Echilio’s team soared through the darkness atop a Wing Demon.

This was their first time experiencing flight, though the sensation was far from pleasant.

The sky was bitterly cold, making their rain-soaked bodies shiver uncontrollably. They had no choice but to use divine techniques to protect themselves.

They anchored themselves to the Wing Demon with their tails, their heads lowered as they gazed at the vast land below.

“We can’t see a path in this darkness. What do we do?” one of the Snake People asked.

They were clearly uncomfortable with high-speed flight, as they were used to traveling on land and couldn’t even determine their position.

“If you can’t find your direction on the ground, look to the stars above. As people of Avel, how could you forget that?” an elderly team member scolded.

Only then did everyone notice that Captain Echilio had been keeping his eyes fixed on the celestial stars.

This man, who had personally planned the migration to the New Continent and was an Ability User from the era when the Avel City-State dominated the seas, had the seafaring arts of Avel deeply ingrained in his blood.

“Don’t worry.”

“We’re flying on the correct course. We might drift slightly, but it’s not a major issue.”

“Once daylight comes, we can reconfirm our exact position using landmarks on the ground.”

Echilio finally turned his head back.

Though the captain still appeared composed and calm, his voice had grown much hoarser.

His expression was grave and serious, even somewhat pale, having lost the usual passion that could inspire everyone.

In the silent night, a sudden piercing wail echoed from the distance.

“Screech!”

That sound was definitely not human, carrying deep resentment and evil within.

Every member of Echilio’s team looked toward the distance simultaneously, their faces instantly transforming with various expressions.

A group of Eagle Demons had somehow caught up to them in the darkness, numbering around twenty.

These weren’t ordinary Eagle Demons, but ones possessing transcendent power.

They had been transformed from Sky Messengers atop Fenbuk Mountain.

Their wings harnessed the power of wind spells and they wielded dark divine techniques.

“It’s those monsters,” someone said. Everyone had already witnessed how the Winged People transformed into Eagle Demons amid the contamination at the foot of the Winged People’s mountains.

“They’ve caught up?” In the sky, having lost the security of solid ground, everyone felt intense fear and unease facing these Eagle Demons.

“What should we do?” Everyone looked toward Echilio.

Echilio’s expression changed as well.

If they were caught by a group of Eagle Demons up here in the sky, they would have nowhere to hide.

If the enemy attacked the Wing Demon they rode, they would certainly die.

More importantly, these Eagle Demons might be the vanguard monsters sent by the mad Queen Melde toward the Avel City-State.

Echilio’s most crucial mission now was to reach the Avel City-State before these monsters and relay this news to Chief Divine Servant Yafuan of the Temple of Knowledge and King Sidi.

“Screech!”

Those Eagle Demons had spotted Echilio’s trail as well, letting out excited cries as they swooped in.

Echilio used his spiritual power to communicate mentally with the Wing Demon, urging it to speed up.

Meanwhile, he quickly spoke to the other team members: “Let’s go over the intel we’ve gathered. Everyone, remember this.”

“It’s written in my notebook as well. Everyone, protect my notebook.”

“But in case something unexpected happens, everyone, memorize the key details right now.”

“Even if only one person is left, they must deliver the message to Lord Yafuan and King Sidi.”

Echilio considered briefly, then quickly spoke.

“The Winged Queen Melde went mad and fell from grace for reasons unknown, corrupting their deity the Lord of Radiance and causing this terrible disaster.”

“The Lord of Radiance’s mythical gate fell onto the Winged People’s Fenbuk Mountain and transformed into a dark abyss. That was where the disaster began.”

“Initial estimates put the Eagle Demon numbers at over fifty thousand and still growing, with hundreds possessing transcendent powers.”

“I also saw fallen Wing Demons on Fenbuk Mountain. This evil power not only corrupts the Winged People but also other life forms, though its effects on the Snake People remain unknown…”

Echilio spoke everything he had seen and known in one breath.

This was his best and final preparation.

