Life Game In Other World
Chapter 522: The Climax of the Ritual and the Descent of the Gods (Double-Length - for Monthly Votes)

Chapter 522: Chapter 522: The Climax of the Ritual and the Descent of the Gods (Double-Length Chapter for Monthly Votes)

"Don’t come near me!"

The bewildered boy suddenly awoke from his sleep.

He turned on the light, sat up in bed, and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Ever since encountering that creature in the morning, a terrifying shadow had loomed over him.

Although he had been taken to the gendarmerie after encountering the monster,

the gendarme lady who received him told him that what he experienced was an illusion, that what attacked him was not some humanoid monster but a vicious fugitive.

And she comforted him that everything was normal and that nothing had happened.

The words of that gendarme had a magical power that made him naturally believe what she said.

After that, he went to school and home in a daze.

But he always felt that something was wrong; the shadow that appeared in his dreams every day kept him in constant, twisted fear.

Especially today, this fear had reached a climax.

Just now, he had dreamed that the shadow entered his room, standing behind him.

These dreams made him feel that this world might not be as simple as he always understood, and that the monster he encountered this morning might not be some fugitive or illusion, but a real monster.

He rubbed his eyes, rose from the bed, and walked toward the living room.

Maybe it was because he was not fully awake, but he felt it was difficult to move, each step took a great deal of effort.

Meanwhile, he recalled the scene from this morning in his mind.

If that really was a monster, then the bizarre ’sword’ that saved them was not an illusion?

The lightning-like sword light was almost like a divine being from legends.

The boy picked up the glass on the dining table and walked to the water dispenser.

During this process, he passed by the full-length mirror in the living room.

Just as he walked past the full-length mirror, he suddenly stopped, stepped back half a step, and looked toward the mirror.

In that mirror, flush against the wall, stood a short boy with a glass of water, silently standing before the mirror, turning his head to look at the reflection.

And behind him, a shadow about the same size as him clung closely to him, turning its head to look at the mirror as he turned to look at his reflection.

Or rather, staring at him in the mirror.

Those pitch-black and hollow eye sockets were extremely similar to his own, only they contained nothing but abyssal darkness.

Fear instantly overtook the boy’s heart.

In that moment, he felt as though he had lost the ability to breathe, and a suffocating oppression enveloped him.

"Dad, Mom."

Not caring about the glass in his hand, he ran like mad toward his parents’ bedroom.

He no longer had time to consider why his parents, who were supposed to be watching TV or doing chores outside at this hour, were not in the living room; all he knew was that his parents were the only ones he could rely on now.

He violently twisted the handle and pushed open the bedroom door.

A gloomy, chaotic light shone into the dim bedroom.

The boy saw his parents—they lay side by side on the bed, their faces showing a strange smile, with two shadows resembling them tightly clinging to their backs, back to back.

He looked up at the light illuminating the house,

That wasn’t a light at all, but a cluster of shadow emitting a faint, ghostly glow.

He clutched his chest, crouched on the ground, took out his mobile phone, and dialed the gendarmerie’s number.

But all he got in return was the busy tone of no one answering.

After several seconds of busy signals, just as the phone was about to hang up automatically, a crisp sound came from the phone.

The call was answered.

"Save me, quickly save us, I’m on West Street..."

The boy’s words were cut off midway as he suddenly stopped.

He realized something was wrong.

An echo of his own voice came through the phone.

He trembled and turned his head, looking toward the full-length mirror in the living room behind him.

In that bright mirror, the shadow clinging to his back held a phone made of shadow, quietly listening.

Fear ultimately broke down all of the boy’s psychological defenses.

He collapsed to the ground.

The cold wind of the silent night lifted the curtains, revealing the view outside the window.

It was the city under a hazy night sky.

Everything was so quiet, no birds, insects, or noisy horns; everything was so silent, as if in the dream of death.

A huge shadow seemed to cover the entire city, back to back with everyone.

The boy’s heart fell into the abyss; he lay powerless on the ground, his shadow gradually merging into his body.

He felt his life being drained away bit by bit.

The whole world seemed to sink into an even deeper silence.

Streams of distorted information emerged in his mind.

The great Divine Being was about to take his life.

Offering his life to the Divine Being was his honor.

Everyone would obtain this supreme privilege.

An inexplicable joy surged in his heart, and he faintly realized that this happiness was not his own emotion, yet his body remained filled with this jubilation.

A bizarre smile appeared on his face.

Whoosh—

Just then, a sharp whistling wind reached his ears.

This piercing wind was like a beam of light, penetrating the already darkened world.

With his last strength, he turned over and looked out the window.

...

In the center of the raging wind, terrifying and shocking power converged at the spire’s rooftop, covering the clouds and the moon with its wild gusts.

The intricate Ritual Array shone with a dazzling brilliance.

