Chapter 125
Chapter 125: Word Spirit·Instant Eternity
[Note: Due to plot reasons, this chapter combines two chapters, totaling over 6,000 words]
Seattle Mercy Hospital, Basement Level 1, Path of the Underworld corridor.
‘He... who is this?!’
Simply looking at that slender figure carrying the Sovereign Lantern, Guan Ming felt a chill run down his spine.
What kind of creature was this?
Human?
Ghost?
Or perhaps some unknown existence?
The Joker, who had still been wearing a smile a moment ago, watched Jiang Nan and let it shift into something dark.
Especially when he sensed the pressure radiating from the dragon armor on Jiang Nan's body...
And that aura...
He would never be able to forget it for the rest of his life.
In an instant, a long-buried memory flashed through the Joker's mind...
It was in that place known as the Destruction Five Days Campaign.
The top rising powerhouses from nations across the world.
Gathered together in that small world hidden within a torrent of disordered time.
They had but one purpose.
To compete for those world-defying, fate-reversing rare treasures.
【Water of Life】
【Tribulation Flame Kindling】
【Chaos Soil】
【Heavenly Gold Divine Iron】and...
【Remnant Echo Jianmu】!
And on the final day of that brutal slaughter...
The Joker's eyes reflected the inferno-like scene from that day.
Sun and moon sharing the sky, the heavens stained blood-red.
Across the barren scorched earth, countless puppets forcibly turned into marionettes were being cut down by powerhouses from every nation.
They knew no exhaustion, felt no pain!
Even after being struck down in an exchange of lives, they would stand again!
It was impossible to even tell who was the puppet.
All because of that old general, soaked in blood from head to toe, already in his sixties!
The old general swung a great nine-ringed broadsword and howled at the sky.
"Charge, my men!"
"Kill the evil god's lackeys!!!"
On the other end of the battlefield, a terrifying puppet giant standing a hundred meters tall was roaring.
The one controlling the giant was, shockingly, a girl with a childlike voice.
"Die, you insects!"
The girl shrieked in a shrill, cracking voice.
The puppet giant's massive fist, capable of blanketing the heavens and earth, crashed down toward the top of the old general's head!
But immediately after, a burst of radiance shot up from behind the old general!
It was a mysterious Dragon-Human powerhouse clad in heavy dragon armor, face impossible to make out!
He held a pair of blades and moved at the absolute limit of speed.
He directly leapt against the wind pressure and landed on that enormous puppet fist before it had even hit the ground!
Blade light flickered!
From bottom to top, he shredded that hundred-meter-long puppet arm on the spot into bloody cotton shreds!
At the same time, a steel mech rose up from the ground.
The massive sword of light in its hand swept out.
It successfully connected with the mysterious powerhouse's attack and severed the puppet giant's skull!
"Aaaaaahhhh!"
The puppet giant let out a shriek and collapsed with a thunderous crash.
From that enormous rolling skull, a gothic lolita girl with disheveled hair tumbled out.
She was sprawled on the scorched earth, continuously vomiting black blood.
She stared hard at the old general and that broadsword drawing closer, and still sneered.
"Cough, cough... this time..."
"This lady admits defeat!"
"But next time..."
"Once my god descends, I will absolutely come back and slaughter every last one of you lowly insects!"
After that, the lolita girl gritted her teeth and turned her head.
Her gaze locked onto the mysterious powerhouse cloaked in dragon armor hovering in midair.
"And all of you... claws of the Dragon God!"
"Heavenly Blade Dragon King! Arashin-kai will kill you and everyone dear to you!!!"
Yet the only response she received was the old general's broadsword coming down.
"Enough talk! Demon!"
"Pay your debt to the lives you have desecrated!"
"No!!!"
From a distance, a young man hiding inside a broken toy bear puppet let out a scream.
But all he could see was that lolita girl's head rolling to the ground.
Then, a spatial gate suddenly tore open above the battlefield.
"Alas, I arrived one step too late."
