novelslam Chapter 480, Section 489: The Closed Loop of Fate
Chapter 480, Section 489: The Closed Loop of Fate
Chapter 480, Section 489: The Closed Loop of Fate (Part 8)
There is no specific incantation or complex magical structure.
Simply spread your five fingers, and then—gracefully clench them.
"Absolutely prohibited."
A flat syllable escaped Ian's lips. The next moment, centered on Ian, an invisible...
The "field" of absolute repulsion suddenly expanded!
This "field" is different from the "domain" that isolates him from pollution!
It is more domineering and more aggressive!
All attacks entering this "field" area, whether they are attacks from physical behemoths, acid sprays,
The entanglement of the living plants, the shrieks of the spiritual aggregates, the suction of the pollution vortex, and even the distorted light and the frantic whispers all seemed to crash into an absolutely smooth and hard wall in an instant.
They were mercilessly—bounced away, deflected, and annihilated!
No, it's not just about offsetting.
"He is black magic itself!"
Saruman watched in horror as the animated behemoth that had been the first to pounce on the edge of the "field" shimmered with runes...
The giant claw, powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, suddenly lost its runic light the moment it touched the invisible barrier. The claw itself shattered like fragile glass, and the shattering then spread throughout its entire body.
"Ahhh!" Before the enormous monster could even let out a scream, it turned into gray dust that drifted everywhere, devoid of any life or magic!
Not only that, the torrent of acid that spewed out, upon touching the "field," was as if it had hit an invisible dam. Not only could it not advance an inch, but it was also swept back by an even stronger force, splashing onto the monsters surging behind it, causing a chaotic corrosion and hissing.
The screams of the spiritual aggregate were like mud sinking into the sea.
Without causing the slightest ripple, the aggregates themselves, once they approached the "field" at a certain distance, evaporated and dissipated rapidly, like dew under the sun.
The pollution vortex seemed to have met its nemesis; its ominous suction instantly failed, and the vortex itself twisted, dissipated, and turned back into harmless mist that was repelled far away.
"The ultimate version of 'All Curses End,' Avada Kedavra, take the blame for this again, Avada Kedavra, all curses end." It was indeed mixed with dark magic, so Ian became cautious again.
of course.
The two young ancient people couldn't understand his little scheme.
In Saruman and Kag's eyes, Ian's simple action and single word drew an insurmountable line of death around him! Any attack, regardless of its form or intensity, would be absolutely and mercilessly wiped out once it entered this "forbidden" area!
This is not over yet.
Seemingly finding this passive defense somewhat troublesome, a tiny, almost imperceptible hint of annoyance, like seeing a fly buzzing incessantly, finally flashed across Ian's cold eyes.
He maintained the open "forbidden" field with his left hand, continued analyzing the magic circle with his right hand, and began chanting another incantation.
This time, the incantation was more ancient and obscure, and every note uttered made the surrounding air tremble, as if it resonated with some deeper cosmic law.
"The Law of All Things Returning to Stillness"
As he chanted, he pressed his left hand, which was maintaining the "forbidden" area, down slightly.
boom-!
An even greater and more irresistible force of "decay" spread rapidly in all directions from him, like invisible ripples of death!
This "decay" is completely different from the "decay" that came with a wave of the hand before. It is slower, yet more thorough, as if chanting the ultimate fate of all things to eventually perish.
Where the ripples passed.
Whether it's the monster that has just risen from the ground, the spiritual aggregate that emerges from the shadows, the polluted mist drifting in the air, the distorted light, or even the writhing, pulsating dark red patterns on the ground—
Everything possessing the qualities of "activity," "madness," and "pollution" was losing its color, its vitality, and its "meaning" at a visible rate. Monsters stood frozen in place, rapidly drying up, weathering, and turning into dust; spiritual aggregates vanished silently, as if they had never existed; polluting mist was purified and dissipated.
The vibrant patterns on the ground turned gray and lifeless, returning to cold stone.
The entire plaza, and a considerable area surrounding it, seemed to be subjected to the highest level of "purification" and "death" effects under the sweeping ripples of the "law of the return of all things to stillness." All madness and pollution were forcibly suppressed and erased, leaving only an absolute, deathly silence where even whispers had vanished.
