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Chapter 111: Radiant Light

“Boom!”

Like dancing on flat ground, the Black Fox Girl swiftly spun away from the thick black fire pillar that was even thicker than her body. With a flick of her hand, she redirected that flame skyward, as if it were twisted by some immense force, preventing it from crashing down into the crowd.

Immediately, the magic light extending from the black jewel transformed again into unmatched sharp blades, slicing through the large head of the flame giant covered with a false mask. However, it exploded in the sky like a black firework, dispersing into countless flickering flames that carried death, plummeting like meteors to every corner of the city.

The maddening noise still echoed in the air.

“Hee hee hee hee hee!!! So what will you do now?! Little fox who loves life, can you save everyone in the city once again? Let’s just wait and see!!!”

“You’re really loud… you guy…”

Although it wasn’t problematic for me to give this guy a good beating thanks to my high attributes and the artifact [Demon God Jewel], the powers granted by [Mask of the God Fox] were indeed quite bizarre support abilities, even more unsuitable for combat than Vilyric’s original Holy Light skills, or should I say… unconventional.

Dealing with Musk’s reckless destruction, showing no defense and even consuming a lot of divine will, was somewhat of a hassle.

But thankfully, it was just a hassle.

“Ding-a-ling ~ ding-a-ling ~”

I don’t know when, but a small silver bell had reappeared in the girl’s hand, shaking gently as it emitted a crisp and pleasant sound that resonated throughout every corner of the city.

Along with the Black Fox Girl’s clear singing.

“Flowers bloom and fall, the other shore thrives.”

She softly murmured, and a sea of crimson flowers blossomed in the sky.

They were flowers as bright as blood, enchanting and otherworldly, with bodies that were smooth and flawless like jewels, seemingly untainted by dust yet deep and sinister, captivating the soul.

In a hazy moment, a winding river flowed through a dreamlike mist, countless departed whispering in a low murmur, indulged in the feast of blood flowers.

The blossoming flowers of the other shore formed a canopy, nearly covering the city, while the swirling black flames were unconditionally blocked, extinguished, and submerged beneath the flowing River of Three Ways, silenced forever.

However, the flower sea from the River of Three Ways did not simply disappear.

Now, it was time for a counterattack.

The Black Fox Girl stepped into the void and again gently shook the bell.

“Ding-a-ling ~ ding-a-ling ~”

“The River of Three Ways has arrived, and the vengeful souls vanish.”

The bell sound transformed into the key that opened the gates of the underworld, as a river thick as mist flowed from afar, countless flowers of the other shore coalescing into a blood-red storm, wrapping around the black giant that had just reformed its head in the scorched earth.

“Hey hey hey? What the heck is this? This is unfair! I demand a rematch!”

It seemed that the power from the River of Three Ways, representing the underworld and spirits, had just become the bane of the unkillable evil flame giant, and amidst Musk’s seemingly panicked screams, the black flames were extinguished by the river’s water, continually shrinking and fading. Even if more evil flames sprayed from underground, it seemed they couldn’t compete with the torrent of the River of Three Ways.

The formless river surged toward the tainted earth by divine authority, cleansing it as if pulling out the filth, washing it clean, causing even the crust to unite anew under mysterious power, completely severing the giant’s supply.

In the end, the flames were entirely extinguished, leaving only the black and white mask floating in the sky.

The girl raised her hand to beckon.

The bell and the sea of flowers dispersed simultaneously, and the gates of the underworld were closed once more.

As if with a sigh, the [Pseudo-Mask and Joyful God], defeated in an irrefutable and bizarre manner, revealed an expression mixed with “joy” and “curiosity.”

“Oh my, no wonder you’re so hard to deal with… Laws, laws, another new law I’ve never seen before~”

“You too, Vilyric as well, little fox. By the way, how did you all get across the world barrier? Or are you just a fragment of yourself now? Hee hee hee hee, I’m really curious~ Did that stingy old thing not take action against you? Or is he brewing some grand plan~?”

