East coast of the Preet Kingdom, Tivian.
When the blazing sun in the sky erupted with unprecedented holy radiance, the mist covering the Prit city, originating from the dream, was instantly cleared. The white saint cocoon, hidden deep within the illusory dream, in the distant giant forest, emerged in a daze, appearing at the peak of the dream illusion above the city, revealed in the deepest part of all dreams.
After the saint cocoon, where butterflies and moths coexist, appeared, Gu Mian, who had just escaped the Dragon's maw, immediately raised its gaze upwards in confusion. It spread its wings, which were mostly repaired, and flew towards the saint cocoon at the peak of the dream, beginning its final pilgrimage.
"We cannot let it enter an area with a high concentration of the Dream World, otherwise it can directly open a portal to the side of the saint cocoon!"
Seeing Gu Mian flying from the city ground towards the Dream World illusion in the sky, the Black Cat illusion beside the Dragon said loudly. Dorothy, who was the incarnation of the Dragon, immediately roared after hearing the Black Cat's words, then spread her wings and rushed towards Gu Mian.
In Tivian now, the boundary between dream and reality has been broken. The sky is an illusion of the Dream World, while the ground is still the foundation of reality. When Gu Mian enters that Dream World illusion again, it will have the ability to directly jump to the side of the saint cocoon, fulfilling its greatest wish.
The Dream Dragon transformed by Dorothy roared as it charged towards Gu Mian. Without the influence of the mist of confusion, she, being faster, soon rushed close to Gu Mian, opening her huge maw, wanting to swallow it directly.
However, facing the Dragon's surprise attack, Gu Mian showed no intention of dodging. Its eyes were only on the pure white saint cocoon, seemingly praying to the saint cocoon at all times, and the saint cocoon also seemed to respond to Gu Mian's prayer.
In a daze, a soft light flashed on the dream cocoon deep in the Woodland, the Dream World illusion. Then, around Gu Mian, fine, pale white threads appeared out of thin air, rapidly wrapping around Gu Mian. In an instant, Gu Mian was surrounded by these threads, forming a small, floating white cocoon. Its texture seemed similar to the saint cocoon, and it was constantly growing and expanding. After seeing the cocoon-like layer suddenly appear and wrap around Gu Mian, the Black Cat immediately shouted a reminder to Dorothy.
"Be careful, Captain! Those threads are divine creations, absolutely do not touch them! Gu Mian has resonated with the moth in the cocoon and borrowed its power!"
As the Black Cat said this, the saint cocoon had been worshipped by the Black Dream Hunter Group for a long time before. The strength of the moth within it had long been enhanced by the Black Dream Hunter Group to the point of surpassing the butterfly, forcing the saint cocoon left by the Dream Knight to activate its final blocking mechanism, releasing the mist of confusion to isolate the Black Dream from the saint cocoon.
Now, the mist of confusion has cleared, and Gu Mian can reconnect with the saint cocoon. It can use the method of resonant prayer to have the moth in the cocoon, which is stronger than the butterfly, share power with it while it sleeps, allowing it to complete this final pilgrimage.
In short, with the support of the Pan Moth, which suppressed the butterfly, Gu Mian now also begins to possess divine power!
Listening to the Black Cat's reminder, Dorothy, who had transformed into a Dragon, immediately braked urgently, stopping her attack motion without touching the cocooned Gu Mian. After flying past Gu Mian, who continued to ascend, Dorothy directly asked the Black Cat in the tone of a Dragon.
"Is there any way to destroy that layer?"
"No... in my knowledge... there isn't. That layer is very dangerous, perhaps only a powerful divine attack can destroy it..."
Looking at Gu Mian, who was rapidly ascending into the sky, protected, the Black Cat said anxiously, while Dorothy also fell into a slight predicament for a moment.
'Divine power, huh...'
...
On the other side, East suburbs of Tivian, World Expo main venue.
As the blazing pure light in the sky shone down, the thick mist that had enveloped the World Expo Square instantly dispersed with a roar, and sunlight once again illuminated the vast main venue of the Expo.
Compared to the previous clamor, the main venue was now silent, completely still. After the appearance of the Pseudo-Moth and the opening of the Dream World gate, the numerous audience members here, like the people in other parts of Tivian, had fallen into deep sleep. Nearly everyone had fallen asleep in their seats. Aside from the occasional roar from a distance, there was no movement at all.
On the main venue where the mist had just dispersed, a smaller figure was moving rapidly. She was Shaliya, who often appeared in the Dream World in the form of a fox.
"Whoosh... whoosh..."
Breathing heavily, Shaliya was currently running frantically alone on the main venue. Her target was the Crystal Palace behind the VIP stage of the main venue.
When the situation in Tivian suddenly changed due to the Secret Guard losing control, Dorothy, who was still fighting in the Dream World, immediately realized that something might have gone wrong with Charles IV, so she immediately asked the Little Fox to go and see what was happening inside the Crystal Palace.
Following the order Dorothy sent through the information channel, Shaliya immediately proceeded, but who knew, after only two steps, she encountered the Pseudo-Moth's hypnotic wave. As a nightmare, Shaliya naturally had methods to resist the Pseudo-Moth's hypnotic wave. However, when she later faced the opening of the Dream World gate and the mist of confusion descending from the sky, she was still trapped in place. And now that the mist had dispersed, Shaliya immediately rushed towards the Crystal Palace again.
