The sudden appearance of the main system caught everyone off guard. It seemed to indiscriminately include everyone within its attack range.
“It looks like the main system has classified you as well as threats,” Li Xi remarked with schadenfreude.
“After all, it’s just a machine. It can’t be helped,” Hest said with a smile, tapping his foot on the ground and floating up again. “Things have gotten more interesting.”
The fight had seemingly shifted focus from protecting the main system. Given the twins’ pursuit of amusement, Li Xi wasn’t surprised.
After the underground power surge, there was a brief silence. Suddenly, a faint light illuminated the entire ground. Within this light, a vague shadow appeared in midair.
It was a small silver object, about half the size of a man’s palm, thin and cubic.
“Is this the system?” Li Xi found it peculiar. “It’s so small yet capable of so much.”
Without the light, Li Xi might have mistaken it for a peculiar piece of metal.
“It looks like it, but it’s just a projection,” Hewlett said.
They paused their fight, curious about the main system’s actions. Unexpectedly, it trembled and emitted a cold mechanical voice: [Detected abnormal factors. Initiating elimination.]
The system’s release of energy became the last straw for the already unstable world. Reacting swiftly, Li Xi encapsulated the people below into bubble-like shields.
“We’re floating up!” Xia Qirong, along with Sun Le and Dan Zuo, found themselves in one bubble. He tapped it with curiosity. “It’s not hard at all; I can even stick my hand out!”
“Don’t break it.” Sun Le pulled him back, hoping he’d settle down.
“It shouldn’t break…” Xia Qirong muttered, though he did sit down to watch the world outside disintegrate.
Li Xi isolated Duan Zhen in a separate bubble and floated it beside himself. Then, he joined Duan Zhen in the bubble, holding hands even amidst the ongoing battle.
“Are you alright?” Li Xi lifted Duan Zhen’s bloody left hand to inspect it. “You didn’t need to go all out like this. You could’ve stayed behind me. We could handle Clemens without your blood.”
“I can’t just stay behind you.” Duan Zhen, unaffected by his injuries, leaned down to kiss Li Xi’s forehead. “I want to protect you too.”
Li Xi was moved and wanted to return the kiss, but with the surrounding demonic lords glaring and the system’s energy wreaking havoc, he couldn’t afford to be distracted.
So, Li Xi decided to save the kiss for later.
“Take care of yourself,” he whispered. “It pains me to see you hurt.”
A hint of a smile appeared in Duan Zhen’s eyes. “You too.”
Meanwhile, the bubble containing Xia Qirong and the others floated up. Dan Zuo steadied it to face Li Xi and the rest.
“The main system’s attack absorbs surrounding energy and releases it at a faster rate,” Dan Zuo explained in simple terms. “Your previous fights have already disrupted the energy here, making what it absorbs even more violent.”
“Just tell me how to solve it,” Li Xi interrupted. “Or should I just forcibly destroy it?”
“That projection is not the main system’s body,” Dan Zuo pointed below. “It’s an energy construct. The real body is underneath. You need to clear all the energy around it.”
Thinking for a moment, he added, “Of course, if the world collapses, it will reveal itself, but it might be too late by then.”
With three demonic lords ready to strike, capturing the main system wouldn’t be easy.
“How do I find it?” Li Xi frowned.
“Use the smart bracelet I gave you,” Dan Zuo pointed to his wrist.
Li Xi withdrew his gaze, scanning around. The demonic lords were scattered nearby, clearly having heard Dan Zuo’s explanation. There was still room for maneuver.
“Cover me,” Li Xi instructed Hewlett.
Hewlett nodded slightly.
“By the way, where’s Shen Su?” Xia Qirong suddenly asked. “Clemens shouldn’t have saved him.”
His question drew everyone’s attention. Looking down, they saw the world below covered in lava and disintegrating due to the system’s energy, with no sign of Shen Su.
He was probably dead.
Surprisingly, Shen Su had died so easily.
“Don’t look at me. I wasn’t obligated to save him,” Li Xi blinked. “He’s Clemens’ kin and my enemy.”
“I wasn’t blaming you,” Duan Zhen ruffled Li Xi’s soft hair with his relatively clean right hand. “He deserved it, and this isn’t real death anyway.”
Duan Zhen wasn’t soft-hearted. Against enemies, he always used swift and decisive methods.
“That’s good.” Relieved, Li Xi began focusing on the lava below, extending his hand with his palm down.
Typically, when he needed to chant, it was for powerful forbidden spells. Moduna, on the other side, frowned and pulled Hest closer.
