Chapter 37: The Power That Binds All Things
The first explosion occurred within the black mist. The extreme heat from the steel spear ignited the black particles that formed the mist's body, burning them clean at a terrifying speed, reducing them to nothingness. Because of this, after the explosion, the material inside the mist was completely incinerated, causing a vacuum to rapidly expand. A tremendous suction force violently pulled all surrounding matter toward its center.
The second explosion took place at the very core of the dark nucleus. The steel spear pierced through the dark nucleus, which had been a hair's breadth away from reaching its critical point, and detonated it without any delay.
Thus, accompanied by a shocking distortion of mass, an extreme brilliance flowed from the depths of the darkness. Golden radiance pierced through the gloom like sunlight, illuminating half of the void and the Chronos World.
The dark mist's own method of attack had become a tool for Joshua and the others to counterattack.
Indeed, aside from Joshua, the other legendary experts had also launched more or less exceptionally fierce counterattacks against the core of the dark mist.
Including the Demon Lord and the two Five-Colored Dragon Kings, all the legendary experts present might not have possessed defenses as comprehensive and robust as Joshua's to freely handle the attacks of the mist spikes, but they were more than capable of protecting themselves. This was especially true for Leviathan and the Golden Fleet. One possessed immense vitality, making attacks inconsequential, while the other had an exceptionally sturdy psychic energy shield that could withstand a large number of black spike impacts. As for the two legendary mages... they always had ways to deal with any unexpected situation. Never doubt a mage's ability to handle emergencies.
Moreover, even the demons were furious at the dark mist.
—Since when did they, the Abyss Demons who were always the ones scheming and ambushing others, become the ones being ambushed?!
At the very least, the Insect Demon Lord Saruka, who had been pelted with black spikes for several minutes, felt a surge of immense humiliation. The anger from being suppressed by Joshua for days, combined with this disgrace, made it feel like it was about to explode. So, when faced with the rapidly condensing dark core earlier, this Demon Lord unhesitatingly lent Joshua a hand from afar, using its expertise in Abyss explosion magic to slow down the condensation speed of the opponent's core.
The others more or less shared similar sentiments. As the dark core exploded, a large amount of mass was consumed. The dark mist had no choice but to retract the mist that had already spread into the Chronos World. From the very beginning, its target had been the ancient dragon inside the world. So, during the initial ambush, it hadn't immediately gone after the legendary experts. This black mist seemed to have underestimated the power of the super lifeforms, and now it had to swallow the bitter fruit and start taking them seriously.
But this was of little use... Under the almost tacit cooperation of the eight legendary-level beings, the dark mist was utterly unable to mount an effective counterattack. Was this nameless darkness powerful? Indeed, it was. Being able to swallow half a void in an instant, invade the interior of the Chronos World, and pull numerous legends into its domain was, in a sense, almost divine power. But to achieve this, it ultimately relied on ambush, striking when the many experts were mentally fatigued from days of battle and disrupting their rhythm with continuous attacks.
But now, it was being besieged by everyone in unison. Everyone, even the Black Dragon King and Leviathan, who had been fiercely fighting each other earlier, each wishing for the other's death, now tacitly joined forces, using their power to annihilate the dark mist around them.
Instantly, flashes of light surged within the darkness. The two Dragon Kings joined forces. Negative energy and extreme cold turned the space around the two dragons into a stagnant domain of annihilation. In this spatial range where all matter and energy approached extinction, approaching absolute zero, even the darkness could not approach, frozen in place.
The massive Leviathan used no techniques. It simply condensed a twisted gravity field around itself and began a majestic charge, crushing everything in its path. Nothing could stop a colossal beast whose body length was measured in tens of thousands of meters, unless the obstruction was larger. The black mist was clearly not in this category.
Baniel remained expressionless. A gilded grimoire appeared before him, within which hundreds of complex and profound runes danced. The old mage extended his right hand, casually pointing at a few in the book. Instantly, the runes leaped out, condensing in the void into five energy spheres of different forms. These five energy spheres were no longer simple Silver-rank energy condensation techniques. They were the ultimate essence of the Rune Master, the truth of arcane arts, the manifestation of legendary power. The five runic orbs, representing 'High-Temperature Explosion,' 'Low-Temperature Stagnation,' 'Electromagnetic Disruption,' 'Material Dissociation,' and 'Particle Acceleration,' merged in sequence, finally forming a condensed mass of light resembling chaos itself. It blasted into the depths of the dark mist, erupting with a dim flash, instantly annihilating the black mist over a vast area.
The energy the black mist absorbed also had limits and types. As long as completely different high-energy attacks were used simultaneously, the opponent would naturally reveal its weaknesses.
