He looked at the White Bone binding him, a trace of disdain appearing on his face, exerting force with his arms, the bone rings instantly shattered, falling to the ground.

Dio walked forward calmly, looking at the unmoving Tas, this person he once thought was powerful and invincible, was now like a puppet displayed before him, at his mercy.

A hint of intoxication flashed in his eyes, Time Suspension, this is the world's most terrifying power!

Dio seized the blade from Tas's hand, not wanting the Dread Emperor to descend upon this world again.

Then he grabbed Tas's neck, twisting it forcefully backwards, then another twist, consecutive three turns, almost wrenching his neck off.

Only then did Dio stop.

Paused time resumed its flow.

Crack!

Tas didn't even know he was dead, still maintaining that maniacal smile on his face.

"Stop!"

Griffith let out a cry at this moment, staring dumbfounded at the scene before him, finding it hard to believe.

Dio, with a mocking look, said: "Griffith, do you want me to spare Tas?"

"No!"

From the sky came the Dread Emperor's roar, it wanted to escape from the red moon, but after a moment of struggle, its indistinct visage vanished again.

Griffith shrugged: "The Dread Emperor's answer is my answer."

He suddenly understood that what had just happened might be related to Dio's power, no need to inquire what specific power.

The bone hand beneath his feet suddenly shattered, pieces falling to the ground.

The blood red moon in the sky also quietly disappeared at this moment.

Gentle moonlight spilled over here, but did not smooth everything out.

Griffith looked at the corpses scattered everywhere and the air filled with bloodiness, a trace of sorrow flickering in his eyes.

Dio did not.

He sheathed the blade, asking: "Griffith, what do you plan to do next?"

"Of course, I will report what happened here to the higher-ups, and formally join the Kingdom Knights to protect this nation."

"That's definitely your style."

Dio chuckled lightly, turning around: "I don't like abiding by others, let's part ways here."

"Dio, where are you going?"

"Not sure, but I'm very interested in the Tree of Life, might travel around the Eastern Continent or other continents to have a look."

Dio waved his hand.

He knew, the Angel Envoy's lifespan is long, many unknown things can be learned slowly over time.

Griffith watched his departing figure, shouting: "Hope next time we meet, we're still friends."

"Haha, hope so."

Dio left here without looking back.

...

Southern Continent, Aslan Empire.

Through his battle achievements, Dio acquired a vast territory of his own.

On this land, he built his own city, gathered his own forces, there were Treasure Users, there were Angel Envoys.

Hundreds of years are nothing to an Angel Envoy.

But to humans, it's a very long period, enough to pass through several generations.

Among several generations, naturally exist Angel Envoys.

Some awaken naturally, some rely on the Seed of God produced by the Tree of Life, the number of Angel Envoys in the four continents has increased.

But Dio no longer traveled outside. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Having a huge force, he no longer needed to actively collect anything outside, whatever books he desired, he could directly have his subordinates present to him.

Now, he built the largest library in the history of the Southern Continent, but this library was never open to outsiders.

Only allowed Dio or his subordinates to read.

Crack, Dio closed the book, the flame in the lamp flickered gently.

A hint of doubt appeared on his face.

Reading numerous books, observing the development of history, inevitably, he harbored some doubts in his heart.

That is, do gods really exist?

Dio believed, the gods referred to in the Era of Gods were real deities, possibly the world's first awakened Angel Envoy.

The King of Wisdom was the second.

But in this case, a problem emerged in Dio's mind, how was the world born?

Without gods, humans, species, the sky, the land, how should these be explained?

Dio fell into deep contemplation.

The flame in the oil lamp suddenly flickered, its color changing from orange-yellow to an eerie blue, a low and husky voice emerged from it: "What are you pondering?"

"Dread Emperor, I'm thinking about the matter of devouring the Tree of Life."

Dio snapped back, responding indifferently.

The eerie blue flame quivered, the Dread Emperor replied: "Rest assured, I won't trick you, if not for reaching my limit of devouring, continued devourment might result in a loss of sanity.

How could I possibly give the Tree of Life to you.

Of course, if you're afraid I'll trick you, you can abandon the plan."

"Certainly not afraid."

Dio responded decisively, "The plan proceeds as agreed."

...

The night tonight is particularly deep.

In the city, almost everyone has fallen into the silence of sleep.

Dio wasn't asleep, he stood on the open-air balcony outside the library.

From here, the entire city's night view could be overlooked.

The planning for this city was personally drafted by Dio, line by line, streets orderly and aesthetically pleasing.

But all this should end too.

Dio wants to climb to higher steps, to sit on that blank divine throne, sacrifices must be made.

He knows clearly, the Dread Emperor taught him these things with ulterior motives.

Just after the red moon event, the Kushan on the Eastern Continent were utterly annihilated.

The Dread Emperor could no longer find other Kushan to connect with, only Dio, through Tas's blade, connected with the Dread Emperor.

His connection with the Dread Emperor was to learn about matters regarding the Tree of Life.

The Dread Emperor taught him how to devour the Tree of Life, testing showed no issues.

But to devour the Tree of Life, the other party must be pulled from the Demon Realm, and by then, the Dread Emperor might also descend upon this world.

Once detached from the Demon Realm, the Dread Emperor is bound to tear up the alliance he had with him.

Yet Dio has his trump card.

That is Time Suspension.

In the world of Time stop, even the Dread Emperor cannot move.

He has ample time to devour the Tree of Life, then face the Dread Emperor.

Everything is planned well.

Dio tilted his head back.

The silver-white moon gradually turned blood red, little by little like a gigantic monster nibbling at the moon.

The crimson round moon appeared in the sky, strands of red light consequently spilled down, immediately activating the Magic Circle engraved on the ground.

Red light emanated from every corner of the ground, then a massive quantity of blood-colored mist quickly rose from the ground, solidifying into a pillar.

Seems like human, animal, all biological corpses piled together, making a person's scalp tingle.

"Ah!"

Those creatures simultaneously opened their eyes, letting out cries, eyes and mouths spewing copious amounts of blood crashing to the ground, from which emerged ape-men akin to being flayed.

They roared, rushing into the homes of residents, beginning widespread slaughter.

Not a single resident screamed, to die in their sleep, was Dio's remaining mercy.

In mere moments, all were slaughtered, including Dio's subordinates.

They too, did not resist.

Only by offering life, can the Tree of Life truly descend, rather than partially descend.

All monsters returned to the flesh column, causing the top of the column to bulge a giant round bulge.

Then it burst, extending branches formed of corpses, intertwining toward the sky.

At this moment, the Tree of Life descended!

Dio cut his hand with a knife, slapped it on the Magic Circle below.

Red light flickered, the previously formed Tree of Life swiftly melted into the ground, then streams of blood-red energy rushed through the ruins straight to where Dio was.

He felt a steady surge of power.

Simultaneously, the red moon in the sky seemed to be torn apart, the enormous upper body of the Dread Emperor broke free from the Demon Realm, grasping the void, trying hard to descend.

Time paused in this instant.

Dio continued absorbing the energy of the Tree of Life.

But he didn't notice, in this grayscale world, a figure bathed entirely in moonlight quietly emerged.

Unable to discern appearance or clothing, like a person formed from light.

Aozawa descends.