Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 280 Maintaining Dignity in the Face of Death

Somewhere in the world, JIWG-17976785 district.

The sky and earth were dark, and the ground was shaking, but the villa was brightly lit.

The lavish banquet abruptly ceased, most faces pale and filled with terror as they stared at the vast, indistinct darkness above. Even prosthetic eyes could not discern what that twisting, writhing mass of darkness truly was—scales? A figure? Or perhaps a pupil?
It's unclear, and nobody knows.

But amidst this widespread fear, a few people remained unmoved.

"Quiet, ladies and gentlemen, please keep quiet."

In the brightly lit banquet, a middle-aged man spoke.

His attire was impeccable, his style composed, as if proving the wearer's seriousness and earnestness. His voice was steady, his tone calm, and his sharp, eagle-like gaze slowly swept over the people around him. Those who were looked at by him immediately quieted down their gasps and whispers.

The initially uneasy and fearful crowd returned to order under his gaze.

Then, the middle-aged man raised his glass and said loudly.

"Laugh! Laugh! Joyful people, noble people, proud people, laugh! Laugh! Let us laugh before death comes. Ladies and gentlemen, let us maintain our dignity in the face of death."

As he spoke, the music, which had abruptly stopped, resumed, its cheerful melody dispelling the confusion, and the people began to dance again.

Amidst the psychic energy waves that spread with joy, everyone was dancing. This cheerful atmosphere was infectious, except for the little girl next to the middle-aged man, who seemed somewhat lost.

Children are so innocent and naive that everything seems so new and exciting. They haven't yet become accustomed to this colorful world and lost their keen insight. Therefore, in the eyes of the public, their subtle perception of psychic energy can even rival that of demigods.

In the girl's perception, she could feel the joy in the guests' hearts, a joy so overflowing, bright, dazzling, and colorful, like a summer beach. But in the deepest part of this ocean of joy, she vaguely sensed a kind of darkness.

Fear, despair, madness, hysteria...

The girl sensed all of this, but it only made her more confused.

Why? Everyone seems so happy, so why are there these dark emotions? Is all this happiness just an illusion?

"What's wrong, Sarah?"

Beside her, the man held his daughter's hand and spoke softly with his head down.

Holding the man's large hand, the girl sensed something more. His hand didn't convey a sense of security, but rather a forced calm and a feeling of fear.

Yes, her father, the middle-aged man who had just been inspiring people, was actually quite uneasy inside.

"dad."

The girl raised her head and said weakly.

The middle-aged man saw through the girl's thoughts and simply said softly.

“I’m sorry you noticed. But, Sarah…”

The middle-aged man stroked his daughter's cheek, feeling her still-growing innocence, and suddenly laughed.

"Laugh, laugh! Don't look so lost, Sarah. Laugh happily. Even if death is just ahead, don't be cowardly. Face it bravely. Keep your dignity in the face of death. You won't look good if you cry your face."

The middle-aged man took his daughter's hand and began to lead her in a dance.

At the grand banquet, songs and music filled the air, and the atmosphere was joyful. People were dancing and laughing, but above this happiness, a deep and vast darkness was pressing down.

But laugh, laugh, proud people, laugh happily, even if we cannot live on, let us dance in the face of death.

……

"Do not fear! Descendants of the earth, our homeland has arrived. Our flesh and blood will perish, but our souls will be reborn in the Father of the Serpent..."

In the chaotic city, the self-regulating machinery had lost its command after the recent impact, and large numbers of people were breaking the stay-at-home order and running around aimlessly. Among them, some strange figures stood on high places, constantly shouting.

The ground beneath my feet was trembling slightly, and at the edge of the sky, a vast darkness was approaching.

If someone were to look from space, they would see a gigantic, infinitely large serpent devouring the ring world.

It opened its mouth wide, greedily devouring lakes and oceans, mountains and canyons, forests and glaciers. Whether it was a city or a wilderness, everything on earth fell into its mouth.

The vast Ringworld is undergoing an unprecedented impact. This powerful force is causing the entire Ringworld to tremble, and many cities have been destroyed in the unwitting actions of darkness before darkness even descends.

This world, with two hundred trillion trillion humans, has fallen into chaos.

Not far away, in a seaside residence.

An old man in a gray robe silently observed everything before him, this mad world.

At the horizon, dark clouds loomed, lightning flashed, and occasional flashes of white light pierced the dim world, only to illuminate the even larger and more terrifying darkness above the sky.

