Chapter 527 — Corruption
5 min read ·
The sea of crimson quickly spread throughout the arena.
Aaron could not process what was happening around him.
All he could hear was explosion after explosion as the ground beneath his feet trembled violently.
His body almost moved on its own.
Seemingly following the will of a higher-level being, he turned around and fled, walking through the chunks of broken stone and mangled corpses.
The seconds seemed to turn into hours in his perception.
Fortunately, his upgraded strength allowed him to escape most dangers.
Coupled with the fact that the invaders’ target was not him, Aaron faced little obstruction.
Soon, he exited the city.
It was only then that he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The well-concealed crimson color in his eyes disappeared unbeknownst to him.
Aaron turned his head to look behind him only to see a city engulfed in crimson, writhing flames.
Cries and agonized screams rang out, making the city resemble a scene straight out of Hell.
Even in this primitive era, when life was nothing and death was a common occurrence, such a scene was more than enough to leave him stunned.
Aaron didn’t know how Hydra City ended up like this.
He would have never guessed that the chaos in Hydra City stemmed from the secret confrontation between two powerhouses—a God and a Devil.
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In the demi-plane, the battle intensified.
As time passed, Liora found it increasingly difficult to contend with the Nine-Headed Hydra.
She had to continually use her World of Heart, drawing on its extraordinary toughness and defensive capabilities to fend off the hydra’s alternating blows.
A thunderous crack suddenly rang out.
Two heads of the deity shot toward her like projectiles.
One embodied Death, while the other embodied Life.
At the same time, four of the remaining heads exhaled.
A miniature world appeared as their breaths fused together.
As Death and Life intertwined with it, the world was instantly born.
Plants grew along the ground, followed by insects, animals, and other living creatures.
For a brief moment, it looked extremely beautiful.
But the next instant, a dark aura shrouded the newborn world. Everything was driven into extinction, as though this was their predetermined fate.
The miniature world exploded.
The aftermath quickly spread.
Space itself was torn apart, and its fragments swallowed Liora’s entire figure.
Even the World of Heart had to retreat. Parts of it were broken, and a gap appeared.
For a moment, it seemed that Liora had truly perished.
Yet only a moment later, she showed up once more, this time at the very edge of the demi-plane.
Using her near omnipotence within this world, she had managed to transfer her body elsewhere at the very last moment.
However, she didn’t retreat unscathed.
Liora’s face had grown pale, while she was panting heavily.
The World of Heart had long merged with the soul space.
Any damage it sustained would directly impact her soul and mental state.
Though only a part of it had been destroyed, it had brought her severe backlash.
Even so, she gritted her teeth and steeled her mind.
Seeing the Nine-Headed Hydra turn toward her and launch another barrage of attacks, she defended herself once more.
Their attacks collided thousands of times in the span of a few moments.
With the deity having gotten control over the situation, it pressed its advantage even further.
Liora found herself on the losing side.
The reason was straightforward and entirely expected: her lack of truly powerful abilities.
Although the World of Heart was strong, it couldn’t make up for such a weakness.
The same held true for her talents.
Her strength in the Awakener power system remained at Rank 6 after all.
Although stacking multiple talents had granted her the Base Stats of Archdevils, the talents themselves had not undergone the necessary qualitative transformation.
Overall, Liora was far weaker than the Nine-Headed Hydra.
At most, she could prevent an instant defeat, using her World of Heart to raise a nearly impenetrable defense.
But even that merely delayed the inevitable.
It was only a matter of time before she was defeated completely.
Feeling the pressure growing stronger, Liora’s eyes narrowed.
However, she didn’t try to escape.
She had chosen to fight against the Nine-Headed Hydra, knowing full well that it was stronger than her.
The reason she did so was not because of arrogance or conceit, but because she was waiting for something.
A few moments later, her eyes suddenly lit up.
Facing the rays of death hurtling at her, Liora did not try to defend herself.
Instead, she calmly waved her hands before her.
Intricate patterns materialized.
They closely resembled the Devil Runes of the Demon World, while also carrying the aura of talent genes.
On their own, these patterns possessed no power whatsoever.
But as the World of Heart surged through them and imbued them with its essence, a strange reaction occurred.
The symbols fused together.
A faraway being seemed to have responded to Liora’s summons, causing their power to descend upon the demi-plane.
An overwhelming aura erupted.
Though slightly weaker overall, it was of the same level as the Divine Dragon lying not far away.
As soon as this pressure emerged, it combined with the flowing patterns, weaving together into a humanoid body.
The process was nearly instantaneous.
Yet the short window between the being’s first appearance and its true arrival was more than enough for the Nine-Headed Hydra to react.
It didn’t hesitate.
It knew very well that it could not let the opponent do as she wished.
The deity had already witnessed Liora’s bizarre abilities during their previous exchange.
Though significantly weaker than it, she was able to keep pace with it for so long.
For a mere Rank 6 Awakener, this was an unimaginable achievement.
Combined with the aura emanating from the descending being, the hydra knew it should do everything in its power to stop it.
This time, all of its maws opened wide.
Nine different Laws erupted simultaneously, as the divinity in its body boiled like magma.
Time and Space were activated.
The Four Elements gathered.
Life and Death intertwined.
A law with imperial majesty and dragon-like pressure towered above them all.
The entire demi-plane shook violently.
Seeing that Liora was still fully focused on the patterns, the Nine-Headed Hydra decided to kill her once and for all.
However, just as the various powers were about to erupt and faintly break the Rank 10 threshold, its movements abruptly halted.
In its Godhead, where the faith of its believers lay, a dense black mist suddenly formed.