapter)