Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 603 - 565 Victory

Chapter 603: 565 Victory

First, it was defeated in the duel of mutual devouring, and then took my serious attack head-on. At this moment, the Catastrophe Demon was undoubtedly in a state of severe injury; by contrast, I was brimming with confidence, full of spirit, and even achieved significant progress in the battle. The gap between us can be described as the difference between clouds and mud.

Therefore, after I made the last strike, the fate of the Catastrophe Demon was predictable.

Orange flames burst forth like a solar flare, transforming into light and heat that devoured all, covering the area in front of me. The Catastrophe Demon composed entirely of black flame shattered like a ceramic jug filled with ink under the flood, its ink consumed and assimilated by the rushing waters, leaving no trace behind. After the Fire Sea disappeared, the black flames were no more.

Catastrophe Demon, extinguished.

I descended towards the ground.

Countless "ashes" appeared in my consciousness, indicating that the soul of the Catastrophe Demon truly hadn’t escaped its destruction just now. After this battle, the capacity of the ash weapon will expand to higher levels.

The higher the level of battle, the more it discards the chaff to preserve the essence. This seems to also be reflected in the weapons. The Furnace Slag Straight Sword is ultimately just a tool that can contain and preserve Flame Power, maybe not even a tool, but merely a material where the sword form is an unnecessary element. Yet, this seemingly primitive and simple thing became the key element for me to surpass the Catastrophe Demon.

Relying on external objects to defeat an enemy equivalent to another self, it cannot be said this is the act of a fair and just duelist, but using whatever tools are available is my Zhuang Cheng’s style, showing the greatest etiquette and respect to those who oppose me.

The land undergoing the baptism by high temperatures seemed to have its altitude reduced considerably, with the surface transformed into lava and glass, and the atmosphere permeated with distortion due to the heat.

After my feet touched the ground, I took a deep breath. With myself as the center, all the high temperatures instantly vanished.

All the excess heat was absorbed into my body. Some areas had their temperatures drop far below freezing points due to my accidental over-absorption, suddenly transforming from lava to permafrost. Anyway, it is an uninhabited region, so no one would criticize me.

I didn’t immediately exit the Crown Form; instead, I observed for a while. Originally, because the Crown Form represented a power I couldn’t control, its mere presence would bring destructive disasters to the surroundings, with boundless light and heat turning the area into a mortal realm hell. However, now I can cleverly restrain this power, so even with people around me, it’s no problem. In other people’s view, I should appear as a "harmless" humanoid of light.

After a moment, the Catastrophe Demon still hadn’t resurrected. Only then did I fully confirm its extinction. The demon, led by instinct primarily, wouldn’t have played dead, so there’s no need to worry about it pretending to be dead. In fact, my intuition also confirmed the opponent’s death.

According to the feedback received during mutual devouring with it, the Catastrophe Demon likely did not possess the Manifestation of the Undying Body.

It is an imaginary existence simulated by the power of Naraku Gospel, its root not being True Spirit but Naraku Gospel. So if one had to say the Catastrophe Demon has a True Spirit, its True Spirit would be Naraku Gospel itself.

This is probably the fundamental reason why all demons possess the attribute of immortality and invincibility. Even if all the water leaking on the bathroom floor is wiped clean, as long as the faucet remains open, water will continue to leak out. Naraku Gospel is that faucet. From this perspective, all demons can be regarded as possessing Innate Manifestation of the Undying Body.

So, will the Catastrophe Demon be summoned again in the future?

I don’t think so.

The strike that killed the Catastrophe Demon was a decisive blow infused with True Spirit Power and full-hearted killing intent. Regardless of what kind of being it is, once killed by True Spirit Power, it’s "truly killed." Even if it is an imaginary existence, this applies. No matter how one manipulates right and wrong, it’s useless. As fact surpasses argument, the results caused by True Spirit Power surpass all logic and theories.

Naraku Gospel can no longer summon the Catastrophe Demon.

Moreover, if I used complete True Spirit Power, since the Catastrophe Demon could be seen as a manifestation of Naraku Gospel, its destruction would also harm the Naraku Gospel as the source. Even if it wouldn’t be completely killed, it would at least suffer certain degrees of damage... It’s just a pity that No. 7 also mentioned my True Spirit Power is indeed insufficiently weighty, at most capable of nullifying the Undying Body of the object killed by my own hands.

This function will be fixed afterward, impossible to change further.

