Chapter 189: Shadow of the Ark

Darkness enveloped the sky over all of South Sea City.

That darkness was the shadow of the Ark of the Covenant, magnified to infinity.

At the entrance to Twenty-Fourth Middle School, the Investigators stared at the sky in terror.

The students stretched out their hands, unable to see them in front of their faces.

Wherever the Shadow of the Ark fell, not even light could penetrate.

Suddenly, a student fell to their knees, trembling all over, their face pale as a sheet.

Then, a second student dropped to their knees…

A third…

A fourth…

They felt a terrifying pressure, like a great mountain pressing down on them, making it impossible to straighten their knees or raise their heads.

The Investigators resisted that wave of Divine Power, gritting their teeth and holding on.

Li Mingyue’s left eye was the Eye of Hela.

Possessing the power of the Goddess of Death, she felt no urge to prostrate herself—only boundless terror.

She gazed toward Twenty-Fourth Middle School.

Everything was pitch-black. She couldn’t see the athletic field or the collapsed school building.

All she could see was Mr. Dusk, standing tall in the darkness, holding his Giant Scythe.

He was the only remaining glimmer of light in this world.

Of course, her left eye could also see the Black God within the darkness.

The Black God’s current appearance was horrifying.

His body was melting, His life force draining away.

‘It’s as if… He’s sacrificing Himself to that strange chest!’

Suddenly, a flood of tears streamed from her left eye.

Li Mingyue shuddered violently.

Many, many people were going to die in this darkness.

And “many” didn’t mean tens or hundreds.

It meant… tens of millions!

A death premonition of this magnitude made Li Mingyue’s face go numb. She murmured:

“If this anomaly isn’t resolved, so many people are going to die…

Dusk, you have to win.”

Li Mingyue felt a profound sense of powerlessness.

Right now, she could do nothing but cheer him on from the sidelines.

…

「South Sea City. A certain street.」

A car was speeding illegally, racing down the street.

The driver was reveling in the joy of flying along.

Suddenly, darkness descended. Instantly, it became so dark he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face.

CRASH!

The car crashed into a lamppost, knocking the driver unconscious.

…

「A pedestrian street.」

Hurrying pedestrians suddenly froze in their tracks.

They tilted their heads back, staring at the sky.

“What’s going on?”

“Why did the sky go dark?”

“Is it about to rain?”

“This isn’t rain. What storm clouds are ever this black?”

Someone stammered, their voice trembling:

“This… this isn’t the end of the world, is it?”

No one dared to move.

Fear festered in their hearts, wafting from their bodies and spreading through the crowd like a virus.

Anyone who’s ever raised chickens knows that they suffer from terrible night blindness. At night, they return to the coop, huddle into a ball, and remain completely motionless.

Countless people have laughed at how cowardly chickens are.

But it turned out that in absolute darkness, anyone would become just like those fowl, daring to do nothing more than breathe.

Humans laugh at chickens only because they have never experienced such absolute darkness.

…

「Inside a residential building.」

“Huh? Why did it get dark?”

The man cried out in confused surprise, fumbling in the dark to turn on the light.

But even though he flicked the switch, the room remained pitch-black.

The man began to panic.

His wife’s voice called out from the bedroom:

“Honey, I’m scared…”

The man forced himself to sound calm:

“It’s okay, don’t be scared. I’m here.

The weather’s been getting so strange lately. It’ll probably pass in a little while.

Looks like the power’s out, too. It’s probably related to the abnormal weather.

It’s okay, it’s okay. It’ll be over in a bit.

Tomorrow, we’ll probably be able to watch short videos about the ‘once-in-a-millennium’ freak weather. Don’t be scared, okay?”

…

「The athletic field of Twenty-Fourth Middle School.」

Jiang Chaosheng stared at the Black God within the darkness.

‘How strange.’

He knew he was just a mortal imbued with rules.

Though he was immortal and indestructible, he was still flesh and blood.

‘In this darkness, it should be impossible for my mortal eyes to see a thing.

And yet, I can somehow see the Black God in the darkness!’

The Black God looked like an ice cream pop left out of the freezer.

His hair, shoulders, arms, and black robes were melting.

It was a horrifying, nauseating, and utterly ghastly sight.

The Black God cackled with abandon:

“HAHAHA! I thought I’d never be able to kill you in this lifetime!

I was wrong! So wrong!

You’re going to die, and you’ll never come back to life again!

I will banish you to Subspace, where you’ll waste away in despair, becoming nothing but a pathetic, lingering soul!”

Jiang Chaosheng’s eyes flickered.

‘Subspace?’

‘This is the second time I’ve heard that term.’

