Lord of Prayer

A pillar of light soared into the sky like a Holy Sword, piercing the darkened world and tearing apart the vast, gloomy clouds condensed from the Abyss.

Destructive light and fire expanded from within, effortlessly ravaging the Royal Tower and grinding it to dust. North Carolina’s most important landmark was thus swiftly annihilated, vanishing into an inferno of infinite light and heat.

A ring of searing wind swept out in all directions. The earth groaned and trembled as if overburdened, and the terrifying pressure from the shockwave instantly flattened the surrounding buildings into rubble.

Amidst the immense tremor, a terrifyingly fierce light, seemingly capable of destroying the entire World, rapidly expanded like a surging tide, swallowing everything in its path.

It was as if a Sun had risen in Hell.

But then, just 0.75 seconds later, the light vanished without warning. The searing heat, intense enough to cook a man alive, instantly returned to normal. The erupting gale and shockwave faded in the same instant. The explosion, powerful enough to destroy the North Carolina Capital, had disappeared without a trace, as if the entire event had been an illusion.

And yet, the massive, smoldering crater, billowing with thick smoke, was impossible to ignore...

·

「Mirror World.」

Enoch, his body saturated with the aura of an Abyssal Calamity and already teetering on the brink of corruption, let out a sudden, agonized shriek. The destruction of the Ascension Ceremony triggered a severe backlash. His sanity shattered, his mind boiling over like a scalding pot of soup.

The Ascension Ladder that had materialized in the void began to crumble rapidly from its furthest reaches. His attempt at Ascension to Divinity was brought to an abrupt halt.

"Fuck, they finally destroyed the Ascension Ceremony..." Wolberi, who was now missing an arm, seized the opportunity to gasp for air, frantically pulling out various Alchemy Potions and dousing himself with them.

The words had barely left his mouth when—BOOM!

A terrifying light, like that of nuclear fission, flared into existence without warning, mercilessly engulfing Enoch and unleashing a violent shockwave across the desolate Mirror World.

The King of Mirrors had redirected the full force of the explosion into the Mirror World, smashing it right in Enoch’s face!

"AARGH!"

Amid the torrent of destruction, a shrill, demonic scream echoed. That single blow shattered Enoch’s last shred of sanity. He was utterly consumed by the contamination from the Abyss, and his fall into corruption was complete.

A viscous darkness erupted, devouring the fierce light and instantly transforming into a boundless, black ocean. Within it, countless pairs of pained, bewildered eyes opened, unleashing a madness born of Hell.

Fear. An unknown, inexplicable Fear welled up in the heart of every Crowned King, as if a great hand had seized their hearts and was slowly tightening its grip.

But a moment later, a violet-black halo lit up and swept over the Crowned Kings. The Fear in their hearts rapidly receded, and they were no longer affected.

"Nick Gista?" Wolberi looked at the figure that had appeared out of thin air.

Nick Gista, the Crowned King of Australia—the same Tier Five who had once clashed with Enoch over Authority.

"I was urgently summoned by the Star Association." A violet-black aura of Essence flared around Nick Gista, counteracting the contaminating Fear that radiated from Enoch. He calmly looked at the two Crowned Kings who had sided with Enoch. "You’ve been summoned, too."

"Tch..." Dick clicked his tongue in annoyance. He knew he probably wasn’t going to get the final payment for this job.

’It didn’t take a genius to figure out who the target of the Star Association’s emergency summons was.’

And so, with a roar that shook the very heavens, battle erupted once more in the Mirror World. The six Crowned Kings launched a coordinated assault to eliminate Enoch, who had been corrupted into a Hellish Demon.

·

With the Royal Tower destroyed, the Ascension Array that covered all of North Carolina immediately shut down and began to fade. However, the Abyssal Contamination brought by the Array would not disappear so easily. The situation had merely stabilized for the time being and would not worsen, but if it wasn’t handled promptly, North Carolina still faced the risk of being dragged into Hell.

It was as if the end of the world had arrived; cities descended into chaos. People screamed and fled while the Salvation Army struggled to maintain order, evacuate civilians, and battle corrupted creatures. Fortunately, with reinforcements from the Star Association’s Raven Legion, the situation gradually began to improve.

Meanwhile, in the Abyssalized Capital, the battle was still raging.

Once the coordinates for the Any Door were locked, the Star Association dispatched the forces of four legions to deal with the hundreds of thousands of corrupted creatures. An unending barrage of artillery fire rained down from the sky, blanketing every inch of the land.

Under the saturation bombardment, the hundreds of thousands of Corrupters perished in droves. All filth and evil would be buried in the Fiery Fire.

BANG!

Suddenly, a deafening thunderclap—a deep, muffled boom—resounded across the entire battlefield, making everyone’s heart shudder. Many felt a pressure originating from their very Soul, making it difficult to breathe.

In the distance, the mountain-sized Evil Steel Giant staggered back two heavy steps, crushing the ground beneath its feet to dust. Cracks spiderwebbed across its cast-iron face, with faint azure Thunderbolts crackling within them.

Roaring in pain and fury, the Giant, despite its mountainous size, moved with surprising speed. It clenched its Evil Steel Fist and threw a punch at a tiny figure. The immense force tore through the air, creating an explosive crack. A shockwave erupted outwards, obliterating the surrounding ruins from a distance—a testament to the terrifying Power of the blow.

CRACK!

The tiny figure shot backward like a cannonball, tracing a long arc through the air before crashing into a city block several kilometers away. The force of the impact not only obliterated the neighborhood but also caused the very ground to collapse, creating a massive sinkhole.

Li Xiye crawled out of the crater, dazzling azure lightning erupting across her body. She dropped into a low crouch, gathering power. Then, with a series of sharp cracks echoing from her frame, she launched herself forward like an azure thunderbolt.

KABOOM!

With a deafening peal of thunder, countless streaks of blindingly bright azure lightning erupted from her body. A trail of light followed in her wake, etching long, dramatic scars of violent lightning across the sky.

The lightning coiled around her like a dragon as Li Xiye rode the endless bolts, streaking across the sky. Amidst a deafening roar of thunder, she let out a fierce cry and smashed her clenched fist into the Evil Steel Giant’s shattered face. A turbulent, ocean-like torrent of Power was unleashed.

The Evil Steel Giant’s head burst apart. Thrown off balance by the immense Power, it crashed to the ground, triggering a violent earthquake and crushing countless city blocks beneath its bulk.

Li Xiye plummeted from the sky. Essence surged in her hand, coalescing into a magnificent, dream-like Crystal Spear Gun. Surrounded by a chaotic dance of countless sparks, she descended like an azure meteor. She forcefully plunged the Crystal Spear into the wound in the Evil Steel Giant’s ruined head. A brilliant light pulsed, instantly annihilating the Soul of Darkness within.

The final ritual was complete. The Advanced Secret Ceremony materialized, glowing with a solemn light. A colossal azure Thunderbolt descended from the heavens, tearing a massive rift in the sky before casting itself down upon Li Xiye.

She stood proudly amidst the raging electricity, arms outstretched to welcome the baptism of her ascension. Her pupils blazed with a majestic, incandescent azure light, as if she were looking down upon all of creation.