"…What?"
This sudden statement left the three Apostles frozen in place.
"What happened?"
Delezie instinctively asked, his gaze drifting toward the massive black sword in Fang Mo's hand.
But just a single glance.
Delezie's instincts screamed in alarm, as if his very sanity was being stripped away piece by piece. That thing was not a weapon—it was a chaotic, disordered abyss, a gaping maw of primordial chaos that seemed poised to devour all rules and order. Even though Delezie was made of countless pathogens, he feared that a single touch from that sword would consume him entirely, leaving not even a trace of his soul behind.
Realizing this, Delezie had a vague suspicion that that treacherous woman had done something particularly vile this time, pushing Fang Mo beyond forgiveness.
"Has that woman done something terrible again?"
Lotus quickly caught on, speaking up, "Even though you don't need our help, could you take us along? I hate Hilder to the core now."
"The situation is probably worse than you think."
Fang Mo rubbed his forehead with one hand, somewhat surprised by the woman's latest ploy. "If a real fight breaks out, I'm not sure you can withstand the aftermath… at best, I can give you a spectator seat."
With that, Fang Mo casually drew out two Ender Greatswords.
These swords, which he had specifically created in various worlds as toys, didn't have any special attributes but were all imbued with indestructible enchantments.
"Can't withstand the aftermath? You're underestimating us, aren't you?" Lotus protested slightly at Fang Mo's remark, though his tentacles were already wrapping around one of the weapons. "Fine… As long as I can watch Hilder meet her end, a spectator seat will do."
"I'll take a seat too."
Delezie also stood up and walked over to the other greatsword.
"W-wait."
But seeing this, Mateka was slow to react. "What do you mean by spectator seat? What are you talking about? What does this mean?"
But the others didn't respond.
Instead, they turned into beams of white light and disappeared into the swords.
"Hmm?"
Mateka was left dumbfounded, staring at the two swords as they slowly floated behind Fang Mo.
"Well, I must take my leave for now."
Fang Mo didn't explain, instead focusing on typing in the command to teleport in the game chat.
"Wait!"
Mateka suddenly spoke up.
"Hmm?"
Fang Mo glanced at him.
"I…" Mateka hesitated briefly but quickly looked up at Fang Mo. "May I ask a bold question? After Hilder dies, what do you plan to do with Lotus and Delezie?"
"I'll give them each a separate dimension to rule as my subordinates."
Fang Mo shrugged casually. "The Apostle concept is quite interesting. Borrowing your power system occasionally to show off would be pretty cool, don't you think? Unleashing a thousand tendrils or something."
"Do we need to submit to you?"
Mateka didn't get the reference, but he thought quickly. "And… will the food in these dimensions be abundant?"
"Here, let me show you."
Hearing this, Fang Mo waved his hand.
With the power of dimensional force, the space at his fingertips shattered like a mirror, collapsing into a massive geometric void, from which a wave of heat rushed out.
"…What is this?"
Mateka looked up, stunned by what he saw.
Through the rift in space, he glimpsed a terrifying world filled with lava.
The air was scorching, oppressive, and clusters of crystals emitting dim light hung in the sky, while rivers of molten fire flowed across crimson rocks, winding past jagged trees, and through grotesque, fleshy landscapes, eventually merging into vast, endless seas of magma, the fiery pools stretching beyond sight.
For a moment, Mateka thought he saw his home planet, Tartan.
The scent of sulfur filled the air, awakening a ravenous hunger deep within him, even causing Anton's body to stir restlessly.
"What is this place?"
Suppressing his appetite, Mateka eagerly asked Fang Mo, "…Is this paradise?"
"It's hell."
Fang Mo replied with a nonchalant shrug.
"Can I go to hell?" Mateka asked without hesitation. "We can also submit to you, as long as you satisfy our immense hunger…"
"I've seen many who wanted to go to heaven, but this is the first time I've met someone clamoring to go to hell."
Fang Mo couldn't help but facepalm at Mateka's words.
"For us, this is paradise," Mateka explained without a hint of irony. "The former Tartan star was a world just like this, filled with delicious energy that we could feast on at any time… Fine, let's call it whatever you wish. Can we go to hell?"
"Then you might need to hear a few hell jokes first."
Fang Mo instinctively responded.
"What?"
Mateka blinked, confused. "Is that what I think it means? Just listen to a few jokes, and I get to go to hell? Is there really such a good deal?"
"Not just listen—you have to laugh, too."
Fang Mo stroked his chin. "But I'm a bit pressed for time, so I'll just come up with something on the spot. Old Mateka, you know it's almost the Year of the Dragon on Earth, right? And besides launching dragon-themed content, it's also going to bring a baby boom…"
"Hahaha!"
Mateka immediately burst into laughter.
"No, be serious!" Fang Mo facepalmed again. "The punchline isn't even there yet!"
"Sorry…"
Mateka scratched his head awkwardly.
"So, how do you describe this phenomenon with an idiom?" Fang Mo continued, shaking his head as he added, "Dragon births… Get it? Unexpected, right!?"
"…"
But upon hearing this, Mateka just blinked, dumbfounded.
"You're supposed to laugh!" Fang Mo reminded him again, wiping his face. "What, did that one leave you speechless?"
"Uh."
Mateka quickly caught on and forced a few laughs. "Ha…haha…"
"Forget it, I'm done with this."
