The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 908

Chapter 907
The Unburning Butterfly!
The sun ascends—
At the instant that radiance brightened.
Master Amber immediately snatched all the amber jewels from his bracelet and hurled them forward!
Seven jewels remained. Each expanded and transformed into a semi-transparent amber light screen, shielding those just resurrected by Eivass.
Seven layers of light screens overlapped, forming a barrier that was almost opaque.
It was precisely because of this that they survived that strike’s aftermath—
The Butterfly of Scorching Flames burned and cracked, its countless golden-red flames compressing the air into an invisible, sharp wind-like shockwave, nearly incinerating and destroying everything around it!
—The sun perished.
The sky plunged into darkness once more.
Where the shockwave swept, the Sky-Piercing Tower splintered inch by inch.
The black cracks reflected in the surrounding world were torn open even further as a result.
If it was originally like a pair of perfectly good trousers with a few cuts from a dagger, it was now as tattered as some special fashion-style jeans.
Those cracks were like eyes, through which the Fallen Heavenly Envoy on the other side could be faintly seen in the light.
It was a colossal, god-like, and world-piercingly majestic shadow—
Compared to its size, the entire Sky-Piercing Tower seemed like a delicate pastry on a plate.
Its hands were sharp claws, and behind it, six enormous and tattered, pitch-black wings were vaguely visible. Its face was unclear, only a dense, deep purple halo was visible around its head. Through the bull-horn-shaped full-face helmet, only two balls of scarlet-black fire glowed where its eyes should be.
The world became even more precarious than before.
—Yet it still did not completely collapse, but instead released more of the Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s power.
Seeing this, the Fallen Heavenly Envoy no longer hurried—
“Hmph, hmph, hmph…”
Accompanied by the Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s faint laughter, His sharp claws were already sufficient to reach into the world’s vast fissures!
He brutally tore open the remaining ragged fissures with his hands, allowing his enormous left claw to enter first.
The size of the left claw alone was over fifty meters—as the Sky-Piercing Tower disintegrated, Eivass and the others had fallen to the second floor, and the claw was almost as tall as they were!
The upper parts were all pulverized by the Butterfly of Scorching Flames. Fragments of the common language device on the fourth floor also fell near them.
Mu, without hesitation, wanted to jump onto the claw to execute a one-way boarding battle—but Zhu Tang grabbed him and shook his head sternly.
The colossal claw slowly opened, and a silver-gray spherical radiance appeared at its palm. The light sphere was wrapped in a sapphire radiance like a seal, and a complex, enormous purple magic circle materialized in front of the claw.
Under the operation of this spell, the collapsing world stopped disintegrating at this moment. Time itself slowed down, and the many fragments of the Sky-Piercing Tower were slowly collapsing and falling at a speed of less than one meter per second.
Those fragments were like corpses falling into the deep sea, gradually dispersing in powder-like blood.
—The speed of the world’s disintegration was greatly slowed down by the Fallen Heavenly Envoy!
“Want to escape? Don’t be so naive.”
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy looked at Eivass, who had returned to his human form, his antlers on his head now longer, his deep, echoing voice rumbling across heaven and earth: “Covered in Marks of Sin, why don’t I transform you into a demon?
“With such a strong Heart of Transcendence, you were destined to walk this path of corruption. Heh heh… I wonder if the Candlemaster will still want you if you become a demon.”
Saying this, His right claw extended.
The sharp demonic claw reached out towards Eivass from afar!
Eivass was seized through the air and floated up directly.
Colorful Marks of Sin appeared on his body—
“Arrogance, envy, lust, wrath, greed, sloth… Heh heh heh… So it was you…”
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy sneered: “What a pity, what a pity. If that girl had stayed in Star Antinomy a bit longer, I could have filled them all up. Then, I could have created the perfect Disciple.”
“…Is it you?”
Eivass finally clearly understood why the Marks of Sin that inexplicably appeared on Alistair before had fallen.
It was not the Ouroboros Ring’s premonition ritual at work, nor was it a side effect of the Children of the Moon’s faith in the Banquet Master.
Those were the Marks of Sin personally bestowed by the Fallen Heavenly Envoy!
He did not know Eivass… or rather, he at least did not know that Eivass was being watched by the Candlemaster. Yet, he had paid attention to Alistair in advance…
“You think—I know nothing about the Ouroboros Ring ritual?”
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s mocking voice boomed: “The Shepherd also entrusted his despair and will to me! His insane plan to drag the entire world into the abyss… heh, it was also within my expectations!
“If you want to ambush me, come on!”