He planned to stay behind and battle the Eagle Demons, fighting to the death to delay these monsters while letting the others return riding the Wing Demon.

Just as he finished speaking, a team member suddenly looked at Echilio and asked, “Lord Echilio, are you giving us your final words?”

Everyone suddenly realized and lifted their heads to look at Echilio.

Some finally realized that Echilio intended to sacrifice his life to give them a chance to deliver the message.

They couldn’t engage in battle or halt their journey.

They especially couldn’t battle these Eagle Demons while on the Wing Demon, as this Wing Demon was their hope for delivering the message back.

The only solution was to have someone hold back the Eagle Demons, ensuring they would not become entangled with the group.

Echilio furrowed his brows. “Why discuss this now? Delivering the message is most important.”

The young man released his grip on the Wing Demon’s wing root and stood up.

“You’re the captain. It’s your mission to get the message back.”

“Some things are not yours to do, but among all of us, you are the strongest and most likely to deliver the message.”

“No matter who gets sacrificed, it shouldn’t be you.”

Having said this, the young team member gave Echilio a somewhat naive smile.

“I said before that if there ever came a day when you needed me, if war truly became inevitable, I would lead the charge.”

The young man leaped from the Wing Demon’s back, pouncing toward the Eagle Demons behind.

At that moment, the Eagle Demons had just caught up, their talons nearly reaching the Wing Demon’s tail.

Light blazed fiercely in the young man’s eyes as he tightly embraced one of the Eagle Demons.

An ordinary Snake Person Ability User’s Petrifying Gaze normally has a very short range, but it was enough now to immobilize one Eagle Demon, causing both to fall from the sky.

The young man’s sudden charge also caused a disturbance among the Eagle Demon group.

The group of Eagle Demons pursued him briefly before quickly retreating.

They devoured and gnawed at flesh, their talons covered in bloody filth.

Their eyes revealed evil and greedy gazes.

After the first, there was a second.

“I’ll draw them away.” Without anyone speaking or arranging it, a second person immediately jumped out as the Eagle Demons approached.

This Snake Person drew his sword, plunging down from above to pierce an Eagle Demon’s chest.

Though the Eagle Demon struggled violently, its talons tearing his tail in two, he refused to let go.

He fixed his Petrifying Gaze firmly on the Eagle Demon’s eyes, completely turning it to stone.

The Eagle Demon finally burst apart, transforming into black mud scattered across the sky, while the Snake Person was devoured by other Eagle Demons.

“I’ll go.”

This time it was a Snake Person who had transformed into a Witch Spirit. He could briefly hover in the air with his ethereal form, summoning ghosts to entrap three Eagle Demons.

But before long, the Eagle Demons unleashed evil divine techniques that corrupted both the ghosts and him.

One after another, team members detached from the Wing Demon’s back to entangle the charging Eagle Demons.

The members of Echilio’s team kept diminishing, while the number of Eagle Demons also steadily decreased.

Gradually, the Eagle Demons completely vanished. Perhaps they were frightened by this devastating exchange, or the remaining ones no longer had the strength to pursue.

Dawn broke across the sky as light finally arrived.

Only two people remained in Echilio’s team, standing on the Wing Demon as they looked back.

The only remaining member besides Echilio gave a bitter smile. “Lord Echilio, we’ve shaken off those monsters. We won.”

They had survived, but there was no joy in having escaped death.

Though they spoke of victory, there was no trace of triumph.

Echilio’s heart was overwhelmed with grief: “They died for me.”

But the other person said: “No, they died for Avel.”

Echilio turned his head and noticed that the other person’s arm had turned completely black, with horrific patterns covering half his face.

Echilio suddenly raised his hand but left it suspended in the air.

“Is this the corruption of a fallen god?”

The other person also raised his hand as he looked at his blackened arm.

He instantly understood what was happening to his body.

Earlier, when one of them perished together with an Eagle Demon, the demon had burst into black mud upon death, and a drop had splashed onto him.

