"Whooo—"
Beneath the Hellfire Mask, the Greed Aggregate let out a shrill, low roar.
It was no longer a bellow of rage.
It was a wail of terror, echoing from the depths of its soul.
It felt it!
An absolute suppression from the level of fundamental laws!
A supreme order named "Contract" was pronouncing the death sentence upon it, an "anomaly"!
Its crimson demonic eyes stared fixedly at the star slowly descending from the dome, instinctual fear overwhelming all its fury and greed.
Run!
Must run!
Its pillar-like legs erupted with explosive force, its massive body blurring into a dark red afterimage as it fled desperately into the darkness of the cavern's depths.
"Trying to run now?"
Lin Qingyue watched its frantic retreat, her eyes calm and undisturbed.
"Too late."
She raised her right hand, her five fingers slowly closing in the air, forming a grasping motion.
"This is the Heavenly Order!"
BOOM—!!!
An invisible, terrifying pressure descended from the heavens!
The Greed Aggregate's colossal body abruptly sank, its speed plummeting!
The hard rock floor beneath its feet cracked and shattered, collapsing inward. A dull, ashen gray spread across its dark red chitinous skin, the color of petrification.
It was being turned to stone
A single moment of paralysis was an eternity for Planet Befall.
The massive star locked onto its prisoner, tearing through the air as it accelerated its descent.
Before the piercing whistle of its fall even reached them, a suffocating sensory storm swept across the battlefield.
The air grew scorching and dry, searing their skin. Every breath burned.
A low-frequency hum, originating from the depths of their marrow, caused everyone's internal organs to resonate, leaving them dizzy, nauseous, and unsteady on their feet.
Their souls were seized by an invisible hand, frozen in an amber of "Divine Might."
Even the emotion of fear couldn't form, leaving only a pure, blank void before annihilation.
Everyone held their breath—or rather, they had forgotten how to breathe.
They stared upward, their vision, hearing, and touch—all senses—completely stripped away and filled by the dark golden star, which carried the power to end the world.
Just then, as if remembering something, Lin Qingyue casually pressed down with her free hand.
"Indestructible!"
Woom—!
An immense, translucent Jade Shield materialized out of thin air, forming an inverted, warm golden bowl that instantly enveloped Lin Qingyue, her three companions, and the entire Elf Legion behind them.
Arcane Geo runes slowly flowed across the shield, forming an indestructible... giant turtle shell.
"Sis! The meteor was one thing, but what the hell is this turtle shell?!"
Lin Xiyue stared at the shield above, feeling her ability to complain had completely short-circuited. She couldn't keep up with her sister's thought process at all.
"Safety first. Prevents splash damage."
Lin Qingyue shot her a look, her expression seeming to say: Isn't this common sense?
Ilanier's wine-red eyes reflected the brilliant dark gold of the descending star.
The word "shocked" was no longer sufficient to describe her feelings.
She finally understood that everything Lin Qingyue had shown before—the bomb that caused the avalanche, the "staff" that sprayed Holy Light—had been mere child's play.
This was the true form of a god.
Using the heavens and earth as a chessboard, and the stars as pieces.
With a single thought, the world overturned.
With a single thought, all creation was annihilated.
"ROOOOAAAAARRRR—!!!"
The petrified Greed Aggregate let out a final, desperate roar.
The face of Gyrus on its chest twisted into an extreme grimace, blood-tears streaming from its eyes as if it were trying to tear itself free from the demon's torso.
It squeezed out the last shred of its power!
Countless streams of dark red Hellfire erupted from its body, converging into a destructive beam thick enough to melt mountains. It surged upward, defiantly blasting toward the falling star!
This was its desperate, all-or-nothing counterattack!
However, before the star representing "Contract" and "Order," this destructive beam was laughably fragile.
There was no earth-shattering explosion.
The moment the star touched the beam, the destructive light didn't even cause a ripple before being directly crushed, devoured, and erased by pure mass and the power of Law.
Immediately after, the massive dark gold star descended with an irresistible momentum, seeming slow yet moving with terrifying speed.
It swallowed the enormous, grotesque demon.
It also swallowed all its resentment, fear, and despair.
Time seemed to stretch infinitely in that moment.