“Should we stop him?” Hest whispered in Moduna’s ear. “Watching the enemy prepare isn’t our style.”
Moduna thought for a moment and nodded. “Alright.”
They exchanged a glance, and black energy started seeping from their fingers, winding towards Li Xi.
Hewlett frowned and was about to intervene when Clemens blocked him again.
Already tired from the battle, Hewlett sighed heavily, wishing for a swift end.
However, for the sake of his future lazy life, he forced himself to stay focused and continued to face Clemens.
The black energy was initially blocked by Li Xi’s bubble but slowly corroded its way in.
Duan Zhen infused his bullets with energy, but they were absorbed by the black energy.
Seeing the energy approaching Li Xi, Duan Zhen punched it with a blood-coated fist. The black energy recoiled like it hit something solid, bouncing off the bubble walls.
His blood seemed effective against demonic forces. Duan Zhen looked at his hand, eyes narrowing slightly.
The black energy tumbled through the air, colliding and merging into a mass that filled the entire bubble.
Duan Zhen’s first instinct was to shield Li Xi, pressing his bloodied hand against him.
The bubble was completely shrouded in darkness, obscuring everything inside. Xia Qirong pressed his face against the bubble in concern. “Brother Duan, are they alright?”
The others didn’t answer, their brows furrowed as they watched intently.
Hest sighed. “They should be fine.”
The black energy dissipated, revealing a blood-red sphere resembling Li Xi’s previous creation but smaller, nearly opaque.
Li Xi finished his chant quickly and caught Duan Zhen’s fall. “You’ve lost too much blood. You need to rest.”
He had intended to handle the black energy himself but was impressed that Duan Zhen had understood and enhanced the spell, blocking the attack.
However, every moment the spell was active drained Duan Zhen’s blood.
Li Xi severed Duan Zhen’s link to the spell, using his magic to sustain it, then checked outside. “I can find the main system before this world collapses.”
Placing his hand on Duan Zhen, he began healing him.
Despite using two world-covering spells, Li Xi was only slightly pale.
Healing didn’t consume much energy. Li Xi fully healed Duan Zhen’s injuries, ensuring he was merely weak before breathing a sigh of relief.
The bubble’s atmosphere was calm, but outside, chaos reigned due to Li Xi’s spell.
Lava erupted, energies clashed, and the world was in turmoil. Even the bubble with Dan Zuo and the others was buffeted around.
Thankfully, they were professionally trained and didn’t get sick inside of it.
Li Xi’s magic reached a serene space different from the chaos outside. It accepted his magic without resistance.
This location was likely where the main system was. Li Xi pursed his lips and began absorbing the surrounding energy.
His magic expanded, drawing in energy from the ground and the clashing forces above.
“Are you trying to blow this place up?” Moduna frowned.
Gathering such volatile energy in one place was dangerous.
“Guess,” Li Xi smirked. “It’s just a dying world anyway.”
Once the energy was fully absorbed, not a trace was left in the air. Even the demonic lords relied on their reserves.
The energy conglomerate resembled a towering tree, rooted in the lava, its semi-transparent surface revealing fierce internal conflicts.
“Enjoy the fireworks,” Li Xi whispered to Duan Zhen.
He first captured the now defenseless system body, a small silver-gray cube, and secured it in a containment box to prevent retaliation.
Simultaneously, the energy conglomerate began to shatter from the top, emitting explosive sounds and waves.
The initial waves were small, but soon the entire lava erupted, scattering like numerous volcanoes with black spatial rifts.
Already half-destroyed, the world shattered like a broken mirror under this stimulus.
In the boundless darkness, the world turned into countless light points, drifting away.
The demonic lords and the other bubble floated far, while Li Xi, for a front-row view, stayed close to the explosion’s shockwaves, leaning against Duan Zhen and whispering, “This is a rare sight.”
Duan Zhen’s eyes reflected countless lights. He gently embraced Li Xi’s shoulder, nuzzling his hair. “You worked hard.”
Li Xi blinked and kissed Duan Zhen’s lips. “It was hard. How about some reward?”
He spoke in a muffled voice, lips pressed against Duan Zhen’s.
Duan Zhen, understanding him, smiled and gently kissed the tender lips.
In the darkness and scattered light, they shared a kiss.
LOOK AT THEM KISSING WHILE THE WHOLE WORLD COLLAPSES AROUND THEM, they are truly love fools!!!!!!
Thank you for reading