CHAPTER 563: CHAPTER 73 THE SUPREME AUTHORITY OF FATE

Miel was shoved backwards, falling to the ground in terror as she watched the massive roots of the Spiritual Tree extend from the crack in the force field shield above Ratlan Palace, descending from the sky like a hunter, piercing Rasul’s body.

Under the intense pain of his spirituality being contaminated, Rasul’s face had spasmed and twisted, but he still mustered the last of his strength, struggling to pass the Eden Fruit in his hand forward to the half-elf girl who had fallen to the ground.

"Why... why..." Miel’s voice trembled as if dazed, "why would you..."

"Miel..." Rasul’s bloodless face barely formed a pale smile, "everyone has..."

"...a heavy destiny to bear..."

His body began to gradually become transparent, the erosion spreading rapidly within him.

"Sometimes, to accept it..."

"...takes more..."

"...courage."

The Eden Fruit finally slipped from his hand, rolling to a stop at Miel’s feet.

Rasul’s body was picked up by the roots of the Spiritual Tree, hanging like a death-row convict on display. The Spiritual Tree let out a satisfied tremor, consuming the demigod and replenishing its spirituality with immense abundance.

And the remaining spirituality that had not been absorbed erupted with the completely out-of-control and chaotic Fate Domain, instantly engulfing the entire Ratlan Palace residence.

Miel stared blankly at the Eden Fruit on the ground, which had lost its original lustrous golden shine and was covered with a layer of dull dust, as dirty as a roadside stone.

"So that’s it..." After who knew how long, she finally spoke in a trance, "I’ll never understand..."

"Why in the world there are such naïve idealists, willing to burn all of themselves?"

"What good does that do for you?"

"But Aske had said that this world is cold and ruthless, operating rigidly according to its laws. If it’s unwilling to provide warmth and light for everyone, then I still hope there can be at least one person, even the most unrealistic idealist...

"...to light a flame of hope in this cold and dark world."

She bent down and grabbed the Eden Fruit.

Countless rays of light extending from the surface of the golden apple suddenly appeared around her, weaving through the air in dense numbers. Her soft pink hair fluttered behind her, and layers of exotic colors flashed in her pupils, gradually transforming into an indiscernible symbol.

That was the overlay of countless world lines, the infinite collection of probabilities, the ultimate authority of fate, all possibilities.

"So, how should I address you now, my new master?" a faint voice emerged from the Eden Fruit, with a hint of melancholy and a sigh, "Messiah..."

"...or Anti-Christ?"

"No." Miel raised her head high, looking up at the huge entity obscuring the night sky, the grotesque and frightful being that couldn’t be gazed upon directly.

Her expression instantly turned stern, filled with a deep, uncontrollable sorrow... and anger.

"I am... Minerva!"

——————————

"The force field shield has been breached! The Spiritual Tree is invading!"

A shrill cry tore through the night sky as the Church Court scrambled about like a beast startled from its slumber.

A multitude of high-dimensional beings, infiltrating through the openings made by the Spiritual Tree, pounced on the priests below who hadn’t managed to escape in time, still scrambling to save equipment and documents, as well as the Pope’s Guard trying to block and counter the assault.

Faster than them all, however, was the anomaly that instantly enveloped the entire Ratlan Palace.

Within the range of the anomaly, various eerie events began to unfold:

In some areas, bricks and stones visibly decayed and vanished at an alarming rate, while plants and flowers sprouted up like mushrooms in no time.

Elsewhere, bullets passing through seemed to be trapped in mud, flying at a pace slower than a snail.

Many places were completely transformed: chapels turned into skyscrapers, pedestrian streets became roads for cars and horses, locations filled with equipment cleared out, and vast plazas sprouted buildings out of nowhere.

These bizarre transformations were unstable and fleeting; soon, they would change into something else again... Time within the anomaly seemed to be completely in disarray, at times furiously accelerating, then slowing to a halt, and at times jumping to other timelines, overlapping and influencing parallel worlds.

Everything was in chaos.

Aske stood with his sword, while the girls also teleported from Fire Island, noticing the surrounding chaos now shrouded by the anomaly.

"What’s going on?" Medea frowned and asked.

"Time," Aske replied briefly, "A time-related anomaly."

"The Spiritual Tree has broken through the Force Field Shield." He pointed to the sky outside the chapel, "High-dimensional beings have infiltrated. As for the surrounding anomalies, they should be due to the downfall of a time-related Demigod."

"So the Spiritual Tree has absorbed a Demigod’s spirituality?" Staring at the colossal Shadow in the sky outside the window, Nora gasped with her hand over her mouth, "My God! Then we need to evacuate even more urgently! I’ll take you to the secret passage entrance right away!"

"Wait." Aske stopped her, ready to move, "Miel hasn’t come back yet!"

"Where did Miel go?" Mia also noticed her best friend was not present, her complexion changing immediately.

"We need to find her quickly, and then evacuate!" Aske suppressed his unease, changing the subject.

So they all sprang into action.

Nora summoned nearby Spiritual Bodies to search for Miel’s whereabouts; Eleanor transformed into Light Flow and flew into the air, her Will Fog spreading out to scout the area; Peggy simply activated Death Tadpoles, dredging up the will of priests who had died in the last few minutes to ask if they had seen a pink-haired Half-elf Girl.

In less than five minutes, a voice rang out outside the chapel:

"Looking for me?"

Everyone turned their heads and saw the Half-elf Girl standing at the entrance of the chapel, saying indifferently:

"I’m back."

"Miel!" Mia rushed to her side joyfully, but she noticed her best friend seemed to have changed somewhat.

She had become more mature, mysterious, and profound...

"Now that Miel is back, let’s make our escape as soon as possible," Aske said with a sigh of relief, speaking to everyone.

"Aske." Miel came up to him, looked up into his eyes, green pupils condensing a symbol, "I’ve condensed the Fate Law."

"Eh, you’ve condensed laws?" Aske was slightly taken aback by her words, "You mean..."

"Under this anomaly, my Fate Law-related skills will be greatly enhanced," Miel said calmly and decisively. "And one of the skills I’ve just mastered is to summon parallel versions of myself to help."

"Aske, I want to kill the Spiritual Tree, to save Solomon City."

"Are you sure?" Aske asked instinctively, suddenly understanding the subtext in her words, "You want to bring a parallel version of yourself to kill the Spiritual Tree? Who is it?"

"Yes," Miel nodded, "The ’parallel self’ I want to summon comes from a world line where you never appeared."

"She is the Dark Lord of the South Continent, the undying Banshee Queen, Minerva."