This time, the Zero-Order Magic was not just a feint or an opening move like before—it truly manifested in its complete form.
It was a beam of light, its color indiscernible. Was it a dazzling white of myriad hues? Or a black comprised of countless radiant shades?
It was so brilliant, bursting forth with the brilliance of Celestial Light!
Endless killing intent swept past billions of mountain ranges, crossed infinite plains, and washed over land a hundred miles away. Even the sea that had rushed into the Border of the World surged back in retreat!
At this moment, the Black Prison Colossus no longer seemed so invincible in Luo Zining’s eyes. It even faced the risk of being slain.
Meanwhile, certain figures were lying in wait in the distant shadows.
“My goodness, as expected of Zero-Order Magic. I can sense it even from here.”
“So this is what ‘chilled to the bone’ means?”
“With power like this, wiping out a nation would be a piece of cake. It’s at least a hundred times stronger than First-Order Magic! I can’t even imagine how strong the Black Candle Colossus was to confront this head-on.”
“If I had to use a local analogy… it would rival the legendary Immortal-Slaying Sword Array of myth. I take back what I said before—only a fool would want to go head-to-head with Zero-Order Magic…”
“Stop with your stupid analogies! Hurry up, we have our own mission!”
Their target was clear: the massive Moomlight-class Super Star Ring withdrawing in the sky.
Under the cover of magic, a squad full of Fusion Warriors blended into the interior of the Super Star Ring.
“Primary target—the Singularity Core! Move!”
The security personnel on the Super Star Ring quickly noticed something amiss—the entire ring was descending, approaching a dangerously low altitude.
This change immediately drew the attention of the magical girls below.
“What’s going on?”
Jingting from Zhizhi’s team pouted, her little face scrunched up. “Something’s happening up there?”
“Don’t ask—let’s just go up and see!”
“Don’t order me around!”
Just then, they witnessed a violent explosion in one section of the Super Star Ring. The fire that erupted made Jingting and the others’ expressions change instantly.
They were really under attack!?
How did the enemy even get up there? That’s twenty thousand meters above ground!
“Let’s move!”
Scenes like this were unfolding all over.
Multiple Super Star Rings were under attack. No one knew how the enemy had gotten close, but their numbers were great, and they were fighting the garrison and magical girls stationed on the rings.
Xingyu noticed something wrong with a Super Star Ring behind her and instinctively glanced back.
“Focus. Don’t let yourself get distracted,” Manjusaka said in a deep voice.
She was controlling the Zero-Order Magic, now like a deity incarnate. With a mere movement of her finger, massive swathes of dark clouds in the sky and mountain ranges below were swept clean.
Sensing the crisis, the Black Prison Colossus could not remain dormant. Its Astral Light-level strength crushed everything around it. The black smoke it drew in swelled its form several times over, so much so that even space station personnel in orbit could see its terrifying figure with the naked eye!
If Manjusaka hadn’t sought out the members of the exploration team, all their efforts would have been in vain. But now that she had located the enemy’s true body, the foundation for defeating and sealing it was set.
“Change form.”
“Which one?”
“Mercy!”
Manjusaka commanded calmly. The Celestial Light pierced the boundless darkness, its radiance unstoppable, and half the Black Prison Colossus’s body vanished in an instant.
It wasn’t blown away to somewhere else—it simply disappeared on a physical level.
Everything was so terrifying; the terrain shifted several times in the span of moments, killing intent sweeping across a hundred miles. Even the most fearless dimensional beasts dared not approach the Border of the World, slinking away to try other routes instead.
“Unbelievable… Was it like this when you fought the Black Candle Colossus?”
Having completed her mission, Luo Zining stared blankly at the terrifying scene before her, unable to utter a word.
The more intelligent and sensitive one was, the more one could feel the depth and terror of that place.
What she saw before her far surpassed any battle she had ever experienced. The area of combat was measured in hundreds of square kilometers. The very world had changed, lands scorched red for miles—a reality before her eyes.
The grandeur of the scene was like watching two stars of similar mass using their own gravity to madly tear everything from each other. One gigantic being was gradually shredded and crushed before a power even more immense. It far surpassed any grand epic made up in stories—too beautiful, and too overwhelming.
Xingyu had been right. There was no need to fear any external foe sneaking in. Before the Zero-Order Magic, nothing could stand; enemies and the mountains and rivers behind them could be erased in an instant.
Finally, in this grand contest, one star was defeated. Its trillion-meter body collapsed, enacting a scene of destruction and rebirth as it was devoured by the other. Light and heat spun all around, revolving as if ordained by heaven.
“Stop.” Manjusaka breathed a sigh of relief. Things had gone smoothly—she’d achieved her initial goal before reaching her own limit.
The Black Prison Colossus had been stripped layer by layer under Zero-Order Magic, its core substance exhausted, its end at hand.
But it wasn’t enough.
Not even Zero-Order Magic could change the immortal nature of an Astral Light-level dimensional beast. If left alone, the Black Prison Colossus would eventually regenerate.
To prevent this, they would have to cut it off from the Border of the World and stop it from drawing in its material.
“Change form—Chastity. Xingyu, you take over.”
“All right.”
Xingyu switched positions, moving to the very front, and the authority over Zero-Order Magic passed to her.
She changed her hand seals several times. Heavenly Clarity shone with Astral Light, illuminating the Black Prison Colossus. The Astral Light took form, building the outline of a Clock Tower around the Black Candle Colossus and encasing it within.
Its true body wasn’t very large, barely thirty meters or so, and from its texture, it no longer even seemed like a living creature, already teetering on the edge of death.
But Xingyu and the others stayed vigilant, Zero-Order Magic hanging above them as a deterrent to any would-be interlopers.
Finally, when the Clock Tower was fully woven, the seal was complete.
“Whew—!”
Everyone let out the breath they’d been holding for so long.
They had succeeded!
Zero casualties!
Liyun cheered, rushing over to hug Xingyu. “We did it! Big sis!” This was her first glorious victory!
Xingyu forced a smile. “But… why can’t I feel happy…”
“Hm? Why not? We just defeated an Astral Light-level foe!”
“Yes, the Black Prison Colossus is sealed, and everything went smoothly. But maybe it was too smooth, and that’s why…”
“You think there’s something odd?” Liyun looked warily toward the Clock Tower.
“No. Even the Zero-Order Magic was used, so things going smoothly is normal. I just keep comparing the Black Prison Colossus to the Black Candle Colossus… That monster went head-to-head with Zero-Order Magic for more than ten rounds and wasn’t at a disadvantage…”
At these words, the joy of defeating an Astral Light-level dimensional beast instantly vanished for Liyun and the others.
Yes. They had taken down a Black Prison Colossus—but there was still an even more terrifying Black Candle Colossus waiting for them.