Luca hovered high in the sky, his gaze calm and detached. Behind him, the towering golden statue of a god slowly dissipated into the air.
All that remained was a field of shattered stones and the faint glow of the Orb of Stars, with no trace of Queen Matilda in sight.
“He actually… he actually…” Countless people in Dawn City felt a storm of emotions churn within them. It was almost impossible to believe the scene unfolding before their eyes.
But the Queen of the Clinton Empire—how could she have been killed in public like this?
How could this boy… how could he dare to do this?!
“It’s over, it’s all over!” Inside the royal study, Alfred’s face turned ashen as he collapsed in despair into his chair.
With the Queen dead, no one could stop Luca’s march forward. All his years of restraint, ambition, and effort would be reduced to nothing, burned away in an instant!
At the thought, Alfred felt a tightness in his chest, his vision went dark, and he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of black blood before collapsing unconscious.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” A maid cried out in alarm, quickly rushing to summon healers for help.
“Mother… Mother…” Outside the palace, the crown prince, Leonie, was equally pale, staggering like a dying flame in the wind.
With the Queen’s death, no matter what happened to Luca.
He was now forever distanced from the throne.
Prince Runne, however, felt the exact opposite—his face was alight with joy.
With Queen Matilda dead, the crown prince’s power would inevitably wane!
Soon, no one would be left to contest the throne with him!
“This boy… does he even know what he’s doing?” Augustine muttered, tugging at his white beard and sighing repeatedly.
From the very start, he never imagined Luca would take things this far.
This would mean he had declared himself an enemy of the entire Clinton Empire!
“Hahaha, well done! I’ve never liked that Dawn God Sect woman!” Evelyn gritted her teeth and spoke bitterly.
Years ago, when Matilda had still been the saintess of the Dawn God Sect, Evelyn had had a deep grievance with her.
She had been secretly suppressed by Matilda, enduring numerous hardships without the chance to retaliate, and the frustration had been building in her heart ever since.
Now that revenge had been served, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction.
Luca paid no attention to the reactions of the others. His figure flickered, and he appeared outside the Dawn God Sect.
Just as he was about to step forward, his brows furrowed in sudden concern.
A brilliant white light suddenly enveloped him, casting a protective shield around the entire church.
The aura emanating from it was unmistakably Divine level!
“…A barrier?” Luca’s gaze fixed on the protective shield, his eyes narrowing slightly.
It seemed they had been prepared for this.
But did they really think a mere barrier would be enough to stop him? How naive…
His divine power surged, and a divine light shone in his hand.
A ball of golden flames appeared, condensing into a vivid, lifelike golden lotus.
As divine power continuously surged into it, the highly compressed force caused the flame-formed lotus to gradually turn a searing white!
The terrifying pressure emanating from it was so intense that even the surrounding space began to warp.
Divine-level Skill – Solar Lotus!
Luca raised his hand, and the searing white lotus slowly floated into the air.
The moment the lotus touched the radiant white barrier.
Time seemed to freeze for an instant.
Then, a blinding burst of divine light erupted, and the entire barrier began to tremble violently.
There was no sound.
Under the astonished gaze of countless onlookers, the Divine-level barrier began to melt away like snow.
In the next moment, it shattered with a thunderous crack!
The massive energy explosion made the entire Dawn City quake violently.
The pieces of the barrier turned into specks of light, dispersing into the air.
With a flick of his hand, Luca conjured a flash of golden light.
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A crimson-golden barrier once again enveloped the entire Dawn God Sect.
However, the roles had reversed—this new barrier was now meant to prevent anyone inside the temple from escaping!
Luca stepped into the temple.
Just moments ago, he had already sensed Fratis’s aura.
The magnificent hall unfolded before his eyes.
The white jade pillars stood tall, and the statue of the goddess radiated a soft, ethereal glow.
The golden magic circle slowly rotated, and at the very heart of it, two figures stood—one upright, one lying down.
His gaze swept over the saintess, Joanna, before landing on the figure within the golden array. She was a young girl dressed in a white nightgown, her eyes closed.
Upon seeing Fratis, Luca’s flames swirled within him, and a cold glint suddenly flashed in his golden eyes.
He had finally found her!
“Matilda didn’t stop you after all…” The saintess, Joanna, was dressed in a holy white robe, holding a Bible. Her star-like eyes gazed at Luca, full of undisguised astonishment.
The previous Divine-level barrier had blocked her perception of the outside world, so Joanna had no idea that Matilda had been slain by Luca on the spot!
“How would you like to die, Saintess?” Luca looked down, his gaze cold as he looked at the current saintess of the Dawn God Sect.
His voice was calm, as if asking her what she planned to have for dinner.
At the same time, an overwhelming divine pressure radiated outward!
But Joanna remained completely unfazed.
“Arrogant!” She sneered, raising her head to meet the terrifying figure with defiance in her eyes. “You’re nothing more than a false god who ascended to Divine level through external forces. You dare come to the Dawn God Sect and wreak havoc?”
“How convenient… today, I’ll make you the first sacrifice to my Lord!”
As her words fell, rays of dawn light began to glow from Joanna’s body.
Golden blood flowed from her eyes, running down her pale face, and eventually converging onto Fratis.
