"Forgiveness of the Ice and Snow Goddess!"
Countless fine filaments of current and laser light converged with an almost imperceptible quality onto Lucian's right hand, wreathing it as though in swirling snowflakes and ice crystals. Then, in a manner both unique and brimming with mystery, they intertwined and interwove with one another, ultimately unleashing a crystalline pillar of light—as though fired from the deepest, coldest reaches of the dark cosmos!
This "Forgiveness of the Ice and Snow Goddess" carried power so intensely condensed that not a shred leaked outward. At first glance it appeared utterly unremarkable, yet if one extended their senses to feel it, a bone-deep chill would seize the heart—as though witnessing the end of the universe, where all things fell silent and devoid of life.
The "King of Angels" Melkentron's face flickered with a trace of astonishment. He had never imagined that Lucian could unleash an Arcane Magic spell approaching the Legendary-grade "Doomsday Deep Freeze" of the "Dark Lord" Gornheim.
Because he was simultaneously maintaining the "Sanctum of Protection" and using his transcendent power to levitate the "Tablet of Space-Time," he could not react in time and was struck dead-on by the "Forgiveness of the Ice and Snow Goddess."
The "Chaotic Starfield" froze. The "Holy Light of Order" froze. The motes of angelic luminescence froze. The melodious sacred hymns froze.
The milky hue of the "Sanctum of Protection" rapidly drained away, turning deep and black—as though capable of devouring all light and warmth. That sensation spread swiftly outward in every direction, and inward toward the heart of the "Sanctum of Protection"!
This Legendary Divine Art, under such horrifyingly extreme cold, had frozen as well, locked rigid and lifeless—as though forging an eternal, unchanging silence, a silence in which nothing could ever move again.
In this state, it appeared pitifully fragile, utterly incapable of preventing the extreme cold generated by the dense web of currents and laser light from affecting the microscopic particles nearby, slowing their vibration to an abnormal crawl—this was the very essence of "temperature" on the microscopic scale!
The "King of Angels" Melkentron had never expected that his "Sanctum of Protection" would begin freezing from its very foundation, losing all vitality. So, when he saw the black, lightless cold surging toward him with irresistible momentum, a flash of panic crossed his face. He crossed both arms over his chest in the shape of a crucifix, and behind him, thirty-six sacred wings unfurled in unison, countless beams of radiance coiling and drifting around him.
And the seven-layered projection of "Heavenly Mountain" grew more vivid still. From its highest tier—an expanse overflowing with infinite radiance—peaks of terrifying intensity surged outward.
"Whoever calls upon Your name shall suffer no harm."
Before this unparalleled cold, Melkentron forgot the outside world. With extraordinary devotion, he knelt prostrate in midair and chanted from the "Sacred Canon."
Ha!
All the angels and spirits upon the six layers of Heavenly Mountain sang a hymn in unison, a sound something like that syllable—ethereal, far-reaching, and supremely holy. And the boundless radiance of the seventh layer seemed to brighten slightly, spilling forth the purest, cleanest, most immaculate light imaginable.
Within that light, the praying "King of Angels" Melkentron's body rapidly grew translucent. Colors and ripples that did not belong to this world spread outward, transforming the surrounding starfield into something resembling an entirely different plane of space-time.
The extreme cold conjured by the "Forgiveness of the Ice and Snow Goddess" could not affect other worlds. The black, frigid "ocean" repeatedly brushed against those illusory ripples yet proved unable to freeze them. Every spell had its own range of applicability—there existed no spell capable of defeating every enemy under all circumstances. Unless one resorted to brute force with no upper limit!
Witnessing this scene, Clement—who had been briefly suppressed by Natasha's frenzied assault—felt a dense layer of cold sweat break out across his back. Lucian Evans's monstrous spells were more terrifying than the last. If the "King of Angels" had not descended, he would never even have known how he died!
The "Forgiveness of the Ice and Snow Goddess" that had previously struck a passing asteroid had not given him a direct impression of its power, since there were quite a few Legendary spells capable of producing similar effects. But now, when facing it head-on at the peak of the Legendary realm against the "King of Angels" itself, the horrifying cold generated by the "Forgiveness of the Ice and Snow Goddess" left him shaken with retrospective fear. In his mind, he elevated Lucian's danger level to equal that of a peak Legendary powerhouse.
"Thank heavens for the 'King of Angels'! Thank heavens for 'Divine Protection'!" he felt, with genuine relief.
However, this had given Lucian an opening. Melkentron, using "Divine Protection," was in the same situation as Natasha when she maximized the defensive effect of the "Shield of Truth"—completely unable to move! In fact, the requirements of "Divine Protection" were even more demanding: he could not even launch an attack at the same time!
This ultimate form of space-time defense naturally came with its own flaw. If one was no longer in "the same space-time," how could one attack the enemy? In that regard, the defensive capability of the "Shield of Truth" was indeed inferior to that of "Divine Protection."
So, the instant Lucian saw the "King of Angels" deploy "Divine Protection," he immediately cast the 9th-circle spell "Precise Teleportation." A shimmering, indistinct gate of space-time materialized before him, and with a single step he passed through it, arriving at the surroundings of the "Tablet of Space-Time"!
Because Melkentron had previously used his transcendent power to levitate the "Tablet of Space-Time"—thereby causing its energy to contract—the spatial distortions around it had vanished. This was why Lucian could flash directly to its side, rather than having to fly toward it as Clement had.
"I have Melkentron to thank for this—he's cleared the path for me to take the 'Tablet of Space-Time'…" Under the influence of his Fate Star, this thought arose unbidden in Lucian's mind, and he connected it to everything that had come before.
A "Mage's Hand" condensed and reached for the "Tablet of Space-Time." Meanwhile, behind him, Melkentron—who was using "Divine Protection" to block the "Forgiveness of the Ice and Snow Goddess"—allowed the corners of his mouth to curl upward slightly, as though rather eager for Lucian to seize the Tablet!
The otherworldly extreme cold was violently repelled by the natural order. As the magical power sustaining it faded, the frigid black "ocean" rapidly dissipated, while the "King of Angels'" "Divine Protection" remained utterly immovable.
At that moment, Lucian's "Mage's Hand" had already taken hold of the "Tablet of Space-Time." Suddenly, from within the Tablet, a sinister blackness surged forth—like the most vicious, most ferocious "long serpent"!