Having failed to land the joke, Fang Mo waved dismissively, a bit deflated. "Let's just go deal with Hilder. She's becoming a real nuisance."
With that, Fang Mo activated his teleportation command.
"W-wait!"
But just then, Mateka spoke up again. "Could I get one more spectator seat? We also want to see Hilder die…"
"Then hurry up."
Fang Mo wasted no time, pulling out another Ender Greatsword.
Mateka took the sword, examined it briefly, and quickly understood its basic function, having witnessed Delezie and Lotus's actions earlier.
He plunged the sword into the ground.
Immediately, the surrounding space distorted into an infinite vortex.
The properties of Ender metal were beyond comprehension. Even the living planet god Igo was easily sealed by a single sword, so sealing Anton was no challenge. Soon, Anton's massive body vanished, leaving behind only a uniquely shaped greatsword.
Fang Mo looked up and saw that it resembled an elongated volcano.
The weapon had a charred, rocky texture, with a hilt extending from the base of the volcano, a guard on the side, and the crossguard forming the middle of the mountain, with a golden-red spike emerging from the volcanic crater.
Calling it a greatsword felt like a stretch… it looked more like an abstracted rapier, or perhaps even a thrusting lance.
"This…"
Fang Mo rubbed his chin, but before he could say more, the teleportation command activated, instantly transporting him back to the Arad Continent.
Once his vision cleared.
Fang Mo instinctively surveyed his surroundings.
He was in a lush forest, with a deep, bottomless pit not far away. The familiar setting made Fang Mo realize he was likely somewhere in the Grand Forest.
But at this moment.
Something felt off about the atmosphere.
The previously clear sky was now covered in dark clouds, with lightning flashing continuously, creating an oppressive feeling.
It was as if an indescribable aura was spreading through the area. The birds around were desperately trying to escape, screeching as they fled, forming a dense, dark cloud in the sky.
Even the magical energy in the air was unsettling.
Trees nearby spontaneously caught fire, the soil began to writhe, and even small stones slowly defied gravity, rising toward the sky.
It was clearly midday.
But the place felt overwhelmingly oppressive and hopeless.
"…Hmm?"
Noticing the changes around him, Fang Mo frowned, sensing something was wrong.
"You're finally back."
A voice sounded from nearby.
Fang Mo turned to see his little companion, looking as if she had just been through a battle, with traces of ash clinging to her.
"You fought Hilder?"
Fang Mo asked directly, "Where's Ah Xue? What's the situation?"
"I was worried about her getting hurt, so I sent her to the Imaginary Number Space early."
The little demon answered quickly, "I'm not sure what exactly happened, but Hilder seems to have summoned Carloso somehow. Oh, and I just saw that mysterious warrior… This isn't the main world of DNF; it's the parallel world from the Great Transfer version."
"Parallel world?"
Hearing this, Fang Mo immediately understood.
No wonder something felt off. For example, Seria, being a fragment of the Primordial Lord, is supposed to be a multiversal unique existence. There's no way he wouldn't sense her presence, right?
Even if the Grand Magician Mar used a spell to hide her aura.
With Fang Mo's power, there's no way he'd miss such a minor trick.
So the only logical explanation was that this was a parallel world… Seria, the fragment of the Primordial Lord, was unique across all dimensions, and that special entity wasn't in this parallel world. Here, Seria was just an ordinary elf reincarnate, and things like the Eye of Darkness or the Goddess of Wisdom probably didn't exist here either.
There were also plenty of other details confirming this.
But Fang Mo hadn't paid much attention to them.
"The Great Transfer…"
Thinking back, Fang Mo squinted slightly, his memories flashing to that sorrowful summer many years ago. "Where's Carloso now? Has he made contact with that mysterious warrior?"
"I separated them."
The little demon replied, "But I can't hold them off for long. Carloso is indeed quite powerful…"
"And Hilder?"
Fang Mo nodded, then asked. It was clear he would soon have to face Carloso head-on, but Hilder was the more insidious one. There was no way he would let her off.
"She ran. I couldn't catch her."
The little demon frowned. "That woman never dared leave the dimensional rift. She stayed hidden the whole time, and as soon as I moved, she closed the rift…"
"I see."
Fang Mo nodded, then began surveying the area. "Where did she open the dimensional rift?"
"Over there."
The little demon pointed to a large crater.
"Got it." Fang Mo didn't waste any time. With a thought, he summoned his stand, Steve, and then pulled out the Abyssal Grimoire to begin casting a spell. Instantly, a massive magic circle enveloped the entire area, and the overwhelming power of time descended upon it: "Time Rewind!"
The crater caused by the explosion began to recover at a visible rate.
As time continued to reverse, suddenly, a rift opened in midair, and a woman's figure emerged.
"Found you!"
Seeing this, Fang Mo immediately tossed the book aside, canceling the ritual.
"W-what is this!?"
On the other side, Hilder was visibly stunned, having no idea what had just happened. But she quickly saw Fang Mo approaching, his aura menacing. Her pupils shrank as she desperately tried to close the dimensional rift with magic.
But at that moment, Fang Mo activated time stop.
"The World!"
The entire world seemed to fall into a gray and white stillness, everything frozen in place. A massive hand reached across space, forcibly breaking through the dimensional rift's barrier, and precisely grasping Hilder's throat.
"…Got you."