Chapter 577: A Strike to Reshape Order
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 577: A Strike to Reshape Order
"How is this possible? Even with over-consumption spellbooks..."
The crowd watched the Witch Academy's side in despair. The massive body they had destroyed through their combined efforts was knitting itself back together, as if no attack could leave a lasting mark on this gargantuan monstrosity.
Earlier, when the Player's silhouette appeared in the sky above the dungeon space, the shattered pixels they had fought so hard to disperse had converged into a humanoid pixel giant.
In an instant, this creature had utterly crushed everyone’s unrealistic fantasies.
Many had charged forward again, tearing the behemoth apart just as they had before, only for the destroyed sections to "heal" in moments. Faced with an opponent that had no need for defense, the students had already lost several of their top combatants in a shockingly short amount of time.
"This is your so-called over-consumption spellbook? I thought it would be impressive... Pathetic!" The massive figure controlled by the Player reached out and snatched the student who had just unleashed her full-power strike.
The pixelated palm clamped down on the girl, who was still in her transformed state, as if pinning an insect.
"Let... go of me!"
Resisting the crushing force, the girl desperately pushed her over-consumption transformation spell to its limit. Rising flames erupted from the gaps between the pixels, and the searing heat, backed by terrifying power, blasted the giant's hand apart.
Only then did she manage to break free.
"President!" Seeing her escape, several people immediately rushed forward to support her.
The one they called "President" was, of course, Ming Xueming, the head of the Jack-of-all-trades Club.
"I'm fine... I'm..." The aura radiating from Ming Xueming’s transformation began to recede. To violently break the giant's grip just now, she had essentially traded a hundred of the enemy's health for a thousand of her own.
If she didn't deactivate the transformation spell now, it would likely be forcibly interrupted, leading to a lethal spell backlash.
As they caught their breath, the pixelated hand that had been blown apart was already restoring itself.
"Watch out!"
Seeing the hand reaching out again, Ming Xueming hurriedly led her rescuers in a desperate dodge. She didn't even have time to extinguish the flames on her body before rolling clumsily to the side.
A thunderous boom echoed from where they had just stood. The hand slammed down, accompanied by a rain of falling pixel blocks—a strike as casual as swatting a fly.
Dust and debris sprayed in all directions, but even the smallest particles were perfectly regular, geometric pixel blocks.
This was the most direct manifestation of the domain order shaped by Transcendent Pixels.
"A complete rabble. Faced with absolute power, you don't have the slightest ability to fight back! 'Children of Destiny'? You're nothing but a bunch of spoiled brats coddled by your own worlds! And yet you actually treat yourselves like treasures?"
"I've seen too many Children of Destiny in too many worlds. They scream about friendship or love and charge at us recklessly, only to end up exactly like you."
"You think you're special because you're Children of Destiny? That's just a self-indulgent fantasy born from being trapped in a tiny corner of the universe."
"You have no idea what the world outside actually looks like..."
The Player mocked them relentlessly while simultaneously suppressing everyone with overwhelming force.
But while the speaker was merely venting, the listeners took it to heart.
The perspective the Players were forcing upon them served as a brutal disenchantment. They were stripping away the beautiful filter everyone had placed on "Luck" and the mindless expectations held for "Children of Destiny."
Being forcibly told the truth felt familiar... Some began to recall a similar event. The sense of déjà vu was overwhelming; the last time this had happened was during the incident at Ninglan New City.
Back then, they had been ground into the dirt by Dream Demons. Even though they eventually won, those Dream Demons had looked down on them from a height, cutting them deep with the truth.
It was that event that had placed the Children of Destiny on a pedestal; this time, they were being violently knocked off it.
Reality seemed to be telling them that there was no such thing as a free lunch, and no one was inherently superior.
Ignorance and innocence had shaped their false rise; the truth was now a sharp blade piercing through their swelling vanity.
The psychological blow was far more painful than the physical one. In this moment, the Children of Destiny gathered here reacted differently: some went mad, some wept, some refused to accept it, and some remained expressionless.
Perhaps this was simply the inherent difference between individuals.
Tan Han stood there dazed, staring at the threads of Luck fluttering in the sky.
She was perhaps the one with the calmest reaction.
At the same time, she seemed to finally understand the level Xiao Han operated at. Children of Destiny... really weren't all that much.
But it wasn't too late to change, was it?
