The inversion of gravity turned the originally calm and clear water flowing inside the tower into pitch-black raindrops pouring down in torrents. The atmosphere was so oppressive that it made it hard to breathe.
"I didn't expect you to actually have the courage to come to the Inverted Tower."
Leviathan stepped on the void, its eyes deep as an abyss, flickering with contemptuous and icy light.
A divine-like oppressive frequency spread from its body, instantly making Noah feel that the resonance power around him had weakened by several degrees.
"Arrogant fool, do you think that just because you defeated my body that was only driven by instinct, you can similarly defeat me in my full state?"
It looked down from above, slowly extending its hand. Endless dark energy rapidly condensed in its palm, its arrogant voice unable to hide its excitement:
"I said it before—when you truly face me, with just one glance, you will become a devout believer of heaven. Now, let you witness the true appearance of the Black Tide!"
That large hand suddenly clenched tight. The dark energy instantly spread into all the surrounding black rain curtains.
Every drop of rain was now fully infused with the most frenzied and depraved frequency. Wherever it touched the brick walls, mouths and tongues grew out, chanting foolish and blind hymns of praise.
Following the direction of Leviathan's finger, all the Black Tide surged and roared like living creatures toward Noah's position.
Noah took a step forward. A cyan glow lit up in his pupils. Whether it was the pouring rain curtain or the black waves, everything was easily blocked by the cyan barrier five meters around his body.
"Leviathan, don't bring out these same old tricks to embarrass yourself."
With another step, the cyan barrier turned into specks of light scattering in all directions. The originally falling black rain curtain froze in mid-air, then, along with the Black Tide, rose backward along their original trajectory.
Their gravity changed once more, reverting them to clear water flows.
The one who accomplished all this was none other than the separated authority of the Sentinel Imperator!
"No wonder you're so calm. So you absorbed Imperator's power."
Leviathan's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a trace of cold disdain.
If this was the confidence that allowed Noah to face it, then today, it would not only regain its freedom but also completely erase this thorn in its side that had humiliated its shell!
"Ridiculous—even Imperator was nothing more than a defeated subordinate of mine!"
Leviathan no longer probed and went all out.
"Open your eyes wide. Even if an insect steals a god's authority, there remains an insurmountable chasm between it and a true god!"
The thick, ink-like tide was drawn by its single thought, rapidly condensing in a bizarre posture into a blade with chilling sharpness, which Leviathan firmly grasped.
It swung its arm fiercely. Three extremely sharp sword lights whistled toward Noah. Wherever the sword lights passed, even the surrounding air was torn into water-like ripples.
Yet Noah seemed to have anticipated it. With a light tap of his toes, his entire body floated like a falling leaf—dangerously close, yet precisely dodging the first two immensely powerful sword lights.
The third vertical slashing sword light was casually sidestepped with a tilt of his body, and he even smoothly brushed his hair in passing.
The stone pillar behind him that took the sword lights was sliced open as easily as tofu, breaking into several sections.
Noah quickly reached out and firmly grasped the long spear at his side, entirely made of brilliant opal. The other three weapons dissipated accordingly.
Switch character—Carlotta!
[Team: Carlotta, Cantarella, Rover (Havoc)]
"Immobilize!"
Carlotta's Resonance Skill—Violent Aesthetics.
A crisp gunshot exploded in the silent space. Leviathan's gaze focused slightly as it precisely swung its sword to slash at the bullet Noah fired.
But the moment the bullet struck the sword edge, it lightning-fast spread out large amounts of opal crystals, firmly binding it in mid-air.
The corner of Noah's mouth curved upward, yet his movements showed no hesitation.
Six exquisite long guns appeared out of thin air behind Noah. Their dark muzzles all pointed at Leviathan, blooming with brilliant blue light in mid-air.
"Victory favors me!"
The six long guns, along with the Last Dance in Noah's hand, fired simultaneously. Compressed extreme-energy crystal bullets shot out, bringing immense pressure to Leviathan.
The extremely fast bullets easily broke the sound barrier, trailing red flames in mid-air and precisely hitting the immobilized Leviathan.
The bullets carrying terrifying kinetic energy instantly pierced through its body. The remaining force heavily slammed it into the hall's wall, blasting huge spiderweb-like cracks into the originally exquisite murals.
Large amounts of external light poured in through the cracks in the wall, illuminating this battlefield.
...
On the other side, in the Garden of the Lost.
"Can he really defeat Leviathan?"
Cantarella stood beside Cartethyia, her worried gaze occasionally turning toward the central tower.
The next moment, she saw the entire central tower violently shake. Half of the wall instantly cracked with nearly a hundred meters of fissures. Countless dust particles fell, and the whole tower appeared on the verge of collapse.
