Chapter 77: I Came Into This World to Triumph Again and Again!
Facing the declaration of the Father of Nature, the Calamity Evil God swiftly made its own response.
The clouds split open, and silver light seeped through from within. Behind the hazy mist, ten enormous luminous rings could be faintly seen rotating with rhythmic precision, like ten eyes coldly watching the world.
Under the illumination of the apocalyptic light, purple lightning streaked across the sky. Arcane Power surged like tides, churning in the heavens. The surface of the Ilgena World began to tremble, accompanied by countless fragments of the world peeling away from the spatial axis. A crack then appeared at the center of the high heavens.
Behind this crack lay an unknown world that seemed to have existed since before time immemorial and would continue to exist for eternity. There was no light, no life—only violent winds howling at breakneck speed and filthy, polluted magical energy. Because of the light from the apocalyptic array, one could faintly make out the parched earth hidden beneath the darkness, piled high with countless black dust particles that formed hills and mounds.
And amidst those countless hills, a colossal entity as vast as a mountain range coiled at the center of this chaotic darkness. It resembled a lightless galaxy spinning endlessly, a twisted and distorted Chaos Vortex. Within the vortex were ten dark voids like abysses, each like an eye, silently staring at the Ilgena World on the other side of the crack.
Twisted, dark, bizarre, indescribable.
No human words could define this existence, for it lacked even a concrete form. This ever-rotating, ever-shifting behemoth was like a blot of ink in water, spreading outward with malicious intent. Yet no matter how much chaotic force it released, the concentration at its core never diminished, forever remaining as nightmarishly twisted as ever.
But suddenly, this entity emitted a sound.
“Woooooooo——————”
The sound was utterly grotesque, as if billions of people were screaming and wailing simultaneously, filled with endless pain, despair, and hatred. With this sound, the dark world beyond the crack underwent a terrifying transformation. Filthy Arcane Power churned into wild tornadoes, the ground trembled violently, as if the entire world was writhing in agony.
Hearing this sound, even the bravest person would lose their composure in an instant.
Nearby, the Elf guards who had long since retreated were lying prone on the deck of the airship, unable to move. The slightly braver ones could still close their eyes, trembling as they rose to drag their companions indoors, while the faint-hearted had mostly fainted. Before that twisted Chaos, no mortal could maintain their sanity.
Facing the maddening, nightmare-like existence behind the crack, the Paladin instinctively raised his great shield in alert and took half a step back. This was already considered good behavior. The Half-Dragon instinctively shrank its head and turned around, intending to find a place to hide, but then realized there was nowhere to hide anyway. So it brazenly looked up at the sky and let out a series of roars.
Meanwhile, Joshua stood in midair, his expression solemn as he gripped his Dragon-Hunting Sword Lance tightly, looking up at the dark crack. He did not retreat, nor did he show any fear. Instead, he took everything into his eyes, imprinting it deeply in his memory.
He knew what that was. The Azure Orb trembled wildly in his chest like mad, and his instincts told him the true identity of the other party.
It was the master of Chaos, the end of worlds, the enemy of all order, wisdom, and life—the monster that extinguishes the First Flame.
The Evil God, [Calamity].
What a despairing sound it was—the final wail of a world, a civilization. Sixteen billion souls gathered in one place, mixed with the wreckage of a destroyed world, transformed into such a monster.
“Alright, mighty warriors.”
But a deep voice drowned out the maddening wail. Within the giant tree, the will of the Father of Nature, carrying a sacred and grand pressure, spoke to everyone present: “I have almost fully awakened.”
With the end of this sentence, a green pillar of light, piercing heaven and earth, appeared once again. It originated from the crown of the giant tree, shooting straight into the sky, activating a network that seemed to span the entire world. Infinite Divine Power rippled outward like waves. Upon contact with these ripples, the Stone Demons—whether they were aerial fortresses or Titan colossi—all stopped functioning instantly, reverting to ordinary steel and rock. Only the crack in the sky remained unaffected, still releasing wild and chaotic power.