Amidst this casual assault, the old mage frowned and muttered to himself with some confusion, "What kind of creature is this mist... It's like fog, yet it can exist in the void and possesses a strong energy-siphoning nature. If it weren't for its ability to make physical attacks, I would have suspected it was a legendary void ghost."
Beside him, William casually replied, "This thing might not be a creature, right? It would be more reliable to say it's a natural phenomenon."
The dark mist was certainly not a natural phenomenon. On the other side of the mist, Joshua was still wielding high temperature and impact, using the purest destructive power to ignite and incinerate the particles in the black mist bit by bit, reducing them to nothingness. He had long seen through the true nature of the dark mist and had a guess about its real identity.
—This should be some kind of powerful weapon.
Although it was incredible, this was Joshua's conclusion. The dark mist was likely a weapon created and controlled by some powerful entity or an extremely advanced civilization. Its main body was a condensed mass of nanoscale black metal particles, linked by electromagnetic forces to form a rough whole. Inside the mist, these black particles could virtually shape countless attack methods through a capability similar to 3D printing. The nanoscale black particles could also weaken enemy attacks by absorbing surrounding energy for their own use.
As long as the enemy's energy intensity did not exceed a certain threshold, beings trapped in the darkness would gradually have their energy depleted and be captured by this vast net. Unless, like Joshua, one could forcibly absorb the black particles using a Fusion Core Heart and turn them into fuel for a semi-perpetual motion, even a legendary expert might not be able to avoid being worn down.
The only question was—who was controlling this mist?
Just as the legendary experts were annihilating the dark mist around them, the black mist sea paused for an instant, as if the controller behind it was thinking about how to deal with the current situation. Soon, it had an answer.
The next moment, a blazing light explosion erupted from within the dark mist, sweeping across half the void. This sudden attack immediately forced the several legendary experts, who were already on alert, to retreat, warily waiting for the dark mist's next move. Only Joshua, standing fearlessly at the center of the light explosion, immediately realized that this seemingly world-igniting explosion was actually just a bright flash produced by the self-annihilation of a few black particles. Apart from pure high-energy radiation, it had virtually no power at all. And so, the dark mist, having temporarily driven back the siege of the legends, decisively and resolutely plunged toward the Chronos World!
At that moment, a silver bolt of lightning flashed, rising from below to meet the descending darkness.
"ROOOOAAARR——————"
The ancient dragon, wielding lightning, had eyes burning with rage. On its massive wings, protruding blue-green bone spikes were rapidly turning red, then purple, and finally deepening into the darkest black. Dangerous, dim arcs of electricity spread across the dragon's entire body. It broke through the void, broke through the world barrier, and advanced unceasingly toward its nemesis.
The rising ancient dragon met the descending darkness. The dragon knew what it was facing, but the darkness had completely failed to anticipate that its enemy would intercept it here. So, in that instant, the silver dragon, long prepared, opened its mouth wide.
Just how large was the ancient dragon? Its wingspan exceeded a thousand meters. Its body, seemingly forged from steel and far heavier than ordinary matter, was several hundred meters long. Including its tail, it was unimaginably huge. Yet such a massive and heavy body could take off with ease. It relied not on mere wing flaps, but on its innate, immensely powerful ability to manipulate magnetic fields.
In the ancient era, this magnetic field had stirred wind and thunder, shaking the world. It had joined forces with other ancient dragons to split and merge lifeless microscopic matter, bringing forth the first life on dead continents and oceans. This was the power of creation, the force that bound matter together, preventing it from separating.
It was also one of the original derivatives of Steel.
And now, this lightning of creation began to reverse within the ancient dragon's massive maw, transforming into a power of destruction.
Electric current was gathering. The visible lightning began to fade, transforming into countless translucent, soap-bubble-like light wave particles. Outside the world, in the void, the unmatched magnetic field was compressing and rotating. Space began to tremble. The ancient dragon was shaking the very foundation of material existence, intending to obliterate everything in the world held together by electromagnetic forces.
Joshua, who was pursuing the dark mist from behind, suddenly narrowed his eyes, sensing the threat of death. As a wielder of Steel Force, he could naturally understand the terror of the ancient dragon's attack. This was an assault capable of destroying any matter. After such a strike, apart from energy radiation, no matter would exist in the world. Even his current ultra-dense body, similar to a white dwarf, would be no exception!
But most importantly, Joshua realized that the ancient dragon had also placed him within its attack range! Amidst its violent rage, a portion was also directed at him!
And now, the dark monster facing this attack was confronted with a difficult choice.
Should it turn around to face the pursuit of the eight legendary experts behind it, or should it take the full brunt of the ancient dragon's long-charged magnetic field breath?