Chapter 73: The World at Its End

Chapter 73: The World at Its End

The gray-haired girl walked out of the cabin.
Nornie Nolan came to the deck of the Time Vessel. She calmly looked at the four people still standing on the scene. Her lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.
The alchemy girl's body was spotless and without any disorder. The previous events—rushing into the abyss rift and crash-landing on the stone island—seemed to have had no effect on her at all. Her white alchemy robe was clean and tidy, without even a single wrinkle.
When the High Sister saw Nolan, she exclaimed her name—the nickname she was used to using. But after saying it, Sa Ya realized that the girl before her was very unfamiliar.
Completely different person.
The Nuo Nuo in her memory was a delicate, innocent, somewhat childish alchemist. She liked cleanliness but couldn't manage her own daily life. Every time she did experiments, she would forget to bring some tools or materials and had to rush back to find them. She was afraid of waves and octopuses, to the point that she never left the cabin. She liked to cling to her side and call her Sister Sa Ya.
The Nornie Nolan in her memory was definitely not the girl before her—dressed in a neat alchemist's attire, with an indifferent and calm expression, gray pupils revealing a wise light, and a hint of a mocking cold smile at the corner of her mouth.
...Was everything before just a disguise?
Without needing to think, she already knew the answer. Sa Ya was, after all, an elite clergy member. Although she was pained by her own misjudgment, she did not lose her reason. The High Sister lightly pressed her hand to her heart and continued to silently use the power of Holy Light to suppress the parasites in her brain.
Holy Light could dispel all evil, purify negative energy, and even resist chaotic forces besides healing wounds. It was ironic that this almost omnipotent power could do almost anything, yet it was utterly helpless against parasites inside the body.
Because parasites were also life.
Forcing the parasites out with raw power was not impossible for the three church members present, but it would inevitably cause great damage to themselves, even injuring the brain. Moreover, the enemy would not allow them to do so.
Just like now.
"Go, my guardian."
Nornie Nolan did not waste words. She used a soft, girlish voice to command the void: "Knock them out."
A pillar of light appeared before her, and a giant humanoid puppet, three meters tall, stepped out from it.
"As you command, my master."
This giant humanoid puppet had four steel arms as thick as a human torso, exuding an imposing aura like the giants of ancient legends. Its entire body was wrapped in black metal exoskeleton, as deep as ink, as if it could absorb all light. On the puppet's head, there was a red observation strip, where the observation crystals for gathering information were placed. Apart from that, not a single gap could be seen.
Transparent energy crystals were embedded in the limbs and torso of this giant puppet, storing numerous spells. Now, under the effect of these spells, the puppet floated up and then rushed rapidly towards Sa Ya, who was closest to it.
During the charge, one of its steel arms transformed into a longsword. The sword was extremely sharp, with a faint blue arc on the blade, clearly containing a potent poison. The puppet raised the sword in its hand and then, aiming at the High Sister's position, decisively slashed down.
This strike was full of momentum, with no mercy. The blue arc flashed through the air, lingering for a long time—such a strike showed no intention of merely 'knocking out'. If Sa Ya did not dodge, she would surely be cut in two.
But Sa Ya did dodge. She lifted her foot slightly, and her entire figure disappeared from the spot, reappearing hundreds of meters away. This was Holy Light Teleportation, similar to a mage's short-range instant teleportation. This divine art allowed some clergy members specializing in divine arts to instantly reach any place illuminated by light.
However, after using this divine art, Sa Ya's expression became even more pained. By diverting power to fight, she could no longer suppress the parasitic organisms inside her body. Her thinking ability instantly dropped significantly, and she was only one step away from fainting.
The giant puppet was about to pursue, but at that moment, Robzek and Loranda also acted simultaneously. The silver-haired Paladin raised his hand and waved it in the air, and a silver Holy Light descended like a giant sword, slashing down at the puppet's head. Meanwhile, Loranda burst forth with all his strength and sprinted towards the Time Vessel where Nolan was.