At this moment, Adele, the dance star who was originally dancing on the stage, the focus of everyone's attention, had disappeared. Because the audience was collectively asleep and lacked the support of the power of desire from the scene, Adele could no longer simply use her Flower Dance Avatar to remotely block the approaching Prit Army Marshal Kent. After the mist ended, in order to keep Kent away from her audience stage, she could only fly into the sky to personally attack, flying far away to personally meet Kent. Aside from the occasional roars and vibrations from a distance, there was no trace of Adele at the scene.
Speeding across the empty main venue, Shaliya continued forward towards her destination, and at this moment, obstacles appeared in front of her. From the VIP seats, several figures leaped down and rapidly rushed towards Shaliya. Looking closely, they were surprisingly nobles in Tivian with close blood ties to the Despenser Royal Family. They had been corrupted by the Spider Queen and were originally prepared to go on a killing spree at the main venue, but were suppressed by Adele's abilities. And now that Adele's main body had gone to face the enemy, the corrupted ones woke up through the anti-hypnosis runes originally placed on them by the Black Dream, and then began to act.
These Tivian nobles were basically Wind Art Users, mostly of the Black Earth rank, with two or three at Chalk. They flew in the sky, expressionlessly slashing sharp wind blades towards Shaliya. In her panicked evasion, Shaliya used her sleepwalking ability to directly pull up many Extraordinary guards at the scene who were sleeping and did not possess Despenser bloodline, making them fight for her in their dreams.
Since the Pseudo-Moth had omitted the most troublesome deep hypnosis process for Shaliya, Shaliya could pull up a large number of sleepwalkers in one go. Shaliya gave them a trace of self-disciplined consciousness to use their abilities. They also wielded wind blades and engaged in fierce battle with the approaching corrupted Prit nobles. Instantly, strong winds blew wildly at the scene, and wind blades flew chaotically, while Shaliya slipped out in the chaos and continued to run frantically towards the Crystal Palace.
Although the sleepwalkers Shaliya had awakened were very powerful, her abilities as a Chalk were always limited. The sleepwalkers she pulled up were not enough to resist all the corrupted Prit nobles. Soon, a high-ranking noble at Chalk, along with two others, broke free from the entanglement and quickly chased Shaliya. After getting closer, they fired an air cannonball towards Shaliya's back. Just as Shaliya was about to be hit, an invisible air cannon flew rapidly from another angle in the distance, colliding with the cannonball attacking Shaliya. Instantly, strong winds swept violently outwards from the colliding cannonballs in all directions. Shaliya was also blown and fell to the ground for a moment, feeling a sharp pain all over.
"Ugh... so painful..."
Shaliya immediately stood up and looked towards the sky. Then she saw at the other end of the sky, a female figure flying towards her at high speed. She was wearing casual clothes, had short hair, and her young face was full of determination and heroic spirit. That was Misha!
"You are..."
"Don't worry about anything else for now! Leave this place to me, you go do your business!" Looking at Shaliya below, Misha said frankly. Then, without waiting for Shaliya to reply, she immediately turned her head and flew towards the corrupted nobles, controlling her storm to fight them, making the battlefield even more intense.
Facing the situation before her, Shaliya swallowed, then continued to gallop quickly towards the Crystal Palace. This time, she hadn't run many steps before she heard the sound of strong winds howling from a distance again. Shaliya turned her head and saw another figure riding the strong wind and rushing towards her.
Long golden hair fluttering, a neat and luxurious gown, her originally beautiful face was full of indifference, and her eyes revealed a blood-red color. She held a long sword in her hand. After Shaliya looked closely, she found that the newcomer was surprisingly Princess Isabel.
"Surprisingly... the Princess too..."
Seeing Isabel rapidly approaching, Shaliya hurriedly prepared to use her abilities to counterattack. However, before she could exert her strength, suddenly, a black swift ""Shadow"" attacked from another direction, slashing towards Isabel, who was almost flying low to the ground. After a slight pause, Isabel immediately stopped herself, then drew her sword to block.
With a crisp sound, Isabel blocked the sword attacking her from the side. Then, with a startled expression, she stared closely. What she saw was surprisingly a Hunter wearing a standard black uniform and a mask. There was actually a Hunter at this scene!
The Hunter who attacked Isabel turned his head after engaging in battle and glanced at Shaliya, who was just getting up from the ground. After a slight pause, Shaliya seemed to immediately understand something. Regardless of the origin of this mysterious person in front of her, she turned her head and continued running towards the Crystal Palace.
Seeing Shaliya run towards the Crystal Palace, Isabel originally wanted to continue the pursuit, but was immediately attacked again by the Hunter. At this point, Isabel was forced to draw her sword and continue blocking, formally engaging in battle with the Hunter, her pace delayed.
And at this moment, beneath the Hunter's mask, Grego was also facing the Royal Family of the country he served with a complex expression, engaging in battle with all his might.
After receiving prior help from the Black Cat and Little Fox, Misha and Grego also successfully dodged the Pseudo-Moth's single round of hypnotic wave, and quickly arrived at the main venue after the mist dispersed, successfully helping the Little Fox Shaliya intercept the enemies here.
