The middle-aged man, who appeared as a deformed youth, exhaled deeply through his nose, his eyelids slightly drooping.
“Yes, I have never had a single happy memory in my life; I only have her. Having seen so much death and experienced so many things, it all seems to be fated.”
Black pus flowed from Xia De’s right palm.
“All mortals must die; you should understand this.”
Joey Barton’s eyes seemed to glow at that moment. Xia De had the resolve to witness a sixth epoch epic, and he also had the resolve to bring back his beloved.
“Yes, all mortals must die, and all things must end. So, if Middelburg is destroyed because of this, then it is a matter of destiny. If thousands die here, then it is their fated death.”
“In that case, Joey Barton, we are no longer friends. I will definitely stop you.”
“Mr. Watson, yes, if you want to stop me, then we are enemies! I truly admire you, but the paths we walk are not the same.”
Before he finished speaking, a black streak of light cut down from the mist. Unbeknownst to Xia De, the huge black-robed figure had already appeared in the thick mist behind Joey Barton. The death scythe descended with the posture of bringing an end to all things, even causing the surrounding mist to thin.
He held nothing back in this attack. But the black light, which seemed capable of piercing through everything, struck down, yet failed to touch the cold and solid ground in the Gap.
Xia De held up his black arm, which was already covered in pus, gripping the descending scythe tightly.
“Sorry, I am immune to instant-death attacks.”
The demonic power slowly dissolved as it touched the scythe. Eventually, Xia De was left bare-handed, holding the huge scythe. It could not bring Xia De to the end of his life, because Xia De had long understood the power of false immortality.
“All death is false to me; no one can bring me death except myself!”
Even as a Chosen One, Joey Barton could not keep the spectral figure of the Grim Reaper behind him for long. As the scythe vanished, Xia De also disappeared into the mist.
The short middle-aged man vigilantly watched the surrounding thick mist, and then, dense red light spots appeared in the mist. Upon closer inspection, they were translucent Red Butterflies, fluttering in the mist, bringing vibrant color to this black, white, and gray world.
A brilliant silver light appeared directly in front, and as that silver light bloomed, intersecting cross-shaped light streaks struck directly. A short scythe appeared in Mr. Barton's hand, and he swung his weapon with all his might. The scythe and the Silver Moon Slash collided, both disappearing simultaneously.
At the same time, the sound of wind came from above his head. Xia De, holding a sword with both hands, descended from the air. Barton had no time to counterattack and could only barely roll to dodge, but before he could stand upright, black chains had already wrapped around his feet.
As Xia De's right hand once again swelled into a huge black form, he yanked hard, and Joey Barton was flung into the air by the chains.
With the immense power of the demon, Xia De raised his right hand and swung the chains, which spun at high speed, even stirring the surrounding white mist and emitting a whooshing noise.
When Xia De felt the chains' rotation speed had reached its limit, he released the restriction on the chains' length and stopped swinging. Joey Barton, at the end of the 【Great Sin Chains】, flew like a cannonball with the chains towards the edge of the square, directly crashing into the wall of the second floor of a gray building, collapsing the building with a dull thud.
“Cough, cough~”
Before he could crawl out from under the rubble, the chains wrapped around his ankles tightened, dragging him out of the ruins again. Then a figure appeared in the air, Xia De, leaping high, reached down from above, and with a thud, pressed Joey Barton firmly to the ground with his huge right hand, leaving only his head outside the giant hand.
Priest Augustus was right; no matter how intimidating the all-death effect of the 【Grim Reaper's Scythe】 was, the Chosen One, Joey Barton, was ultimately just a Ring術士 before performing the ritual. In the dream of the Gap, where soul power was prominent and even demonic power assisted, he was no match for Xia De.
“Mr. Barton, what should leave, should leave. Forcibly bringing back those who have departed will only bring tragedy. Even if a god helps mortals escape the punishment of death, mortals must pay a huge price, and I have a very good example beside me. You are just a mortal, how do you intend to bear that price?”
Xia De’s black palm was exerting pressure little by little. Joey Barton looked at this unfamiliar young man with a distorted expression.
“But if I don’t try, how can I know the outcome? Since this damned fate made her leave, and then let me know how to bring her back, would I not try?”
His eyes were bloodshot, and black mist seeped from his pores.
“Ah~ ah!”
With a roar, dense black mist burst from his body. The sudden explosive power actually pushed open the demon's hand, even sending Xia De flying.
This was not the power of a Ring術士. From the mist, Xia De sensed a dense whisper element; this was the power of the Gap.
By the time Xia De got up, Joey Barton was slowly rising from the rubble, leaning on the ground. Then his feet left the ground, and he floated up. The Destiny Ring appeared behind him, still a single ring, but the shimmering Ling Rune was so abrupt and obvious:
whisper—【Between Life and death】.