The man in the white lab coat shook his head, then moved his fingertip slightly.
He used the power of space to retrieve the lolita girl's head.
Finally, he vanished from the battlefield in an instant, taking with him the young man in despair.
......
Times change, seas turn to mulberry fields.
But the young man from back then could never forget the blood feud of that day.
Even now.
"If not for those natives suddenly joining the battle, if not for the Heavenly Blade Dragon King forcibly breaking through..."
"How could the old lady have died?!"
"Claws of the Dragon God... you have already chosen your path to death!"
At this moment, standing in the Path of the Underworld corridor, the Joker's eyes revealed a killing intent more terrifying than at any time before!
The carefree, devil-may-care disguise was completely torn apart!
And his true body, far away in the Polar Ice Wastes, was the same!
"Cursed Dragon Race! I will make you pay in blood!!!"
......
The Real World, the Polar Ice Wastes, the Arashin-kai's temporary base.
Nightmare, who had been sitting to one side, feeding Dusk—seated in a wheelchair—with a bowl and spoon, utterly bored out of his mind, suddenly saw the Joker open his eyes.
"How did it go? Is No Words Needed dead yet?"
Nightmare immediately set down the bowl and spoon and asked.
The Joker's expression was grim.
"No!"
"Tiffany is dead."
"Activate the backup plan. I want to personally bury No Words Needed inside that hospital!"
"Hurry! There's no time!"
Because through the Stand's shared field of vision.
That man clad in dragon armor was closing in on him step by step!
When Nightmare heard the news that Tiffany was dead, his brow furrowed tightly.
But then he relaxed.
After all, even Dusk and Lord Wu Wo had stumbled.
Tiffany, that half-baked one, dying there was entirely within reason.
"Hmph, hmph..."
"Rare to see you showing such a serious expression."
Nightmare stood up, rolled his neck, and said with a cold laugh.
"Fine, since the situation has changed, I'll make an exception and help you just this once."
"After all, this is something I previously promised 'Void' I'd get you as a trump card."
"Say it, which one do you want?"
The Joker gritted his teeth, staring hard at Jiang Nan's figure in his field of vision. "I've encountered a Claw of the Dragon God!"
"Judging by the dragon armor on him and the aura fluctuations, he's probably a Dragon General!"
"He might even be close to the 'Heavenly Blade Dragon King' from back then!"
After hearing this, a smile played at the corner of Nightmare's mouth.
"Oh? So it's a remnant of those guys."
"To dare oppose us of the Arashin-kai, it seems we haven't killed enough."
He then transformed into a plume of black smoke, shot into the sky, and arrived at the peak of an ice mountain.
The blinding polar day fell upon Nightmare, and he slowly spoke.
"You're too dazzling. Step back for a moment."
The next instant, his ten fingers interlocked before his chest!
Boom!
A massive torrent of black energy surged from within him toward the heavens!
In the blink of an eye, that black energy blotted out the sky and sun, engulfing the entire Polar Ice Wastes in shadow!
Across the ice wastes, over a hundred thousand people in total—humans at their bases, natives, and other creatures—
Almost all raised their heads at the same moment, watching this terrifying celestial phenomenon.
"Domain deployment, Nightmare Haunt!"
As Nightmare's words fell, those soldiers and civilians on the ice wastes with weaker mental fortitude instantly had their eyes roll back!
They collapsed to the ground and sank into unconscious sleep!
Or rather...
Their consciousness was forcibly dragged into a collective dreamscape!
However, this dreamscape lasted only a very brief time, a mere ten seconds!
After ten seconds, the all-encompassing black mist rapidly dispersed, and sunlight once again fell across the ice wastes.
"What happened? What just occurred?"
Polar Ice Wastes, inside Huaxia Nation's 9th Base.
A young soldier who had just scrambled up from the ground was full of shock.
"Was that a dream? Such a terrifying dream... Wait!"
A veteran soldier nearby suddenly widened his eyes.
"I feel like..."
"My head suddenly has some extra information!"
