A Critical Moment
A black meteor streaked across the sky.
Propelled by powerful Dark Magic Power, Gideon sped through the air at high speed.
“22, 23, 24…”
Gideon kept counting in his mind. The moment he stepped into the Saint Lania Barrier, he lost all of his abilities, including his usual Demon King’s Eye.
Now, Gideon couldn’t even see his status bar and could only calculate his health by counting down.
He stared at the silver Apophis Meteor in the sky, his eyes filled with killing intent.
He didn’t understand what the Evil God’s intentions were and had no time to speculate; he only knew that if that meteor struck, Joy would be doomed.
What a joke!
Joy’s happy future had just begun, and he would never allow it to be ruined.
His goal was simple: to destroy that meteor.
Of course, he could save Joy on his own, but if he did that, Joy would probably be upset.
Joy’s wish was to return to her hometown.
She loved her hometown, where her beloved family lived, where every blade of grass and tree held her affection, and where her unforgettable past resided.
If Joy survived, but her hometown was destroyed, what kind of expression would she show?
Gideon couldn’t even imagine, nor did he want to.
Because such a thing wouldn’t happen.
The Apophis Meteor would disappear.
None of this would occur.
A meteor descending from the sky might be a catastrophic disaster for humanity, but what did that mean in front of him, a level 999 Demon King?
If he could use his skills at this moment, a single shot from his Demon King’s Annihilation Cannon would obliterate it, let alone just one meteor; he could take out ten more without a second thought.
This was the power of the strongest Demon King in history.
Even now, confined by the Saint Lania Barrier and unable to use his skills, as long as he could fly in front of the Apophis Meteor, he could still shatter it with his terrifyingly overwhelming mana.
Gideon was filled with confidence. He roughly calculated the time: a hundred seconds was enough for him to smash the meteor and then escape from the Saint Lania Barrier.
Once this was over, he would find that damn Evil God for an accounting.
But suddenly.
On the Star of Ruin, a golden light suddenly appeared, and his speed increased as well.
“Damn it!” Gideon cursed loudly, his eyes full of disbelief.
What the hell? Can meteors accelerate on their own?
What is going on?
Unfortunately, at this moment, he had lost the Demon King’s Eye and couldn’t gather any effective information.
The speed of the Star of Ruin increased rapidly, gradually surpassing Gideon.
Gideon clenched his fists, hesitated for a moment, and sighed helplessly, “There’s no choice; although it’s a bit dangerous, it must be done.”
“Dark Property Mode, activate!”
…
A cool sensation came to his lips, and a sweet warmth flowed into his stomach.
The hero weakly opened his eyes, and in his view was a dazzling mane of golden hair and purple vertical pupils.
Seeing the hero awake, Calandia slightly raised her head, and her four petals instantly parted.
“My Lord Hero, you’re awake.” Calandia wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and smiled.
“Tia…” The hero said somewhat dazedly, “What are you doing?”
“Of course, I’m healing you.” Calandia said seriously, “The restorative effect of dragon blood is very strong, you know.”
The hero replied speechlessly, “I understand the reasoning, but why not just use your hand to draw a bit of blood for me? Why use your mouth?”
“Oh, my Lord Hero is so annoying.” Calandia pouted, her face flushed as she said, “Why do you have to ask such a sensitive question? It makes me shy.”
“Hey, hey, hey, why are you looking so shyly like a love-struck girl, Tia? Others might not know, but you should know that I am a girl too!”
“What about being a girl?” Calandia proudly puffed out her chest and replied, “As long as there is love, race and gender won’t be a problem.”
“Sigh, you…” The hero sighed helplessly, patting the Holy Armor on her body, which instantly disappeared like shattered pieces of golden armor.
The evening breeze blew, and her blue and white hair fluttered, illuminated by moonlight, the hero shed her disguise and revealed her true self.
It was a beauty stunning enough to leave the heavens in awe, with skin as fair as porcelain, a perfect figure without a single flaw, and silver eyes resembling the bright moon in the sky, captivating all who beheld her.
That was a beauty at the pinnacle of the world; even the stunning Calandia faded into insignificance beside her.
“My Lord Hero is the most beautiful in the world.” Calandia smiled.
“Cut it out.” The hero shook her head helplessly, then looked up at the sky, her expression suddenly changing.
“Why is the speed of the Star of Ruin so fast!” The hero jumped up, incredulous.
“I don’t know either.” Calandia shook her head, helplessly saying, “By the time I reacted, it had already been like that.”
But just then, the system’s cold voice appeared again.
The death toll will increase from 5 million to 80 million.
The hero’s face turned pale as despair washed over her. “H-how could this be…”
The host ignored the system’s instructions and acted on their own, ultimately leading to a severe worsening of the situation.
The host must bear responsibility for the deaths of the millions.
“It’s because of me…” The hero was in a daze, unable to accept this reality.
However, as the strongest protector of the human realm for hundreds of years, the hero quickly adjusted her mindset.
