Chapter 593
The Crown Falls to the Ground
Chapter 593 The Crown Falls to the Ground
Outside of that field.
Thanos's face was ashen, his crimson pupils narrowed to a single point as he stared intently at the crimson giant egg on the bank of the rushing river.
An indescribable force sliced through that space.
A bead of cold sweat slid down Thanos's forehead, while Marshal Fayet, standing beside him, swallowed hard and said in a tense voice.
"What...is that?"
"field."
With a slight adjustment of his hat brim, Thanos hastily uttered a sentence and then ignored Marshal Fayette.
His entire attention was focused on the crimson giant egg, while he silently prayed for his revered emperor.
As for going up to help...
As a Diamond-level Shadow Fiend, he shouldn't cause His Majesty any trouble.
On the other side of the battlefield, Helen Moonblade stood up with the help of her sister Sherry, and also noticed the giant egg that exuded an ominous aura.
A look of surprise first appeared on her face, then her expression changed drastically. She grabbed the cane lying against the wall and was about to rush over to help when her younger sister grabbed her waist from behind.
"Wait a minute... Sis! Are you crazy?! That's the domain of a demigod! We'd be instantly killed if we went in!"
Helen, who was being held tightly, looked at the head passing under her armpit and was completely disoriented.
"Let me go! Sherry! I need to help the Demon Lord—"
Shirley clung to her tightly, refusing to let go, and let out muffled whimpers.
"Calm down, sis! Are you sure you're going in to help our King, or worse, to harm him?!"
This guy—
How can someone be so strong?!
A commotion broke out on the battlefield.
Players cursed the game planners, asking why they were stopped from filming halfway through and why they covered it up with a crimson curtain.
Is this something a human being would do?
Compared to the noise on the ground, it was much calmer up high in the sky.
Vivian gripped the binoculars tightly, her small hands turning white, and her clenched fangs nearly pierced her thin lips.
but--
She didn't make a scene in the end; instead, she was unusually quiet at that moment, as if she had suddenly become a mature adult.
Sherette glanced at her young mistress worriedly, fearing that she might suddenly rush out to help.
That level of power would be troublesome even for His Highness Caesar Colin; it was simply beyond Vivian's capabilities.
Just as Shinette was feeling uneasy, Vivian suddenly spoke up.
“Sherlock…”
Sheren Tang immediately stood at attention.
"What's wrong, Your Highness?"
Her lips moved, and Vivian finally managed to squeeze out a sentence from between her tightly closed lips.
"Remember this place for me."
"If anything happens to my brother... Lady Vivian will one day burn that guy and his kingdom to ashes!"
Sheren Tang looked slightly taken aback, then her eyes narrowed.
She placed her right hand on her chest and bowed in greeting.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Seeing her subordinate bowing respectfully, Vivian suddenly relaxed, and with a forced smile, patted her shoulder.
"Kukuku, but don't worry, Lady Vivian's brother can't possibly lose! This little punk isn't even worthy of carrying his shoes, Kukuku..."
After saying that, she moved closer to the telescope, staring intently at the blood-red giant egg without daring to relax for a moment, leaving Shenette alone in a state of bewilderment.
Don't worry, it's alright...
Aren't you the one who's most worried?
However, seeing that Vivian didn't seem to be planning anything, Shenette breathed a sigh of relief.
At least her worst fears won't come true.
……
Sherry's worries were indeed unnecessary.
Although Vivian seems mentally unstable, and in fact she is not, she rarely lets you down when it matters.
A gentleman takes his revenge even after ten years.
If something really happens to her brother, she will probably wait until she is strong enough before coming back to take revenge.
However, it wasn't just Sherry who was worrying unnecessarily; Vivian's worries were also clearly unnecessary.
Including the Demon King's demon generals.
If Hagmer keeps attacking with his sword, the Demon King really doesn't have many options and can only continue to wear him down while looking for an opportunity.
But since we're using domains, that's a different story.
Above the Royal Prison, as the "Crimson Purgatory" opened, the once bustling battlefield fell into dead silence!
It was a space built from countless wronged souls and blood, where pure hatred and despair were enough to tear every living being dragged into the mire to pieces.
Compared to Günter Steinggrabe's desert domain, Hagmer's domain is undoubtedly much more domineering, and it is imbued with a divine power that transcendent beings do not possess!