Both were severely limited in their abilities. At this moment, their Battle Qi and Holy Light could at most exert less than one-tenth of their full power. Yet even so, their attacks were extremely fierce and by no means easy to block.
But it was clear that Nolan and her puppet had no intention of a head-on confrontation. The giant puppet abandoned its pursuit of the nearly fainting High Sister and easily dodged Robzek's Holy Light sword. The alchemy girl lightly stepped back, and three spells of Silver Peak, or even Gold Initial rank, instantly appeared on her alchemy robe.
[Human Hold Person] [Command: Prohibit] [Ring Wind Shield]
Two control spells and one shield spell instantly ensured her own safety while causing Loranda's movements to pause slightly. Then, from Nolan's bosom, countless strange small alchemy talismans flew out. These were magical creations similar to magic scrolls but much more expensive. They could store a spell that the user's current energy level could cast and could be reused.
Over a dozen alchemy talismans were thrown out and simultaneously triggered by the alchemy girl's mental power. Instantly, the place where the blonde Swordsman stood was occupied by thunder, flames, and gale winds. Terrifying magical elements boiled and bombarded Loranda's body, causing the surrounding sea of blood to surge with waves.
Under normal conditions, the Paladin would not fear such a barrage. Whether dodging or tanking the hits, he had enough strength to do so. But now, although Loranda used Holy Light to block all the attacks, he was panting heavily, standing still, with cold sweat continuously dripping from his forehead.
With the Holy Light's resistance gone, the parasitic organisms became more active. The Paladin felt that he could no longer hold on.
On the other side, Robzek shattered the giant puppet. Countless steel gears and mana structures flew everywhere, sinking into the sea of blood. Although he also looked uncomfortable, his condition was much better than Sa Ya's and Loranda's.
But Nolan only spoke a third sentence.
"Number Two, Number Three, both of you, go."
With two pillars of light, two equally giant alchemy puppets appeared beside the girl. They remained silent and rushed rapidly towards the Ultimate-rank Paladin, engaging him in a melee.
Each of these alchemy puppets possessed Gold Mid-to-High-rank strength. They were equipped with various small mana cannons and soldier-type equipment, and their combat AI was very powerful, allowing them to trade blows with Robzek. If the situation turned unfavorable, they would quickly retreat and attack the Paladin from a distance with powerful spells like [Flame Jet] and [Aurora Ray].
But even so, they could do nothing to Robzek. The Ultimate-rank Paladin's face was grim. He fought steadily, counterattacking when he could. In just a few dozen seconds, these two powerful alchemy puppets were already covered in scars, with many dents caused by the giant hammer's strikes.
But the result did not change.
With a muffled grunt, a vein bulged on Robzek's forehead. His movements paused for a moment, and seizing this opportunity, the two giant alchemy puppets rushed forward and cleanly knocked him out.
The only one left was Joshua, who had charged the furthest and was farthest from Nolan.
The Warrior slowly paced back to the side of the Time Vessel. He calmly watched as the church trio was knocked out one by one by Nolan and placed on the Ark's deck, showing no reaction.
After the alchemy girl finished all this, he spoke up and asked: "Why didn't you attack me?"
Joshua did not feel uneasy about the current scene. He asked with slight interest: "And why didn't you kill Sa Ya and the others?"
At this moment, a huge floating island fell onto the Red Moon. The sea of blood swallowed it. Moments later, the fourteenth massive Chaos rune leaped out from it and was projected into the Mycroft World.
"Because even if 'Earth 2' and the others attacked together, they might not be able to deal with you."
After finishing her tasks, Nornie Nolan slowly turned her head and said in a calm tone: "As for Captain Robzek and the others, I had already collected enough data and made various targeted plans. I was confident I could defeat them while they were parasitized."
"But you are an exception."
'Earth 2' type puppet.