The Children of Destiny had lost their so-called halos. Looking back, they were merely newcomers who had entered the transcendent world half a year ago, their eyes dazzled by its kaleidoscopic wonders.
But now... having realized this, they still had plenty of time to correct their mistakes.
"Qiuyue... can you control those threads of Luck? If we just leave them... the Players are going to harvest all of it..." Tan Han finally turned to Ninglan Qiuyue and asked.
"I'm afraid not... With this much Luck, even if everyone sacrificed their flesh and blood to Ninglan's Heart, it wouldn't be enough. Besides, I'm not capable of that level of control," Ninglan Qiuyue replied, shaking her head.
Ninglan Qiuyue was much like Tan Han; she was perhaps the least obsessed with her status as a Child of Destiny.
She wasn't good at jockeying for power in the Main World. She simply played her role as the City Lord of Ninglan New City.
Even her relationship with the Witch Secret Realm Club had started because they sought her out, wanting to establish a connection with Ninglan New City.
She had heard that Ninglan New City would be making big moves during this break, but under the advice of various teachers and even the Academy Dean, she hadn't returned.
Tan Han stared blankly at the blood-red sky. Currently, only she could see exactly what the Players were doing.
While everyone else was in despair, the Players were frantically harvesting the power of Luck, and she was powerless to stop them.
Was she truly powerless?
Tan Han asked herself: if she wanted to accomplish something, did she care if she was the one to do it, or did she just want the result?
She already had the answer in her heart.
The process was undoubtedly important, but clearly... the result was more vital right now!
As Tan Han was thinking, a sudden cold wave erupted in the distance.
Tan Han instinctively thought it was the power of the Heart of the Cold Wave, but when she looked over, she realized it wasn't.
The power had erupted from where the Afuhemi Forest Elves were gathered.
The phantom of an elf made of ice and snow held up a shield of frost, protecting a single figure.
Only those from the Afuhemi Academy knew what this was.
It was the "Snow Spirit's Blessing," a gift from an Afuhemi Academy Mentor to the Child of Destiny Yao Beijuan. It would only trigger its protective power in moments of extreme danger.
It was an excellent life-saving measure, but it couldn't protect Yao Beijuan and the others forever.
Right now, everyone had been played by the Players. They possessed powerful means, but their own strength had been exhausted prematurely. Even on the Witch Academy's side, no one was left who could manifest the peak of their power—the over-consumption spellbooks.
"Tan Han... don't you still have a way to summon Yang Yuehan...?"
"Yeah... it seems there's really nothing to hesitate about anymore..." Tan Han nodded, not refuting the suggestion. "Tell me... it's been so long. Why haven't the mentors from the transcendent academies shown up yet?"
"I don't know."
"Maybe it's just like that time in Ninglan New City. Perhaps they're already watching our performance from somewhere we can't see... It's just that this time, we've handed in another disastrous answer sheet..."
Tan Han asked the question and answered it herself; she had known the answer deep down for a while.
Perhaps the Players' arrogance was only possible because of the mentors' indulgence.
"Is that how it is?" Ninglan Qiuyue responded, her voice tinged with surprise, though she didn't disagree.
"Xiao Han became a teaching assistant. Right now, she's probably observing our reactions just like those mentors, isn't she?" Tan Han held up a business card. Last time, she had tried summoning Xiao Han and it had saved her life. This time, she would likely have to trouble Xiao Han again.
"That's the... thing you use to summon Xiao Han?" Ninglan Qiuyue looked at the card in Tan Han's hand. It bore the name "Yang Yuehan" along with contact information.
"Yeah... anyway, I just hope I'm not dragging Xiao Han into a deathtrap..."
Once the decision was made, she no longer hesitated.
Instantly, countless ritual runes emerged from the business card. The way these runes manifested was visibly far more advanced than the small tool she had used before.
As the runes appeared, a spell array was constructed in a flash!
"Wait... Tan Han, don't try to fight that thing head-on!"
The sudden appearance of the rune ritual caught the attention of those nearby. Several senior sisters near Tan Han called out in a panic, trying to stop her from doing something foolish.
Even they felt powerless to resist this enemy; what could Tan Han possibly do?
The only reason they were still holding on was in hopes that the Witch Academy mentors would notice the anomaly and step in to save them.
The enemy's strength far exceeded their understanding; waiting for rescue was nothing to be ashamed of.
But Tan Han didn't stop. She knew exactly what she was doing. She had activated the summoning card... and that meant she was compromising, admitting defeat, and acknowledging that she lacked the ability to turn the tide in this situation.