Yet at this moment, this once invincible crimson trembled slightly before a deep, inky black flame.
Luo Yan stood in the center of the "Crimson Purgatory," showing no sign of panic despite the hatred and despair that surrounded him.
A black, blazing sun floated behind him.
As he raised his right hand, the blazing black flames seemed to hear his call and began to undergo a terrifying transformation!
That flame was no longer a pure black fire.
Instead, with terrifying tearing force, it forcefully ripped out an absolutely pitch-black void in the sky above this blood-red inferno!
"Om-"
The void seemed to appear out of thin air, so much so that Hagmer's gaze froze for a moment when he saw it.
The intervention of the laws seems to have no effect on it!
Even the laws themselves have become its food!
What exactly is that?!
In the brief moment his gaze faltered, the crimson sword energy whistling through the sky, like migratory birds returning to their nests, surged toward the ever-growing vortex.
The black flames began to collapse inward, but the outline of the black light was expanding!
Immediately afterwards, not only the blood-red sword energy, but also light and sound were swallowed up, and even the killing intent itself... all turned into firewood for black flames, filling the black void!
The energy pouring in was increasing, and it gradually couldn't keep up with the speed of the channel's expansion, so much so that it solidified into a dazzling outline around it!
"What kind of power is this?!"
As the burning black light grew larger and larger, Hagmer's indifferent face finally revealed an uncontrollable look of horror.
To be honest, Luo Yan was no less surprised than him at this moment, but because he was better at managing his expressions, he looked more composed.
Even the Demon King himself didn't expect that the same black flames, thrown at Cassius, only created a sun, but on the "Radiant Knight," they created a black hole!
That deathly light tirelessly devoured everything around it, to the point that it itself became invisible!
There is no word more suitable to describe this power!
That ultimate celestial body in the laws of physics, the ultimate existence that ends all celestial bodies, a cage from which even light cannot escape!
So this is his "domain".
I call it—
"Black hole".
"Roar!!!" Faced with the increasingly surging power, Hagmer let out an angry roar, trying to break free from the irresistible gravity.
And within that roar, there seemed to be faintly mixed in the battle cry of Kalmandes.
'Turn off the domain!'
however--
Haigmer, who had gone completely mad, wouldn't listen to him.
If the Chosen One of the Flames of Destruction could still listen to human speech, he probably wouldn't have fallen to this state. Pure slaughter inevitably leads to pure madness, and this boiling battle intent, from the moment it ignited, was destined to stop only when he burned himself to ashes.
The roaring Hagmer was like an elephant stuck in a swamp, his endless hatred and despair even containing the power to kill gods!
If he hadn't been held back by the burning black flames, even the Archangel would have found it difficult to stand in his presence.
And now-
The more he struggled, the faster he sank. And the greater the force, the harder it became for his legs to pull themselves out of the swamp!
At least for the time being, neither he nor Luo Yan saw where the black flames had reached their limit!
"This guy is indeed a monster." Feeling the tremors in the surrounding space, Luo Yan sighed inwardly.
Terrified by this power, Youyou dared not show her face at all, even though neither the blood-red killing intent nor the black flames above her head could touch it.
Blood began to seep from the corner of Hagmer's mouth.
His proud "Crimson Purgatory" was like a piece of red cloth being rolled into a shredding machine in the face of that silent black hole.
The boundless blood cloud began to swirl, forming a huge vortex.
No matter how agonizingly those wronged souls wailed and struggled, they could not resist the call from nothingness and were swallowed up by the endless black flames!
Space was distorted to its extreme!
The once impregnable barrier is now cracking like a mirror, revealing glimpses of the world beyond the domain!
Haigmer, at the eye of the storm, felt like an ant being swept away by the hurricane.
He tried to raise his longsword to fight back, attempting to unleash the destructive power bestowed upon him by the two gods to counter it, but to no avail!
The ceremony was ultimately incomplete.
He is strong, but not strong enough.
"Snap—"
A clear, mournful cry.
The knight's longsword in his hand, which had accompanied him for half his life, shattered like a collapsing sand dune the moment it came into contact with the dazzling black light.
Next, his gray armor, which had long lost its luster, shattered.
The lava in the fissure was the first to be pumped away, and then the metal fragments began to weather, turning into grains of white sand that rolled into the sky.
