At the moment when the black cloud swept over the sea wall and truly made landfall, the walls of the sea barrier seemed to be scorched by light at tens of thousands of degrees Celsius. In an instant, toxic black smoke billowed forth, blotting out the sky and spreading without end. Yet this was not thermal damage, but a phenomenon that defied explanation by physics.
Every stretch of land the black cloud passed through suffered the same fate.
Even people shrouded by the black cloud began to emit thick black smoke from their bodies, and then a viscous black substance oozed from the surface of their pores. They died on the spot, in poses both strange and tragic.
The black smoke drifting on the wind swiftly devoured all sources of light, causing the already massive black cloud to swell, growing deeper, larger, and even more terrifying!
Its shape shifted, transforming from an irregular mass into a smooth, rounded sphere, like a colossal black sun looming over the world.
Zhizhi nearly fainted at the sight.
This was a super-monster that could kill countless people by the sheer fact of its existence. It was like trapping ordinary people in a room with a giant; the giant’s most basic act of breathing would cause everyone else to suffocate and die.
In terms of power, this monster might not match the Black Candle Giant, but its aggressiveness and destructive power were not one bit lesser!
[Its very existence represents indiscriminate death!]
Zhizhi dared not delay, and sent an urgent request for aid to the headquarters of the Magic Alliance: Sidheim.
The Border Garrison on the frontier all retreated as well, but the black cloud advanced too swiftly, so the Commander could only press the red button before the entire garrison had withdrawn to a safe distance—
The news that a light-devouring-class dimensional beast had appeared at the frontier immediately reached all branches of the Magic Alliance, as well as the governments of every nation.
“A light-devouring-class dimensional beast? Now?!” Xingyu shouted in disbelief.
She had long anticipated that once Xingyue disappeared, monsters and demons would come forth to wreak havoc, but she hadn’t expected that such a formidable light-devouring-class dimensional beast would appear right at the vanguard!
Liyun, still lost in thought about “whether to act on Luoyouyou,” was pulled back to the harsh reality by the news and said urgently, “Sister, let’s go together!”
“No, Liyun, you stay here. There must be Ten Seats guarding this place,” Xingyu insisted.
To hope for no casualties when facing a light-devouring-class beast—that was arrogance. Even the Ten Seats couldn’t guarantee it; most likely, someone would be sacrificed.
No matter what, she had to ensure her younger sister’s safety first.
Yet faced with Xingyu’s selfishness, even Liyun’s expression darkened as she replied, “Sister, do you think I’d agree to that?”
“But no matter what, someone has to stay, right? Every Gateway is of utmost importance, especially ours. We’ve already lost the supermassive Star Ring, making us even more vulnerable to an enemy’s surprise attack.”
“The two of us together can unleash strength greater than the sum of our parts. Letting you go alone is simply unreasonable.”
The crisis allowed no time for the sisters to argue further—they had to decide quickly.
Breaking the deadlock was Ji Yue.
“Leave this to me,” Ji Yue said via messaging magic.
Only then did the sisters realize the Public Channel among the Ten Seats was still open.
“Feiyu.”
“You two should go together. There’s a better chance both of you return alive if you face it together, rather than alone.”
Ji Yue added, “See the glacier at the Gateway? That was left by the Gray Witch using the Black Candle Giant’s power. It does block dimensional beasts for now, but if the Black Candle Giant revives, where do you think it will land first?”
Xingyu and Liyun both froze, their breaths caught, pupils shrinking to pinpoints.
In terms of reputation and terror left behind, the Black Candle Giant far surpassed that black cloud at the border—it had slain even existences like the Ten Seats in an instant.
“Feise… you…”
“Hurry and go. The sooner you resolve things there, the shorter my time fighting alone will be,” Ji Yue urged comfortingly.
“We’ll finish it as quickly as we can!”
Ji Yue pulled Liyun into the Teleportation Magic Array.
“What a worry those two are,” Ji Yue sighed with a laugh.
Now that she knew Xingyu and Liyun were actually her nieces, how could she ever watch them fall into danger?
As the saying goes, “a single spark can start a prairie fire”—once a battle began, the enemy would certainly launch an all-out attack. A light-devouring-class dimensional beast had appeared at the frontier, so the Black Candle Giant couldn’t be far behind.
Perhaps it was already on its way!
“Gulp—”
Ji Yue swallowed hard, feeling the tension rise within.
At that moment, Luo Zining had already returned to the Nine Abyss Sea, and had of course heard the news.
“Auntie!”
“I told you, call me by my title—”
“Is it true that a light-devouring-class dimensional beast appeared?”
“Yes, at the Gateway guarded by Zhizhi. We’ve summoned the Ten Seats to subjugate it.” Ji Yue took a deep breath. “Zining, you must keep yourself safe. The enemy’s full assault has begun.”
In fact, more than ten hours before the light-devouring-class appeared at the frontier, the Gateway Tides had already been escalating, now raised to level 6.5, almost reaching the heights of four years ago. To prevent panic, it hadn’t been publicly announced yet.
Now that a light-devouring-class dimensional beast had shown up, the repeatedly raised Gateway Tide level would have to go up again—matching the peak from four years ago.
Level seven!
Even without a light-devouring-class beast, such Gateway Tides alone were enough to cause heavy casualties among the magical girls!
“Auntie…”
Luo Zining wanted to tell Ji Yue what she’d heard from Xingyue, but as she opened her mouth, she wasn’t sure she should. What if it only made things worse?
She understood well: Xingyue must have her reasons for acting as she did. That was someone who looked to the future, while she herself could only focus on the present—that was the difference in vision.
Frontier, Gateway.
Currently, the countries surrounding the light-devouring-class dimensional beast’s landing site had urgently declared a state of level-one combat readiness. Border military districts were in full cooperation, mobilizing every possible resource. As long as they could subdue this colossal threat, there would be no limit to their cooperation.
Fortunately, the Gateway Zhizhi guarded was a remote border region: extreme climate, sparse population, giving them ample Strategic Buffer Zone. Unlike four years ago at the Nine Abyss Sea, where behind them lay the economically developed, densely populated Southern Cities—with nowhere to retreat.
At this moment, someone had already named the light-devouring-class dimensional beast.
Black Prison Giant!
Only one character different from the Black Candle Giant of four years ago.
“What’s happening over there?” the arriving Fallen Butterfly asked as she saw the Mushroom Cloud slowly rising in the distance. “Did you use a Nuclear Weapon?”
Zhizhi nodded. “Yes, it slowed it down for now.”
But Nuclear Weapons had limited effect on a light-devouring-class—let alone the fact that light-devouring-class were undying and indestructible. Even if they were damaged, it would not be by mortal means.
At the center of the explosion, the Black Prison Giant seemed barely affected. It was simply too massive—Zhizhi didn’t even know if it had a true physical form, as it only appeared to be a cloud.
How could one harm a cloud?