Above Southwind City, the collision of surging black water and golden flames created a thunderous roar, dividing the sky into shades of black and gold.
Celestial Pool Mountain shook violently, and the To-Sky River churned with monstrous waves, with the deafening sound echoing even from a hundred miles away, reminiscent of thunder.
Luca was enveloped in swirling golden flames, wielding the Solar Divine Spear like a storm; each swing unleashed a surge of divine fire.
Due to the suppression of the divine fire’s level, both Kraken and Pandora found themselves struggling defensively, unable to counterattack at all.
“Go, Luca!!” The crowd cheered, waving their flags in support of him.
“With this, Southwind City is saved!” Fred and the others were flushed with excitement, feeling victory was within reach.
However, the frowns of Orf, Bronte, and several other powerful figures grew deeper, ultimately leading to a resigned sigh.
“Luca has the upper hand, but why are you all sighing?” Melissa asked, somewhat puzzled.
Medel shook his head and replied, “You don’t understand. The power Luca possesses isn’t his own. While he may have the upper hand now, if he can’t completely eliminate these two monsters, it will all be for nothing in the end.”
Bronte nodded in agreement and added, “And that monster that looks like an octopus has an incredibly strong self-healing ability. Once Luca’s power is exhausted, it may not even have anything to deplete. By that time…”
He didn’t finish his thought, but everyone understood what he meant: at that point, Luca would likely be doomed.
The cheers from the crowd gradually faded, replaced by a growing sense of worry in their eyes.
“Please, don’t let anything go wrong…” Fratis clasped his hands together, fervently praying in his heart.
On the battlefield, Luca also understood this reality.
Though he was temporarily suppressing the two King-level monsters with the divine fire, he was acutely aware that this was just a temporary measure. Once the time for Solar Awakening was over, he would be instantly reverted to his original state, and even a Superclass monster could crush him with ease.
“I can’t delay any longer; I must end this quickly!” His attacks grew increasingly fierce and violent as he swung the spear, transforming it into a golden giant python that smashed through several of Kraken’s tentacles.
Black blood rained down from the sky, and out of the corner of Luca’s eye, he glanced toward the dock. With the help of Orf and the other Superclass powerhouses, most of the people had already evacuated, and it wouldn’t be long before everyone could leave.
As long as these people could safely escape Southwind City, even if they couldn’t kill Pandora and Kraken, that would be enough.
“You can’t escape!” Pandora noticed his thoughts, and her gaze suddenly turned chillingly fierce.
The reason she chose to descend upon Southwind City was that it was filled with humans, providing her with enough power from their desires to successfully ascend to divinity.
Now that her plan was still incomplete, how could she allow these people to leave unscathed?
With a cold snort, Pandora flickered and appeared above Kraken, her pale hand reaching directly toward its single eye atop its head.
Luca’s expression hardened as he rushed forward, trying to stop her, but Kraken’s newly grown tentacles blocked him for a moment.
In that brief delay, when he looked again, Pandora’s hand was already resting on Kraken’s single eye.
“Buzz!!” A black radiance erupted! The black formation, filled with obscure runes, instantly expanded around Pandora, completely enveloping the massive body of Starsea.
Kraken’s body suddenly stiffened, and all nine of its eyes trembled violently. Luca was shocked to see a hint of fear in the gaze of this mindless creature.
A bad feeling rose in his heart. Without thinking, the golden mark on his forehead flickered, and the golden sun behind him suddenly burst forth with endless light, unleashing an aura at the Transcendent level!
The sea of flames surged and roiled, with endless divine fire condensing above the heavens into a golden giant dragon stretching a full thousand meters!
“Roar!!” It opened its mouth and let out a roar that shook the heavens, charging toward Pandora with overwhelming divine power!
Pandora remained unfazed. The black formation suddenly accelerated its operation, causing Kraken’s body to tremble violently. It let out a mournful cry as its massive form rapidly shriveled, releasing strands of blood-colored demonic energy that exuded a strange desire, quickly merging into the black box.
The eye carved upon it gradually turned blood-red, and Pandora’s aura began to rise at a visible pace!
Just as the golden dragon was about to collide!
A tremendous surge of demonic energy suddenly erupted into the sky, sweeping across the heavens in an instant!
The world was plunged into endless darkness!
A gigantic scarlet eyeball abruptly opened within the darkness, and overwhelming pressure crashed down!
Pandora’s aura surged to the peak of Transcendence!
“Indeed, it’s not going to be so easy to deal with.” Luca sighed, gripping the Solar Divine Spear tightly. With Pandora not in her peak condition, he still had a chance, but now that she was regaining her full strength, escaping would likely be difficult.
“Grab the box from her!” Suddenly, Luca heard Jormungandr’s urgent voice in his ear.
“The box?” He instinctively glanced over. The black box hovered in front of Pandora, and among the four patterns on it, two were illuminated: the golden giant tree and the crimson single eye, while the remaining black coffin and the two-faced woman remained pitch black.
Jormungandr urged, “That thing is Pandora’s source of power. She has gone to great lengths to gather the four desires in order to use the black box to ascend to divinity.