Looking at the wreckage flying into the sky, and the body riddled with holes beneath it, Hagmer finally released the broken sword he was holding and resignedly let his arm hang down.
Undoubtedly—
In this all-out battle, he lost.
However, faced with an irreversible defeat, the unyielding knight felt no fear, but rather a sense of relief welled up in his heart.
it is finally over.
That feeling was like taking off a suit of armor weighing ten thousand pounds.
Since he could remember, he had been practicing martial arts, studying scriptures, and adhering to the knightly code, inheriting the mission given to him by the Devalo family under the name of "Knight of Radiance".
Although his brother was always worried that his prestige would shake his authority, he never even entertained the thought of replacing him for a moment.
In middle age, his power reached its peak, and he still upheld his knightly oath, fighting for the Devallo family.
Even at the end of his life, when he was used as a pawn by the so-called chaos, the sword in his hand was never wielded for him.
Except for now.
At this moment, he no longer had to think about the survival of the kingdom, the revival of the family, or listen to those incessant whispers.
In the end, it was actually the "divine child" he hated most who satisfied him and filled the deepest desires of his soul.
He longed for a pure battle.
There are no grand excuses or fancy names, only a battle between life and death!
He will fight like a knight, and he will die like a knight.
"Ah……"
Just before his body was completely swallowed by darkness, a relieved smile slowly crept onto Hagmer's stiff face.
"That was... exhilarating."
The next second, endless darkness closed in, completely pulling the entire blood-red inferno into a void that resembled the universe.
This is the interior of the Black Flame, and also Luo Yan's sea of consciousness.
Here, both space and time become extremely thin, leaving only pure nothingness and deathly silence... It seems to be the beginning of the universe, and it also seems to be the end of the universe.
Standing in this void, Luo Yan quietly examined the dancing black flame in his palm, and a hint of understanding finally appeared on his surprised face.
After devouring countless twisted vengeful spirits, he finally began to see the true nature of his power.
His black flames were neither fire nor any kind of magic, but rather the purest and most primal form of devouring and decomposition in the universe.
It is closer to a law.
Although he still hasn't figured out the limits of this flame, if he lets it burn indefinitely, he might actually burn even the gods to death.
At least, the "God of Usurpation" did indeed die under his black flames, and both attempts to usurp divine power ended in his demise.
Luo Yan dispersed the black flames in his palm and looked ahead. In that pitch-black realm, a faint glow was flickering—it was the soul of "Radiant Knight" Hagmer.
At this moment, he had shed his ferocious blood-red lion mane, and his gray armor, which resembled shackles, had also disappeared without a trace.
He exuded a translucent clarity, as if all pretense had been stripped away, revealing his true self within the "hive."
After his physical body was reduced to dust by the black flames that burned everything, his soul miraculously remained in the crack between this world and this realm.
Or rather, dying.
Luo Yan could clearly sense that outside this dark domain, two greedy and surging forces were tearing at his domain, trying to rush in and take away his chosen one.
Thinking of this, Luo Yan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly.
He was fortunate enough to witness the terrifying power of the "Chosen Ones," but he had yet to see what it was like for the "Chosen Ones" to pay off their debts.
Should each be considered separately or divided equally?
It's quite intriguing.
Luo Yan pondered for a moment, looked at the clear and transparent soul, and asked calmly.
Do you have anything to say?
Hagmer seemed to raise his head slightly, a slight smile playing on his lips, a smile that hadn't changed much.
"Well played."
That was a good play.
Luo Yan's lips also curled up slightly.
"Nothing else to say?"
“That’s all.” Hagmer shook his head and said frankly, “You’re very strong. I’m just not as skilled as you. There’s nothing more to say.”
He didn't want to make excuses for his mistakes or discuss what ifs that never happened.
Luo Yan raised an eyebrow.
"Do you know where you're going next?"
Hagermer grinned.
"They were simply taken away by those guys outside."
"Aren't you afraid?"
"My fall from grace is a fact, and I deserve to pay the price. As for whether I go to their lair or become a monster, let them decide."
This knight walking in the mist seems to regard self-exile as a deserved punishment.
He did not realize that if Chaos were to take his soul away, his sins would be projected into countless universes.
That would be the source of another catastrophe.
Luo Yan looked at him intently.
"Then I'll ask you one last question: do you want to go with them?"
