I, the Holy Maiden of Light, tear apart the Outer Gods.

"Because you want to stop me, you want to show off your power in front of me, and defeat me with the power you possess. And my bloodline is also part of your power. You are a smart child, and you will not give up this bit of power that may be needed to defeat me."

"But you're a moronly idiot. Who told you that the power I have now comes from your bloodline? Besides, your words reveal a crucial clue—you can't see through the authority I possess."

Ange grinned.

The next second, a sword light that pierced through the heavens and earth flashed at the intersection of heaven and earth, and a sound of flesh being cut rang out. A crack appeared in the churning dark sky!

Black blood flowed from the wound.

To the colossal Azathoth, this wound might be insignificant, the amount of blood lost barely registering in his notice. But to Leng Yuan, his spilled blood was like a waterfall crashing onto the earth, carving a basin into the plain! The violent energy contained within the blood erupted the instant it touched the ground, transforming the already barren Leng Yuan into a raging inferno.

But the next second, this hellish landscape was engulfed by golden holy light that blanketed the land. The embers were extinguished, the basin was filled in, and a dense forest sprouted from the barren earth.

The shocking scene just now felt like it had never happened...

The power of the gods... even a seemingly harmless test between them is enough to ruthlessly crush this fragile land.

In the air, Ange, who had just unleashed a sword strike, stared blankly at Azathoth.

Azathoth could have easily blocked that sword strike.

But He chose to let the sword leave a wound on His body, and let His blood spill onto the earth.

Anjie couldn't understand what the other person was thinking.

Or rather, no one could understand Azathoth's thoughts.

A gurgling sound—the sound of flesh writhing—as Azathoth's countless eyes all turned toward Ange.

"Did you see that?"

"...What did you see?"

"I have seen...the power of me, you, and the gods."

“…” Anjie paused for a moment.

Azathoth, however, did not mind and calmly continued:

"We are so powerful, so magnificent. Our thoughts become the creeds of the mortals. Our footprints are regarded as miracles by the mortals. We are worshipped, respected, and pursued. But... do we really need it?"

Our power is enough to treat this continent, this world, like a toy, and knead it at will. Look at those mortal beings, who have struggled for tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of years, and through hundreds and thousands of generations of reproduction, painstakingly built this world and order, while we only need to blow a breath to tear it all down and start over.

The world is just a toy to us. Mythical creatures are nothing more than a wisp of thought in my dreams.

So, are you really going to fight another god to the death for a toy, a bunch of dream creations? My daughter, give me a reason, give me a reason why you should stop me.

Ange was about to refute Azathoth's grand viewpoint when her peripheral vision caught sight of the spot where Azathoth's blood had just dripped—now, under the influence of her unconscious power, it had transformed into a dense jungle.

Unable to refute...

Not just against Azathoth...

Even I... who was once my whole "world" is now only on the same level as a "toy".

At the origin of the world, the words the system had spoken to Anjie flashed through Anjie's mind at that moment—

Deities are the embodiment of laws; only when the faith of living beings combines with them can deities be born.

What if... there are no living beings with faith?

As the embodiment of the purest law... what is the essence of the gods...?

Ange's gaze fell on Azathoth—a body that covered every inch of the sky and filled every corner of the world—just like the laws that filled the world.

Azathoth does not need the faith of living beings, therefore He is now the most direct embodiment of the law...

In other words, living beings are not essential for the birth or continuation of gods.

So... is Azathoth right?

Is the world really a toy?

Are living beings truly dispensable to the gods?

Black smoke billowed from Azathoth's body, like a pair of giant hands reaching out towards Ange.

Yes, that's it, following in my footsteps, becoming the next—

Azathoth.

To become the next global catastrophe.

Section 277, Chapter 36: But You're an Ugly Person

After the sky was torn apart, Angela, radiating holy light, became the only source of light in the desolate plains. As Angela was shrouded in Azathoth's black mist, the desolate plains were once again swallowed by darkness.

In the darkness, countless evils began to grow rampant. They were the cancer of the world and the death knell for all living beings. Light suppressed their growth, but the will of Azathoth became their best nourishment.

I believe that in just a little while, the Cold Plains will shatter like fragile glass, and what awaits Azathoth will be a carnival, a feast where he will wield his power and mold the world!

Azathoth had been waiting for decades.

While he was sealed, he even felt "satisfied" with Castdale, because Castdale's seal taught him to "wait," and that "waiting" could sometimes be an interesting thing.

Before being sealed away by Castal, Azathoth would probably have already begun roaring and clamoring in this darkness, celebrating the end of the world ahead of time. But now, this mad and foolish god lies dormant in the darkness.

Silently counting down to the end of this world.