After receiving help from Grego and Misha, Shaliya was finally able to smoothly continue her actions. She advanced rapidly towards the Crystal Palace at the maximum speed she could achieve. Not long after moving away from the battlefield, Shaliya finally arrived at the entrance of the Crystal Palace.
At the entrance of the Crystal Palace at this moment, the Secret Guards who were originally guarding here had disappeared. Seeing this, Shaliya immediately rushed inside. What she then saw was a large magic array drawn in the center area surrounded by countless exhibition stands within the vast glass Church, under the magnificent giant glass dome. In the center of the magic array, an old man wearing a luxurious robe was lying there powerlessly, a crown dropped and lay on its side.
That was Charles IV. At this moment, he was the only one lying there alone in the entire Crystal Palace. The Secret Guards who were originally guarding him were nowhere to be seen now.
"Cha... uh... Your Majesty, what's wrong?"
Looking at Charles IV who had fallen to the ground, Shaliya paused slightly and did not immediately go to check his condition. Instead, she used the prite language to ask softly. Charles IV, who was lying face down, covering his face, twitched his hand slightly after hearing Shaliya's words. Then, in his weakness, he raised his disheveled silver-haired head and looked at Shaliya before him, at the young girl before him, with a blank gaze.
"It failed... it failed... everything will end... the ritual of inheritance has errors... the secret keeping has failed... the secret has been known by the great enemy... everything is over..."
With a confused expression, Charles IV, who looked terrible, couldn't help but mutter like this, and Shaliya couldn't help but ask curiously after hearing it.
"Secret... what secret? Hey, can you make it a little clearer? What exactly is the secret? Who knows it? Also, can you still fight now? If you can, hurry and go outside and greet them, someone is stealing your Kingdom!" Shaliya continued to say urgently to Charles IV. However, her words seemed unable to wake Charles IV up, and instead, more unusual situations appeared.
"It's too late... everything is too late... the secret has been known... known by my great Queen. She is about to reign over this land again, settling the sins owed by all Descendants of Hyperion from countless millennia ago..."
While muttering distractedly, Charles IV, who was originally lying on the ground, slowly got up and gradually floated into the air in a daze. Immediately, in the pupils of his eyes, eight sharp spikes spread outwards evenly, slowly blooming like a sharp-spiked flower.
After the secret keeping ritual failed, Charles IV, suffering from the backlash, no longer had the protection of the power of secrets. The Spider Queen now used her influence to begin corrupting his mind. The moment Charles IV floated up, a slight whirlwind began to stir throughout the Crystal Palace, becoming increasingly fierce.
Soon, the Spider Queen's side seemed about to gain another combatant above Scarlet.
"How could... this happen..."
Looking at the unusual situation of Charles IV, Shaliya's eyes couldn't help but show astonishment. Then, in crisis, she passed through the spirits and fled towards the outside of the Crystal Palace.
...
Central part of the Main Continent, Holy Mountain.
At the peak of the Holy Mountain, which towered into the clouds like a pillar of the sky, at the top of the Holy Mountain Cathedral enveloped in a hazy halo, a massive object was currently hovering here. It was a giant steel ship.
Approximately three to four hundred meters long, equipped with dense gun turrets on both sides, with rotatable giant cannons placed on the axis. Innumerable dark religious murals were inscribed on the thick armor. A row of giant blades, like retracted wings, were placed below the numerous secondary cannons on both sides of the hull. The towering bridge was shaped like a Church, and the rope flags were covered with densely written scripture pages.
This is the Temple-class Holy Steel Ship of the Church, belonging to the Holy War Court, the "Purifying World Blazing Flame". Compared to the Salvation Court's Extermination Sister, it has many differences. Compared to the Extermination Sister's Western coffin-like shape, the overall shape of the Purifying World Blazing Flame is more like a giant greatsword. It has more gun turrets and stronger firepower density. On both sides of the hull, it is also equipped with giant great blades that the Extermination Sister does not have.
The Purifying World Blazing Flame is currently hovering above the Holy Mountain Cathedral. The countless crew members on board are in a focused and serious state of alert at their respective posts, waiting for orders.
Suddenly, two figures rapidly ascended from the Holy Mountain Church below, quickly arriving atop the bridge Church of the Holy Steel Ship, and entered through the specific entrance that had already been opened, slowly descending to the ground.
Of these two figures, one was a man wearing a luxurious and exquisite Bishop's robe, and the other was a thin, ragged old man. They were none other than Hilbert, the Saint War Cardinal among the Church Cardinals, and Marco, the Discipline Cardinal. They had been chosen to go to Tivian to handle the emergency. After they boarded the ship, all the surrounding crew members couldn't help but perform a deep bow.
"All ships deployed, target Prit Tivian, begin sailing immediately!"
"Yes!"
After boarding the ship, Hilbert didn't waste any words and directly ordered his subordinates, who had already been prepared, responding immediately and decisively.
After the most crucial order was conveyed, the entire Holy Steel Ship immediately began to operate. Amidst a roar, the entire ship burst forth with brilliant light, and after the light, it disappeared directly from its original location.
