The lingering, scorching heat made pieces of wood crackle and pop.
Faint cries of agony could be heard in the distance.
The air was thick with the acrid stench of burning.
Looking down from high above,
one would see that the entire massive city had been reduced to ruins.
A massive, charred handprint was seared into the landscape.
Xi Zhongsi lay right in the very center of this handprint.
'So close... I was so close...'
With his one remaining eye, he stared up at the desolate, gray sky.
More precisely, he was staring at the spot where the giant face had vanished.
His gaze was filled with venom.
A moment ago.
In that instant.
'If it hadn't been for the last wisp of my Lord's Divine Power protecting me, coupled with some kind of protective measure that seemed to have been placed on this body...'
'...I would already be dead.'
And yet, he had still been caught in those bizarre golden flames.
As it was,
