Clockwork Bride

Page 195

Angela shook her head, a look of pity on her face.

“You’ve really misunderstood a lot, but I have no intention of hurting you. After all, you’ve already brought enough pain upon yourself. But you must stop and leave here immediately. This is your only…last chance.”

Clearly, Darkmoon didn't appreciate this pity. She immediately unleashed two more moonlight swords, but Angela once again invoked the authority of the name "Hecate," effectively blocking their power.

During this process, the nameless god grew increasingly alarmed—while her attacks were powerful, they struggled to completely penetrate Angela's defenses. The excess power could only slightly damage Angela's mechanical body at best. Although she could win by fighting for a few more minutes, she clearly couldn't afford to drag it out for even a few more.

At the same time, Darkmoon could also sense something in the air. She could perceive a new power gathering in the realm of this great project, yet it was more bizarre than the most advanced arcane magic, almost entirely incomprehensible except for its strangeness and the power it possessed. This power had previously gathered very slowly, but now it was accelerating.

"time up."

Just as this power reached its peak, Angela suddenly leaped away.

From behind her, the fallen angel "Abigail Hecate" has emerged like a butterfly, reborn from the ashes, and unleashed a vengeful flame toward the nameless dark moon!

218: Neo Hecate vs. True Hecate

Abigail Hecate's power is overflowing.

The power of her flames was so great that it brought the surrounding battlefield to a white-hot melting point, instantly turning all the sand and gravel within a mile radius into liquid glass, demonstrating just how terrifying its power was.

This all-out attack was as powerful as a volcanic eruption, with lava flowing out in a single, overwhelming burst, and the attack continued to overflow endlessly.

Where does her amazing power come from?

As an Old Goddess and a fallen angel, Hecate indeed possesses the power of fire. Volcanoes are a natural aspect connecting the underworld (the underground) and the human world, perfectly aligning with Hecate's attributes across the three realms. Furthermore, she is a capricious dark goddess who, even on moonless nights, raises torches and lamps to guide those she loves. She is also quite capricious among the Old Gods, thus exhibiting a strong multifaceted nature.

When the nameless goddess separated the name "Hecate," she also had to relinquish some of her own attributes as an ancient god. Now, Abigail Hecate's primary power is the fire of nature.

Volcanoes and lava, as well as natural fires caused by lightning and forest fires, are all fiery sparks flickering in nature, representing the primal power of destruction and regeneration, and should not be underestimated. Moreover, fire is also a source of wisdom.

But this is merely an "attribute," unrelated to the source of energy. That's why the nameless Dark Moon is now astonished. Even this demon god, who has observed fate and been adept at scheming for millennia, is now taken aback by the sight before him!

[Where did you get this energy?! I should have completely drained you, stripped you bare, even your shell! Forget fighting, you should be living a life worse than death right now, possessing only an immortal body, in a state similar to Terasque!]

The nameless Dark Moon was completely confused and shocked, even forgetting that he should prioritize dealing with Hayden.

Her current situation is like she just took all the cash and assets from her previous company, leaving nothing but an empty shell with only a name. But in the blink of an eye—really just a moment—everything that was taken from the company has been restored.

Moreover, this is not "taking it back", because the Dark Moon Goddess's energy is not diminished at all.

Instead, it was "replenished" in an instant.

In fact, Abigail Hecate's current power is almost exactly the same as that of "Hecate" before she swung her sword and cut through the enemy lines!

Where did all this energy come from? Did Hayden infuse it into her through a great project? But even if that were the case, it would take time and a process; it couldn't be processed in an instant. Because angels, even fallen angels, are not completely compatible with the energy of this material world; their conversion efficiency is very poor. Abigail Hecate is now a fallen angel; she cannot replenish her energy and completely repair herself in an instant.

unless……

...And so it was only at this moment that the nameless Dark Moon finally realized the truth.

Looking at Angela standing behind Abigail Hecate, she finally realized what a complete idiot she was.

You—you are not a fallen angel at all!

Angela tilted her head innocently—when did I ever say I was a fallen angel?

"You dare to lose focus while fighting me? I'm the person who knows you best!"

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Abigail Hecate channeled her will and immediately unleashed even more blazing fire power. Endless flames surged from her fiery hair, rushing towards the nameless dark moon, sizzling and crackling the black light protecting it like roasting meat.

Don't you dare mess with me! You think you can beat me just because you picked up something I didn't want?

The nameless god, both anxious and furious, immediately unleashed his divine power, radiating countless beams of cold, eerie blue moonlight. The icy chill of the universe and the heat of the earth began to collide in this isolated underwater space.