World Purifying Blazing Flame is the Holy Steel Ship among all the Church's temple-level Holy Steel Ships that possesses the fastest mobility and deployment efficiency. It has an extremely efficient Inner World jump engine, capable of quickly jumping the entire ship into the corresponding Inner World, and then jumping back to the Outer World from the Inner World, utilizing the natural spatial difference between different Inner Worlds and the Outer World to achieve teleportation-like travel within the Outer World's space.
After entering the Inner World, World Purifying Blazing Flame began to sail according to the predetermined route. According to the plan, they needed to jump through two layers of outer Inner Worlds and sail for about half a minute to reach Tivian.
However, just as World Purifying Blazing Flame completed the first half of its Inner World journey and was about to enter the next layer of the Inner World, an accident occurred.
According to the plan, this jump should have taken World Purifying Blazing Flame to the edge area of the Furnace World, and then after sailing for a certain distance, jumping back to the Outer World would bring them to Tivian. But when this jump was completed, what appeared before Hilbert and Marco was not the scenery of the Furnace World.
After a burst of light, the World Purifying Blazing Flame, having completed the jump, now appeared in a valley covered with countless huge crystal-like spikes. These magnificent crystals jutted out from both sides of the valley, many reaching hundreds or even thousands of meters long, looking extremely spectacular. The top of the valley was a desolate, dark purple sky, looking extremely eerie.
"Navigator! Where is this?!"
Looking at the deep and unusual Inner World scenery outside the window, Hilbert roared loudly and directly. After a moment, a subordinate reported beside him.
"Your Excellency... This is an area we have never recorded before! Our jump just now seems to have gone wrong, and we jumped here!"
The crew member said nervously to Hilbert. After hearing his words, Hilbert frowned and was about to say something sternly, but then he froze, as if sensing something, and closed his mouth. His expression became serious as he looked towards the distance outside the window, in the direction of a crystal forest.
The powerful ""Lamp"" perception allowed Hilbert to sense the abnormality there. He could perceive that there were clear residual Spirituality and even divine abnormalities. Judging by the state of these abnormalities, some kind of large-scale ritual had been held there, a powerful ritual too grand to conceal.
"It seems... someone predicted our Inner World jump route and held an interference ritual here, interfering with the jump activity and guiding us over." At this moment, Marco, who was beside Hilbert, also analyzed seriously. As soon as his words fell, Hilbert immediately gave the order.
"Bombard that area!"
Following Hilbert's order, several massive ship cannons turned towards the abnormal point and fired amidst a roar. Then, violent explosions erupted within a cluster of crystal trees, sending countless fragments flying everywhere.
However, amidst a fierce blaze of fire, a sharp sound rang out, and then under some invisible force, the flames that were even scorching the crystals rapidly diminished and quickly disappeared. Then, on the site after the firelight vanished, Hilbert, Marco, and everyone on the ship saw a breathtaking sight.
Amidst the broken and shattered crystal trees, a colossal and terrifying figure stood there, silently staring at Hilbert and the others.
This was a giant monster nearly fifty meters tall. This monster had the upper body of a female, but its lower body was that of a fearsome spider adorned with mesmerizing patterns. On the female upper body with pale, tattoo-covered skin, there were six different arms, each holding a huge blood-colored weapon. Its face was like a cracked flower petal, splitting open to reveal eight eyes, and its long black hair flowed behind it.
Looking at the scene before him, Hilbert couldn't help but be stunned, and then he whispered softly.
"Pain Lady's Apostle... Extreme Punishment Spider Demon..."
Compared to God's Chosen, Apostles are entities closer in nature to Gods and have a tighter connection to them. Therefore, the restrictions suffered by Gods are often transmitted to their Apostles, so much so that in many cases, Apostles cannot interfere with the Outer World as freely as God's Chosen.
However, in many Inner Worlds, the actions of Apostles are free. This also gives the Spider Queen's Apostle the ability to interfere with and intercept the World Purifying Blazing Flame within the Inner World space. The large-scale ritual held here just now was performed by this Apostle, and its effect was to guide the Holy Steel Ship, which was in the process of jumping, over.
The divine entities that the Spider Queen can mobilize are not just Gusjina, a God's Chosen. It's just that Gusjina is the easiest person for the Spider Queen to interfere with the Outer World. But in the Inner World, the Spider Queen has more options.
...
Tivian, North District.
In North Tivian, where the colorful mist had recently dissipated, on what should have been the ruins of the Church District, a fierce battle between shadow and pain had rapidly unfolded and ended. At the end of this battle, the victor seemed to be carrying out the final reckoning against the loser.
Within the giant crater, amidst the collapsed blood thorn forest, Gusjina twisted her massive body. While recovering from the wounds inflicted by her own shadow's backstab, she slowly walked forward. At this moment, the shadow behind her had returned to its original state and would no longer hinder her.
Walking forward step by step, Gusjina lowered her head and slowly fixed her gaze on the small figure lying on the ground not far from her.
Walking up to her opponent from the recent battle, Gusjina plunged one of the blood blades she held in her six arms into the ground, then reached out and used two fingers to pinch Atcherly's neck and lift her up. Looking at the other party's gaze, which was already extremely dazed from pain, she sneered and spoke.
