The Evil God's Second Stage

"You're nothing but a monster stitched together from countless shattered souls!" Ian's words were like the sharpest blade, piercing Set-Apep's flawless facade of divinity. In that instant, the frozen space-time seemed like glass shattered by a massive hammer, and real cracks appeared for the first time across the evil god's gold-cast face.

"Shut up!" Set-Apep's voice suddenly split into countless tones, some shrill, some deep. "I am myself! I am perfect! I am eternal! I am—"

"You are nothing." Ian cut him off coldly. "You're nothing but a monster stitched together from countless shattered souls. I am all living beings, yet all living beings are not me—this is the truth contained within the sun!"

The words seemed to trigger something.

The evil god suddenly clutched his head and let out an inhuman howl. His body began to swell and twist erratically, sometimes becoming a monster with countless hands and feet, sometimes returning to a perfect human form.

All the faces on the wings of light behind him opened their eyes and began making different sounds. Some wept, some laughed madly, and some chanted spells long since forgotten.

These subtle changes confirmed Ian's suspicion—this so-called "perfect being" could not control the countless souls it had devoured.

"You can't even maintain your own form anymore, Set-Apep." Ian continued pressing him, his wand quietly tracing a complex magic circle behind his back. "Or perhaps I should call you 'they'?"

Being skilled at wielding the power of language was also one of Ian's greatest talents as Hogwarts' oratory student. After all, he had once verbally fought against all of Slytherin and Voldemort alike.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

The evil god's roar was like ten thousand thunderbolts exploding at once. His body suddenly swelled and warped, dozens of struggling human faces surfacing beneath