The shield of the Starry Sky Apostle emitted a piercing scream as it approached its limit under the impact of Esmeralda's destructive torrent of negation and devouring.
The energies of light and darkness collided and annihilated each other, and the resulting turbulent flow of rules even briefly distorted the surrounding Shadow Abyss space.
The data stream in Linde's purple eyes surged wildly, and the [Deconstruction Halo] operated at an unprecedented intensity, not only calculating strategies for defense and counterattack, but also forcibly analyzing the essence and weaknesses of Esmerald's mutated power.
"Sizzle—!" The armor on the left arm of the Starry Sky Apostle couldn't withstand it first. As if it had been wiped away by an invisible eraser, it instantly disintegrated and disappeared, along with its internal structure, which also turned into nothingness.
Immediately afterwards, the thruster array on the right leg exploded violently, and the dark blue particle stream was instantly swallowed by darkness.
The mech shuddered violently, and the alarm was drowned out by the roar of energy.
Weiss, nestled in his arms, let out a painful whimper. The tiny devouring force field she had created had long since shattered, and her body had dimmed somewhat.
“Father… her power… its core is… transformation… unstable…” Weiss conveyed her perceptions intermittently.
Conversion? Instability?
Lind instantly grasped the key point!
Esmeralda uses both "denial" and "devouring" at the same time. Even if these two extremely opposite characteristics achieve a balance due to the mutation, they are by no means perfectly integrated. Especially during the process of her frantically absorbing Noctoos' power, there must be gaps and nodes in the power conversion!
"Aster! Cannons! Concentrate fire and bombard the energy vessel node connecting her to the divine remains, now!"
Linde roared in his mind, while simultaneously transmitting the coordinates of several of the most unstable energy intersections identified by the [Deconstruction Halo] analysis.
"Order received! Annihilation cannons, fire!"
The roar from the steel sky has finally arrived!
Several beams of dark energy, condensed to their maximum and mimicking the devouring properties of the Shadow Abyss, pierced through space with precision, like the javelin of death, and struck the main energy vessels connecting Esmeralda to the "Dark Heart" below!
Rumble—!
A violent explosion rang out beside Esmeralda!
Those pulsating energy vessels snapped and shattered, and the pure and violent Shadow Abyss energy gushed out like a black waterfall of blood, triggering a small-scale energy tsunami!
Esmera's process of absorbing power was forcibly interrupted!
She let out an even more shrill and furious invisible shriek, and the power around her instantly fell into violent chaos. The light of the mixed force field flickered erratically, as if it would collapse at any moment!
Now!
A fierce glint flashed in Linde's eyes. Completely disregarding the warning that the Starry Sky Apostle was about to disintegrate, he poured all the remaining energy—the order of the Light Vein, the nothingness of the Shadow Abyss, and the immense vitality condensed by the [Activation Aura]—into the mech's only remaining right arm without reservation!
"Let it end!"
The Starry Sky Apostle transformed into a resolute meteor, dragging its nearly disintegrated machine as it crashed violently into the powerless Esmeralda!
The energy at the tip of her right arm condensed into an extremely unstable, spiraling spike interwoven with gray and black, aimed at her chest, which was covered in twisted patterns—the core point where her power was most chaotic and weakest, as analyzed by the [Deconstruction Aura]!
Esmera tried to raise her hand to defend herself, but the backlash from the interruption of her power and the interference from the ship's cannons slowed her down for a moment!
Pfft!
The spiral spikes, imbued with the principles of law, pierced her body—a body that existed between existence and nothingness—with difficulty yet with unwavering determination!
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
There was no earth-shattering explosion.
Only an extreme silence, as if even the "end" itself had been ended, spread out from the two of them.
Esmeralda's body stiffened abruptly, and the mixed force field around her shattered like broken glass, disappearing without a trace.
The chaotic, surging, and attempting-to-merge negation and devouring power within her body lost its restraint, resulting in a catastrophic implosion!
A silent energy surge tore her apart from the inside out.
Her blurred face, with its dark lines, seemed to clear for a moment, revealing an extreme pain, bewilderment, and... a deep, unspeakable sorrow.
Under this final close-range impact, the Starry Sky Apostle finally reached its limit. Its crystalline shell shattered inch by inch, turning into the finest energy particles and dissipating into the Shadow Abyss, revealing Lind's crystalline body inside.
Linde hovered in place, slightly panting. That attack had almost exhausted most of his energy.