"Where has your divine aura gone from before? Little saint... Now you finally know who is the master of this execution ground, right..."
Looking at the weak and powerless Atcherly before her, Gusjina muttered disdainfully. At this moment, although she had achieved victory, she was not in a hurry to take Atcherly's life immediately, because she knew that Atcherly at this moment had a better use.
Atcherly's ability is connected to the Mirror Moon Goddess. And the Spider Queen, through various usurpation rituals, has usurped the remaining connection power of Mirror Moon on the Prit land onto herself. Through this stolen connection power, the Spider Queen can influence the Tivian Royal Family and also Atcherly.
"Come, now, become one of us..."
While muttering, Gusjina's eight eyes emitted dark red abnormal light, and then similar light appeared in Atcherly's eyes. Following this, eight sharp spikes began to spread outwards from Atcherly's pupils.
Through direct contact, Gusjina acted as a bridge, pouring the Spider Queen's influence into Atcherly. Inside Atcherly's clothes, the powerful ""Lamp"" amulet that she had brought from Holy Mountain, which provided protection for her spirit to prevent her from being easily eroded by the Spider Queen again, lost its effectiveness under the direct infusion of Gusjina's power, unable to ensure that Atcherly's spirit could remain normal under the Spider Queen's erosion.
"Ah ah..."
Atcherly, contaminated by the dark red power, slightly opened her mouth and made a faint sound. At this moment, the spikes growing from her pupils had spread to a great extent, and her entire expression gradually changed from blankness to fierceness.
And just as Atcherly seemed to be completely eroded by the Spider Queen's power, an unexpected situation occurred. For some unknown reason, the spikes that had originally spread out suddenly stopped growing and instead rapidly retracted. The dark red light that had enveloped Atcherly's eyes suddenly disappeared, replaced by another silver-white power covering them.
"What..."
Suddenly, Gusjina felt a sense of crisis. She immediately tightened her hand gripping Atcherly, wanting to directly snap Atcherly's neck, but who would have thought it was already too late.
"Swish!"
Accompanied by a flash of black light in space, Gusjina's arm that was gripping Atcherly was directly severed, spraying blood. And Atcherly, who had been restrained, now leaped backward, landing steadily on the ground. At this moment, she looked at Gusjina with a cold expression she had never shown before.
At this moment, a black aura appeared on the blade Atcherly held in her hand, and in Atcherly's cold eyes, the original whites of her eyes had turned pure black, and within the pure black, her original pupils began to emit silver-white light. Compared to the black whites of her eyes, they looked like a bright moon wheel suspended in the night sky.
Looking at Atcherly's change before her, Gusjina was first stunned, then gritted her teeth and said resentfully.
"Moon Bitch..."
...
Just as the battlefield between Gusjina and Atcherly saw a reversal, in another direction in Tivian, high in the sky where there seemed to be nothing, a change that was profoundly altering the entire situation in Tivian was taking place.
One of the Church's seven great Holy Steel Ships, the Twilight Devout Shadow, belonging to the Bureau of Secrets, was still maintaining its optical invisibility state, secretly suspended in mid-air. And within this invisible giant ship that could not be seen, a crucial ritual was underway.
Inside the Holy Steel Ship, which appeared invisible from the outside, all temple-level Holy Steel Ships possess a grand temple chapel. At this moment, many Sisters, monks, and spies belonging to the Bureau of Secrets were gathered here, kneeling on the ground with their heads bowed, engaged in devout prayer.
These monks and Sisters, who were originally crew members of the Twilight Devout Shadow, were now prostrating themselves before a statue of a goddess located in the inner part of the chapel. The statue was wearing a cloak that concealed its form, with only its figure highlighted, long hair flowing out, and its head bowed with eyes closed.
This was the God that the Bureau of Secrets had been secretly serving all along, the Fourth Holy God distinct from the Shining Light Three Saints, the Saintess.
The so-called Saintess was actually the embodiment of the residual influence of the Mirror Moon Goddess left within the Shining Light Church, another identity of Mirror Moon. At this moment, many monks and Sisters on the Twilight Devout Shadow were gathered here to pray, using this temple-level ritual area to perform a not-so-small ritual, attempting to strengthen the connection between Mirror Moon and Tivian through this.
And of course, under the influence of the Spider Queen and Pan Moth, with just this one temple and relying solely on these monks and Sisters from the Bureau of Secrets, it would be difficult to significantly increase Mirror Moon's connection power. Therefore, what they were relying on at this moment was not just the temple itself.
At this moment, above the temple's ritual area, before the statue of the Saintess, a sharply defined, simply shaped, black crown, somewhat similar in form to a crown of thorns, was suspended there. This black crown was clearly made of jade, looking as if it was carved and crafted from some kind of black precious jade.
That's right, this is the Moon Crown, a ""Shadow"" treasure intricately linked to the Night Sea and the Mirror Moon Goddess, rumored to be able to control the mist of confusion and open the path to the Night Sea, the Moon Crown!
In order to escape from Dorothy, who had transformed into a Dragon, Gu Mian reluctantly abandoned the two fragments of the Moon Crown in his hand as bait to lure Dorothy. After obtaining them, Dorothy quickly pieced them together with the Moon Crown fragment she had previously obtained from Ku Chi to assemble it completely.