“Such a thing can happen?”
Xia De had a premonition that something was very wrong.
“Mr. Watson, please forgive me. May you rest in peace.”
The Ling Rune 【Between Life and death】 burst forth with dazzling black-iron spiritual light. A layer of transparent water film, very difficult to observe, was rising from the surroundings, covering the area where the two were located.
Although the scenery within his sight had not changed at all, the core Ling Rune 【Time-Space】 was reminding Xia De that space was undergoing an anomaly. The whisper element was becoming denser, and the Destiny Ring behind Joey Barton, who was floating low above the ground, grew larger and larger, until it expanded to be even larger than any building in the hazy mist.
Core Ling Runes 【death】 【Flying Bird】, one-ring Ling Runes 【Cemetery】 【Spirit Summoning】 【Black Hand】 【Between Life and death】 【Music】. The seven Ling Runes were taller than Xia De, and the expanding, radiating spiritual light seemed as if it would spew out energy beams in the next moment.
“She” reminded him in a timely manner.
“Outsider, you have entered a Mystic Lock.”
“Mystic Lock?”
Xia De finally understood.
“【Between Life and death】 is his Mystic Lock? No matter how strong a Chosen One’s talent is, isn’t this too exaggerated this time?”
At this moment, it was impossible to hide his strength any longer. A corner of Xia De's Destiny Ring appeared behind him, and 【the little match girl】 and 【Kiss of the Tree】 simultaneously bloomed with spiritual light. Even as a three-ring, he could not fully use the Mystic Lock, but at least at this moment, snowflakes were falling in the Gap, and the faint rustling of tree crowns indicated the power of the Mystic Lock.
Using his incomplete Mystic Lock to counteract the opponent's power only ensured that Xia De himself was not negatively affected within the opponent's Mystic Lock.
Compared to that enormous Destiny Ring, Mr. Barton in the air was like an ant at this moment.
He extended his right index finger, and a black pillar of light shot out like an arrow. Xia De immediately dodged, and then only heard a rumble~ a dull thud, and all solid objects within a 20-foot radius were blown away along with Xia De and the fluttering snowflakes.
By the time he crawled up from the ground, spitting blood, the spot where he had just stood had become a deep pit.
He had thought it was a point-to-point attack, but it turned out to be an area strike.
“This isn't right. I'm a three-ring, even with divinity. In normal circumstances, I still can't fully activate a Mystic Lock. How did he do it? Even if his talent is amazing, where did he get so much spirit?”
Joey Barton pointed with his right hand again, and Xia De immediately pressed his right hand to the ground. Black pus gushed out, enveloping his entire body like an eggshell.
Violent Vibration accompanied by a dull explosion. The demonic power barely protected Xia De, but it still made Xia De feel as if his internal organs had been shaken. This was just a casual strike from Joey Barton, not his full power at all.
“If my perception is correct, the Gap is actively providing him with power.”
“I never thought there would be a day when I'd be pulled into a Mystic Lock by someone else. I used to be the one who did this. What do I do now?”
The demonic rune on his palm faded, and the demon's power wouldn't last much longer. Without Iluna's “Balance” to suppress the Chosen One's talent, Xia De couldn't possibly win against the opponent.
“She” chuckled softly.
“Run.”
“Run? I want to run too, but this is inside a Mystic Lock; I can't open it, oh!”
The third and fourth black light beams struck at the same time. Xia De quickly jumped high into the air, and before the explosion occurred, he used 【Raglai's Leap】 to move another ten meters higher.
It was difficult to gain leverage in the high air, and a huge black scythe descended towards Xia De's body, directly facing his face.
“Moonlight Greatsword!”
A clear yellow and a holy silver weapon appeared in his left and right hands respectively. The two weapons crossed above his head, and in the next moment, they were smashed to the ground along with Xia De.
“Joey Barton must be in the Gap to use the Gap to activate the Mystic Lock. He himself is still just a Ring術士.”
“So the best place to fight is away from the Gap? Otherwise, he can use this level of Miracle anytime?”
Xia De crawled out of the ground crack, and Miss Aurora's blurred voice came again to his ear.
“Xia De, where are you now? Why can't we hear your voice? Also, the Church has found Joey Barton's location. You should see them in a few minutes. Is it convenient to retreat now?”
“I don't think I'll have a chance to see the people from the Church. I'm in a Mystic Lock. Can you get me out of the Mystic Lock? It seems I really can't win this time.”
A more important reason was that the Night Watchman was not on him; otherwise, Xia De would fear nothing more than a Mystic Lock.
“Mystic Lock? My God, what happened? Wait five seconds!”
