The ocean of the world's origin force surged and coiled around the giant Leilin had become, carrying with it the will of the Dream World!
Meanwhile, Cerulus, who stood opposed to Leilin, had become like an abandoned pawn of the Dream World, subjected to the hostility and suppression of the entire world.
"This is..."
Cerulus's gaze went blank for a moment. Then, the ancient memories lingering within his genes, along with his own terror of the Dream World, awakened in an instant.
The veil was swiftly torn away, and Cerulus couldn't help but cry out in alarm: "This is... the power unique to the Nightmare King! You've inherited his bloodline!!! The Nightmare Energy-Draining Constitution—the power cursed by all Calamity Lords!!!"
"Cursed by all Calamity Lords..."
Sensing the excited will of the Dream World and the enormous, inexhaustible supply of origin force, Leilin began to understand everything.
"That's right! It's the bloodline power that was sealed by all Calamity Lords! You're dead!!!"
Black smoke continuously seeped from Cerulus's pores and seven orifices, forming a multitude of weeping, twisted, screaming faces.
"The ancient warlock Nightmare King represented the terrible nightmare of all Calamity Lords—no one would ever want him to return! You're dead!!!"
Cerulus repeated in a dreamlike murmur: "As long as I pass this information out, just wait to be besieged by all the Dream Demon
"It's no use... The World
Leilin sighed. "And besides... right now, I'm not the slightest bit weaker than you..."
After receiving the Dream World's amplification, Leilin was now just as he had been in the Inferno World—no! Even more terrifying than that time!
Because he had now advanced to the seventh level as a warlock! The eerie power of the Nightmare Energy-Draining Constitution was unparalleled, and with the support of the Dream World's origin force, he had already reached the eighth level in pure energy, even surpassing the Calamity Lord before him!
With a sigh, Leilin struck suddenly!
The raging Snow of Destruction gathered in his hands like a master swordsman wielding his blade with perfect control, then surged toward Cerulus.
The Snow of Destruction was originally a weapon the Dream World used to weaken and punish Calamity Lords. In Leilin's hands as the executor of heaven's punishment, it fused with absolute harmony.
"You Dream Demon Gods, who recklessly plunder the world's origin force—I shall execute heaven's punishment upon you! I shall annihilate you all!!!!"
The multitudes of Snow of Destruction condensed into a terrifying greatsword, with the will of annihilation concentrated upon it. Leilin gripped the sword with both hands and brought it crashing down!
As he struck, a line of invocation slipped from his lips as if by instinct.
The mighty sword of destruction parted the black smoke, allowing Leilin to see Cerulus's twisted and terrified face.
In that instant, all the fog was swept away, revealing the truth of history to Leilin.
"The Nightmare Energy-Draining Constitution is the favored child of the entire Dream World. But there is no love without reason in this world—why did the World Will create it?"
This had always been the question lodged in Leilin's heart, and now he finally had the answer!
What happens when rule-level entities recklessly plunder the world's origin force? The Calamity Lords were the perfect example! Feared and suppressed by the World Will, there were even periods of origin force depletion and the descent of the Snow of Destruction—all proving that the World Will was doing everything in its power to destroy them!
Even the magnificent will of an entire world would grow furious in the face of such greedy vermin!
But rule-level entities were simply too powerful. Even if the Dream Will cut off the origin force supply and they automatically entered a state of decline, combined with the weakening from the Snow of Destruction, they could still endure through sheer force of sealing.
It was the Dream Will that, after severing the origin force for a time, could no longer sustain itself and had to voluntarily reopen the flow, restoring the world's origin force to absorb nutrients from the Star Realm and other worlds to grow stronger.
For the Dream Will, the multitude of Calamity Lords and Dream Demon Gods were like vampires feeding upon its body!
When endurance reached its absolute limit, the Nightmare Energy-Draining Constitution was born!
It was the Dream World's desperate gamble—even at the cost of splitting its own power and authority—to cultivate an executor powerful enough to exterminate these pests!
Thus, every generation of Nightmare Kings bore the heavy burden of purging the Dream World, slaying all Calamity Lords, and maintaining the balance of the entire Dream World!
"
Once he understood this, killing intent surged through Leilin's heart in an instant. His very bloodline stance meant he stood on the absolute opposite side from Cerulus. It was a matter of one or the other dying—no compromise was possible.
For Leilin, who still intended to use the Dream World's power to refine rules and establish the foundation of his path, slaying a Calamity Lord would naturally bring far greater benefits—even higher world authority!
"Today, you will fall here!"
Having clarified his killing intent and made his choice of path, the world's power swirling around Leilin instantly reached a new height.
