Buzz—

  Waves of vast and terrifying sparks of wisdom, manipulated by Seraphine through mysterious and incomprehensible means, continuously surged into that faint trace of false Spirituality deep within Vassago's soul.

  Under the support of such abundant sparks of wisdom, that wisp of false Spirituality also flickered with extreme agility.

  At this moment, even compared to true Spirituality, it was not much inferior.

  "What I mean is, your parents couldn't have just named you Vassago without a specific surname, right?"

  Seraphine looked at the dry and decaying puppet before her, asking coldly.

  "Uh..."

  Vassago paused, then hesitated, "My surname? My surname, I... I am simply called Vassago."

  Hearing this perfunctory answer, Seraphine did not press further, but a slight curve appeared on the corner of her mouth, and she asked again:

  "So, do you have subordinates? Or rather, as the god of dark arts, do you... possess divine vassals?"

  "Of course."

  Vassago nodded as if it were obvious.

  "Very good, tell me their names. Just one will suffice."

  "Hmm, their names are..."

  Vassago paused again, then he said with a bewildered expression, "Strange, how is it that I... cannot recall them immediately? Cannot remember a single one."

  "So do you have a wife and children?" Seraphine interrupted him and asked.

  "Yes, I have many divine consorts and numerous divine children." Vassago sighed leisurely, with a hint of recollection in his tone.

  "Then, where are they? Where were they at that time?"

  "They reside in the core world of the Gendaya nation, the world I created, and my divine palace cluster is also situated there."

  "Very good, what kind of scenery surrounds your divine palace? Rivers, mountains, lakes, forests, snow-capped peaks, deserts—there must be some features, right?"

  "Scenery, huh..." Vassago's tone was dazed, "I... am not very clear."

  "Hmm, in that case, what is the specific name of that core world you speak of?"

  "That core world, ah, the core world... The core world is called... is called..."

  Vassago frowned, and said hesitantly, "I... I can't remember it right now. Perhaps, this Ether body puppet is nearing its end."

  "Hmm, alright then." Seraphine stroked her smooth chin with her slender hand, her expression unreadable.

  "You, you must care deeply about your divine consorts and divine children, correct?"

  "Hmm, I'd say so. After all, they are my closest kin."

  At this point, the light in Vassago's eye sockets was clear, and he seemed quite nostalgic.

  "Very good."

  Seraphine nodded, smiling, and asked:

  "So, what are the names of your divine consorts? Just name one. And your divine children... what are their names?"

  "Ah, my divine consorts, they... they... they..."

  Vassago suddenly froze, his eyes bewildered, his expression blank as he looked at Seraphine.

  "Your divine children, as your direct descendants, you should remember their names, yes?"

  "I... I... I suddenly cannot remember." Vassago looked at Seraphine, replying blankly.

  "Since your name is just Vassago, with no so-called surname, then your mother and father's names... you should at least remember, right?"

  "I... I..."

  Vassago slowly shook his head, saying nothing, but the bewilderment in his eyes grew heavier.

  "Alas."

  Seraphine, with her hands clasped behind her back, walked beside him and sighed, "So, when facing the assault of that alien evil god, do you still recall if you and your relatives and subordinates... exchanged any words of encouragement or farewell?"

  "I..."

  Vassago slowly bowed his head at some unknown point, "I... cannot quite recall."

  "So, do you truly remember the specific decorations and scenes within your divine palace? Do you truly recall the appearance of your parents, divine consorts, divine children, and your subordinates?"

  Looking at the floating, misty dust around them, Seraphine's tone was calm.

  "...It seems... it seems I..."

  Vassago looked up and murmured, "I have always... been familiar with this great hall, but the memories of my parents, divine consorts, divine children, and my divine palace... are all very vague."

  "Yes, you are indeed very vague, because you have never remembered." Seraphine said softly.

  The next moment, she suddenly turned to stare into Vassago's eyes, and slowly said:

  "Vassago, you have always waited in this desolate and tasteless great hall, waited and waited."

  Seraphine pointed to Mycenae, who was beside them, his consciousness in slumber, still receiving the Witchcraft inheritance, "Waiting for him to arrive."

  "You have no surname."

  "You have no divine consorts or divine children."

  Vassago's body went limp, staggering back two steps: "How could this be... I... I am... the God of Dark Arts! I am one of Gendaya's three Primordial Myths!"

  Seraphine's tone was low: "Yes, poor God of Dark Arts, truly a pathetic Primordial Myth. You have no parents or siblings."

  "You have no family or clan, you have no... not even a tiny, genuine memory of your own."

  "You haven't even stepped out of this great hall since your birth, haven't tasted any fine wine, haven't experienced a complete life."

  "Right, do you know what wine is?"

  "I... I... I do not know."

  Vassago's brows furrowed tightly, his eyes empty as he looked at the distant great hall.

  Seraphine approached him, saying in a deep voice: "You have always been here, always waiting for Mycenae."

  "You claim to be the disciple of Gendaya's Progenitor God, yet you don't know his name; you don't know your mentor's name.

  You claim to have many divine consorts and divine children, yet you equally don't know their names, you don't know their appearances.

  Haha, you know nothing, Vassago.

  You're like an interrogation machine; you merely state whatever others ask of you. Do you truly possess independent thoughts?

  Is your existence factual or illusory? No, I should ask... do you even exist at all? Have you ever truly existed!"

  "I, I have never existed?!" Vassago stared blankly at the cold-faced Seraphine, "Then what am I... now?"