Hearing the familiar term, Joshua couldn't help but show a faint smile.
Seeing the Warrior's smile, Nolan shook her head. Faced with the unexpected Warrior, she acted very cautiously. Even though Joshua was still a long distance away from her, the alchemy girl still had the two giant puppets block in front of her, forming a steel barrier.
"I know that you still have the strength to fight, just like Captain Robzek. The brain-eating worms transformed from the Abyss derivatives cannot yet affect your basic combat abilities."
Nolan's voice came from behind the puppets: "But this combat capability lasts for a very short time. I don't need to defeat you; I just need to stall until the time is up, and you will faint on your own... As for why I didn't kill them, there's no need for that yet. Both you and they are still useful to the plan."
"Can you tell me why you betrayed us?"
Joshua's tone was very calm, as if he was not angry about this. His gaze was very peaceful, without any ripples.
"No, it's not betrayal." Nolan seemed willing to stall for time as well. The girl took a breath and then said in a slightly mocking tone: "Mr. Joshua, from the very beginning, you, who did not know the truth of this world, and I were not on the same side."
"The world has long been destroyed."
Without waiting for the Warrior to ask what the truth was, she raised her head and looked at this broken Abyss plane—apart from the Blood Moon and scattered stone islands, there was nothing in this world, only a chaotic, endless void.
Lowering her eyes, her eyelashes fluttered slightly. Nolan said calmly to Joshua: "The Mycroft Continent is a world that was destroyed long ago, just like this 'Blood Moon' plane."
Seeing Joshua's surprised expression, the girl showed another cold smile without any hint of mirth. She sighed softly: "In ancient times, at the end of the Era of Radiance, the world was destroyed by an unprecedented apocalyptic catastrophe. Many gods perished, and the continent that originally occupied one-fifth of the world shattered into seven pieces. Three of those pieces sank to the bottom of the sea—they are the current Far South Far Sea, the Extreme North Sea of Bewilderment, and the Eastern Is Sea Abyss... Of course, the world did not completely collapse and return to nothingness. A being of immense power, surpassing all gods, used their own might to forcibly stabilize the remaining four continents and used a part of the 'Catastrophe' to fuse them together, forming the current Mycroft Continent."
"'He' sealed the Abyss and rekindled the First Flame, allowing this world to continue for an entire millennium. But now, the fuel is almost exhausted, and everything is nearing its end."
"My bloodline."
Saying this, Nornie Nolan pointed to herself. Not caring whether Joshua saw it or not, she continued to confide as if talking to herself: "It originates from the Saint's incarnation of the Earth Mother Goddess during the Era of Radiance."
"From the moment members of my family are born, they can hear the lament of the continent beneath their feet, the voice of this world—it has long been shattered, long dead, yet it lingers on, maintained by that great existence."
"About this, I understand."
The girl was speaking happily, but Joshua interrupted her: "But what does this have to do with you cooperating with that magic dragon who has sided with the Chaos Evil God?"
Nolan was not annoyed. She was originally just stalling for time, waiting for the Warrior to succumb to the parasitic organisms inside him. She was also venting her desire to talk. So, in response to Joshua's question, she shook her head slightly and directly answered: "Simply a case of each taking what they need. Man Da Jia Er is holding this ritual to connect this broken Abyss world with Mycroft. This is the Evil God's request. It can send its power into the continent through this fragile Abyss connection, and the Abyss's power can also establish contact with the Mycroft World through this."
"Man Da Jia Er can gain the power to advance to Legendary from this. The Five-Colored Dragon Clan can obtain the strongest support from the Abyss Lords cooperating with them. At the very least, if the Dragon Calamity fails, they can escape from here."
Nolan said in a slightly bored tone: "As for me, I am simply acting on the remaining wish of the Earth Mother Goddess."
"Oh?" Joshua raised an eyebrow, showing a curious expression, but he did not ask further, as if he had no more strength.