This action seemed to consume a considerable amount of the Father of Nature’s energy. Though His tone became somewhat slower, it remained smooth: “As you can see, this is the prototype of an Evil God—a destroyed world and the resentment of all living beings dwelling within it.”
So this was an Evil God?
Though he had anticipated it in his heart, the Paladin still couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion. Since the surrounding Stone Demons had been swept away by the Divine Power fluctuations, he stopped fighting and looked up at the sky.
Loranda could see that on the other side of the crack, the terrifying entity was slowly writhing. It seemed to be gradually approaching the crack, preparing to extend its body into this world.
The moment he saw this, an extreme sense of danger stimulated his nerves. Without needing to guess, Loranda knew that if the other party succeeded, everything would be irreparable. This world would be completely corrupted and eroded by Chaos, just like the world behind the Plague Land. Yet with his power and knowledge, he had no idea how to stop it. Instantly, the Paladin’s heart tightened with unbearable tension, and he felt a deep hatred for his own weakness.
Even with the blessing of a deity, his power was still so insignificant.
“No need to be tense, user of Holy Light.”
Unlike the regretful Loranda, the Father of Nature’s voice was very calm. In fact, His voice now carried a hint of a smile. This great will gently said to Joshua, Loranda, and Black: “What follows is my battle. None of this concerns you. So…”
Before anyone could react, a cyan-green radiance traced through the air before the giant tree. Space-Time twisted, opening a deep blue door. The door swung open, revealing a familiar mountainous region.
Without thinking, even the Paladin could recognize it—it was a scene from the Great Aias Mountains.
After effortlessly opening a new teleportation portal, the Father of Nature said leisurely: “It’s over. Thank you for helping me, for sustaining me until I awakened, allowing me to awaken in perfect form without paying any price.”
“Now, you can go back.”
Perhaps because this news was too shocking, neither Loranda, Black, nor Joshua spoke. They looked at the Father of Nature with confusion or shock, none of them reacting first.
To this, the giant tree showed no reaction. His voice was very calm, as if this matter was insignificant: “Back then, I transferred an entire Elf city from the Mycroft Continent to this world. Now, I’m merely opening a new teleportation portal. For a deity, this is nothing.”
“After you leave, I will also send a batch of healthy Elves, completely uncontaminated by Chaos, back to their homeland. Then, I will completely seal this passage, severing the connection between the two worlds, ensuring the Evil God has no chance to exploit it. Rest assured, warriors. This much I can fully guarantee.”
In response to the Father of Nature’s words, the first to react was, without a doubt, the warrior.
Unlike Loranda, who was lost in thought, or Black, who didn’t understand what was happening, Joshua frowned and spoke: “Father of Nature, you can also go back. Your strength has fully recovered now. You can definitely return.”
Unlike the others who didn’t understand the power of deities, from the Divine Power shockwave that had just paralyzed all the Stone Demons in the world, the warrior could clearly gauge the strength of the seemingly gentle giant tree before him.
That was a terrifying power that, even among all the current deities, could be considered vast! It was a great power that shouldn’t even exist in a material world!
Opening a teleportation portal to the Northern Lands was nothing. The Father of Nature could, just like a thousand years ago, open a space-time fault leading to the Mycroft Continent and easily return to his homeland. Even bringing all the surviving Elves back would only be a matter of time.
Of course, this wasn’t possible. If Chaos was a plague, then the entire Ilgena World was a sinking ship infected with the plague, about to capsize. Even to ensure the purity of the seed, the Father of Nature couldn’t casually let the Elves return to the Mycroft Continent. The identification process would take time, so He had Joshua and the others leave first.
The giant tree also responded to the warrior’s doubts.
“Successor of the Sage.”
The Father of Nature’s voice carried a hint of regret, mixed with a trace of relief. He said in a low tone: “I once fled before.”
“But this time, I will not run again.”
The giant tree slowly shook its body, and countless green specks of light fell from the back of its leaves. These specks scattered onto the soil, instantly sprouting dense forests and shrubs. The Father of Nature watched all this, slowly speaking with a smile: “I am the God of the Elves. It is only right that I live and die with them.”
