Whoosh—

A howling sound came from the sky, which was the sound of the towering Skull Giant’s body leaning forward.

This terrifying and powerful Monarch leaned forward for the first time, gazing at He Ao, "Was the incident in Dawn City your doing?"

"I think the term you’re using is not very accurate," He Ao held the Illusion Badge in his hand, smiling as he gazed at the Skull Giant, "At least, you should say I ’saved’ Dawn City."

Boom—

A rumbling thunder sounded in the thick mist, and the fierce wind blew through the dense fog, causing the twisted shadows within to start tearing apart violently.

Brilliant lights lit up beneath the gigantic Bone Throne, outlining mysterious and bizarre intricate symbols that shone with dazzling purple light.

These symbols rapidly spread across the area divided by the mist, reaching into the depths of the fog, illuminating it brightly and clearly.

Twisted shadows swam like a swarm of Sea Snakes in the mist, swiftly wandering through the dense fog, and their movements made the brilliant array glow even brighter.

He Ao quietly watched Ains, observing the dazzling array filled with countless shining symbols.

A ’guess’ that he was just constructing a moment ago was being confirmed in his mind.

The arrangement of the Church of the Grim Reaper near Ains was not the Gate of the Underworld but something that connected even deeper with the Netherworld.

It was more stable and more powerful than the Gate of the Underworld.

"Even if you possess the Illusory Heart, you cannot use its true power. Return the Illusory Heart to me," the Skull Giant seated on the throne said hoarsely, "I can allow you to keep your wisdom and reason."

"Is this yours?" He Ao held the Illusion Badge in his hand, smiling, "Is this not the talent sequence of the previous Death God Pope that you killed, then sealed his talent sequence in this badge, and have been attempting to control it?"

"Your guess is interesting," the towering Skull Giant lowered its head slightly, "but I don’t like your wording. The leader of the Church of the Grim Reaper is not distinguished by power or weakness. I have more divine favor, so I am the leader of the Church of the Grim Reaper, and the Illusory Heart in your hand is my trophy."

So, he indeed took down the former Pope.

He Ao raised an eyebrow slightly.

He didn’t have much confidence in this guess. He was just probing, but unexpectedly, the Skull Giant was unfazed and directly revealed it.

This could explain Elijah’s faith in the Grim Reaper. She doesn’t belong to the current Church of the Grim Reaper but to the previous one. Her faith likely comes from the deceased former Death God Pope.

Her library should also come from the former Death God Pope.

This also explains why Elijah, a B-level, could have a secretive underground library with so much hidden knowledge.

Of course, there might be many gaps in this, but the rough outline is likely as such.

He Ao thought slightly, but his actions did not halt, he held the badge in his hand and laughed, "Since you consider this your trophy, then logically, since I snatched this Illusory Heart, it is also my trophy, and following the same logic."

His hand clasped the Illusion Badge radiating terrifying pressure, while the other hand stretched out slightly, bringing another Illusion Badge glowing with purple light closer to the oppressive badge. As the two badges touched, they emitted a strong attraction, instantly merging together.

He Ao also threw other Illusion Badges he acquired into it.

Thud—

A certain surging power undulated within the ultimately merged Illusion Badge, as if the power inside was pounding at the badge’s shell from within, making a crisp sound.

Although the sound was extremely faint and almost undetectable, the Skull Giant sitting high on the throne clearly heard it.

The eyes burning with intense purple flames gazed at He Ao, and the sound like thunder boomed again in the fog, "If that’s the case, then I’ll take it personally."

As his voice fell, the divided mist instantly converged, and the dense fog immediately engulfed He Ao’s body.

Countless twisted shadows like a surging tide rushed towards He Ao.

Some of them transformed into hands clutching the throat, others into slender strangling cords, and some into coffins studded with spikes, densely surrounding He Ao.

It seems that the Skull Giant is still coveting his soul.

He Ao’s gaze calmly swept over the surging shadows. He did not make any unnecessary moves but held onto the Illusion Badge in his hand, also clutching the flame reins wrapped around his hand.

A surging power erupted in an instant, just like a house with a gas leak instantly ignited by a spark.

Boom—

In this moment, blazing flames suddenly ignited within the mist, forming a towering mountain of flames.

The tongues of flames atop the fiery mountains also gushed furiously, like beasts baring their teeth, grabbing at the twisted shadows from all directions.

The shadows attempting to flee scattered in panic, only to be seized by the tongues of flame in an instant, and then ignited by the light of the flames, becoming the fuel for the fire, burning ever fiercely.

He Ao now understood that the magic driving the badges fundamentally drives the Death God power within them, and the Illusory Heart badge, as the original ’mother,’ possesses the most Death God power.

Once converted and driven out, these powers naturally ignite the most intense flames.

Crackle—

Accompanied by the shadows being thrown into this raging fire, the sounds of kindling burning erupted within, and the flames, like waves growing in the wind, began to burn vigorously.

Starting only the size of a house but quickly spreading to the size of a low-rise building, in an instant, it truly became like a towering mountain.

In just an instant, the firelight illuminated nearly the entire mist.

The flames were so fierce that even the dense mist, upon being touched by the light, quickly ignited, making a ’sizzling’ sound.

The mist and shadows, which originated from the Netherworld, met the Death God Power as if encountering a ruler, completely unable to resist.

"I said," a thunderous roar exploded in the sky, a giant skeletal hand extended from the mist, pressing down on the surging flames, "the Divine Grace upon me far exceeds others."

As the words fell, the skeletal hand gently grasped, and the surging flames seemed to lose their core in an instant, rapidly deflating like a balloon from which the air had been sucked out.

