The Bell Tolls

The divine phantoms stared blankly at the shattered earth from the sky. A snake phantom rising from the Death Abyss bit the wingless dragon's neck, and the colossal beast struggled violently against the ground. Rampaging energy erupted wildly in the air, leaving one deep crater after another across the landscape.

The surface of the Frozen Lake had been completely shattered. Water columns blasted by intense magical energy rose even higher than the heavens, falling back down like a torrential rainstorm that ravaged the land.

The blood-red moon hung high above the world. A pitch-black sky shrouded the entire Southern Continent, making the azure-gold light within it appear incredibly piercing. The Pope, leaning on his staff, stood in mid-air like a shimmering star, with three benevolent-looking gods standing behind him.

The gods, bearing kind smiles, leaned down to use their arms to block blood-red slashes that cut through the sea of clouds and split the earth from a distance.

“They truly dote on you,” Li Yue sneered coldly. Her blood-red cross sword carved a lunar arc in the air. As the strike fell, the blood-red moon seemed to descend with it.

“It’s useless. Even their protection is futile. Even they themselves cannot escape death.” Li Yue flashed before Pope Silas, her sword shattering the countless tiny azure-gold suns revolving around him. The cross sword then nailed itself into the divine phantom.

With the sword as the center, the surrounding colors gradually faded. Except for Silas at the heart of the divine statue, most of the Deep Forest lost its color. Their forms became blurred, and ashes constantly peeled away from them, drifting toward the sky.

“Accept your end. From dust you came, and to dust you shall return,” Li Yue whispered softly. The phantom of the God of Redemption gradually dissipated, and everything in the forest followed suit. The lush earth slowly turned into pale dust, devoid of even a hint of life.

“Even in death, my soul shall return to their embrace.” Silas struck his staff heavily against the ground. The second god within the clouds moved, his spear sweeping across the earth before smashing down heavily toward the giant snake’s body.

The pitch-black beast retreated back into the Death Abyss, giving the struggling wingless dragon a moment to breathe. It aimed at Li Yue, lightning flickering within its maw.

“Tsk.” Li Yue frowned. The lightning arrived in an instant. The impact of the aftershock directly destroyed the hill behind her. It had originally been a mountain towering into the clouds, but now, only slight traces of its base remained on either side, the entire body of the mountain having been carved into a concave shape.

The giant beast panted, its breath carrying traces of lightning. It appeared to be somewhat weary and exhausted.

Li Yue was not the type of person to wait for the dust to settle. She swung a blood-red slash toward the heavens, instantly clearing the haze. Her body was encased in a dense layer of blood crystals, and countless shards of blood crystals littered the ground around her.

“Ugh... cough.” Li Yue spat a mouthful of turbid blood into a nearby pile of dirt. The Cycle spell flickered on her body, reversing her internal injuries. The dense blood crystals around her moved as if they were carrying her forward.

The attacks from the divine phantoms followed in quick succession, but Li Yue dodged them nimbly. Blood crystals slowly spread onto one of the giant beast’s arms. Within the pitch-black Death Abyss, the giant snake poked its head out, but this time it was dozens of times larger than before. Its head alone was almost the size of the giant beast’s entire body.

The giant beast leaped high into the air, but the Cycle spell activated again. As if a tape were being rewound, it was forced back down to the ground.

The snake emerged from the Death Abyss, its blood-red maw biting into the giant beast’s body. As it shoved the beast toward the sky, the aura of death began to pour into it. The beast’s body withered and rotted at a speed visible to the naked eye.

“God loves the world.” Silas opened his arms, and the phantom of the God of Redemption opened its embrace at the same moment. Intense light scattered outward, causing the pitch-black giant snake’s form to gradually dissipate. The giant beast’s body also recovered slightly. Azure-gold light illuminated the pitch-black sky, but at that moment, the blood-red moon fell from above, crashing into this azure-gold sun.

“The biggest difference between us is that I am not afraid of death...” A speck of blood-red light appeared within the azure-gold sun. A slash carrying Li Yue’s blood carved through the radiance, cutting a path through the space illuminated by the light.

“Its arms are open. Let’s see how it protects you now. Ha!”

Her figure approached rapidly through this pitch-black path. Her blood-red blade cut through the light and nailed itself once more into the divine body of “Redemption.” The flesh on Li Yue’s hands charred bit by bit, yet the cross sword continued to sink slowly into the divine form.

The intense pain caused the semi-divine Li Yue’s mouth to twitch uncontrollably, but the thrill of slaughter and the excitement of the blood brought by that pain pushed her into a state of extreme euphoria. She did her best to maintain what remained of her sanity.

Was she truly not afraid of death? Perhaps not in the future, but for now, facing death, she too would hesitate.

The blood-red sword pierced through Redemption’s body. Amidst the piercing screams of infant angels, Silas’s body was run through by the blade. Unwaveringly, the blood-red sword pierced his heart, the withered heart-piercing effect taking hold. His body was pinned from the sky to the ground by Li Yue, trailing a blood-red shadow through the air.

The azure-gold sun gradually began to dissipate. Li Yue panted heavily, driving the sword even deeper.

“Die...”

“Cough... I truly never realized...” Blood overflowed from Silas’s mouth. He slowly turned his eyes. His grey-white pupils were fading, yet they seemed to possess a final surge of vitality, like a deathbed rally.

“Only by giving my all, when approaching death, do I feel this close to them.” Silas slowly closed his eyes.

“Hmm?” Li Yue’s brow furrowed. Although Silas’s body was gradually losing its life force, the God’s remains covering him were becoming increasingly active.

“Shh...” He placed a finger to his lips. “I think... I hear his call...”

Li Yue snapped her gaze toward the sky. The final divine phantom in the heavens began to grow more and more real. On the ground, the dragon-beast let out a mournful cry. Its flesh and blood began to melt away until not even a skeleton remained. All that was left was a single scale—a Scale of Death it had been hiding all along.

Silas’s body was bathed in a holy light that grew brighter and brighter. A faint smile touched the corners of his mouth.

“O God... I have succeeded...”

Dong! The cathedral bell tolled. The sound echoed across the continent, spreading into every single moment.

“Heh...”