Chapter 539: Modeled After the Hero?

“Groooooar—!!!”

The monstrous roar of the massive Demonized Being echoed through the cave, shaking dust and debris from the ceiling.

Engulfed in flames, its gigantic body writhed and twisted, as if countless individuals were screaming and struggling within, its numerous heads and limbs flailing in a grotesque dance of pain.

The sight was both physically and psychologically disturbing.

Shien found it disgusting, but it was more than just disgust.

If Lumia or Melika were here, they would probably faint from terror.

Shien wanted to tear this monster apart and obliterate it, just to avoid looking at it.

But this massive Demonized Being was fundamentally different from the ones he had encountered before.

Its level was ninety-six, and as Lid said, it had definitely devoured and fused with legendary-level monsters, making it powerful, grotesque, and incredibly troublesome.

If Yulin had lost to the Demonized Beings that attacked her, she would probably have ended up like this.

This giant Demonized Being was what Yulin would have become if she had failed to resist the ritual that day.

Shien was certain that this Demonized Being had existed for a long time, having devoured and fused with countless others, causing its form and behavior to change drastically.

“How tragic. But unfortunately, you’re beyond saving.” Lid said, both pitying and merciless. “Shien, put it out of its misery.”

“Alright.” Shien glanced at his tattered clothes, muttered something, and nodded.

A terrifying magic power surged from him like a storm.

“Groooooar—!!!”

The giant Demonized Being, sensing danger, roared even more terrifyingly and went berserk.

Breaths of fire, lightning, ice, floods, and even poisonous gas erupted from its multiple mouths, a barrage of attacks aimed at obliterating Shien.

This time, Shien didn’t teleport or raise his Holy Sword, but slowly lifted his hand.

“—With vast magic power, I summon the stars from beyond the heavens—”

Shien chanted.

“—Stars twinkling, flames blazing, heed the call of the one who commands the night sky, and reveal the mysteries and trajectories of the gods—”

“—That is light—”

“—That is the mighty power of the heavens—”

“—Therefore, shine, stars—”

“—And descend, light—”

Starlight shone from Shien.

“[Starry Arrays]!”

Celestial bodies formed from Shien’s surging magic power, accompanied by starlight, and flew forward.

Like a swirling galaxy, they formed a special pattern, rotating around each other, the starlight forming a nebula that met the incoming attacks.

Then, an incredible scene unfolded.

The flames that touched the nebula were dispersed.

The lightning that struck it was absorbed as electric arcs.

The ice was shattered, and the floods were repelled.

Even the poisonous gas couldn’t escape, annihilated by the nebula.

All of this happened in an instant.

The reckless power of the level ninety-six Demonized Being was effortlessly neutralized by [Starry Arrays].

This advanced Celestial Magic, in the current Shien’s hands, had become even more terrifying and was used with greater skill and finesse.

But this was the true power of [Starry Arrays].

Unlike [Auroras Meteoric], the most destructive spell in Celestial Magic, [Starry Arrays] was both offensive and defensive, with multiple uses.

The celestial bodies forming the array were incredibly flexible for attacking, but they also displayed incredible power for defense and counterattacks.

This magic was even considered the most versatile in Celestial Magic, capable of various uses depending on the formation and arrangement of the array.

Now, Shien had formed the celestial bodies into a nebula, displaying the effects of dispersion, absorption, shattering, repulsion, and annihilation.

This was the correct way to use [Starry Arrays]. Shien had only used it for offense before, which was a waste.

Now, with Shien having fused numerous magic and magic power related skills, creating the Heaven’s Decree skill [Inner Perception of Heaven’s Decree], which greatly enhanced his magic power and control, he was finally able to unleash the true potential of this spell.

“Ending you with this move is a fitting end.”

Shien declared.

“Vanish.”

Shien pointed at the giant Demonized Being and clenched his hand.

“Swish!”

The nebula shot forward, dispersing into individual celestial bodies that surrounded the giant monster.

The Demonized Being still tried to struggle.

Unfortunately, the countless celestial bodies surrounding it trembled, unleashing dazzling beams of light.

The beams of light instantly reached the monster.

But unlike before, they didn’t explode with destructive power, but instead wrapped around the monster, binding it as the celestial bodies continued to rotate.

The monster struggled continuously.

The celestial bodies, however, were unmoved, rapidly circling the monster, the light bands tightening around it.

Soon, the monster’s massive body was completely bound, without a single gap.

The monster transformed into a cocoon of light, struggling and roaring within, the cocoon pulsating.

But its struggles soon ceased.

The cocoon of light suddenly began to pulsate like a beating heart.

With each pulse, the cocoon shrunk.

After pulsating a few times, it had shrunk to the size of a soccer ball.

And the struggling monster within was completely silent.

Finally…

“Splat!”

With a crushing sound, the cocoon of light, as if having completely compressed the being within into mush, shrunk to the size of a palm with a final pulse.

Then, along with the surrounding celestial bodies, the cocoon vanished.

The giant Demonized Being also disappeared without a trace.

It hadn’t even left behind any remains, completely compressed and annihilated by the cocoon of light.

The surging magic power around Shien subsided.

“Alright, it’s over.”

Shien sheathed his Holy Sword, looked at his tattered clothes, and sighed.

Lid approached.

It looked at Shien as if he was a monster.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Shien asked, puzzled.

Lid snorted.

“Nothing, I just think you’re more capable than I imagined.” Lid said meaningfully, “Bestowal Magic, Celestial Magic, teleportation, and that light from your sword just now, none of these are ordinary.”

Lid paused.

“Especially that light.” Lid stared at Shien. “Why do I feel a sense of familiarity?”

Because Shien had used [Outer Manifestation of Heaven’s Decree] to activate some of the Holy Sword’s sealed power, Lid sensed the holy power similar to the Holy Sword.

“What?” Shien didn’t answer but retorted, “As the one who charmed your little sister, can’t I be a little special?”

Shien’s confident words made Lid speechless.

So, this guy did have some self-awareness.

Lid wanted to ask more, but gave up.

“Forget it, the more capable you are, the more it proves that Airi has good taste. There’s no point in me worrying too much.” Lid sighed, “Humans are truly a blessed race. Not only is there that princess, but now there’s also a young monster like you, with so many tricks up your sleeve, able to easily annihilate a Demonized Being that has devoured even legendary monsters. No wonder the Divine Race modeled humans after the Hero.”

“I wouldn’t dare call myself a monster before you true monsters.” Shien curled his lip.

But the next moment, Shien suddenly reacted.

“Wait, did you just say something I shouldn’t have heard?” Shien looked at Lid in surprise. “You said that the human race was created by the Divine Race in the image of the Hero?”

He had never heard of this.

But thinking about it carefully, it wasn’t that strange.

“Why do you think there’s a human race similar to the Hero in this world?” Lid said nonchalantly, “Isn’t it because the Divine Race saw the Hero’s incredible potential and modeled the human race after him when they created it?”

The Divine Race’s purpose in creating humans was to have helpers who could fight alongside them against the Demon Race.

Therefore, it wasn’t surprising that they used the Hero as a reference.

They must have hoped that the human race, like the Hero, could play a significant role.

They might have even wanted to create their own Hero.

So, the prototype of humans in this world was actually the Hero from another world.

Besides the Elven Race, humans were the first race created by the Divine Race, the first human race to appear in this world.

“…I didn’t even know that.”

Shien was speechless.

It seemed the Hero’s influence on this world was much greater than he had imagined.