"Oh my god! He must be the kind of wizard who can hunt down gods!"
Kag now firmly believes this.
Saruman was also stunned and speechless.
R'lyeh's surging counterattack seemed utterly laughable and futile under the crushing force of absolute power and rules. Its expendable army didn't even require Ian Prince to expend a single extra second of his attention, being easily wiped out while he was simultaneously analyzing the magic circle.
This power.
It's something to aspire to.
It also feels like a dream.
Saruman and Kag watched in stunned silence. They had expected a hard-fought war of attrition, to see the legend gradually show signs of fatigue under the relentless onslaught.
However, reality delivered an even harsher slap in the face. This wasn't a waste of time at all; it was still—a one-sided and outrageously efficient cleanup operation.
The young legend didn't even actually "make a move," he merely maintained a defensive field, recited a spell, and then vanished from R'lyeh's planned offensive.
The boy's mastery of magic, his understanding of the rules, and his control of the rhythm of battle had reached a level they could not even imagine.
The so-called "human wave tactics" and "attack tactics" seem like a joke in the face of such an existence. R'lyeh's mad will also seemed to freeze briefly in the face of these successive defeats. Only the starlight trails flowing from Ian Prince's fingertips and the lingering echoes of his deep, ancient chant remained in the square.
As the young Saruman watched the black figure, still focused on its work in absolute silence, an unprecedented thought, like a cold, venomous snake, burrowed into his heart:
Perhaps—R'lyeh, or rather the sleeping "Cthulhu," doesn't lack the desire to use more powerful methods, but rather—under the threat of the young legend, the "methods" He can mobilize have reached a certain limit?
Or rather, facing such a legend who is completely immune to pollution, wields extreme rules of destruction, and has a clear purpose: to "kill" Him.
In its dormant state, it surprisingly seemed somewhat—ineffective in coping?
"Was it really a hunt?"
The idea sent a chill down Saruman's spine, making him feel a sense of absurdity.
If even the Great Old Ones mentioned on the stone tablet could be forced to this point by a legendary fifteen-year-old boy, then just how terrifying is the power of this mysterious young legend?
of course.
Besides, Saruman couldn't help but wonder what Cthulhu, whom the other party said he would "kill while he was weak," would be like in his prime.
The mystery grew larger and larger like a snowball, and what role could these two insignificant "observers" play in this increasingly incomprehensible game?
"I think he is our hope."
The karst opening.
"Perhaps."
Saruman couldn't bring himself to mention just how dark a black wizard the other party had become.
They were afraid of frightening their companions.
Moreover.
Faced with an absolute gap.
They seem to have no choice but to continue hiding and witnessing.
This space.
There were a few moments when it was relatively quiet.
however.
R'lyeh's brief pause was not a retreat, but a deeper sense of oppression before the storm. The successive failures, the annihilation of the derivative legion, the ineffectiveness of the pollution and erosion, and even the ripples containing a portion of the Law of Nirvana, failed to shake the target in the slightest—all of this was like countless cold needles.
It pierced the colossal will that slumbered in the deepest recesses of the city, in the cracks between dreams and reality. Anger, a silent rage that was enough to shake the very foundations of this distorted spacetime, gathered like a super tsunami brewing on the seabed, in every stone, every breath of air, and every shadow in R'lyeh.
This time, no new monsters emerged from the ground or the void. Instead, the entire environment became "activated" and hostility surged dramatically.
The buildings surrounding the square, those green boulders with non-Euclidean geometric structures, began to ooze more viscous liquid. This liquid gathered and flowed as if it were alive, making a "rustling" sound like billions of tiny creatures crawling. In the dim light, the outlines of the buildings seemed to slowly writhe and deform, as if a giant beast was stretching its limbs that had been dormant for countless years, and the shadows it cast became even more ferocious, like gaping maws ready to devour someone.
The eternal whisper in the air suddenly intensified, transforming into a continuous murmur mixed with resentment.
