Chapter 266: Extinguishing the Sun
Ji Ma knew deeply that to defeat George, she must first defeat the hundreds of millions of people behind him.
George immediately raised the holy sword, gathering white light from his whole body to shoot out from the giant sword. With a swing of the sword, most of the black crows vanished.
The white light was dazzling; for a moment, even Ji Ma was uncertain about the effectiveness of her desecration ritual.
“Haha! Ridiculous. The curse has already spread!” Ji Ma shouted, flapping her wings and using her power of pain to leap away from the witches and flee.
George intended to pursue.
But the white light on him was shouting:
“Quick, protect us!”
“Eliminate those curses!”
“I don’t want to die!”
“How could she make her ritual succeed?”
“Kill those witches!”
George sensed that Ji Ma’s desecration ritual was not large-scale and posed little threat.
He said, “Her ritual isn’t that dangerous.”
“It’s your fault for talking to her and not stopping the ritual!”
Thus, George had to pause momentarily to purify himself, just as a formality.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson from the Starfire Organization arrived, even providing commentary.
“Everyone stay calm, our isolation curse team has already cut off the spread of the curse. Please go outside to receive the holy water falling from the sky….”
The experts discussed what tricks Ji Ma might have.
“What hidden secrets might this desecration ritual have?”
“Don’t be fooled by her appearance; as long as we ensure George can stop her from triggering the curse and eliminate the curses on everyone, we’ll be fine.”
“The curse is being eradicated quickly, thanks to the power of good laws. Without the Demon King’s support, those curses won’t hold for long.”
“Quick, let George chase after Ji Ma.”
Speaking of Ji Ma.
She suddenly created a distance of two kilometers, and the white light flickered in the distance, just as she had anticipated.
When it comes time for others to pay the price for justice, many have no awareness of their obligation to do so.
Though she was unsure of the actual effect of her earlier small desecration ritual, Ji Ma still set her electronic watch for 16 minutes and 40 seconds.
Once the time was up, she immediately began using her descent ability, aiming to land beside her witches, intending to escape.
Ji Ma gripped the axe tightly, flapping her wings hard to take off while her eyes fixated on George’s direction, muttering incantations.
Her body gradually became translucent under the night sky and moonlight.
She estimated she was already three kilometers away; this distance…
A pillar of white light surged over, crossing three kilometers. Ji Ma’s wide golden eyes reflected this white light.
George, with his wings of light, appeared beside her, delivering a holy strike with his sword.
Its brilliance resembled ten thousand suns rising in the sky.
As the light faded, the substitute puppet turned to ashes.
Ji Ma used her invisible teleportation to appear several dozen meters away. But she felt a pair of eyes that could see through invisibility penetrating her body.
George flapped his wings of light, charging like a locomotive.
“Big Baldy!”
Ji Ma summoned Big Baldy, the former Demon King, who immediately appeared before George. When swords clashed, blinding white light flashed past.
Big Baldy didn’t fall immediately; it was knocked back a hundred meters, breaking several trees as it tumbled, its axe-gun transformed into a large sword that howled in pain.
George, like a divine angel of judgment descending from the heavens, flapped his wings again and charged forward.
Ji Ma swiftly used “Maze Spell,” causing George’s figure to temporarily vanish from view, but Ji Ma sensed it wouldn’t last long.
Descent; quickly use the descent, stall for a moment, stall for time!
Ji Ma commanded Big Baldy to hold the ground and continued using her descent.
One second, two seconds…
The air suddenly distorted, a blazing white sword seemed to pierce through space, heading directly for the semi-transparent Ji Ma.
“Boom!”
The sound of swords clashing, Ji Ma had heard many times, but never had it been so piercing, so deafening. Pain shot through her eardrums, with a wet feeling in her ears.
Big Baldy blocked it. Although it wasn’t made of complete supermaterial and couldn’t become as powerful as Ji Ma and George through various means on Earth, this sword carried Ji Ma’s anger and reluctance against George, the chosen one.
While she executed “Descent,” she manipulated Big Baldy to engage George in a back-and-forth battle.
The terrifying spirit energy swirling around Big Baldy even gave the distant viewers experiencing the live broadcast a glimpse of terrifying illusions, causing them to tremble.
But it had no effect on George.
As they battled with swords, the crimson sword shadows and the light sword shadows intertwined, with the white sword shadows visibly gaining the upper hand, then enveloping Big Baldy.
Its armor buckled, cracked, and shattered in an instant, and a white light slashed through Big Baldy, causing its weapon to fly out and crash toward Ji Ma.
Three seconds, four seconds…
In just two seconds.
Ji Ma’s figure was already faint, almost invisible, as George’s sword streaked like a rainbow, slicing toward Ji Ma…
At the last moment, Ji Ma completely disappeared into the air.
But the searing flames clawed at her eyes and nerves; everything went dark before her, burning painfully.
Dizzy, Ji Ma momentarily doubted if her head was spinning in the sky.