Crack! Crack!
Countless bolts of black lightning descended, tearing through space, sealing everything off like a final cage, intending to slaughter the fierce prey within—a powerful eighth-level existence, a Calamity Lord—right here and now.
"No! I am the Lord of Calamity, wielder of the power of decay, an existence approaching the limit! How could I fall here?!"
Cerulus roared, raising his withered arm to meet the black thunder of destruction head-on.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The world's origin force howled, transforming into thunderbolts filled with destructive power, continuously striking down under Leilin's control.
A single bolt of this destructive thunder could grievously wound a rule-level existence, yet it took five or six full volleys before Cerulus's raised left arm finally shattered.
At the wound, a ring of eerie black air currents refused to disperse, filled with strangeness and malevolence.
Pus-yellow blood dripped to the ground, releasing large clouds of black smoke that formed into grotesque, mud-like creatures, writhing and screaming as they fled in all directions.
"Hmm?" Leilin furrowed his brows. A ring of black lightning swept outward, instantly annihilating these remnants.
Even the blood of a sixth-level wizard could inherit a portion of thought and spirituality, let alone that of a being above the rules.
With his arm severed and suffering grievous damage, layer upon layer of fine Snow of Destruction immediately clung to the wound, carrying a powerful dissolving force that continuously ground away at Cerulus's power and origin.
"Damn you! Damn you! Come out! Come out and face me!!!"
Cerulus thrashed about with his remaining arm amid the thunder prison and violent snowstorm: "Fight me in a proper duel! How could Cerulus die to such underhanded schemes?!"
"Don't be ridiculous!"
Leilin's voice came from all directions: "Victory is victory! What I love most are schemes and unfair advantages—achieving the greatest gains at the smallest cost... Compared to that, what are you worth?"
"What am I worth?"..."What am I worth?"..."worth?"...
The enormous voice echoed through the black destructive thunder, driving Cerulus's withered eyes into even greater madness.
"Heh heh... Not worth anything?"
Cerulus's expression actually grew calm, radiating an aura of foreboding: "In that case, let me show you the final ability of a Calamity Lord..."
Gurgle! Gurgle! Tumors rolled across Cerulus's body, transforming his originally gaunt frame into something extraordinarily plump, until he was swollen into a near-sphere, his skin stretched to its limit, threatening to burst.
An unstable, turbulent aura gathered violently upon his body.
"This form? Could it be—"
Leilin's expression shifted. From the void, nine Rule Chains suddenly extended, their sharp spearheads thrusting directly at Cerulus.
"It was originally prepared for my lifelong nemesis... the Despair Lord... Final Decay..."
A low voice emerged from the destructive thunder and spread across the entire battlefield in an instant.
Crack! Crack!
A layer of grey ripples emanated from Cerulus's body, and then his bloated form exploded.
The iron chains affected by the grey ripples first developed rust marks, groaned under the strain, and were then ground to powder by the ensuing explosion.
The terrifying explosion did not stop there—it crashed into the Snow of Destruction and the surrounding black lightning prison as well.
...
"What's going on?"
"Why has the World Will suddenly sealed off that area?"
Outside the prison of destruction, numerous Calamity Lords had projected their wills or even avatars into the area. But before they could exchange more than a few words, blinding light leaked directly from the irregularly rupturing prison.
The avatars and wills of the numerous Calamity Lords melted away before this power steeped in decay and destruction.
"That's Final Decay! Has Cerulus gone mad?!"
"Run! Quickly—"
Even those few who recognized the danger and fled fastest were caught by the blinding light at the edges, leaving behind only indignant roars.
"My Lord!" "Save us..."
The Dream Demon Lord was closest to the scene and suffered the greatest impact. Fifty to sixty percent of the native beings perished in an instant.
"Unacceptable! We must relocate!"
The girl who was the Dream Demon Lord's avatar gritted her teeth, and then the entire continent suddenly stirred, unfurling massive grey moth wings as it began drifting toward the deeper reaches of the endless void.
Before departing, the Dream Demon Lord gazed in Cerulus's direction, her beautiful eyes filled with worry.
...
"Calamity Lords really aren't easy opponents. I didn't expect I'd have to deal with this myself in the end!"
At the center of the explosion, the terrifying blinding light was blocked by the blood-red patterns on Leilin's body. Enormous quantities of world origin force were being consumed, but with the Dream World's supply, Leilin didn't care in the slightest.
After the shockwave subsided, a blue glow flickered in Leilin's eyes. His massive figure took a single step forward, and the surrounding scene shifted instantly—as if he had teleported—placing him before a massive black skeleton.