The surging mist and shadows rose again, swiftly filling the area once covered by the flames. The flames, as tall as mountains, vanished in an instant, leaving only the faint firelight around He Ao.

The giant skeletal hand still hovered in the sky, like a dark cloud pressing on the firmament, faintly visible in the thick mist.

In that moment, the Skull Giant had ’absorbed’ the Death God Power He Ao released and destroyed the mountain of flames He Ao had created.

After the disappearance of the mountain of flames, the giant hand pressed down on He Ao without hesitation, without any words.

Seeing the palm rapidly enlarging in the mist, He Ao merely raised his hand slightly, revealing the Illusion Badge in his hand.

At this moment, the originally calm and stable Illusion Badge was surging with a vibrant purple brilliance.

The purple brilliance was similar to the badge’s original structural glow but also had an uncontrolled surge. These uncontrolled lights undulated over the badge’s surface, and for an instant, even the entire badge’s structure began to destabilize.

In that moment, the gray-purple brilliance gathered in He Ao’s palm. He tightly grasped the badge, then suddenly exerted force.

Boom——

With a soft sound, the badge shattered dramatically, and an immense power burst out from He Ao’s palm instantly.

Like a fierce storm bursting from He Ao’s palm, it swept the flames on him, the surrounding mist, and even the descending skeletal hand from the sky.

The dense mist and shadows were suddenly blown in all directions by the storm, revealing the surrounding silent buildings.

The broad square, old small buildings, and the collapsed mall revealed the Gray Stone Palace flickering with faint light in the distance, and the Parliament Building.

On the balcony at the top of the Gray Stone Palace, a figure sitting on the balcony slightly lifted their gaze, looking toward the mist.

He Ao also raised his head, looking ahead. In front of him, standing over the square and ruins, on the Skull Throne, a large Skull Giant with glowing purple eyes and a missing portion of its arm sat, gazing down at him.

The arm of the Skull Giant had been blown into the sky by the fierce hurricane, almost blending into the dim clouds.

Brilliant purple light shone in He Ao’s hand; the fierce power vanished in an instant, and the surging mist quickly converged toward the center.

It covered the illuminated Parliament Building and Gray Stone Palace, the silent buildings, the ruins of the mall, the towering Skull Throne, and the Skull Giant sitting on the throne.

Boom——

In the next moment, the converged mist once again parted to the sides, and the towering Skull Giant reappeared in He Ao’s field of view.

The skeletal arm blown into the sky fell from the firmament, then reattached to the Skull Giant’s body.

The position was precise, as if the arm had never moved.

The Skull Giant’s eyes burned with vigorous purple flames as he looked at the faint purple light sphere in He Ao’s hand, his thunderous voice reverberating between Heaven and earth. "What did you do? How did you do it?"

"Why don’t you guess?" The purple glow enveloped He Ao’s body and his palm, allowing him to hold the glowing sphere. He smiled and lifted his head, gazing at the Skull Giant.

The flames flickering around him gradually calmed, reattaching to his body like a cloak falling back to its place.

The Skull Giant gazed at He Ao, after a brief pause, the thunderous voice softened, "The Sealing Power of the Illusory Heart mainly belongs to my Lord. You deliberately drew out these powers just now, displayed the Divine, and extracted these powers to weaken the Seal."

He looked at He Ao, the purple flames in his eye sockets continuing to burn, "But the entire Seal is a complete entity. Even if you withdraw these powers from my Lord, it shouldn’t weaken the Seal so easily, let alone the Illusory Heart will automatically pray to my Lord for more Divine Grace,"

He quickly scanned the surrounding brilliance, seemingly understanding something, "It’s the polluted Divine Grace from Des,"

He lowered his head, looking at He Ao again, "You absorbed the polluted Divine Grace from Des’s Soul with the Illusory Heart’s sub-body, then just now you fused these powers through the sub-body and mother-body into the Illusory Heart,"

His speaking speed rapidly increased, "After the divine power within the Illusory Heart was extracted, it tried to absorb more divine power. These impure graces lurking in the Illusory Heart entered the Seal, creating a ’gap’."

He looked at He Ao, the purple flames in his eye sockets flashing intensely, "You didn’t destroy the Seal; the power within broke through the Seal through that gap. You simply provided an external guide to easily expose the gap, which isn’t difficult with the Divine Grace you obtained."

"You’re smart," He Ao nodded slightly, "The approximate process isn’t far off."

The towering Skull Giant slowly sat upright, seemingly appreciating the compliment as if praised by a teacher.

But after a brief pause, he sensed something was amiss.

He immediately lowered his head, gazing at He Ao, rasping, "You’re smart too, Hawke. I never expected you to be this smart."

"Do you know me well?" He Ao asked softly, holding the blazing purple light, suppressing its surge.

"Of course, I know you," the Skull Giant said calmly, "Since you were promoted to Makeup Mortician, I’ve been watching you, your life, your character, your experiences. You should feel honored; you passed my test."

He paused, gazing at He Ao, "Although your recent performances have given me some ’surprises,’ it’s clear those surprises came from the Divine Being behind you. You’re still within your original framework; you’re a conservative person, Hawke."

He looked at He Ao, at the light in He Ao’s hands, "I know, having reached this step, you hesitate to decide. I acknowledge your intelligence and that you have more chips now. I can allow you to leave, completely step away from this vortex, as long as you put down what’s in your hand,"

He slightly lifted his head, gazing at the bones being consumed by the flames below, like a noble monarch, pitying the guilty, "I know, this is what you want, now, I’ve given it to you."