  "Haha." Seraphine let out a soft laugh, "With your level of intellect, you should be able to realize that all these various circumstances are riddled with anomalies.

  You are suspicious, perplexed, terrified, yet endlessly bewildered, uncertain of what you should doubt, what should confuse you, and what should frighten you."

  "I will provide you with the answer."

  Seraphine said softly, "You are merely a vague facet—a side-aspect—within Mycenae's memories. What he knows, you know; what he does not know, you will never learn.

  You, fundamentally, do not exist."

  As soon as these words were spoken, Vassago's wooden body trembled violently.

  He slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with chaos.

  "I... I... am an illusion... I have never truly existed."

  Buzz—

  Vassago's puppet body suddenly began to blur.

  Along with the surrounding scenery, it inverted and disordered, collapsing in an instant.

  In this collapsing chaos, Seraphine vaguely perceived the boundless void outside this Secret Realm, also flickering between light and darkness, becoming distant and hazy.

  And in this terrifying mutation, the deepest part of Vassago's wooden puppet body—that wisp of false Spirituality—suddenly vibrated, as if something was about to erupt, as if it yearned to transform into something real.

  "Under extreme stimulation, the cognitive framework will fluctuate, will collapse."

  "Since that's the case, will the false..."

  Seraphine stared intently at Vassago, "transform into the real?"

  Everything she had done, aside from a sudden urge to test the limits of illusory life within the Memory Realm world, had another objective: to see if false Spirituality, under extreme self-questioning and self-doubt, could give rise to a trace of genuine reality.

  "Transform, show me the transformation."

  But just as anticipation flared in Seraphine's heart, Vassago, before her very eyes, instantly shattered and exploded into fragments. This included his internal soul, and even that wildly trembling wisp of false Spirituality deeper within his essence, all vanishing into nothingness simultaneously.

  Immediately after, the entire great hall, along with the silently meditating Mycenae, the infant Divine Beast outside the Secret Realm, and even the surrounding colossal and distant hazy void, all entered a state of complete collapse at that very instant.

  "Failure, then so be it."

  Just as this tide of collapse swept towards the entirety of the Memory Realm world, the calm-faced Seraphine clapped her hands.

  Bang!

  In an instant, all collapse and destruction instantly returned to null.

  Chaos reverted to order; fragmentation returned to completeness.

  Everything reformed, once again returning to the moment Vassago imparted the "Lazarus Codex" to Mycenae.

  "I will now bestow upon you the supreme Witchcraft inheritance of the Gendaya nation."

  Vassago pointed a finger toward Mycenae's glabella.

  In an instant, the latter sat cross-legged on the ground, his mind momentarily stunned, beginning to receive the inheritance.

  This time, Seraphine merely quietly observed the 'plot,' choosing not to participate further.

  After a short while.

  Mycenae, having absorbed all the inherited knowledge, slowly opened his eyes and rose from the dilapidated sand pit.

  After receiving the Witchcraft inheritance, his Witchcraft realm and magic core showed no immediate change, still positioned between the early to mid-Morningstar stage.

  However, the rampant and surging mana within his body, as well as the very essence of his soul and life force, all underwent an explosive metamorphosis and leap forward.

  More importantly, those various ancient Witchcrafts—whether immensely powerful, unpredictably volatile, or divinely peerless—all suddenly materialized within his being and soul.

  Among them were Witchcrafts that twisted space-time, Witchcrafts that transformed one's mana into vicious corrosive power, Witchcrafts that split nine dragon heads into millions of snake charms, Witchcrafts that commanded the natural phenomena of water, fire, ice, and thunder, Witchcrafts that could resurrect the dead an unlimited number of times, Witchcrafts that summoned all natural disasters and calamities, Witchcrafts that arbitrarily split and regenerated from body and soul, Witchcrafts that sensed the causal chain of all things, Witchcrafts that manipulated the fate of all beings, Witchcrafts that tainted all spirits of the mundane world while plundering life force and soul power, and even Witchcrafts that devoured world consciousness and replaced it...

  And so on, with countless others.

  Finally, there were also three regal-tier Witchcrafts, also known as Witch King Rituals, which integrated the above Witchcrafts and were constructed through a series of complex cumulative processes.

  Namely, the "Lazarus Pool," which could forcibly share (plunder) the life force and soul power of all beings; "Atropos' Eye," which could observe all other beings connected to one's own karma; and "Sisyphus' Sin Blade," which consolidated the malicious killing intent of countless living beings.

  Similarly, the moment Mycenae acquired these Witchcrafts and rituals, Seraphine also gained these techniques.

  Without any flaw.

  "Life is transient, but knowledge can endure forever."

  Vassago looked at Mycenae, speaking in a weary, aged voice, "From now on, you are the witness to the Gendaya's past existence in the world, and also the progenitor of the new era's Gendaya nation."

  "I understand." Mycenae slowly nodded.

  "Alas—"

  Vassago looked upwards, the divine light in his glass-like eyes growing weaker and weaker.

  But it seemed as if he also saw further.

  He seemed to peer beyond the Secret Realm, into that deep, boundless black void.

  Specks of light flickered in his eyes.

  "I truly wish to go and witness the more distant regions of the void."

  "What a pity; there is no more time."

  His words ceased, and the divine light in his eyes completely extinguished.

  Vassago's remnant soul, attached to the puppet, suddenly disintegrated into countless fragments with a creaking sound, shattering into nothingness.

