Stairway of Spirit and Flesh

Pfft!

A golden ray seemed to have been fired from an infinitely distant place, piercing straight through Root Shiki’s right hand.

Her blade was thrown off course.

The Mystic Eyes that could kill any target so long as they struck its death point—even concepts could be killed—had deviated at that instant.

Confusion appeared on Root Shiki’s face.

She should have sensed such an attack. As an individual flowing forth from The Root, and one currently bearing a hero’s mission, fate should not have allowed her to be struck.

Yet she had still been hit.

Root Shiki turned her head. Far away, it was as if a giant beast were charging violently out of the mountains and forests.

It was so fast and so imposing that it seemed like some several-thousand-meter monster was stampeding over from beyond the foundations.

Yet in truth, there were only two hulking men under three meters tall charging forward with savage force.

The two of them continuously hacked at one another.

A massive axe-sword and an ominous pitch-black greatsword slashed into each other’s bodies again and again.

Yet they were knocked away at the surface of their bodies.

The two giants, one black and one white, possessed nearly identical presences.

Roar!

Ha!

Like copies of one another, both opened their mouths and roared at the same time.

Black magical energy became a shockwave, instantly blasting apart several hundred meters of city blocks.

On the other side, Bai Cangshu opened his mouth and roared. Amid thunderous blasts and crackling lightning, an even more violent explosive force erupted, and blood instantly flowed from the eyes and ears of the nearby Heracles.

Clearly, World-Shaking Thunder Roar could surpass the immunity threshold of Twelve Labors.

Noble Phantasm: Vortex of the Heart analysis progress for Twelve Labors has increased. Your Trait: Intermediate Adaptation has upgraded to Advanced Adaptation.

You have suffered a magical energy and sonic shockwave. You have gained additional immunity to magical energy and sonic shockwaves, negating most damage of this type.

Bai Cangshu’s punch blasted Heracles’s head backward at an angle, but such an attack could no longer kill him.

However, Bai Cangshu seized his body, ignored every obstruction, and rammed straight through the entire world.

The translucent vortex behind him grew larger and larger, resembling an enormous tail that soared into the sky.

Bai Cangshu withdrew his left hand. With Vortex of the Heart active, he did not need to see with his eyes to know that he had hit his target.

Half a crown above his head gleamed brilliantly.

Fatalism could negate the effects of Fate Aspect and Causality Law abilities. Against someone like Root Shiki, who was somewhat like a person using cheats and could know whatever she wished to know at any time, it had a restraining effect.

After activating Vortex of the Heart, not only had Bai Cangshu’s combat ability improved, but his thinking ability had improved as well.

Before activating Vortex of the Heart, he had known that he had already fallen far behind in his race with White Face to cause trouble. At the time, he had merely wanted to learn Twelve Labors first and strengthen himself.

But after fully activating it, he realized many more things.

White Face activating the Human Instrumentality Project was a better opportunity for him.

Current World Collapse Value: 378/500 (Relatively stable)

The title Villain Savior seemed to be flickering with a certain light.

Root Shiki’s existence flashed through Bai Cangshu’s mind, and he immediately broke into wild laughter.

As the chosen hero, Root Shiki might not be his opponent at all…

A hero could not inflict effective damage upon a Savior.

Rumble!

As they charged madly onward, ripple-like disturbances began appearing in the sky. Large amounts of mysterious, ancient text flickered, and then a mysterious power began to spread.

It was like a powerful mental suggestion, yet different from one. It did not carry an aggressively invasive aura; instead, it was more like water that seeped everywhere.

In an instant, it entered everyone’s hearts.

At that moment, it was as though a tiny individual soul had been cast into a vast, empty sea.

There was clearly nothing in that sea, yet it could completely contain you.

Whether it was your rage, fear, unwillingness, grievance, darkness, or even your sins, everything was bleached away and vanished with the ripples.

Large numbers of humans were flung from the houses Bai Cangshu and Heracles had smashed through, but none of them screamed in terror or became hysterical.

Each of them was incomparably calm, their faces serene. Before they even reached the ground, they turned into liquid, splashed down, and vanished without a trace.

Water had little sense of presence, and it would not react much even when faced with attacks of this kind.

Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft…

Puddles of water appeared throughout Fuyuki City, then merged together.

In the empty, void-like sea, the water grew ever more abundant.

The rain and mist in the sky had vanished at some unknown point. Perhaps it was due to Root Shiki’s earlier strike against White Face, or perhaps it had been affected by the Dead Sea Scrolls.

In the azure sky, the sunlight was no longer bright, instead turning orange-yellow.

It was as if the entire world were drawing to a close.

Drip, drip…

Bai Cangshu and Berserker were still running, but there was no longer any sensation of solid ground beneath their feet. Instead, orange-yellow liquid splashed continuously beneath the sunlight.

The entire world had fallen silent.

Bang!

With just one punch, Heracles’s head suddenly exploded.

The pitch-black giant swayed twice. The next moment, a new head had already regenerated.

Roar!

He opened his mouth and roared, unleashing an even greater eruption of magical energy. Yet Bai Cangshu merely raised a hand and blocked all the exploding magical energy before him.

Current World Collapse Value: 7800/8000 (Order has collapsed; about to return to nothingness)

Despair Salvation, passive bonus: 200% (All attributes)

It was not just physical attributes such as strength, agility, constitution, and spirit. Blazing White Satsui no Hado burned around Bai Cangshu’s body, and his energy attributes, even his charm and luck attributes, had all increased.

"Ha, hahahahahaha…"

Bai Cangshu looked at the revived Heracles without moving. He merely watched him, allowing him to gather magical energy. The next moment, a pitch-black slash erupted together with an explosion of magical energy.

Pfft!

The luminous white head that had been laughing was cut away, but after flying only several dozen meters, it transformed into luminous white radiance and returned to the body.

Noble Phantasm: Vortex of the Heart has completely analyzed Twelve Labors.

You have obtained Special Trait: Twelve Labors (?)

Bai Cangshu walked upon the orange sea. At this moment, the city had become incomparably quiet.

Only Heracles’s roars remained, along with the faint sounds of fetal movement beneath the water’s surface.

Only a very small number of people had managed to resist until now. The weakened Man-eating Flower emerged from the barrier with Illya, looked at Mercenary Tao, and shouted.

"What are you doing, Mercenary Tao? Kill White Face, now!"

Bai Cangshu shook his head and merely reached a hand toward Illya.

"Master, before you melt away, what wish do you want to fulfill?"

Illya cautiously stepped on the orange sea beneath her feet. She felt something strange.

As someone who had never been understood, as a tool destined to die, at this moment, even she seemed to be able to begin being understood.

She shook her head, then suddenly walked toward the pitch-black giant.

"Berserker, did you come to pick me up?"

The girl’s smile was flawless and innocent, yet the giant who had clearly been corrupted swayed twice and, unbelievably, left Bai Cangshu to walk toward her.

Bai Cangshu watched this scene, and an intense light appeared in his eyes. This was it!

This was something beyond the control of rules—that power, that… heart!

Bai Cangshu reached out, but Illya turned into a puddle of liquid and merged into the sea beneath her feet.

Bai Cangshu withdrew his hand. His sinister expression quickly shifted into a smile.

"I will not let you disappear like this."

"My… Master, I am… a Savior!"