“You have the Undead Coffin; the black box won’t reject you.
“This is your last chance. Once she merges the third desire, you’ll be doomed!”
In the past, Jormungandr would have been more than happy to see Luca perish, but if the cost was falling into Pandora’s hands, she would rather cling to Luca instead.
In her current state, being controlled by Pandora would mean a fate worse than death.
Luca thought for a moment and understood Jormungandr’s intention.
In an instant, his figure transformed into a golden rainbow, speeding toward Pandora.
“Hmm?” Seeing Luca not only refusing to run but actually charging toward her, Pandora was slightly taken aback. Then she thought of something, her expression turned cold, and she said icily, “You actually turned around to help the humans? Jormungandr, you truly are a disgrace among King-level monstermonsters!”
As her words fell, the black box in her hand burst forth with a blood-red light. The giant blood-colored eye in the sky shifted, its pupil locking onto Luca.
A beam of crimson light shot out, striking him. Luca’s body stiffened as he felt himself imprisoned by an overwhelming force, unable to move even an inch.
“Get lost!” he snorted coldly, and golden flames surged around him, shattering the blood-colored light column that enveloped him.
Then, golden light flickered.
Luca instantly appeared in front of Pandora.
With the Solar Divine Spear in hand, it seemed to pierce through space as he swung it fiercely toward her.
Pandora stepped back easily to dodge the attack.
She was about to speak when her expression suddenly changed.
At the same time, the air rippled with a purple hue as a pair of delicate, slender arms reached out of nowhere.
Taking advantage of Pandora’s focus on Luca, they grabbed the black box and tried to escape.
Dream traversal?!
“Damn you, filthy snake, you’re seeking death!” Pandora’s eyes rarely showed anger as she raised her hand to condense a black long knife and swung it directly at Jormungandr’s hand.
“Master!!” Jormungandr exclaimed, her voice sincere and untainted for the first time.
Luca didn’t let her down.
A flash of golden light appeared as the Solar Divine Spear shot out swiftly, perfectly positioned to block the black knife.
Boom!!
The two weapons collided, intertwining golden flames and black water, as violent power raged, cracking the very fabric of space. Jormungandr was struck by the shockwave and let out a muffled groan, instantly gravely injured, causing the black box to slip from her grasp and fly toward Pandora.
She froze for a moment, instinctively reaching out to catch it.
At that moment, a flash of azure light appeared, and the black box instantly vanished from sight.
Daylight Wind Shadows!
After acquiring the Demon Box, a torrent of desire surged forth, the chaotic thoughts causing Luca to feel momentarily disoriented.
The Undead Coffin was stimulated, pouring out rolling magical energy, and he felt somewhat better this time.
“Die for me!” With the Demon Box snatched away, Pandora immediately fell into a rampage, her Transcendent peak power fully unleashed! With a wave of her hand, a torrent of black water transformed into a celestial curtain, crashing down toward Luca and Southwind City.
The terrifying scene resembled the sky collapsing, leaving many spectators trembling in fear, and even Orf and the others showed expressions of concern.
In a critical moment, a golden statue rose to support the heavens! The sea of flames surged, forming a golden shield that enveloped Southwind City and everyone within, resisting the deluge of black water pouring down.
“What’s happening?” Luca frowned. Although he had obtained the Demon Box, it seemed that Pandora’s strength was not affected at all.
However, there was no response from Jormungandr in his mind.
Hiss!
Could it be that this woman is dead?
Luca scanned the contract space and found that Jormungandr had merely fainted, still breathing.
Just as he was considering whether to wake her up, an ancient voice rang out.
“Leave it to me.” A flash of light erupted from the Solar Divine Spear, transforming into the phantom of a white-haired young man.
He reached out and touched the Demon Box of Desire, and golden runes appeared out of thin air.
“Divine spell?!” Pandora’s expression changed dramatically, as if she had seen something terrifying, and she immediately tried to come over to stop it.
But it was too late; golden seals quickly gathered, eventually forming chains that tightly bound the Demon Box of Desire.
Almost simultaneously, Pandora’s aura visibly weakened, rapidly dropping from the Transcendent level to Superclass, even weaker than before.
It seemed that Jormungandr hadn’t lied this time; Pandora’s power truly came from this Demon Box of Desire…
“Now things will be easier.” Looking at the pale-faced Pandora, Luca sneered, his form instantly cutting through the void to appear in front of her, striking down toward her head with a palm.
Divine fire coalesced, its might terrifying, showing no mercy or tenderness whatsoever!
“Boom!!”
The golden flames surged forth, and weakened as she was, Pandora had no power to resist. The figure that had captured countless souls was instantly engulfed by the golden divine fire.
The black veil melted away, revealing her stunning face beneath the veil.
Her complexion was pale, her eyes filled with pain, yet she could not hide her unrivaled elegance and charm.
However, at the moment he saw that face.
The smile at the corners of Luca’s mouth slowly faded, replaced by a look of astonishment.
“How can it be you?!”