In the darkness and urgency, no one had noticed, and that single drop of black mud had now spread beyond the point of no return.

He understood even more clearly what the consequences would be.

Echilio looked at him, wanting to say something.

But the other person calmly lowered his hand and spoke peacefully to Echilio: “Lord Echilio, everything depends on you now.”

With those words, he spread his arms and allowed himself to fall from the clouds.

Echilio frantically crawled over, watching his subordinate plummet, his eyes wide with shock.

He suddenly wanted to jump down with him.

Tears streamed endlessly from Echilio’s eyes as he pressed his head against the Wing Demon’s tough, sturdy back.

“Ah!”

“Ah!”

Though he was middle-aged, he wept like a child.

When no one else is around, people become more vulnerable.

In such moments of solitude, vulnerability can emerge freely without restraint.

But after crying, Echilio gradually calmed himself.

Just as his subordinate had said, everything depended on him now.

Suddenly, he realized that if the filth from the exploding Eagle Demon corpse had splashed onto his subordinate, then the Wing Demon, as a larger target, likely hadn’t escaped unscathed.

He immediately checked and found it was exactly as he had feared.

The Wing Demon had also been corrupted by the fallen god.

Large black patches covered its body. Although terrifying to ordinary people, they were insignificant compared to the Wing Demon’s massive size.

Unlike the Winged People in their mountains who were devoured by black mud and drenched in the corrupt divine being’s filthy rain, Echilio’s subordinate and the Wing Demon had not instantly transformed into monsters.

He still had time, though once this mythical corruption began, it could not be stopped.

It targeted not just the physical realm but also the transcendent realm beyond mortal understanding.

“It’s over.”

Echilio stared at the Wing Demon’s side and uttered words of despair.

“I can’t lose the Wing Demon. I must rely on it to return.”

Echilio still needed the Wing Demon’s power to fly back to Avel. Only it could carry him ahead of the coming disaster.

In this desperate situation, Echilio thought of a solution that was hardly a solution.

He summoned his Book of the Witch Spirit.

The pages turned, revealing phantom figures within.

These were the ghosts recorded in the Book of the Witch Spirit, and Echilio released them all.

He commanded his ghosts to enter the Wing Demon’s body, trying to slow the spread of its corruption.

This method was like artificially expanding and strengthening the Wing Demon’s body and consciousness.

But when someone is mortally wounded, what use is it to keep giving them blood transfusions?

It could only prolong their suffering.

Yet at this moment, prolonging suffering was exactly what Echilio needed.

Echilio succeeded, visibly slowing the spread of the black corruption across the Wing Demon’s body.

At least it could last for quite a while longer.

The Wing Demon’s size was enormous, its vitality incredibly strong, and its resistance to corruption was high.

It came from the previous era, created by a sage of the Temple of Truth.

It was originally created to be a mount for the Trilobite Man to conquer the skies. However, that sage of the Temple of Truth never imagined that this terrifying monster, created with his own hands, would ultimately end the era of the Trilobite Man.

Black stains of corruption slowly spread across Echilio’s Witch Spirit form and the Book of the Witch Spirit.

From their vantage point above, the capital of the Avel City-State flourished below, with vast surrounding forests cleared to make way for fields and roads.

Nature created civilization, and civilization in turn changed nature.

Perhaps when nature could no longer sustain civilization’s consumption, civilization would in turn create and maintain nature.

“Hiss!”

A hiss echoed through the sky as a massive shadow appeared overhead.

Echilio saw the capital of the Avel City-State in the distance and the distant sea.

By now, Echilio’s body was almost completely corrupted by the fallen god’s power of the abyss, with only his head and neck barely remaining normal.

His eyes retained their final clarity.

The Book of the Witch Spirit in his hands had become completely decayed and tattered, as if it had just been pulled from a puddle of mud.

Seeing the Avel capital within reach, Echilio, exhausted and lying on the Wing Demon, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Whew!”

“Finally here.”

