The Void

A spatial ripple several dozen meters tall appeared, and a monster with a humanoid shape, massive fleshy wings, and tentacles slowly stepped out.

Its pale eyes stared fixedly at Aurelian ahead.

"Star-forging... blood sacrifice... resurrection..."

A strange, murmuring whisper echoed through the air.

"This is the end of the line."

Aurelian signaled George to stop, then turned to look at the massive, deformed monster.

"Star-forging... blood sacrifice... resurrection."

The monster continued to repeat its previous words, closing in on Aurelian's position.

"There is no way back, but you think you have me cornered? I tell you, that is impossible!"

Aurelian jumped off his horse and stood firm in the middle of the ice field.

"A so-called magic barrier is an overlapping space formed by the distortion of space from a powerful magic source. As long as the magic source here vanishes, this barrier will collapse just like a skyscraper losing its foundation."

Aurelian looked at the monster and said coldly.

Having said that, Aurelian immediately turned and ran toward the center of the magic barrier; that was his final destination and the core supporting this pocket dimension.

Weaving through countless ice pillars, Aurelian ran toward the original location of the Ice Sculpture Tree.

ROAR—

The deformed monster behind him gave chase relentlessly. Countless ice pillars were crushed beneath its feet, turning into ice dust, while the corpses of magical beasts within them were swept up by dense tentacles, tossed into the monster's gaping maw, and devoured.

Granules of flesh grew and multiplied on its massive body, and the monster's magic power continued to climb, reaching a truly terrifying level.

Once the magic power accumulated within its body dispersed, the force would likely be no less than a mushroom cloud from the technological side!

But now, Aurelian had nowhere to retreat; the exit to the magic barrier had been sealed shut.

"Got you!"

Aurelian rushed to the pile of ice dust, beneath which a powerful surge of magic energy pulsed.

A magic barrier is essentially a highly closed-loop system, and the powerful, surging magic source is the very core of this system.

One only needs to interfere with it to force the system to collapse on itself.

Once the barrier collapsed, the chaotic void outside would pour in, ravaging everything here.

But Aurelian was gambling. In his memories, there was a rule regarding the void outside this world.

The more powerful a creature's magic, the more it would be targeted by the void upon entering it.

Due to the limitations of the void, the humans of this world knew nothing of what lay beyond.

But now, that did not stop Aurelian from intending to use this characteristic of the void and the massive magic power within the deformed monster to push it into the abyss of the void; it was the only way. If a truly powerful Upper Rank knight had come, they could likely have handled it with a single massive release of magic.

Likewise, by utilizing the properties of the void, Aurelian himself was in great danger. He had reached the third stage of magic, the Lower Rank; among all living things in the world, he was also considered a possessor of powerful magic.

Although interfering with the magic source supporting the barrier was a highly risky move, Aurelian could first exhaust his own meager magic, thereby minimizing the threat the void posed to him.

Furthermore, he was wearing a set of Anti-Magic Armor, which could, to a certain extent, resist the turbulence of the void.

Thus, Aurelian was taking a risk, fighting for a glimmer of survival; at the very least, it was better than doing nothing.

In the distance, the deformed monster drew closer. Along the way, it had devoured countless magical beasts, its massive size swelling once more, and the aura it radiated was terrifying—it had clearly reached the Upper Rank level.

However, it was merely fueled by a massive amount of magic and did not possess true Upper Rank strength.

Upper Rank is city-level strength!

"Now, everything rests on this one move. If I succeed, I go home to have the maid give me a massage; if I fail, I go on a trip to the void."

Holding the Innocent Starlight in one hand, Aurelian's lips curled into a self-deprecating smile.

"Star-forging, blood sacrifice, resurrection."

The massive, deformed monster continued its murmuring. Facing Aurelian, who had stopped fleeing, it extended countless snake-like tentacles, covering the area to wrap Aurelian up entirely.

"Come on then!"

Snowflakes danced in the sky as he drove the azure blade of the Innocent Starlight deep into the frozen, snow-covered earth beneath his feet.

Pouring in all his magic, a ripple of purple light erupted from the blade!

His blue cloak fluttered wildly in the sudden gale!

RIP, RIP—

The ground beneath Aurelian's feet actually began to tear, revealing cracks from which a brilliant, glowing light faintly rose.

The fissures, centered on Aurelian, spread at a terrifying speed, stirring up layers of snow from the frozen earth.

BOOM!

An incredibly powerful and unstoppable pulse of magic expanded outward, and the tentacles of the deformed monster that had been spreading toward him were instantly annihilated!

The monster let out a painful wail that shook the entire world.

Aurelian, standing at the center, was miraculously untouched; the egg hanging at his chest had protected him.

He could feel the magic pulse dissipate the moment it neared him; otherwise, he would not have escaped the fate of annihilation, or perhaps something even worse—being vaporized entirely.

He offered a silent word of gratitude in his heart; had the situation not been so dire, he would have loved to plant a fierce kiss on this egg.

Boom, boom—

The entire barrier began to turn upside down, and the collapse started from this very moment. Aurelian swayed left and right, unable to keep his footing.

The frost-covered earth began to crack, splitting into pieces before sinking and plummeting downward.

The barrier had lost its source of magic and was being dismantled.

The hazy sky was replaced by blackness, and Aurelian could sense the nothingness within that darkness.

The Void was coming; the Void was about to claim this place.

A deformed monster gripped the remaining land with two massive palms, still struggling to force its way toward Aurelian.

It would stop at nothing to capture Aurelian.

With an angry shriek filled with intense unwillingness, the will behind it continued to drive it forward.