Chapter 318
Chapter 318: Close Your Eyes and Count the Stars, One by One
A deep and solemn rumble of thunder reverberated through the air—like the sudden low cry of a great dragon echoing across the sky.
High above, rolling storm clouds churned without cease, like a vast ocean stirred by an enormous hand—fierce, and suffocating.
Purple lightning flashed again and again between the clouds.
Curved electric arcs shaped like silver serpents swiftly wound their way down along the direction of the wind, reaching down into the boundless abyss of the great gorge.
Viktor's entire body was filled with raging purple lightning.
Electric arcs darted across his body like brilliant fish plunging into the ocean—swift and ceaseless.
He stood beneath the violent thunder, his eyes erupting with brilliant purple radiance, like a god of lightning commanding the storm.
Thunder slammed ferociously into the rock faces on both sides of the gorge, sending shattered stone fragments scattering in all directions.
Accompanied by an equally frenzied storm, the thunder coiled across the sky—seeming to be guided—extending into countless branching bolts.
【Trillion-Volt Surge】
The surrounding area was instantly blanketed by ten thousand bolts of lightning, with thick electric arcs that seemed poised to swallow everything whole.
Electric light shot diagonally down from the sky—as though a beam of daylight had pierced through the heavy black clouds—appearing in the sight of all who watched.
A colossal lightning barrier took shape, wrapping itself tightly around the entire gorge and sealing it completely.
Within it, chaotic electrical charges collided against one another, throwing off sparks as dense as stars.
Beneath that blinding electric glare, those watching could only vaguely make out Viktor's black, billowing Coat through the barrier of thunder.
He appeared nearly submerged in the radiance of the lightning, commanding an even more chaotic array of bolts.
Everyone nearby tilted up their faces—filled with shock.
Eyes wide. Mouths open. Staring blankly at the vague dark silhouette suspended high in the sky.
Even Gwen sensed the chaos around her. She raised her head and gazed up at Viktor in the heights, struck dumb.
The ministers stared at one another in fear, drawing themselves deeper into their wide robes.
The sound of thunder from outside the carriages seemed to fill them with profound unease.
It was likely that in the future, every time they encountered a thunderstorm, they would find themselves reliving this terrifying and overwhelming scene.
Suddenly, the black creatures that had been writhing and twisting around them straightened upright once more.
Yet the Knights hadn't even managed to recover from their shock.
The wild Demi-humans had already swung their sharp claws, along with their resilient weapons—
And ground the black masses that had just risen back into dust.
At the sight of this, the ministers felt a wave of immense relief.
Thank goodness. In this carriage, at least, there were still these Demi-human guards.
The excellence they had displayed surpassed the Knights by far more than just a little.
If not for their timely clearing of these creatures, all of them—these diplomats—would likely have met their end here.
They had absolutely no desire to die here without so much as understanding why.
But as the ministers thought further, something felt off.
Did that mean they now owed Viktor their thanks?
Then, from the black and looming sky above, a terrifying low roar rang out.
The enormous black abomination plunged once again into chaos and madness.
Its massive, foul-reeking body swayed ceaselessly, its flesh and blood writhing in the high air as though alive.
Chunks of flesh bulged outward and then caved inward without pattern.
At some point, a chaotic demonic sound began to surge across the gorge above, returning alongside furious sound waves.
Layer after layer of hollow waves rippled outward, and the surrounding space trembled irregularly.
As though it would shatter everything in the high reaches of the gorge.
Yet each time, with a thunderous roar, the wild trembling shook in violent bursts.
Each time, the body of this foul creature would shudder with a fierce convulsion.
Its body began to rapidly expand at great speed, its flesh seemingly squeezing the tentacles until they vanished from sight.
A gaping maw tore through the splitting flesh, baring sharp teeth, and chaotic eyeballs crawled out through the bloody holes punched by the thunder.
Viscous blood tangled and knotted together, forming into chaotic and frenzied desecration.
The center of the maw continuously spat out a long, thin, pointed tongue, stabbing viciously into the writhing black flesh all around it.
The terrible, intense pain caused the enormous mass of flesh to let out a disordered shriek.
The severed stumps of tentacles were drawn into that abyss-like maw, releasing a dull and viscous chewing sound.
Eyeballs were pierced through by the chaotic tentacles and burst, releasing an even more viscous, frenzied spray.
Layer after layer of sharp teeth clenched and pulled, letting out crack crack crack sounds, greedily attempting to devour everything in sight.
In the face of this revolting and reeking spectacle, the ministers and Knights could only steal a single glance.
The next second, they felt a blackout behind their eyes.
It was as though their minds had completely lost their reason, and their inner worlds were turned utterly upside down.
That maddening, defiling image refused to be erased—only the twisted mass of flesh seemed seared into their hearts like a brand.
Their expressions had nearly lost all control, their features twisting together into something deeply harrowing.
The Knights were little different from the ministers.
Even the silver-white armor on their bodies seemed, in their eyes, to have transformed into a gaping maw of flesh wrapping around them.
One Knight staggered back 2 steps and collapsed in a panic onto the carriage floor.
In that moment, within the hearts of countless people, a profoundly chaotic thought arose simultaneously—
A wicked thought.
It's all Viktor's fault!
Something this terrifying and he didn't warn us in advance!
Now we're all going to die!
The ministers' minds were twisting at a terrifying speed.
They even began to feel a deeply malevolent idea rising within them—why not just let everyone perish here together, drag others down with them!
Or—let them. Let these Demi-humans.
