The sacrificial altar had already been frozen and dissolved within the "Forgiveness of the Ice Goddess," leaving only a thin layer of stone bricks before the "Gate of Azure." And there, the golden trident known as the "Grip of the Sea Emperor" lay silently, its azure "Key" and golden shaft gleaming in radiant contrast.
Suddenly, the golden trident rose into the air as though seized by an invisible hand, and from its shaft, a hand covered in black scales emerged, wreathed in flames that reeked of thick sulfur.
The hand, as though wearing a glove of fire, had clearly defined joints, and from each joint a pale bone spur protruded, each inscribed with sinister, intricate patterns. Meanwhile, the long pale fingernails were like swords condensed from death and destruction themselves — one look at them was enough to instill the feeling that nothing could withstand their edge.
As the hand became more distinct, a hazy figure gradually materialized from the air behind it. It stood dozens of meters tall, its black wings completely blanketing the space where the palace had been. The shadow of death arose of its own accord.
Two goat-like horns crowned its head, emanating an aura of extreme evil, extreme terror, and extreme power, causing the surrounding void to flicker between illusion and reality. Countless volcanoes erupted, molten lava burst forth, black smoke billowed in thick clouds, and the deep blue ocean heaved wave after wave — tsunamis powerful enough to annihilate entire nations.
At the same time, the ever-burning world, the bottomless chasm, the silent frost-covered plains, and the festering swamps of the Infernal Planes all came into vivid clarity, as though the entirety of the Nine Hells had descended upon this place.
An eerie, frigid, ethereal song drifted down from the pitch-black river that cut through the Nine Hells, making Aglaia, Lucian, and Natasha all feel their souls hollowed out, as though life had reached its end and they were yearning to cast themselves into this final resting place beyond death.
The Nine Hells — a graveyard of the dead utterly distinct from the Plane of Necromancy, a realm of evil under the dominion of devils!
Aside from the devoted followers of the devils, no living soul wished to fall into Hell upon death, for that meant either becoming spiritual nourishment for the devils, or dissolving into nothingness, leaving behind only the evil within the heart to merge with Hell's "Origin" and give birth to a new devil.
Since the Dawn War, this was the first time the "Lord of Hell," Maldemort, had descended upon the surface world in a nearly complete manifestation, no longer suppressed by the Primary Material World!
However, his head still lacked clarity — only those scarlet eyes that seemed to carry an eternal mockery were clearly visible. And his legs were not his true form either, but rather the sturdy legs of a merfolk, with deep blue webs stretching between his toes. It appeared that while he had descended with the vast majority of his power, if he wished to maintain the ability to descend stably in the future, he could not bring his full true form. Otherwise, even Helix's body would not endure many uses. And so, although Maldemort now wielded quasi-divine strength, he was not at his true peak.
He raised the golden trident and emitted a voice of supreme evil and blasphemy. Instantly, the "Azure Key" upon the "Grip of the Sea Emperor" trembled gently, its glow softening. A faint, barely perceptible sound of rushing water echoed through the void. Under its influence, the "Gate of Azure" also lost some of its lofty detachment, and its misty azure radiance began to rapidly expand, ready to engulf the great void.
At that very moment, Lucian and Natasha suddenly uttered a distant, cryptic incantation: "Reunion!"
The reason they had not chosen to activate "Reunion" immediately was that the "Lord of Hell" had been lurking in concealment. Worried that he might be nearby and would use his quasi-divine pressure or transcendent power to interrupt them the moment they began casting "Reunion," Lucian and Natasha had opted for the safer approach — blinking away and retreating through flight, watching for an opportunity, waiting for the right moment to escape.
When Maldemort had manifested upon the sacrificial altar and raised the golden trident, both of them realized that danger and opportunity had arrived simultaneously. Without a moment's hesitation, they deliberately triggered the pre-applied "Reunion" upon themselves — Reunion to their own home!
Two spheres of light blazed to life, and both of them vanished from the spot. But it was only then that the misty azure radiance fully activated.
Neither of them spared a thought for the "Elven Empress" Aglaia. Compared to the two of them — a Third-Rank Legend and a First-Rank Legend — she would at least not be completely helpless against a quasi-divine being. Besides, she had been standing at the edge of the void the entire time and could withdraw at any moment.
Before a quasi-divine being that lacked devastating trump cards like the "God Descent Art," as long as a peak Legend didn't foolishly insist on a head-on clash, there was still a reasonable chance of holding out for several dozen seconds and finding an opportunity to flee. Moreover, Aglaia's strength had increased enormously after her state transformation — she was nearly on par with Douglas.
After activating "Reunion," Lucian felt himself plunged into a strange "world" that was simultaneously pitch-black and blazingly bright. He lost all clear perception of the outside world and could only feel his body passing through an even more bizarre "veil" in some uncanny manner. In the blink of an eye, blurry phantom images of magic towers appeared before him — horizontal, vertical, diagonal — filling his entire field of vision.
Having used "Reunion" numerous times, Lucian understood that this was the destination — his own "Tower of Babel."
Just as he was about to merge into the magic tower, from the background of that paradoxically dark-and-bright space, a colossal hand wearing what seemed to be a glove of fire suddenly reached out. The thick stench of sulfur assaulted his nostrils, and the pale fingernails seemed about to shred his body and soul to pieces!
"Even this is possible?!" Lucian, stunned, felt the ambient magical forces shatter completely under the Lord of Hell's grasping hand, tearing him free from the "Reunion" state entirely!
So "Reunion" could be interrupted like this?! No wonder a cunning creature like the Lord of Hell hadn't bothered defending against their use of "Reunion" or other legendary spells to escape — he had simply gone about his business with the "Grip of the Sea Emperor," activating the "Gate of Azure"!
This was Lucian's very first true confrontation with a quasi-divine being, and both the magnitude of the level they occupied and their "high-end, classically superior" existence — fundamentally different from Legends — left him awestruck and shocked in equal measure.
The space around them shifted. Azure seawater swayed gently beneath their feet as Lucian and Natasha's forms reappeared. But no sooner had they materialized than the "Flame Colossus Hand" covered in black scales reached out from the void, grasping directly at the two of them. Its terrifying aura warped the surrounding scenery, creating the unmistakable feeling that Hell itself was descending!
The pale fingernails — those harbingers of death and destruction — elongated violently, slashing toward Lucian like a blade.
Facing this seemingly ordinary fingernail, Lucian did not doubt for a single instant that if it struck him, his Grand Arcanist's body and soul would simultaneously return to an eternity of unchanging silence. This was the quasi-divine's instant kill against anyone below peak Legend!
At that very moment, a mirror covered in intricate, elaborate patterns materialized beside Lucian, blocking the pale fingernail precisely.
*Crack.* The mirror — as though containing an entire other world within — shattered without the slightest resistance, yet the pale fingernail was forced back by a fraction!