It wasn’t until her feet touched solid ground that she confirmed her successful descent, hearing a joyful female voice beside her: “Master! You’ve arrived!”
Ji Ma could see nothing. She raised her hand, fingers brushing her eye socket, feeling only the burning sensation of fire.
“The Demon King! It’s the Demon King!”
“She… she’s so beautiful…”
“Call headquarters, call headquarters!”
Ji Ma could smell blood; her own flower had been hurt.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
With gunfire very close to her right side, Ji Ma heard bullets hit the left wall and heard the rumble of armored vehicles.
She merely lifted her hand, and the gunfire ceased.
Though she couldn’t see, Ji Ma used the power of mythic lies to gain awareness of her surroundings.
Dozens of soldiers from the Starfire Organization gazed at her. Ji Ma, using her damaged “axe-gun” as a cane, couldn’t fly with her wings for the time being as she walked towards her palace, towards her bedroom.
She stepped quickly on the cobblestone path and exited the park.
In the distance, gunfire erupted as the soldiers of the Starfire Organization fired at their comrades, collapsing one after another.
The fire in her eye sockets still burned, and she attempted to open the exit to her Dream Palace, seeking refuge in her dreams, only to find she had temporarily lost contact; the dream had been shattered, and this place was circled like a prison, leading her to the beautiful palace, which equated to walking into a trap.
But Ji Ma felt no fear.
She walked beside her palace, smelling the fragrance of rapeseed flowers and hearing the sweet voices of maids or witches.
“Master! Master, you finally came.”
They were overjoyed, gathering around Ji Ma.
What a beautiful life.
Ji Ma thought, dispersing all the witches and maids, ordering them to flee as far as possible.
Lianxi Cat, screaming, refused to escape, claiming she could use her body to block George’s advance.
Ji Ma had no doubts about it; perhaps if George livestreamed “torturing a cat,” the light surrounding him would probably dissipate significantly. Still, Ji Ma commanded three maids to drag their cat maid away.
As the maids dispersed, Ji Ma was alone, drinking potions while ascending towards the main hall.
“Booming…”
The sound of jets roaring had not yet arrived.
A beam of light fell from several kilometers away, landing hundreds of meters behind Ji Ma.
“You’ve lost! Demon King.”
With blind eyes and Big Baldy dead, her wings unable to fly temporarily, she was almost like a lamb to be slaughtered.
Upon hearing this, Ji Ma turned around, gazing blindly at George and said:
“Hero, Little Ji is indeed the humanity I abandoned; I cannot kill myself. Thank you for eliminating it. Now I have completely abandoned all of humanity and become a true Demon King.”
Having said this, she spread her wings, which had once been charred now revitalized. Her long, shiny black horns curved backward to her shoulder blades, and crown fragments floated above her head, resembling a Demon King.
George’s sword hesitated, and Ji Ma could sense the pain within him.
“Kill that filthy woman!”
“What are you waiting for?”
“Are you unable to strike because you find her alluring?”
“At least catch her first, be a bit lenient.”
Public sentiment was unhappy.
George transformed into a beam of light once more, immediately appearing beside Ji Ma.
As before, still a substitute puppet, but this time without Big Baldy to block, Ji Ma teleported to the wall beside her.
The wall cracked and broke open, and George burst through.
But in that brief moment, it was enough for Ji Ma to enter a dream, slipping into the subconscious of a Starfire Organization soldier who was already hypnotized and sleeping. However, this was only a temporary delay of her inevitable defeat, as George quickly locked onto the soldier in whose dreams Ji Ma “parasited.”
Ji Ma entered the dream again to hide, but as soon as she entered, a force “kicked” her out.
An extremely rude and absolute power came crashing in. Ji Ma desperately tried to avoid its edge, only feeling as if struck by a locomotive; pain shot through her left arm, and her whole body flew up. She flapped her wings, daring not to slow down, instead accelerating to distance herself from the hero George.
Ji Ma shot like an arrow into the main hall, her back smashing hard against the wall. Sounds filled her ears as she heard the wall cracking, experiencing intense pain in her head; her horn had broken.
She fell to the ground, struggling to stand up, feeling her left arm was empty. Upon touching it, she realized it had been severed.
Her left arm had completely separated from her body in the earlier impact, laying on the ground.
The hero stepped into the opulent, decadent main hall, resembling a divine judgment angel.
Ji Ma had lost one hand, but she still gripped the “axe-gun” tightly with her remaining right hand, adopting a combat stance, aiming the gun’s tip toward George.
Not far away, her left arm lay on the ground, blood dripping from the severed end, staining the arm ring with a red hue. After detaching from her body, the magic hidden in the arm ring had dissipated.
The hero’s gaze focused on the arm ring, which looked familiar; it was the first gift given to Ji Ma. She had never worn it in all the public records—had she been hiding it?
Temporarily transforming into George, he ignored public sentiment, paused, and did not point his sword at Ji Ma. He said, “Why bother?”
