Chapter 1220 - 1220: Paradise Lost

"I don't need to understand that demon."

Hearing the Hero's mockery, the Four-winged King was silent for a moment, then responded in the usual, unwavering tone.

"Drawn by your destiny, she attacked me of her own will. This did indeed hinder me.

"If I had obtained information about her and used it to disguise and imitate, I could indeed have responded better and avoided a direct confrontation with you.

"But my purpose is not to replace her." The Four-winged King spread his arms, as if waiting for someone to fall into His embrace.

"By being truly and sincerely myself, intervening in your destiny—only in this way can I achieve my purpose, and lead you to a better life."

To alter the destiny of the Hero meeting the Snow Woman, in a less jarring manner, might increase the success rate.

Just like in the dungeon, He once became a teammate of the Mute Girl as a Winged Boy.

Instead of directly eliminating the meeting of the Hero and Snow Woman, or forcibly interfering in destiny by "having an angel descend upon Lake Town," He could have made a more indirect approach, such as "disguising as the Snow Woman's companion" or "transforming into a priest of the Church," at least the backlash upon failure would be lighter.

However, the Four-winged King rejected this approach, just as His pure white wings clearly expressed His own will.

"You keep saying you want to guide me, guide me, but you don't care about my thoughts, or whether I need it." The Hero frowned, realizing she was just wasting time,

"After all, a Goblin is just a Goblin."

Even if a Goblin could speak, true communication would be impossible.

"I certainly know what you need." The Four-winged King stated flatly.

"When you were still young, what you needed wasn't just the right guidance, but also an emotional companionship.

"Friendship... the overlapping time of lives, and the lingering resonance of positive spirit interaction, the relationship composed of these two is what you humans call 'friendship'.

"Despite you always calling me a Goblin, ask yourself honestly—if I had met you when you left home, could we not have become 'friends'?"

A gentle hint of a smile accompanied the voice.

"It can even be said that with me, you would no longer need anyone else."

Hearing this gentle whisper from the Four-winged King, the Hero couldn't help but shiver, goosebumps covering her body.

"... You're disgusting."

Faced with the girl's blunt distaste, the Four-winged King was not swayed, merely sighed softly.

"However, my timing to intervene has long been missed, and this is something that cannot be helped.

"You've walked too far down the wrong path, and your misunderstanding of me is too deep. It's too late to correct all of this now.

"So, start making the right choices from that past destiny."

His voice became even softer.

"—Don't be afraid, I will guide you."

Despite one of His wings being disabled, the remaining three wings unfolded with majestic momentum. The pitch-black wing lifted high, transforming into a night curtain that devoured the pure white dome.

The Hero had nothing more to say, took a deep breath.

Then, in the pure white space, flames ignited.

The fiery flame spread from the past, consuming the blank, bringing back color.

Crimson, ash black, orange yellow, the colors coated and layered, building up smoke, poison mist, and sparks.

Then came the roars of magic creatures, the shouts of warriors, the roaring of the atmosphere... the sounds not only rattled the eardrums but also resonated throughout the body.

Even after experiencing many battles, it was this scene that most vividly re-emerged before the Hero's eyes, causing her to widen her eyes slightly.

The white ground beneath her feet had, unbeknownst to her, transformed into jade white scales, each as large as a face.

Foul clouds of smoke sped past on both sides, and the water-like battle skirt fluttered wildly at her waist.

The girl half-squatted atop the massive White Snake's head, soaring above the Highland Volcano.

And at the end of her sight were grim white bones, pitch-black wings, and scarlet blood eyes...

Realizing she had returned to that past Highland battlefield, the Hero instantly snapped back to attention, her entire nervous system taut, her fists clenching instinctively.

Earlier, on the rooftop of the Huanglan Group, her father had told her that throughout human history, there might not be anyone stronger than the Divine Knowledge Saintess.

Although the Hero couldn't refute her father's words at the time, she wasn't as certain as him.

If someone were to ask her, if you were to rank all the strong individuals you know, who would you place at number one?

Though hard to answer, she certainly wouldn't immediately say the Divine Knowledge Saintess's name.

Divine Knowledge, as a Saintess, was indeed her predecessor, but before becoming a Saintess, she was first a Hero.

And as a Hero, she had long known a very powerful ancient predecessor—not the Hero, but the Ancient Hero.

A predecessor as a Saintess, and as a predecessor as a Hero.

Though she's not sure how powerful the latter was in life, she doesn't think there would be a clear superiority between the two.

Simultaneously, she knew an existence that forced both her predecessor and the Ancient Hero to the brink, making them choose to give up their lives.

That uncaring as iron, dark as pitch, foul as blood Phoenix.

The Great Demon—the Corrupted Phoenix.

[How did the Corrupted Phoenix win?]

1.5. Numbers (Winning doesn't need a reason)

2.6. Environment (Volcanic Eruption)

3.7. Wisdom! (Angel Descending)

4.8. Didn't win (Sigh)

9. It's me, the Depraved Hero!

10. Great Success/Great Failure

D10=2

♛: Volcanic Eruption

→☆→☆→☆→✧←★←★←★←

So far, the Hero has experienced many battles along the way. Although there were failures, there were naturally more victories.

If you ask her which of these numerous victories was the hardest won, she would probably instinctively recall the scene before her.

At that time, she was still somewhat clueless, but thinking back now, it was truly a miracle that when she was merely a Second-transfer Professional, she was able to defeat the Depraved Phoenix that had broken free from its seal, through countless coincidences and happenstances accumulated together.