"Huh?! Me too!"
Another soldier exclaimed.
"It seems to be... top-secret files on the Arashin-kai operative codenamed the Joker!"
"The documents say he holds Dual Abilities—not only Sequence 099 【Thousand-Face Demon Lord】..."
"But also the physical enhancement Sequence 088 【Savage Warform】?!"
The same cries of shock and discussion were now erupting one after another in every corner of the Polar Ice Wastes.
And at this moment, standing at the peak of the ice mountain, Nightmare shook his head and let out a cold laugh.
"The Dragon Race has always dominated with their monstrous base stats, on top of possessing all kinds of nauseating spell-resistance-type abilities."
"In that case..."
"Against a monster like that, there's only one option—fight poison with poison, use the purest numbers to crush numbers!"
As his voice fell, Nightmare transformed into black smoke and turned to leave.
......
Seattle Mercy Hospital, Basement Level 1 Path of the Underworld.
The Stand Joker, standing in place, sensed that power suddenly awakening within him.
A smile reappeared on his face.
"Still have to count on you, Lord Nightmare."
"This generous gift, I'll accept without any hesitation."
He twisted his neck and looked toward the gradually approaching Jiang Nan.
At the same time...
Whether it was that false mask on his face, or the Stand shell named Zhou Xing he currently occupied...
The restraining brands that had previously existed on both were beginning to vanish under the impact of this power!
【Sequence 088: Savage Warform】!
Once activated, it could instantly grant the user an S+-Grade physical constitution!
Moreover, this Warform possessed an innate resistance of up to 90% against physical attacks and ability-type skills!
It could even continuously and without limit elevate all of its stats and self-healing capability based on how long combat persisted!
The weakening effect of the【Villager】Mark originally suffered due to disguising himself as an ordinary person—
Now, before this Warform, it practically ceased to exist.
"Combined with Sequence 024【Cycle Future】..."
The Joker was certain in his heart. "The victory in this battle is destined to be mine."
With this thought, he kicked Guan Ming aside into the wall.
"Ugh—! What are you suddenly doing?"
Guan Ming felt he had at least three broken ribs.
"Stay down nicely."
"Spectators should stay put in the spectator's position."
After speaking, the Joker proactively advanced to meet Jiang Nan, their gazes colliding in midair.
And Jiang Nan...
Through instinct, caught that irreconcilable killing intent at the bottom of the Joker's eyes.
This was absolutely not the intention of wanting to communicate with him. This was coming for his life!
Since that was the case, Jiang Nan had no words to waste. He bound the Sovereign Lantern to his waist—Zero-Frame Startup!
A cold gleam arrived first, then the spear thrust out like a dragon!
Hmmm!
Blood energy boiled and converged once more, the Dragon Spear suddenly materialized, pointing directly between the Joker's brows!
However, the very next second!
Whoosh!
The Joker vanished from Jiang Nan's field of vision into thin air in an instant!
When he reappeared, he was already behind Jiang Nan.
He even had the leisure to reach out, patting Jiang Nan's dragon-armor-covered shoulder.
"Answer me, do you know someone called the Heavenly Blade Dragon King..."
‘Die!’
Before the Joker could finish his question, Jiang Nan turned with extreme decisiveness, his left hand transforming into razor-sharp Dragon Claws!
He slashed ferociously toward the source of the voice behind him!
Whoosh!
The claw shadow swept through—and again struck empty air.
The Joker had already blinked back to five meters directly in front of Jiang Nan.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Looks like you're a rude one. You're not planning to answer my question."
The Joker bent at the waist in a bow, but his eyes were cold as ice.
"In that case, allow me to play with you properly, and while I'm at it..."
"Crush your bones inch by inch!"
As his words fell, the Joker shattered the floor tiles beneath his feet and drove a fist straight at Jiang Nan's face!
‘Unstoppable!’
Jiang Nan's eyes sharpened. Rather than retreat, he advanced, meeting the blow with a fearless fist of his own!
Boom!!!
