Ultimate Darkness, Bibi Dong's Loss of Control, and the Shattered Illusory Shackles

Qian Daoliu had no time to consider why Bibi Dong had come.

All his attention was on Qian Ni.

Dim, chaotic colors enveloped Qian Ni, emanating an incomparably profound aura of darkness as they formed into the shape of a cocoon.

This power was far more terrifying than the light and flames wielded by the Six-Winged Angel martial soul.

Qian Daoliu released his soul power to envelop Qian Ni, only for it to be shut out by the dark power. Even his projected spiritual power could not probe inside.

Yet he did not dare increase his output, afraid of hurting Qian Ni.

For a moment, he was caught between advancing and retreating.

Bibi Dong was in the same situation. When she saw that neither her soul power nor spiritual power could break through the darkness's seal, she hesitated briefly before frowning and using a force that carried an evil aura.

It contained the aura of the Rakshasa God.

As an inheritor of divine power, her Rakshasa God trials had not yet reached their end, so she could only barely invoke a trace of the Rakshasa God's power.

But that very action nearly caused Bibi Dong to lose control.

The instant the Rakshasa God's aura encountered the darkness around Qian Ni, it lunged at it impatiently.

It sought to devour it, only to be repelled by the darkness.

Realizing something was wrong, Bibi Dong immediately tried to withdraw it, but in the next moment...

A slash of golden-red flaming light fell in an instant, severing the connection between Bibi Dong and the Rakshasa power.

Under Qian Daoliu's icy gaze, blazing angel soul power surged forth, utterly annihilating every trace of Rakshasa power lingering around Qian Ni.

"Bibi Dong! What are you trying to do?!"

Qian Daoliu did not understand her intentions, but the Rakshasa power's reaction had already shown how important Qian Ni was to Bibi Dong.

For divine power to be so eager to devour him, the darkness that had suddenly erupted from Qian Ni was clearly of an extraordinary level.

His duty was to protect Qian Ni and prevent Bibi Dong from succeeding!

He had already lost one son. Qian Xunji had brought it upon himself, and Qian Daoliu had endured it.

But no one could touch this adopted son!

If Bibi Dong insisted on directing her fury and hatred toward Qian Ni, then he would show her what it meant to be a level ninety-nine guardian of the Angel God!

Bibi Dong's expression froze. She had not expected the Rakshasa God's aura to react to Qian Ni.

She had acted to save Qian Ni as well.

After all, a soul master who had only just awakened his martial soul and possessed merely level ten soul power had suddenly erupted with such power.

Whether it was a martial soul mutation or some other factor, it would affect the soul master themself.

In the end, Qian Ni was only a six-year-old child. Neither his body nor spirit could bear too much.

But now that the misunderstanding had arisen, Bibi Dong made her decision at once. She retreated several meters, making her stance clear.

"Qian Daoliu, I had no ulterior motive in acting. What happened just now was merely an accident.

"You know about my inheritance. I still cannot perfectly control the Rakshasa's power."

Qian Daoliu said nothing. He raised one hand, shielding the dark cocoon surrounding Qian Ni behind him.

At that moment, the darkness receded, and Qian Ni's figure appeared once more.

Bibi Dong's eyes narrowed, and her expression changed slightly.

Qian Ni was covered from head to toe in white armor. Strange golden armor grew over joints such as his shoulders, wrists, and knees, while a savage horned crown was embedded in his forehead, five horns arranged symmetrically across it.

He looked like he had become a monster!

Qian Daoliu turned his face slightly. Qian Ni's appearance startled him as well.

Though it was gold and white, it did not look righteous in the slightest. He looked like a demon!

A white demon!

Qian Ni tilted to one side and poked his head out from behind his adoptive father. The pitch-black eyes on his faceplate met Bibi Dong's gaze.

Buzz—

A terrifying killing intent erupted from Qian Ni and shot straight into Bibi Dong's mind.

Cold and pure, it was like a child smiling as he smashed a vase, carrying an innocent savagery.

That killing intent brutally plowed through Bibi Dong's consciousness.

Bibi Dong only felt a stabbing pain, followed by something in her mind shattering with a bang.

The shackles in her mind—an illusion that had once fused with her consciousness—had broken apart.

The understanding that had been obscured for so long returned to her.

The strange sensation of being torn apart gave Bibi Dong a splitting headache.

Everything from the past seemed to have had a veil lifted away, scenes from her memories emerging one after another.

When had it begun?

When she awakened her martial soul?

When she became the Saintess?

Slaughter City?

No, it was after she met Yu Xiaogang. More precisely, after Yu Xiaogang came to Spirit Hall and entered Qian Xunji's sight.

From then on, she had begun to harbor an inexplicable affection for Yu Xiaogang...

How strange. Clearly... she had never thought that way before...

Only now did Bibi Dong realize that nearly the entirety of her first half of life had been manipulated by Qian Xunji.

What Qian Xunji had done went far beyond merely violating her.

Everything in the past had been an illusion...

