Chapter 614: Chapter 614- Ultimate Skill- [All Scorching Inferno: God’s Ember]

The leaders all looked up in shock. Ignis Prime was the imperial capital of Draconia, the seat of the Dragon King himself. If they were being summoned there, it meant something huge must have happened.

The leaders quickly nodded. None of them questioned the order.

When the Dragon King summons you... you answer.

After everyone agreed, Thane scratched his beard and asked, "What’s the situation then? Did Blackreach Bastion fall?"

That fortress was the last defensive line against the demonic territories in the north. If it collapsed, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Aurelius shook his head.

"No."

The leaders exchanged confused glances. Aurelius deliberated for a moment within his mind, and his eyes could not help but shift toward the leader of the elves.

"It is because... the Dragon King sensed something."

At this moment, a faint breeze moved across the battlefield.

"...the pulse of the World Tree."

.

.

.

Back in the spiritual realm, Cecilia stood in the same place, bathed in the pure light of the Origin Seed. Her lips moved in a soft hymn, producing an ethereal effect that helped the seed transform.

Under her song, the shadow of the World Tree was slowly taking shape.

Of course, things rarely go as planned.

Somewhere in the spiritual space, Reinhardt stood before what seemed like a wound in space.

The reason he said that was because it neither looked like a crack nor a portal, but rather resembled a rotting wound.

The edges of the tear pulsed like torn flesh, leaking threads of thick black demonic energy that clung to the surrounding space like coagulated blood.

The corruption wrapped around the tear, clotting it and preventing the world from healing itself.

"What are... you?"

A voice distorted with malice and carrying traces of bewilderment came from inside the tear.

Reinhardt did not provide any answer. His golden eyes stayed fixed on the tear calmly.

The next second, he raised his fist and punched.

CRAAACK!!

Space shattered like glass, and the wound was torn open violently. The fracture in the space expanded, and what lay inside was finally revealed.

Reinhardt’s eyes were first drawn to the roots.

There were countless roots inside, ancient and huge. Unlike the spiritual roots spanning across this domain, the ones in front of him were the actual physical roots of the World Tree.

However, instead of being full of vitality, they were withered and rotting.

A foul stench of putrefaction filled the place. From the roots, Reinhardt’s gaze shifted toward the thing that was moving here, or rather, the thing that had made its nesting ground there.

At the center of those dying roots clung a monstrous insect.

A beetle.

However, it was no ordinary beetle. Its body was enormous, its shell jagged and malformed, layered with cracked plates of dark chitin that oozed strands of demonic tar.

Its mandibles were massive, hooked like butcher blades. Each bite it took ripped chunks from the sacred roots.

The thing was chewing, devouring the roots of the World Tree.

"So this is it, huh? The thing that had been eating away at the World Tree."

At this moment, Reinhardt came to a realization.

With his [Heaven’s Memory] that gave him the knowledge of the divine, it had always struck him as strange. Given its immense vitality, the World Tree had never revived for a thousand years.

Even if the original tree had fallen, the divine roots should have regenerated. A new tree should have been born.

But it never happened.

Now the truth was clear.

It wasn’t that the World Tree couldn’t revive, but that it was being drained.

A parasite had made its nest at the base of the roots and was constantly gnawing away at its vitality, killing it from the root.

While Reinhardt was observing the insect, the thing was also observing him. Dozens of crimson eyes that lined its grotesque head locked onto Reinhardt.

Those eyes, burning with vile intelligence, suggested that they were thinking something.

KIEEEEE!!

Suddenly, the insect shrieked. Its piercing scream shook the entire spiritual space. Vast and impossibly potent demonic energy surged out of it, and before Reinhardt’s observant eye, it began to transform.

The monstrous beetle collapsed inward, twisting and reforming until a humanoid figure stood where it had once been.

It was tall and thin. Its skin resembled layered chitin plates fused with rotting flesh. Long black claws replaced its fingers, and its eyes were the same crimson compound eyes it had when it was still in beetle form.

Chitin wings protruded from its back, and its mouth was filled with jagged mandibles.

The creature studied Reinhardt with a mocking grin.

"So you found me, huh. I must admit, I’m amazed. For a mere human to reach this place. Should I say you are amazing?"

The creature of the abyss laughed. Its eyes shifted toward the glowing holy field in the distance, where a new World Tree was slowly being born.

"So what if you managed to reach this place? What can you even do? Nothing has changed. I will..."

The creature’s mandibles clicked together. However, before it could go on another prattling session, Reinhardt cut him off.

"I’ll kill you."

For a moment, the words simply hung in the air.

Then, as if it had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world, the creature clutched its stomach and started laughing.

"Kill me? And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

Finished laughing, it shook its head in disappointment.

"It seems like I overestimated you, human. You wouldn’t have said that if you truly understood what you’re dealing with. I have been siphoning the vitality of the World Tree for over a thousand years"...

"Unless I leave this place or you find a way to separate the vast World Tree’s vitality from me, killing me is simply impossible."

As it said those words, its eyes gleamed with grotesque pride.

Reinhardt’s expression did not change. He had already seen through the creature’s abnormality through the [Eyes of Divine Clarity].

Just like the creature said, its body was brimming with endless vitality. Killing it using normal means was not possible.

That’s right, using normal means, that is.

"That’s not necessarily true."

Reinhardt calmly interrupted.

"Foolish human, can you still not grasp the meaning..."

Reinhardt was in no mood to entertain the creature any further and directly activated one of his ultimate skills.

Normal means would not work? But can Reinhardt’s powers be classified as normal?

Closing his eyes, he slowly muttered inside his heart.

[All Scorching Inferno: God’s Ember].

BADUMP...

At that moment, his heart beat loudly, and everything seemed to come to a stop.

This was only the second time he had ever used this power.

Ultimate skills not only consumed immense energy, but their usage also meant a certain degree of danger to the user.

And worse, the destruction that could be brought forth from the careless use of such skills could cause irrevocable consequences.

Normally, Reinhardt would not resort to using his ultimate skill.

However, this time was an exception.

After a thousand years of living here, the creature had completely absorbed the vitality of the World Tree. Of course, Reinhardt was confident he could kill it even without using an ultimate skill.

But doing so would require a long, grinding battle, one that would drain time and potentially risk the World Tree’s revival.

Thus, instead of taking the long route, Reinhardt decided on the most efficient means.

Erase it completely.

The moment the skill activated, as if the world had lost all color, the malignant energy, the colors... everything disappeared from the space. The world had turned monochrome.

Then, in the center of Reinhardt’s palm, a kindling of fire slowly sparked to life. Small and fragile, the colorless fire seemed almost harmless.

Yet the moment it was born, the entire world trembled.

The scene was like witnessing the first light in a dead cosmos.

Primordial and incomprehensible.

"You... what is... that?"

Witnessing the inexplicable scene and feeling a threat to its life, the demon’s eyes widened and, for the first time, it felt fear.

But it was too late.

Reinhardt flicked his finger, and the flame slowly drifted toward the demon.

Looking at the beautiful flame, so peaceful and enthralling, it seemed like it could not hurt anything. However, it was this flame that caused all the bristles on its body to tremble intensely.

The creature wanted to dodge. But in front of the flame, the laws of the world became a mess.

One second the flame was in the distance, and then the next it had already arrived in front of it.

The flame arrived and silently slipped into the creature’s body.

SILENCE~

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with a flash of light, pure white flame burst forth from the creature’s body.

These flames were different from the others. They did not possess any heat, nor could they be extinguished. But once anything came in contact with those flames, it would be incinerated until nothing remained.

[All Scorching Inferno: God’s Ember].