Chapter 505: The Wand of Doomsday Divine Punishment and the New Extraordinary Species

Someone had brought Shelly her things, fetching the treasures kept in the City of Life and its temples.

Their bearer was none other than the Void's Mold Mother's mushroom person.

This particular mushroom person was enormous, as large as a giant.

Shelly had simply grabbed her and streaked up from the world below. From the floating island, one could see the mushroom person carrying a stone aloft with both hands and the crown of her head.

A smaller mushroom person already stood beside Shelly. Apart from their size and the objects balanced on their heads, the pair looked as though they had been cast from the same mold.

The smaller one was the Void's Mold Mother's true body. Beyond it, however, her mythical mold could gather anywhere in the world and condense into an avatar at any moment.

As soon as the mushroom person arrived, Shelly spun around and dashed toward the floating island's interior.

Shelly led the way, with the two mushroom people, one large and one small, hurrying behind her.

"They're here! They're here!"

Shelly could hardly contain her excitement. Her wand would soon be finished.

The witch doctors watched the mushroom person run with both hands raised, the enormous God's Grace Stone balanced on her head as her body twisted from side to side.

They immediately guessed that this was the stone Shelly had knocked down from God's Moon.

Standing at the gate of the City of the Divine Kingdom, the witch doctors bowed their heads as Shelly ran past. The moment she was gone, they straightened and began studying the stone.

"So this is what God's Grace Stone from God's Moon looks like."

"God's Grace Stone, absolutely pure."

"It is enormous!"

Eyeing the object atop the mushroom person's head with caution, they voiced their wonder one after another.

God's Grace Stone was nothing new to the witch doctors.

The specimen before them, however, was another matter entirely, a crystal of the Divine Blood of Wisdom without a single impurity.

Even a God's Grace Stone condensed by an apostle differed from this one. Its purity existed only in relation to that apostle. To anyone else, the apostle's will and mark remained impurities within it.

This God's Grace Stone bore no one's mark. It was as clean as a blank sheet of paper.

Witch Doctor Torso spoke up.

"Pure God's Grace Stone is far too plain a name. We should call it God's Moon Stone."

The other witch doctors had never heard the name before.

"There is no such name, is there?"

Beaming with pride, Witch Doctor Torso said, "I coined it just now."

Shelly ordered the mushroom person to set her God's Moon Stone on the ground within the City of the Divine Kingdom.

"Set it down here."

Shelly owned few treasures, but every one was rare and precious beyond measure. This stone lay at the very bottom of her hoard, and she plainly cherished it.

"Careful, Glass Tank."

"This is the only stone like it. There'll never be another one." She was telling the truth.

The God's Grace Stone in Shelly's possession was the last of its kind.

Even if she climbed onto God's Moon again, she could never knock down another God's Moon Stone like this one.

God's Moon had changed yet again since the dawn of the Era.

The vast moon of God's Grace Stone had refined itself into the power of the four Sovereign Authorities, then divided further into many branch authorities.

It bound together the consciousness of every wisdom species, became the land known as the Source of Wisdom, and even grew a fruit-bearing Divine Tree.

The God's Moon of the present was altogether different from the God's Moon of old.

Her mission complete, the summoned mushroom person dissolved into foam and vanished.

Shelly stepped forward, prepared to force the God's Grace Stone onto her wand by the crudest means possible.

The witch doctors gazed at the unimaginably rare and precious God's Moon Stone. At the thought of seeing it refined into an ordinary artifact, they could no longer stay silent.

"Lady Shelly, this... this would be far too wasteful."

Shelly stared until the witch doctors began to grow nervous, then asked a question.

"Then what do you suggest?"

The witch doctors exchanged glances. Plainly, they already had an idea and a plan.

"Lady Shelly, we have recently been preparing to create a new profession, one founded upon an entirely new extraordinary species."

"..."

The witch doctors proceeded to describe the experiments they and their fellows had recently conducted.

They explained the experiments' initial results and the ideas they planned to pursue next.

Finally, the witch doctors reached their point.

"This God's Moon Stone need not be made into an artifact at all. No artifact could make use of a divine object such as this."

"Instead, it could be used to create a special living being born from an implement, one standing at the rank of Mythology."