Fists collided, and a tremendous crash erupted in the corridor!
The savage pressure wave directly blasted the plaster off both walls!
In this pure clash of strength, Jiang Nan actually felt his arm go numb!
"Heh heh..."
The Joker shook his slightly reddened fist and sneered savagely.
"Claw of the Dragon God, are you shocked by my current strength?"
"Don't rush, this is still just an appetizer!"
What followed was the Joker launching a close-quarters brawl of frenzied rain-like blows!
Every fist.
Every kick carrying the crack of a sonic boom.
Forcing Jiang Nan to switch to a purely passive defense, relying on the Dragon God Imperial Armor to tank the damage.
In the midst of the fierce exchange, Jiang Nan's mind was also running at full speed.
At first, he suspected this bastard who had suddenly erupted in hostility was that aberrant Thousand-Face Demon Lord.
But recalling Guo Shuai's earlier description.
It clearly didn't match the one before him.
‘Teleportation?’
‘No... feels like it's not that simple.’
After receiving one of the Joker's whip kicks, Jiang Nan borrowed the momentum to retreat and create distance.
His crimson vertical pupils contracted slightly. The Tearing Through Illusions, Beholding Truth ability was pushed to its absolute limit!
He began further tactical probing.
The aura around Jiang Nan suddenly shifted. He was finally getting serious.
In his vertical-pupil field of vision, on the Joker's body there faintly appeared a dim red glow representing a weak point!
‘Got you!’
Jiang Nan seized the moment, his body erupting into motion!
The Dragon Claws on his right hand, carrying an unstoppable momentum, slipped past the Joker's swinging arms!
Aiming directly at the vital point located at the junction of his chest and abdomen!
The Joker had not anticipated at all that Jiang Nan, who had been in a purely defensive posture, would suddenly counterattack!
Because he was actually not proficient in close-quarters combat at all.
His instincts screamed to pull back in defense. Even with the Savage Warform granting him speed no less than—and perhaps surpassing—Jiang Nan's.
But it was still too late!
The angle was too precise!
Shhhhk!
The Dragon Claws tore through the muscles on the Joker's chest, leaving a claw mark!
Faintly, one could even see the bleached-white ribs inside!
Yet, having suffered such severe damage.
The Joker not only showed no expression of pain but instead let out a bizarre burst of laughter!
"Ha ha ha! What an excellent attack!"
The Joker watched the blood spurting from his chest with complete indifference.
Because this shell was never his own to begin with!
"It seems you're not as dull as you look on the surface."
"However, unfortunately..."
"The game ends here."
"Let me send you to your death, holding your blind loyalty to the Dragon God in the midst of complete despair!"
The Joker silently counted down in his heart.
Cycle Future's cooldown had finally reset!
‘For me... pause!’
The Joker said in his heart.
Hmmm!
In an instant, a force of law descended!
The colors of the entire corridor vanished in an instant, plunging everything into absolute gray-white!
Except for the Joker himself, all things in existence—including the blood droplets flying through the air!
Jiang Nan's murderous gaze, all of it—within that brief 9.9 seconds—fell into a time stop!
And the Joker, within this time gap that belonged to him alone, began to 【Preset】 his upcoming actions!
This time, he did not play carelessly like when he was toying with others.
Instead, he focused intently and mobilized every ounce of 【Savage Warform】's full power!
Upon Jiang Nan's completely unguarded body, he unleashed a torrent of lethal heavy punches and elbow strikes!
Finally, he leapt into the air, channeled all his power into his right leg, and drove it straight into the dead center of Jiang Nan's chest!
Not a moment wasted!
The Joker landed steadily.
"Time... begins to flow."
Boom!!!
All the damage accumulated across those 9.9 seconds exploded on Jiang Nan's body simultaneously within that brief 0.1 second when time resumed flowing!
Jiang Nan couldn't react at all. He didn't even have time to feel pain.
His entire body was sent flying backwards!
Rumble! Rumble rumble rumble!