  Thereafter, the surrounding dim and boundless ancient great hall also suddenly dispersed, much like a dreamlike bubble, into nothingness.

  Mycenae, enveloped in a hazy white light, reappeared deep within the art museum at the center of this Secret Realm.

  But perhaps due to Vassago's demise, the entire Secret Realm also rapidly approached its end.

  Boom boom boom boom!

  The world in all four directions suddenly vibrated violently.

  Cities collapsed, deserts caved in, the world boiled.

  In a short while, the entire Secret Realm became utterly transformed.

  "Damn it, why did the Secret Realm suddenly collapse? Let's go quickly!"

  Lex's group, who had already left the city, cursed twice, then immediately increased their pace, hurrying towards the distant edge of the Secret Realm.

  Bang bang bang!

  Rumble rumble rumble!

  The Secret Realm's underlying structure completely collapsed, with its central portion suddenly caving downwards.

  The surrounding sea of sand engulfed it, completely covering the remaining urban ruins.

  The hazy fog wall covering this Secret Realm also rapidly vanished.

  Not long after Mycenae exerted himself to escape the Secret Realm, the colossal Secret Realm itself, like a continuous mountain range behind him, also cracked and caved in amidst brilliant light, instantly disappearing into nothingness.

  The great plains on the infant Divine Beast's back.

  Lex frowned as she walked over to a somewhat disheveled Mycenae, asking suspiciously: "Why couldn't we find you after searching the entire city? Where were you exactly? I thought you were going to perish inside this Secret Realm."

  "Alas—"

  Mycenae dusted himself off with a sigh, "I was trapped by some incomplete ritual in the art museum at the city center, until the Secret Realm inexplicably collapsed, causing the ritual to lose effect before I could escape."

  "Ritual?" Lex's eyes lit up, "Did you discover anything there?"

  Mycenae shook his head, his face filled with disappointment: "Nothing, absolutely nothing."

  "Never mind, we only found some ancient Witchcraft texts near the city center, nothing of high value."

  Lex pursed her lips, her gaze passing over Mycenae's shoulder, looking towards the gradually quieting Secret Realm ruins behind him, and slowly said: "But the Secret Realm shattering also has its advantages."

  Having said that, she raised her arm and spread her fingers.

  Whoosh!

  From her palm, a bloody thread shot out, like a sweeping blood serpent, suddenly traversing a great distance and flying into the center of the Secret Realm ruins.

  From within, it suddenly pulled out a half-illusory, half-real radiant crystal.

  Seraphine, quietly observing from the side, instantly narrowed her eyes: "It's a Phantom Crystal!"

  Phantom Crystal.

  Earlier, based on the fragmented information emanating from Mycenae's memories, Seraphine deduced that it was an auxiliary material for crafting Regret Potion.

  Later, when she carried the excessively 'heavy' Solar System entity through the Sentience Realm Hallway, and it ultimately collapsed under the unbearable burden, Seraphine was surprised to discover that the hallway, after its rupture, actually spewed out large quantities of Phantom Crystal.

  Thus, she speculated that the Sentience Realm Hallway's construction must also have utilized Phantom Crystal.

  And so, this anomalous substance, which clearly possessed a powerful influence over time and space, was secretly noted by Seraphine.

  And today...

  "Truly unexpected."

  Seraphine calmly watched Lex collect the crystal, thinking, "The so-called Secret Realm, its core is actually constructed from Phantom Crystals.

  Then, aren't the endless Secret Realms of the Realm of Phantasm equivalent to endless crystals?

  Hmm, if I deduce along this line of thought, the innumerable hallways born within the Milky Way... could they have been created by that unknown power that built the hallways countless years ago, after it descended upon the Realm of Phantasm, shattered countless Secret Realms, and collected large quantities of Phantom Crystals?

  Ah, it's truly becoming more and more fascinating."

  At this moment, on the infant Divine Beast's back, within the fortress of the observation tower.

  The exploration team leader was utilizing a colossal and intricate Witchcraft artifact to relay the developing situation to the high-ranking officials stationed at the Ansel world headquarters.

  "Report: Secret Realm No. 5 experienced an early collapse, resulting in a massive surge of Phantom Crystals erupting from its core."

  "It collapsed early? Such an unforeseen event is indeed quite rare. However, we cannot afford delays now. Quickly organize the on-site personnel to collect the output, or these crystals will rapidly solidify, warp space-time, and flee. Expedite the process!"

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "Understood. Should personnel still deployed in other Secret Realms be recalled to assist with the crystal collection team?"

  "Not necessary for the moment. Instead, deploy the time-stasis cannon housed in the fortress to bombard the ruins of Secret Realm No. 5. The priority is to stabilize space-time first, reducing the Primis concentration to almost zero, and preventing the Phantom Crystals from absorbing external Primis and escaping en masse."

  "Hmm, then how many firing sequences should I authorize?"

  "Fire the time-stasis cannon five times. Exhaust the fortress's entire stock. It is absolutely imperative to maintain the 'dormant' state of the Phantom Crystal cluster in the ruins for as long as possible!"

  "Understood."

  "Good luck."

  As the order was issued, the rear section of the fortress immediately split open, revealing a massive, cavern-like launch well.

  Clank clank clank—

  A series of dull thuds echoed, and a distorted orb of light, several tens of meters in diameter, suddenly shot out of the cavern, aiming straight into the sky, rapidly heading towards the Secret Realm ruins a thousand miles distant.