He exhaled, his voice finally relaxing.

As for his physical condition, it no longer mattered.

All he could think about now was that he had finally brought the message back.

He had sacrificed every member of his team and crossed thousands of miles.

He had finally succeeded.

Echilio barely propped himself up as he slowly drew the sword at his waist.

He sat on the Wing Demon’s long, broad neck and lowered his head to kiss the crown of the monster that had carried him this far.

His words were not of gratitude.

“I’m sorry.”

“You did very well, but there’s no choice. I can only apologize to you.”

Finally, he aimed at the Wing Demon’s head and chanted an incantation.

The blade plunged down, piercing through the Wing Demon’s skull.

The Wing Demon let out a cry, then folded its wings.

The sound held no trace of pain, as if it were a release.

Even a monster like the Wing Demon did not wish to fall into eternal darkness.

The Wing Demon folded its wings, spinning down from the sky while Echilio tightly embraced its corpse.

Echilio had killed the Wing Demon with his own hands. He could not let this Wing Demon, on the verge of corruption, fly alive into the capital of the Avel City-State.

A single corrupted Eagle Demon was terrifying enough. What would happen if a Wing Demon of such enormous size became corrupted?

Echilio fell with the Wing Demon’s corpse into Avel City, crashing directly into the palace gardens.

“Boom!”

A massive structure in the palace collapsed, drawing shocked gazes from all directions.

The Wing Demon’s fall caused a tremendous disturbance.

It was impossible not to alarm the city’s inhabitants.

The people in the city had noticed the Wing Demon the moment it appeared.

Guards immediately converged on the location, and many divine servants from the Temple of Knowledge quickly arrived.

Yafuan arrived at the head of the group.

Everyone surrounded the Wing Demon’s crash site, with guards and divine servants standing ready in defensive positions.

“Is this a Wing Demon?” Everyone looked at the filthy, decaying corpse, unable to understand how it had become like this.

“What happened? Why did a Wing Demon fall from the sky?” The Witch Spirits summoned their Books of the Witch Spirit, and ghosts formed ritual formations to seal off the area.

“This Wing Demon seems to be dead.” Someone sensed its life force had been extinguished.

Yafuan stopped others from approaching, ordering everyone to stay in place.

“Don’t get close. Everyone maintain your positions.”

Suddenly he turned his head, looking toward the Wing Demon’s corpse.

“Wait, there’s someone inside.”

“Everyone be careful.”

A pitch-black figure rose from the ashes.

Everyone held their breath, carefully watching the figure within.

As the dust gradually cleared, his appearance was revealed.

His clothes were filthy and tattered, and his body emanated a putrid stench. He looked like an evil spirit that had crawled out of a swamp.

“Echilio? What happened to you?”

Yafuan immediately recognized him, crying out in disbelief.

“How did you end up like this? What happened?”

“Where are the others?”

Yafuan glanced at Echilio, then at the Wing Demon’s corpse.

“Why did you fall from the sky with a Wing Demon?”

“Did the Winged People attack you? Did they discover you?”

Beside him, Nia finally recognized that the person before them was Echilio, and she immediately rushed forward.

“Echilio? Are you hurt?”

“How did you end up in this state?”

Seeing Yafuan and Nia approaching, Echilio immediately stopped them.

“Don’t come near me! And especially, stay away from that Wing Demon corpse.”

Yafuan also sensed the corruption in both the Wing Demon and Echilio’s bodies, a power of utterly evil fallen darkness.

King Sidi arrived at this moment, and Echilio immediately turned his gaze toward him.

Now, he could begin reporting what he needed to say.

Echilio had much to tell, but he could barely hold on.

Black patches had spread up his neck and begun to corrupt his face. He could feel his own spirituality and wisdom beginning to unravel.

He could only share the most important points: “Lord Yafuan, Your Majesty Sidi.”

“Something terrible has happened.”

“The Winged Queen Melde has gone mad. She somehow corrupted the Lord of Radiance, causing his mythical gate to fall from the divine realm into our world.”