The sudden upheaval twisted Bibi Dong's face into a savage expression.

Chilling soul power continuously spilled from her body, carrying an evil, ominous aura.

Qian Daoliu frowned. At a glance, he could tell that Bibi Dong's mind had suffered a shock and that she was on the verge of losing control.

Yet he did not continue attacking Bibi Dong. Qian Ni had only launched a spiritual attack.

"You brat, springing this on me out of nowhere really is quite the surprise."

He kept his expression taut, preparing to swiftly suppress Bibi Dong.

Before acting, Qian Daoliu could not help glancing at Qian Ni behind him. That single glance nearly made him freeze again.

The savage armor on his adopted son's small body only lasted for a moment before vanishing completely.

The handsome silver-haired child had returned, now staring at Bibi Dong in the distance with a pair of blue eyes.

"Hmph..."

Under Qian Daoliu's wary gaze, Bibi Dong endured the tearing pain in her head and snorted coldly before leaving with the support of her scepter.

Even after she vanished from their sight, she never spoke the words to recruit Qian Ni.

Nor did she have the energy to consider anything else. Right now, she needed to focus on dealing with her fractured understanding.

Qian Daoliu relaxed.

Not fighting was the best possible outcome.

Bibi Dong was the current Pope, while he was the Grand Worshipper and one of her supporters.

If they fought, Spirit Hall would inevitably suffer some unrest.

Qian Daoliu crouched down and carefully examined Qian Ni's body, but he could not find the slightest abnormality.

It was as though the dark power that had made his heart tremble had never existed.

He frowned, but when he saw Qian Ni's eyes, he feared frightening him and hurriedly resumed a calm, gentle expression.

Qian Daoliu asked softly, "A-Ni, just now..."

He stopped halfway through the question.

Qian Daoliu's heart was filled with guilt.

Was I too hasty? I could have waited until he grew up to tell him about his origins. Why did it have to be now?

That power just now... Could it be that A-Ni could not accept the truth, causing his martial soul to mutate and awaken this dark power?

But how could a gentle support-type martial soul like the Twin-Winged Bird possess such terrifying potential for darkness?

Will he still acknowledge me as his adoptive father...? A top-tier martial soul mutated into something like that. Who knows what effects it will have.

And I wanted to bring him and Xue'er together...

I have failed Poseisi's trust...

Before him, Qian Ni wore the curious expression of someone who had received a new toy and said indifferently, "Just now? Oh, she wanted to attack me, so I counterattacked on instinct.

"I think I broke something in her head.

"As for anything else, I don't know. If she wants to extort me, Dad will have to compensate her."

Hearing that his adopted son still spoke without pausing, Qian Daoliu felt somewhat relieved.

"Extort? It would be generous of me not to extort her. She dared use a half-baked inheritance to save someone.

"She was not trying to attack you. Her power merely went out of control."

Qian Daoliu sneered and offered Bibi Dong an explanation.

"Good thing Xue'er wasn't by her side. Otherwise, who knows whether she might suddenly go mad."

He said it quietly, but Qian Ni heard every word clearly.

After just one transformation, his body had changed. His senses had become keen, and he could even clearly hear fallen leaves rustling in the distant forest and insects crawling through the undergrowth.

Qian Ni turned his attention back to the summoning system, where ten entries were arranged in sequence.

The

topmost entry was clearly the cause of the changes in his body.

[Summon: Ultimate Power (Daguva)]

Daguva! The final boss of Kamen Rider Kuuga, whose power shares the same origin as Kuuga's.

And Ultimate Power is the strongest power possessed by both Kuuga and Daguva, capable of manipulating microscopic particles.

It can be used to alter living beings, control natural phenomena such as wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, and ignite supernatural flames.

According to the setting, supernatural flames can reach temperatures of three hundred thousand degrees.

Unfortunately, I still cannot use it. After transforming, all I can trigger is the killing intent brought by Ultimate Power.

Even so, I now possess a powerful method of spiritual attack.

My current transformation time is only ten seconds. If I exceed that limit, I will be affected by the darkness of Ultimate Power, and my temperament will change.

But with Ultimate Power, I am finally no longer just a support!

If I can't beat them, I'll sink into darkness and blow up together with them. At that point, there won't be any power I can't use.

I don't want to take even a bit of pressure!

Qian Ni smiled calmly. Before he could continue examining the rest of his gains, Qian Daoliu scooped him up. With a flap of the six white wings on his back, he shot into the sky.

"A-Ni, I'll take you back to Sea God Island right now. If you want to hate me, I'll accept it."

"Huh?"

Seeing the self-reproach and guilt on the other's face, Qian Ni felt somewhat conflicted.

He truly had not expected his adoptive father to take on the role of the enemy himself.

It seemed the old man believed that he had been unable to bear the shock, causing his martial soul to mutate and awaken dark power. He wanted to make amends by sending him back to his homeland.

But...

Sea God Island? Isn't that place one you can enter but never leave?

Qian Ni was filled with doubt.