"A positron cannon?"
Melkentron was mildly surprised. Though he had been following the Arcane Council's research into the microscopic domain and possessed solid magical knowledge, his focus and the things he wished to learn were concentrated primarily in the fields of astral phenomena and quantum superposition. His understanding of antimatter and positrons was limited to basic concepts, so this spell was entirely foreign to him.
More importantly, since quantum field theory had yet to develop and the concept of "vacuum fluctuations" had not yet been proposed, no one had conceived of the description of positron-electron annihilation upon collision. Not a single Archanist had even put forward the erroneous picture of a negative-energy vacuum sea. Thus, aside from Lucian himself, every other Archanist knew only that antimatter could hardly persist in the primary material world, because it would mutually cancel out with ordinary matter — they were entirely unaware of the chain-reaction annihilation effect that antimatter could produce, unaware that once its quantity reached even a relatively small threshold, it could achieve world-ending devastation!
Since not even all the other Archanists had researched it to that level, how could the "King of Angels" Melkentron possibly know?
In that rapidly shifting instant, he realized he had been deceived by the "Substitute Doll," and had time for only a single response. Without the slightest hesitation, he spread his arms wide. His wings blazed pure and radiant as holy light of milky white descended from the projection of the seven-layered Heaven:
"Sanctuary!"
If he used "Divine Protection," he would be unable to move for a short period — and Lucian Evans, who had already seized the "Tablet of Space-Time," would be able to leave the Abyss with Natasha effortlessly and at ease, provided the "Dark Lord" had not yet broken free from the "Ice and Snow Goddess" and the "Lord of Death." Clement, that worthless fool, was still being suppressed by Natasha and could do nothing to stop them!
Therefore, he chose "Sanctuary," preserving his ability to attack while doing his best to pin down and restrain Lucian, waiting until the "Dark Lord" Gornheim drove back the two Demon Lords and arrived to join the siege — roughly twenty-plus seconds should have passed by now, and Gornheim ought to have turned the tide!
Waves of milky holy light descended like the pillars of a great temple standing around Melkentron, radiance blooming outward and transforming the surrounding expanse of starry sky into an ocean of sacred light. Combined with the sonorous hymns carried down from the projection of Heavenly Mountain, the area around Melkentron became a "heaven upon the earth."
"Positron Cannon!"
Beyond Lucian's left hand, what appeared to be a pitch-black magnetic field took shape — twisting, constricting, causing the very fabric of space to ripple with an eerie tremor.
Countless invisible particles converged, no longer forming the silvery-white arc of electricity but a current that blazed like flame. The currents braided together into a great serpent of lightning wreathed in fire, which shot forth like a thick beam of laser light.
Had the "King of Angels" not descended so uncannily, had Lucian's preparations not been so thorough — preventing the "Dark Lord" and the "Lord of Flames" from holding him back for enough time — in a situation where every second counted, with two peak-legendary powers deliberately obscuring his perception, he might not have sensed the danger, might not have maintained such sharp vigilance, might not have sent the "Substitute Doll" to retrieve it instead.
And so, in this vacuum, Lucian hesitated not at all as he unleashed the "Positron Cannon"!
A colossal pillar of lightning, faintly shimmering with phantom flames, roared forth with overwhelming force toward the "King of Angels" Melkentron. Constrained by the magnetic field, it stirred not the slightest disturbance in the "Chaotic Starry Sky," resembling nothing more than an ordinary blast of flame.
At that moment, Melkentron's "Sanctuary" was just completing its formation, enveloping him in the perfect shelter of the "Temple"!
Behind Melkentron, his angelic wings drew together. Every mote of sacred light rose up and converged before him into a small, delicate "Herald of Heaven." He would invoke the true "Light of Heaven" in his capacity as Viceroy of Heaven — if the plan had failed, then he would rely on his own power to seize victory by force!
The ever-flashing, ever-flowing pillar of lightning, blazing with fiery hues, slammed savagely into the "Sanctuary."
Then, in Melkentron's golden eyes, a look of utter disbelief blazed forth. Where the two forces met, a blinding radiance erupted — comparable to having the sun itself materialize before one's eyes. The "Sanctuary" not only failed to serve any defensive purpose, but itself erupted in a chain of explosions as the light blazed ever brighter.
Boom!
The terrifying detonation could not propagate through the vacuum, yet in that fleeting instant, everything in the surrounding space was swallowed into what seemed like an annihilation that would never cease. Melkentron had no time to react whatsoever — the annihilation of the Sanctuary had already spread to his very body!
"What manner of spell is this?"
"Why does it possess such terrifying, unnatural effects?"
"It seems as though nothing can withstand it!"
In that instant, Melkentron suddenly felt a premonition that the world itself might be destroyed — as though if this power continued to escalate, it would surpass even the "Divine Descent" in sheer destructive capability!
But this sudden epiphany could not help him escape the ocean of annihilation pressing in from every direction. The instantaneous chain reaction left him no time to cast "Divine Protection"!
"No!"
In that cry wrenched from the depths of his soul, Melkentron's golden eyes blazed with disbelief and terror beyond measure. He felt his body, his very soul, annihilating ceaselessly — irreversibly annihilating — from the inside out and the outside in, twin cascades of terrible explosions generating an unimaginable storm of energy!
A face fair and beautiful as a woman's, and thirty-six pure white wings — all reduced to ash in the same instant!
Clement had gradually steadied himself under Natasha's frenzied assault. Just as he was preparing to counterattack, the pressure suddenly eased — Natasha had abandoned everything and fled into the distance! The "Sword of Truth" cleaved through the starry sky, and in an instant she appeared in an entirely different direction!
"Why would she flee?"
"Is she afraid?"
"She's no longer trying to stop me from taking the 'Tablet of Space-Time'?"
These instinctive thoughts of bewildered surprise had barely surfaced in his mind when, attuned to Lucian's fluctuating, radiating spiritual energy — those special electromagnetic waves — he "heard" the bizarre and boundless incantation being recited: