Chapter 178: Sorry to Keep You Waiting
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 178: Sorry to Keep You Waiting
The moment that black crystal was pulled out, the surrounding shadows instantly rioted, surging into the crystal like a torrential tide.
Seeing this, Ivy immediately realized something was wrong.
She had barely taken a step forward when the black crystal slipped from the man’s hand and sank directly into the body of the Dim Snake Eye.
Boom—!!!
The Dim Snake Eye’s aura exploded, and the resulting shockwave sent Ivy flying backward.
By the time Ivy stabilized herself, the man in black who had suddenly appeared was nowhere to be found. Before she could even process his disappearance, the Dim Snake Eye’s attack was already upon her.
Clang—!
A transparent shield manifested in front of Ivy.
[Gift of Fate - Defense]
As the shield dissipated, it transformed back into a gray card and fell into Ivy’s hand.
Having blocked the strike, she finally got a clear look at the Dim Snake Eye’s full form.
[Chaos Demigod - Dim Snake Eye Lv.126]
[HP: 3,000 Trillion / 3,000 Trillion]
The Dim Snake Eye was no longer in its previous shadow form; it had achieved a solid, physical state. The purple snake eyes that were originally only on its head now covered its entire body.
The smaller snakes flanking the main head were being squeezed by the ever-growing eyes, gradually breaking off from the main body to become independent entities.
"The power of Chaos..." Ivy muttered, her brow furrowing.
Though she rarely encountered Chaos, she knew a thing or two about its characteristics. Its most prominent trait was its all-encompassing, heterogeneous nature.
Upon closer inspection, one would find that the power of Chaos was actually composed of tens of thousands of unrelated forces—some even fundamentally conflicting. Yet, Chaos somehow balanced these disparate powers, forging them into a unified, chaotic hodgepodge.
This made Chaos incredibly difficult to counter with any specific element; one could only oppose it with pure, raw strength.
Unfortunately, the raw strength of Chaos was anything but low.
The only price for such power was the toll it took on the host. Most could not withstand such a complex cocktail of forces, leading to loss of sanity and physical mutation.
Facing the Dim Snake Eye, which had now fully embraced the power of Chaos, Ivy slowly drew a card.
[Gift of Fate - Time]
[Manifest an item that has existed in history and obtain the authority to use it. Duration: 300s]
A second later, a silver greatsword appeared in Ivy’s hand.
[Moment of Imperial Glory]
With the sword in hand, Ivy charged straight at the Dim Snake Eye. The cards orbiting her instantly converged onto the blade.
Driven by a multitude of powers, Ivy gripped the silver sword and unleashed a radiant arc that seemed to split the sky.
Clang—!!!
For a heartbeat, the world was bleached white. A moment later, the surroundings came back into focus.
[Chaos Demigod - Dim Snake Eye Lv.126]
[HP: 21.2 Trillion / 3,000 Trillion]
Ivy’s strike, which had exhausted all her cards, had dealt a terrifying three thousand trillion damage, instantly plunging the Dim Snake Eye into a near-death state.
Furthermore, the Dim Snake Eye was now burdened with countless debuffs.
[Fragile as Thin Light Lv.8], [Blocked Thinking Lv.13], [Unfair Treatment Lv.5], [Buff Nullification Lv.1], [Apoptosis Lv.1], [Cold Silence Lv.1]...
The Dim Snake Eye ceased all movement, its massive serpentine body frozen in place.
Seeing this, Ivy raised the silver sword once more, prepared to end the creature for good.
Rumble...!!!
The surrounding shadows suddenly went berserk.
Before Ivy could react, the Dim Snake Eye’s massive body was enveloped by shadows and sank completely into the darkness beneath.
In the next instant, Ivy was struck by a sudden, piercing glare of sunlight. She looked up, her expression freezing in shock.
"The sun?"
From her perspective, the shadow space was dissipating. To be more precise, the shadow space was being absorbed into the Dim Snake Eye’s body.
As the shadow space vanished entirely, Ivy found herself back in reality. At the same time, a colossal figure followed her back into the physical world.
[Chaos Demigod - Mother of Myriad Dark Forms Lv.126]
[HP: 1.2 Quadrillion / 1.2 Quadrillion]
A pitch-black serpent, a hundred meters tall, abruptly manifested in Villanova, instantly crushing a vast swathe of buildings. The giant snake slowly reared up, the dense cluster of purple eyes across its body beginning to open one by one.
Suddenly, Ivy felt herself being locked onto by multiple forces.
[Eye of Profanity Lv.1], [Distorted Reality Lv.1], [Fate Interference Lv.1]
The cards floating around her suddenly lost their luster and fell to the ground.
By now, every eye on the giant snake was wide open, all staring down at Ivy. Its mind was completely blurred, leaving only a single, hazy objective:
[Kill the human before you.]
Ivy looked at the scene around her, a flicker of panic crossing her eyes. Her hair was still gold, meaning her powers as the Witch of Fate were still active.
However, she quickly noticed something wrong with her surroundings.
The once-prosperous Villanova was now devoid of a single living soul. Even in the houses destroyed by the giant snake, there were no signs of any victims. For some unknown reason, Villanova had become a ghost town.
While this meant she didn't have to worry about civilian casualties or her identity being exposed, the eerie situation still felt deeply wrong.
Before she could piece it together, a jet of pitch-black breath erupted from the giant snake’s maw.
[Aberrant Dark Tide Lv.1]
Ivy glanced at the cards scattered on the ground. Just as she prepared to dodge the attack, the shadows beneath her feet surged up, binding her legs in a death grip.
The Aberrant Dark Tide hurtled toward her.
Boom—!
Once the chaotic breath dissipated, Ivy opened her eyes. The attack hadn't hit her.
Instead, a white-haired girl stood before her.
Xie Bai.
"Hi there."
She gave Ivy a faint smile.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I was busy dealing with some insignificant small fry and handling a few other matters."
With that, Xie Bai glanced at the quest notification floating in her peripheral vision.
[- When the Dome Falls -]
[Objective: Find and subdue "Dim Snake Eye" (Changed)]
[Current Objective: Resolve "Mother of Myriad Dark Forms" (Incomplete)]
[Additional Objective: Kill all other assassins (Completed)]
[Additional Objective: Kill the Cult Leader of Chaos (Completed)]
Looking at the prompts, Xie Bai slowly drew Funeral Rites.
"By the way, your two students are at the city gate right now. They’re perfectly fine."
As she spoke, Xie Bai’s figure vanished from in front of Ivy. When she reappeared, she was hovering directly above the giant snake.
Facing this sudden white-haired girl, the mindless serpent felt a sudden, instinctive urge to flee. But just as it tried to retreat, a powerful external consciousness overrode its fear, forcing it to stay.
Hiss—!!!
The giant snake let out a low, grating roar, driving its massive body forward to strike at Xie Bai.
Xie Bai, however, remained unhurried as she spoke.
"Mother of Myriad Dark Forms... capable of absorbing surrounding shadows to grow and restore health..."
After skimming the giant snake’s attribute panel, Xie Bai tightened her grip on Funeral Rites.
"But what does that have to do with me?"
She swung the blade down.
The edge of the blade collided perfectly with the largest eye on the giant snake’s head.
[-Weak Point Critical Hit-]
-3,034.12 Trillion!
-3,034.12 Trillion!
-3,034.12 Trillion!