The Black Fox Girl glanced up at him, her expression hidden behind the mask, but…

“It’s simple, just a snap and I got through.”

“Huh?”

Hearing the girl’s nonchalant tone, even the god who was famous for being “irrational and insane” showed a visible stiffness in the expression on the mask for a moment.

But then, it turned into a wilder laugh.

“Ha ha ha ha ha!!! Oh, how fun, how fun! Little fox, you’re so interesting! Forget about Vilyric! This game is so enjoyable for me! Next time, let’s prepare an even grander performance to meet again, hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee!!!!!!”

“Haah…”

A somewhat helpless sigh escaped the Black Fox Lady as she once again revealed the black jewel swirling with endless mana in her hand.

“Did you misunderstand something? I… seem to have never said I would simply let you go like this?”

“Oh?”

The black-and-white mask reacted with amusement.

“Oh my, how scary~ but what does it matter? My true form isn’t here, you know. Although I lost some power this time, that last strike of yours… probably consumed quite a bit too. A mere little fox, can you still hit me across the world barrier?”

“Well… won’t we know if we try?”

“Hee hee hee, sure, bring it on~”

With that, the already cracked black-and-white mask, exhausted from the battle, finally shattered completely, turning into formless light points that floated away.

This was the true essence of [Pseudo-Mask and Joyful God], wrapped in the shell of [Divine Power], enveloping a small amount of divine spark.

Now that it had exhausted its divine power, it naturally could not resist the violent repulsion of the world and was about to return once more to another world, back to a more massive whole.

[Divine Spark], this was something even more ethereal than divine souls, akin to the laws themselves, not belonging to either the [Material] or [Void] energy systems. Theoretically, no means could harm or interfere with it, not even the gods themselves on the other side could do so.

Only such things could easily penetrate the world barriers, as this was a rule change; two parallel lines with no intersection could only remain non-interfering.

Theoretically, that is.

“Ha…”

Feeling the already escaping and ascending presence into the distant beyond, the girl took a deep breath, and an invisible barrier expanded, obscuring the sky below.

“I’m sorry, but I’m a very willful person who never takes advantages easily and will never suffer losses for nothing, so…”

She extended her hand, removing the white fox mask from her face.

The red and white shaman dress transformed into a white robe, and the pure black-haired girl raised her hand, holding a slender staff that glowed with a sheen.

“Let there be light.”

Enveloped in light, the pure and flawless girl gracefully approached, her radiance coalescing into an even more brilliant golden radiant spirit.

A golden holy spear manifested in her palm, unleashing a surge of electric light that distorted space itself.

“Crackle ~ crackle ~”

Closing her silver-blue eyes, the girl locked onto the presence that was about to escape her perception.

For the first time, she recited the incantation for the spell she was about to unleash.

[Shining light of the noontime sun…]

[Banishing the darkness of the midnight moon…]

[Illuminating the stars with dawn’s light…]

She sang faster and more naturally, becoming more skilled, until her voice transformed into a vast and holy song.

[The light of fireflies that candle the ages]

[The light of abyss in boundless valleys]

[The roaring light of surging elements]

[The breaking light that rends the universe]

[The annihilation light of blazing thunder]

[Guided by the supreme and sacred light of the origin, gathered here, gathered here, gathered here!]

The girl opened her golden eyes, radiating like stars, ten brilliant lights appearing around her as she unfurled her sacred and pure snowy wings!

The world plunged into absolute darkness, the form of the light spirit blended into the only shining holy spear that radiated endless brilliance, even the barriers set by the girl had vanished in this moment.

But it no longer mattered, because that brilliant spear, sparkling with nine folds of light, had become the only thing in the dark world, its radiance was no longer something mortals could look upon directly.

And then, it hurled its weapon.

“Secret Art · Radiance.”