Incidentally, the Catastrophe Demon seems not to possess the Vermilion Bird Seed. Whether it’s because the primary theme of the Catastrophe Demon’s power deviates from the definition of Vermilion Bird Fire resulting in its loss, or it never had one since the moment it was summoned, according to my intuition, it should be the latter.

The absence of the Vermilion Bird Seed doesn’t weaken the Catastrophe Demon. For an evolving Liangyi Inheritor, Power Seeds might alter and concentrate all talents of the host, making them a genius in the path corresponding to the seed’s attributes; however, from the perspective of a complete Liangyi Inheritor, Power Seeds are purely a curse and constraint, ruthlessly stifling the host’s possibility of venturing into broader fields.

No. 7 appeared beside me with Little Bowl in his arms.

"Brother Zhuang Cheng!" Little Bowl happily called out to me.

"Zhuang Cheng, you really defeated the Catastrophe Demon..." No. 7 looked at the surroundings with a complex gaze.

"From now on, the Catastrophe Demon will not appear again," I said. "I apologize to you first, for taking away your chance to avenge yourself against the Catastrophe Demon."

"Avenge myself..."

No. 7 first shook his head, then said indifferently, "I indeed have a grudge against the Catastrophe Demon, but not hatred. Demons are essentially ’doomsday disasters’ summoned by the Naraku Gospel. Even if a person has lost loved ones to typhoons and earthquakes, they would not want revenge against these natural calamities."

"Then, what about me? Do you harbor hatred against me?" I asked.

"Hate you? I’m not such a shameless woman," No. 7 said. "What truly deserves reckoning isn’t any specific person, but this twisted world."

"Brother Zhuang Cheng, let’s heal your wounds first," Little Bowl said proactively. "You must have sustained some damage to your True Spirit in the previous battle. I’ll heal it all for you now."

"Alright, thank you," I said.

Maybe due to No. 7 watching, Little Bowl didn’t provide me a lap pillow this time.

She had me sit on the ground, then moved behind me, wrapped her arms around my neck, and tightly pressed her small, delicate body against my back.

The healing power and her warm, child-like body temperature slowly transmitted into mine, repairing my True Spirit.

Her cheek was also pressed tightly against my temple, allowing me to feel the soft, tender skin of her side face. To be honest, this gesture was a bit embarrassing, especially with No. 7 watching.

"Even True Spirit damage can be healed..."

No. 7 didn’t show any unusual expression but looked thoughtfully at Little Bowl. She didn’t seem surprised that my True Spirit needed repairing, clearly knowing from the beginning that I had an Innate Manifestation. Little Bowl deliberately mentioned this information, seemingly with a small intention to probe No. 7.

Perhaps because Little Bowl was thinking on my behalf, I couldn’t help but be a bit lazy in this regard. It’s not that I have no interest in pondering complex human hearts, but after thinking it over, I decided to let Little Bowl handle these matters for now. Compared to No. 7, whose intentions are unclear, I’d rather allocate my mental ’memory’ to specific enemies and dangers.

First is the issue related to the Great Demon Xuanwu.

Although the Catastrophe Demon was pursued by the Great Demon Xuanwu before coming after me, I don’t think the Catastrophe Demon came only after killing the Great Demon Xuanwu. At the very least, the likelihood of the Great Demon Xuanwu being killed is relatively low.

Due to the suppression of attribute restraint, the Great Demon Xuanwu isn’t an ’unsparing target’ for the Catastrophe Demon. Although demons don’t seem to have much of a sense of camaraderie, they are both incarnations of Naraku Gospel; roughly speaking, they are ’colleagues.’ Unless individuals like the Great Demon Xuanwu, who have the special trait of ’killing colleagues,’ they’d probably avoid undue harm.

Considering the influence of扫帚 star power, having encountered the Great Demon Xuanwu twice before, there’s bound to be a third encounter in the future. What should I do to handle a formidable foe with the Water Element of Xuanwu’s magic power as the Vermilion Bird Inheritor?

Fortunately, at this moment, I am no longer the helpless self I was against the Great Demon Xuanwu before.

With the mindset to ’give it a try,’ I slowly raised my palm as if wielding a lighter, then extended my index finger.

An orange-red flame flickered at the tip of my finger. Then, the flame gradually changed color, from bright orange-red to deep black. Although it still appeared as flickering fire, its essence shifted to something ’like fiery alien matter.’

Upon seeing this dark, profound flame, seemingly a deviant phenomenon that exists only in wild fantasies, No. 7’s expression immediately changed.