White light swallowed them completely.
At that very instant, a pillar of dark red fire erupted from the demon's throat.
The temperature of that fire was absurdly high.
Before it even touched them, the hull of the flying vessel began to char and crack.
The pillar of fire shot through the position where Lin Gui and Elvia had been a moment ago, slamming onto the demon's own back.
Dark red flames exploded instantly.
The razor-sharp feathers on the demon's back twisted and melted in the fire.
But it was not injured.
Those flames were its own origin fire.
To it, they were as harmless as bathwater.
What truly ignited were the vines wound around the roots of its feathers.
The vines, grown via 【Grass Growth】, turned to ash in an instant amid the flames.
The flying vessel lost its anchor and began to slide down.
But Lin Gui and Elvia had already vanished.
The demon could no longer sense the presence of those two tiny insects on its back.
It thought they had been incinerated into ash by its flames.
It paid them no more mind.
It simply shook its body, casting off the burning vine remnants.
Then, it continued to fly forward.
Heading deeper into the rift.
Toward the true center of the Dark Tide.
It flew very fast.
So fast that the surrounding scenery turned into blurred lines.
But it did not notice that the sparks it shook off drifted toward the surrounding sky demons who were unable to dodge in time.
One.
Two.
Ten.
A hundred.
Those low-rank and mid-rank sky demons screeched and struggled manically in the flames.
They could not withstand this Epic-grade origin fire.
One by one, they turned into balls of fire and plummeted from the sky.
A dark red rain of fire fell from the heavens.
It landed on the mountain walls on both sides of the rift.
It landed among the densely packed demon swarms.
It landed in the black ocean, igniting seas of flame.
That Epic demon did not look back.
It only continued flying forward.
Soon, it arrived at the very depths of the rift.
There.
It was an open clearing.
It was surrounded by demons.
Every single one of those demons was even more massive than it was.
Some were covered in frost, exhaling white mist with every breath.
Some were pitch black, like monsters born from the shadows, their silhouettes unrevealed even by light.
Some grew countless tentacles, each one covered in eyes.
All of those eyes were currently staring in the same direction.
At the center of the rift.
There was a mound of earth.
That soil was black.
Shiny and black.
Like something was about to burrow out from beneath.
The surrounding Epic demons stood quietly.
No roars.
No movements.
They just stared at that patch of soil.
Then.
The soil cracked open.
A massive eye opened from within the fissure.
That eye was deep purple.
A purple so deep it was almost black.
Like an abyss.
Like a black hole.
Like a void capable of sucking in a person's soul.
Then, a second.
A third.
A fourth.
Countless ones.
The fissure grew wider and wider, the soil forced apart as a behemoth slowly rose from underground.
It was.
A mountain.
No.
It was even more massive than a mountain.
Its body was black and viscous, looking like countless octopus tentacles tangled together.
But those tentacles were covered, head to toe, in eyes.
Large ones, small ones, open ones, half-closed ones.
Those eyes looked in all directions.
At every demon.
At every inch of land.
At every corner.
The moment those eyes looked over...
The Withered Rift vanished.
It wasn't destroyed.
It simply vanished.
That bottomless scar that had spanned across the earth for thousands of years was leveled to the ground.
Countless low-rank demons turned into flying ash in that instant.
They didn't even have time to scream.
Only the powerful demons—
The Legendary and Epic ranks—could barely withstand the gaze.
Even those Transcendents, who could be called experts in human city-states, were all wiped out in an instant.
The ocean of demons evaporated instantly.
Then it was immediately refilled by the tide of demons surging from afar.
They crossed over the vanished rift.
They gathered toward the fully awakened Demigod demon.
They lowered their heads.
They prostrated on the ground.
Circling around that behemoth.
Waiting.
That behemoth moved.
It raised a tentacle.
That tentacle was so long its end could not be seen.
The tentacle gave a gentle swipe.
The mountains over ten kilometers away collapsed instantly.
Stone fragments flew, and dust clouds shot into the sky.
Then, it withdrew the tentacle.
Those eyes simultaneously looked in one direction.
Northwest.
That was the direction of the Carter Royal Capital.
...
At the same time.
In the Carter Royal Capital.
In the backyard of the antique shop.
Catriona stood under the moonlight and raised her head.
Her golden eyes gazed into the distance.
"It... has arrived."
Her voice was very faint.
Faint enough that she might have been saying the weather was nice today.
Caleb was stunned for a moment.
"Are you saying..."
"The third phase."
Catriona's voice regained its calm.
"That little mage has terrible luck."
"He couldn't possibly be alive anymore."
Caleb sighed, his tone filled with regret. Then he asked:
"Then... what about those who were not on the list?"
"The refugees outside..."
Catriona turned around.
The moonlight shone on her face—a face so exquisite it didn't seem human—devoid of any expression.
"The current Carter has no need for useless people."
Her voice was very steady.
