Chapter 1441: and ===GLOSSARY===

Death God.

"Zandalar, the first seat of the Genius Club..."

Only now did Ye Yi gradually recover from the shock; when that name appeared undeniably on the firmament, a strong sense of unreality enveloped her layer by layer.

A genius who should have enjoyed countless applause and flowers in the universe instead hid in an obscure corner, endlessly conducting experiments as the so-called 'Divine Rite Spectator'; his sole purpose was to destroy knowledge and atone for his past 'mistake'...

"... Even if the price to fix this mistake is the entire universe." Urahara Kisuke lightly tapped his palm with his paper fan; beneath his brim, his usual languid eyes drooped slightly, looking rather resigned.

How many did Phantasm kill by personally scheming on the Luofu Astral Express for so long? Yet this genius, right out of the gate, set out to destroy all organic and inorganic makeup of the universe merely to negate 'knowledge.' It truly proves the saying: the Extinction Sovereigns rack their brains, but they can't match a genius's sudden flash of insight...

Ye Yi couldn't help but wonder: "... Is this even harsher than Nanuq? Even Nanuq never destroyed the universe; if Laigushi truly succeeds, wouldn't the Iron Tomb be mightier than the Star Gods?"

Urahara Kisuke shook his head: "I'm not sure either, but once the Iron Tomb succeeds in its coronation, not only will other path emissaries suffer, but even those associated with 'Destruction' will likely not escape calamity—this is true 'equality of all beings'... equality in death."

——

"In the name of the Divine Rite Spectator, I will——"

Before the words even finished, the round hole in Laigushi's chest burst forth with a blinding crimson light, like the eyes of an awakened beast, dissecting the surrounding space into incessantly flashing data chains.

His body slowly rose within the flashing data chains as countless electronic conduits descended from the sky, connecting to his back.

His original bodily lines began to twist and reconstruct, forming a mechanical being with perfectly contoured musculature forged of metal——

He was no longer the courteous 'Divine Rite Spectator'.

Amid the sky-falling electronic conduits and piercing red light, Laigushi had already completed his metamorphosis; he hovered in midair, his face, eerily similar to a human's, exuding an 'inhuman' pressure.

"Personally taking part, the world's final act."

"Remember: as the creator of the Sovereign of Erudition, I understand better than He does... what the death of knowledge means."

Zandalar casually lifted a few fingers, and the retinue of 'Conflict' spawned in his hand; in this state, Zandalar can freely fashion mythic life.

"Be careful… this is Laigushi's true form."

Xing had no intention of wasting words with him.

She gripped her bat, kicked off the ground, and shot like a bullet from the barrel toward Zandalar hovering in midair!

But could the opponent let her succeed so easily? At the very moment Xing struck, the two retinues beside him surged forward to collide with her.

These retinues, when they had previously subdued Nicadoli together, Xing and Bai'e had made a wager with Wandi, killing untold numbers along the way; dodging was second nature to them, but Zandalar had somehow imbued them with an effect that made this collision so swift it caught her off guard as well.

"Careful——!"

Before the words even faded, Haiseyin behind them had already burst forth two streams of water, turning into a sky‑filling school of fish that assailed the two retinues; this demigod's strike was truly formidable, and the retinues were pulverized to dust under the fish's impact.

But this was merely the prelude to Zandalar's killing move.

"Logic is not a weapon but a shackle—let me smash it for you all."

——

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders.

"Ya le ya le..."

Chengtailang lifted his cap, gazing at the showdown in the firmament that held the fate of the entire galaxy; so far, this Zandalar has yet to make a formal move.

"Hey hey hey, don't you think that guy looks just like a Stand?" Boluleifu pointed at Zandalar's odd pose, which actually resembled their movements after summoning a Stand.

Moreover, this feeling of being almost human yet not… is truly uncanny.

"If it is a Stand, it would likely be a close‑range power‑type Stand." Chengtailang eyed the metallic 'muscle' on Zandalar's frame; outwardly it was nearly identical to his Stand 'Star Platinum'. Although Zandalar is the premier genius, aside from his brilliant mind, his melee prowess is probably also terrifying.

Fortunately, perhaps because this body is a mere 'projection,' Zandalar has so far shown little of an 'emissary‑level' power, allowing Xing and Haiseyin to still contend with him.

The only way to defeat it may be for the two geniuses to find his true form outside of 'myth' and utterly destroy it; otherwise, even if Xing and Haiseyin defeat it countless times within the vortex core, it will revive via the ultimate compact.

... What a troublesome opponent.

——

"A faint red light suddenly sparked on Xing's body."

Yet in the afterimage of her high‑speed bat swing, Xing couldn't perceive it—she had focused all her attention on Zandalar's mechanical head. But just as she was about to strike, the red light began to spread around her, and then——

"Boom!"

A violent explosion erupted instantly, sending Xing flying backward. Only then did she belatedly realize that during her attack Zandalar had seemingly 'implanted' something on her that would trigger automatically whenever she launched an assault.

Fortunately, at the critical moment she pulled out her flamethrower and used the 'Preservation' power to offset most of the damage; otherwise it would have been unimaginable.

Although this strike missed, Zandalar showed no sign of relenting; he spread his arms, and countless golden orbs began to materialize before the two, then began to disperse outward in an encircling fashion.

"Little gray fish, come cover me."

Xing nodded, jabbed her flamethrower fiercely into the vortex core's ground, and a golden shield instantly rose before Haiseyin.

Haiseyin took her sword as the body of a zither, the flowing water as strings, and as she plucked them gracefully, an ethereal, lingering melody gradually resonated within the Genesis Vortex Core.

The water behind her surged and gathered, forming a deep‑blue torrent; countless silver‑white fish condensed from the stream, like dancing notes, wove lightly around them, ultimately turning into white arrows that shot toward the surrounding golden orbs.

For a moment, the vortex core filled with crackling sounds.

As if the collision of heavenly light and water had burst forth a clear Huixiang; the sharp elegy flowed along the strings, the Huixiang like dense drumbeats, and after a tumultuous surge… the vortex core soon returned to stillness.