“The Winged People’s sacred Fenbuk Mountain has turned into a dark abyss, with tens of thousands of Winged People corrupted into chaotic, evil Eagle Demons.”

“This insane Winged Queen was already a Fourth-Rank God’s Apostle. After falling from grace, she gained inconceivable power, though she’s currently trapped in the abyss, unable to leave.”

“She wants all Winged People to fall from grace. She needs vast numbers of lives to sacrifice to the abyss, to sacrifice to her fallen deity.”

“If I’m not mistaken, at least ten thousand Eagle Demons are heading toward the Avel City-State right now.”

Echilio looked at Yafuan, speaking with an extremely grave expression.

“Your Majesty Sidi, Lord Yafuan.”

“Time is short.”

“We must alert every city, town, and major village to take cover. Ordinary people can’t handle these monsters—they might become corrupted and fall, turning into creatures of the abyss.”

“Whether we fight or pull back for now is another matter.”

“Your Majesty Sidi, Lord Yafuan, I urge you to prepare.”

Yafuan wanted to say something, but Echilio interrupted him.

“Let me finish first. I don’t have much time.”

Echilio spoke rapidly: “I’ve been tainted by the fallen god’s power, and so was this Wing Demon. I had no choice but to kill it.”

“Soon, Lord Yafuan, you must also kill me and burn everything, my remains and this Wing Demon’s corpse, to ashes.”

“Only this way can safety be guaranteed.”

Yafuan’s hand trembled as he stared intently at Echilio.

Finally, he asked again the question he had wanted to ask all along.

“Echilio, where are the others?”

Upon hearing this, Echilio revealed an expression of utter despair.

He clutched his head in agony.

He let out a monstrous howl, as if evil and chaos had begun corrupting him.

“We were caught by corrupted Eagle Demons. To cover my escape and ensure the message reached here, they jumped from the Wing Demon to entangle the pursuing Eagle Demons and buy time.”

“I could only… I could only watch helplessly as they died.”

“I had no choice.”

These brief words revealed an utterly devastating scene before everyone’s eyes.

Echilio’s body shook uncontrollably, making people think he would break down.

Even Yafuan prepared himself to restrain Echilio instantly if he succumbed to corruption.

But after a long while, Echilio gradually stabilized.

Echilio raised his head, his face now completely covered in black patches.

Only his eyes remained bright.

Echilio reached out, using spiritual power to control a carefully protected notebook and send it before Yafuan.

“This contains everything the Echilio team recorded during our mission, now transferred to you, Lord Yafuan.”

He declared loudly: “Our mission is complete.”

At that moment, he represented not only himself but every member of the team.

Yafuan’s mind was greatly shaken. Every member of Echilio’s team had been chosen by him, and he knew each one intimately.

At this moment, he could see each familiar figure and face appearing behind Echilio.

He stood frozen for a long time, making no movement.

Seeing that Yafuan was not taking the notebook, Echilio shouted at him.

“Lord Yafuan, now is not the time for hesitation and uncertainty.”

“Take it!”

“Hold it!”

“Then go fulfill your mission, go prevent this disaster.”

Echilio understood Yafuan very well.

Understood his past, understood his hesitation and uncertainty, understood his inner conflict.

“When disaster struck in the past, you were powerless, but now you have the ability to save everything.”

Yafuan clenched his fist tightly, steeling his resolve.

“I understand.”

Yafuan took Echilio’s team’s notebook and summoned his Book of the Witch Spirit.

He would use divine techniques to end Echilio’s life and to eradicate everything corrupted by the fallen deity.

At that moment, Nia suddenly rushed forward, blocking Yafuan and shouting at Echilio.

Nia was a generation younger than Echilio. Since joining the Temple of Knowledge, she had always followed behind Echilio, learning various divine techniques from him as he led her on different missions.

“Echilio!”

“Don’t give up, we can think of another way.”