A cacophony of curses, insane temptations, and blasphemous attacks directly assaulted the conscious defenses of all intelligent beings.
"Oh! Not again?"
Well, how should I put it?
It's still the same old thing.
However, the strength has been improved considerably.
Saruman felt his "mental barrier" crumbling in this mental storm, and he even began to experience clear auditory hallucinations, with voices tempting him to give up his resistance and merge into this eternal madness.
Go and understand that "ultimate truth".
Even more terrifying is the spatial anomaly. The already chaotic spatial structure has become even more unstable. Objects in the field of vision begin to appear double and distorted, the sense of distance completely fails, a stone pillar that is close at hand may suddenly become out of reach, and the shadow of a distant building seems like it will pounce on your face at any moment.
The sensation of the ground beneath one's feet became unpredictable, sometimes feeling like hard stone, sometimes like soft, slippery mud, and occasionally even giving the illusion of being gently pulled by something.
"I hate myself!" A terrifying feeling of being hated, rejected, and oppressed by the entire "world" enveloped Saruman and Kag. They felt no longer as simple intruders, but as "germs" to be eradicated by the living, hostile city itself.
R'lyeh appears to have abandoned attempts to create concrete "soldiers".
Instead, they mobilized the power of the entire environment, attempting to use pure "malice" and "chaos" to completely crush and assimilate all outsiders, including Ian, on both physical and mental levels.
However, Ian Prince, who was at the very center of this vortex of malice and was bearing the most direct hostility from his environment, reacted in a way that made Saruman almost doubt his own eyes.
Ian didn't even glance up at the increasingly terrifying scene around him, nor did he make any additional defensive stance against the mental storm that was almost tangible. His "domain" remained as stable as ever, repelling all pollution, whispers, spatial distortions, and physical malice.
Ian felt as if he were inside an absolutely quiet and stable transparent bubble. The turbulent waves outside were nothing more than a silent play watched through glass to him.
His entire focus remained on the magic circle beneath his feet.
The energy network diagram outlined by the starlight trajectory is almost complete, and the matching of the three-dimensional runes and the energy nodes of the array diagram has entered the final stage.
"He must be threatening that ancient being now!" Saruman could see that Ian's fingertips would occasionally tremble very slightly. With each tremor, a three-dimensional rune would be precisely embedded in a key vortex of the array, causing a faint but clear spatial ripple.
The opponent's movements were steady, precise, and efficient, without a single wasted movement, and without the slightest hesitation or panic in the face of any external changes. That focus, that composure that seemed to completely "shield" the terrifying, world-destroying scene around him, filled Saruman with an almost desperate sense of admiration and—fear.
How strong must one's heart be, how absolute must one's self-confidence be, to remain calm in such an environment as if conducting research in one's own laboratory?
A message came through Kag's mental link, trembling with disbelief: "He—he really doesn't care at all? This city—it looks like it's coming to life and devouring us!"
Saruman responded bitterly, "Perhaps—in his eyes, R'lyeh's anger at this moment" is "no different in essence from the previous harassment; neither is enough to pose a real threat." His target has always been clear: that magic circle. Everything else is—dispersion.
Just then, Ian stopped moving.
The last and most complex three-dimensional rune floating in front of him slowly rotated, aligning itself with the largest, distorted star-shaped symbol at the center of the magic circle.
"Done!"
A faint glimmer of light, as if confirming something, flashed in Ian's eyes.
Then, he raised both hands, his left hand resting lightly above the star symbol, while his right hand made a complex gesture, like turning an invisible key. His lips moved slightly, and a very short incantation, seemingly containing the power to pry open time and space, was uttered clearly and calmly.
"Use the position of the stars as the key, and the gap in dreams as the door—open."
of course.
Ian definitely doesn't have these things.
But just because he doesn't have it doesn't prevent him from using it.
To know.
Wizards are a species that makes the impossible possible.
So what if I don't have the key, or the Dream Gap? I can just pretend I do, and that's enough to deceive reality. As for whether this is unreasonable or not...
Go tell my wizard, I use my power of thought!
Ian is very much in line with the wizard's established rules.