CHAPTER 620: THE END OF THE PROPHECY

In the sky above the Barisan continent, everyone could see the eye collapse inward, sucked into the portal. The portal also grew smaller and smaller, allowing sunlight to illuminate the continent once again after nearly a month of darkness.

Not long after, the portal vanished, and the sky returned to how it used to be, with the ssun still hanging in the sky. The heavenly tribulation clouds had also disappeared. The people could only stand frozen as they watched the eye vanish and the sky return to normal.

There was only silence, until the sound of sobbing began to spread.

Many finally allowed themselves to express relief, and many cried as they realized they had survived this calamity. What they had just experienced and witnessed was something they would never forget. Across the continent, people turned their eyes to the giant avatar that still stood tall even after the eye had disappeared.

They truly couldn’t help but prostrate themselves in its direction, deeply revering Aldrian at this moment. There was no one on the continent who didn’t feel the same. Even those who had begun to see Aldrian as a god had increased drastically. It couldn’t be helped that they thought this way after witnessing a battle of such scale.

For those who didn’t know the true strength of the gods, the battle had looked like a clash between two divine beings.

The alliance forces still within devil territory did the same, including the leaders of major territories. Only a few did not follow, among them were Aldrian’s parents, Sylphia, Baek Jimin and Angelica.

Angelica clasped her hands, kneeling with her eyes closed in Aldrian’s direction. Yet tears still streamed down her face, grateful that the prophecy had turned out to be true. She was truly thankful to the heavens that someone like Aldrian had come to them and fulfilled his role as the messiah.

Aldrey and Irine looked in the direction of the avatar with proud expressions, though Irine’s eyes were already wet with tears that wouldn’t stop flowing. They still couldn’t quite believe that the one who had fought that terrifying entity was their son, their pride. Their son had battled a god and saved the continent.

Sylphia and Baek Jimin also shed tears, grateful to have survived this calamity. They had been tense since the beginning, sick with worry as they watched Aldrian face the eye. This battle was unlike any they had seen before, for what Aldrian fought was a god worshipped by devil cultivators. Fortunately, Aldrian had done it, he had saved them all.

High above the sky, Aldrian, still maintaining his avatar, could clearly sense the reverence of all living beings across the continent. With his cultivation having leapt into the low pseudo-immortal establishment stage, his senses had become far stronger and sharper. Now, he felt he could control everything within his domain more freely and with ease.

In this moment, he truly felt like a god within his domain, within this continent.

But at this moment, he could clearly feel that his body was in complete disarray. That final strike of the heavenly tribulation had been truly terrifying, it had reached the power of an immortal and wreaked havoc inside him.

He felt pain across both his body and soul, but he endured it. That was part of his strategy, to add more firepower to his technique by taking advantage of the heavenly tribulation triggered by the artifact’s ascension to a divine artifact.

It was the first time he had tried something like this. The method was undoubtedly insane, but fortunately, it had succeeded, thanks to his current cultivation level and the strength of his domain, which could withstand even more powerful heavenly lightning.

Initially, the heavens had intended to reduce the power output of the tribulation for the Sword of the End, since everything was happening within Aldrian’s domain. The heavens could have given the sword a much lighter tribulation.

But he had refused that and asked the heavens to let the tribulation proceed without any reduction. The heavens obeyed him and unleashed heavenly tribulation that no being in this heaven could possibly withstand.

All artifacts would have been reduced to ashes under that kind of tribulation. However, this tribulation was different, because the artifact itself was different. The Sword of the End had been forged with a blend of rare materials from the higher heavens, including divine iron. Aldrian knew it could endure the tribulation.

Even when he used it against Tarius, the Sword of the End had not failed him. Back then, it hadn’t even ascended to the divine grade, yet he had still been able to match Tarius’s avatar. The sword didn’t break, nor did its durability falter. If he had faced Tarius with the Sword of the End already in peak divine grade, he might have ended the battle in just three moves.

This was truly a special and powerful sword, a sword special to both him and that figure.

But then Aldrian stopped his thoughts as his gaze shifted toward the sea surrounding the continent. In the far distance, he could see many people aboard flying fortresses and smaller transports.

"Those must be people from other continents," Aldrian thought.

He wasn’t surprised that outsiders had come. The commotion caused by the devils this time was far too great to be hidden from the rest of the world.

He assumed they must have started their journey after seeing the black pillar.

He turned his gaze toward one large group in the distance. The group he saw was a devil faction, devils from beyond the Barisan continent.

Still, the central figure of the devils in this world was Zhang Haoran, the apostle of Tarius, even though he was much weaker than the devils in the distance.

Considering how Tarius hadn’t shown any concern for his apostle’s fate, even after descending to the First Heaven, Aldrian knew Tarius didn’t truly care about him. Zhang Haoran was nothing more than a tool, a means to help Tarius reach his purpose here.

The people from beyond the Barisan continent who had yet to leave after the battle grew tense as they saw the massive avatar’s head turn in their direction. The battle they had just witnessed still felt surreal, and they didn’t know what to do next. They wanted to enter the continent, but they were unsure how that person, the one who had just fought the god, would perceive them as outsiders.

The devil groups, especially, felt as if they were dreaming. They had already imagined a glorious life as rulers of this world, only to be slammed by reality... or was it a nightmare?

It felt like finding a rare treasure, only to watch it vanish right before their eyes. There were no fanatic cries or pious expressions, only silence, stunned faces, and blank stares filled with disbelief.

The leader of the devil faction showed his shock openly, his eyes trembling as he stared at the towering avatar. Who is that person? Who could possibly go against a god?

He truly didn’t understand. Why had their god lost? The eye had disappeared, and the sky had returned to normal. The world had turned quiet again, and all he could hear was the sound of the sea wind.

This wasn’t what he had envisioned. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. They were supposed to win. They were supposed to rule this world.

But then his expression shifted slightly as he saw the giant avatar’s head turn in their direction. The other devils noticed it too, and their faces changed. Goosebumps rose on their skin as they watched the massive avatar suddenly lift its enormous sword.

They instantly knew, the avatar was about to unleash an attack!

The higher-ups, including the leader, didn’t hesitate to activate their escape talismans, prepared for emergencies.

As for the rest who didn’t have one? They tried to flee by any means possible. If they could fly, they flew. If they could swim, they swam. Those aboard the flying fortresses and cruisers were also desperate to escape that monster, steering their vessels as far from the continent as they could.

But before they could get far from their positions, the avatar had already swung its sword—

Whoosh! Boom! Rumble!

The slash energy reached their position in an instant, destroying everything in its path. Flying fortresses and cruisers were swept away and torn apart by the sheer force of the strike. The devils who didn’t manage to escape were obliterated without a trace.

It didn’t matter whether they were flying or swimming, every one of them was killed in a single sweep. That one strike alone was enough to erase over a million devils and annihilate everything they had brought with them.

The other factions watching from a distance felt a chill run down their spines. But they weren’t surprised. The devils had stood no chance. Not even their strongest cultivators could withstand that blow. If the one controlling the avatar had truly intended to wipe them out, their fate would have been sealed just as easily.

But even so, they remained tense as they waited for the one within the avatar would act toward them. They could only hope he didn’t consider them allies of the devils, that kind of misunderstanding would be devastating.

A golden-haired man felt compelled to act before such a misunderstanding could arise. He flew out from the flying fortress, determined to speak. The being within the avatar seemed to notice him, as the massive head turned in his direction, making his heart tremble.

This moment could decide their future.

He cleared his throat and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Greetings, Senior."