CHAPTER 172: ILLUMINATED THE WORLD

Darian and the whole group did some final prep work, which took just a few days. At that point, there were only five days left before all the Spiritual Guardians had to return to their universes.

***

In that galaxy once called the Celestial Sea Realm, there was a single planet considered the strongest, where the elements and energies of the galaxy were at their peak.

It was a planet twice the size of Earth. In the past, it looked a lot like Earth, with vast oceans and a few continents.

Most of the natural life there was made up of aquatic beasts, while the continents were covered in forests where the elves lived. Life was vibrant, and the Divine Dragon Academy at its center was incredibly powerful.

But nowadays, all the water and all life had vanished.

The whole planet was dead... but not completely. In that world covered in miasma, there was a single area, just a few kilometers wide, still giving off a subtle primordial aura.

Everything in that area was covered in red, not miasma.

That’s where the Divine Dragon Academy stood. Everything inside it had been kept exactly like before. Only the remnants of the final battle, when it was taken by the Risen, remained. But the most important thing... everything that made that place one of the most powerful was still there, untouched.

Inside the Academy’s main building, the entire underground had been dug out, creating a huge hole right on the first floor. There, the Academy’s core was exposed, which was also the core of the galaxy’s protective inscription.

At that moment, everything inside the building was empty. The sphere that once pulsed with the Divine Dragon’s bloodline was now completely gray and hollow.

Outside the building, a massive shadow covered it entirely.

Yeah, there shouldn’t even be a sun or any light source for there to be a shadow. But right now, a lily over thirty meters tall pulsed with bloody power.

Its leaves were wide open, so big you couldn’t even see the top. Up above, something like a glowing red pearl shone bright like a small sun.

Everything was silent.

And stayed that way.

But secretly, inside a small ruined building to the north...

...four people native to that universe, along with three Spiritual Guardians who had sworn to fight by their side, arrived.

They were covered in a black cloak with purple and red lines. That was celestial corruption... way weaker than Darian’s black power, but right now, it was their biggest weapon.

They all moved silently, leaving the place. As they looked at the horizon, they saw that creepy, massive lily. They took a deep breath, catching a nauseating smell of blood.

Darian gave a signal to Lucy, Lucius, and their Summoners. It was the order to sneak in the opposite direction from the lily and the Academy, waiting for the next signal.

The twins nodded and moved. Meanwhile, Niara, Darian, and Howlyn headed toward the central building, where they’d have to get as close as possible to that bloody lily.

They moved as slowly and carefully as possible. By the time the twins’ team was in position, Darian was still creeping closer to the main target.

’The Celestial Shadow’s will is inside that blood pearl.’ Howlyn said mentally to Darian. She was already in her true wolf form.

At that moment, Niara’s body started shaking, and a wave of dizziness hit her. Darian moved a bit of white power down to her root. Only then did the dizziness fade.

’Don’t try to sense that will. It was created from a fragment of a Primordial Beast’s soul. That kind of entity is immortal and terrifying... even just a little of it can kill with a single thought.’ Darian transmitted.

Thankfully, that will wouldn’t use that kind of power, or it’d vanish for good. If that happened, it wouldn’t be able to command the Risen or heal. The Celestial Shadow would probably have to wake up by force and rip out another piece of his soul, delaying his recovery even more.

Darian was sure: no matter what he did, that Celestial Shadow’s will would just see this as some irrelevant interference and wouldn’t strike directly. Darian was just some weak guy catching it off guard. If the Risen focused on taking him out, they could handle it fast.

Time...

That’s all Darian wanted. If he bought even a little more, it was already worth it.

The three of them slowly got closer to the lily. But for some reason, the closer they got, the farther away it seemed. Like space itself was being stretched and twisted by the sheer power of that thing.

But there was no real barrier. It wasn’t expecting anyone to get close, and this was just a natural distortion from its presence. After a few more minutes, they finally got within a few meters.

They were now between the lily and the main building where the Academy’s core was. The distance to the building was at least a kilometer.

