The Ritual Continues

"Aren't you going to come out yet? It's not me who's running out of time."

Kino looked around the room.

Suddenly, the entire room and the corpses on the ground turned into red particles and disappeared, reappearing in a red mist.

"Master, I have plenty of time. As long as you stay here, I can extend time. One second outside is a year, ten years, or even a hundred years here."

The Scarlet Witch's voice drifted through the mist, rising and falling, shifting unpredictably.

The Vishanti Holy Sword.

A dazzling golden light instantly enveloped Kino's body.

Within the light, several rings of sword blades composed of ancient magical runes rapidly took shape and shot out in all directions, piercing through the red mist wherever they went.

However, although the sword blade stirred up the red mist into chaos, it never actually touched anything substantial.

"It's no use, Master. I know you're strong, but you can't possibly defeat me in this state."

The surrounding red mist slowly dissipated.

A gigantic human face appeared in the sky; it was the Scarlet Witch.

Kino stood on the other's palm.

The Scarlet Witch's lips curled into a sinister smile, then she gently clasped her hands together, holding Kino tightly in her grasp and slowly pressing him against her chest.

"Master, stay with me forever."

She murmured softly, her voice tinged with weariness yet also with a hint of satisfaction.

After saying that, she slowly closed her eyes, her body floating gently in the air like a falling leaf, as if enjoying this moment of tranquility.

Suddenly, the Scarlet Witch opened her arms, and a raging flame erupted from her palms.

The flames were golden yellow and extremely hot.

"Hold head high!"

A deafening roar rang out, and flames rapidly condensed in the air, transforming into a gigantic fire phoenix.

The phoenix was engulfed in raging flames, every feather shimmering with dazzling light, its wings spread wide, almost obscuring the entire sky.

On the phoenix's chest, two figures were clearly visible: Kino and Dark Phoenix.

"Dark Phoenix! I'm certain you left... Mystique!"

Wanda realized what was happening and gritted her teeth in anger.

Did you think I would come alone?

Kino said coldly.

"Dark Phoenix, kill her."

"You mistress, die!"

In Dark Phoenix's eyes, anyone who hasn't been acknowledged by Kino is a mistress.

A giant beam of light, woven from golden flames, shot towards Wanda.

Wherever the beam of light touched, space was instantly distorted. Wanda had no time to dodge and was instantly engulfed by the beam of light, turning into ashes in the light.

However, the residual force of the Phoenix Force continued to rampage through this white space.

The once pristine white space is now left with a black void, like a giant black hole swallowing everything around it.

"Aaaaaah!"

Painful screams echoed all around.

This is her mental space; as long as someone's mental strength is not as strong as hers, she is invincible here.

But then, they encountered the Dark Phoenix.

The Phoenix Force can destroy most of the tangible and intangible things in this world.

This includes mental strength.

Scarlet Witch struggled to maintain her shattered mental defenses as she resisted the power of the Dark Phoenix.

Her eyes burned with rage as she stared intently at Kino and the Dark Phoenix, letting out a fierce roar.

"You think this will completely defeat me?!"

The flames around the Dark Phoenix grew increasingly intense, and with each flap of its wings, surging waves of fire scorched and distorted the surrounding void.

This caused Scarlet Witch even more pain.

It let out a sharp cry, spread its wings, and countless fiery blades shot towards the Scarlet Witch like a torrential rain.

Scarlet Witch dared not take the attack head-on, and her figure flickered continuously in the mental space.

At the same time, she manipulated the red energy, condensing it into sturdy energy shields in front of her. Each shield was engraved with mysterious runes, blocking the attack of the fiery blades.

Kino continuously drew runes, releasing them all at once.

Divine Lightning!

The entire mental space was enveloped in golden lightning, and countless thick bolts of lightning descended from the sky, like sharp swords, fiercely striking Wanda.

Lightning and the Phoenix Force intertwined, forming an even more powerful force that launched a final assault on Wanda's mental space.

Under the impact of this powerful force, Wanda's mental space finally succumbed to the pressure and began to collapse rapidly.

When Kino opened her eyes, she was back in the same small room.

However, lying in front of them was an old woman who appeared to be asleep.

"Kino, she's dead."

Dark Phoenix glanced at it from the side.

"Okay, let's go too."

Kino stood up and walked towards the door. The door opened into a hallway. Dark Phoenix glanced at Scarlet Witch on the bed and skipped after her.

"Kino, did I help you this time?"

"Yes, you've been a great help."

"Then I want a reward."

"Okay, what do you want? I don't have many Life Fruits, I can only give you five more at most."

"Really, slurp, that's not what I want. Next time I want to ride on the piano together."

"... Okay, as long as you don't ask me to save you afterwards."

"Never mind then, just give me the Life Fruit. Give me one first, and you can keep the rest. I'm afraid Galacta will try to take it from me."

"... no problem."

Kino shook his head helplessly, took out a Life Fruit, and handed it to the Dark Phoenix.

Dark Phoenix took the fruit, popped it into her mouth, and a satisfied expression appeared on her face.

The two went downstairs.

Quicksilver, still falling, crashed heavily to the ground.

He stood up, about to run away with his mother and sister.

"Stay home quietly, someone will come looking for you in a while."

Kino said something and walked outside.

Quicksilver was stunned for a moment, then quickly went upstairs and looked at his dead sister with a silent sigh.

Or rather, she stopped looking at him with that unfamiliar gaze several years ago.

We went outside again.

The sun slowly dimmed, birds flew haphazardly in the daylight, the ground began to freeze, storms and hail appeared—all signs of an impending doom.

Who exactly is that person?

Kino went to space.

The Earth is currently in chaos, with various natural disasters occurring frequently, as if the end of the world is imminent.

Kino opened a portal to Hell and stuffed the entire Earth inside.

After doing all that, Kino didn't leave.

Instead, he gazed at the collapsing universe before him, a glimmer of starlight flashing in his eyes.

This is the effect of Mimir's Authority.

The ceremony, which was only half-finished, was restarted.

When the universe collapses, its most fundamental operating rules and hidden laws will be revealed in an extreme and intuitive way.

Kino was able to capture the details of the laws of spacetime and understand the principles of how time and space intertwine and influence each other.

The universe contains all kinds of energy, which collide, transform, and Annihilus other during the collapse process.

After the proper ritual is completed, Kino will merge with this world, becoming something akin to Eternity.

But this world is dead; like a transaction, there are no creditors, so you don't need to repay the money.

Only...

"Still a little short."

Kino sighed helplessly.

It's still a little short of reaching the multiverse level, a gap that seems insurmountable. It's unclear whether he needs to merge universes, or if something else is missing.

Kino opened a portal and left this destroyed world.

Unbeknownst to them, a red dot of light followed closely behind, disappearing together in the collapsing world.