Chapter 147: Ouroboros and Dagon

Xudela... dead?

When Amy Ulysses came to his senses, accompanied by a howling gale nearly capable of blowing one away, the headless corpse of the Deep Diver, vast as mountains and rivers, had already crashed to the ground—shattering over half of Hemtica.

“Boom!”

The earth trembled and the heavens roared; dust billowed, obscuring the entire sky.

The world was shrouded in a gray haze, and from above fell a chilling, dark crimson liquid like blood, staining the scene. Scattered stones, hurled aloft by the impact, plummeted back to earth, their fracturing sounds sending shivers down spines.

“Is it over?” When the dust settled, Joshua shook off the dark crust of dust and coagulated blood from his heavy coat. “This almost feels unreal—does anyone know what just happened?”

Eyes met in silence; no one uttered a word.

Understandable, for at that moment, everyone’s attention was consumed by survival. Who would bother to watch the Reaper behind them, poised to unleash slaughter at any moment?

At best, they’d only glimpsed...

“A beam of light,” Amy finally spoke, sharing his outsider’s perspective. He had only seen the abnormal agitation of this ancient abomination known as Xudela, and knew little else. Ultimately, he had witnessed a pure light that tore the sky and time itself. “Personally, I lean toward believing it was the work of the Order.”

The Supreme Light—

If memory served, that was the title bestowed upon the god worshipped by the Order, a name that unsettled him and stirred an inexplicable fear.

“Indeed, the style is somewhat similar.” The Glorious One, wielding the power to seal space and time, nodded lightly without outright confirmation or denial. “But regardless, the swift end to Xudela’s threat is a good thing.”

“Let’s hope so,” Amy replied noncommittally.

Though the headless corpse of Xudela grew cold beneath the biting wind from beyond the Wall of Sighs, the black-haired, dark-eyed youth felt no relief from danger—in fact, quite the opposite. Its death seemed to awaken a deeper, more malevolent force. That icy, bone-chilling killing intent, and the cruelty far surpassing Xudela’s own—though distant, he could sense the terror of what was to come.

This was the true ruler of the deep sea, a monstrous fiend beyond even Xudela.

So—

“Let’s go,” Amy said, withholding the brutal truth. It was pointless to warn his companions. “We’ll rest first.”

Enemies of this magnitude were far beyond their current ability to confront.

Right now, wasting precious time on trivial matters was folly; they needed to retreat swiftly inland, toward the realm shrouded in golden radiance—the domain of order.

There, at least, they might find some safety.

At least, they would not be the first victims of a monster’s wrath.

However—

The monster, frozen beneath the deep sea, moved far faster than he had anticipated.

“Crack—”

An ear-shattering roar rent the air.

The boundless white ice field collapsed, the great “land” shattered like a mirror struck by a speeding lead bullet. Countless ice spikes and shards erupted like a blooming glacier lotus, blasting toward the lightless dark sky. A piercing wind howled as a world-engulfing apocalyptic storm swept forth.

Then—

Something pierced through the storm.

A city—frozen within blocks of ice like amber.

The Silver City.

If the Glorious Ones of Hemtica could cross the Wall of Sighs and observe in the depths of night’s darkness, they would undoubtedly recognize this city, which mirrored Hemtica like twin shadows in a mirror.

But sadly, the designs of the Golden, Silver, and Black Iron Cities never accounted for what would happen once the Flame was extinguished.

Without power sources or operators, the Tri-City complex had been but a defective relic, a limited-lifespan remnant awakened by Duke Golsworthy.

And now... it seemed its time had come to rest.

Like a tattered ragdoll, it fell heavily onto the jagged ice, half of its form sinking into the shattered plains, becoming a truly desolate city.

Then, the ill-fated glacial continent was simply torn in two.

A Deep Diver taller than Xudela emerged from beneath the ice, its crimson eyes radiating a chilling aura even through layers of snow and ice.

“Boom, boom, boom.”

