Zenobia’s power, even if it was only a slight Perception, was enough to make it feel like one couldn’t breathe.
At this moment, Sophia had no chance of survival in her grasp. It would be better to just wait quietly for Zenobia to release them.
After all, she didn’t want to end up buried alongside Luca, that bastard.
“Shut up!” Luca’s breathing was ragged, his gums bleeding as he clenched his teeth. To Jormungandr, Sophia was just an ordinary human, and naturally, she couldn’t understand his actions.
After all, how could a snake possibly understand human emotions?
“Fine, do as you wish. But if you die, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Jormungandr was also a bit angry. To her, human emotions seemed completely irrational.
She knew the outcome was already sealed, so why waste time torturing herself? With a huff, she retreated back into the Dreamweaving space. The Abyssal Demon Realm was left with only Luca.
He didn’t pay her any mind, only raising his eyes to watch Sophia’s life force grow weaker. A sense of guilt overwhelmed him like a tide, but Luca knew that this kind of emotion was useless.
What he needed to do now was to find a way to break free from the divine spell’s control and figure out a way to save Sophia.
But how could he break this divine spell?
Luca’s mind raced through various solutions. Breaking the restraints by brute force was almost impossible. That left him with only one option.
To break the God King-level monster’s divine spell!
But how could one possibly break a divine spell from a God King-level monster? He tried to perceive the runes with his mental energy, but even then, he could not begin to understand their operation. It was as though a grade-schooler were trying to understand advanced calculus. With his mastery over secret techniques, even breaking a Divine-level spell would be incredibly difficult, let alone one from a God King-level monster.
What was he supposed to do?
Luca pondered this for a long while, but he couldn’t come up with any ideas.
As he watched Sophia’s breath grow weaker, a wave of helplessness surged within him.
If only his strength were enough, he wouldn’t have to be in this situation. Even without strength, if he had enough knowledge of secret techniques, he wouldn’t be here, helplessly watching his woman suffer…
Luca, feeling utterly dejected, suddenly froze. It was as if a flash of insight had just struck him.
Although he couldn’t quickly increase his proficiency with secret techniques, there was still something else he could improve: his perception attribute! If he could enhance his perception to an extraordinarily high level, perhaps there was a chance he could break the God King-level monster’s divine spell.
The most important part was that he had just recently obtained an item that could potentially meet his needs, one that he hadn’t even had time to store in his storage ring—it was still in his hands.
It was the Primordial Crystal that had dropped from Rod!
Source Power was the most primal and universal form of energy. If he could absorb the power within the Primordial Crystal, he might be able to elevate his perception to an unfathomably high level.
With this thought in mind, Luca immediately began channeling his mental energy, directing it toward the Primordial Crystal in his hands, intending to absorb its power.
…
Above Haicheng, Zenobia pursed her lips, watching Luca. A strange discomfort stirred within her, almost as if something inside her didn’t sit right.
Winston, Augustine, Evelyn, and the others watched as well, all of them letting out long, heavy sighs.
Augustine rubbed his forehead, his voice tired, “If Lucia knew what was happening to these two kids, I think she’d be furious enough to want to kill someone.”
“This is beyond our control, and I’m afraid this is only the beginning.” Winston shook his head, adding, “The power of the Lord of Sin is truly terrifying. No one on the entire Eternal Continent can match her. If she wanted to destroy a country, she could do it with just a flick of her hand.”
Evelyn’s eyes darkened with concern. “The most terrifying part is that there’s no one to counterbalance her. Sophia may only be the beginning.”
Everyone in the group felt helpless. After all, the Divine Court had been destroyed under Zenobia’s hand all those years ago. How could any of these human powerhouses hope to stand against her?
While they were all lost in grim thoughts, something suddenly changed within the Abyssal Demon Realm. As the fusion continued, Sophia’s form was becoming increasingly illusory, her life and soul being absorbed into Zenobia’s body. At this rate, in less than two hours, Sophia would completely disappear from this world.
The group felt an overwhelming heaviness in their hearts.
At that moment, a deep, muffled sound suddenly echoed through the otherwise silent Abyssal Demon Realm. It sounded like something had snapped under pressure.
“Hm?” Zenobia slightly turned her head, an expression of mild surprise crossing her face.
Luca’s body was covered in blood, his face flushed, and he trembled uncontrollably.
His aura was chaotic, and yet, the God King-level monster’s divine spell that had once bound him had broken in half.
This was a divine spell that even a God Lord-level entity could not escape from.
Boom! Another muffled sound rang out, and the purple divine spell wrapped around Luca cracked once again.
“Interesting,” Zenobia murmured, her eyes narrowing as she carefully observed Luca. After a brief moment, a look of surprise appeared in her gaze.