  This orb of light was a discharge from the space-time time-stasis cannon. Upon detonation, all space-time object movement effects within its affected range would be severely dampened, or even entirely sealed.

  Simultaneously, the Primis within this area would be rapidly expelled by the explosion, generating a Low-Ether or even nearly non-Ether space-time region.

  Outside the shattered Secret Realm ruins, Lex, Mycenae, and the other team members were still employing their extraordinary techniques to swiftly collect the crystals.

  As high-ranking witches themselves, they inherently understood the immense value of such precious materials; no one was engaging in idle chatter; all were diligently at work.

  Just then.

  That orb, which had been continuously expanding during its flight—growing a thousandfold to several hundred meters in diameter when it was tens of thousands of meters above the Secret Realm ruins—now, upon reaching its target altitude, rapidly shifted its trajectory and plunged downwards at extreme velocity.

  Whoosh!

  Then, it violently detonated at a mere thousand-meter altitude above the dozens of kilometers-wide ruins.

  Boom!!!

  In an instant, a circle of dazzling, shimmering azure-colored fire slowly expanded outward.

  In a flash, the dozens of scattered, crystalline torrents erupting from the Secret Realm ruins below were directly blasted into vast clouds of chaotic light mist.

  The formless and massless Primis currents, swirling and flowing both inside and outside the Secret Realm ruins, were instantly and forcefully repelled by this intense, almost divine explosion, causing this entire area to drop from a High-Ether state to a zero-state in an instant.

  Further afield, the shattered mountains and building fragments ejected from the collapse of other Secret Realms were, like scraps of paper caught in a hurricane, twisted, torn, and flung far away.

  But in the very next instant.

  In the next instant, everything—including the surging, roaring Phantom Crystal dust, the large stone bodies faintly assuming shapes as if attempting to pierce through space-time and escape after being covered by the crystal dust, and the shockwave storm of rock, slag, and gravel boiling in all directions due to the explosion—was instantaneously enveloped by a hazy, vast power, then completely frozen in place as if "petrified."

  Viewing from a distance.

  It appeared like a colossal, hyper-urban, multi-colored giant flower, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, connecting heaven and earth, formed by countless large and small objects condensed and combined, almost obscuring half of the dim sky.

  In the distance.

  After witnessing the sheer power of the space-time time-stasis cannon, Mycenae’s pupils contracted slightly, and he exclaimed in shock:

  "Such a high concentration of space-time stabilization power... If diluted and spread out, it would be enough to stabilize a border continent tens of thousands of miles in diameter?"

  Lex slowly walked up beside him and murmured softly:

  "This is a space-time time-stasis cannon. Fundamentally, just ten shots are enough to blast a small continent into a Primis void zone. Moreover, within such a zone, all objects' kinetic energy transmission and movement effects will be greatly delayed, or even largely cut off."

  "In other words, after being hit by a time-stasis cannon, all objects within that area turn into mosquitoes trapped in molten amber—only able to receive attacks, unable to retaliate."

  Mycenae sighed, turned to look at Lex, and smiled: "I've always had a question. You... are you a man or a woman?"

  "A man or a woman?"

  Lex smiled as if nothing was amiss, "Is that truly important?"

  Mycenae shook his head: "Not important, just curious."

  "I'll go now." Lex's androgynous face flickered vaguely for a moment, then morphed into a delicate face with extremely deep, curvilinear features.

  "You can call me... Beverly."

  After speaking this declaration.

  Lex's—or rather, Beverly's—voice suddenly shifted from open and cheerful to gentle and soft.

  Mycenae looked at Beverly and suddenly smiled: "You look a lot like my mother."

  "Oh?" Beverly raised an eyebrow, "Is that your preferred method of offering compliments to women?"

  Mycenae heard this, looked up, and chuckled: "Ha ha ha."

  "What's so amusing?" Beverly pouted unhappily.

  "Nothing, nothing at all."

  Seraphine, standing nearby, glanced at Beverly's face, and suddenly exclaimed:

  "Strange, why is her appearance identical to Monroe Holmes's mother in his memories?"

  Just then, the second round from the space-time time-stasis cannon struck.

  Boom!!

  The 'frozen' cloud-like crystalline light mist in the Secret Realm ruins was immediately blasted into undulating disarray.

  Next, the third and fourth time-stasis cannon rounds struck.

  Boom!!

  Boom!!

  Enormous blasts and brilliant light resoundingly enveloped a hundred-mile radius. The Primis concentration in that area further plummeted, and the outer regions were filled with patches of vacuum, turbid dust, and violently chaotic air convection.

  Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

  At this moment, the final space-time time-stasis cannon round plunged straight down.

  Boom!!!

  After the detonation.

  This already dilapidated Secret Realm ruin was instantly subjected to continuous tremors. Aside from the continuously 'frozen' crystalline dust and light mist formed from the shattering, everything else had turned into illusion, leaving behind mostly desolate land.

  Simultaneously, the Primis concentration in that area completely dropped to near non-Ether Ash Zone levels.

  It was at this very moment that an army of tens of thousands of Witchcraft puppets, having traversed from the fortress, barely arrived at the location.

  Sizzle sizzle sizzle—

  The space-time stasis effect was unilaterally lifted by the distant fortress at this juncture.

  The Witchcraft puppets immediately entered the Secret Realm ruins from every direction, utilizing equipment somewhat resembling vacuum cleaners, and began collecting the Phantom Crystal powder slowly settling on the ground with extremely high efficiency.