Let the Princess die in their place.
Such a wicked idea had no business existing in their hearts.
But even those Knights who prided themselves on their righteousness—their inner worlds had been twisted just the same.
Seeing the Demi-human unit far outperform them had caused whatever honor remained in their hearts to completely collapse, and they had sunk deep into boundless fury.
Why?
Why could these lowly Demi-humans outshine us, noble Knights?
Malice rose in their hearts.
Right now. Right here.
Kill the Demi-humans who had surpassed them—smother them in this floating carriage.
Once that malice rose, it could no longer be easily wiped away.
In the same way, after witnessing that twisted black mass of flesh—
Even the Demi-humans were not immune.
They felt a wave of headache, as though some strange force was twisting their thoughts.
And yet.
Just as their eyes were gradually becoming as turbid as those of the ministers and Knights—
The cat-like and dog-like pupils of the Demi-humans flashed with a trace of a jet-black crow totem.
In an instant, the crow totem seemed to awaken, beating its dark wings, seeking to fly from the Demi-humans' eyes and into the deepest reaches of their numbed hearts.
After a brief moment of disorientation, the Demi-humans' eyes gradually cleared from their turbidity.
The Demi-humans who came back to their senses had no idea what had happened. They pressed their hands to their heads and looked warily around them.
Because they could feel it clearly.
The Knights around them were radiating concealed malice directed at them.
"What's going on."
"They're... not right."
Like animals, the Demi-humans possessed an extremely keen sensitivity to the good and evil in others.
And this malice—so obvious it was practically overflowing—made them feel distinctly uneasy.
Just then.
From the bodies of the ministers and Knights, streams of black energy began seeping outward.
It was the materialization of their malicious thoughts.
The energy slowly passed through the carriage ceiling, flying toward the ceaselessly writhing foul mass of flesh in the sky above.
The abomination opened the part of itself that resembled a mouthpiece and swallowed all of this dark intent whole.
Then, all at once—
From within that twisted mass of flesh, there emerged a blaze of brilliant, pure holy light.
Beneath that white holy light, even the black and twisted flesh was illuminated until it appeared immaculate.
As though it had taken on a sacred aura.
The entire mass of convulsing flesh began to churn, and the aura of the surrounding presence became sharp and cutting—like the blade of a holy sword floating in all directions.
In this moment, no one could understand.
Why could a creature that appeared so utterly profane radiate such brilliant and magnificent light?
The next second, it delivered its answer to all who watched.
Accompanied by this sacred aura, brilliant holy light descended from high above like a rain of gold—
Breaking through the dense cloud cover, striking directly upon the radiant body of the creature below.
The ten-thousand-mile sea of dark clouds seemed to be set alight, burning with a saintly brightness.
Even the purple-black lightning within those clouds was illuminated by the radiance, transforming into dazzling golden bolts.
Then, suddenly, the tens of thousands of revolting tentacles of the Devotees began to wind and knot together.
A golden skeletal framework of twin wings gradually took shape, carried along by the revolting squirming of the tentacles.
In this moment, the faith and souls of the tens of thousands of Devotees seemed to be drawn out from within the creature's body.
Tens of thousands of writhing half-body phantoms struggled within the ocean of flesh, gradually merging into one.
They formed a pair of flesh wings radiating golden light—spread perfectly across that simple bone framework.
And this was not yet over.
The entire black tumor-like body of the creature now seemed to be reshaped by that holy light.
The writhing flesh let out a blood-curdling sound of friction.
Gnarled veins snapped apart entirely—then instantly reconfigured.
The enormous silhouette of flesh appeared to be remodeled, resembling a winged angel of holy radiance.
Every time the flesh wings opened and closed, they sent up a scattering of intertwined fragments of broken flesh.
The treacherous Knights and ministers felt a wave of dizziness, and the filth within their hearts seemed to be swept away by a fierce wind.
Shame rapidly flooded their minds, and the Knights and ministers alike were filled with remorse for their own weakness.
Yet at this very moment, Viktor's voice rang out with a mocking lilt:
"What truly hypocritical and revolting justice."
And this—was 【Devotee of the Goddess】.
In this moment, the righteous, angel-like appearance they had taken on—
Was precisely the false justice Viktor knew so well.
【Righteous Stance】
Distorts the Goddess's justice, actively creating chaotic evil, driving those around it into the grip of obsessive delusion.
The Devotees who proclaim themselves servants of justice fashion evil with their own hands, then proceed to sweep it away in the name of the Goddess—
As though such deeds could draw the Goddess's gaze back to them.
But……
The dark clouds churned once more, blocking out the divine light descending from the sky.
Purple lightning began rolling like a swarm of mad serpents.
Forming a striking contrast against the angel blazing with holy light.
"An illusion is destined to remain an illusion."
Viktor dispersed the black clouds around him, and the light gradually spread outward in all directions.
The blazing purple lightning seemed to transform into a flood of raging beasts, piercing through the sky with furious, surging heads.
The thunder erupted ceaselessly all around, becoming a sea of ten-thousand arrows raging with fury, blanketing the entire gorge and the earth below.
The shimmering electric light spread in all directions, becoming colossal serpents surging through space, tearing everything apart.
This was the most terrifying power of the Calamity of Lightning—now rising from behind Viktor.
The Calamity of Lightning's ultimate Skill.
【Radiant Lightning Arrow】
Amid a sky full of thunder, Viktor faced the angel that had taken on its sacred form, his voice utterly composed.
"Look up."
"The flashing death-omen star has already foretold your end."