His voice was resolute, leaving no room for negotiation. Joshua seemed about to speak again but was interrupted by the giant tree.
On the giant tree, an old and wise face emerged. The Father of Nature looked down upon this world from a height, His eyes full of compassion, and said softly: “It was I who brought them to this world. It was I who chose to transform this world. It was I who chose to sleep, allowing the Elves to develop freely.”
“Everything began because of me. It was my overly drastic transformation of this world that attracted the Calamity Evil God. So it is only right that I confront it.”
“This is the responsibility of a deity.”
In his previous life, the Father of Nature must have awakened hastily to face the Evil God. But now, He was confronting the Chaos enemy in His fully restored state after a thousand years of slumber.
Thus, the green pillar of light pierced heaven and earth, forming a network of green lines. This network covered most of the Ilgena World. The surviving Elves looked at these green patterns, not knowing what they meant. But the [Calamity] dust mist that had been spreading throughout the world was completely absorbed by these green lines, as if dirty water was wiped away by paper. The dark clouds instantly dispersed, and sunlight returned to this world.
Over a thousand years ago, at the end of the Era of Radiance, when the Elf continent sank, the Father of Nature led all the Elves from an Elf city to flee the Mycroft Continent and come to the Ilgena World.
Initially, the air in this world was extremely murky, unsuitable for Elves. The violent Arcane Power elements even limited the Elves’ spellcasting abilities. To change this situation, the Father of Nature decided to transform the entire world.
He drove His roots deep into the earth, reaching the very ends of the land, absorbing all the Arcane Power elements from this world as energy to transform it. To this end, the Father of Nature created a network to transmit this energy, purifying all impurities.
This was a massive project, difficult even for a deity. As an ancient god, the Father of Nature fell into a deep sleep because of it. Yet even so, this network still existed and was still functioning.
Now, having fully activated it, the Father of Nature did not feel proud of this miraculous purification scene. Instead, He shook His head and laughed self-deprecatingly: “My methods of transforming this world were too radical. I even angered the will of this world.”
“That’s why, when the Evil God invaded, the will of this world stood by coldly. To this world, I am also an evil invader, a kind of Evil God in a certain sense.”
Though He said this, there was not a trace of regret in the Father of Nature’s voice.
Because everything was for the Elves who revered Him as their God. Whether it was making choices, bearing responsibility, or carrying sin, He had no complaints.
To this, Joshua and the others remained silent. They hesitated as they looked at the space-time portal before them, then turned to look at the Chaos crack in the sky, as if unable to decide. At that moment, the warrior suddenly spoke.
“You are right. Whether deity or human, one should not regret their choices and should bear their own responsibilities.”
Ignoring the Chaos gradually spreading from the crack, his crimson eyes did not glance at the teleportation portal. Instead, he stared directly at the giant tree. Joshua spoke frankly and sincerely to the Father of Nature: “But, Father of Nature, human life has no purpose. Yet human existence is different. Everyone has their own wishes, their own lives, their own pursuits. But whether human, deity, or any other existence, one should not start by heading toward failure from the very beginning.”
His voice grew deeper as he spoke. Joshua said word by word, seriously and solemnly to the deity before him: “You want us to go back because you believe you will surely die in this battle. To avoid implicating us, you want us to leave early.”
The Father of Nature fell silent.
Then, He slowly spoke: “That is an ancient Evil God.”
The Father of Nature was not agitated or angered by Joshua’s words. His voice was calm, even without any fluctuation, filled with the tranquility of accumulated time: “The Calamity Evil God existed long before civilization appeared on the Mycroft Continent.”
“Its power is unfathomable. Even what we see is only a part of its power. The true body of the Calamity Evil God is a Chaos Vortex floating between the Multiverse, not the twisted Chaos merely coiled within a single world…”
“But that doesn’t mean we should give up.”
Joshua interrupted the other party: “Since you have decided to fight, you must naturally win.”
“Fight, and you will surely triumph.”
This is my life.