Chapter 2771: Cosmic Star Butterfly

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Zhongguo (China), Liaodong Province, Shuntian Prefecture, Shenyang City, Imperial Palace

There was a reason Corey chose to detonate three mortal stars in succession instead of forming one massive mortal star. She wanted to keep the area of effect as small as possible. The last thing she wanted was for the blast to spill beyond the palace grounds and harm the civilians in the city. By using three separate detonations, she could confine the destruction to the palace and the sky above it.

A larger mortal star would have created a far wider blast radius. Three consecutive detonations, however, allowed the explosions to stack on the same spot, making the impact far more intense while keeping it tightly contained within the palace grounds.

From within the void, Corey watched her creation unfold. At her command, the three mortal stars detonated in succession. In the face of those explosions, the devil suddenly vanished, and in its place appeared a massive fiery creature. It looked like a butterfly made of flames, or more accurately, a small sun shaped like a butterfly.

Its enormous wings were actually flames in vibrant patterns of gold, orange, blue, and white that shimmered like stained glass whenever they caught the light. Its flame body appeared like it was lined with soft, golden, fur-like fibers, and long, delicate antennae stretched from its head. Large compound eyes glowed faintly above the blazing form. It was entirely made of flame but the detailing made it look vividly alive.

Despite its immense size, its movements were graceful and almost serene. When it spread its radiant wings and hovered in the sky, it resembled a living incarnation of the sun more than a creature born for destruction. It hovered within the overlapping explosions of the three mortal stars as if floating in a calm lake. The blasts washed over it, yet they had no effect on it at all.

Seeing this, Corey finally understood just how dangerous the devil’s materialized illusion was. By giving his physical mass to the illusion of a cosmic being, the devil had turned himself into an illusion and slipped out of sight, while the cosmic being it imagined came to life and now moved according to its will.

Dazed, Corey stood suspended in the void when the cosmic star butterfly suddenly traced her presence there. The moment it appeared in void and began moving toward her, she snapped out of her stupor and used her chivalry, Dice, to cut it down. But the creature was made of ionized flames like stars and had its own celestial force. The instant she sliced through it, a powerful celestial force instantly pulled the scattered ionized flames back together.

She tried cutting deeper, aiming for the atomic bonds within its blazing form. Instead of destroying it, her attacks only triggered violent reactions. Each strike caused bursts of plasma, ignited solar-flare-like eruptions, carved temporary cavities in its fiery body that collapsed into thunderous shockwaves, or hurled streams of solar material into the void.

No matter how she tried, Corey failed to cut down the cosmic star butterfly with her chivalry, Dice. Every damn time its celestial force would instantly pull it back together.

However, Corey’s efforts were not without merit. Watching the cosmic entity’s celestial force pull its body back together again and again, she realized something important. If she could create an explosion powerful enough to overwhelm that celestial force, she might be able to destroy it.

As the cosmic star butterfly closed in on her, Corey slipped back into real space. Without wasting a second, she began conjoining as many molecules together as she could, rapidly condensing them to form a mortal star. This time, she wasn’t holding back. She intended to create the biggest, meanest mortal star she possibly could, a super mortal star if you will, before the creature caught up to her.

When the cosmic star butterfly finally followed her into real space, Corey kept building the mortal star, forcing more and more matter into it until it grew as large as she dared. The moment it reached her limit, she slipped back into the void again and waited for the creature to follow.

As soon as the cosmic star butterfly appeared in the void, Corey hurled the supercharged mortal star straight at it and detonated it. She immediately escaped back into real space before the blast could catch her.

Within seconds of the detonation, the devil reappeared in the flesh. He was screaming in agony, writhing as if he were being burned alive. The sight confirmed it for Corey. Her super mortal star had finally destroyed the cosmic star butterfly.

Without wasting even a fraction of a second, Corey rushed at the devil and used her second chivalry, Conjoin, on him, reducing his body to dust.

Yet even as his body collapsed and scattered, the devil managed to draw a final breath and shout, "Justice might be delayed, but it will always be upheld, no matter who you are, where you are, or what you possess. An eye for an eye, a life for a life."

Hearing its dying cry, a chill ran through Corey’s body. The words made her realize that the devil’s False Witness was still in effect. How was that possible?

Everyone knew the rule. A devil could not truly be killed outside the Dark Realm. At best, its body could be destroyed, forcing it to retreat and reform over time. Given enough years, perhaps half a century or even a couple of centuries, it would return.

But that would not be her problem. That burden would fall on whatever generation lived when the devil rose again.

Letting out a long sigh, Corey looked down at the ruins below. No one would have guessed that this wasteland had once been the beautiful imperial palace of the Zhong Guo Empire. The grand halls, gardens, and towers were gone, erased by the battle.

Just as she prepared to leave, Corey suddenly felt a strange suction tugging at her. When she turned, she saw a hole in space itself, no larger than a human head. Yet it was growing, stretching wider by an inch with every passing second, and with each inch its pull grew stronger.

At this rate, Corey realized grimly, the thing would not stop at the palace grounds. With enough time, it might swallow the entire damn world.

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