  "If this time-stasis cannon technology were available in the real universe, with ample ammunition, it could likely 'force' a planet within a High-Ether Sector into an era of ether decline in a short period."

  "However, in the real universe, while Ether can be gathered and accumulated, attempting to artificially reduce its vitality through external means, or manipulate the established understanding of 'Ether density,' is truly the stuff of fairy tales. Yet, within the Realm of Phantasm... why is artificial manipulation of Ether density achievable, even to the point of reducing it to a 'vacuum' state?"

  Seraphine, observing all of this from the periphery, shifted her gaze, quietly pondering, "Is this due to the unique spatial properties of the Realm of Phantasm's space-time region itself?"

  Given Mycenae's lack of relevant background memories, the operational effects of the discarded space-time time-stasis cannon explosion meant he could only infer indirectly, not research it.

  "It seems that I still need to truly enter the Realm of Phantasm to conduct relevant research to truly comprehend it."

  "However, as long as I gather a bit more foundational information from the Memory Realm world, I should be able to deduce the true nature of the Realm of Phantasm."

  With her thoughts concluded, Seraphine immediately controlled the entire Memory Realm world to once again perform 'plot manipulation'—jumps and accelerations.

  Swish—

  Time instantly fast-forwarded ten years into the future.

  *Whoosh whoosh whoosh ~~ Whoosh ~ Whoosh ~~*

  Brownish-green waves surged and churned violently.

  In the Secret Realm named Rain's Breath Coast, the rain never ceased its downpour.

  Boom!

  Crack crack crack!

  Beneath the heavy covering of black clouds, for a moment, it was impossible to distinguish whether it was day or night.

  Splash splash splash—

  On the seashore, a soaking wet Beverly pushed aside the dense rain, placing her hand on a dilapidated stone wall.

  The next moment, the wall glowed with a rich green light.

  Buzz—

  In an instant, a fragmented and hazy stream of information enveloped Beverly and Mycenae, who stood quietly behind her.

  [...The kind and trustworthy Johansen has sailed these waters for many years, acquiring countless abundant catches, a truly worthy fishing expert of Rain's Breath Coast...

  ...Completely abandoning his small fishing boat, replacing it with a large steamship named Alert...

  ...He bravely ventured into deeper waters, wishing to witness a broader world, wishing to seek legendary sea monsters...

  ...In that vast world, he encountered a god...

  ...He returned... He changed...]

  "It seems the proprietor of this Secret Realm must be this so-called Johansen."

  "The intelligence is remarkably clear."

  Beverly speculated, "This Secret Realm was very likely a fragment taken from a real world countless years ago."

  "World fragment?" Mycenae inquired, "Meaning, the contents within might hold greater intrinsic value than ordinary Secret Realms?"

  "Precisely." Beverly nodded, "But that also implies greater inherent danger."

  "Danger?" Mycenae glanced at the woman and suddenly smiled, "A qualified witch fears no peril."

  Beverly gave a gentle smile: "Then let us commence."

  Immediately, both their expressions grew serious, and they activated their mana to construct the necessary ritual.

  This ritual contained functions like inquiry, summoning, and provocation—sufficient to awaken Johansen.

  After a brief period, the ritual was successfully completed.

  In an instant, an invisible yet turbulent power diffused from their clasped hands, rapidly enveloping all surrounding directions.

  A few minutes later.

  The entire atmosphere of the coast suddenly underwent a dramatic shift.

  *Whoosh ~~~*

  A violent gust of wind struck them forcefully.

  Gurgle gurgle gurgle gurgle——

  Turbid water surged rapidly out from cracks in the ground all around, growing increasingly abundant.

  The two slowly retreated backward, seemingly sensing something significant, looking towards the coastline, at the fiercely churning grey-green ocean several thousand meters away.

  The next moment, the boundless sea surface abruptly erupted with a series of world-ending waves exceeding a hundred meters in height, carrying a terrifying and intense momentum as they swept inward.

  Boom!!

  The entire coastline and docks, including Mycenae and his companion, were instantly submerged.

  Gurgle gurgle gurgle gurgle......

  Mycenae and his companion were forcibly swept several hundred meters away into the ruins of houses by the impact of the waves. They watched as their entire perceived world, heaven and earth, became completely covered by grey seawater.

  Of course, the two of them, standing at the Morningstar level, would not be significantly bothered by such an anomaly.

  They both looked upward, their gazes piercing through the heavy seawater, towards the depths of the dark ocean.

  There, countless crimson eyes were storming towards them at extreme speed.

  Gurgle gurgle gurgle gurgle——

  Accompanied by continuous bubbles, thousands of mutated black fish, each the size of a human head and covered in fangs, viciously lunged at them.

  Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

  In an instant, these sea hyenas opened their gaping maws, ruthlessly attempting to devour Mycenae and Beverly.

  If they were merely first or second-tier witches, no matter how many of these black fish came, they likely wouldn't be enough for them to gnaw upon, as the fish could dart at thousands of meters per second underwater.

  But the two merely felt the attackers were obstructing their view.

  Since the power differential was so immense, they ignored the attacks; they wouldn't cause any substantial harm anyway.

  Slaying the Secret Realm's master remained the most critical task at hand.

  Plop... Plop... Plop...

  The two forcibly broke through the relentlessly pursuing black fish, making their way towards the dock area, which now resembled the abyssal seabed.

  After several minutes of arduous travel, they once again reached the stone wall that faintly displayed a vague, octopus-headed mural.

  Here, Beverly suddenly reached out and touched the octopus-headed mural.