The towering giant strode toward Hemtica. When confronted by the battered Wall of Sighs, it merely waved its arm. The trident in its hand, glowing blue, sliced through the ancient wall—already on the verge of collapse after earlier assaults—like cutting through soft tofu.

Then, it calmly entered the Black Iron City.

“Boom—”

The earth emitted a weary groan. The bulky Deep Diver raised its head to gaze at the Golden City illuminating half the sky, a faint curve twisting its lips.

It was smiling?

Duke Golsworthy, stationed at the rear, felt a vague unease but could not pinpoint its source.

—It could only be that monster wielding the trident.

Perhaps, in but a fleeting instant, the battle-hardened Lord of Hemtica could react. Yet... the colossal Deep Diver left no time for response.

Almost as its lips curled into a cruel, savage smile, its powerful form bent backward with astonishing flexibility, forming a bow.

Then, the hand gripping the bowstring released.

The trident, nearly half its height, shot forth like an arrow from a bowstring!

Disaster!

Duke was too slow to react; the trident from beneath the deep sea pierced the “sun” in the sky.

Thus—

The brilliant sun shattered with a thunderous roar, its golden light sweeping across the heavens.

And then vanished without a trace.

As the seemingly endless trident plunged deep into the mantle, the Tri-City system forged by the Golden, Silver, and Black Iron Cities was reduced to only the Black Iron City remaining.

Silence. Silence. Silence.

The silver-haired, dark-eyed heir of glory was silent, and at best could only emit a long, drawn-out sigh.

A grave mistake had been made.

He rose from his seat, glanced sideways at the girl lying on the bed, then hesitated in his step. His eyelids drooped slightly before forcing himself to turn back and step forward again.

“Forgive me—”

He said, a firm resolve forming within.

The glorified blood within began to boil as the Lord of Hemtica activated his ability.

—Enhancement.

He did not enhance his physical attributes, nor some ethereal mental will.

He enhanced enhancement itself.

In the myths passed down by the ancients, there was a serpent encircling the world’s courtyard, named Ouroboros. It symbolized immortality, wholeness, infinity, the world, wisdom—an ancient being born at the dawn of creation, the ruler of all. Alchemists seeking truth revered it as the embodiment of truth, possessing boundless power—omniscient and omnipotent.

At the same time, in alchemy, it also bore another meaning.

A self-consuming entity with self-annihilating traits.

For Duke Golsworthy, enhancing the ability to enhance bore a concept akin to the Ouroboros—the process of enhancement would become a never-ending cycle. Through this, he could attain near-limitless power. Yet, no power comes without cost; beneath the seemingly beautiful illusion lay a cold, harsh reality.

He was not Ouroboros, nor that eternal god of legend.

The infinite proliferation of power would soon surpass his capacity to bear it. When he lost control of the overwhelming force within, it would only bring self-destruction.

But so what?

He needed power—the power to save Hemtica.

Thus—

The infinite loop of enhancement was unleashed, a valve opened that could never be closed, and nearly boundless power surged within his small frame.

Duke Golsworthy lifted his head; his black eyes reflected the entire starry sky in the darkness.

“Senlima deziroj kondukos al memdetruo.”

(Infinite desire inevitably leads to self-destruction.)

Uttering this ancient phrase of the forebears, he gazed at the giant before him, towering nearly as high as the heavens and earth.

Blackness met crimson.

Their asymmetrical pupils mirrored each other’s forms.

Almost simultaneously,

The ancient abomination finally merged with the world of order.

The true name of law was forged, the ancient name that had existed since the dawn of order reemerged.

Its name—

Dagon.

Like a god, its immense might pressed down upon the Black Iron City, now once again engulfed in deepest night!

And in the darkness, the boy named Amy Ulysses, upon learning this name, felt his dark pupils contract sharply as a long-sealed memory opened just a sliver—small yet enough to send chills down his spine.

“Dagon.”

He murmured the familiar yet strange name, pale flames flickering faintly within his eyes.