Hate me, Miss Witch!

But after all, this place also harbored remnants of His own Divinity and Authority. Even a Titled Rank leader of a 6-Ring evil follower group, unless their faith was so devout that their very bodies had been transformed by the Abyss, could never hope to compete with Him in affinity.

However, at this moment, He saw a human who hadn't even reached 4-Ring obtain the Abyss's approval, allowing Shiayar to freely wield the power of the Abyss.

If He hadn't consumed Norton's memories, learning the full details of the youth's past and confirming he was a pure-blooded human, the Twilight Incarnation would probably have thought the person before Him was a newborn Evil God, just emerged from The Abyssal Depths and personally blessed by the will of the Abyss.

Shiayar's gaze silently locked onto the Twilight Incarnation before him. The Incarnation, sensing his power had been usurped, looked utterly bewildered.

He knew. This state, enhanced by "Blood of Filth" and "Dark Descendant," can't be maintained for long. Once my SAN value drops to zero, I'll probably truly transform into a "Son of the Abyss," capable only of babbling nonsense. So, I have only one chance.

"Then, let's begin."

After leaving those final words, Shiayar fell completely silent.

His originally golden pupils slowly extinguished, reverting to their pitch-black color.

And within those pitch-black eyes, light and shadow dissipated, calming the ripples of lingering thoughts.

Not just his words—even his emotions were completely sealed away.

Just as during his prior training, Shiayar sealed away the rational, contemplative side of his mind with "Moon Reading."

He completely handed over control of his body to Crimson's instinct, transmitted via the Soul Pact—a battle instinct that had evolved in Shiayar's mind from the experience of swinging a sword thousands upon thousands of times.

The soul resonance with Crimson was already complete.

At this moment, enveloped in a dusky yellow glow, Shiayar's body and spirit fused entirely with the battlefield.

The next instant, blue flames wrapped around him, bursting into a fierce conflagration.

At this moment, his Magic Power and soul boiled in unison.

"Blood Incineration."

This was an ultimate technique forged by the Silver Spirit Shiayar had named "Crimson." When young, Crimson had been cursed by filth, preventing his growth. It was a truly self-created Skill, crafted so he could, with his then-inadequate body, fight against numerous powerful enemies and even the targets of his revenge.

Even at 1st Order, Crimson could threaten Silver—who was already 3rd Order at the time—by using "Blood Incineration."

Shiayar's talents as a Beastmaster were far from inadequate; they could even be described as astonishingly brilliant. In both the quantity of his Magic Power and the quality of his soul, he far surpassed other Beastmasters of the same rank.

So, at this moment—

The body burned, the spirit incinerated.

Blood Incineration, mastered to the "Perfection" level, no longer had side effects such as shortening one's lifespan.

Indeed, quite the opposite: the potency of Blood Incineration could be further enhanced by the strength of one's will.

On the crimson one-handed sword, a pale blue flame flickered to life.

It wasn't particularly dense. Instead, several thin lines, resembling lightning yet also akin to blood vessels, entwined the crimson sword, tracing a beautiful luminous pattern.

Magic Power converged on the blade where Crimson and Silver intertwined, spiraling inward to concentrate its force.

It gathered almost all the free-roaming Abyssal power of this twilit world onto the edge of that one-handed sword.

Then, Shiayar raised that blade of blood.

It wasn't overly complicated. Compared to the flashy opening Sword Techniques of the knight students at St. Roland Academy, his opening could be described as plain and even unremarkable.

In the next instant, the sword's radiance descended towards the Twilight Incarnation.

It was the most fundamental "Slash."

The Twilight Incarnation inhabiting Norton's body came to his senses and looked up blankly.

Then, beneath the blood moon, He only saw that which occupied His entire field of vision—the blood-colored demon that seemed more evil, chaotic, and insane than He, an Evil God, did.

And then, the descending sword radiance. Though its motion was so simple it could hardly be more so, it felt as if it had been refined through a thousand trials, sealing off all His possible escape routes.

The slash descended with a thunderous sound.

The world fell silent, leaving only this bolt of blood-red lightning that pierced heaven and earth.

Immense fear surged for the first time from this ancient entity known as "Twilight."

Gods do not die, for they are the very concepts of the world itself.

Even if all the Legendary figures of the Western Continent were to gather, even if the master of the "Judgment Warrant," the Black King himself, were to descend, they could not truly kill the *concept* named "Twilight."

Even if someone, with immense might, erased every trace of Twilight Divine Power from the world, He would eventually return from the remote Astral Realm after long eons.

However, Divinity and Authority could be usurped.

Twilight would still be Twilight.

Yet, the primary consciousness holding sway over Twilight could be replaced many times.

Therefore, to preserve themselves, for any being treading the path to godhood, Divinity and Authority were of paramount importance.

They would often divide these into many portions for safekeeping, preferring self-destruction over letting them fall into others' hands. Otherwise, it would be tantamount to creating another false god to contest their own Authority.

Over a decade ago, the Twilight Incarnation had, through a moment of carelessness, allowed a part of His Divinity to be stripped away. This detached it from His main body's power, creating the key known as Silvia, and He Himself was subsequently sealed by the Brunestadt family.