  In an instant, all the black fish swarming them ceased their biting attacks, stiffly and slowly falling away.

  According to the divinatory Witchcraft, this painting depicted the sea monster Johansen encountered while sailing in the deep sea.

  When someone touched the image again, Johansen would awaken from his slumber and gaze upon this location.

  All these black fish would be annihilated by his eerie gaze.

  Both Mycenae and Beverly would also suffer the attack of Johansen's gaze, sustaining damage ranging from the physical body to the soul.

  "Activate the protective ritual," Mycenae stated in a deep voice.

  "Understood." Beverly nodded.

  Buzz—

  The two once again joined hands, activating their mana, and began constructing a complex ritual.

  Just then.

  *Roar ~~~*

  A deeply distant, ethereal roar resonated from afar.

  In an instant, the countless tons of seawater covering the entire elongated dock and the shattered ruins of the town behind them rapidly receded.

  The grey-blue, dark-green sea surface also slowly returned to its former calm level.

  At this very moment...

  Boom!!

  A thousand meters ahead of the octopus-headed stone wall at the very end of this dock, the boundless sea surface suddenly began to boil and surge violently, as if water had been brought to a furious boil.

  And as time progressed, the surging commotion grew larger and larger.

  It was as if some colossal entity was about to surface from the depths.

  Whoosh whoosh whoosh——

  The sea boiled, water splashed everywhere.

  Finally...

  An ancient, dark mast slowly rose, breaking through the grey-green sea surface.

  Then came the second mast, the third mast, the fourth mast, the fifth mast...

  Dense masts, like a forest, slowly 'grew' out from beneath the sea surface.

  Finally, a large, mountain-sized black hull emerged from the sea.

  This was clearly an ancient sailing ship, colossal to an extreme degree.

  Steam billowed all around. The waves, caused by the rapid ascent of the gigantic object, crashed against the distant dock, as if intending to overturn it completely.

  This was Johansen's Alert.

  After experiencing an incident in the deep sea, it had mysteriously mutated from a steam turbine ship into this colossal wooden sailing vessel.

  Suddenly, dozens of enormous, house-sized octopus tentacles abruptly extended from both sides of this massive ancient sailing ship, rapidly clambering towards the elongated dock of Rain's Breath Coast.

  Clank!

  Clank!

  Clank!

  Dull rumbling sounds resonated. At this point, Mycenae and his companion clearly saw the surface of the increasingly close sailing ship, suddenly carved with dense, intricate relief patterns.

  These carvings depicted shrimp and crabs, dolphins and seahorses, squids and octopuses, sharks and whales.

  Even many unknown but colossal sea monsters.

  Beverly, recalling the content of the divinatory Witchcraft, knew that these reliefs would soon activate, transforming into layers of ferocious, aberrant beasts that would charge to block them.

  "Strike first, seize the advantage."

  Mycenae suddenly shouted softly, "Board the ship!"

  "Understood!" Beverly nodded coldly.

  "Hellish Collision!"

  Swish!

  A surge of boiling blood, like burning flames, suddenly appeared and enveloped the two, instantly transforming into a solidified blood light, fiercely charging towards the large ship.

  Boom!!

  Several thousand meters flashed past in an instant.

  Upon nearing the bow, relying on their ultra-high speed, the two briefly turned into blurry figures and leaped, stepping directly onto the head of a colossal shark, over a hundred meters in diameter, that was the first to activate, struggling and emerging.

  Bang!

  Like detonating a nuclear bomb, an intense shockwave instantly generated, covering a thousand-mile radius, stirring the vast air.

  The shark's head instantly exploded into a bloody, dusty mess.

  The two also utilized the reactive force to soar upward, leaping several thousand meters high onto the ship's deck in an instant.

  Clatter clatter clatter!

  Before they could even steady their footing, the two heard bursts of intense sounds of raising rifles and pulling bolts coming from ahead.

  Looking up.

  They saw the forward section was now crowded with sailors aiming their rifles.

  Thousands upon thousands of them, filling even the extremely spacious deck.

  Furthermore, all these sailors were robust, standing about 5-6 meters tall. From the collars of their ancient sailor uniforms, enormous, wheel-sized fish heads extended, all staring intently.

  "So, the Deep Ones are also getting to work."

  Seraphine had just smiled and spoken when Mycenae and his companion were engulfed by a torrent of flickering, spiritually enchanted bullets.

  Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Countless bullets, like a flood, completely covered the entire bow section.

  The barrage lasted a full half minute before it ceased.

  Even after it ended, large areas of terrifyingly dense evil power fluctuations still covered the bow.

  For a moment, the figures of Mycenae and his companion were obscured.

  At this moment, footsteps sounded from behind the ranks of sailors...

  Thump... Thump... Thump...

  A twenty-meter tall, octopus-headed giant, emerged from the ship's cabin, stooping at the waist.

  It was the helmsman of the Alert.

  "Hmm..."

  The octopus helmsman opened his turbid yellow eyes, surveying his surroundings, and slowly chanted in a heavy, almost slurring voice:

  "Great Cthulhu!"

  All Deep One sailors knelt on one knee and followed in chanting:

  "Great Cthulhu!"

  And at this very moment.

  Roar—

  A furious roar, like that of a wraith and a beast combined, came from within the smoke.

  Accompanying this inhuman sound, hundreds and thousands of dense black magical lights, in the shape of intertwined serpents, suddenly tore through the surging fog, instantly enveloping the entire front half of the massive ship.