Shelly found their proposal rather interesting, though the part that caught her attention was not quite the point.

"So an implement comes to life, then goes off to become a physician and treat the sick."

One image after another appeared in Shelly's mind. A steel pitchfork sprang to life and began healing people. Then an axe came alive and started doing the same.

"Mmm~"

"That sounds weird."

The moment the discussion turned to their specialty and profession, the witch doctors changed completely. Every face became serious and professional.

"Lady Shelly, 'curing the sick' is only the common way of saying it."

"More precisely, it means restoring a damaged or ruined existence to wholeness, even perfection."

"In time, they will be able to heal people, beings that are not people, and even things that are not alive."

"For instance!"

"They could heal a tree, a demon spirit puppet, or an ability user. They could also lift a curse."

"They could even heal a machine or the earth itself. All of it would count as healing."

"The witch doctors of the future could also divide into any number of specialized callings."

The witch doctors laid out their entire philosophy and their plans for the future witch doctor extraordinary profession.

At last, they addressed the Life Sovereign.

"With any other extraordinary material, creating such a special extraordinary race would be extremely difficult. We must take another path."

"But your pure God's Moon Stone could make it possible, Lady Shelly."

"We could use the method for creating a special living being from an object to build your wand. That would allow us to draw out every last measure of this stone's power."

"Then you would have a wand unlike any other in the world."

"No. It would be a divine wand!"

With that, the witch doctors committed themselves to building the divine wand.

Doing so would finally make amends for their earlier fault, when they had fobbed off a piece of junk to complete their assignment.

At the same time, they could carry out their experiment in earnest.

Shelly had wanted a powerful wand from the start. After hearing the witch doctors' proposal, she found the prospect of a wand built by their method even more interesting.

After a moment's thought, she readily agreed to their request.

"That's a very good idea. I'll grant your request."

"Mm~"

"In that case, you don't have to pay me back for the ticket."

Shelly considered herself fiercely original. Other people were always the ones stealing her ideas and brilliance.

For once, Shelly did not give them an appraising look. Instead, she lifted her chin slightly.

"Looks like you lot are useful after all."

The witch doctors froze where they stood. One after another, their eyes filled with tears.

At last, they had done it.

At last, they had won Lady Shelly's approval.

"Lady Shelly!"

"Lady Shelly!"

"Lady Shelly!"

Every witch doctor shouted and even took two steps forward.

Shelly showed no pleasure at all. If anything, she found them strange.

The corner of Shelly's mouth twitched as pure distaste crossed her face.

"Ugh..."

"The way you all shout my name is disgusting."

The witch doctors set to work, personally crafting this most unusual divine wand for Shelly.

They were not refining an artifact. They were making a living embryo.

One destined to become a mythical life.

The Life Sovereign's God's Moon Stone and an ancient length of fossilized wood lay upon the stone platform, which was covered by a diagram of unimaginable complexity.

Witch Doctor Skull offered the first proposal.

"We shall use an upgraded version of the divine technique Realm of Illusion as the foundation, then add a hundred complete law seal imprints."

"Fire, ice, air, thunder, and so on."

"Its power must be immense, and its control exact. It must grow as large or as small as she wishes."

"One sweep of the wand shall cast an enormous Barrier down into the mortal world."

"In an instant, it shall enclose an entire domain and seize absolute control. Whatever seal imprint power she wishes to release, whatever force and effect she desires, it shall produce exactly that, like Starfall."

"Above Starfall are two further ranks, Moonglow and Sunblaze."

"Whether it can reach those ranks will depend on whether it can be upgraded again later. For now, Starfall should be enough to satisfy Lady Shelly."

"Or we could add a calibrated dial ring, marking the power level and the law in use. Then whenever she wishes to adjust it, she need only turn the dial," Left Hand suggested.

"Would that not be rather troublesome?" Witch Doctor Right Hand found the entire idea unnecessary. A single stir of the will would adjust it faster and more precisely.

Witch Doctor Skull, however, approved.

"A fine idea. I think it would suit Lady Shelly perfectly."

Shelly was careless and forever stirring up trouble. Once her temper flared, only God Yinsai could hold her back.