"Let them be destroyed along with this city-state."
Caleb fell silent.
He lowered his head.
He said nothing more.
He only turned silently and followed Catriona, disappearing into the shadows.
...
In the refugee district.
Outside the shacks.
The people who had just seen off the messenger mage suddenly realized the surrounding streets had gone quiet.
Those knights in black armor had vanished at some unknown point.
A young man raised his head and looked into the distance.
Toward the palace.
On that Stellar Mountain, it was usually brightly lit.
But now, it was pitch black.
And from the extreme distance, one terrifying demon shriek after another echoed through the air.
They realized something.
The apocalypse they thought would happen in a few days had arrived early.
They snapped their heads toward Stellar Mountain.
They snapped their heads toward the towering high walls.
The barrier that was supposed to protect them at this moment—the one that had appeared so abruptly at the start—did not appear.
"The barrier..."
His voice was trembling.
"The barrier didn't go up..."
The people around him were stunned.
Then, panic began to spread.
"Did they leave?"
"Did they leave us behind?"
"No... no... please! I don't want to die..."
No one could answer them.
Only a low roar came from the distance.
The sound was far away.
But it was getting closer.
A woman holding a child raised her head.
The sky.
Densely packed black shadows swept past under the moonlight.
Those black shadows were originally flying toward the Withered Rift.
But now.
They stopped.
They turned their heads.
A bloody hue began to well up in those hollow eyes.
And then.
They dove down.
The fall of the Carter Royal Capital began.
It wasn't a slow collapse.
It was an instantaneous, total, and heartless crushing.
That Demigod demon that had just awakened only gave a single look in this direction.
But that one look was enough.
The Epic demons, the Legendary demons, and the millions of ordinary demons by its side changed their direction under the drive of its gaze.
They no longer gathered toward the Withered Rift.
Instead, they raced toward the Carter Royal Capital.
Toward this city-state that was once called the safest place in the Southwest.
They surged forth.
The first to arrive were the fastest sky demons.
They dove from the clouds like black arrows, piercing this sleeping city.
The first demon crashed into a shack.
The roof was completely torn off.
Screams rang out.
Then a second.
A third.
A fourth.
On the streets, people ran manically.
But they could not outrun those diving black shadows.
An old man's chest was pierced by talons; he was carried into the sky and torn to pieces.
A mother tried to run while clutching her child; they were struck by a demon's tail, and the mother and daughter were smashed into the ruins together.
A young man picked up a wooden stick, trying to fight back, only to have half his head bitten off in one snap.
Blood flowed like a river.
Screams.
Cries.
Roars.
Everything blended together.
But this was only the beginning.
True destruction came from the ground.
The demons racing across the earth finally arrived.
Like a black tide, they poured into the Carter Royal Capital from all directions.
The seven walls were once called indestructible.
But before that black tide, they were as fragile as paper.
The first wall was smashed to pieces by an Epic demon's head.
The second wall was directly crushed by the weight of countless demons.
The third wall turned to rubble under the demons' claws.
The fourth.
The fifth.
The sixth.
The seventh.
In less than fifteen minutes, the seven walls the Carter Royal Capital took so much pride in had all turned to ruins.
The demons surged into the city.
They trampled across the streets.
They crushed those exquisite stone slabs.
They toppled those towering buildings.
The mansions in the noble district collapsed with a roar under the demons' impact.
The shops in the commercial district were ground to dust by the demons' bodies.
The shacks in the commoner district were turned to splinters by the demons' claws.
Fire shot into the sky.
Dust filled the air.
The once prosperous Carter Royal Capital turned into ruins piece by piece under the demons' trampling.
Those magnificent buildings, those exquisite sculptures, those walls that had witnessed hundreds of years of history—
All turned to rubble.
All turned to dust.
Those who could not escape were caught by demons, torn apart, and devoured.
Screams rose and fell.
But gradually, they became fewer and fewer.
Because there were fewer and fewer people left alive.
...
Stellar Mountain.
The palace.
The place that only the most noble and powerful could enter.
At this moment, the halls were empty.
Only a few thin figures stood on a balcony.
They were those street children.
They had run all the way up from the knight district.
They had run into this palace that they wouldn't have dared to imagine in their wildest dreams.
They ate the exquisite pastries the nobles had left behind.
They drank the wines whose names they couldn't even say.
They leaned over the railing, looking down at the city-state that was currently falling.
Fire shot into the sky.
Screams rose and fell.
Demons rampaged through the streets like locusts.
They watched in silence.
No one spoke.
A boy took a bite of the cake in his hand; as he chewed, tears began to flow.
"In my next life..."
His voice was very soft.
"In my next life, I want to be a prince."
A girl beside him held a silver candlestick, clutching it tightly.
"I want to be a princess."
Another boy wiped his tears and forced a smile.
"Then we'll be able to live here when that time comes."
"We won't have to go hungry."