  As if countless tons of magical acid had descended from nothingness, large areas of the deck, miscellaneous objects, and even thousands upon thousands of fish-headed sailors... all were instantly corroded away after being covered by the magical light, leaving not a trace.

  At the same time, a deep, ancient melody sounded between sea and sky, as if hundreds of discordant female high voices emerged, chanting a desolate, majestic yet bizarre praise.

  As the praise manifested, the remaining half of the large ship also seemed to fall into a bloody dreamscape.

  In a flash, millions of viscous blood surged out from various gaps in the deck, flowing like living entities, fiercely pouncing upon the remaining large number of fish-headed sailors. While tightly binding them, the blood burrowed into their eyes, noses, and mouths.

  Sizzle sizzle sizzle!

  Dense sounds of flesh being torn apart followed one after another.

  Tens of thousands of fish-headed sailors couldn't even let out a scream, as they were cruelly dismembered from inside and out by the dozens to hundreds of streams of blood surging forth, then almost entirely devoured.

  "Splutter!"

  Dark green blood plasma splattered out, scorching the deck with a loud sizzling sound.

  "Aaaah..."

  The colossal octopus-headed first mate groaned and vomited large amounts of thick green blood plasma.

  Behind him, a sturdy arm, formed from over a dozen snake-like tentacles, had completely plunged into him.

  Squish... Squish...

  Accompanied by the tearing sound of flesh, that arm brutally extracted the heart from the helmsman's chest.

  And after losing his heart, the octopus helmsman's eyes immediately dimmed, his body going limp as he collapsed to the ground.

  Gurgle gurgle—

  The snake tentacle recoiled, delivering a black heart, covered in twisted demonic script, into Mycenae's hand.

  "Using this heart as a guide, you can reach the core of this Secret Realm."

  Beverly walked leisurely from a distance, her palm open, and immediately released a surge of crimson light that enveloped the heart.

  Buzz—

  As if activated, the heart immediately swelled into a bulky, washbasin-sized mass of flesh.

  At the same time, the surface of the flesh mass instantly lit up with dense greenish light points.

  With Mycenae and Beverly clasping the enormous heart as the central point, a greenish light ring rapidly expanded.

  Once the light ring formed, a sensation of weightlessness swiftly struck.

  The two's vision darkened, and they immediately vanished from the incomplete, colossal vessel.

  A long while later.

  Ten thousand meters beneath the sea surface.

  Whoosh ~~

  An eerie wind howled.

  Within the silent and motionless palace complex sealed by thousands of meters of tall walls on the seabed, there was absolute silence.

  Only the ancient wind chimes hanging from the pointed eaves of the central, grimy green palace jingled continuously, swayed by the relentless, strange wind.

  Bang!!

  Suddenly, the ten-meter thick solid bronze palace gates were violently kicked inward, and two dark-red figures strode in.

  Hiss—

  The crimson aura gradually faded.

  Beverly looked up at the ancient palace before her, stating to Mycenae with certainty: "This is the location, without a doubt."

  The latter surveyed his surroundings, exclaiming: "A thousand-mile expanse of seabed palace, yet not a single drop of water. If Witchcraft were used to achieve all this, it would require at least the Resplendent Moon level to accomplish."

  "No need to worry." Beverly smiled faintly, "This Secret Realm, which is suspected to be a fragment from another world, caps its highest level at Morningstar. There will definitely be no Resplendent Moon entity here."

  Just then.

  Whiz whiz whiz whiz——

  Thousands of arrows rained down.

  Mycenae immediately stepped forward, and with surging mana, he crushed and pushed away this dense torrent of projectiles.

  He then discovered that those arrows could actually cause him a slight stinging sensation even through his mana barrier.

  He had no idea what they were composed of.

  However, Mycenae did not dwell on it.

  After all, to reach this crucial palace within the Secret Realm, he and Beverly had already navigated traps involving acid, heavy hammers, ground spikes, blasts of cold air, and flames along the route.

  Most of these proved useless against the pair, but there were several trap areas that were relatively difficult to handle.

  For example, there was a continuous ten-thousand-meter underground passage.

  In that corridor, up, down, left, and right, sharp black spikes, three meters long, automatically deployed at super-frequency rates.

  Those black spikes were barbed on all sides; he couldn't identify the material, but they possessed the ability to pierce his skin.

  Mycenae estimated privately:

  If someone launched such a black spike with immense force, it could even penetrate his body.

  So, Mycenae took the effort to collect a few of the ground spikes.

  It was fortunate that the base connecting to these objects was relatively narrow and simple; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to grasp them at all.

  And the subsequent series of trap rooms still managed to strip half a layer of skin from Mycenae's Morningstar-level Hydra body.

  Beverly, though shielded by him, also sustained some minor injuries.

  However, considering the few flowers of rebirth in her Witchcraft dimensional bag that could completely restore all physical damage, along with a stock of spiritual materials and herbs, Mycenae smiled with satisfaction.

  "Worth it."

  Immediately, he led Beverly toward the green palace.

  Just then, the palace's grand gates resoundingly shattered.

  Clang clang clang!

  Amidst the flying debris, a towering dark green giant, easily over a hundred meters tall, emerged, bending severely at the waist.

  Roar!!

  The giant, upon spotting the two intruders, roared, stomped the ground, and rumbled menacingly toward them.

  Mycenae swiftly pushed Beverly aside, then his mana surged violently; the phantom of a nine-headed Evil Dragon erupted behind him as he lunged forward in a single stride, delivering a powerful punch.

