The Resumed Crossing

"OOOOOHHHHH!!!"

Struck by the white radiance, the Child of Chaos let out a furious roar. At the same time, Fang Zheng saw the "space" around it crack like glass struck by a stone, then, with a series of sharp crack sounds, the fissures grew larger. Following a resounding bang, the fragments of space around the Child of Chaos suddenly shattered in Fang Zheng's sight, and a massive rift emerged from within, like a black hole, frantically devouring everything in its vicinity.

What the hell!

Fang Zheng hastily thrust his sword into the ground, gripping the Skycleaver Sword with both hands. He hadn't expected this so-called "banishment" to be an indiscriminate full-area ultimate. In novels, weren't demon-banishing spells usually single-target, directed skills?

The others weren't faring well either. Stone and Malte were using all their strength to prop up that Coffin Lid, a dazzling white beam shooting out from it to sustain the gap of the Space Rift. Several Holy Knights lay flat on the ground, not daring to rise, only able to cling desperately to whatever they could grab. Fang Zheng wasn't much better off—his body had already lifted completely off the ground. If the Skycleaver Sword weren't still firmly embedded in the earth, he would have been sucked into that massive "vacuum cleaner" by now.

But that wasn't the main issue. The real problem was that damned Child of Chaos. Half its body was already trapped in the Space Rift, yet its hands and feet still clung stubbornly to the rift's edges, trying to crawl out.

"Grab hold, kid!"

Stone, one hand steadying the stone slab, reached out to Fang Zheng with the other. But Fang Zheng didn't respond. Frowning, he glanced back at the Child of Chaos, then looked again at the Coffin Lid before him—the sacred radiance on it was already fading. Stone and Malte were showing signs of exhaustion; clearly, they couldn't hold out much longer. But the Child of Chaos behind them seemed to still have some fight left.

At this rate, it was a dead end.

Without needing to think further, Fang Zheng made his judgment. The Child of Chaos appeared to be resisting the pull of the Space Rift, even gradually inching its way out. Meanwhile, the Space Rift itself was becoming unstable. He didn't know how much longer Stone and Malte could last, but their expressions said enough.

There was only one option.

Thinking it over, Fang Zheng paused for a moment. In the world of Dark Souls, he had learned to find life in the midst of death. To him, this little risk was nothing. Besides... he still had his trump card.

With that in mind, Fang Zheng looked up and glanced at the system before him. On it, the cooldown for the teleport option had entered its final countdown.

Ten seconds.

"Fang Zheng, what the hell are you spacing out for!"

Seeing Fang Zheng's lack of response, Stone shouted again. Fang Zheng glanced at him, then gave a faint smile. The next moment, he yanked the Skycleaver Sword from the ground and flipped his body, flying straight toward the Space Rift.

"Kid, what are you doing!"

At the sight, Stone was stunned. He tried to stand and stop him, but the immense wind pressure forced him back down. All he could do was watch as Fang Zheng, like a bird soaring through the air, turned into a streak of white light, sword and all, and stabbed directly at the Child of Chaos's body.

"---!!"

Sensing the danger, the Child of Chaos roared. Though its limbs were busy anchoring itself, that didn't mean it was helpless. The armor on its chest suddenly flipped open, and two long arms shot out, grabbing at Fang Zheng.

Facing the claws swinging toward him, Fang Zheng raised the Skycleaver Sword high and brought it down. The blade clashed against the iron-hard claws with a dull thud. At the same time, the sacred power on the Coffin Lid seemed to finally run out. The white beam sustaining the Space Rift quietly vanished, and without its support, the rift began to shrink. The Child of Chaos roared, thrusting its limbs forward, and half its body emerged from the rift. One more push, and it would escape...

But the next moment, a blinding white radiance surged toward it, forcing its eyes shut.

"That's..."

Behind them, the Holy Knights were stunned. When they saw the Child of Chaos break free from the Space Rift's grip, they thought they had failed. But then Fang Zheng made a move that left everyone utterly astonished—he pressed his longsword forward. In an instant, the silver-white blade erupted with an unbearable brilliance. Holy light burst forth, coalescing into a figure flowing with silver radiance, bearing wings, that bypassed the Child of Chaos's defenses and charged straight into its exposed body.

"An Angel---!!"

Malte screamed. By then, the Child of Chaos could no longer defend itself. It could only watch as that figure of light, sword in hand, plunged into its chest. The Sword of Light pierced through without resistance, slamming into the Child of Chaos with tremendous force. This time, the Child of Chaos could hold on no longer. Its body, so close to freedom, was knocked backward. Losing its balance, it shrieked, released its grip, and tumbled into the Space Rift. But the Child of Chaos wasn't ready to go down without a fight. The two claws on its chest lunged at Fang Zheng in a desperate counterattack.

"Clang!"

Fang Zheng spun his sword, blocking the dying strike. The Angel returned to the Skycleaver Sword's blade as a flash of light, while the Child of Chaos vanished into the void with a scream.

But for Fang Zheng, the danger wasn't over.

The Space Rift was still pulling everything around it like a black hole, and Fang Zheng was being drawn toward it like a fish caught in a whirlpool.

Three seconds left.

The Space Rift was now only half a person's size, but Fang Zheng was less than a meter away. In the blink of an eye, he would be sucked in—or worse, cut in half by the closing rift.

Time's up.

But Fang Zheng didn't care. He stared fixedly at the system info, and the moment the teleport option's color changed, he swiftly reached out and pressed it. In an instant, a dazzling white circle appeared in front of Fang Zheng, swallowing him whole.

And only then did the Space Rift snap shut, disappearing into the air.

"..."

For a moment, the entire Great Cavern fell into Dead Silence. The Holy Knights stared at the scene before them, utterly at a loss for words. It felt like a dream, but everyone knew it wasn't.

"Damn it!"

Stone slammed his fist into the ground, his face full of regret. He hadn't seen exactly what Fang Zheng did at the end, but the young man's absence spoke volumes.

"Stone, tell me—who exactly is Fang Zheng?"

By now, Malte sensed something was off. He had thought the young man was merely talented, but after seeing that Angel appear, he realized things weren't as simple as he'd assumed.

"Don't ask. I'm not saying a word, anyway. Sigh..."

Stone didn't answer Malte's question. He let out a long sigh, his expression complex as he stared at the now-empty ground.

"That kid... really..."

"Alright, Stone, relax. I think he'll be fine."

Seeing Stone's expression, Malte reached out and patted his shoulder.

"He could summon an Angel, so he must be blessed by the Goddess. She won't let him come to harm."

"I hope so. The kid's still young... Sigh, if only I'd known earlier..."

"Rumble..."

Stone didn't finish his sentence, because the Great Cavern began to tremble. Cracks appeared around them, and debris mixed with dust rained down. Perhaps due to the loss of the seal's power, or the impact of the battle, the cavern could no longer hold. Seeing this, everyone's hearts tightened.

"Damn it, we need to get out of here—now!"

Led by Stone and Malte, the remaining Holy Knights quickly evacuated the Great Cavern. Behind them, rubble and dust cascaded like a tidal wave, burying the entire space.