He began to enjoy witnessing firsthand the desperate reactions of those reptilian beings when they knew in advance that their fate was sealed.

This was the only benefit that living beings could offer Him, in Azathoth's opinion—to provide amusement for His despair.

However, the wait seems to have been unexpectedly long.

Azathoth's gaze fell upon the newborn god, consumed by his own darkness, in the very center of the cold plain.

He had to admit that the power displayed by this god was so great that He felt threatened by the concept of "death".

However, the power of a newly born god is only superficial; the "will" that a god truly relies on is something this newly born god has clearly not learned.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been corrupted and degenerated by just a few words from himself.

click-

A crisp sound rang out so abruptly in the cold plain swallowed by darkness.

The next second, a sword light, as if from a mechanical deity, pierced the darkness, and black divine blood splattered onto the earth, only to be swallowed up in an instant by the surging tide of light.

Unlike the light that was swallowed by darkness before, the light that returned this time was more violent and powerful. With an unstoppable momentum, it tore the rampant darkness to shreds. In the end, the darkness could only retreat to the horizon and return to Azathoth's side.

And their master, Azathoth, was in no better shape than the defeated and disarmed Darkness.

A gruesome wound, thousands of meters long, appeared on Azathoth's body, with large swathes of black blood spilling out and then being swallowed up by the surging light.

If Guangming was once a gentle and serene nun who embraced all the world's pain and sins with a broad mind.

The returning light was like a nun tearing off her habit, revealing a ring of detonators strapped to her body, then pulling the fuse and running excitedly toward the enemy.

The goddess, enveloped in these strangely colored lights, slowly opened her eyes.

The newly born god raised his holy sword high, pointing it at another deity in the sky, and with a voice as loud as thunder, issued the first divine decree of the new god's return—

"Stupid!"

Azathoth: "?"

Ange didn't give Azathoth time to think or react. The moment the curse was uttered, she grabbed the Light and, with a wry smile, swung her sword at Azathoth's body again. The fine sword light transformed into a large net and rushed towards Azathoth.

This sword strike was unlike the previous two; the energy contained within this attack was something even Azathoth had to take seriously. Darkness, like a wild beast, pounced on Ange, and finally, the two divine powers collided at the intersection of heaven and earth.

Ange remained silent, giving Azathoth no chance to speak, and charged at him with her sword drawn, the light behind her rising like a tornado soaring into the sky.

In that instant, heaven and earth transformed, and the earth, bathed in light, began to press down on the dark sky.

Azathoth, not to be outdone, unleashed a rampaging darkness that roared and surged toward Ange.

Space was shattered, elements collapsed into nothingness, the flesh and blood of gods were scattered across the sky and the earth, darkness and light tore at each other, and the laws were twisted, obliterated and reconstructed countless times in the battle between the two gods.

Finally, the entire world became a chaotic mess, with black smoke and golden light intertwining and tearing at each other.

At this moment, the two gods who were the source of all this stopped what they were doing and stood quietly at the boundary between heaven and earth, coldly watching each other.

“My child, give me a reason.” Azathoth’s voice was no longer as indifferent as before; this time, it was filled with weariness and confusion. His enormous body, which had once filled the entire sky, was now large enough to be seen to the end with the naked eye.

Anjie's condition wasn't much better; her body was covered in all sorts of scars, and one of her arms was covered in black lines.

However, her expression remained very calm.

What reason do you want?

"You... even after learning the truth about the power of the gods, why do you still oppose me?"

"Because I don't want to become an ugly slut like you, does that count as a reason?"

"...My child, you have become a god. When you have lived through a time as long as mine, a time that cannot be measured in words, you will understand that appearance is the cheapest and most base concept in the world."

"But you're an ugly bastard."

"...When you possess enough power to fabricate a world for a sufficiently long time, any living being will appear to you as nothing more than an ant on the roadside. At that point, will you still have any sense of appearance?"

But you're single.

No, what I mean is...

"You don't even have a mother."

"..."

No, I am the god of blindness and folly! How can you be even more unreasonable than me?!

Azathoth could no longer hold back.

But Ange's next words interrupted Him: "You might be right. A person's position determines their thinking. If I were thousands of years from now, I might become like you, equating all beings around me with inferior creatures."

But at least, I'm not one now. And whoever wants that divine position can sit there; I plan to finish this job and then go back to my hometown to get married! By the way~”

Anjie smiled brightly, "I told you before, you can't see through my authority. You might think that the authority I possess is so powerful that it will corrupt me over time, just like you, but unfortunately, the authority I hold is simply incapable of that. Well, if I had to say, its only function afterward would be to ensure that when I do what I love with your daughter, I'm no longer unilaterally passive due to physical limitations."

Azathoth: "???"

What is this guy saying? I don't understand.