  Seeing this, the giant also swung its house-sized fist and struck.

  Clang!!!

  A resounding collision instantly shook the world. A terrifyingly fierce shockwave instantly cleared a thousand-meter radius, toppling and tearing apart all surrounding palaces, regardless of height. Even the distant high walls several thousand meters away vibrated with a deep hum.

  Beverly was also hurled back over a hundred meters.

  Crack!

  With a sharp pang of pain in his arm, Mycenae flew backward at high speed, crashing through dozens of stone walls before finally slamming into a rock face.

  "Several times stronger than me in raw brute force."

  He shook his grotesquely twisted arm, baring his teeth as he looked at the distant giant and smiled: "Not bad. If I were to use you for a Blood Sacrifice, I estimate the resulting effect would be quite potent."

  Roar!

  The green giant, several thousand meters away, shook its massive body, also looking around somewhat stunned.

  This giant was covered in intricate armor, trailing tentacles, and fish scales. Its head was obscured by a seaweed-like organic structure, making its precise form unclear.

  Mycenae, with a crack, effortlessly reset his broken right arm. He then drew a long black spike from his Witchcraft bag and slowly advanced toward the giant.

  The green giant seemed to sense his hostility. It briefly turned its head, arched its back, and roared.

  "Roar!!"

  Violent air currents sprayed from its gaping maw, carrying an indescribably foul stench.

  Swish—

  As it roared, the giant suddenly swung its arm, unleashing a blast of fetid wind, slamming it down towards Mycenae.

  Whoosh!

  The latter, with simple ease, dodged the attack with a slight shift of his body, and then leaped onto the opponent's shoulder, using the black spike to gouge out a ferocious, bleeding wound.

  Roar!

  The giant seemed momentarily stunned, turned, roared again, and raised its arm to seize him.

  Mycenae, however, suddenly expelled a mouthful of crimson fire like a laser beam, striking the giant's face and eliciting a shriek of pain.

  "Ah ah ah!"

  The enraged giant suddenly charged forward, intending to use its sheer physical advantage to cover all possibilities of the opponent's escape.

  Mycenae’s expression remained utterly unchanged. With a casual slide, he slipped between the giant's leaping legs and emerged on the other side. Seizing the opportunity, he fiercely used the black spike to carve a wound into its posterior—a gash as large as a building.

  Rumble rumble——

  Then, with a slight flick of his body, he deftly dodged the gushing torrent of blue blood.

  This time, the giant finally felt intense agony. Mid-leap, it clutched its groin and let out continuous howls of pain. Its balance lost, it crashed heavily onto the ground, crying out again in agony.

  At this precise moment, Mycenae seized the opportunity, stealthily tearing away over half of the giant's ankle, causing its entire body to uncontrollably topple to the ground.

  Gurgle gurgle gurgle——

  For a moment, foul green blood furiously spurted everywhere, drenching large areas of the terrain.

  Just then, Mycenae withdrew another black spike. He leaped a thousand meters high into the air, wielding the blade with both hands, and abruptly pushed off the atmosphere with his feet.

  Bang!!

  With a deafening crash, he instantly covered the distance and lunged toward the giant's head, aiming to drive the tip of the black spike into its enormous eyes.

  Suddenly, Mycenae’s heart pounded with alarm.

  He saw the supine giant’s eyes widening in fury, letting out an upward roar: "Roar!!!"

  Its colossal body suddenly swelled, and tens of thousands of intertwining grey-green tentacles, resembling exploding sea urchin spines, rapidly covered all directions.

  Boom boom boom boom!!

  An enormous explosion of pressure instantly transformed the area surrounding the giant into a vacuum.

  The air further out was also compressed into a viscous liquid by the tens of thousands of tentacles, which expanded like lightning.

  But this purely physical assault held no meaning for Mycenae.

  Facing the attack, his body instantly blurred and dematerialized, flashing above the giant's head like an afterimage, and with a raised strike, he plunged the spike down.

  "Die!"

  The black spike pierced through the green giant's two eyes, brutally impaling its entire head.

  "Ah ah ah!"

  The giant gave a violent shudder, then became motionless.

  Dead.

  Thereafter, its colossal body rapidly collapsed and melted into a vast pool of boiling green blood.

  And within this pool of blood, which continuously corroded the ground like sulfuric acid, a dark green monstrous blade, seemingly twisted together from countless black-green tentacles, lay quietly, embedded in the ground.

  "Oh?"

  Mycenae immediately spotted the monstrous blade. His figure flickered through time, and he hovered around it.

  Bang!

  He pulled out the monstrous blade.

  His gaze shifted, and he utilized top-tier identification Witchcraft to fully analyze this weapon that appeared after the giant's demise.

  Blade of Suffocation: He who is wounded by this blade, regardless of wound size, will passively fall into a permanent deep-sea state, forever suffering from oxygen deprivation, swelling, and crushing pressure.

  "This is a Morningstar-level weapon!"

  Just as Mycenae was admiring the Blade of Suffocation, unable to put it down, Beverly had already infiltrated deep into the palace.

  There, a gloomy, abyss-like cavern, several hundred meters in diameter, lay quietly.

  Through the gloomy cave, Beverly and Seraphine, who stood behind her, both saw a colossal octopus-headed giant, cleaved into several pieces, lying at the bottom of the cave.

  Seraphine stood still, looking down with mild surprise, and whispered: "A dead... Cthulhu?"