Just as Esmeralda's body began to completely collapse and dissipate into wisps of pure but unconscious Shadow Abyss energy, the [Deconstruction Aura] did not stop operating. Instead, because it was in close contact with the core of her collapse, it captured something deeper—fragments of memories from the distant past that had settled deep within the origin of her power!
The images surged into Linde's consciousness like a tidal wave:
...
That was an era of technological civilization that reached its zenith.
Giant floating cities weave through the clouds, starships navigate in orderly orbits, and energy networks spread across the globe like streams of light.
This is the golden age of the Zedu civilization.
A young girl with silver hair like moonlight and violet eyes is excitedly running around in a futuristic laboratory.
She stretched out her fingers, her fingertips dancing with joyful and precise arcane sparks, easily manipulating the complex instruments, her face beaming with happiness and a smile full of curiosity about the world.
Her name is... Esmeralda.
The most brilliant jewel of the Zedo civilization, a once-in-a-millennium talent with magical affinity, hailed as "the future of Zedo".
...
The scene abruptly shifts. The sky is torn apart, and an incomprehensible, terrifying entity descends.
It is not a physical entity, but a distortion of rules and a riot of magic.
The city's shields shattered like paper, and the starships exploded like fireworks.
A vast, cold, inhuman will enveloped the entire world.
The goddess of magic, Tiolantis, noticed this race that had developed a highly advanced magical technology civilization, yet dared not to worship Him! And the most dazzling pearl among them aroused His great "interest".
...
A dark experimental site.
It was no longer a laboratory full of hope, but a prison filled with forbidden runes and dimensional chains.
Young Esmeralda was bound in the center, her beautiful violet eyes filled with fear, pain, and confusion.
The will of the God of Magic dissected her soul and her talents with the coldness of a scalpel. Countless bizarre magical runes were forcibly imprinted on her very being, distorting her understanding of magic and attempting to transform her talents into something... more suitable as a vessel to bear divine power, or perhaps for some horrific experiment.
She screamed, she struggled, but to no avail. Her sense of self was being stripped away and transformed bit by bit by the power of the divine.
...
The final experiment. The God of Magic attempted to implant a divine fragment containing the rule of "absolute negation" (perhaps plundered from an ancient being whom He had defeated) into the core of her soul, hoping to create a perfect agent that could disregard the rules of the world and directly execute His will.
A terrible accident occurred during the experiment. Perhaps it was Esmeralda's remaining will that put up a final act of resistance, or perhaps the fragment of the rule itself was beyond the control of the God of Magic.
A violent conflict over the rules erupted.
Esmeralda's self-awareness was almost completely erased, and her physical form underwent irreversible distortion, turning her into the indistinct figure she is today.
But the rule of "absolute negation" took deep root, combined with her remaining origin, expanded out of control, and eventually formed the terrifying force field of "denial of existence" that he had first seen.
She became a failed experiment, an out-of-control "silent" creation that even the god of magic seemed unable to fully control.
Perhaps out of fear that was difficult to control, or perhaps simply out of abandonment, she was sealed in some remote demiplane or time fold until she was freed for unknown reasons and began to wander aimlessly in the prime material world, carrying out the distorted, implanted instinct that denied all "abnormal" existence...
...
The fragmented memories ended abruptly there.
Linde hovered silently in the Shadow Abyss, watching the last trace of Esmeralda vanish without a trace. A slight ripple stirred in his heart, which then transformed into an even colder realization.
I see.
She was not a born monster, but a victim of the cruel experiments of the god of magic, a pitiful creation forcibly twisted and ultimately out of control.
The destruction of the Zedu civilization and its own tragedy both point to that high and mighty god.
“Tiolandis…” Lind murmured the name, his voice devoid of emotion, only a chilling coldness emanating from it. “I’ve cleaned up your ‘work’ for you.”
This battle has nothing to do with personal grudges; it's simply about clearing obstacles from the road.
But the debt owed by the God of Magic was etched even deeper in his mind.
He turned his head and looked down at the remains of Nocturnus, the "Dark Heart" that was gradually returning to calm after the energy vessels were severed.
Now that the interference has been cleared, it's time to receive the final "legacy" of this fallen land of gods.
Weiss cautiously approached, gently taking his finger in her hand. Her empty eye sockets gazed downwards, revealing an instinctive longing and a hint of awe.
The ultimate secrets of the Sea of Shadows were finally revealed to him without any concealment.
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