The trembling earth, like a giant hand grasping the Array, tried to completely tear apart the shining Array.

At this moment, the majestic serpent no longer attempted to shake off He Ao above its head; instead, it contracted its huge body and tightly coiled around the tip of the spire-shaped building, preventing the grand Array from being shattered by formidable forces.

At the same time, its head pressed down over the Array, slightly opening its massive maw as dark power leaked from its mouth.

The space above the Array was briefly sealed, creating a silent, windless zone amid the howling tempest.

He Ao stood atop the serpent’s head and pulled out the Shadowless Sword embedded there.

He could clearly feel the energy inside the serpent’s body rapidly dissipating due to the sealed space.

Meanwhile, the trembling force of the earth, rather than dissipating with the serpent’s tight embrace of the building, transmitted into the serpent’s body, where countless energy cores, dense as stars, were shattering one after another.

This was one reason why He Ao chose to attack the Ritual Array instead of the serpent.

Attacking the serpent—the serpent could dodge, but attacking the Ritual Array, it had no choice but to endure all the damage to protect the Array.

But this serpent was simply too powerful; one Mountain Collapse Tsunami was not enough to destroy it.

Seizing the opportunity while the serpent was preoccupied by the Mountain Collapse Tsunami, He Ao jumped down from the serpent’s body.

The space sealed by the serpent wasn’t large, covering just a small area above the Array, and didn’t envelop its own body.

This was likely done to conserve energy, and possibly to prevent He Ao from slipping into the space and directly destroying the Array.

Inside the sealed space, people could still move freely.

Of course, doing so meant that the serpent’s head had to be exposed outside, bearing the brunt of the fierce wind.

Of course, He Ao also withstood the barrage of the violent wind.

The skill Mountain Collapse Tsunami was exemplary in every aspect except for its indiscriminate targeting.

However, He Ao was not the primary target and was not protecting the Array, so he received little of the impact.

His figure moved swiftly through the sweeping winds. He first approached the sealed space and tried to destroy it, but it was too sturdy to break in a short time.

Then he immediately turned to attack other intact parts of the serpent.

The sharp Shadowless Sword sliced through the serpent’s scales, pierced its flesh, destroying the energy cores hidden beneath, then immediately withdrew, moving on to the next energy core.

He Ao’s speed was extremely fast. In a very brief time, the serpent’s middle section, which hadn’t been struck by any impact, was already riddled with wounds.

Green blood flowed unceasingly from the open wounds.

Those cold, vertical pupils kept watch on He Ao. Even the original indifferent gaze was now filled with anger.

At that moment, He Ao happened to land on the section of the body just behind the serpent’s head. He looked up at the angry expression in Rhodes’s eyes and stabbed the Shadowless Sword into its flesh right before Rhodes, destroying the energy core within.

Hiss—

A sharp, piercing hiss emitted from the serpent’s mouth.

This time, it was truly enraged. Targeting He Ao, it opened its colossal jaws, and black radiance gathered within.

Just then, the space beneath its head, which was sealed, flickered for a moment, cracking slightly. The force brought by the Mountain Collapse Tsunami was about to seep in and demolish the gleaming Ritual Array.

The serpent quickly turned back, reconstructing the sealed space and forcefully swallowing the black brilliance building in its mouth.

He Ao looked at the serpent, a smile appeared on his face, and he plunged his sword into its body once again.

The furious emotion in the serpent’s eyes intensified.

Its massive body shook violently but made no move.

Instead, the tremors led to a slackening hold on the building, nearly allowing the Mountain Collapse Tsunami to overflow. The serpent had to clamp down on the building again.

And so, the brief time passed rapidly.

Just as He Ao landed on the serpent’s back, preparing to plunge his sword into its body again, a terrifying sense of crisis enveloped him. He looked up only to find a pair of cold, vertical pupils staring at him.

The power of the Mountain Collapse Tsunami was waning, and the serpent had weathered this assault.

The serpent’s head, without uttering a word, opened its massive jaws, and black light burst forth in an instant.

But He Ao’s reaction was swift. Accompanied by a shrieking siren, before the serpent could open its mouth, his body leapt backward into the Velora, disappearing once again into the space.

The dark light passed through where he had just been standing and hit the deserted street, corroding and melting the thick concrete, penetrating the soil, and leaving a pit dozens of meters deep.

The Velora appeared from the other side of the void, He Ao glanced at the deep pit on the ground.

Fortunately, he had been prepared and quick to act; otherwise, his body might have been reduced to nothing but bones now.

The colossal serpent’s head turned, watching He Ao, who stood at the door, holding onto the vehicle’s side, at the threshold of the Velora.

At this moment, its body was covered in wounds, not only from the stab wounds inflicted by He Ao but also torn apart by the Mountain Collapse Tsunami force. The energy core, once brilliant as a star-studded sky, had dimmed by more than half.