After facing the situation where Gu Mian obtained divinity from Pseudo-Moth through resonance, making it impossible for her to interfere, the plan Dorothy immediately thought of was to first find a way to strengthen Mirror Moon's influence in Tivian, allowing Mirror Moon's influence to suppress Pan Moth!
Knowing that the Holy Steel Ships directly under the various Cardinals were temple-level ritual areas, and knowing that the so-called Saintess worshipped by the Bureau of Secrets was actually a guise for Mirror Moon, Dorothy immediately thought of holding a ritual on the Twilight Devout Shadow to amplify Mirror Moon's influence. Of course, Dorothy also didn't think that a single temple alone could raise Mirror Moon's influence very high, so she also sent over the assembled Moon Crown.
Dorothy was gambling at this moment, gambling that the Moon Crown could be used as the core in the ritual, that it was a high-level ""Shadow"" Holy Item similar to a Divine Blessing Item or a Divine Gift Item. The result was that she gambled correctly; the Moon Crown could indeed be used in rituals related to the Saintess, and it could indeed greatly amplify the effectiveness of the temple on the Twilight Devout Shadow, significantly increasing Mirror Moon's influence within the Tivian area!
The first result of this amplification was that Atcherly, who was originally being eroded by Gusjina, suddenly resisted the Spider Queen's power and broke free. Furthermore, because Atcherly herself believed in the Saintess and had a deep Extraordinary connection with the ritual area on her Twilight Devout Shadow, she immediately took this opportunity to gain reinforcement.
This effect was unexpected. Although Mirror Moon's influence in Tivian has increased significantly now, it can only reach the level of temporarily suppressing the overall influence of the Spider Queen and Pan Moth; it cannot yet project divinity towards this side. The effect on Atcherly's side was so good mainly because this Holy Steel Ship was originally hers, and the object of prayer for those monks and Sisters was not directly Mirror Moon but the Saintess, taking a detour. The ritual on the Holy Steel Ship had a stronger amplification effect on Atcherly.
Although this reinforcement did not bring divinity, for now it can only allow Atcherly to regain her spirits and temporarily escape from Gusjina; it cannot give Atcherly the power to directly defeat Gusjina. To allow Mirror Moon to exert divinity on Tivian, they must find a way to further strengthen Mirror Moon's influence. However, Dorothy currently cannot find a way to continue strengthening the influence.
In the sky, Dorothy, in her Dragon form, continued to soar. When the ritual on the Twilight Devout Shadow took effect, she looked up at the sky and saw that the strange cocoon-like object surrounding Gu Mian was becoming blurred and transparent at this moment. It was clear that this was a sign that Pan Moth's divine transmission to Gu Mian was being suppressed and gradually weakening due to the arrival of Mirror Moon's influence. This was Dorothy's opportunity.
Mirror Moon seems to have a channel to influence moths that have not yet emerged from their cocoons!
Without hesitation, the Dragon that Dorothy had transformed into roared, then flapped its wings and soared straight into the sky, wanting to catch up to the gradually blurring flying cocoon. However, just as Dorothy was about to catch up to the blurry cocoon, another sudden change occurred; the cocoon-like object exploded with a bang, and the contents rapidly expanded.
Dazzling and colorful, a colossal pair of insect wings that made one feel mesmerized reappeared above Tivian, spreading out widely, extending in all directions. Long, slender arms were wrapped with countless illusory tentacles, and its fingers were also grotesquely thin. Its original face had vanished long ago, with no mouthparts or eyes present; instead, it was a smooth surface. The original lower limbs were also gone, replaced by the plump, elongated, rune-covered abdomen of an insect.
This was the entity that had burst forth from the cocoon. This was a completely new Gu Mian. At this moment, it was no longer the short, humanoid form from before, but possessed a colossal body nearly fifty meters long, even larger than a fully developed Pseudo-Moth!
After the newly born Gu Mian broke out of its cocoon, it looked with its faceless gaze at the charging Dragon. And Dorothy, who had transformed into a Dragon, after witnessing the dazzling form of the Gu Mian at this moment, suddenly felt a strong wave of drowsiness, even though she should have been in a simulated state within the Dream World. It felt as if she was about to fall asleep immediately, sinking into slumber within slumber, into eternal sleep.
At this critical juncture, Dorothy immediately turned her head away, then let out a deafening roar in other directions to stimulate herself. By resisting with her own powerful Spirituality and with the Black Cat assisting in eliminating the influence, she finally managed to barely resist the drowsiness and didn't fall asleep directly.
The current Gu Mian seemed to have completed some kind of evolution. Now, anyone who merely looked at it would fall into eternal slumber.
"This is... Apostle transformation... This is bad. Gu Mian just used the Divinity it obtained to forcibly evolve itself, taking a big step towards becoming a Moth Apostle!"
"This guy is forcefully using Divinity to accelerate his evolution like this, breaking through the barrier of a Dream life form so recklessly, it's practically suicide!"
Beside the Dragon, the Black Cat analyzed the current situation and said urgently. Although Gu Mian could no longer receive Divinity from Pan Moth due to Mirror Moon's interference, before that, Gu Mian had already used Pan Moth's Divinity to undergo a forced evolution.