Seeing that Joshua was beginning to tire under the erosion of the parasitic organisms, Nolan couldn't help but relax a bit. The Warrior's strength and combat power were astonishingly high, far exceeding her plans. Fortunately, he seemed to be defenseless against acquaintances, so he had unknowingly ingested the tea containing the original parasitic organisms in his daily diet.
But even so, the girl did not dare to move the puppets beside her away. She even hid a bit more securely, only using her voice to answer the Warrior's doubts: "Mr. Joshua, on the surface, you are a noble of the Northern Lands, but in reality, you are a Chaos Warden of the Northern Empire, stationed at the sealed lands. You should know that this world needs the chaotic power overflowing from these sealed lands to maintain the burning of the First Flame and ensure the stability of its existence—this is clear proof that the world has been destroyed, yet a great existence has intervened to forcibly maintain it."
"If Chaos is the nothingness that existed at the beginning of creation, then Disorder is the end of the world, the final state after all things are destroyed."
Nolan said softly, as if sighing: "The Abyss is the embodiment of Disorder. It is an aggregation of countless worlds like the Mycroft Continent that have extinguished their flames but have not yet completely perished. Those demons are races that have lost their fire. They are the ashes that have burned out and can no longer be ignited. That is why they thirst for the light of fire and invade those worlds where the First Flame still burns."
"Mr. Joshua, the earth beneath our feet, the world that carries and nurtures us, wants to merge with the Abyss. After all, the Mycroft Continent is a world that has long since perished, a world that only maintains its flame by burning the nothingness of Chaos... But the sealed lands guarded by you Chaos Wardens are completely insufficient. When the fuel left by that existence is exhausted, if we have not yet merged into the Abyss, the world will rapidly collapse and return to nothingness."
At this point, the alchemy girl's tone became firm. For the first time, she spoke to the Warrior with such a sincere tone: "I do not look forward to the destruction of the world, nor do I like demon invasions. We just want this world to last longer, even if..."
"Even if it means becoming the ashes you speak of, becoming demons, we will not hesitate."
Joshua replied flatly: "Right? Nuo Nuo, that's what you think? That's why you temporarily didn't kill Sa Ya and the others—you want us to join you."
The Warrior raised his eyes. His crimson pupils seemed able to pierce through the puppets' obstruction and look directly into the gray-haired girl's eyes behind them. Joshua said in a thoughtful, self-muttering tone: "So that's it, I see. The Mycroft World has long been destroyed. No wonder the plot unfolded that way. Although Loranda is a bit stupid, he doesn't seem like the type to open the Abyss Gate."
"Now it seems that it is indeed the power left by the Sage that maintains the burning of the entire world, allowing the Mycroft Continent to last for a thousand years..."
"You know about the 'Sage'?" Behind the puppets, Nolan's surprised voice came. The gray-haired girl had been hiding in the cabin to avoid Joshua and was unaware of the Empire's information, so she did not know that the Warrior possessed the Azure Orb and was one of the Sage's successors. But then she shook her head and said: "No, it is not the power of that lord that maintains this world. Order is a cycle, a continuous, unending process. A broken world does not have such a perfect cycle. It must burn chaotic matter to ignite the flame."
"The power that maintains the existence of this world comes from one of the beings in that 'Catastrophe'—an Evil God."
"Evil God?" Joshua repeated doubtfully.
"Yes, don't you know?"
Knowing about the Sage but not such simple information, Nolan's tone couldn't help but show a hint of strangeness: "It is everywhere. It has coexisted with our civilization of this new era for a thousand years, bringing us pain and countless riches."
After a long silence, Joshua narrowed his eyes: "The Black Forest."
"Yes." Nolan nodded, confirming: "To be precise, it is the Evil God [Plenty]."
"As one of the most powerful Evil Gods in the Multiverse, it was killed by the Sage in the Catastrophe a thousand years ago. Its corpse, along with the remains of the Earth Mother Goddess, fused the four remaining continents together. That is also the reason our world still exists."