In truth, Darkmoon wasn't wrong. Even if Abigail Hecate possessed her fighting strength before her self-inflicted injury, she still couldn't compare to the Nameless God, whose power had surged five or ten times. The reason Darkmoon was momentarily stunned was essentially because she was initially taken aback. In a head-on clash, the Goddess Darkmoon was undoubtedly stronger.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be pointless for her to cut herself with a knife?

Therefore, under the collision of hot and cold, Abigail Hecate's flames began to be gradually overwhelmed by the cosmic cold, and cold sweat began to appear on the witch's forehead.

"Hayden, you can't possibly be planning to let me deal with her alone, can you!?"

In a moment of panic, Abigail also quickly called out.

"You must have other tricks up your sleeve, right?"

At the same time, Hayden also staggered to his feet. He had just improvised a powerful spell that he had never tested before, relying solely on intuition, and it had taken a toll on him. But he was still quite happy at the moment.

Because he had succeeded. He had successfully modified the program of the Great Project, inscribing a new name on Abigail Hecate's soul through the blood connection, and also infusing her with Angela's secret fire through that connection.

Angela's secret fire can heal all wounds, eliminate all pain, quench all thirst, and wipe away all tears.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

So Hayden couldn't help but laugh. He covered his face, unable to contain himself any longer. His success this time was like winning a signpost on the road to the future. Compared to the impending defeat of the nameless Dark Moon, the latter was nothing at all.

"of course?"

He wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, then smiled again.

"I couldn't continue beating this nameless god with the ritual of the Great Project just now because she relinquished her name, and the program lost its target. But you have now regained that name."

In other words, the most advanced arcane arts have now found a new object to exert their influence in this ritual space.

Neither Abigail Hecate nor the nameless goddess were fools. They both immediately grasped the implication of Hayden's words.

The superpower that was originally meant to beat people up can no longer be used to target the nameless goddess, but can only be used to target Abigail Hecate... But who said it could only be used to beat people up?

So Hayden waved his hand gently, and the ritual of the Great Project immediately unleashed the same vast and terrifying power as before, but instead of using it for attack, it merged into Abigail Hecate's flames. In an instant, her flames underwent an incredible transformation, increasing in size by more than tenfold.

The flames, now a fire that would burn the earth to the ground and bring new life, illuminated all directions. With each flicker of the flames, the entire seabed turned crimson, distorting space itself as if it were about to collapse. Moreover, the flames danced around Abigail Hecate, seemingly praising this fallen deity's return to the right path.

With the amplification provided by the great project, the power of her flames increased exponentially.

As for the nameless dark moon's complexion... although she was originally fair-skinned, it was now indescribably ugly.

“I told you long ago, the nameless god.”

Hayden said with a smile,

"Even if I can't catch you, I can still catch a silly witch who has drunk my blood."

Abigail immediately retorted, "Who are you calling a silly witch?"

But at the same time, she also hurled a fireball the size of a mountain at the Goddess of the Dark Moon!

219: My Lifelong Pursuit

The outcome has been decided.

Just as Abigail Hecate hurled the mountain-sized fireball at the Dark Moon's head, the latter—this nameless god—realized that she had been defeated.

The power of this Heaven-Burning Divine Fire surged upwards, becoming ten times its original strength. It not only shattered her cosmic cold light, but its power was so great that it even burned and shook space itself, creating cracks.

If the nameless Dark Moon, who has lost the immortality of a fallen angel, were to be hit by such an attack, he would certainly die.

Abigail Hecate's flames had already bitten into her body. As a fallen angel, or even a fallen angel who had abandoned her angelic identity, when the Nameless Dark Moon chose to take on a fixed physical body in this material spacetime, she was destined to be subject to the laws of the world that would govern this body.

Ugh

Death—there is nothing there but cold, loneliness, and darkness, absolutely nothing.

She didn't want to think too much, but as she faced death, memories became an uncontrollable thing. In this extreme pain, as she was about to fall into the endless darkness of death, this god, who had even abandoned her name, unconsciously began to think about her failures, her life, and her suffering.

failure

If it was merely a loss to Abigail Hecate, a loss to her former self… then, though still utterly ridiculous, the Nameless Darkmoon would accept it. Long, long ago, in the ancient Bronze Age, she was already a great warrior, and she knew the rules of battle very well. To lose in such a battle and then stubbornly refuse to admit it was indeed a bit unreasonable.

But she didn't lose in a fair fight this time. If Hayden hadn't used the ritual of the Great Engineering to amplify Abigail Hecate's flames, the Nameless Darkmoon would certainly have won. After all, her energy was ten times stronger than the former's, and she would never have lost in a normal battle.