Even so, it was still stronger than He Ao right now.

"I’m afraid your ability cannot be continuously released in a short time, can it?"

The giant serpent Rhodes watched He Ao, opened its mouth, and coiled itself over the entire Ritual Array beneath it, suppressing the anger in its heart, giving up the continued attack on He Ao.

Without knowing when, the sky had already turned a gloomy grey, overlaid with shadows, while streaks of green brilliance twinkled deep within the city.

A vast and terrifying pressure came from the edge of the sky.

He Ao raised his head, looking toward that grey miasma.

A massive shadow faintly appeared behind the sky.

The moment He Ao fixed his gaze on that shadow, a sense of horrifying distortion spread to his soul, and he immediately withdrew his gaze.

Looking any longer would lead to death.

"My lord’s advent can no longer be stopped, and your efforts have failed."

The giant serpent raised its head, staring at He Ao, cold eyes showing mockery and scorn for the first time.

It was like watching a tiny and pathetic life, desperately struggling to change its future, yet ultimately unable to escape from being crushed by fate.

Meanwhile, a shadow about the same size as He Ao slowly emerged from the void, creeping up behind his back, its approach reminiscent of death’s footsteps inching closer.

"Is that so?"

He Ao calmly watched him.

The man inside the car clutched the Miracle Wand at his waist.

Mountain Collapse Tsunami!

The trembling ground, the violent gale, once again descended upon this world.

The original progress bar for Mountain Collapse Tsunami was 7/5, and after killing the Shadow creature, He Ao gained another three points.

That made it 10/5.

He had to thank Rhodes and the Mysterious Shadow for their generous sponsorship.

Twice, just enough.

"What?"

The giant serpent’s mocking eyes turned to shock.

It immediately coiled its body, locking the space around it, resisting the newly arrived force.

Just a little more, if it could hold on through this last bit of time, once the Divine Being arrived, all problems would be solved.

At the same time, He Ao also jumped down from the Velora, attacking the giant serpent frantically.

This time, the enormous train didn’t disappear but instead traversed space, recklessly crashing into the serpent’s body at all costs.

Each attack destroyed several energy cores.

Seconds ticked by as the fierce wind and ground continuously battered the serpent’s body while it desperately protected the Ritual Array beneath it.

The glow from the array grew brighter, and the shadow in the sky became more distinct.

It was close, almost there.

Everything was about to end.

At the same time, He Ao once again climbed atop the serpent’s head, took a deep breath, concentrated all his energy in his hands, and thrust downward ferociously.

The sharp light of the sword instantly pierced the serpent’s forehead.

The sword light penetrated the hard skull and the energy core nestled in the brain, sparkling.

The sword was so deeply embedded that half of He Ao’s arm was buried in the serpent’s flesh.

This was the serpent’s last and largest, and most deeply buried, well-protected energy core.

Because of the existence of this energy core, the serpent had been so eager to shake He Ao off its head at the beginning when he had stabbed into it.

Boom—

It was like the sound of a glass vase shattering, the space beneath the serpent’s head that was locked instantly collapsed.

The enormous head tilted to one side.

The howling gale swept over its scales, through the now unrestricted space above the Array, slamming into the sparkling Ritual Array.

A layer upon layer of radiance lit up on the Ritual Array as if it was gathering force to resist the erosion of the wind.

Then the earth under the Array suddenly shook, tearing apart the ground beneath it. The shining light struggled violently before dimming powerlessly.

The wind and earth together completely tore apart the Array, leaving only its shattered pattern.

At that moment, the power of the Mountain Collapse Tsunami was entirely depleted, and the violent wind subsided.

The brilliance that lit up within the city one by one dimmed, the increasingly clear giant shadow in the murky sky also faded, and the shadow constantly approaching He Ao also vanished into the hazy void.

The fallen giant serpent’s mouth opened slightly, using its last strength to expel a figure covered in green blood from its mouth, who, carried by the fading wind, tumbled and crawled, kneeling on the already shattered Array.

He Ao jumped down from the serpent’s head, watching the blood-soaked elderly man, the human-formed Rhodes.

At this moment, the wound on Rhodes’ chest had already started to heal faintly, a weak energy core gathering there, sustaining his last breath of life.

As he watched Rhodes, He Ao’s body shuddered, leaning forward as he fell, for the last strike had drained too much of his energy, also imposing a severe strain on his body.

He used the Shadowless Sword to prop himself up, standing up once again with difficulty, step by step moving toward Rhodes.

Simultaneously, Rhodes also slowly rose, watching He Ao with a gaze as calm as deathly stillness, his voice deep and hoarse,

"No matter how hard you struggle, the will of the divine cannot be defied!"

He lifted his head, bellowed,

"Praise You, great Mysterious Shadow!"

"In the endless Abyss, only Your reflection shines, and the brilliant stars will eventually return to mystery."