“You’ve endured so much to return to us. You’ve already made it back to our side. Why give up now?”

“There must be a way.”

“You’ve already returned here, to our nation and our city. We must have a solution.”

Tears streamed down Nia’s face as she looked at Yafuan: “Lord Yafuan, please think of something!”

“Save him!”

“He is… Echilio!”

But everyone knew there was no solution.

There wasn’t enough time.

Echilio shook his head and scolded Nia.

“Nia, step aside.”

At the same time, his eyes signaled Yafuan to continue.

Yafuan immediately chanted an incantation. A page in the Book of the Witch Spirit turned, releasing crimson flames that engulfed Echilio and the Wing Demon’s corpse.

This was the power he had gained after becoming a Third-Rank Ability User and obtaining the Page of Truth.

These were no ordinary flames. They were transcendent fire formed from divine technique imprints that could target not only physical matter but also incorporeal spirits.

In the towering flames, Echilio’s Witch Spirit form and the corruption within were burned away bit by bit, turning to ashes.

Echilio had said everything and finally relaxed.

He leaned against the Wing Demon’s corpse, becoming one with the flames along with it.

As he felt his Witch Spirit form gradually dissipating, he spoke his final words.

They were not about the mission or duty, but about what he personally wanted to say.

This time he didn’t address Yafuan as “Lord” or take a subordinate’s stance, but called him directly by name.

“Yafuan! You once promised that things would get better, didn’t you?”

Yafuan met Echilio’s gaze through the flames and finally nodded.

“Of course!”

Nia knelt outside the great fire, sobbing uncontrollably.

Though Echilio had just scolded her, his eyes softened.

“Nia, don’t cry.”

His voice grew increasingly faint, becoming ethereal and distant amid the crackling flames.

“Face the future… with hope…”

The fire raged as it consumed the Wing Demon’s corpse.

Echilio’s body gradually became transparent in the flames, vanishing bit by bit.

Echilio’s early warning allowed the Avel City-State to prepare in advance.

Finally, the King of Avel and Chief Divine Servant Yafuan of the Temple of Knowledge decided that everyone would immediately leave the city and scatter to various hiding places outside.

In the palace.

Yafuan was analyzing the situation for everyone present.

Officials and divine servants from the Temple of Knowledge were gathered.

They would need to carry out the upcoming tasks and relay the orders.

“Though we don’t know how many enemies are coming, we face a corrupted Fourth-Rank Apostle and a fallen deity.”

“Direct confrontation would absolutely not be wise.”

Yafuan glanced at King Sidi and, after receiving his nod of approval, spoke these words.

With his first words, he established their future course of action.

“According to Echilio team’s notebook, there are three ways people can be transformed into monsters.”

“One is through the filth directly produced by the deity’s fall, which ultimately formed the terrible abyss.”

“Another is through contaminated rain. Everyone touched by the rain transforms into monsters.”

“The third is through corruption by the monsters’ divine techniques and the filth released upon their death, like what happened to the Wing Demon and Echilio when they fell into the city.”

Yafuan told King Sidi: “Therefore when everyone seeks hiding places, they must find good cover and prepare appropriate countermeasures.”

“If someone encounters corruption from the abyss, destroying their brain or power core before they fully transform can prevent them from falling and becoming a monster.”

King Sidi nodded: “I’ve already ordered people to notify every city and town. Local officials will make proper arrangements, don’t worry.”

Yafuan: “Will there be enough time?”

“Though Echilio said that ordinary Eagle Demons cannot control wind individually, they can fly. At their fastest, they could arrive tomorrow night or the day after.”

“And those Eagle Demons with transcendent powers might arrive tonight or tomorrow.”

King Sidi nodded: “Time is very tight. Remote areas probably won’t have time to evacuate.”

“However, I don’t think they’ll prioritize attacking the outer cities of the Avel City-State. They’ll come for the capital first if these monsters are following Winged Queen Melde’s orders.”

