Chapter 1437: Silver Lining

"No, stop—!"

Celine screamed in shock!

Once the magic power's circulation was stopped, the Deity of Gods would become a dead mountain incapable of flight!

"This is my ability," Nassaupelle replied indifferently. "Although my body isn't here, I am able to control the magic power core through the network from a distance. It did not exist in the beginning, but a construct that I worked on piece by piece after gaining the legacy. It does not require the support of talent, and will not vary from person to person. Although this network isn't comparable to the Realm of Mind now, but what about a century or a millennium later? You have to understand that I, having broken free of the shackles of a body, no longer lack time."

"Rumble..."

When the cores came to a stop, the interior of the Deity of Gods started trembling.

The soldiers garrisoned at the plaza stumbled along with the trembles and many were caught off guard and fell directly to the ground.

"The Deity of Gods is dropping from a high altitude!" Silent Disaster said solemnly.

"Damn it, what's going on?" Hackzord turned and roared at Celine. "Hey, Witch! Answer me!"

"Mask is interfering with the core instrument, we need to break his connection!"

Celine shouted multiple times but realized that the other party was unable to 'hear' her consciousness. She was able to sense the changes in the outside world, but had lost the ability to communicate with them, as though a transparent glass wall had isolated her from them.

"Your spirit is within the parent body and the carrier body outside is just an empty shell now, how can they possibly hear your warnings?" Mask said with glee. "And why do you think that it will be easy to break my connection... In my race, the position this parent body holds is similar to that of the King and the senior lords. Not only is its magic power on par with them, its body is equally as strong. Not to mention the thick Red Mist above it. It will not be easy to try and kill it. And without the spirit of the parent body, how will you control the core instrument? That is why the outcome cannot be changed."

"There are millions of lives still in the city, are you planning to bury them as well?"

"I don't understand how a Witch from the Union is actually feeling sympathy for demons." Nassaupelle ridiculed. "Regardless, they have chosen to side with that traitor, Hackzord, so they deserve death. As for the Symbiotic Demons, although it is a waste for them to be killed alongside the Deity of Gods, I just need to spend a bit of time to produce more of them. If you are thinking of ways to make me change my mind, you best have a reason that is far more convincing than that. There isn't much time left for those lowlifes outside."

This monster... how did he know that I'm from the Union? Celine was completely shocked, but she did not have the luxury of time to ponder about the minor details. "This is a God's Stone mine! If the floating island falls to the ground and crashes, Hermes and Graycastle's Western borders will be affected, are you sure that the King will not punish you for your actions?"

"Sky Lord actually went into so much detail..." Nassaupelle appeared not in the least bit concerned. "But the priority for destroying humans is higher; the King will definitely understand my plight. Since there are traitors amongst the senior lords, it is impossible not to pay a small price."

"A small price? The God's Stone mine is fundamental for the Red Mist towers! Without sufficient Red Mist, you are incapable of establishing a foothold on the Fertile Plains, how are you going to fight against the incoming Sky-sea Realm?"

"This reason is far more substantial than your previous one." Mask did not confirm or deny anything. "But you have overlooked two things. Firstly, the Symbiotic Demons' demand for Red Mist is far less than Primal and Junior Demons. And even if we are short in supply, they will not harbor any complains. Secondly, I have confidence in you humans..."

"Confidence... what do you mean?" Celine gritted her teeth and asked.

"I underestimated Ursrook's capability previously. Humans might be slow in the development of magic power, but they have astonishing achievements in other aspects. I have complete confidence that if I obtain your legacy and merge it with my techniques, dealing with Sky-sea Realm will not be a difficult task. In other words, even without the two God's Stone mine, I can still win the Battle of Divine Will."

"..." Celine realized that the demon would not change his mind regardless of what she said. He had been toying with her right from the beginning.

Just like how a hunter toyed with his prey.

Sensing that she could no longer send any messages out, Celine decided to rely on herself to stop the disaster!

"See, you no longer have time." Nassaupelle gazed into the distance. Once the magic power supporting the Deity of Gods completely disappeared, the slow descent would gradually turn into a true fall. In that situation, even the soldiers would no longer be able to stand and could only attempt to stay fixed on the ground by laying prone. "It is said that when a large mass falls, the living things standing on it will fly along with it. I wonder if I will be able to witness such a scene?"

How can I reactivate the core?

Celine forced herself to focus, knowing that Mask was not on the Deity of Gods and was only connected through the 'network'. If I can expel him from it, I can restore the magic power core back to normal!

She attempted to probe the four cores with her perception, but instantly encountered a backlash!

It was an extremely complicated mix of cyclones.

Every single Instrument of Divine Retribution were equally matched in terms of their patterns, and with their mutual influence on each other, they formed extremely dense magic power cyclones.

Just analyzing a single cyclone would require too much time, much less analyzing all four of them!

"This is true art... is it not?" Nassaupelle increased the image of the cyclones, forming a grand 'starry cyclone' structure to appear above their heads, wherein magic power interweaved with each other and dazzled brightly. "I have spent close to a century to calculate this, with two thirds of my brains constantly working on the relevant problems. The other senior lords think of me as a monster... It is truly laughable; if I had not transformed my own body and absorbed more brains, how could I realize all of this?"

Seeing the intricate cyclone of stars, Celine felt a trace of despair.

At the same time, she sensed that Mask was making use of her focus on the cores to corrode her body. But Celine didn't have the time and effort to resist; if she was unable to change anything, the Union... as well as humanity's hope would be destroyed. At that point, what difference would being taken over by someone else matter?

Quick, think of a way!

The image of Roland appeared in her head. It was this man that brought hope back to the Taquila survivors from the impossible... But very quickly, she overruled this thought. Mask's network was completely different from the Realm of Mind; it was impossible for her to receive the King's help.

How can I analyze the stars?

Thinking back when she was transforming the core instrument into the Instrument of Divine Retribution, what had she done?

An idea flashed through her mind!

She turned her head towards the 'network' abruptly. It was a technology created using the underground civilization's legacy, and those gray dots were magic cores that had not been assimilated by the magic power core.

Neverwinter has those cores as well!

Since Celine was able to connect to the Deity of Gods's central hub using the core instrument, it meant that other cores were also capable of achieving the same thing. Of course, distance was an issue, but by reverse engineering, she could make use of the central hub to initiate contact with the other cores.

What if Pasha and Alethea appeared to help her?

No, they will not be of any use... There was only one person she could count on!

The person was one of the Three Chiefs who had helped her through the calculations of the core.

Lady Eleanor.

Celine did not have the time to consider the probability of Eleanor's central carrier having lost her consciousness and the fact that she might not respond at all.

This thought was like a silver lining. Regardless of the result, she decided to grasp the opportunity!

She focused her attention onto the obelisk—

This time, she did not engage in analysis and only increased the amount of magic power!

"What are you trying to do?" Nassaupelle continued to corrode her consciousness as he asked leisurely. "Are you trying to expand the scope of the network? You don't understand... all the carriers or parent bodies that do not have spirits will not undergo any changes. Even the King has to merge with the magic power core first to control the astonishing amount of power..."

"Is that so? Coincidentally, I do know of a such a person!" Celine gave it her all and released her consciousness out through the network. "Adjust the core and turn it into balance!"

In that instant, the obelisk unleashed an undetectable hum, the violent magic power undulations caused the entire network to flicker as though it was on the verge of being extinguished. Except for a single bright light that moved towards the west.