From this single strike alone, she could tell that the intensity of the battle was far beyond anything she could participate in.
Faint words like "Victory favors me" drifted through the air, inexplicably reminding her of a certain second young lady from the Montelli family.
Gulp.
Cantarella swallowed hard with difficulty:
"It seems I really can't help at all. I might not even withstand the aftershock of this fight."
She turned, picked up the soundly sleeping Cartethyia, leaped out, and without hesitation jumped from the heights toward the real ground below.
Whisperwind Haven, Egla Town. She silently repeated these words in her heart.
...
"Truly impressive power... Unfortunately, most of the energy from your attacks will be absorbed by my Fusion authority, so by the time it reaches me, it's merely mediocre."
Leviathan lightly coughed, actually letting out a sigh of admiration. Before it could continue speaking, Noah leaped high, the long spear in his hand blooming with gorgeous colors.
The fired bullets condensed opal crystals as aerial bridges for Noah to stand on. He looked down from above, while the six rotating, dancing long guns behind him fired once more.
This time, the number of bullets from each spear had doubled!
The overflowing, colorful opal crystals quenched with the chill of death forcefully slammed Leviathan from the wall and rubbed it against the ground.
"Insolent ant, you have successfully enraged me!"
Leviathan flew into a rage. As it tried to rise, it was horrified to discover that those brilliant opals once again spread lightning-fast, binding it tightly and rendering it immobile.
[Carlotta Six-Chain Bonus: Resonance Liberation "Death Omen" deals higher shooting damage, generates double crystals, and when "Death Omen" hits the target, the target cannot act for 1.5 seconds.]
"Glory demands more!"
The cold opal long guns fired madly amid the rotating dance. Every hit produced massive amounts of opal crystals, unreasonably turning Leviathan into a fixed target.
Noah held the spear with one hand, the corner of his mouth curling up.
In the game, Carlotta could only fire four Death Omen shots after releasing Resonance Liberation, but in reality—he could keep firing Death Omen indefinitely!
"No way around it. Little Potato's mechanics are just that wheelchair-friendly."
Bang!
The gunshots from the seven long guns merged into one.
Leviathan's body was once again pinned to the floor by the bullets' kinetic energy. The ground beneath it caved into a massive crater centered on its body, with ever-expanding spiderweb cracks.
Every time Noah fired, the entire hall trembled violently, as if it could collapse at any moment.
Bang!
Amid the gunfire, there was suddenly an additional sound of bones cracking.
Blood overflowed from the corner of Leviathan's mouth. Its eyes widened in fury as increasingly intense pain transmitted along its nerves to its mind.
It wanted to curse, but could not speak. It wanted to howl, but could not make a sound. It wanted to flee, but could not move.
At this moment, Leviathan could not help but miss its millennia-old mortal enemy.
Even when facing Rover, it had never felt this powerless.
This counterfeit that emerged from who-knows-where had beaten it while hanging it up once, and now was grinding it into the ground.
Especially this counterfeit's abilities—they were endlessly varied, even more numerous than its millennia-old enemy's.
The red nuclear bomb and scroll space from last time still lingered fresh in Leviathan's memory. This time's opal long guns were simply despicably insidious!
Now, aside from raging impotently in its mind, it had absolutely no way to fight back.
"Leviathan, I admit you're indeed tougher than the Lament ancient dragon, but... honestly, I don't know how you're supposed to win."
Noah spoke leisurely while continuing to fire.
He hadn't used Zhezhi for buffs, so the damage was a bit lower, but the mechanics of six-chain Carlotta alone were already enough to whittle Leviathan to death.
"Actually, I don't really like wheelchair characters—it makes it seem like I have no skill, but... whatever—it's time to say goodbye!"
Seeing that the ground was about to be plowed through by Leviathan's body, Noah's expression turned cold as he leaped down from the opal bridges.
"The world is mine!"
He spun lightly in mid-air. The Last Dance in his hand traced a brilliant arc through the air, and together with the six long guns behind him, sprayed out eerie blue light.
Seven opal bullets carrying boundless terrifying energy merged into one in mid-air, falling like a meteor. The refracted light and shadows were like an inverted galaxy or surging blue sea tides—magnificent and beautiful, like a work of art.
"A new era awaits!"
Resonance Liberation—Death Has Ended!
The final gunshot completely shattered the dozens-of-meters-thick foundation of this inverted tower. The collapsing tower scattered into the sky amid swirling dust and debris.
The rising dust clouded Noah's view of Leviathan's figure. He released his perception, his expression changing in shock. He quickly deployed his gliding wings and flew toward the shattered depths below.
"Leviathan! Don't run!"