Adjusting the scepter's power this way was troublesome, but it suited Shelly perfectly by keeping her aware of the wand's state at all times.

Naturally, they could say none of this aloud. They could only say that it suited Lady Shelly very well.

Standing in a row, the witch doctors argued fiercely through round after round of discussion and revised the diagram again and again. At last, they settled on a design.

Presiding over the work, Witch Doctor Skull once again sent Witch Doctor Left Hand forward first.

"First, we make the divine wand's core. Left Hand, begin. Use your power to shape it into a Mythical Organ."

Witch Doctor Left Hand stepped forward, broke a large piece from the God's Moon Stone and shaped it into a transparent bead resembling a head. It was ugly and strangely styled, but it suited Shelly's taste. More importantly, it matched her dark priest outfit perfectly.

This time, Witch Doctor Skull turned to Witch Doctor Right Hand next.

"Right Hand, you will handle deifying the material."

"Once the material has been deified, Left Hand, work this length of wood over again."

Working together, Witch Doctor Left Hand and Witch Doctor Right Hand revived the fossilized wood and fitted it into the glass head.

"Torso, separate and prepare the portions of God's Grace Stone for the hundred seal imprints." Witch Doctor Torso split the enormous God's Moon Stone into many pieces, then used the Four-Part Secret Technique of God's Grace to divide them further into ray upon ray of light.

"Left Leg, fashion the part that stores the emotional personality core. Right Leg, fashion the part that stores and builds the memory core." With each new arrangement, the witch doctors moved like a precision machine or a workshop running at full speed.

The work demanded a great deal of painstaking effort.

Day and night, the six witch doctors refined it together until the black wooden wand slowly took shape.

Under the Four-Part Secret Technique of God's Grace and other secret techniques, the once-enormous God's Grace Stone underwent further purification and was folded entirely into the small, delicate wooden wand.

The final step fell to Witch Doctor Skull. Across the bead atop the wooden wand, they drew a pattern of impossible complexity.

"The Wisdom Circuit."

Only with this final step did the witch doctors complete the divine wand.

The instant they succeeded, the witch doctors leapt and cheered.

"It really does work!" Their delight came not only from completing the divine wand, but from proving their earlier theory correct.

Gazing at the divine wand, the witch doctors voiced their wonder one after another.

"A mythical embryo. No, in sheer power it already far surpasses an ordinary mythical artifact."

They had made it with their own hands, filling them with a profound sense of achievement.

"Once we nurture a consciousness within it, it will possess limitless potential."

Elated, the witch doctors carried the divine wand to the botanical garden and presented it to the Life Sovereign.

Shelly had waited long enough and could restrain herself no longer.

"It's finished?"

Witch Doctor Skull raised the divine wand high. Just as excited as Shelly, the witch doctors answered, "We hope you find it satisfactory."

Shelly took the black wooden wand.

The moment her hand closed around it, a wild wind sprang up and swept across the entire floating island.

A formless pressure descended over the botanical garden and everything beyond it. Though Shelly had not called upon the slightest trace of power, every animal was frozen in place. Shelly herself noticed nothing, as though the gale did not exist.

Eyes wide, she studied the wand's ugly, strange glass head.

After a long stare, she patted the bead. When it gave no response, she rapped the wand against the ground.

"Why doesn't it talk?"

The witch doctors answered at once.

"It is still only an embryo, its first and earliest form. If you often carry it with you and remember it, a consciousness will eventually be born within it."

The witch doctors' original plan had been to seek out suitable old objects and treasured possessions, then transform them into this special kind of living being at the final, crucial moment.

Using the God's Moon Stone to make one for Shelly had changed the situation entirely.

The entire process had been reversed.

They had made the embryo first. It would now slowly absorb the emotions and precious memories others held toward it until a consciousness took shape.

How long Shelly would need to perfect the divine wand, no one knew.

The prospect seemed daunting.

Getting Shelly to treasure something and build countless memories around it would be no easy task.

Their thoughts turned to Shelly's former little pet, the horseshoe crab that had met such a wretched end.

Shelly had felt something for it, but not much.

This method would, however, draw out the God's Moon Stone's full power and potential.