Thinking of anything else now would only be pointless; she had to quickly consider whether there was another way to deal with the Star of Ruin.
She gazed at the silver meteor in the sky, her eyes gradually deepening as she thought, thought, and thought…
Only to seek that glimmer of hope.
Watching the hero deep in thought, Calandia smiled slightly.
Truly, she was My Lord Hero; even in such a desperate situation, she still refused to give up hope. She was truly the one she cherished the most.
But in the next moment.
“Boom!”
With a deafening roar, the hero’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted. She turned sharply to see Calandia transformed back into her dragon form, collapsing powerlessly to the ground.
“Tia!” The hero exclaimed, rushing to Calandia’s side.
Gazing closely, the hero saw Calandia’s dragon back was a bloody mess, the strong smell of charred flesh filling the air, causing her to quickly activate the Eye of Truth.
Holy Light Burning…
Seeing these words, the hero panicked instantly.
It was a debuff attached to the final ultimate of the Holy Sword, which caused a total of ten thousand points of continuous damage.
Damage type: true damage, dissipating not possible, and the most terrifying part was during the effect of Holy Light Burning, all life recovery methods became ineffective.
The hero created this effect to secure the kill, to prevent enemies from escaping with a sliver of health; as long as the enemy’s health dropped below ten thousand, they would undoubtedly die.
But she had never anticipated that one day this effect would apply to Calandia.
She quickly climbed down to Calandia’s dragon head, anxiously shouting, “Tia, Tia, please answer me! When Holy Light Burning took effect, did your health drop below ten thousand?”
Calandia struggled to open her dragon eyes and forced a smile, saying, “My Lord Hero, you’re joking again. I don’t have the Eye of Truth, how would I know my own health?”
The hero was dumbfounded; of course, health was a concept defined by the system. How could Tia know about health points?
Suddenly, the hero stood up and shouted, “System, health, health! Tell me, what was Tia’s health at that time?”
“Swish.”
The hero’s face went pale instantly. She knelt helplessly before Calandia, tears streaming down her face.
“Please, Tia, Tia…”
At that moment, the hero broke down, tightly hugging Calandia’s dragon head, desperately calling her name.
“System, system, think of a way!” In desperation, the hero had to ask the system for help.
Yet.
The hero’s face turned pale as she forced a smile, saying, “Haha, system, don’t do this. Although I often get on your case, I know you’re the best. Come on, tell me what can save Tia.”
“You’re angry at me, right? I was wrong, okay? Next time I’ll definitely follow your instructions, so please don’t be mad, alright?”
but no solution.
“System!” The hero’s eyes turned red as she cried out, “Please, I beg you! Save Tia!”
Hearing the system’s words, the hero stood there in a daze, her eyes vacant as if her soul had been hollowed out.
She was a hero.
Since she adopted the title of hero, she had never failed again.
She had rescued the human realm countless times, and the world revered her, admired her, and trusted her power, believing she could protect the human realm.
But this time, she had messed everything up.
Now, not to mention saving the people, she couldn’t even save her dearest friend right in front of her.
Tears flowed down the hero’s exquisite face in large drops, filling her heart with overwhelming helplessness and pain.
Suddenly, Calandia’s weak voice called out.
“Hero… quickly…”
“What did you say?” Calandia’s voice was so faint that the hero couldn’t hear her clearly. She hurriedly leaned closer to Calandia’s mouth to finally understand her words.
“My Lord Hero, run quickly! The meteor is coming!”
The hero was startled, abruptly looking up to see the Star of Ruin already within reach.
Oh, right! The speed of the Star of Ruin had increased tenfold, meaning its descent time had been reduced to one-tenth.
What used to be over two hours until impact now had less than twenty minutes left.
The hero smiled helplessly and sat down beside Calandia.
“My Lord Hero, please leave quickly…” Calandia thought the hero hadn’t heard her, so she repeated her earlier words.
“I heard you.” The hero gently stroked Calandia’s dragon head and said, “But I’ve decided not to leave. I’ll stay here with you.”
Calandia’s dragon eyes were filled with disbelief as she struggled to say, “My Lord Hero, you will die.”
“It’s okay.” The hero gently shook her head and smiled, saying, “It’s been three hundred years. I’ve been protecting the human realm for three hundred years, and I’m tired.”
The hero looked up at the sky, gazing at the silver meteor. She said softly, “Today, let the hero vanish alongside her undefeated legend.”
“My Lord Hero…” Calandia’s eyes were filled with mist.
She understood; her Lord Hero was sacrificing herself as atonement…
“My Lord Hero, you don’t need to do this. You are the guardian of the human realm for a hundred years; you are innocent, you owe nothing to anyone…”
The hero gently smiled, saying nothing, only tenderly stroking Calandia’s dragon head and silently waiting for death to arrive.
However, in the next moment.
“Boom!”
In an instant, a tremendous sound echoed across the sky.
The hero abruptly stood up, her silver eyes filled with disbelief.
The Star of Ruin had stopped…
