The grayish-white faded away and the sky remained pitch black. Every demon caught in the Demon Prince's ever-changing gaze was plunged into absolute madness, their screams resembling those of mindless beasts.
The crimson earth continued to collapse inward. The gushing blood bent under its own weight until it became a flowing dark river. In the darkness, those tendrils that had brought withering and decay regained their vitality and vigor, reaching from every direction toward Lucian,
That enormous hand — covered in deep black scales and repulsive fine fur, its nails sharp, its tendons protruding — reached through the corroding, writhing black liquid toward the illusory statue of Ferragande.
Everything had returned from the frozen state imposed by the "Advanced Time Stop."
"Scepter of Space-Time!"
Just as the Demon Prince's giant hand was about to touch the statue of negative emotions, Lucian chanted the incantation in a voice that was ethereal and ancient. Points of light gathered and coalesced into a dreamlike scepter.
With a tap of that scepter, faint ripples spread between the Demon Prince's hand and the dark statue, as though in an instant the distance between them had transformed from arm's length to the ends of the earth, separated by countless stretches of time and space!
After Lucian's advancement to the third tier of legendary, the true power of the "Scepter of Space-Time" had been unleashed. The unpredictability of space-time was not merely reflected in the slowing or acceleration of time or the freezing of space, but also in various ingenious applications — such as this effect mimicking "Divine Protection." Of course, for reasons unknown to Lucian, this effect of existing in different worlds separated by countless dimensions still lacked the transcendent and intangible quality found in "Divine Protection" and the
The Demon Prince's hand was less than a meter from the dark statue in straight-line distance, yet it could advance no further. The illusory ripples had created layer upon overlapping layer of space-time, forcing it to traverse world after different world to reach its destination!
Seeing this, Natasha pressed forward, her silver-gray sword light unchanged in its resolute determination, cleaving toward the dark statue. The condensed illusory fissures seemed to be cutting through everything, shattering the black energy that continuously surged from the void, making it crumble and vanish.
The baboon head protruding from the dark sky displayed rage, its mouth opening wide as four snake-like fangs gleamed with an eerie light.
"Awoo!"
The Demon Prince let out a bestial howl. The sound seemed to hold no meaning, yet it contained the most evil and chaotic essence, causing the surrounding darkness to boil and the void to reveal different scenes — a boiling ocean, a wasteland of bones, a false castle, a swamp of souls, a stomach of the abyss, a dark jungle — one after another, evil Abyssal planes faintly emerging.
Dark Sacred Words? Before Lucian could even think, a boom struck his soul and brain as though hammered by a giant mallet. Various negative emotions and the desire for slaughter and bloodlust surged outward. The "Mental Barrier" and other magical protections on his body shattered one after another, and the frozen wall of space sustained by the "Scepter of Space-Time" was stained with a layer of black.
"Abrupt Reversal!"
In the brief moment when his magical protections momentarily countered the Demon Prince's howl, Lucian seized the opportunity and chanted the incantation. A crystalline mirror materialized, its patterns ancient and mysterious. Unlike the "Mirror of Destiny," which was shrouded in mist, this mirror's surface seemed to connect to another world entirely.
Crack — the reflection mirror produced by the "Abrupt Reversal" sprouted deep, ghastly cracks. Since the "Dark Sacred Words" was not a single-target spell, it could not be reflected back, but the damage was weakened enough to prevent Lucian from losing consciousness.
The "Dark Sacred Words" was neither Abyssal nor Infernal language. It was a form of legendary magic, an embodiment of the very essence of the
"Awoo!"
When the Demon Prince unleashed the "Dark Sacred Words," the silver-gray radiance of Natasha fused with the
And the countless layers of space-time between the giant hand and the Ferragande statue solidified layer by layer, no longer ethereal and elusive!
Malfurion had been preparing to cast his Druid Transformation, becoming a terrifying stone giant to destroy the Altar of Nature, when he was struck by the shockwave of the "Dark Sacred Words." His Nature Divine Arts were disrupted, leaving him dizzy and disoriented, able only to retract the wooden staff that had been restraining the "Blood Sovereign" for defense.
The tender green branches and leaves that had grown from within flesh and blood vanished. The beast head and the human-faced goat skull howled in unison with killing intent, echoing the Demon Prince.
The Demon Prince's giant hand bristled, the corrosive black liquid emanating a dense aura of evil and chaos, and it seized the layer upon layer of solidified, translucent-amber space-time before it.
Crack, crack, crack — fissures appeared across these illusory space-time planes, rapidly spreading and widening, shattering apart. The giant hand tore through them, drawing close to Ferragande's statue!
Within the Abyss, the Demon Prince's power would surge far beyond its norm. If it was within its own "Demon's Maw" plane, it possessed power approaching that of a quasi-deity — much like the Pontiff of the Northern Church after casting "Divine Descent."
But at this moment, Lucian felt no tension or fear. The Demon Prince's objective was perfectly clear: retrieve the dark statue and activate the Altar of Nature. It had not sealed off space-time, nor had it focused its full attention on himself, Natasha, and Malfurion. They could leave whenever they wished. Moreover, even if the Demon Prince devoted itself to dealing with him, on the Blood Plains, Lucian was confident he could escape.
In the darkness, a long tail suddenly emerged, thrusting toward Lucian. Its tip was wreathed in black energy, carrying an intense aura of negative emotion — as though being struck by it would immediately cause one's strength to plummet, as if hit by a Decay Ray or a Sword of Darkness.
This was one of the Demon Prince's primary methods of attack!
Crack — a crisp sound rang out. The tail, wrapped in black scales, struck the Abrupt Reversal mirror before Lucian, shattering it completely. The tail then recoiled, whipping back toward the baboon head protruding in the sky.