Chapter 198: The Final Battle
Thunder exploded across the sky. Then, as if weary of its own pursuit, the storm clouds abruptly scattered — not because they had given up chasing the Archbishop, but because their target had changed.
Anyone who dared approach the crack leading to the real world would now be struck by lightning instead. The storm had merely shifted its aim.
It was, admittedly, a clever tactic. Neither Xu Zhi nor It would ever stand idly by and watch the other reach that crack and escape. Between them, only one could leave this place alive.
No one was naïve enough to think that the Federation’s collapse would go unnoticed by the outside world. The transcendents who had built this prison would surely investigate. Neither Xu Zhi nor It wanted to be found — nor did they trust that the other wouldn’t strike once they were free. There was only one solution: one survivor.
The [Watcher] had lost its rules as a power source and knew it could not destroy both It and Xu Zhi alone. In truth, it had never been created for that purpose. If it could suppress It by itself, there would have been no need for this prison in the first place.
Its existence was proof that even its creators never truly believed the prison could hold It forever — and so, they made the Watcher, a warning beacon for the day that seal was broken.
As the “final safeguard,” the lightning it cast carried hidden scars. These scars left no visible mark on the flesh, no pain or trace to the touch, yet they branded themselves deep into a target’s extraordinary essence. Through a special instrument, those who built the prison could later detect the faint breath of lightning lingering within.
Anyone who escaped would do so barely alive, forced into hiding. When that happened, the Watcher’s mission would be considered a failure — and it would die instantly. That death, being the only observable event in this sealed world, would alert the outside. They would know someone had escaped… and begin the hunt.
Now, the [Watcher] had withdrawn to guard the entrance. Whether Xu Zhi or It tried to flee, both would have to walk through a storm of lightning rain — and within that rain, the Watcher’s brand would quietly seep into their extraordinary essence, waiting for the moment to reveal itself.
Xu Zhi knew nothing of this. Nor did It. But even if they had known, it would have only strengthened their resolve — the certainty that one of them had to die here.
The aura of the [Chalice] in the air was growing thinner. That meant It had lost the power source that sustained it.
The core Xu Zhi had stored away was also exhausted.
Both sides now stood on equal ground — a fight to the death with no retreat.
But Xu Zhi had one advantage: she had been waiting, conserving her strength.
The Federation no longer existed. Xu Zhi stood in midair above a roaring sea, as fragments of gold light rained down around her — shards of broken rules falling from the heavens.
Across from her loomed the Archbishop — vast, titanic, godlike. It stared down at her, as if pondering which finger to lift to crush an ant.
The sheer difference in size would have terrified most people. But not Xu Zhi.
Her gaze burned with unrelenting hatred and fury. She knew she should remain calm — emotion was a liability in battle — but she couldn’t help herself.
In her mind, the one before her was the sole reason the game console had faded away. She refused to think about the deeper causes. She refused to see the larger truth.
No — it was Its fault. Everything was Its fault.
Only by clinging to that thought could she give her rage an outlet. And with that, she raised her blade and hurled herself forward without hesitation — toward the “culprit” of it all.
The formation behind the Archbishop had dimmed with the dissipation of the [Chalice]’s power, its light reduced to a faint shadow. The energy of the [Chalice] in the air was thinning rapidly — but the crack to the real world had stopped widening.
Xu Zhi had a hunch: once the [Chalice]’s power was gone, the crack would begin to heal.
That meant she had to end this fast.
A thought — and the air beneath her feet trembled. Her small figure shot skyward, slicing through the air straight toward the towering being.
With her latest advancement, Xu Zhi’s ability to “walk upon air” had evolved. Now, she could move freely in the open sky as if stepping across solid ground.
The frail-looking girl reached Its face in moments. To It, she was insignificant — yet It did not underestimate her.
A sudden boom!
An invisible hammer descended — the same attack as the monster she had once faced in the midnight corridor. But unlike that creature’s strike, this one could not be dodged. It was locked on — an unavoidable blow.
Xu Zhi’s body froze midair. A thin line of blood trickled from her ears. Just one strike, and her physical body was already injured.
Fortunately, flesh wounds meant little to her now. She ignored them. Within seconds, her body regenerated.
Then, several moths fluttered out from her body — and her figure began to fade, growing ghostly and translucent.
Her second advantage after advancing: she could now fully control the Black Cat’s trait — intangibility.
Physical attacks could no longer touch her.
The invisible hammer was mysterious, yes, but in the end, it was still a purely physical strike.
It seemed even that monster that had once guarded the crack was connected to It. If that was true… Did It also possess the power of [Reversion]?
Xu Zhi tensed at the thought. Her phantom form wasn’t invincible. Whenever she wanted to land a physical strike, she had to become solid again—and in that instant, she would be vulnerable. She would have to time her attacks perfectly.
Charging in recklessly would be suicide. A test strike would be wiser.
The black blade in her hand gleamed faintly. With no more conflict between attributes, Xu Zhi poured her [Lamp] power into the weapon. The once bloodthirsty cursed blade now radiated a faint, sacred glow.
As a test, she stopped once she reached a certain distance from It. Her right hand gripped the hilt tightly and lifted it.
A surge of [Lamp] energy flowed through her arm, gathering along the blade’s edge. The light spread, wrapping her whole body in a faint gold sheen.
When the energy reached its limit—
Swish!
Xu Zhi swung her sword in a single motion. The condensed [Lamp] energy, sharpened by the blade’s edge, flew forward — a golden crescent screaming through the sky, aimed straight for the Archbishop’s colossal form.
