Chapter 356: Trump Cards (3)
Yue stood before the Goddess, chin raised high, ruby eyes glinting like sharpened blades.
Above her, divinity descended in all its suffocating grandeur.
Hyades floated amidst the heavens while inhabiting the body of Ellahan, one of Yue’s closest friends.
Immaculate wings of white-gold unfurled behind her, each feather radiating holy brilliance capable of purifying entire armies. A halo spun above her head like a miniature sun, casting ripples of sacred light across the battlefield.
White robes woven with jade and gold fluttered around her divine form, embroidered with celestial runes that bent mana itself into submission.
Every movement screamed superiority. Every breath declared her untouchable.
And Yue hated every second of it.
She clicked her tongue and cupped a hand around her mouth.
"Hey, pigeon! Why don’t you stop flapping around up there and come down here already?"
The angels behind Hyades erupted into outrage.
"How insolent!"
"Blasphemy!"
"She dares mock the Goddess?!"
Former bishops, saints, and holy knights trembled with fury. To them, Hyades was existence itself—the supreme being who governed heaven and earth. Yet Yue spoke to her like a street thug provoking a rival in an alleyway.
Many of them instinctively reached for their weapons, desperate to erase Yue from existence.
But Hyades did not move.
And so neither did they.
Yue noticed the lack of reaction and scoffed.
"Hyades... you really love acting holier than thou, huh?" Her smile sharpened. "You invited the Demons into our world. Millions died because of you. And now you descend from Heaven pretending to be some righteous saviour?"
"Forgive you?" Yue sneered. "You think anyone will ever forgive you?"
At last, Hyades reacted. One elegant brow lifted ever so slightly.
"Forgive?"
Her voice echoed softly across the battlefield, yet the single word carried enough divine authority to make the air tremble. Amusement flickered in her pale emerald eyes.
Since time immemorial, Hyades had witnessed countless civilisations rise and collapse beneath the tides of time.
The reign of the Titans. The uprising of the Dragons. And finally... the dawn of humanity.
The cycle always repeated itself.
A species would gain power, mistake it for destiny, and attempt to reach Heaven itself.
And every single time... They failed.
Because she existed.
Hyades—the absolute God.
The transcendent being who stands above all.
She was the balance of the world.
The chain that restrained chaos.
The hand that maintained order, no matter the cost.
Even if trillions perished. Even if entire races vanished into extinction. None of it mattered to her.
Only the continuation of the world mattered.
And above all else... That she remained the one ruling it.
"How naive," Hyades murmured, gazing at Yue as one might observe a stubborn child. "Poor human... do you truly believe your existence occupies even a fraction of my thoughts?"
Had Yue not been her enemy, Hyades might have found her entertaining. Adorable, even. But the Goddess had not descended to debate philosophy.
"I will admit," Hyades continued calmly, "you have exceeded expectations. To think you would force me to descend from Heaven personally..."
Her eyes turned cold.
"But this is where your story ends."
The moment her divinity spread outward... the world broke.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The entirety of Solfea shook violently. Castle spires collapsed. Fortress walls split apart. Mountains cracked open as colossal fissures spread across the land like scars upon reality itself.
Then something emerged.
A gargantuan emerald tree erupted from beneath the earth.
Its roots burst upward like divine serpents, impaling demons, knights, and even angels unfortunate enough to stand in their path. Entire districts were obliterated as the roots spread endlessly beneath the battlefield.
Its trunk pierced the clouds. Its branches swallowed the heavens. Its canopy eclipsed the sky itself.
The sheer scale of it defied comprehension.
It was larger than mountains. Larger than kingdoms. An ancient divine existence overflowing with enough mana and divinity to drown the world several times over.
Even Yue froze for half a second.
The pressure was unreal. Her skin trembled. Her bones groaned.
Even Origin’s power within her recoiled instinctively before the overwhelming authority of the divine tree. This was not power meant for a single being.
And Hyades stood at its centre like the ruler of creation itself.
The Goddess looked down upon Yue with merciless indifference.
"You will die today."
The divine tree pulsed.
Immediately, torrents of sacred energy flooded the angels behind Hyades. Their bodies transformed instantly. Armour became radiant. Eyes glowed gold. Holy sigils branded themselves upon their flesh as their auras skyrocketed to terrifying levels.
Some laughed in ecstasy as they bathed in divine power.
Others collapsed, vomiting as their mortal bodies struggled to contain the blessings flooding into them.
But all of them became monsters.
Hyades was no longer holding back.
"Annihilate everything," she ordered coldly. "Leave nothing alive."