‘The first time I heard it was during the Sea Coachman incident.’

‘The Sea Coachman was a creature from Subspace.’

‘Could it be that the essence of how the Shadow of the Ark erases people from the Human World is by banishing them to Subspace?’

‘What exactly is Subspace?’

More than half of the Black God’s body had already melted into a black liquid and flowed into the Dark Covenant Chest.

The Dark Covenant Chest instantly unleashed a terrifying suction force.

Jiang Chaosheng’s pupils contracted.

‘The Dark Covenant Chest has locked onto me.’

He could feel himself being devoured by the Dark Covenant Chest!

‘So, the Shadow of the Ark is a single-target attack.

The darkness covering South Sea City is just the aftershock of the Shadow of the Ark being used to erase me!’

“Truly a terrifying Divine Skill!” Jiang Chaosheng remarked with a hint of admiration.

He could feel it.

If he were sucked into the Dark Covenant Chest, not even the rules of Antique Shop Zero could protect him.

The Western Emperor was a Supreme God, after all!

‘I wonder if that Taboo Sculpture in the basement is a match for the Western Emperor.’

The Black God stared excitedly at Jiang Chaosheng, who was being inexorably drawn toward the Ark of the Covenant.

Even in death, the sight of the Human Emperor’s fall would bring Him supreme joy!

Suddenly, a look of stunned disbelief crossed the Black God’s face.

Instead of resisting the pull of the Ark of the Covenant, Jiang Chaosheng was using its force to launch himself toward the Black God at high speed!

The stunned look on the Black God’s face twisted into a sneer:

“Trying to wrest a sliver of hope from a deathtrap?

That’s just like you.

Heh, it’s nothing but the last struggle of a cornered beast.”

Jiang Chaosheng’s expression remained impassive in the face of the Black God’s mockery. As he drew near the Dark Covenant Chest and the Black God, he even raised the Scythe of Death.

The Black God gulped in excitement.

He eagerly awaited the moment Jiang Chaosheng would be erased by the Ark of the Covenant.

DONG! DONG! DONG!

Suddenly, three thunderous tolls of a bell rang out.

The darkness shrouding the sky over the South Sea was instantly dispelled!

The sun shone brightly and a gentle breeze blew, as if nothing had ever happened.

The Dark Covenant Chest had vanished as well.

All that remained in the sky was the Black God, only half of His body left.

The other half of His body had already been sacrificed to the Ark of the Covenant.

To activate the Shadow of the Ark, the caster had to sacrifice their own body and soul.

‘But… the sacrificial Magic was only halfway done…

Why… why was it interrupted?’

The Black God, face etched with disbelief, looked down at His ruined body.

“How… How is this possible?”

The Black God suddenly recalled the three bell tolls from moments before.

He whipped His head around to look toward the collapsed school building.

Two people were standing there.

A brute in a suit, and a skinny, bespectacled youth.

Between them stood a giant wall clock.

When the Black God recognized the clock, He instantly lost all His strength and murmured:

“So it was… the God-Desecrating Bell…”

The Black God was the lingering resentment of the Holy Son.

Legend has it that the Holy Son was killed at three o’clock in the afternoon.

Therefore, legend holds that three o’clock in the afternoon is the hour of the Demon’s revelry.

Legend also says that three o’clock in the morning is the hour of the Devil’s defiance.

The Black God suddenly laughed.

“So it’s three o’clock?”

His smile was filled with self-deprecation and bitter irony.

Suddenly, the Black God felt Himself flying.

His eyes saw His own dissipating half-body below.

For an instant, confusion filled the Black God’s eyes.

It wasn’t until He saw Jiang Chaosheng, Scythe of Death in hand, looking at Him with indifference, that He understood. The black blood dripping from the Giant Scythe was His own.

‘So, my head has been severed.’

“Killed again at three o’clock?”

The Black God slowly closed His eyes, His lips murmuring:

“What a grand… cycle of karma.”

…

Jiang Chaosheng watched as the Black God’s body vanished.

The Black God’s head transformed into a beam of black light that shot into the Scythe of Death, forming a profound, black Rune on the blade.

The Scythe of Death could imprison a portion of a defeated foe’s Soul Power and acquire one of their Skills.

(A maximum of six Skills can be stored.)

A stream of profound information flooded into Jiang Chaosheng’s mind.

[Shadow of the Ark: A Divine Power comprehended by the Western Emperor in Subspace.]

[Allows the user to manipulate Dark Matter to erase living beings who possess original sin and whose combat power is far lower than the user’s.]

[Allows the user to summon the Shadow of the Ark. After sacrificing one’s own body, the user can banish a target regardless of their Extraordinary Level.]