Ji Ma could sense the painful power within him; perhaps that was the key to her victory.
“I want to protect my beautiful life,” Ji Ma said. “It’s worth fighting for. Moreover, even if you win against me, what does it matter? Have you forgotten your homeland? The Eternal Chosen leads the annihilating army to trample the world. And you, merely because of my betrayal out of a breath of air, pursued me here with the holy sword.”
“The Lord of Deception copied the fake crown fragment, the Eternal Chosen gathered the fragments, and only the true fragment can eliminate the false one.”
Ji Ma dug her red nails into her palm:
“He was indeed plotting against me, but you lost. I spent three hundred years in your world; here only a few seconds have passed; you are too late. By the standards of a holy knight, you have utterly failed.”
“By the standards of the demon race, you fear the Eternal Chosen and dare not challenge, so in your stead, you are not a true demon.”
Public sentiment was extremely dissatisfied with their back and forth.
“No way! Are we supposed to forgive her? That’s disgusting.”
“She is a butcher, who has killed over ten thousand people, behaving tyrannically and dictatorially.”
“Do bad people become Buddhas by laying down their butcher knives, while good people must face eighty-one tribulations?”
“Justice! Justice! We demand justice!”
George’s body trembled as he said, his voice tinged with pleading, “Can’t you say something softer, try to soothe them?” He didn’t even dare mention redemption, fearing it might provoke Ji Ma.
“Ridiculous, laying down the butcher knife to become a Buddha. That’s only because he risked his life day and night with the knife, and surviving was because he was strong, thus having the value of being soothed to become a Buddha.” Ji Ma sneered: “You bunch of little sheep, dare not even pick up the butcher knife, and it would be good enough to live a stable life; why make such a fuss?”
They roared, “Justice! Justice! Punish her!”
George’s body shook, then he cut down with a holy strike aimed at Ji Ma.
Ha, so weak. Hero, you don’t exhibit the previous resolve of “Since you drew your sword, even if facing your mother, you can strike.”
Ji Ma attempted to cleave the holy sword with one hand.
It was utterly useless.
The sword seemed to have severed something else.
George’s shoulder slammed hard into her chest, and Ji Ma lost all sensation for a moment. When she regained her senses, excruciating pain surged through her; her back pressed against the wall, cracking it as dust fell and landed on her head.
Ji Ma felt an intense pain in her right leg, but grasping her hand, the axe-gun was still in her grip.
She could still fight…
Ji Ma struggled to rise, only to discover her right leg was already broken. She flapped her wings weakly; they were no longer as powerful as before.
The sound of iron boots crunching on gravel drew nearer, step by step, closing in.
“Death penalty! Death penalty!”
The voice of public sentiment closed in, the sword’s edge aimed at Ji Ma’s neck.
“Didi didi.”
The electronic watch on her left wrist beeped.
This watch was of excellent quality, Ji Ma mused.
Behind George, at the main hall’s entrance, the night sky suddenly turned pitch black, as if someone had switched off the moon. Without moonlight, the outside was as dark as ink, the stars high above appeared as tiny pinholes poking through, and no artificial light could pierce such dense darkness.
At that same moment, many people worldwide suddenly wondered: What is happening?
“Our sky suddenly turned dark?”
“Eclipse?”
“We cannot observe the sun! Repeat! We cannot observe the sun!”
Where the sun once shone, in the blink of an eye, it became midnight.
In the bustling city, people on the darkened streets were universally astonished, raising their heads to try to find traces of the sun in the sky. Just moments ago, it had been there, the warmth still lingering on their hair and hats.
But they only saw windows lighting up in the buildings.
“It’s taking so long to chop off my head, cough… cough… so it seems I really succeeded.” Ji Ma coughed blood, revealing an evil smile. “Still livestreaming, huh? Now, let me explain to you ignorant mortals.
“I cursed the sun; it was during the third large-scale desecration ritual that… cough cough… I cursed the sun. Just now merely activated the curse’s power….”
The curses residing in people’s bodies would eventually dissipate, as there were countless methods to remove a curse.
Ji Ma thought, since that was the case, why not change her mindset and play a bigger game?
After making this big move, Ji Ma felt secure and no longer cautious.
“I cursed the sun… cough cough… I hate you all… I… hate everything in this world…” Ji Ma declared. “Thanks to you… the righteous hero, I… have no choice but to extinguish the sun… Haha… you need not worry about global warming anymore…”
Public sentiment turned into accusations, condemning George for being willful, pulling them into this war before they could grasp the situation.
The white orbs of light surrounding George dispersed, abandoning him. George bent slightly, his hands trembling, removing his mask to reveal an exhaustion-laden face.
“Hey, hero,” Ji Ma swallowed a mouthful of blood, raising her hand and pointing to her severed right leg not far away: “Now, for all of humanity, for the entire biosphere, quickly bring me my right leg like a maid, kneel on both knees on the ground, and hold my leg with both hands. If your attitude satisfies me, I might consider negotiating to return sunlight to humanity.”