The Pseudo-Moth and Gu Mian's previous form were both theoretically existing, degraded versions of the Moth Apostle's life form, inferior breeds of a complete Moth Apostle. Gu Mian's original form was already very close to a true Moth Apostle, only lacking Divinity. As long as he obtained the Moth Divinity and had some time to grow, he could evolve into a true Moth Apostle.
But at this critical moment, Gu Mian had no time to wait for those so-called'some days'. The moment he obtained Divinity, he used it to forcibly stimulate his own evolutionary process, allowing him to grow into a form close to a Moth Apostle in a short time. After the supply of Divinity was cut off, he could still retain a portion of the bestowed Divinity!
However, the cost of doing so was that Gu Mian's life had now entered a countdown. At this moment, Gu Mian had less than ten minutes of life left, but these ten minutes were enough for him to complete his final pilgrimage.
Now, anyone who looked directly at Gu Mian would eventually fall into eternal slumber. Now, no one could stop his pilgrimage, not even the Dragon!
'The situation... has gotten a bit worse again...'
'It seems like new support is needed...'
Dorothy thought this to herself, then she began using the information channel to contact others.
...
East of Tivian, in the eastern sea area of Prit.
Unlike the sunny Tivian, at this moment, the eastern sea area of Prit was covered in dark clouds, with strong winds, towering waves, and torrential rain.
A massive storm cyclone was entrenched over the eastern sea of Prit, rapidly rotating within the vast cloud system. Over hundreds of kilometers of the ocean surface, destructive natural power, guided by the Extraordinary, was raging and running wild.
In the center of the howling hurricane, within the now clearly visible eye of the storm, Anna, dressed in ancient armor and holding the standard of Prit high, was struggling to maintain this vast natural power between the thick, white cloud walls connecting heaven and earth, at the very heart of the entire storm, preventing it from erupting uncontrollably.
After creating this furious storm, Anna had been maintaining it for some time. During this period, Harold and Spring had repeatedly tried to use their power to force the entire storm to stop or disperse it, but it was all in vain. Under this vast natural power, the power of the two Scarlet seemed so insignificant; their efforts were always like ants trying to shake a tree.
Anna was focused on maintaining the storm in the eye of the storm, and at this moment, she suddenly seemed to receive communication from afar, causing her to pause slightly. After frowning and thinking for a moment, she finally spoke softly to herself.
"Reinforce me further, converge... control this storm even more? Okay, I'll try my best, teacher..."
After whispering, Anna closed her eyes, and then a faint purple light appeared on her body before disappearing. When Anna opened her eyes again, some more Divinity power had been added to her. Anna immediately felt her strength increase significantly.
"Then come on! Storm... please listen to my guidance..."
Holding her breath and concentrating, with a serious expression, Anna extended her power into the entire raging, colossal storm.
Before this, Anna was only guiding and maintaining this giant hurricane, barely using various means to cleverly steer this terrifying natural power, like digging irrigation channels to divert a flood.
What Anna had to do now was to directly control this hurricane, completely transforming this power of natural disaster into her own strength. Compared to diverting, this action was like shouting commands to a flood, making it obey her orders.
After another round of reinforcement by Divinity, Anna, with a solemn expression, tried her best to control this powerful hurricane she had guided forth. However, the effect was not satisfactory.
Under Anna's attempts, the already violent storm's wind speed became faster, and the brutal, powerful natural force still raged. The entire storm began to become unstable, the previously stable eye of the storm suddenly started to blur, and the wind walls around Anna seemed to show signs of collapsing.
"Huff... huff... I can't, teacher! This storm is still too powerful for me, I can't control it at all!"
Still suspended in the air, Anna said, panting heavily and covered in sweat. Then she began to gradually stabilize the storm while waiting for a response.
And after a while, she received that response.
"What... Captain, you mean you'll find a way for me to wait? Okay..."
After hearing the words from the other side of the information channel, Anna sighed slightly, then waited with peace of mind.
...
East suburbs of Tivian, above the Square of Nations.
Inside the Crystal Palace of the Square of Nations, a scene of devastation lay before them, ravaged by strong winds. At this moment, the Little Fox Shaliya stood in place, patting her chest with lingering fear while looking at the scene before her.
At this moment, before Shaliya, an old man in a luxurious robe with disheveled hair sat on the ground, breathing weakly. He was the current King of Prit, Charles IV.
Not long ago, Charles IV suddenly went berserk under the corrosive influence of the Spider Queen, and just as he was about to attack Shaliya and Misha and Grego outside the Crystal Palace, Dorothy completed the assembly of the Moon Crown, allowing the Saintess's ritual to be held on the Twilight Devotion.
After Mirror Moon's influence descended, not only was Pan Moth's influence suppressed, but the Spider Queen's overall influence also began to weaken, causing Charles IV to suddenly regain his senses and break free from the Spider Queen's corrosion.
"Hey... hey... Old... Your Majesty the King... have you recovered? You should be back to normal now..."
Facing the old man sitting on the ground and panting, Shaliya asked cautiously and tentatively, while Charles IV raised his head somewhat distractedly and looked at Shaliya.
