"I am Michael, bearer of my Lord's sword and guardian of His majesty.
"I have descended upon this world to purge all evil in His name.
"Mortals, repent of your sins. Pray that my Lord grants you forgiveness."
Holding the Spear of Longinus, Michael reached for the Godslayer Arrow lodged in his chest.
He couldn't pull it out.
The arrow had been forged for a single purpose: to kill whatever it struck.
There was no exception.
No loophole.
No miracle.
This was a death sentence given form.
If it hit its target, the target died.
Michael's expression darkened as he realized the truth.
The arrow would not come free.
His grip tightened around the Spear of Longinus.
It didn't matter.
As long as he held the spear, he would not die.
Eventually he could return to Heaven, and his Lord would restore him.
Across the battlefield, billions of Dominions began chanting in unison.
"Guardian of the Holy Paradise!"
"Great Archangel nearest to the Holy Lord!"
"Vice-Regent of Heaven!"
"Commander of the Legions of Light!"
"Angel of Mercy and Justice!"
"Judge who bears the Red Cross Sword and the Scales of Equity!"
"The one who shall sound the trumpet of the End Times!"
"Seraph Michael!"
The hymn thundered across the heavens.
Sacred praise became power.
Holy energy flowed into Michael, strengthening and restoring him.
The gods of the other pantheons barely reacted.
They were used to Heaven's displays by now.
The angels loved grand entrances, grand speeches, and grand spectacles.
Michael was, after all, the angel destined to sound the trumpet of Judgment Day.
One of the highest-ranking Seraphim in Heaven.
At the same time, he was a god of fire.
As Jehovah's chief guardian, he wielded authority over divine flames.
His destructive power had always been rooted in fire.
Even with the Spear of Longinus in hand, that remained true.
Following the Divine Archer's devastating shot, the gods of the Heavenly Court resumed their assault on Michael while simultaneously battling the Father-level gods rushing to support him.
White flames burned across the sacred spear.
They appeared unstoppable.
Then Ignis stepped forward.
The moment the fire god intervened, Michael's flames lost much of their effectiveness.
The Heavenly Court's gods feared only one thing about the Spear of Longinus.
Its absolute killing power.
A strike through the head or heart meant certain death.
Everything else?
They could handle.
Meanwhile, the Godslayer Arrow continued tearing through Michael from the inside.
Its divine power exploded through every inch of his body like countless bombs detonating simultaneously.
Michael threw back his head and roared in agony.
The surrounding Father-level gods finally noticed something was wrong.
That arrow was affecting him far more than expected.
No longer content to hold back, they began fighting in earnest.
Then a streak of golden light flashed across the battlefield.
Before anyone could react, a golden three-legged crow appeared on Michael's chest.
It radiated terrifying heat and light.
Its three talons dug deep into his flesh, piercing muscle and bone.
"The golden crow!"
Panic erupted among the Allied Gods.
They had seen that creature before.
Seen what it could do.
The destruction of Olympus itself was tied to that terrifying golden bird.
Yet Michael immediately sensed something strange.
The creature possessed the same blazing solar divinity as the one he remembered.
But its power felt... weaker.
Not weak.
Just nowhere near the impossible level of the original.
Before he could think further, the three-legged crow began tearing open his chest.
Pain exploded through his body.
Michael swung the Spear of Longinus and knocked it away.
Then nine more appeared.
Nine identical golden crows burst into existence.
Each selected a chief god as prey.
Each attacked without hesitation.
Gods were ripped apart and devoured.
"Ten of them?!"
The Allied Gods were horrified.
These crows might not match the monster that had appeared during the fall of Olympus, but they were still stronger than ordinary Father-level gods.
Against most of the coalition, they held an overwhelming advantage.
And as the ten crows spread across the battlefield, the temperature began rising dramatically.
At first the change was subtle.
Then it became impossible to ignore.
"It's a trap!"
One of the gods finally realized the truth.
"The Heavenly Court never revealed even a tenth of its true strength!"
The realization spread like wildfire.
The ten solar crows alone were enough to dominate most Father-level opponents.
And now the Twelve Primordial Witches were no longer holding back either.
They had endured this charade for a long time.
The Heavenly Court had deliberately concealed its strength.
If they appeared too powerful too early, the other pantheons would never have taken the bait.
Now, inside the Black Hole Dimension, even the single-universe entities backing the various pantheons couldn't observe what was happening.
There was no longer any reason to hide.
Erlang Shen looked toward Michael.
"You aren't the only one carrying a divine weapon."
He raised a hand.
"Bring forth the Four Swords of Immortal Slaying!"
Four swords streaked across the heavens.
Though they lacked the Spear of Longinus's ability to guarantee the wielder's survival, their killing power was no less terrifying.
The blades flew into the hands of Wargod.
Three heads.
Six arms.
Four divine swords.
In that instant, he became unstoppable.
Gods slain by the swords Zhuxian, Juexian, Xianxian, and Luxian never returned.
There was no resurrection.
No recovery.
No second chance.
Their souls were sent directly to the God's Quarry.
Only Michael, wielding the Spear of Longinus, could stand against Wargod.
For everyone else, a single exchange was enough to end their lives.
"Don't let a single one escape!"
Erlang Shen's command echoed across the battlefield.
Several members of the Allied Gods immediately attempted to flee.
Then a massive figure appeared at the dimensional exit.
Xingtian.
The war god stood motionless, blocking the only escape route.
In his hand was a strange banner.
The fleeing gods charged toward him.
They never arrived.
Xingtian swung the banner.
Countless blades of energy erupted outward.
The moment they touched their targets, entire gods vanished.
Erased completely.
The Pangu Banner.
A treasure possessing the power to tear apart primordial chaos, shatter time and space, command all laws, create worlds, and manipulate the very authority of heaven and earth.
Its abilities were many.
The attack Xingtian had just unleashed was known as the Heaven-Cleaving Blade.
The embodiment of destruction.
It could split chaos, sever space-time, and carve entirely new worlds from nothingness.
Another ability, Genesis Radiance, embodied creation itself.
It divided yin and yang, organized the five elements, and generated endless manifestations of earth, water, fire, and wind.
Then there was the Primordial Barrier.
An expression of absolute suppression.
It distorted reality and drowned heaven and earth beneath infinite chaos.
Finally came Heaven and Earth Mourn Together.
The pure principle of annihilation.
A force capable of destroying countless universes.
The Allied Gods had never seen such a treasure before.
But they didn't need to understand its origins to recognize its danger.
One swing had erased entire groups of gods.
That was proof enough.
And unlike mortals, gods perceived reality differently.
Their senses allowed them to glimpse truths hidden beneath appearances.
Because of that, they could see just how terrifying the banner truly was.
Every law.
Every rule.
Every principle.
All of it seemed to shatter whenever the banner moved.
Nothing could withstand it.
This had been one of Drex Valen's contingencies.
Of course, he had never anticipated being thrown directly into the God's Quarry by the Infinite Witch.
His original concern had been different.
Once the Olympian Dimension and Chaos Dimension began being absorbed, the other pantheons would either continue watching from the sidelines...
Or they would unite against him.
...
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