"We won't have to worry about being killed."
They looked at each other.
Then, they raised their heads together.
They looked at the sky.
"Goddess of Light..."
"If You truly exist..."
"Please..."
Before he could finish.
on the horizon, the outline of that massive mountain range surrounding the Carter Royal Capital suddenly collapsed.
It didn't collapse slowly.
It fell in an instant.
The mountains broke.
A drop of a thousand li was sliced open from the middle by something.
Rubbles fell like rain.
Dust clouds soared.
And then.
That thing appeared.
Black.
Viscous.
Like countless octopus tentacles tangled together.
Those tentacles were covered, head to toe, in eyes.
Deep purple eyes.
Those eyes were currently all looking at the Carter Royal Capital.
At this tiny city-state.
The moment those eyes looked over, the children's voices got stuck in their throats.
Their bodies went stiff.
In that instant, their souls felt as if they were being gripped by something.
It was an indescribable fear.
An irresistible suppression.
The despair of an ant looking up at a dragon.
That behemoth had not arrived yet.
But the pressure it brought already made the entire city-state tremble.
A tentacle reached out from that direction.
It gave a gentle swipe.
Stellar Mountain—that mountain that had stood for thousands of years, the peak that symbolized the highest power of the Carter Royal Capital—
Collapsed.
It didn't collapse slowly.
It fell in an instant.
The palace crumbled.
Rocks rolled down.
Before those children standing on the balcony could react, they were swept into the torrent of the collapse.
They vanished in the rubble and dust.
But the collapse of Stellar Mountain was only the beginning.
True destruction had only just arrived.
That Demigod demon had only waved its tentacle.
But the Epic demons, the Legendary demons, and the millions of demons by its side began a true massacre under its drive.
An Epic demon, its body even more massive than Stellar Mountain, stepped over from the direction of the rift.
With every step it took, the earth trembled.
It raised a foot and stepped into the Carter Royal Capital.
With just one step, the entire noble district vanished.
Those remaining mansions, those exquisite gardens, those minor nobles who hadn't managed to flee—
All were crushed into meat paste.
Another Epic demon covered in frost opened its mouth.
A breath of white frost erupted.
Wherever it passed, everything turned into ice sculptures.
Then, it gave a gentle touch.
The ice sculptures shattered.
They turned into countless tiny ice crystals, drifting away in the wind.
There was also a demon with countless tentacles; its tentacles reached into every building, coiling around the people inside and stuffing them into its mouth.
Crunch.
Crunch.
The sound of chewing was exceptionally clear amidst the firelight.
The Carter Royal Capital—the city-state that had prospered for hundreds of years.
The city-state that was called the safest in the Southwest.
The city-state that possessed seven walls and countless elite knights.
It turned into ruins bit by bit under the demons' trampling.
Those exquisite buildings, those bustling streets, those squares that were once filled with laughter—
All vanished.
They were replaced by rubble, by debris, by severed limbs and broken walls, by blood and fire.
The people who once lived here—
Those nobles, those merchants, those commoners, those refugees.
Some were torn apart, some were devoured, some were crushed into meat paste, and some were frozen into ice sculptures.
Fewer and fewer remained alive.
The screaming grew weaker and weaker.
In the end, only a deathly silence remained in the entire Carter Royal Capital.
Only the crackling of the burning fires.
Only the low roars of the demons.
That city-state had completely turned into a wasteland.
On a street.
The old man who had prayed for Lin Gui lay in the ruins.
His chest was pierced by a broken wooden stick.
Blood flowed all over the ground.
But he was still alive.
His eyes looked at the sky.
At that behemoth getting closer and closer, massive beyond description.
His lips moved slightly.
"Goddess of Light..."
His voice was very soft.
"What did I do wrong..."
"What did we do wrong..."
No one answered him.
In the distance, a demon turned its head to look at him.
Only the desire for slaughter existed in those blood-red eyes.
The demon charged over.
Only darkness remained before the old man's eyes.
One last thought flashed through his mind.
"Mage Lord..."
"I hope you... are safe..."
Then, everything fell into silence.
...
Who knew how much time had passed.
The demons finally stopped the massacre.
Not because they didn't want to kill anymore.
But because there were no more living people left to kill.
The Carter Royal Capital, the once prosperous city-state, now remained as nothing but ruins.
Rubble.
Debris.
Severed limbs.
Broken walls.
Flames were still burning, illuminating this charred earth.
That Demigod demon stood at the edge of the ruins.
Its densely packed eyes swept across this former city.
No expressions.
No emotions.
It simply swept its gaze over.
Then, it turned around.
Those eyes looked toward the north.
That was its final goal.
It raised a tentacle and pointed in that direction.
The surrounding demons simultaneously turned their heads.
And then, they moved.
The black tide surged across the ruins.
Heading toward the north.
They raced forth.
Behind them, only a wasteland remained.
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