Because his body carried the Break Shackles buff and the makeshift Forbidden Domain of No Entry.
Jiang Nan's frame easily smashed through the thick walls of the Path of the Underworld corridor.
Amid a deafening crash and billowing clouds of dust, he was thrown into a room next door!
The powerful momentum sent him rolling across the ground for over ten meters, knocking over several hospital beds before barely coming to a stop.
And on those toppled metal beds...
There lay scattered a number of dried, shriveled corpses!
Evidently, this was the hospital's real Morgue!
And that long corridor just now—it was only because the immense death energy concentrated here had materialized it that the 【Path of the Underworld】 defensive line was formed!
‘Mildly interesting, but not much...’
From the rubble, Jiang Nan propped himself up on his arms.
He looked down at his chest. On the Dragon God Imperial Armor, hairline fractures had actually already appeared.
If it weren't for this dragon armor having blocked the overwhelming majority of the damage.
That whole combo just now would have been enough to blow him apart!
‘What a pity...’
There was no 'if'.
Because he could forcibly recite the 8th line of the Dragon God Imperial Armor.
Even at the cost of enduring the backlash.
‘Not yet time...’
Jiang Nan's gaze remained calm.
From that brief exchange just now, combined with the words that had slipped out of the other party's mouth.
Jiang Nan's mind had already pieced together this bastard's true identity.
Every word was calling him the 【Claw of the Dragon God】.
Not only did he know of the Dragon Race's existence, he also wielded abilities this powerful...
In this world, the only possibility was someone from that organization.
‘Arashin-kai...’
Jiang Nan let out a cold laugh in his heart.
The only pity was...
He still didn't fully understand the specific workings of that 【teleportation】 and 【burst-release of massive damage】 ability.
Because there had been far too little information exchanged in the fight.
He did not yet want to expose his trump cards too early.
And at this very moment.
An anxious voice suddenly came through the breach in the wall that had just been smashed open.
It was Guan Ming!
Though he had been kicked flying by the Joker earlier, he had not lost consciousness.
Seeing this armored figure who had been sent flying, he had never seen Jiang Nan wearing this equipment before.
But he immediately remembered what Silk-Stocking Desperado had told him.
【You know where to go, and who to find, to survive!】
In this godforsaken place, anyone who could go head-to-head with the Joker...
Other than the mysterious powerhouse that Desperado had mentioned, there was absolutely no one else!
"Hey! Armored big bro!"
Guan Ming pressed against the breach at the base of the wall, straining his voice and shouting out a warning.
"Even though I don't know who you are! You have to be very careful!"
"The Joker's ability is called 【Cycle Future】!"
"He can forcibly pull out a time gap, presetting all his attack movements inside it!"
"Then trigger them all simultaneously in one explosive bur—"
Whoosh!
Before Guan Ming's words were done, the Joker, who had been walking toward Jiang Nan, suddenly blinked back to his previous position!
"You really talk too much, this chatty spectator."
The Joker looked down at Guan Ming from above, grabbed him by the throat, and hauled him into midair.
"Don't you know that during a magnificent theatrical performance, absolute silence must be maintained?"
"Ugh... let go—"
Guan Ming kicked his legs wildly, face instantly flushing deep red.
The Joker showed not the slightest mercy, his fingers tightening, choking Guan Ming into unconsciousness.
Then casually threw him to the ground.
After that, the Joker turned his head back and looked toward Jiang Nan standing in the rubble.
"Good. The annoying fly is gone. Let us continue this bloody drama."
However, at the very instant his voice fell.
He froze.
Because...
A burst of soft laughter suddenly came through the corridor.
"Heh heh..."
It was Jiang Nan laughing.
He slowly straightened his body. The dragon might on him not only hadn't weakened—it had grown even more savage.
That crucial half-sentence Guan Ming had managed to blurt out was like a lamp lighting up the dark.
It had completely filled in every missing piece of the puzzle in Jiang Nan's mind.
‘【Cycle】... and 【Future】?’