The golden formation suddenly accelerated in speed, and the divine light surrounding the Dawn Goddess statue flickered brightly!
In the next moment, an endless burst of divine light erupted from Fratis, and an overwhelming divine power descended with a thunderous roar!
“Divine blood…” Luca’s eyes narrowed slightly, realizing that the divine blood of the Dawn Goddess was now within Joanna’s body.
Though he had no idea what she intended to do, Luca knew he could not allow her to succeed.
In an instant, the golden light flashed and Luca appeared right in front of Joanna.
The Law of the Sun circulated, gathering an immense Divine Flame.
Luca swung his hand down with immense force, aiming directly for her head!
At the same time, the massive statue of the Dawn Goddess suddenly opened its eyes!
Vroom—!
Brilliant divine light exploded, and the immense divine pressure descended!
A blinding beam of divine light enveloped Joanna entirely.
Luca’s hand, covered in Divine Flame, collided with this beam of divine light!
The two divine forces clashed with an earth-shattering roar!
The entire Dawn City shook violently, as if the end of the world had come!
Luca frowned as his hand came to a halt just a few inches in front of Joanna’s face.
It could go no further.
“The power of a goddess is not something a mere mortal like you could even begin to fathom!” Golden divine blood continued to flow from Joanna’s body. Her life force was rapidly fading, yet a smile remained on her face.
At the same time, the Dawn Goddess statue trembled, and numerous magical runes flew out, merging into Fratis’ body.
Her eyes were tightly shut, and her body began to float into the air.
As the runes fused with her, her aura rapidly soared.
In the blink of an eye, she broke through numerous barriers.
She ascended rapidly, reaching the realm of divinity!
In an instant, brilliant light erupted from Fratis’ body!
A beam of light pierced through the Dawn God Sect and Luca’s barrier, shooting straight into the heavens!
As everyone watched in shock, the sky above began to change, revealing an endless, brilliant, and vast starry expanse!
Endless starlight poured down and, as it touched the young girl’s graceful form, it formed into a dazzling and magnificent starry robe, glowing with radiant light!
The stars shone down, surrounding her in a ring of brilliance!
Fratis’ eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes slowly opened. In that instant, the entire world seemed to lose its color!
Her eyes shimmered with countless star-like glimmers, and the Orb of Stars, as if responding to her call, shot into the sky, transforming into a crown made of countless stars, symbolizing the supreme authority of the gods. It landed atop the girl’s shining white hair!
“This is… the Dawn Goddess?!” Seeing this scene, countless people were stunned.
The rumors were true!
The Dawn Goddess was truly alive!
Luca’s expression finally changed.
“Damn it!” He clenched his fist, looking up, his eyes burning with murderous intent.
He was too late!
“Joanna… Kneel before my master!” Inside the Dawn God Sect, Saintess Joanna’s eyes were hollow, her voice hoarse. Her skin had become wrinkled.
After losing the divine blood, her life force rapidly withered, and her body visibly aged and shriveled, becoming withered and frail.
In just a few breaths of time, Joanna had transformed into a frail, shriveled old woman with graying hair, no longer possessing the beauty that had once been so captivating.
Yet Joanna didn’t seem to care at all. Her expression was filled with fanaticism.
Because she knew, once the Dawn Goddess descended, all that she had lost would be returned to her a hundredfold!
Fratis, or rather, the Goddess of Dawn, did not look at the withered Joanna.
Instead, she lowered her gaze slightly and looked at Luca.
In that moment, the gazes of the two divine beings collided.
One pair of eyes was filled with brilliant starlight, stars flickering with no trace of emotion.
The other pair burned with golden Divine Flame, surging and roaring with power.
Looking at that flawless, art-like face, Luca knew that the person before him was no longer the girl he once knew.
She was now the Goddess of Dawn – Sylvia!
In fact, she might even be an Ancient God!
Then, the Goddess of Dawn suddenly spoke: “Why does the divine rank of the Lord of the Sun reside in your human body?”
Her tone was calm, devoid of any fluctuation, as if speaking to a stranger. The overwhelming arrogance in her voice, the sense of superiority, was clear and unmasked. It was a pride that came from the very level of her existence.
To a deity, humans were nothing more than ants—no different from the cats and dogs of this world. Even though Luca now wielded the power of a god, to her, he was no more than a slightly larger ant.
Luca didn’t respond. Instead, he gathered his Divine Flame, transforming it into the Solar Divine Spear.
“Fratis… Where is she?” he asked, looking directly at her, his figure slowly rising into the air. There was no trace of fear in his golden eyes.
The Goddess of Dawn seemed unprepared for this human—this mere ant—to challenge her so boldly.
She paused for a moment before answering calmly, “She has already been obliterated beneath the starlight. It is her honor.”
She’s dead… Luca’s grip tightened involuntarily. Flames roared around him, swirling violently, just as his anger churned inside.
In the end, that girl had died right before his eyes!
The Goddess of Dawn sensed Luca’s fury but paid it no mind.
She spoke indifferently, “The Lord of the Sun gave everything for my Divine Court during the Divine Cataclysm.”
“Though I do not know how you obtained his legacy, it no longer matters.”
“From this day forward, swear eternal allegiance to me, and I will spare your life. Otherwise…”
She looked down upon the young man with calm disdain and said, “Then you shall die.”