Chapter 222: Shadow Pupil's Madness and the Rift Countdown

"Shadow Pupil" turned around, those purely pitch-black eyes, without a trace of light, swept across the people on the observation platform, his twisted smile widening, carrying a hair-raising fervor and pity, as if gazing at a group of ignorant moths that had strayed into a sacred hall.

"Poor lost souls… you cannot understand… this is the true path of evolution for the elves… for all life!" He spread his arms, as if embracing the violent, chaotic Shadow Engine below, filthy purple energy flowing from the corrupted seed, swirling around him, making him look like a god of darkness (or rather, a demon god), "Order will eventually rot; only by embracing the chaos of annihilation, merging into this great tide, can one obtain eternal rebirth!"

His words were mad and obsessive, yet carried a bizarre persuasiveness, accompanied by the low rumble of the Shadow Engine and the hissing of the spatial rift, constantly assaulting everyone's minds.

"Bullshit!" Gerona was the first to roar, her massive battle-axe pointing at Shadow Pupil, "Put that seed down! Or this old lady will chop you into firewood and burn you!" Her roar was like thunder, forcibly shattering that eerie atmosphere.

Shadow Pupil's pitch-black eyes turned toward Gerona, a hint of mockery curling at the corner of his mouth: "Savage orc… your power comes from the roar of your bloodline; one day it will destroy itself in madness. And we… shall transcend the shackles of flesh…"

Before he could finish, Sister Ai Li moved! She knew well there was no reasoning with such a madman—only action! Her figure was like an arrow merging into shadow, instantly leaping from the observation platform, landing precisely on a swaying maintenance walkway, toes tapping rapidly, charging toward the platform where Shadow Pupil stood at astonishing speed! Her short blade aimed straight at his vitals!

"Foolish!" Shadow Pupil snorted coldly, not even moving, merely lifting a finger slightly.

The filthy purple energy swirling around him instantly condensed into several twisted energy whips like octopus tentacles, carrying a shriek that tore through space, lashing viciously at the charging Sister Ai Li! The speed far surpassed any enemy encountered before!

Sister Ai Li's pupils contracted sharply, her body twisting to the extreme in mid-air, narrowly dodging two lashes, her short blade parrying the third, but the fourth energy whip struck her abdomen viciously!

Bang!

Sister Ai Li was as if struck by a high-speed hovercar, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood, her entire body sent flying backward, crashing heavily at the edge of the observation platform, nearly plunging straight into the energy abyss below! The old wound under her ribs instantly burst open, blood rapidly staining her clothes, her breathing becoming extremely faint.

"Sister Ai Li!" Xiang Lingna screamed and rushed over.

"Overestimating yourself." Shadow Pupil indifferently retracted the energy whips, as if merely swatting away a fly, "In this space shrouded by my Lord's power, I am the rule."

He once again focused his attention on the treasure box in his hand, the filthy purple energy surging into the seed even more violently, that last trace of emerald green visibly dimming, the seed's form even beginning to distort, fine, eye-like eerie patterns emerging on its surface.

"Zero! Disrupt him! Gerona, prepare for a full assault!" Xiang Lingna's eyes reddened with urgency, trying to help Sister Ai Li stop the bleeding while shouting.

Zero's console immediately fired several disruption beams, but before they could approach Shadow Pupil, they were easily deflected and devoured by the filthy purple energy field around him. Gerona roared, her power armor's thrusters erupting at maximum output, her entire body like a cannonball charging along another maintenance walkway toward the platform, blood-colored battle aura burning to the extreme on her battle-axe!

However, Shadow Pupil didn't even look at her properly, merely waving his hand casually.

BOOM!!!

The two sides of the maintenance walkway Gerona was charging along suddenly exploded without warning! Massive metal components and energy conduits, as if torn apart by an invisible giant hand, wrapped in violent energy streams, smashed viciously toward Gerona! Clearly, Shadow Pupil's control over this place far exceeded imagination; he could detonate the surrounding facilities at will!

Gerona, caught off guard, could only hold her battle-axe horizontally in front of her to take the hit head-on!

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

The continuous explosions engulfed Gerona, the power armor emitting overloaded alarms, she was sent flying back by the blast wave, crashing into the observation platform's railing, twisting and deforming it, the power armor severely damaged in multiple places, temporarily losing mobility.

Crushing! Complete power crushing! In this environment, Shadow Pupil was nearly invincible!

"Useless… your struggles will only make the fall of 'Dawn' even more… delicious." Shadow Pupil gazed intoxicatedly at the seed in his hand, now almost entirely filthy purple, the last green glow like a candle in the wind.

Just as Xiang Lingna felt despair, Zero's console suddenly emitted a rapid alert tone, different from the alarms!

"Detected abnormal surge in Shadow Engine energy fluctuation! Core chaos vortex stability dropping rapidly! Spatial rift expanding! Based on energy model calculations… the engine will… completely overload and collapse after the countdown ends!"

A massive, blood-red holographic countdown appeared above Zero's console:

【00:03:27】

【00:03:26】

…!

Below the countdown was a line of small text: "Consequences of collapse: complete tearing of spatial structure, triggering cascading dimensional collapse, affected range: unknown (at least this star system)."

Shadow Pupil also clearly noticed the engine's abnormality; the fervent smile on his face froze for the first time, replaced by a trace of astonishment and… even wilder excitement?

"Hahaha! It's coming! It's finally here! Faster than expected!" He was not panicked in the slightest, but even more agitated, "Collapse! Tear apart! In this great destruction, open the door completely for my Lord's descent!"

He simply didn't care about the consequences of the engine's collapse! He even desired all of this! His goal was not merely to corrupt the seed, but to use the massive energy of the engine's collapse to blast open a huge, stable passage large enough for the Devouring Realm's main body or a larger avatar to pass through!

Must stop him! Must take back the seed before the engine collapses, or… stop the collapse!

But how?! Even getting close to him is impossible!

The countdown ticked mercilessly.

【00:02:15】

【00:02:14】

…!

Xiang Lingna looked at those blood-red numbers, at her gravely wounded companions, at the mad and powerful Shadow Pupil, at the seed about to completely fall, an extreme sense of helplessness and despair welling up in her heart.

Could it be… there really was no way?

Just as her gaze swept over the violent chaotic energy vortex below, a thought, mad to the extreme, originating from Lin Mo's previous reckless behavior, flashed through her mind like a final spark.

Energy… detonation… borrowing force…

The Shadow Engine's energy was so violent and chaotic; if… if a portion of that energy could be channeled toward Shadow Pupil? Even a tiny portion would be enough to cause massive disruption, right? Just like what Brother Lin Mo did before!

But… who would do it? How? Zero was severely damaged, Gerona and Sister Ai Li's Weight were gravely wounded and lost mobility… only…

Xiang Lingna's gaze fell on her own right arm crystal, covered in cracks yet containing a strange power.

A mad plan rapidly took shape in her heart. The risk was enormous, nearly a death-defying feat, and might even accelerate the engine's collapse.

But there was no time to hesitate!

The countdown kept ticking.

【00:01:03】

【00:01:02】

…!