Hagermer paused for a moment, then remained silent for a long time.
The nonchalance in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a deep longing... or rather, pain.
"I...don't want to."
He finally told the truth, pinching his brow bone with his index finger and thumb to hide the pain on his transparent face.
“I have no memories of my past life, but I should have been here in my previous life, before I became Hagmer de Valou… I think I must have loved this land, otherwise my soul would not have returned here. However, this is also the place I feel most sorry for.”
“Including my brother and my family, we owe this land too much. They are hardworking, brave and optimistic, and they deserve a better life.”
"Actually... when Alarand handed me the crown, I sensed to some extent that what would destroy us was not the Republic, nor the New Testament, but hatred and fear. We turned those who trusted us into devils, and in the end, I became a devil myself."
The sobs from the depths of the soul filled the silent space, and the countless points of light swirling around that soul seemed to resonate with the cries.
Regardless of forgiveness or resentment, those restless souls also heard it, feelings they had experienced while they were alive.
if--
I wish we could do it again.
Next time they will make different choices, and perhaps the outcome will be different as well.
Even if the echoes of this world's repercussions take a very long time to subside, the next reunion will be a century or even longer...
But in the end, everything is still bright.
The soul matures through repeated cycles of reincarnation.
A gentle smile appeared on Luo Yan's face, signifying the impatient Youyou beside him, and announcing the verdict on the last knight of the Kingdom of Ryan.
“I heard your confession.”
“You should pay the price for your sins, but this price should not be borne by other beings in the universe. Therefore, I will not allow Chaos to take you and those you have killed away.”
"You will return to this land."
He had the privilege of seeing the lair of the Claws of Eternal Hunger and the rats that came from there, and it was hardly elegant to watch living people turn into rats.
Hagmer abruptly raised his head, staring incredulously at the man standing before him.
"are you serious?"
"Of course, I swear by my real name, Luo Yan. Unless you truly want to leave this world, as long as I am here, no one can take you away."
Luo Yan looked at him and continued in a gentle yet solemn voice.
"You will be with your people."
“You will be reborn as their child, husband, father… not their master.”
"If you truly feel you owe them something, then repay that debt through your reincarnation."
"Don't expect others or gods to pay for you."
This might take a very, very long time, perhaps tens of thousands of reincarnations, or even hundreds of thousands of reincarnations or longer...
But as long as the civilization of the Leonians continues and the epic they wrote together is not forgotten, this debt will eventually be repaid.
Hagmer listened to the verdict in a daze, his transparent soul trembling violently, countless emotions brewing within the rippling waves.
There was surprise, there was excitement... but more than anything, there was gratitude and relief.
"Perhaps... you really are a god."
Only those who have never thought about making amends will see making amends as punishment.
Clearly, he had truly repented for his sins, which is why he regarded the seemingly endless cycle of reincarnation as an opportunity for atonement.
Hagmer slowly took half a step back, knelt on one knee in this weightless space, and performed a standard knightly salute.
He drew the sword from his waist, as if pulling a transparent spine from the depths of his soul, and offered it with both hands to the deity he recognized.
"I offer my sword to you."
"No matter where I am when I open my eyes again, or what time it is, or who I become... I want to say thank you."
As the solemn oath fell, the transparent soul finally began to disintegrate. The transparent longsword in his hand was the first to transform into countless dazzling particles of light, which, drawn by an invisible force, drifted toward Luo Yan and merged into his body.
He himself transformed into a gentle breeze, and together with the points of light beside him, he pierced through the barrier constructed by the black flames and flew towards the real world beyond the void.
Chaos failed to take them away.
Watching the countless particles of light dissipate, Luo Yan smiled gently and offered his final blessing to his esteemed opponent.
"Remember to save this thank you for your future lover, parents, and children."
"Don't forget that's what you owe them."
As Hagmer's soul particles dissipated, this void returned to deathly silence.
However, this deathly silence lasted for less than a breath before it was broken by the sound of a city wall collapsing.
"boom--!"
A mental storm from a higher dimension exploded without warning in the void constructed of black flames. The once calm and still space now trembled violently, like boiling asphalt!
In the depths of the void, more distant than the universe, a terrifying will that had been lingering beyond the horizon finally could not restrain itself and descended upon this void.
What appeared first was a raging red light that almost filled half of the area.