After all, forging it directly into an ordinary artifact would truly have been an appalling waste.

Shelly more or less understood that the wand could be upgraded but needed time and care to grow.

Even so, the wand was fascinating and perfectly suited to her taste.

Shelly swung her new wand about, practicing the motions of using it. The sight alone terrified the witch doctors, who retreated a step in unison.

"Lady Shelly..."

Shelly looked at the witch doctors, puzzled.

"What's wrong?"

The witch doctors stared at the wooden wand in Shelly's hand and swallowed hard.

"Do be careful with it."

Shelly put on a face that said she was entirely dependable.

"I'm always careful. I never make mistakes."

After a few more waves, Shelly stopped.

Holding her new wand, she turned the glass head at its tip. The dial ring clicked faintly as it rotated.

Shelly asked offhandedly, "Did you name this new race yet?"

An extraordinary profession was an extraordinary profession, and a race was a race.

They could name the race after the extraordinary profession or give it a distinct name of its own.

The witch doctors shook their heads. They had not thought that far ahead, so Shelly named it for them.

"Let's call them Imps!" The name sounded fitting enough to the witch doctors, though they did not quite understand what it meant.

"Why imps?"

Shelly said, "God says an imp is a clever sort of fellow."

Her answer was utterly earnest and certain.

"It'll be born from my expectations, so it should be the cleverest fellow in this whole world."

"No, the second-cleverest fellow."

"One day, it's bound to be a..."

As she spoke, Shelly raised the wooden wand high.

"Useful fellow."

She never mentioned God Yinsai because God Yinsai did not belong to this world at all.

The witch doctors suddenly suspected that this might prove difficult.

Before long, Shelly invited God Yinsai and Hila over to watch the newest piece of her dark priest outfit take shape.

Shelly circled God Yinsai as she showed off her wand.

"Quick, look!"

"My new wand!"

Overjoyed, Shelly trotted to the floating island's edge and took her place atop the cliff.

She glanced back and waved to God Yinsai and Hila.

"Faster..."

"Faster!"

"You're both too slow!"

Once everyone had gathered, Shelly finally began. At that moment, the floating island happened to be passing over a vast, uninhabited stretch of sea.

She raised the wooden wand high, and a dazzling blaze of light burst from it at once.

In the glow, Shelly's face looked innocent and romantic, yet brimmed with a primal wildness beyond good and evil. Then the wooden wand swept down.

Trailing a long tail, a brilliant streak of light raced toward the world below.

The light crossed five hundred kilometers and descended upon the sea, swelling ceaselessly as it fell until it reached immense proportions.

By the time it reached the mortal world, it nearly blotted out both sky and sun.

At that moment, the wand in the Life Sovereign's hand began making sounds unconsciously, roaring in a hoarse voice.

"Doomsday!"

"Divine Punishment!"

In that moment, the divine wand gained a name of its own. It was called Doomsday Divine Punishment.

As the words faded, the light plunged into the sea.

Boom!

In an instant, the water across untold miles flashed into vapor, and the entire sea boiled dry.

The witch doctors had made the wand themselves, yet the God's Moon Stone brought forth such power in Shelly's hands that it still shook them to the bone.

"This..."

"Is that not a little too powerful?"

"That thing is not actually going to come down somewhere people live, is it?!" The earlier Blast Wand had been a mere toy beside this truly world-ending wooden wand.

Still trembling, the witch doctors looked up and were relieved to see a shadow so towering it surpassed all things standing beside the little girl who held the Wand of Doomsday Divine Punishment.

Only then did the witch doctors breathe again.

Yin Shen took the Wand of Doomsday Divine Punishment from Shelly, examined it and turned the dial.

After adjusting the setting and turning the seal imprint to the air seal imprint, He handed the wand back to Shelly.

"A very interesting wand."

Delighted, Shelly thrust her hand high and called out, "My dark priest outfit is amazing, isn't it!"

Yin Shen said, "It looks more like a witch to me."

From His perspective, Shelly's clothes had always looked like a witch's outfit.

It differed somewhat from the witches Yin Shen remembered. A little witch usually carried a broom.

So He said again, "A broom would suit it better." Shelly did not quite understand why anyone would carry a broom.

