Chapter 417

At this very moment, in Yelia’s eyes—

They were the very source of the Secret Sea’s destruction.

Just as she was about to strike, to pass judgment upon their sins—

Kumironi suddenly stepped in front of her.

"Wait..."

"There has to be... there has to be something we haven’t understood yet."

"This... this shouldn’t be happening."

Kumironi shook her head, unwilling to accept it.

Yelia’s expression grew conflicted. She didn’t want to wait—she wanted to end this immediately.

But a hand pressed gently against the back of hers.

"Yelia... wouldn’t it be better to uncover the truth before delivering judgment?"

Kanzaki Rei looked at the pain and turmoil etched across Kumironi’s face and felt a trace of sympathy.

Even so...

This was the truth, wasn’t it?

Having long been aware of the darker undercurrents of this world, Kanzaki Rei had already formed certain suspicions.

A Church of Light that colluded with the Nest was hardly trustworthy.

And as for the other churches...

Given how birds of a feather flock together, chances were high they weren’t much better.

"There are angels here too."

Kumironi turned her gaze toward the distant angels.

Even they had fallen under Kanzaki Rei’s mental influence, their minds clouded and unsteady.

Yelia followed her gaze.

Her emotions twisted into something far more complicated.

Part of the reason she had wanted to act so quickly...

Was because of this.

She didn’t want to learn a deeper truth.

The presence of angels alongside these people had already planted a terrible suspicion in her heart.

But Kanzaki Rei’s hand held hers firmly.

It felt like an immovable slab of stone—though it rested lightly against her pale skin, she couldn’t move even a fraction.

With a subtle shift of his will—

Whoosh—

The distant angel was spatially displaced, appearing directly before Kanzaki Rei.

"Why are you here? Why are you conducting the same ritual as them?"

His tone was calm as he questioned it.

This wasn’t the only planet.

There were several others nearby—

All undergoing the same process.

And this was only what they could see.

Beyond their perception... who knew how many more existed?

The Sea Abyss was vast.

Endlessly deep.

And due to its suffocating darkness, vision was nearly useless—perception was the only reliable means of observation.

Unless one used large-scale light magic to illuminate everything.

But doing so would also be the equivalent of announcing their presence to everyone.

For now, they still retained a degree of concealment.

If they lit up the Sea Abyss, it would be as good as declaring: We’re here.

"I..."

The angel showed a flicker of resistance to Kanzaki Rei’s question.

But the pressure of his mind—

Shattered its will instantly.

On the surface, the angel merely looked dazed, slightly unfocused.

But in reality, its mental world had already been torn apart—riddled with cracks, utterly ruined.

From this moment onward, even maintaining normal thought would likely be impossible.

This was the terror of mental attacks.

Invisible.

Unavoidable.

And in a world where so few specialized in the mind—

Such attacks were devastatingly effective.

"Lord Zhuya issued a divine decree."

"We were ordered to come here... to join the followers of Life and offer everything we possess to awaken the Ocean Lord."

"Lord Zhuya personally proclaimed that our pure and noble souls could make an irreplaceable contribution to this महान cause!"

As it spoke, its expression turned fervent.

To it, this was sacred.

It knew it would be sacrificed.

Yelia clenched her teeth.

This... was the answer she least wanted to hear.

She couldn’t believe it—

And yet, deep down, she had already expected it.

She wanted to reject it—

But there was no escaping it.

Lord Zhuya... how could this be?

Aren’t angels supposed to be pure? Divine?

If sacrifices must be made, shouldn’t they serve justice?

Why awaken the Ocean Lord?

Why bring devastation to the Secret Sea?

She couldn’t understand.

"You know that if the Ocean Lord awakens, it will bring ruin to the Secret Sea—perhaps even total annihilation."

The angel nodded.

"I know."

"The awakening of the Ocean will bring destruction."

There was no hesitation in its reply.

It understood completely.

Yelia drew in a deep breath.

"...Are you finished?"

Her voice was calm—but ice-cold.

The angel bowed respectfully toward her, seemingly recognizing her as Zhuya’s successor.

"My answer is complete."

Kanzaki Rei glanced at Yelia and asked evenly,"So, Yelia... what’s your decision?"

"Looks like... they’re all enemies."

There was no hesitation left in her eyes.

"No matter what they say, I will uphold my principles."

Kanzaki Rei withdrew his hand, folding his arms calmly before him.

"Then... I won’t stop you."

In an instant—

Yelia’s gaze sharpened to a razor’s edge.

Whoosh!

A pure streak of light cut across the entire planet!

「Karmic Sinflame Stream — Fifth Form: Severing Radiance of Divided Burn」

Whoosh—

Countless streams of light surged and coiled like dragons and serpents across the planet, dancing, rising—

The entire world was cleaved apart along with the light.

In a single instant, it fractured into pieces.

The searing brilliance passed over every being present—

Slicing through bodies and faces like incandescent wires, severing and incinerating them.

Fwoosh!

Yelia’s raw strength might not surpass Kanzaki Rei’s—

But wielding a divine artifact, she slaughtered others of the same tier without suspense.

If one had to rank it—

Among everyone Kanzaki Rei had encountered, Yelia’s strength still placed her somewhere notable...

Just... toward the lower end of that spectrum.

Judgment.

Execution.

Every being on the planet was eradicated in an instant.

Then, following Kanzaki Rei’s perception, Yelia turned her gaze toward the other planets—

Nearly identical.

Almost the same in every way.

But the moment she caused such a disturbance—

Kanzaki Rei sensed it.

Presences.

Large and small.

Their awareness had already surrounded the space where they stood.

Only then did Rhein arrive, belated—

Trembling.

He shrank behind Yelia, forcing an awkward smile.

Did I... come to the wrong place? Should I not have followed Kanzaki Rei here...?

Hundreds of hostile perceptions bore down on them without concealment.

The fact that these entities could detect them at all suggested the use of specialized rituals—or the assistance of powerful observers.

Whoosh—

Boom—boom boom boom—

The air filled with the sound of rupturing space.

Powerful figures began to manifest all around them.

Not just humans.

Grotesque, unnatural monsters appeared alongside angels, hovering in the distant sky as they looked down upon Yelia and the others.

Some of the monsters even seemed intelligent—

Whispering to the angels beside them, discussing something in low voices.

"Yelia... you’ve done something quite remarkable."

Kanzaki Rei spoke casually—

But his gaze was fixed on a particular monster conversing with an angel in the distance.

That creature...

He knew it all too well.

It was Lomo—

An Eighth-Tier monster he had personally killed before.

So the angels truly were working closely with the Nest...

Cooperating seamlessly.