Darkness moved slowly beyond the sky, its vastness obscuring the entire heavens, the whole sky filled with that indistinct darkness.

"Prophet, your warp portal is ready."

The old man remained unmoved, and simply asked a question.

"Has everyone else evacuated?"

"Most of the demigods who were still stationed there have already left, and a few are preparing to leave."

Behind the gray-robed old man, a tall, thin officer spoke humbly. Then, silence fell, and the officers, not yet receiving further orders, could only continue to wait.

Psionic warriors are demigods, and the psionic masters who train these demigods are prophets who are closest to gods. Apart from the legendary emperor, these psionic masters are gods in the eyes of the people.

But there are things that neither emperors nor psychic masters can do.

The man in the gray robe stood with his arms crossed, lost in thought for a long time.

"I'm not leaving."

"what?"

The officer, surprised, hurriedly said...

"Abandoning two hundred billion trillion humans and watching them die while I still try to escape and survive, isn't that too shameful?"

The man in the gray robe muttered to himself.

As he spoke, he looked up at the sky, where a vast and deep darkness was slowly descending.

He knew that the giant serpent had already swallowed the nearby Ringworld region and was about to reach it.

“Prophet, you should not blame yourself for this; you have done your best.”

The officer behind him hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

But the gray-robed man glanced at him, and in his deep, dark pupils, the void seemed to swirl, revealing an incredible inner world to the officer, causing him to involuntarily stop speaking.

"No, child, this is the end I deserve."

After saying this, the gray-robed old man waved his hand, and the officer felt a dizziness before his eyes. When his vision returned, he and his colleagues were already in the center of a bustling interstellar city.

For a demigod, teleporting someone away from a planet is incredibly simple, unless the demigod himself is unwilling to do so.

But now, the prophet is unwilling.

He simply stared at that overly deep and dark thing in the sky and fell silent.

"Believe in yourself, believe in your courage and wisdom, and fight with all your might. Only in this way can the brilliant light that bursts forth have the hope of defeating that beast and defeating this fateful duel."

Many years ago, that emperor said these words to himself.

However, the emperor who said these words was later severely wounded and defeated in a battle with the monster. He fled back to his own time, died from his injuries, and ultimately led to the collapse of the First Empire.

Even though the emperor said so, the masters still chose to flee, not hesitating to completely break with the Second Republic, distorting history, and creating the Third Reich—an empire that honors the emperor of the past as its emperor.

Husoluan often comforted himself, thinking, "What can we do against a monster that even the emperor couldn't defeat?"

But he knew that he was actually just afraid; he was afraid of the monster.

Perhaps it was when the emperor died, or perhaps it was when he was infected and turned into a snake-man, creating the earliest snake worship cult, that the shadow and fear of monsters terrified him.

How ridiculous! Even though the emperor saved him from the brink of serpentification, he still can't forget that fear? Is this what you call a psychic master?
Countless thoughts surfaced in my mind, which I silently examined.

Meanwhile, the sky grew increasingly gloomy, and the unusual weather intensified the thunderstorms.

"Boom!!!"

A white light filled the sky and earth, followed by a deafening roar of thunder.

The pupils gazed at the raging sky and the dark sea, and at the far end of the sky, a colossal body that connected heaven and earth was already faintly visible.

"I've been afraid for half my life, and I've been running away for half my life, but now I suddenly don't want to run anymore. Come on, let me see what you really are."

He gripped the windowsill tightly with both hands, gritted his teeth, and stared angrily into the darkness above the sky with wide, deep pupils.

"boom!!!!"

Amidst deafening thunder, immense darkness collapsed from the sky.

That grand thing, that greedy thing, that he had feared all his life, had finally come.

……

As the sky collapsed, in the city, some people drank the last drop of alcohol, then pointed it at their heads, letting it explode into a final firework; some were bowing and worshipping the sky, filled with fear and trembling, muttering incantations; others were indulging in vandalism; and still others were quietly tidying their rooms, entering hibernation pods as if it were any other day, and saying 'goodnight' to the world before falling asleep…

The world is full of all sorts of things.

And at this moment of the world's end...

On a small hill, a boy looked up at the vast darkness above the sky, gripping a baseball bat tightly in his hands, ready to hit the ball.

As darkness collapsed, the boy swung his final baton with all his might.

"Bang..."

At the moment the boy was swallowed by darkness, he vaguely heard a crisp sound.

He hit the "ball".

(End of this chapter)