She realized that the reason Luca was able to break free from the God King-level monster’s divine spell wasn’t due to brute force, but rather because he had found a way to counter the divine spell of such a powerful being.
She had only placed the divine spell on him half an hour ago.
How on earth had this human managed it? Even she couldn’t understand.
With the two muffled sounds, it seemed to set off a chain reaction.
The divine spell on Luca began to shatter, piece by piece.
The nearly impossible-to-break barrier, which had once seemed unbreachable, was being slowly dismantled before everyone’s disbelieving eyes.
“How is this possible?!” The most astonished of all was the Solar Divine Spear.
He understood better than anyone what the God King-level monster’s divine spell meant, and he knew just how incredible it was that Luca had managed to break through it.
After all, this wasn’t just any high-tier Superclass divine spell; this was one of the most powerful secret techniques in all the worlds. What kind of absurd talent did this guy possess?!
“Luca…” Sophia, still clinging to some sense of awareness, looked at him and felt a complex mix of emotions. Her heart was touched, but also helpless.
“Remember what I said before,” Zenobia’s cold voice echoed, “If there’s even the slightest mistake in the fusion, even if he breaks free from the divine spell, I won’t allow him to leave the Abyssal Demon Realm alive.”
Sophia remained silent, but a hoarse voice suddenly came from a distance.
“You can try,” Luca said, bloodied and panting, stumbling toward them.
His face was weary, and blood was still trickling from his nostrils.
Using all his divine power to break the divine spell had taken an enormous toll on him.
Zenobia looked at him coldly and said, “Your perseverance is commendable, and your talent is decent, but your power is too weak. Weakness means you have no right to look a strong one in the eye. Do you understand?”
Boom! As soon as her words fell, a terrifying pressure erupted from her body, as if a waterfall had crashed down upon Luca.
Luca had already exhausted most of his divine and mental energy in breaking the divine spell, and was in a very weakened state.
Facing this overwhelming force, he couldn’t help but grunt, a trickle of blood spilling from his mouth. The pressure was so intense that it almost bent his back, and his legs weakened, threatening to make him kneel. Yet, Luca gritted his teeth, and with sheer determination, he slowly stood up, forcing his back to remain straight despite the crushing weight of Zenobia’s power.
His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Zenobia, his voice low and filled with defiance, “Is that all you’ve got?”
A cold glint flashed in Zenobia’s eyes. She scoffed, but her scoff sounded like thunder in Luca’s mind. The force of it made him stagger, his brain almost feeling as though it might explode. His vision blurred, and his head swam.
“Go back,” Sophia spoke, her voice soft, though the concern in her eyes was unmistakable. She couldn’t bear to see Luca suffer and couldn’t help but try to intervene.
Luca said nothing. His head lowered, and with shaky steps, he continued to move toward where Sophia was, determined to reach her.
Blood dripped from his nose, staining the dark earth beneath him, seeping into the soil of the Abyssal Demon Realm.
“Unaware of your own doom,” Zenobia muttered under her breath, her anger flaring at Luca’s repeated provocations.
The sky above, thick with demonic energy, suddenly darkened, and clouds swirled violently. Crimson lightning lashed through the air like a serpent, then, with a deafening crack, a massive red bolt of lightning, as thick as a barrel, descended from the sky like a spear and struck Luca directly!
Boom! The red lightning engulfed Luca entirely. The ground beneath him shattered violently, and the violent shockwaves tore through the surrounding area, instantly turning nearby monsters into nothing but charred remains.
The tremendous thunder surged into Luca’s body, tearing through his insides like a living beast, causing irreparable damage to his organs—but stopping just short of ending his life.
The indescribable pain surged through him, driving Luca to the edge. The accumulated injuries from earlier attacks, combined with the new agony, forced a spurt of blood from his mouth.
Warm blood splattered onto Sophia’s face. She stood frozen, her eyes wide in shock, her lips trembling but unable to speak.
But Luca… Luca smiled. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. His chest heaved violently, his face a mangled mess of blood and flesh. Despite his injuries, he lifted his gaze to meet Zenobia’s cold, unflinching stare and, with a weak but defiant smile, he mocked, “Is this all you’ve got?”
Zenobia’s expression instantly turned icy. “If you’re intent on dying, I can accommodate you.”
Sophia’s face shifted, her eyes widening with concern. She turned to Zenobia and spoke sharply, “Are you going to break your word?”
Zenobia remained calm, answering with a chilling clarity, “I only promised not to kill him. I never said I wouldn’t teach him a lesson.”
Sophia’s voice turned cold as ice, “If you dare harm him, I’ll self-destruct my divine soul and leave you incapable of ever recovering to your full strength.”
As she looked at the girl in front of her, whose face mirrored her own.
Zenobia’s brow furrowed deeply. “You’re truly mad, aren’t you?”