The vast shadow in the sky, now blurry, seemed to have heard something and reached out.

A terrifying and twisted force broke through space and time at this moment, falling from the gray sky, covering Rhodes’s body with a shadow that glowed green.

He Ao looked up at the shadow covering Rhodes, this power so familiar, he had seen it with the God of Knowledge, and with the Witch of Desire.

Evil God’s Offspring.

Rhodes no longer had any sacrifices, and his body was near death, so he was using his own body as a vessel for the advent of the Evil God’s Offspring, merging with his god.

This was a special ability belonging to some high-ranking members of the Church, mentioned in the Life Canon; similar rituals required one to be a sort of ’saint,’ having received an oracle and possessing a strong connection to the divine.

Now, the entire ritual array was shattered, the Mysterious Shadow had lost the precise coordinates of the main world; however, if Its offspring existed, It could reestablish the coordinates of the main world, transmit more power, and even attempt to descend again.

Feeling that tremendous will slowly corroding his body, Rhodes revealed a hint of contentment on his face.

Eventually, the will of the divine...

But his satisfaction lasted less than a moment before he felt a cold object pierce his heart again.

He lowered his head, looking at the young man who stepped into the luminescence of the shadow and stabbed his heart, asking with a raspy voice, "Do you know what this means?"

"I do."

He Ao pushed hard, shoving him out of the shadow’s range.

"You madman!"

For the first time, a look of terror appeared on Rhodes’s face as his body rapidly retreated; his body’s structures were destroyed as the energy from the destroyed core rampaged uncontrollably within him.

He stared, falling to the ground, eyes locked on He Ao.

The rise and fall of his chest had ceased, and his expression was frozen in that last moment.

Standing in the shadow, He Ao calmly observed all of this.

He lifted his head to the sky; the pitch-black shadow that had shrouded Rhodes now enveloped him, and divine power was descending through this conduit.

That twisted chaos was trying to corrupt his body, to penetrate his soul.

The shadow that had vanished crept out from the void, clinging tightly to He Ao’s back, attempting to merge into his body.

At the same time, one by one, black shadows emerged from the void, clustering densely together, swirling into He Ao’s body like streams into a vortex.

This was the power of the Mysterious Shadow conveyed in this world, the shadow of everyone’s dreams in South City, and now, centered on He Ao’s body, these forces were converging.

As these shadows gathered, a premonition rose in He Ao’s heart.

He felt as though he was connecting with a vast, immense entity.

Relics.

Indeed, as He Ao had surmised, this time the space-time anchor of the relic was bound to the power of the Mysterious Shadow’s advent into this world in some way; as the Mysterious Shadow’s power began to erode He Ao,

The anchor was also gradually transferring onto He Ao.

Indescribable whispers echoed in He Ao’s ears.

To kill the original sacrificer in the process of divine power transmission, one must enter the range of divine power’s reach.

As a consequence for killing the original sacrificer, the person entering this range becomes the new vessel for divine power.

The Mysterious Shadow did not care whose body was used, but a suitable vessel was necessary for Its advent.

Unless a more powerful external force intervenes in the ritual, the ritual will continue, until the energy descending from the Mysterious Shadow reaches the ritual’s maximal bearing capacity—the power necessary for the formation of the new Evil God’s Offspring.

Excruciating pain made He Ao bend forward, kneeling on the ground; he could only stab the Shadowless Sword into the earth, briefly supporting his body, preventing himself from collapsing.

His eyes began to see an endless abyss.

Countless distorted whispers resounded in his ears.

The abyss overlapped with reality, making him unable to distinguish which was real and which was illusion.

At several moments, He Ao thought he was part of this abyss, that he was the Offspring of the Mysterious Shadow.

His cognition was being affected.

The power from the Mysterious Shadow was trying to transform his body into a twisted Evil God’s Offspring and assimilate He Ao’s soul.

He Ao took a deep breath, channeled the terrifying power entering his body to his fingertips using the methods of Martial Arts, then surged it into the Shadowless Sword in his hand.

The invading power could be manipulated, but it was not strong; what was powerful was the pollution from the twisted souls from the divine, which could not be resisted, only endured.

If he could not withstand it, He Ao would be assimilated by the Mysterious Shadow and transformed into an Evil God’s Offspring.

And at that moment, a Black Shadow appeared atop the shattered rooftop.

It was a figure shrouded in a pitch-black hooded cape, watching He Ao resisting the Evil God’s corruption, step by step approaching.

Invisible fate rippled.

A power spread out, trying to replace ’Hao Yi,’ to become the master of Velora and the Space-Time Anchor.

He Ao lifted his head, looking at the Black Shadow approaching step by step.

’Boss’

"I must say, you are a true hero."

The Boss lifted his head, pulling back the hood, removing the mask from his face.