After explaining this, the gray-haired girl paused for a moment. Then, in a tone with a hint of probing, she asked the Warrior: "Mr. Joshua, what do you think of my opinion?"
Undoubtedly, she was referring to the opinion of joining them and letting the Mycroft Continent merge into the Abyss for a longer continuation.
After pondering for a moment, Joshua couldn't help but laugh.
He asked: "How many people share your thoughts?"
Nolan remained silent and did not answer this question.
"I see." The Warrior was not bothered. He nodded slightly and said: "I understand... This is your way of thinking. No wonder Sa Ya, who can see through people's emotions, couldn't detect your betrayal. Because you believe you are righteous. The High Sister cannot see into people's hearts, so she couldn't perceive your true nature."
"You have given up, so you plan to compromise and let the world merge into the Abyss."
Saying this, Joshua's voice gradually grew louder, like thunder, echoing over the sea of blood: "But I do not intend to give up."
On the Warrior's chest, a faint cyan light spot appeared. It was the power of the Azure Orb, the pulse of Order Force.
"Nornie Nolan, genius alchemist."
The Warrior said softly: "My former comrade."
"I believed in you."
"Although I was indeed betrayed in my past life, I still do not want to believe that my companion would stab me in the back."
The power of the Azure Orb flowed through the Warrior's body in an instant, expelling all nerve speed and paralysis toxins completely. It replaced the Warrior's Battle Qi and suppressed the parasitic organisms in Joshua's brain. But at the same time, intense pain also came, stimulating the Warrior's nerves.
But Joshua paid it no mind. He raised his left hand and, in Nolan's utterly shocked gaze, aimed it at his own head and thrust it down fiercely.
His five fingers easily crushed part of his skull. The Warrior's eyes showed no emotion—no pain, no anger at being betrayed, no excitement either. As he stirred his left hand, now covered in blood and translucent fluid, inside his own cranial cavity, he said calmly: "I gave you a chance, my friend. You lost it."
With that, he pulled a silver-white worm, as thick as a finger and ten centimeters long, from his cranial cavity. Without any hesitation, he crushed it. Joshua took a deep breath, and the Battle Qi all over his body began to burn fiercely.
Ultimate Essence is to use the human body to surpass human limits and reach an incredible realm.
Force's Ultimate Essence: forge steel into a body, cast iron into a heart. A little brain damage—what does it matter?!
A terrifying pressure, far exceeding that of an ordinary Ultimate-rank, began to spread. Black-red light flames swirled around the Warrior's side, like a thick fire dragon.
In just that instant, a scorching hot wind spread everywhere. The sea of blood within a radius of several hundred meters was instantly burned to nothingness, not even steam remaining. A terrifying shockwave began to spread to the surroundings. The sea of blood within sight rippled, and the calm crimson sea surface raised huge waves, emitting a rumbling roar.
"This..."
Nolan, utterly unable to imagine this scene, felt her hands and feet go weak. Before Joshua, who had released his full power, she felt an infinitely huge shadow begin to spread, filling her vision.
Turning her head, she wanted to find the bodies of Sa Ya and the others to use as hostages, but what the girl saw was a silver steel puppet.
The Steel Element Chu Hao had just silently thrown Robzek's body into the cabin. Although it couldn't move the two giant dragons, Nolan couldn't use the two thick-skinned, hard-to-kill dragons as hostages either.
"Them fainting is actually a good thing."
Joshua's voice came from behind her. The Warrior was now like a volcano about to erupt, suppressed to the limit but ready to burst at any moment. Crimson Battle Qi mixed with black killing intent fluctuations condensed behind him into a burning, blurry image. It seemed to be the eyes of a giant god, with crimson-gold pupils revealing pure killing intent and battle lust.
"Otherwise, letting them see my Divinity might cause a bit of trouble."
The next moment, the sea of blood surged.