"......What method?"

  "Sacrifice the primal powers of the seven of us, converge all that strength into one person. That person will gain power surpassing Merkphis and end all this!"

  "When I fought him earlier, I successfully probed some of the formation’s rules and learned how its power is transferred."

  "......"

  A brief silence fell over the Aura Space.

  "......Avery, can you really pull this off?"

  "Yes!"

  "Then there’s no problem~!"

  "It seems the decision is made."

  "Primal power? This lord just has to give up his life—that’s all!"

  "Being fearless in times like this is the mark of a true lady!"

  "Agreed."

  "I-I’m willing too!"

  "......"

  Avery looked around at everyone.

  "Everyone, have you decided who that person will be?"

  "Haha, isn’t that a rhetorical question~?"

  "There’s only one choice."

  "That’s right—it can only be that person~!"

  "It’s all the fault of the person who’s not here—can’t blame us!"

  "Confirmed."

  "I-I agree too!"

  For the first time in memory, a faint smile appeared on Avery’s ever-unchanging face.

  "Looks like we’ve all made the same choice......"

  "Then let’s begin——"

  "Yeah."

  "Mm."

  "Let’s start......"

  Beneath the halo, the seven figures gradually transformed into seven stars of different colors. Guided by one of the stars, they merged into a single colorful star......

  "Hmm?"

  Merkphis suddenly frowned.

  "What’s going on? Why are these seven’s powers disappearing so quickly?"

  As Merkphis monitored the Seven Sages, he failed to notice—

  a hidden power had sneaked into his sacrificial ritual circle and was rapidly moving toward a certain spot on the World Tree......

  Before long,

  Merkphis could no longer sense the seven’s auras. They seemed to have vanished without a trace into heaven and earth.

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  "Dead? No—the sacrificial ritual circle’s power hasn’t increased that much."

  "What on earth is happening? They couldn’t have found a way to escape......"

  Just as Merkphis was perplexed,

  an extremely brilliant colorful glow suddenly erupted behind him.

  He spun around quickly,

  then widened his eyes in disbelief.

  "Impossible...... How is this possible!? "

  ......

  In a space that was constantly collapsing,

  Semiris’s consciousness was sinking deeper and deeper.

  "Is Semiris...... going to die......"

  "Everyone...... did you escape successfully......"

  Having seemingly accepted her fate, Semiris slowly closed her eyes.

  But just then,

  Hum!

  A patch of colorful light appeared in the collapsing space.

  Semiris opened her eyes slowly, finding a colorful star floating in front of her.

  "What...... is this?"

  She stared at the star in confusion.

  Hum——!

  The star suddenly burst forth with dazzling colorful light, illuminating the entire space. The collapsing space stopped crumbling under the glow—even began to gradually repair itself.

  Then, under Semiris’s gaze, the glowing colorful star slowly merged into her body......

  Outside,

  a flash of light suddenly appeared in Semiris’s dimmed eyes.

  Hulim, who had been consumed by intense emotion, sensed something. She widened her eyes and stared at Semiris’s body, the emotion in her heart fading unconsciously.

  "......Semiris?"

  At the same time,

  inside Semiris’s body—where her shattered essence had been—a colorful star suddenly appeared.

  It released gentle power, drawing the shattered fragments of her essence back together, then merging with them......

  When all the essence fragments had fused with the colorful star,

  it transformed into a new Fairy Essence, unleashing an overwhelming power far beyond her past!

  Boom——!!!

  A vast wave of magic aura erupted from the dying Fairy Queen.

  Crack! Crack......

  The seals that had bound her shattered at the slightest touch.

  "T-This is impossible!"

  Merkphis stared at Semiris in disbelief.

  "Why do you still have such power?! "

  But then, he realized something, and his face paled drastically.

  "No! Stop——!!!"

  He tried to intervene, but it was too late.

  Boom——!!!

  In the next moment, all the restraints on Fairy Queen Semiris shattered completely......

  Hum......

  With the loss of its key core, the red-glowing sacrificial ritual circle gradually dimmed. The power it had been siphoning from the World Tree was cut off at that instant.

  "Ah——! What have you done! What have you done!!? "

  Merkphis collapsed and shouted.

  His path to godhood—so close he could almost touch it—had been abruptly severed!

  "Unforgivable......"

  The resurrected Fairy Queen stood tall in the air.

  The immense magic aura she released, filled with sorrow and anger, blazed fiercely like a star in the sky.

  "Merkphis——!!!"

  Hum——!

  A huge magic circle unfolded high above the sky.

  "Cursed Fairy Queen——!!!"

  Merkphis roared in equal anger.

  Bang——!

  In the next moment, his body shot forward, charging toward Semiris in the sky.

  Boom——!!!

  A beam of light pierced heaven and earth in an instant.

  Boom——!!!

  The earth shattered under the impact, and an abyss appeared on the ground.

  Merkphis’s body was smashed straight to the bottom of the abyss.

  Boom——!

  But the next moment, he burst out again.

  "Cursed Fairy Queen——!!!"

  He roared, his form twisting constantly in the air. Less and less of his original human shape remained.

  "Give everyone......" She gritted her teeth, "back to me——!!!"

  Boom——!

  Her figure, like a meteor, charged straight at Merkphis.

  The two collided head-on in the air.

  Boom——!!!

  A destructive shockwave erupted.

  The dark clouds covering the sky were swept away in an instant. Countless Calamity Beasts vanished into nothingness under the impact.

  After that,

  Boom! Boom! Boom......

  Terrifying battle auras spread across the sky and earth.

  Attacks powerful enough to destroy Rank S beings rained down one after another.

  The earth was torn open with countless wounds. Storms and thunder intertwined in the sky, turning the world into a chaotic battlefield.

  At this moment,

  even the Calamity Beasts—long stripped of reason—were overcome by a long-forgotten fear.

  They tried to flee the battlefield,

  but no life could escape from here anymore......

  Thud——!

  The earth was pierced once again.

  At the bottom of the abyss, a black spear shattered all of Merkphis’s defenses and pierced his chest.

  "Ugh...... Damn it, damn it, damn it damn it damn it......"

  Merkphis muttered curses frantically under his breath.

  Gurgle gurgle......

  "Ugh——!"

  Merkphis’s body froze suddenly. His heart had come alive, and it transmitted its consciousness directly into his mind.

  "You have failed."

  "No! I haven’t failed! I won’t lose!"

  Merkphis’s expression was extremely maniacal.

  "I am a god! The god of the new world! Gods never fail——!!!"