Niara closed her eyes, focusing hard.

She needed to strike exactly when Darian told her to. It would just be a direct hit with her weakest martial art, using the black power.

It had to be as strong as she could make it, but there’d be no time to charge up. Darian would throw the black power at her, and the next second, she’d have to attack.

Obviously, Niara was nervous. She was about to do something insanely scary and difficult. She was sure Darian could pull off something no Summoner in the universe ever had. And she had to help. No hesitation, not even for half a second.

Darian looked at Howlyn, who nodded and adjusted her stance.

After a brief moment, she took a deep breath and shot toward the lily like lightning.

Her wolf-red eyes changed, like white, green, and violet stars appeared inside them.

Tied around her neck, a Stellar Ore from another Academy, loaded with a massive amount of life energy, activated.

She roared. An attack using everything she had burst out, filling the area with light.

That was the signal for the twins. At the same time, they unleashed their blessings.

"!"

Far away, still inside that same galaxy...

A chaotic battle raged across multiple planets. The Spiritual Guardians from the assault were killing endless Risen, hopping from planet to planet, getting closer to the Academy’s central planet.

That’s when they all felt a light appear in the skies.

They turned upward and saw it—it was like a star had suddenly been born in the sky. It could be seen across the whole galaxy.

"That’s the central planet! The Divine Dragon Academy!" A High Elder shouted in shock.

Back at the center of it all.

The power level coming from the twins’ blessing hit indescribable proportions. The more important the mission or the more evil the target, the more light and power they could release.

And both measures were at the absolute peak.

They became two blazing suns, their light filling the planet’s sky and ground.

"DIE!!" Both of them roared in sync.

Without wasting a second, they attacked. Beams of white light shot toward the lily’s blood pearl.

**BOOM!**

The entire lily shook.

But...

Even with all that light and power from the blessing, they only had one ring each. Maybe they could kill a Risen Chief if they unleashed that same level of light... which was already almost impossible. But against that lily, they barely scratched it.

Still, they got exactly what they wanted: the enemy’s attention and surprise.

A terrifying crimson light burst from the pearl at the top. It turned toward the twins, ready to wipe them out.

But...

"ROAR!"

A wolf full of resentment and willpower roared, finally unleashing every bit of energy she had left in one attack.

**BOOM!**

The strike hit the blood pearl. The wave of scarlet energy that had built up for the counterattack inside the pearl scattered in all directions.

The twins were blasted away. Their Summoners used their bodies and everything they had to shield them. Then, they all crashed hard into the wall of a building.

Right at that moment, a dark shadow emerged from the bloody eye.

It had no clear form, just looked like a human-shaped shadow over five meters tall.

The whole environment shifted, like reality itself trembled under its presence. It had two intense red eyes, now staring straight at the wolf on the ground.

Howlyn felt a sharp pain in her soul, like some insidious energy had invaded, ready to erase her entire existence.

’Attack!’

Darian ordered, and Niara opened her eyes, slamming her fists together.

Black flames circled her fists. Her wings flared at the same time, boosting her forward as she struck.

Niara’s target wasn’t the shadow or the bloody pearl, but a very specific root touching the ground, fully exposed.

*BANG!*

A dry explosion rang out. The root burst apart, severed from the rest.

’Go!’

Darian shouted. Right after, Niara’s body pulsed and her White Dragon Armor activated.

Her wings beat, launching her toward the Academy with crazy speed.

**RUMBLE!**

Niara had just moved when an explosion shook the entire Academy.

A dark, sinister killing intent filled the air. The red was replaced by black, like any light beyond it didn’t even dare exist.

The pair of red eyes and the lily were the only things that seemed to exist in the world.

A rage powerful enough to split the world in half... literally... burned inside those eyes.

"YOU MISSED, BASTARD!!"

A mocking shout echoed, along with the flap of wings.

A Dragoness covered in a white, sacred aura appeared, her wings beating as she illuminated the world again. Then, she shot straight toward the Academy’s central building.