So in reality, she lost to the industrial arcane arts of the modern new gods.

And this is the second time.

This is essentially the same thing as her defeat, capture, and sealing away in the great war four hundred years ago. She wasn't defeated in a brilliant duel, nor by a warrior who deserved victory, but by a group of weak and despicable people who relied on gathering crowds to play petty tricks and using industrial methods to fight for themselves.

This was a disgrace and a source of pain for her.

...That being said, if it were only this kind of humiliation, the nameless Dark Moon could probably endure it. No matter how despicable the enemy, a true warrior sometimes has to admit defeat. A true warrior can take it and leave it; if he loses a battle, he must accept the reality.

Even if the new gods are despicable, there's nothing we can do. Let them enjoy the world they've brought with their victory.

Originally, the Goddess of the Dark Moon would probably have thought this way, and then, though unwilling, she would have conceded defeat.

...However, besides Abigail Hecate and the despicable Hayden, there was an additional factor, a key factor that the nameless goddess could not tolerate and that prevented her from obediently dying.

That's the thing called "Angela".

嘿

The mere thought of that thing caused a surge of anger and resentment to rise again in Dark Moon's heart, which was on the verge of death.

For over four hundred years after being defeated and sealed away by the new gods, she had been constantly pondering why she and her people had been defeated, why they had lost to a new god who was merely a mortal. Countless times, she recalled her defeat, remembered her mistakes, and considered the wiser actions she could have taken.

In the end, she realized that she had been careless.

Because the feudal gods had gained overwhelming power, they became careless and unprepared for mortals. Her conclusion was that the old feudal rulers were defeated by the new capitalist gods because of their carelessness and arrogance.

Because of arrogance and carelessness, we failed to notice the rapid development of the bourgeoisie, and that's why we lost. Although it's shameful, it's a mistake that can be corrected.

If there were better intelligence methods, or if the future could be better predicted and destiny controlled from the beginning, the old gods would not have been overthrown and ruled by mortals. In any case, they could have prevented the bourgeoisie from developing any new technologies in advance.

Therefore, Dark Moon spent countless years within the seal calculating, pondering, and painstakingly divining her fate. After escaping the seal and returning to the prison, she implemented the plan she had conceived in prison—a plan that would allow her to break free from her destiny. If she failed on this path, it would be a failure in her challenge to fate. Though regrettable, it was not shameful.

She had always thought so, until just now—until she saw that "Angela" just now, the nameless Dark Moon suddenly realized how insidious and cruel fate truly was.

Challenge fate? Bah!

She never even stood on the players' bench!

Even a fully healed Fallen Angel couldn't instantly repair another broken Fallen Angel, let alone fully replenish its energy. An endless overflow, boundless energy… this was enough for Dark Moon to realize the other's identity.

Only a messenger sent by the supreme destiny could possibly accomplish such a thing.

...Then what kind of challenge to fate is this?!

If fate can intervene itself and even cheat, what's the point of fighting?

My whole life, my struggles—all lost!! I gained nothing!

Am I just a clown? A performance for that damned Supreme Being?

Once I start thinking like this, I feel particularly upset and resentful.

The humiliation of being defeated and killed is bearable, but being made a clown is something I cannot tolerate.

To hell with fate! To hell with fate!!

But she was about to die. She was about to disappear, like the debris of a shipwreck sinking into the deep sea.

She could only slowly sink, sinking into the darkness of the seabed and the earth.

Then, cold, death, and loneliness engulfed her.

……

.........

…………

……………?

She didn't know how long she had been in the chilling cold of death when she finally sensed something was amiss.

If death is nothing but endless loneliness, cold and darkness, then... why is it that she can sense something like a "neighbor" in this midst of death?

What exactly is this "neighbor"?

Out of curiosity, she stretched out her last bit of consciousness to investigate. And after finally figuring out what it was, she couldn't help but chuckle.

(Hahaha...hahahaha! Hahahahahaha!!)

Laughter, the nameless dark moon laughed wildly incessantly in this abyss.

(I never imagined there would be something like this on the seabed besides the fragments of the divine sword... Was it something Peacock and the others made back then? Haha... Hahaha! I can't believe it!)

This thing is dead, and it doesn't have any physical body at all; it's just a stillborn fetus that was never born.

But the Goddess of the Dark Moon was clever. She immediately realized—that brat Hayden had disrupted spacetime here with the highest level of arcane rituals. If used properly, even death could be reversed into life.

But she had just been defeated by Hayden. Even if she were to be resurrected, would she be confident of turning the tide? Or was what she was about to do merely a desperate act of desperation in order to survive?

No.