Falling from the Dream Realm to the Material Realm, like stars descending from the heavens, this also complied with the principles of the path of “corruption.”
Regaining a material body, one could once again rebel against the heavens—from a lofty god to a demon king in the Material Realm, this in itself was his path to enlightenment!
This was… a scheme within a scheme!
“But I won’t be as foolish as I was before… falling into someone else’s domain without preparation.”
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s voice still resounded grandly, changing from high-pitched to low.
But Eivass could no longer hear his words—
Eivass could only feel intense tearing sensations within his body—his flesh and blood churned, the Marks glowing with purple light. The flesh beneath his skin occasionally bulged, but it could never break through the pale, pure skin and emerge.
It was not an injury, nor was it a curse… but a gift of evolution.
Because of this, he could not be immune or resist this power. Because it “had good intentions,” it came from “an ally”!
The Marks of Sin, acting as intermediaries of power, were continuously receiving power from the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, transforming Eivass’s body into a more sublime form.
During this process, the pain of tearing flesh and blood caused Eivass to cry out involuntarily.
“Perhaps you are indeed innocent… little key of the snake.”
That malicious voice was filled with contempt and hatred: “But what does that have to do with me?
“—Are we not innocent?!
“Since you are also a part of him, you will pay this interest for him!
“After all, without you, his insane plan will still crumble!”
But at this moment.
Power from the same origin was once again reversed by Lucifer’s Wings!
Surging divine power burned from the depths of Eivass’s pupils, and his entire body ignited with purple flames—and that purple was merely the core, while the outer layer was pure white radiance!
The next moment, the pure white six wings bestowed by Lucifer on Eivass unfurled with a roar, causing the Marks of Sin to suddenly dim!
Brilliant radiance made Eivass’s body gleam with pure, unblemished white light, breaking free from the invisible chains and soaring high into the sky!
—That absolute suppression effect on “Winged Ones” was also effective on the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, who was also a King of Winged Ones!
Looking at that radiance, the Fallen Heavenly Envoy seemed momentarily lost.
His previously quite talkative sneering stopped abruptly, and his incessant taunts turned into silence.
“…Ah, that light…”
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy murmured.
At this moment, Eivass was using the six Marks of Sin as a conduit, continuously drawing power from the Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s body.
And this power, through Lucifer’s Wings, was once again transformed into pure, unblemished white radiance.
The overflowing radiance alone turned the area behind Eivass into something like a pure white shrine.
This power could not be suppressed at all.
Eivass could not possibly accumulate this level of power within his body—it was genuine power belonging to a god, enough to easily transform a Fifth Tier Extraordinary into a pure demon!
That power was continuously purified and filled into the wings behind him.
Golden radiance formed glyphs, condensing into an incomparably colossal and radiant bright golden magic array.
At a glance, it was clear—this was a winged spell, originating from the same source as the spell released by the Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s left claw to stabilize space!
This was also an ancient spell used by the mages of the Sky-Piercing Tower!
Three rings—platinum, bright gold, and dark gold interlocked, rotating at high speed—
Eivass did not use a single bit of his own mana; the power condensed on its own!
He just uttered that name with absolute conviction.
That was the power belonging to Lucifer—Lucifer’s power in every sense!
“—Paradise Lost!”
Countless brilliant golden rays instantly illuminated the entire world.
The light transformed into blades descending from the heavens, carving out crooked trajectories, sweeping across the entire visible world!
Everything within sight was subjected to a destructive strike!
What is seen is what is reached!
And unlike the self-destruction of the Butterfly of Scorching Flames, this time, not a single person behind Eivass was harmed.
The first to bear the brunt was the Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s left claw, which was maintaining the spell—
The magic circle only held for a moment before being completely shattered by the rain-like light blades!
The time-slowed world immediately returned to its normal flow, and the fragments of the Sky-Piercing Tower, which had been slowly falling, plummeted to the ground, kicking up dust and causing earthquakes—
And that attack seemed to have hurt the Fallen Heavenly Envoy… but it was only heurt.
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy, who had been momentarily awakened, roared in extreme anger: “This is… my power!
“You liar, villain, thief!
“You think I don’t know this move!?”
At this moment, terrifying power concentrated on the other side.
The rumbling sound became clearer, and space almost completely shattered.
“—Butterfly of Scorching Flames!”
And at this moment, Eivass no longer paid attention to the Fallen Heavenly Envoy. Without hesitation, he called out Leah’s name once more!
This was the new power he obtained after his Book of Law evolved—
[Effect: Use again, summon the Unburning Butterfly from the ashes of the Butterfly of Scorching Flames; upon entering, the Unburning Butterfly deals massive damage to all currently burning enemies.]