"Ah... Little girl... Is something wrong?"
Charles IV spoke slowly. Hearing that he seemed capable of communication, Shaliya couldn't help but feel excited, then spoke.
"Then, could I please ask you for a favor, to help fight against the Pain Lady's invasion!"
"Pain Lady? It's too late... it's already too late... The Pain Lady has already obtained what she wanted. Even if I recover, everything is already too late..." Slumped on the ground, Charles IV, who seemed to have completely lost his fighting spirit, sighed and said this. Shaliya, however, frowned and looked at Charles IV, saying sternly.
"What's too late! You old man are still the King! This is your country, and you're saying 'it's too late, it's too late' now. Isn't that going a bit too far!"
Shaliya pointed directly at Charles IV's nose and cursed him outright. Charles IV paused slightly after being spoken to like this by Shaliya, then spoke again somewhat distractedly.
"Then tell me... in this situation, what kind of help do you need from me..."
Listening to Charles IV's words, Shaliya's expression couldn't help but become serious. Then, after swallowing a mouthful of saliva, she spoke directly.
"I want to ask you now, to follow the promise of your ancestor, the rightful successor Baldrick, and posthumously confer a title upon the great Knight Yarlin Field, who once saved Prince Edward and made great contributions in the Wind King Rebellion, even though he was only a Viscount!"
"Yarlin Field should have already held the title of Duke, but he declined it only out of humility and self-reproach. Now, make up for your ancestor's regret and posthumously restore his title!"
"Now, Your Majesty the King, please issue a decree to posthumously confer the title of 'Duke Protector' of Prit upon Yarlin Field, so that his descendants and all heirs shall enjoy this noble title!"
Shaliya said to Charles IV with a serious tone. Listening to Shaliya's words, Charles IV couldn't help but be startled, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes. He wanted to ask something, but after thinking about it, he didn't ask, and instead spoke directly.
"Protector of Prit, Bearer of the Wind King's Crown, King Blessed by Heaven... Hereby decree..."
"Considering the immense contributions of the humble Knight Yarlin Field in the past, I hereby posthumously confer upon him the title of... Grand Duke Protector of the Prit Kingdom..."
...
While Charles IV's words were being proclaimed in the Crystal Palace, over the vast eastern sea of Prit, the originally immense storm suddenly began to rotate rapidly. In this rotation, it started to shrink quickly towards the center point, the vast and terrifying natural power converging at high speed towards a single point.
Amanda and Klama, who were stationed in the Holy Mountain Cathedral, suddenly discovered with surprise that the vast storm spanning hundreds of kilometers on the overhead cloud map of the Prit region displayed on the floor was rapidly shrinking towards the eye of the storm, seeming to want to converge into a single point.
"What is this... what happened?" Looking at the information displayed on the floor of the great chapel, Amanda couldn't help but murmur in surprise.
And while the Church saints were marveling, at the center of the storm over the sea, at this moment, the wind walls around her had already collapsed, and the original eye of the storm was no longer in shape.
Amidst the howling strong winds and heavy rain, above the surging waves, Anna was holding the battle standard high in her hand. Countless wild storm currents around her were now revolving and converging at high speed around the standard with the spearhead, continuously gathering and shrinking.
At this moment, Harold and Spring, who were high in the sky, looked at all this before them and wanted to stop it, but even with all their strength, they couldn't shake the rapidly shrinking, rapidly converging strong wind in the slightest.
In the center of the storm, with wide eyes, Anna looked at the violent sky and sea amidst the immense roar, declaring with a solemn tone.
"Between the sky and the sea, all eternal and ceaseless storms! I, Anna Field, Duke Protector of Prit, hereby command, hereby converge, transform into the weapon in my hand, shatter the wicked, and expel the evil god!"
"In the name of Prit!"
Amidst Anna's declaration, her armor and clothes glowed, then gradually transformed, becoming more magnificent and noble.
...
Above a boundless desolate wilderness, the sky was dim and extremely oppressive. Countless strangely shaped wind-eroded rock formations stood tall across this endless wilderness, the ground cracked with countless fissures, and silence prevailed everywhere.
It seemed as if a powerful storm had once raged across this vast wilderness, but now it was silent and still, without any movement.
In one part of this wilderness, a simple stone throne stood. On this throne, a broken figure was currently seated.
The armor that should have been quite magnificent was now covered in damage, the helmet was full of cracks, the cape was tattered like a piece of rag, with many dark red bloodstains on it, and the long sword propped by both hands was full of various nicks.
It was such a Knight, who had seemingly experienced countless fierce battles, sitting silently and calmly on the throne, maintaining a single posture without speaking. He waited alone in this windless wilderness for an unknown amount of time.
For countless years, only this broken Knight had remained here in solitude, and today, an unwelcome guest visited this place.
Wearing a large wide-brimmed witch hat, draped in an exquisite cloak covered in fur, dressed in an elegant dark red long dress that accentuated her proud figure, with long black hair and pale skin, a beautiful witch slowly walked across this wilderness and stopped before the Knight.
"Long time no see... I've finally found you."
Raising her head, the witch looked at the Knight before her with a slight smile. In her opened eyes, each one contained four blood-red pupils crowded together.
"Arthur..."