"A broom?"

"The kind you sweep the floor with?"

Yin Shen nodded.

"You can fly on a broom too."

Shelly had no idea how a broom could be used to fly.

"How do you fly on a broom?"

Yin Shen answered, "By sitting on it."

An image sprang into Shelly's mind. She was riding a broom beneath the moon, flying above a sea of clouds.

Oh, that did sound rather fun.

Taking Shelly's hand, Yin Shen led her back the way they had come.

"There is usually a black cat too."

Shelly asked again, "A black cat? What's a cat?"

Yin Shen said, "One kind of animal."

The two talked as they walked, gradually receding into the distance. Before long, Shelly suddenly came running back in particularly high spirits and looked at the witch doctors.

She had received a new wand that day and talked a great deal with God.

From her pocket, Shelly drew the last remaining fragment of God's Moon Stone and handed it to the witch doctors.

"Here!"

"Your reward!"

The fragment was tiny, but it was still God's Moon Stone. The witch doctors exchanged glances. With it, they might be able to refine a new imp.

Even so, it did not solve the witch doctors' problem.

This tiny piece of God's Moon Stone would eventually run out. What they needed was an inexhaustible source that would allow them to keep producing the imp race.

Frowning, Shelly regarded them with suspicion and said nothing for a long while.

"You lot?"

"You don't want it?"

Only then did the witch doctors come to their senses and wave their hands frantically.

"No, Lady Shelly, that is not it!"

"Your gift is the highest honor we could receive."

"It is only that we have another matter in which we would beg your help, and we did not know how to broach it."

The witch doctors formed a line and spoke as one in perfect unison.

"Lady Shelly, might we exchange this gift for another?" The witch doctors hoped to borrow the Void's Mold Mother's power from the Life Sovereign, an idea inspired earlier by the sight of her countless avatars.

"We have folded our Divine Kingdom into the floating island, so we can no longer enter the mortal world. This place is also entirely cut off from the Dream Realm."

"We would therefore like to borrow the Void's Mold Mother's power, so that we can bring about the birth of the imp race and establish the witch doctor profession in the mortal world."

Shelly had no objection.

For once, the witch doctors had proved useful and built her the Wand of Doomsday Divine Punishment.

Naturally, she agreed to such a small request without a second thought.

Shelly summoned the Void's Mold Mother at once.

"Glass Tank!"

"Glass Tank!"

There was no need for the second call. The mushroom person had already appeared before the Life Sovereign with the glass tank balanced on her head.

Shelly told the witch doctors, "Stick close to Glass Tank and you'll be able to form bodies of your own down in the mortal world."

"Go wherever you like."

With that, Shelly turned to leave.

Her short legs carried her away in a skipping hop as she called toward God and Hila.

"God, wait for me!"

Even so, she tossed the piece of God's Moon Stone to the witch doctors. When a Supreme Divine Being bestowed a reward, once it was given, one had to accept it.

---

The Garden

The witch doctors and the Void's Mold Mother watched the Supreme Divine Being disappear into the distance. Once the Life Sovereign was gone, the meek and yielding mushroom person straightened.

From beneath her great parasol of a cap, she regarded the six witch doctors. Not a trace remained of the trembling, pitiful creature from a moment ago.

The mushroom person fixed the witch doctors with an intent look, as though trying to communicate something.

Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!

Her two soft, boneless arms swept through gesture after gesture. She pointed at the witch doctors, then finished by kneading her hands together like dough.

The witch doctors understood none of it. Why was this fellow waving her arms as though she were dancing?

Witch Doctor Skull was completely at sea.

"???"

Witch Doctor Left Hand and Witch Doctor Right Hand exchanged glances.

"What does she mean by that?"

"Dancing?" Witch Doctor Left Leg said.

"Or perhaps it means a warm welcome and a friendly greeting," Witch Doctor Right Leg guessed.

Of all of them, Witch Doctor Torso came closest to guessing the meaning.

"It is probably... probably asking for money."

The guess was close to the truth.

The mushroom person's message was simple.

"I will not do this favor for free."

The witch doctors stared at one another in disbelief.

She always looked so honest and simple. Where had she learned such a thing?