Chapter 279

"All right, the protection is complete; you can continue communicating with Aha. But now they've probably already disappeared, so you must wait where you are." Heita gave a snicker, "If you could smile a bit more, you'd probably find it easier to wait for them."

"A smile? Xing tried hard to squeeze out a smile—but that smile was like a dead fish flipping belly-up, having a half-dead, half-alive absurd feel."

"Finally, just as Xing's eyes were about to roll to the heavens, they—finally arrived! As soon as they appeared, they whipped up a massive storm of false data, enveloping Xing."

"Hey, Akivili! You've been playing with that ball pretty well~" Aha switched to praise mode, "You're a ball‑playing expert—can you tell me who made this ball? Oh… wait, they're coming. Let us first make way for the great them—applause, salute!"

""They're coming? What does that mean?" Xing was left confused by Aha's sudden remark, but Heita made a hushing gesture from the side, "Quiet! Xing, something big is coming!""

"A shaft of light pierced the previously pitch‑black world."

"Xing felt her vision breaking down—not shattering, but like a chord being split apart; each optic nerve began receiving a different spectrum. She saw the air crack with rainbow‑colored patterns, and from those fissures flowed not light, but a concrete manifestation of a more fundamental 'harmony concept'."

""It's Harmony… Xipe!" Heita couldn't help exclaiming in surprise."

"Their body seemed composed of countless civilizations' silhouettes: one moment it was ten million mouths chanting in unison, the next a matrix of synchronously swinging pendulums. Their fingertips brushed up rainbow‑colored ripples, and myriad harmonies turned into a glaze flowing over the Harmony Star God's torso."

""Akivili/Trailblazer, are you that? We thought you were dead/missing. Countless fates/histories have shaped the universe's long trend/direction. We almost believe/judge that you have become its footnote/nutrient.""

""Xipe…! You really have/multiple faces!""

""Oh, Mother of the Cluster Stars!" Aha began praising, and their words made Xing feel uneasy: "As long as what you want to do is fun enough—even a relay‑race game! The situation changes in an instant; the last time we were negotiating, the next time Taiyi became you. What a pity… my old friend! But they make you look more 'good'.""

""Well… let's pause for a moment. Order being assimilated by Harmony doesn't surprise me." Heita spread their hands, "I just don't know when it happened. Could the disappearance of Order also be related to the War of the Gods? Alas, the family hasn't mentioned it at all… I'd still like to see Taiyi again, even if they're a bit stiff. In any case, Xipe, Aha, and you have banded together for Tayiziyu Luosi.""

——

Demon Slayer

Moonlight streamed through the Infinity Castle's pillars, slicing the corridor into a cage of alternating light and shadow. Douma walked toward Kokushibo with a light step; since that adult left, the two Upper Ranks hadn't spoken to each other in decades.

"Lord Kokushibo~" Douma's voice was syrupy sweet like honey, "The true supreme has already appeared, and that adult chose Abundance—but judging by the results shown in this War of the Gods, there seems to be something even more suited to our existence than Abundance."

Kokushibo turned his back on him, the blue tattoos faintly glowing in the darkness. He didn't look back, merely saying coldly, "Get lost."

Douma paid no heed, his golden fan unfurled with a "shh," and he lightly leapt to Kokushibo's side, his eyes blazing with unprecedented fervor and excitement: "Harmony…… Lord Kokushibo, this path would suit us as well."

He raised his head to gaze at the firmament, his pupils dilated to the limit—when his sight met that sacred "them," Douma's irises began to swirl with rainbow vortices, his fingertips twitching uncontrollably… that was the purest madness of a believer.

"Did you see it? Lord Kokushibo!"

Douma began excitedly scratching his cheeks with his sharp nails, drawing lines of blood on his pale face that healed in the next second, "This is ultimate harmony! All sounds will eventually converge into a single melody! Even the ancient Order has been assimilated by them…… returning to true eternity."

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Kokushibo finally turned, his icy gaze like he was looking at a pile of trash, "How are we compatible with Harmony at all?"

"Of course~" Douma cheerfully circled to Kokushibo's front, "Harmony devours Order, seeing it as assimilation; we devour humans—how is that not assimilation too? We fuse weak humans into our bodies, merging into a single piece of harmony—wouldn't that count as… Harmony?"

"…Boring." Kokushibo gave him a sideways glance, "You believe in Harmony and dare to go against that adult's ideas—I can—"

"Whoa~ Lord Kokushibo, don't rush to judgment." Douma kept wearing his innocent yet disgusting smile, "This time I've actually reported to the adult, and I plan to open a new cult in the name of Harmony, attract people to join in the name of Harmony—if Lord Kokushibo is interested, you can also come to my place, okay~"

"I know Lord Kokushibo doesn't like eating women and children, so I'll leave all the adult men for you—how about that?"

Kokushibo's fist pierced Douma's jaw in an instant.

The sound of shattering bones rang especially crisp in the silent corridor. Douma's head snapped back at an impossible angle, his shattered jawbone hanging with bloody flesh. Yet his laugh didn't change at all—in fact, it became even more excited.

"Ahla~" Douma's voice squeezed out from his broken throat, bubbling with a tremolo, "You're still this passionate……"

Kokushibo withdrew his fist, fixing his gaze on Douma's broken yet still smiling face, his eyes full of disgust: "Don't mix your perverse fetish with me."

Douma's wound healed at a visible pace; he tilted his head, a flicker of regret crossing his eyes: "Well then~ next time there's a suitable chance, I'll invite you again."

——

"We haven't even started fighting, and Order—Taiyi is already gone?" Xing widened her eyes.

"Well, it's not just Order—Gluttony also went missing during this period; I don't know why, but they've left this war of the gods." Heita shook their head, "It's also an unsolved mystery in this history."

"Just eat and leave—really letting them off easy."

"After Order disappeared, several worlds under Kripp's protection have recorded: their sun once vanished, a sculpture twisted into a twin‑shape appeared from the sky, like an omen of an endless night……"