Chapter 128: Shadow Realm (Part 1/2)
Translator: Strivon
When the giant arm came smashing down, it seemed like the verisimilitudinous night sky of the Logic World collapsed. Space warped and shook; fine ripples could be clearly perceived. The ripples washed over everyone's skin, causing most of them to shiver and shudder.
A corresponding chill emerged from the bottom of everyone's hearts as huge distortions suddenly appeared in the projection of the Scales of Truth at the center of the three buildings. Its luminance dimmed and the giant shadow arm swallowed it completely.
The phantasmal projection clearly could not stop the arm at all. The shadowy giant arm bound in flaring electricity came rushing straight down, directly striking the rooftop of Frost River Reality.
The arm showed no signs of slowing down during this time. Even though particularly strong shockwaves could not be seen, an acidic corrosive power seemed to run straight to the bottom of the building. A fracture that ran for over thirty meters split open the buildings in the blink of an eye. Then, rippling lines of reverberations spread in all directions from the fracture.
The entirety of Frost River Reality crumbled and collapsed, and only now could the terrifying explosion be heard. Regardless if they were facing Frost River Reality, the glass walls of the three surrounding skyscrapers were nearly completely destroyed.
The electric flames around the giant arm were like a liquid as it splashed out. The bolts of electricity were like countless living snakes. They pierced into the surrounding three buildings and soared wantonly.
Baze—who had been knocked to the ground floor by Fairchild—crawled up. He had just so happened to be right under Frost River Reality. He watched Frost River Reality crumble and collapse and he felt the pressure from the electric flames. Without saying a word, he rammed his way into one of the skyscrapers, rolled in an evasive maneuver, and managed to dodge the electric flames in the end.
He had responded quickly and his luck was good as well, but the others were not able to be like him. One Oblatum Knight was struck with misfortune head on. He was located on the side of a building facing Frost River Reality and the chaotic spray of electric flames surrounded him. There was no escape.
As the electric arcs struck his body. He sought to rely on the extraordinary powers gained from bitter cultivation to withstand it. However, an unimaginable force acted upon his sturdy torso in an instant. His limbs twisted substantially and it was like a pair of demonic hands were kneading his body into a ball. He was kneaded into a mangled meatball and he rolled chaotically on the destroyed floor of the building.
The most frightening thing of all was that this Oblatum Knight was not spared a quick death. Smothered screeches sounded from the meatball again and again, the sound full of misery and despair.
Even the face of the powerful Baze turned dark green from he saw such a scene. He rammed his way deeper into the large building without even looking back. The further away he was from the electric flames, the better.
"That's not lightning... At the very least, it’s not pure lightning."
Luo Nan could approximately see the source of this wave of lightning. It was the same as the mist produced by An Weng's probing waves. It came from a violent interference between the mental and material planes.
This sort of interference completely lacked rules and patterns. It was chaotic and berserk. The final result was both this chaos and the powerful ionization effect of lightning.
Nevertheless, the spray of lightning covered nearly a kilometer in diameter. Just how astonishing was the intensity of the soul strength that acted upon the material plane? Using Luo Nan himself as a standard, was it about ten thousand times more powerful? Or a million times more powerful?
This was not realistic! Even the feeling Luo Nan got from the enigmatic and unfathomable President Ouyang Chen was far from matching this sort of intensity. There must be some special method being applied.
Luo Nan's attention was forcefully drawn in. However, the region was destined to lack a good target for him to observe.
The terrifying force within the shadow did not merely cause destruction on the material plane. An assault blasted out on the mental plane just a hair later. It was like the magma spray of an erupting volcano. It pelted down in a torrent.
Luo Nan was in a pure observation mode. Its effect made it so that he did not receive a direct attack. However, in the Starry Colosseum, the Human-Faced Arachnids engaging in their life or death battle did not fair as well. They let out miserable hisses at the same time as flames burst from their bodies.
According to the information that the Wraith Sign was transmitting back, the roasting assault of the giant shadow arm had a relationship with the chaotic core of the Human-Faced Arachnid. It was simply like that of a torch meeting oil. The two were even separated by a distance when the arachnid ignited.
As for the other Human-Faced Arachnid, Number 3, it was burned transparent. Its human portion was burned into vapor and turned into a mist of energy. Then, its human portion was absorbed and consumed by the endlessly expanding shadow
The two arachnids were entangled upon the altar. Wraith Sign could sense a bit of Number 3's state. The information from its senses was instantly refreshed with changes, allowing Luo Nan to understand with greater clarity.
There was something more real existing behind the terrifying shadow. Perhaps it was a powerful and hungry demon. The thing probably had not truly entered the Logic World but its powerful strength allowed it to clearly manifest its vicious and ruthless nature before everyone's eyes.
The 'curtain' of the mental plane wobbled and undulated. It was being twisted and warped, making it hard for Luo Nan to distinguish the real aspect and location of the demon. He could only make a situational guess.
This demon was like a gluttonous old cat. It stood ashore and reached out with its paw to stir the waters. It hoped to catch some delicious fishlings and eat its fill.
Who was it that attracted this 'old cat'?
It was without a doubt the unpredictable An Weng located within the burning Number 3. Looking through the Wraith Sign's senses, it seemed that An Weng was in a pretty good mood.
As far as Luo Nan knew, An Weng's soul was within the burning flames of Number 3. He was withering up without end, yet he was in a delighted mood. His emotions were sprayed wantonly out from his soul while he was surrounded by flames. If he still possessed a fleshly body, it would be the same as bellowing out in great laughter.
And he should be laughing!
He had waited for over sixty years for the transformation of the world, for the era of magical and holy powers. He had been in the Order of Justice for forty years, and his faith had never wavered all this time. It was just unfortunate that he was encumbered by the old age of his body. No matter how much he understood theories and concepts, the slightest mistake would always bring him a great disaster. He was always blocked from entering a higher level and never even had the chance to fight for it.
However, as the giant shadow arm came rumbling down at this moment, the incorporeal barrier that was always above his head finally opened up a crack.
Looking ahead, perhaps his chances were still slim. But ultimately, it was a chance. Moreover, this chance was already close at hand.
The shadow swallowed up part of the starry sky and Luo Nan was unable to make an effective analysis of its form. From An Weng's perspective, this was the greatest sign of all. He no longer needed to distinguish the direction. He drove Number 3, who was nearly exhausted of power, to leave the battlefield and leap in the direction of the shadow.
Under the threat of being completely burned to nothingness, Wraith Sign did not pursue Number 3. The current altar frame had turned into a messy soup after countless disturbances. It was incapable of stopping An Weng.
As for the demon behind the shadow, it kindly accepted the food that charged directly into its jaws.
However, this was not enough to satiate it. The demon certainly had an excellent appetite. After the demon had launched its initial attack, it discovered that there was not anything that could threaten its life. The congealing shadow began to spread as it entered into a 'net mode'. It targeted the rest. It targeted everyone!
Everyone in the Logic World had become its target.
The demon was driven by its desire for chaos. It would chase after what it found to be most delicious. If everything was tasty, then it would eat everything.
The mist produced from the probing waves that interfered with the material plane had yet to dissipate. The dark shadow flooded its way in, turning the mist into boiling dark clouds that oppressed the Logic World.