“They’ll certainly want to destroy our core strength before anything else.”

Yafuan also believed this scenario was very likely.

After the orders were issued, the wills of King Sidi of Avel and Yafuan united.

These were the two people who controlled divine and royal authority in the mortal realm within the Avel City-State.

Everyone in Avel was mobilized. Even those who objected or questioned had to obey the orders.

However, when everyone else left, Yafuan remained in the capital.

King Sidi burst into the now-empty library: “What are you doing?”

“Since we’ve decided to withdraw, do you still plan to stay here and avenge Echilio?”

“This is utter foolishness.”

King Sidi was very angry, believing Yafuan was making a mistake.

Yafuan glanced at King Sidi: “I want to see exactly what these corrupted monsters are like.”

“Don’t worry, they won’t catch me.”

“But we must understand them. Only by understanding them can we defeat them in the future.”

King Sidi was still concerned, so Yafuan explained wearily.

“This is truly just reconnaissance. Do you really think I would be foolish enough to throw my life away?”

Before leaving, King Sidi cautioned Yafuan: “For the sake of the entire Avel City-State, you cannot make any mistakes.”

Yafuan waited in the city, hiding in the shadows.

One dark night, swarms of Eagle Demons circled above the capital of the Avel City-State.

Thousands upon thousands of Abyss Eagle Demons gathered together, their black wings blotting out the sky.

A single Eagle Demon wasn’t much of a threat, but so many gathered together were entirely different.

They called forth fierce winds, changing the weather.

Their evil power corrupted and polluted the sky and earth.

Dark clouds gradually gathered in the gale, and black rain began falling on the city.

Yafuan gazed up at the sky through the window as the black downpour corrupted everything.

“A ritual?”

These Eagle Demons were performing a ritual, praying to the abyss, or rather, to their queen within it.

From the distant abyss, they borrowed power that did not belong to them.

Filthy black rain and violent winds lashed the city as layers of black wings filled the darkness. Rising and falling nocturnal shrieks pierced the air, making the scene appear like the arrival of doomsday.

A terrifying evil existence, seeking to destroy and devour this city.

At this moment Yafuan opened his Book of the Witch Spirit, and a giant Paper Flying Dragon appeared in the downpour.

The power of wind spells formed a vortex, keeping all the storm rain away from the Paper Flying Dragon.

“Roar!”

Yafuan’s Paper Flying Dragon pounced skyward, tearing apart Eagle Demon after Eagle Demon amid thunder and lightning.

It let out piercing roars that transformed into sound waves, ripping Eagle Demons into bloody pulp.

Yafuan’s Paper Flying Dragon was unstoppable. The ordinary Eagle Demons could not resist it at all.

“Boom!”

Suddenly, thunder crashed.

A giant hand reached out from the layers of dark clouds, trying to crush Yafuan’s Paper Flying Dragon.

Though the Abyss Queen Melde could not directly leave the abyss, she could transmit her power through the ritual.

“Explode.”

But just as the Paper Flying Dragon was about to be caught, Yafuan detonated it himself.

The paper, which had been as hard as steel, instantly turned into ordinary paper, scattering into countless rain-soaked scraps that drifted down to earth.

Yafuan faintly saw an all-devouring abyss behind the dark clouds, where an enormous, evil fallen face loomed behind the storm.

She gazed down upon this world, eyeing all the people of Avel hungrily.

But Yafuan seemed to have expected this and showed no disappointment.

The Paper Flying Dragon’s true form was the Page of Truth from the Book of the Witch Spirit, and as long as the book wasn’t destroyed, it would reform.

“Indeed, whether on Ruhe Beast Island or the New Continent.”

“As long as we exist in this world, we will face hardships and setbacks wherever we go.”

Yafuan closed his Book of the Witch Spirit and turned to walk back inside.

“I will not be defeated by you.”

The Eagle Demons swooped down from the sky like a great blanket, searching through the city in the black rain for any living people.

Their search proved futile as the city stood completely abandoned.