"FOR THE GODDESS!"
The angels descended like divine executioners. Spears of holy light rained upon the battlefield. Humans died. Demons died. The angels slaughtered indiscriminately, caring only for Hyades’s will.
Yet amidst the chaos, Yue smiled. Not nervously. Not desperately. Confidently.
"From the moment you descended..." she whispered, "I’ve been preparing for this."
She raised both arms toward the heavens.
"Come out!"
BOOOOM!!!
The Spirit Gate exploded open behind her as Origin’s power surged through reality itself.
One after another, colossal presences emerged.
Yaru, the Mist Spider.
Anima, the Rainbow Butterfly.
Ceres, the Cloud Qilin.
Vaelrix, the Infernal Kitsune.
Nyssara, the Shadow Revenant.
Kaethon, the Stone Sentinel.
Serilune, the Tidal Mermaid.
Lysara, the Void Seraph.
Viridane, the Verdant Elk.
Eirnaya, the Glacial Fenrir.
Vorthal, the Iron Lion.
Oristhal, the Starforged Whale.
Every Monarch-tier Spirit descended onto the battlefield, their combined presence twisting the surrounding mana into storms of elemental destruction. And finally...
ROOOOOOOOOAR!!!
A dragon’s roar shook heaven itself.
A massive golden dragon emerged from the Spirit Gate.
No... Massive was an understatement.
It was the size of a mountain range. Its golden scales shone brighter than the sun while divine flames poured endlessly from the gaps between them. Ancient draconic runes burned across its body like living stars. The moment it appeared, every Solaris bloodline reacted.
Knights froze mid-battle. Mana surged wildly through their veins. Something ancient and primal awakened within them.
Even Alrock and the other Commanders struggled to resist the overwhelming urge to kneel.
Because that dragon was more than their progenitor. More than the origin of their bloodline. It possessed something beyond mortal comprehension.
Divinity.
One of the greatest dragons in history.
The monster that ended the Titan Age.
The first dragon to ascend into the new pantheon.
Yval.
The former Golden Dragon Progenitor and... the new Dragon Goddess.
Ever since escaping the Necropolis of the Gods, Yue had hidden Yval from the world, feeding her divinity in secret and nurturing her strength for one purpose alone... To become the blade aimed directly at Hyades’s throat.
"Sister Yval!" Yue shouted. "Burn that tree to ashes!"
"Heh... working this one to death already?"
Yval grinned viciously.
Golden flames gathered inside her maw. The energy condensed so intensely that space itself distorted around it. Then...
A beam of solar dragonfire erupted across the battlefield. It resembled a newborn sun. The breath slammed directly into the divine tree, vaporising everything in its path before tearing a massive hole through the trunk itself.
Golden flames spread instantly. They devoured roots. Branches. Leaves. Even divinity itself burned beneath Yval’s fire.
The angels cried out in shock as their blessings weakened.
Then Yval spread her wings and transformed into a blazing golden sun before crashing directly into the canopy.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The heavens ignited.
Entire sections of the divine tree disintegrated into ash, revealing the pale blue sky hidden behind its suffocating branches. It was as if the gateway to Heaven had been revealed once more.
Immediately, the pressure crushing the Solaris Knights weakened drastically.
Without the tree functioning properly, the angels could no longer channel Hyades’s endless authority.
Meanwhile, Yval’s divine aura surged across the battlefield and resonated with every Solaris bloodline. The knights roared. Their mana purified. Their exhaustion vanished.
Fear disappeared entirely.
With hardened resolve, the Solaris Knights charged once more—fighting demons and angels alike with renewed fury.
Yval descended from the sky and unleashed another earth-shaking roar.
The battlefield answered her.
And through all of it, Hyades remained silent. Her emotionless gaze settled upon Yue once more.
"So," the Goddess said coldly, "that is your trump card?"
Yue laughed.
"You have no idea."
Origin merged with her body. Divine energy exploded outward as ethereal clouds wrapped around her like celestial robes. Her hair flowed like starlight while ancient spirit sigils illuminated her skin. In that moment, Yue resembled a newly ascended deity.
A Spirit Goddess born from rebellion itself.
She pointed toward Hyades with fearless defiance.
"Your era is over, Hyades." The battlefield trembled. "We are the ones who will create the new pantheon."
Her ruby eyes blazed brighter than the heavens.
"And this time..." A smile spread across her face. "You can’t stop it."
"..."
Hyades paused for a good moment before finally showing an expression that a divine being who stood at the pinnacle should never have... rage.
Holy power surged within her veins as she declared with a derisive snort.
"Watch me."
