The Battle

The Annihilation Demonic Wolf's sense of danger thrashed wildly, nearly swallowing the last scraps of its reason. Faced with several Ancient Gods attacking at once, the Annihilation Demonic Wolf went completely mad.

It released the thing it had been suppressing inside itself.

It had at least the Fool's Uniqueness and one Attendant of Mysteries Beyonder Characteristic.

A powerful will began to rise, bit by bit. Above the unobservable Spirit World, a dense mass of Gray Fog churned!

At that moment, all the Ancient Gods, the Ancient Sun God, Sasrir, Amanises, Truman, and even the other Subordinate God Angels sensed the change above the Spirit World.

Even beyond the World Barrier, endless starlight erupted into chaos. Those terrifying beings could no longer remain calm.

An indescribable aura made every living being and Monster inside the Spirit World tremble, afraid to raise their heads.

The entire real world shook as well. The earthquake was not severe, but it was impossible to miss.

Above the Astral World, the light of the stars went out again and again. The Ancient Sun God's expression darkened.

"That's Sefirah Castle..." Amanises sensed a stirring, but could not perceive anything further.

"This is the Second Epoch, when the Lord of the Mysteries Will is stronger than ever." Truman murmured soundlessly. At that moment, he sensed an unimaginable will awakening, and the Book of Dreams even burst with flecks of Dream Light.

Suddenly, Truman felt his mind reel. He was nearly pulled into that state of eternal sleep.

This sudden sleep came without warning. Truman was completely unprepared!

"Was it Sefirah Castle?! Or the Lord of the Mysteries?!" Truman suddenly realized something. He had experienced this sensation before, when he had truly tried to investigate the Chaos Sea.

Sefirah Castle and the Lord of the Mysteries? There seemed to be little difference between the two. After all, the Lord of the Mysteries' revival would inevitably bring Sefirah Castle's descent with it.

And Sefirah Castle's descent meant the Lord of the Mysteries' revival was close at hand.

Truman used the Badge of Divinity to keep himself awake, but he knew he could not stay here for long. He immediately traveled back to the Ancient Sun God's divine kingdom.

The effect of Eternal Day was strongest here, while Sefirah Castle's influence was weakest.

Truman's "retreat from the battlefield" caused no stir. Sasrir merely glanced at him; the other Angels were all staring intently at the Historical Void taking shape above the Spirit World.

Some of the Angels had heard of this before, while others had only just learned that such a thing existed. Their reactions varied.

The Ancient Gods and the Ancient Sun God, however, understood at once.

Regardless of their faction or Pathway, not a single Ancient God would allow an unknown being to revive!

Yet the awakening of that will seemed irreversible. It grew stronger by the moment, and Sefirah Castle above the Spirit World became ever clearer.

Even though the being had not truly revived, even though the complete Beyonder Characteristics of the Fool Pathway were absent, and even though the Annihilation Demonic Wolf contained other "impurities," that being could still control Sefirah Castle, draw on its Sequence Status, and wield its power!

The Historical Void grew denser than ever, interacting with the awakening will. The Annihilation Demonic Wolf's authority over Night was being rejected, growing even more unstable.

That will sought to expel the Night Pathway Characteristic and awaken through the pure Fool Pathway, so it could take control of Sefirah Castle.

The Annihilation Demonic Wolf itself was even about to fall from the status of an Ancient God, yet its aura had become stranger and more powerful than ever.

"The Lord of the Mysteries' revival has failed this time, for various reasons." Beneath the Ancient Sun God's feet, the sea that encompassed all secrets produced another prophecy.

As the words took shape, the Dragon of Imagination pacified the Annihilation Demonic Wolf's consciousness, ensuring that the Wolf remained alert and locking it in a tug-of-war with the will about to awaken.

The Phoenix's scaled feathers brought a drop of deep, dark river water. It pierced through countless spaces and landed atop the Annihilation Demonic Wolf's head, then silently slipped inside, plunging the awakening will into Eternal Silence.

Meanwhile, powerful attacks—Twilight, Thunder, and others—struck the Wolf. But they were no longer targeting the Annihilation Demonic Wolf; they were striking the suppressed will of revival.

The Ancient Sun God's prophecy came true once more.

The Lord of the Mysteries had not yet truly revived, so he naturally could not resist this prophecy from the Chaos Sea.

Every attack struck the Lord of the Mysteries' reviving will with unerring accuracy, suppressing it.

The very nature of this world was madness and disorder. That will could never be erased; it could only be suppressed.

At the same time, even the authority over Night within the Annihilation Demonic Wolf's body was taking effect, fiercely interfering with the will's revival.

These "impurities" were things that will needed to expel, things it could not coexist with. Yet those same "impurities" were instinctively rejecting it.

The aura of the Lord of the Mysteries' revival was completely suppressed. The pacified Annihilation Demonic Wolf naturally regained the upper hand.

It seemed to have done it. Even all the Ancient Gods together could not kill it; they had to help stabilize its condition instead.

For a being like this, fate remained wondrous. One moment it was trapped in the dire straits of being besieged by the Ancient Gods; the next, it had them all working together to stabilize its condition.

The Annihilation Demonic Wolf was mad enough, but it was no fool. In the end, it had gambled everything to secure a sliver of life.

But which of the Ancient Gods was a fool?

The next moment, all the attacks came again. The Ancient Gods tacitly agreed to carve up the Wolf once more.

The Wolf barely suppressed the reviving will inside it, and its condition had roughly returned to what it had been before the divine battle began. But the enemies before it were far too terrifying.

In an instant, "Pacification" became "Mental Riot," and "Eternal Sleep" became "Eternal Silence." The Wolf's condition plummeted, becoming even worse than before.

It fooled time, history, space, rules, and other things, constantly shifting its location and making its condition jump back to a moment earlier. But this flawed authority proved powerless against sufficiently strong external forces.

It also tried to fool its opponents, making them act as if their intelligence had suddenly plummeted—for example, attacking a moment too late or striking a temporary ally. But there were too many gods on the other side, and it could not fool all the Ancient Gods at once.

The Wolf desperately used its authority over Night to evade the Ancient Gods' attacks. But in a battle on this scale, that authority was suppressed in every way and could hardly help much.

Unlike the true Fool, the Annihilation Demonic Wolf could not fully revive in the Historical Void, so it did not dare to die lightly.

Otherwise, all that would return to its body from the Historical Void would be the Fool Pathway's Characteristic. Its authority over Night would be lost for good, seized by the other Ancient Gods.

Then it would be an Angel King of a single Pathway—and on a battlefield like this, that would be no different from suicide.

This time, it had truly reached the end of the road. After what had happened before, it no longer even had the chance to awaken that will.