# 923
Chapter 923: Cruise Ship
Inside Takamagahara.
Struggling against the endless whispers, Merlin turned toward the direction of the Gateway of Guidance. Strands of fate's trajectory intertwined within his pupils as he saw everything happening at the doorway.
When Merlin saw those two figures leave Takamagahara, the heart that had been suspended in anxiety finally relaxed. At the same time, he turned back to look at Susanoo, whose hands were empty, and his eyes erupted with shocking fury!
"You seek death?!"
He abruptly raised his magic staff, and two sky-covering magic formations instantly unfurled beneath the blood-red sky, overlapping each other while slowly rotating in opposite directions.
Merlin's thumb lightly drew across his palm, and a cutting mark appeared on his palm. Fresh blood trickled out, but instead of falling to the ground with gravity, it was drawn by some mysterious force and rapidly rolled upward into the sky!
The blood merged into the two counter-rotating magic formations. Blinding light illuminated every line and pattern, like a shining sun hanging high in the air.
Strands of hair began falling from Merlin's head. His right hand pressed against the brim of his wide-brimmed hat, his eyes burning with murderous intent. His blood-soaked left hand pointed toward Susanoo from a distance.
"[Extinction Sword Curse]."
Ssshhk—!!
A deep crimson blood-colored holy sword凝聚而出 from between the two counter-rotating magic formations. An apocalyptic aura swept across the tip of the sword, crossing space in an instant and crashing down upon the earth like thunder!
Sensing the terrifying power within this forbidden spell, Susanoo, whose eyes were scarlet red, instinctively wanted to evade this strike.
His form darted rapidly across the earth. In the distance, the surging sea of blood surged again. Massive amounts of seawater gathered into a massive red wave that touched the sky, directly slamming toward the crimson holy sword.
BOOM—!!
The crimson holy sword cleaved through the blood wave and instantly pierced the earth. A terrifying crimson pillar of light shot up into the clouds, and the world-ending forbidden spell's aura immediately covered all of Takamagahara.
Drops of blood dripped from Merlin's palm. He floated in the air beneath the twin moons, draped in his魔法长袍, gazing down at the ruins beneath his feet.
On the surface of the second red moon in the sky, the blood-colored light began churning like ocean waves.
Merlin, who was about to take further action, suddenly shuddered. His brow tightly furrowed. While resisting the whispers polluting his mind, he fixed his gaze upon the second red moon.
"Because you worshipped the power of that red moon, after death you transformed your divine power and soul to imitate the red moon, hanging it in the sky above the divine realm… You executioner who personally annihilated your own pantheon, now you've suddenly found conscience and want to protect your younger brother?" Merlin's eyes narrowed slightly.
His gaze swept across the center of the ruins. Badly wounded, Susanoo was slowly rising from the shattered ground.
His right arm had vanished entirely, leaving only a gruesome sword-wound hole hanging at his shoulder. Those scarlet eyes gazed infatuatedly at the red moon in the sky, his face full of manic worship.
Merlin seemed to understand something. A cold laugh escaped him. "After completely corroding his divine consciousness, you turned him into a crazed Believer that can be utilized… What a good older brother, truly?"
As the moonlight from the two red moons gradually intensified, the crimson hue in Merlin's eyes grew stronger as well. His brow was locked tight as he gazed at the heavily wounded Susanoo in the ruins. After a moment, he sighed helplessly.
He raised his head, cast one final glance at those two red moons, and murmured to himself:
"I will definitely discover the secret of your existence…"
Merlin lightly lifted his magic staff. His form transformed into a beam of rainbow light, streaking across the sky. Passing through the Gateway of Guidance, he vanished without a trace.
…
In the misty Chaos, waves roared.
Merlin's figure flew out from the gap in the Gateway of Guidance and landed on the tumultuous waters below.
He turned to look back. The Gateway of Guidance of Takamagahara had closed, slowly fading away as if it had never existed.
Once this portal completely vanished, Merlin's tension finally eased. His form swayed. A large mouthful of blood surged from his throat and fell into the sea below.
His face was pale as paper.
The pollution from the two red moons, combined with consecutive uses of ultra-large-scale forbidden spells—his spirit and divine power were both severely depleted. If he had continued staying inside Takamagahara, not only would he have been unable to kill Susanoo, his very consciousness might have fallen.
For someone who had just walked out of the asylum, this was already his limit.
Merlin's gaze swept over his surroundings. He didn't see Lin Qiye or Jialan anywhere. Strands of fate intertwined within his eyes. After briefly divining the future, a smile curved his lips.
"It seems the contingency measures I left behind can all be put to use… *cough cough cough*."
Merlin bent down, coughing violently. He remained like a stone statue on the sea surface for a long while before taking a deep breath and, somewhat unsteady, walking toward the distance.
He had barely taken two steps when his form stopped.
A gentle breeze brushed across the churning sea surface. Merlin stared into the chaotic mist before him, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Because beyond the mist, a figure was walking across the sea, step by step… It was a Taoist priest with his hair bound up in a topknot, wearing a rough cloth Taoist robe that fluttered slightly in the wind. His bright eyes were like forming stars, gazing at him with a smile.
Merlin blanked for a long moment. The corners of his pale lips couldn't help but turn upward…
"So I guessed correctly." Merlin's gaze shifted away from the Taoist figure, looking into the emptiness far above as he murmured,
"So all of you… are indeed here."
…
Near Japanese territorial waters.
In the raging waves, the massive silhouette of a cruise ship broke through the chaotic mist, advancing slowly. Clusters of bright yellow lights glittered like stars upon the sea, decorating the pitch-black night sky.
From its outward appearance, this was a somewhat Western-style modern cruise ship. Approximately two hundred meters long and at least fifty meters high, its heavy and massive hull resembled a small mountain as it slowly advanced across the sea.
If one looked closely, they would discover that the surface of this cruise ship was composed of an enormous number of tiny particles, like a fantastical vessel that had sailed out of a pixelated world. On the ship's side hull, two large characters were inscribed in jet-black, sharp brushstrokes:
—Oath.
On the topmost level of this pixelated cruise ship, a massive indoor swimming pool reflected the lights. The water within rippled slightly with the ship's movement.
By the pool's edge, a young girl in a swimsuit was lazily sitting on a white lounge chair. Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall. Gazing at the misty fog beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, she yawned.
Just then, a man in a suit walked over from beside her.
"President."
The girl on the lounge chair raised an eyebrow. "What is it? Are we arriving at Japan?"
"We're indeed approaching the location marked by the 'paratrooper,' but there's something else besides." The man paused. "Just now, two people appeared out of thin air on our deck…"
"Out of thin air?" Jinian froze.
"We don't quite know how they appeared specifically. All we know is that when we turned around… they were already lying there."
"Lying? Are they dead?"
"That's… hard to say." The man's expression was somewhat peculiar. "Their condition is quite special, so we'd like you to take a look personally."