The revisit of her encounter with the Snow Woman need not be said. The blessing of the Elf Rabbit bestowed by the Noble Lady, the White Snake encountered while going out, the Holy Sword of the reef in Lake Town, the Border Count and the Sergeant met also thanks to the Noble Lady, the Adventurers of the Ancient Village encountered by chance…

Even including the Mermaid Shark Witch's Ghost of the Underground Lake, the snail and the unnamed scholar who left notes on the Highland…

It was all these moments that pushed that girl, who initially only thought of avenging against the Goblins, all the way to the Border Plateau, where she gained the reliance of the Ancient Hero, and finally succeeded in ending the calamity that had been lingering since ancient times.

If it had to be summed up in one word, perhaps only the word "destiny" could describe that journey.

Of all those things, even if one link was missing, she might not have achieved her ultimate victory.

Without the Phoenix Power blessed by the world, she couldn't have saved the White Snake; without the Mermaid Incarnation gifted by the Holy Sword, she would have struggled to fight alongside the White Snake; without the encounters with the Adventurers of the Ancient Village and the Snow Woman Clan, her Second Transformation would have been impossible; without the Border Count and the Sergeant, she could never have won on her own.

Not even without the notes of that unnamed scholar, she might not have so easily entrusted the Ancient Hero, letting an unknown soul reside within her.

But even with all these accumulations and numerous assists, the victory she achieved was still so difficult, even needing the Sergeant to sacrifice herself at one point to accomplish it.

And at that time, the Depraved Phoenix she faced was at its weakest moment, just freshly escaping from its captivity.

Slight changes in conditions could lead to significant differences in outcomes, just like she once heard in the Dream of Dusk, even a slight misstep could lead the entire world to inevitably slide into the Abyss with the flutter of that pitch-black Undying bird.

What unfolded before the Hero, revisiting the past destiny, was just such a scene.

Almost forgetting the recent conversation with the Four-winged King, she immersed herself fully in this past battle.

Though the Strength she could muster was no different than back then, at least her combat experience had increased significantly.

No unexpected events occurred. After a fierce battle, the girl barely managed to subdue the Depraved Phoenix once more, seeming to shatter its skull once again.

But just as she was about to strike while the iron was hot, a sudden massive surge of Magic Power surged from below.

The surge came without any warning, yet was so overwhelming that the Hero was stunned and glanced downward.

[Bomber encountered Undead Warrior]

[Divergence: Bomber's luck with no Extreme Failure, Undead Warrior failed to kill instantly]

[Bomber activated Ritual Magic: Final Soul Blood Explosion]

"——Hahahahahaha!"

The woman's dying laughter pierced through the space, sharp, piercing, mad, like coughing up blood, full of pain and vividness, yet without the slightest fear or remorse.

"Open up! Open up! Open up!

"I shall become a little bomb, and blow open the gate of the Apocalypse for this world!"

With laughter pouring out everything, it echoed across the entire Highland Volcano region.

"Let's hit the road together! I'll be waiting for you in that place!"

That was the last and greatest explosion caused by the Legendary Mage, who was only a step away from the Palace, using their body as a guide and soul as a sacrifice.

In the next moment, a scarlet Radiance illuminated the night created by the Nocturnal Gem.

Compared to the previous explosion that toppled the Forbidden Melting Peak and freed the Depraved Phoenix, the roaring sound was several levels superior.

The earth rumbled, as if the world itself was quaking, a spatial tremor shaking, making even the Hero who planned to strike while the iron was hot and end the Depraved Phoenix unable to stand firm, while the White Snake shrank its massive figure in panic, hurriedly erecting a wall of wind and snow.

Following that explosion, a low, continuous humming began to emit from the ground, while the overwhelming smell of sulfur flooded the air, overpowering even the scent of the Poison Fog.

Then, with another giant blast, flames ripped the sky apart, turning the night into a red day.

Scarlet lava fountains burst skywards, reaching the clouds, while the originally black poisonous cloud seemed to turn into fuel, painting the entire sky in flames, with gray-black lightning flashing amidst the scarlet clouds formed by geological debris and Ash.

Countless lava fireballs arced downwards like meteors with long fiery tails, each impact blasting a circular shockwave upon hitting the ground.

The Soldiers who hadn't managed to evacuate this place were engulfed by magma, covered in flames, turned into individual humanoid torches, or swallowed by the splitting earth, vanishing amidst the deafening roars without a chance to even scream.

But the Hero already had no time for anything else.

Tightly protecting her, the White Snake, as the Master of Snow Mountain, let out painful hisses under this volcanic eruption caused by the Ritual Magic, and the wall of wind and snow was easily melted, the originally impenetrable Scale Armor emitted a sizzling burning sound, penetrating into the girl's eardrums.

In the crimson of the doomsday, everything bathed in pain, everything greeted death.

Only the clear cry of the Phoenix slowly rising, full of Vitality, delight…

And brutality.

Upon the Highland, the Magic Creatures lowered their heads, crouching with their limbs; the Warriors let go of their weapons, gazing in a daze at the sky.

Even though the sky was completely dyed red, no one could discern the current time of day, but everyone, every living being, understood a simple fact under that Phoenix call.

——Dusk had arrived.

→☆→☆→☆→✧←★←★←★←

[D450. Star Debris—Effect of the Performance (The higher the more suitable)]

D10=10

[Will the Four-winged King intervene? (Great Success, unable to interfere, no judgment required)]

D2=1