That was a real sun.
Or to be more precise, it is an even more exaggerated "red supergiant" than the sun!
If there are no surprises, it is probably a projection of "Destruction Flame" Kalmandes—a personification of the will to destroy and the emotion of anger!
The spatial tremors did not end; what followed was a suffocating cold and silence.
Beside the burning red supergiant, a ring nebula emitting a ghostly blue light slowly emerged, rotating.
It is like a crown high above, or like the "eye of God" looking down on the mortal world.
No need to ask—
That projection belongs to "Crown of Pride" Avano.
Before the two incredibly massive projections of ancient gods, Luo Yan, standing in the void, was as insignificant as a speck of dust.
However, his face did not show the humility that one would expect from someone like Chen Ai; instead, his calm and composed demeanor maintained its usual elegance and tranquility.
Like a butterfly perched on a leaf.
This was not the first time he had faced an ancient god in the void.
Stripped of their mysterious exterior, they are not much different from the gods on earth, except that they are kites that fly a little further in people's hands.
Ultimately, they were all conceived by humans.
"mortal!"
The red superstar was throbbing violently.
Karmandes's furious roar exploded directly in Luo Yan's mind, causing the entire space to tremble.
"How dare you mock the great Flame of Destruction! My mark is already etched on the soul of that fallen one; he belongs to me! He is a spoil of Chaos! Who gave you permission to send him away!"
The cooked duck flew away, which drove the notoriously volatile Flame of Destruction into a complete rage—that was the soul he had painstakingly lured away!
However, faced with that overwhelming rage, Luo Yan remained unfazed and simply replied with an elegant and calm word.
"I."
This word responded to Kalmandes' last sentence, but it also nearly infuriated Him.
The red supergiant swelled up again, carrying boundless fury as it hurtled towards Luo Yan, seemingly intent on swallowing him along with the black hole behind him!
If it were Tauf, she would probably be scared to death by now.
But Luo Yan was a demon king who was particularly good at keeping his composure, and he knew very well that the other party was just putting on a brave front, and that heat wave from the void could not hurt him in the slightest!
After all, if He truly had the ability to destroy Himself, He wouldn't need to bother asking; He could simply send a clone.
Clearly, the ceremony in Roland City was not completed.
Most of the three million residents survived.
As Luo Yan had predicted, Kalmandes's anger was nothing more than impotent rage.
He can easily take away prisoners who are completely submissive, but He cannot force souls who are not afraid of Him to submit.
Just as Kalmandes grew increasingly agitated by the failure of his bluff, the ring nebula that had remained silent finally stirred.
Avano's eyes stopped spinning, and all eyes were focused on the audacious new god.
At the same time, an ancient and arrogant voice resounded from the void.
"According to our game rules, the spoils belong to the winner, and each player takes the pieces from the board with them."
The sound was colder than absolute zero, but the word "we" surprisingly retained a trace of warmth.
Luo Yan remembered.
When he was in the Academy, the Chosen One of the Crown of Pride seemed to regard him as "one of their own"—the Chosen One of the Mysterious Mist of Novel.
After all, Novell's corruption did indeed appear in the south, but they probably didn't expect that guy would die before he even got started.
And he died in the Demon King's labyrinth.
Thinking of this, even though Luo Yan was exceptionally good at keeping his composure, a playful smile couldn't help but appear on his lips.
Who exactly is the god of usurpation?
However, this name is really not very nice. I'll think of a new name another day, or maybe I can just call him Flame King or Underworld God.
Staring directly at the vast and indifferent nebula, in this world completely under his control, he mocked in a riddle-like tone.
"How do you know your piece is yours and not mine?"
As expected—
The two clusters of wills froze for a second, then oscillated violently with rage, as if they were furious after being tricked.
Luo Yan didn't give them time to vent their anger. With a snap of his fingers, he dispersed the seemingly empty domain and flashed back to the howling winds of Roland City.
It is foreseeable that Kalmandes and Avano will not keep their anger bottled up; those two balls of rage that have nowhere to go will eventually need an outlet.
It's either on this chessboard or on another chessboard.
Although the evil demon king subdued Hagmer and the Lions beside him, he still brought bloodshed to other universes.
Whether Novell would be pleased with the gift is another matter entirely.
Fatherly love is always the strictest.
(End of this chapter)