"Oh? You still dare to move against me? How reckless!"
"I know it's reckless... but I never said I was the one moving!" Tan Han actually felt a sense of relief in this moment. Even her voice regained its confidence.
Now... her only worry was whether Xiao Han could arrive immediately. Thinking of this, Tan Han instinctively closed her eyes.
If she couldn't... then all her theories were wrong. It was all just her imagination, there was no grand design, and she was simply fated to suffer this calamity.
But if she could...
Tan Han thought to herself, estimating that the giant's strike was about to land on her head.
Driven by the instinctual fear of death, Tan Han couldn't help but open her eyes. Even if she was going to die, she wanted to face it head-on.
But when she opened her eyes, she was stunned by the sight before her!
The ritual composed of runes emerging from the card was glowing with an intense light—the sign that the summoning ritual had been answered.
Then, a familiar figure emerged from the white light.
"As I thought..." Tan Han sighed softly.
The tension vanished instantly. She felt her body go weak after the extreme stress, her footsteps becoming unsteady.
Everyone's attention was drawn to this sudden change. They didn't know what Tan Han from the Witch Academy had done, but as the light faded, a figure appeared before them.
She simply stood there, holding a long blade sheathed at her side.
Facing that massive pixel creation, she didn't show a hint of fear.
Even from a distance, they could resonate with that expression of utter fearlessness.
* * *
Perspective shift to me.
Summoned by the reverse summoning spell once again. I thought I might be able to feel my physical position moving during the summoning, but I failed. No matter, I had more important things to do.
"Talk about cutting it close."
I looked up at the massive hand swinging down toward me and chuckled, unconcerned.
No matter how fast it moved, in my perception, it was unnervingly slow. If I wanted to do something, time would come to find me...
My cognition and understanding of Time Sense were no longer limited to reading books or formal study... or rather, everything I did was now a form of study.
My left thumb pushed against the handguard, and a completely different kind of Order bloomed from the two inches of exposed blade.
"I told you... I would do it right in front of your faces..."
My voice rang out. Even for those with different perceptions of time, they heard my words with perfect clarity, without a hint of distortion.
Accompanying my voice was the faint sound of friction between the blade and the scabbard.
The blade was drawn halfway. An invisible Order rippled outward, and the pixelated dust floating in the air was instantly cleared, creating a vacuum zone around me.
The blood-red visual filter of the world began to crumble.
Just by standing there, I gave off the impression that my "art style" was fundamentally different from everyone else's.
The ground, originally made of pixels, turned into a shimmering surface of water. Ripples spread outward from beneath my feet.
"...I'm going to cut down the power you're most proud of!"
As I finished speaking, all the anomalies retracted, as if everything just now had been an illusion—save for the cold glint of the blade in my hand.
I took a step forward. The giant hand rushing toward me slowed down again, but this time, the slowness wasn't just in my eyes—it was slow in the eyes of everyone present.
Ignoring everything else, I held the blade with one hand, my gaze turning resolute.
In the next instant, a silver crescent moon slashed out!
It cut straight toward the imposing, massive hand.
Where the blade passed, it was as if space itself had been severed. A glimpse of a colossal silhouette flashed within the rift.
The countless pixel blocks accompanying the giant hand blotted out the sun, radiating an irreversible Order, intending to utterly crush its target.
But now, all of it was swallowed by that silver blade-light!
The strike that had seemed unstoppable was reshaped by a different Order. Countless Transcendent Pixels were ground into nothingness as the two Orders collided!
The momentum of the blade-light didn't fade. It tore through the pixel creation's right arm. The enemy didn't even have time to defend—or perhaps, they had never even considered the need for defense.
The blade-light cleaved the giant's body in two. The two halves of the silhouette collapsed with a roar. They tried to pull themselves back together, but to their horror, they found they couldn't!
Between the two halves of their frame, a different Order emerged from the path of the blade-light. It continued to spread, sending out tiny cracks that eroded the very Order of the dungeon.
The blade-light finally struck the distant horizon, and it was as if the sky itself had been torn open.
Everyone's gaze was drawn to the image revealed through the tear in the sky.
It was a tree so massive its full form couldn't be grasped!
Even with the sky torn open, they could only see a single branch.
Upon it, infinite knowledge flowed. Even a single glance caused a dizzying rush of endless information to flood the mind.