In the void, a cocoon of flames coalesced out of thin air once more.
That was the very spot where the sun had just perished—
The cocoon of flames expanded and spread, then transformed into a sky-piercing pillar of fire.
The sky, continuously bathed and illuminated by the rain of light, suddenly erupted with a piercing pillar of fire!
The pillar of fire suddenly expanded, and a curtain of scorching flames swept over everything.
A summoned creature, similar yet different to the Butterfly of Scorching Flames, broke free from the cocoon!
This was a form Eivass had never seen before—a form that did not belong to his “game” memories at all.
This was the second form developed by Eivass after cultivating the Butterfly of Scorching Flames to this point using the Shepherd’s Method.
Similar to how Shadow Demons evolved into Night Demons, this was a new evolution unique to Eivass.
Only after the Butterfly of Scorching Flames died in fire could it be reborn from the ashes into its true form—
—The Unburning Butterfly!
She did not have the black-red base tone of the Butterfly of Scorching Flames…
But was gray and white.
A pure white long dress covered everything, like a wedding dress. A hollow ring of light floated behind her head. Her butterfly wings transformed into golden light wings.
Compared to the widow-like appearance of the Butterfly of Scorching Flames, she looked more like a grown-up Yulia.
It was like changing from a widow to a bride.
Her cold and indifferent demeanor was like a queen reigning over everything.
From head to toe, apart from white, gray, and a faint gold, there was not a single trace of other colors. Even her pupils were gray and white, like ashes that had completely burned out.
However, she seemed to be missing a divinity core—the core within the halo behind her head.
This made her look like a lifeless, colorless sculpture.
However, as Eivass continuously bombarded the spatial cracks with Paradise Lost.
The Butterfly of Scorching Flames—no, the “Unburning Butterfly”—displayed a new power.
She raised her hands as if embracing the sky.
Grayish-white, shadow-like flames, without heat or sound, began to burn quietly above her.
She stood in front of Eivass like a torch stump, raising a curtain of flame-like material—
Everything that passed through its beam of light was coated in a layer of ash-white from being burned out.
And when the beam of light hit the ground, it let out a deafening roar!
The earth cracked, and space trembled.
At this moment, the power gathered by the Fallen Heavenly Envoy also reached its limit.
The rumbling could not clearly be heard through the fractured space, only visible red, purple, and black radiance coalescing.
“—Paradise Lost!”
The next moment, countless purple light blades also attacked!
—This was an offensive Eivass could not possibly resist.
The power of a Heavenly Envoy far exceeded the power Eivass could be immune to!
However, the “Unburning Power” attached to the Unburning Butterfly gave Eivass the ability to confront the Fallen Heavenly Envoy!
“That is… the Power of Conflict!”
In an instant, Encyclopedia recognized the source of that power: “That must be the legendary Power of Conflict!”
This was the “Power of Conflict” that the Horus people had always pursued—it was the core of solar power.
—The ultimate pursuit of every generation of the Horus people was to “create a sun.”
The sun had fallen twice, and the Third Sun was not eternal.
Therefore, they needed to create a future Fourth Sun before the Third Sun burned out.
And the “Power of Conflict” was the core of this power—it was a power inspired by the legends of Mithra, condensed from the conflict of two opposing attributes.
Extreme fire and extreme water could never mix; the purer the material nature, the stronger it would be. Impure water and fire might only annihilate each other, but sufficiently pure water and fire would explode violently the moment they came into contact—this was common knowledge for alchemy apprentices.
But an explosion was a process, not instantaneous.
If this power could be sealed before the explosion, then after unsealing, if they were “not in intense contact with each other, water and fire,” would they still explode?
The experimental results were positive—therefore, alchemists believed that it was because the opposing elements had already generated a stable “Power of Conflict” upon interaction.
And once this power was released, it would unleash an extremely violent explosion and re-release the products of these two opposing elements annihilating each other!
Therefore, the Horus people believed that if enough Power of Conflict could be collected and placed in a sufficiently strong vessel to explode, they could ignite “a momentary sun.”
From the perspective of the sun, the sun was the condensation of light and fire. The Dawn Heavenly Envoy was the hottest fire in the world.
This was, naturally, the extreme of flames.
And it was also the “Unburning Power”—because its power did not allow it to burn slowly; once released, it would inevitably be a fierce explosion!
When the Unburning Butterfly’s power reached its limit, at the center point of the two clashing Paradise Lost.
The already precarious world shattered.
(End of this chapter)