Under the shocked gazes of everyone present, the massive dark gold star, like a seal dropped by a god, precisely and heavily stamped down upon the Greed Aggregate's location.
No explosion, no mushroom cloud.
Only a dull, soul-shaking thud.
DOOM—!
The entire Snow Mountain trembled violently.
The massive Jade Shield flared brightly, steadily blocking all shockwaves and flying debris.
Inside the shield, everyone felt only a violent tremor beneath their feet before everything went still. They were completely unharmed.
When the light dissipated...
All that remained was a massive, smooth, circular crater with glazed, glass-like edges.
The crater was bottomless, radiating a heart-pounding residual Geo energy.
As for the once-invincible Greed Aggregate, it had been utterly erased from the world by the absolute power of "Contract," leaving not even a speck of ash behind.
Dead silence.
A silence so profound you could hear a pin drop.
All the Elves stared blankly at the crater, then at the figure who still stood with arms crossed, her clothes fluttering in a nonexistent wind. Their minds were completely blank.
Is it... over?
That terrifying demon, whose mere roar could shatter their shields and plunge them into despair...
Was it really just smashed to bits by a meteor?
"Sis..."
Lin Xiyue's mouth hung open as she stared at the crater, unable to close it for a long time.
Only one thought echoed in her mind.
I must never, ever make Sis angry again!
Otherwise, I might wake up one day to a giant rock falling from the ceiling!
Su Wan subconsciously looked at her own hands. The frost magic that had once danced at her fingertips now seemed utterly insignificant in her memory.
She then looked back at the crater, and a nearly fanatical flush crept onto her usually icy face.
So... this is what lies beyond magic? A power that defies all reason?
Xia Lian silently sheathed her twin blades. In that moment, the stealth and assassination techniques she had always taken pride in felt like a complete joke.
Before absolute power, all skill became meaningless.
Aeldara's rarely-moved, icy expression cracked once again because of Lin Qingyue.
She stared at Lin Qingyue's back, her grip on her greatsword unconsciously loosening.
It wasn't the wariness one felt facing a powerful foe, but the instinctive... submission of a mortal gazing upon a god.
Just as this divine might-induced silence settled over the cavern, the entire cave suddenly groaned with a teeth-grinding screech.
The golden Contract runes that had covered the rock walls, their duty of witnessing the "execution" now complete, were dimming at a visible rate.
Rustle—
Rubble and dust rained down from the ceiling.
The entire cavern began to shake violently!
"Not good! It's collapsing!"
Aeldara's face paled. She instantly rushed to Ilanier's side, shielding the weakened queen with her own body.
"Ahhh! Sis, didn't you say it was rock-solid?! It's really collapsing!"
Lin Xiyue shrieked in terror, instinctively raising her shield to protect her sister.
The Elf Army instantly descended into chaos, panic spreading like a plague.
"Quiet."
Lin Qingyue's calm voice rang out again, carrying a magic that soothed the soul.
She didn't even turn around, just lightly lifted her foot and casually stomped it on the ground.
Woom—!
The flickering golden runes flared with brilliant light, instantly stabilizing.
The violent shaking miraculously ceased.
Streams of golden light flowed down from the rock walls, converging on the only escape route for the crowd. They formed a wide, solid path of light leading straight to the cave entrance.
Under this final miracle, the entire cavern transformed into a temporary, solemn hall.
Though rubble still fell intermittently, the catastrophic collapse that could have buried everyone alive had been averted with such casual ease.
After doing all this, Lin Qingyue's face paled slightly.
Damn it, what happened to "rock-solid"? The recoil from Planet Befall is this strong? It almost shattered the Contract! Maintaining this reinforced-condemned-building Contract is draining my stamina like crazy!
She stretched lazily, letting out a satisfied groan, then clapped her hands together.
The god-like aura vanished in an instant, replaced by her usual lazy, slacker vibe.
"Alright, alright, today's 'Rex Lapis' Trial Card free trial session has officially ended. Thank you all for your attendance."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over the crowd of stunned, wooden faces.
"Esteemed audience, you may now exit in an orderly fashion along the VIP pathway. In five minutes, the 'Reinforced Condemned Building' Contract will automatically expire."
She added, "After all, Rex Lapis doesn't like working overtime."