Jiang Nan raised his head, those crimson pupils looking at the Joker with mockery.
‘One is 'presetting' future actions within an extremely brief time gap.’
‘The other should be the 'return' to a past position point.’
‘The time window should be around ten seconds. Oh, no—exactly ten seconds.’
‘But no matter how mystical it's dressed up to be.’
‘It's nothing more than an acceleration and spatial ability wearing the outer skin of time!’
Beneath the Joker's bewildered gaze, Jiang Nan raised his right hand.
‘Since you enjoy playing with time so much...’
‘Now...’
‘Allow this frog at the bottom of the well to properly savor what truly means...’
‘Standing above all else in terms of time.’
Jiang Nan's thumb and middle finger rubbed together.
Snap!
Accompanied by the snap of his fingers, Jiang Nan's voice resonated and reverberated through the entire Morgue.
"A moment..."
"Is eternity!"
"A moment... is eternity!"
As his voice fell.
The flying dust suspended in midair. The cold sneer on the Joker's face also fully froze in place.
The entire world lost its color. Only Jiang Nan moved with ease through this motionless gray-white domain.
His gaze locked onto the mask on the Joker's face.
Through instinct, he could feel that the key was right on this mask!
‘Since you enjoy wearing a mask, then never take it off again!’
Jiang Nan channeled the terrifying power elevated to S+ by the Hunter Mark.
Without holding anything back, he concentrated it all into his right fist and launched a relentless barrage of strikes at that mask!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Each heavy punch sent out wave after wave of sonic booms.
In the midst of this savage output, Jiang Nan counted the passing seconds in his heart.
7.5 seconds!
He clearly perceived the limit of this time stop.
Combining it with his current S+-Grade physical constitution, he swiftly deduced the pattern.
Each major tier of base constitution added 1 second to the duration of the time stop.
That growth potential was still acceptable!
From the Joker's perspective, Jiang Nan—who had just been at a distance the moment before—appeared out of nowhere directly in front of his face!
Immediately after, an irresistible force erupted completely at his face!
Boom!
The Joker was sent flying backwards, smashing hard through the other half of the wall!
He struggled to climb back up, touching the mask on his face where a hairline crack had appeared, eyes filled with utter disbelief.
Just what kind of terrible luck had he run into today?!
Running into a Thousand-Face Demon Lord was one thing, but this seemingly Dragon King-level "No Words Needed" before him.
Could it be that he also possessed 【Cycle Future】?
An ability collision?!
Yet the Joker didn't hesitate for even a moment.
"So what if it's the same? The advantage is still mine! Future!"
The world turned to gray-white once again.
The Joker began presetting his attack actions.
This time he had gotten smarter, immediately creating distance first!
Because he understood clearly—the mask was solid.
But under the sustained bombardment of S+-Grade force it could genuinely be smashed to pieces, and Jiang Nan had precisely that capability.
However, just as he continuously maneuvered around Jiang Nan, preparing to launch his preset killing blow from a blind angle...
The Joker was completely stunned.
He witnessed the most terrifying thing he had ever seen in his life.
Jiang Nan—had actually moved within the preset time that was his pride and glory?
He had even playfully spun a little gun flourish!
And then, the Dragon Spear burning with raging flames in his hand!
He had calmly and steadily suspended it across the exact path the Joker had previously preset his attack to pass through!
The spear tip, aimed directly at the Joker's face!
Time Resistance.
The next 0.1-second burst window arrived!
The Joker's eyes instantly tore wide open. "This is bad!!!"
But the 【Future】's preset actions were an absolutely willpower-based rule of forced execution!
Caught in the double grip of inertia and the rule!
The Joker could only watch helplessly as he, like a moth to a flame, sent that mask crashing straight into the spear tip!
Shlick!
The Dragon Spear instantly pierced through the mask, and the savage flames shredded the Stand Zhou Xing's skull!
An absurd drama came to an abrupt halt.
This schemer, codenamed the Joker, true to his title...
For now, drew his curtain on this Eerie Island...