The Glorious Evolution Chapter 439: A Comet and A Falling Star. (Suggested Song: Skyfall -Adele-)

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Previously on The Glorious Evolution...
The Hexgaze Lurker, realizing he was doomed, decided to take Levi and the Daywalkers with him. He moved at impossible speeds, making him nearly impossible to track or catch. As Levi frantically analyzed the Hexgaze's movements and observed the spawning pattern of the "Horns," the Daywalkers grew increasingly desperate, believing all hope was lost.

As despair began to set in for the Daywalkers with each fleeting second, an unexpected turn of events loomed, revealing that the worst was yet to unfold.

"It's time for the grand finale!" the Gamemaster's voice boomed, laced with a chilling, sinister excitement. "Giants! Clear the stage!"

The instant the timer announced the final minute, the two colossal giants raised the immense war-horns positioned near their lips.

The resulting sonic blast was so overwhelmingly powerful that it sent shivers down the spines of every Daywalker clinging to the rope... a stark reminder of Gamemaster Envy's notorious reputation for heavily investing in deadly trap mechanisms.

As anticipated, before the thunderous echo could even dissipate, the giants reached towards their waists, drawing forth enormous, twin-headed axes!

Each colossal blade, comparable in size to entire houses, emanated a dull, menacing red hue—as if permanently stained by the countless lives they had claimed in their formidable past.

But now... their ultimate purpose had changed.

With a guttural growl that vibrated through the entire arena, the giants spun around and, to everyone's complete astonishment, hurled the massive axes into the sky.

"Up! Look up and track them!!" Tyrese urgently commanded.

The Daywalkers fixated their gazes, eyes wide, on the giant axes as they ascended, slicing through the very clouds. At the zenith of their arc, the axes commenced their terrifying descent, their trajectories aimed precisely at the heart of the precarious spinning rope.

"They're going to cut it!!!" Mira shrieked in sheer terror, frantically clawing at the rope's thick fibers.

Evangeline and Tyrese's faces contorted with dread as they witnessed the rapidly falling axes, while their teammates were already utterly depleted from the relentless pursuit.

Compounding their dire situation, most of the Daywalkers were scattered across one side of the rope, while Levi's allies were positioned on the opposite flank. This geographical separation meant that if the rope were severed, Shia, Arthur, and Jasmine would be unable to render any aid.

Evangeline and Tyrese understood the gravity of this predicament, knowing full well that these three possessed the most potent abilities to secure everyone, even if the rope gave way!

"Shit, shit, shit!"

Arthur swore under his breath as he conjured the Vermillion Fortress, encompassing himself and the girls. No words were needed; Shia unleashed a barrage of sticky tentacles from her weapon, attaching them firmly to the fortress's exterior. She then meticulously linked these tentacles to Jojo, Jasmine, and Arthur.

Nurah, meanwhile, had broken away to assist in the effort to subdue the Chameleon.

While their decision to fortify themselves and neglect the others might appear selfish, they recognized the futility of attempting to assist their distant comrades. The chasm was vast, and the deadly axes were mere seconds from impact.

"Captain Levi!! We need your aetheric abilities!"

"Damn it... He's still in the zone..." Evangeline muttered with frustration.

She acknowledged that Levi's focused concentration was their sole remaining hope against the formidable Hexgaze Lurker. She wouldn't dare disrupt his critical state to save them from the immediate trap, especially with the Chameleon closing in on their objective.

Without a moment's hesitation, Evangeline decided to take matters into her own hands. With a powerful, piercing scream, she declared, "Huddle on me!!"

In a display of desperate resolve, Evangeline plunged her sword deep into the rope's core fibers with both hands. Raising her head, she proclaimed, "Prison of the Iron Judge!"

A resplendent shockwave of golden light erupted from her sword's hilt, rapidly expanding to form an immense, radiant dome of pure energy!

Evangeline's ultimate ability was absolute—a celestial prison designed to immobilize its occupants until her ultimate judgment was rendered!

The Daywalkers needed no further prompting. Witnessing the colossal axes hurtling through the air, now mere hundreds of meters away, they surged towards the luminous sanctuary like moths drawn to a flame!

"Move! Move!"

Tyrese bellowed, exerting his formidable strength to propel two lagging Daywalkers towards the dome. The scene devolved into utter pandemonious chaos as Daywalkers desperately employed any available abilities or artifacts to reach the shining refuge.

Though utterly exhausted and feeling as though they were wading through treacle, none dared to succumb to their fatigue in such a critical, life-or-death juncture.

Mira was the first to plunge headfirst through the defensive barrier, swiftly followed by two other Daywalkers who had been closest to her.

The instant they crossed the threshold, radiant chains of white light shot forth from the dome, securely binding their wrists and rendering them completely immobile.

Yet, no complaints were heard. Their gazes remained locked in horror as the giant axes impacted the rope's center with devastating force, cleaving through the immensely thick, reinforced strands as if they were no more substantial than wet parchment.

The tension vanished in an instant... the rope, tautly stretched across the abyss, violently recoiled. Due to its continuous rotation, the two severed segments whipped through the air like wounded serpents.

"Hold on for your lives!"

Arthur bellowed from within his stone sanctuary, Jojo held securely in his arms, his immense frame acting as a shield for her. Their situation, however, was infinitely better than that of the Daywalkers caught in their desperate dash toward Evangeline’s refuge. A significant number of Daywalkers, Tyrese among them, found themselves violently sliding across the colossal rope's surface as it swung downwards in a terrifying, sweeping arc toward a chasm thousands of meters below!!

Not even Nurah was spared. Her powers were deeply intertwined with shadows, and unfortunately, the moment the rope plunged into the abyss, only absolute darkness remained.

Nevertheless, she flung herself forward, seizing a sliding Daywalker by his belt and forcefully jamming a dagger into the rope, anchoring them both!

"Don't you dare let go!" she commanded, her veins pulsing with the immense effort.

Amidst this vertiginous chaos, the Hexgaze Lurker continued its relentless movement. Indifferent to the world's descent, it blinked from one horn to another, its spiritual form utterly unaffected by the pull of gravity.

The Hexgaze cast a backward glance at Levi, its gaze sharp with a cold, triumphant mockery.

'You were so close... dangerously close.'

The Chameleon's aged, gruff voice resonated within Levi's mind as the creature awaited the reappearance of another horn.

'But... in the grand game of existence, proximity to victory is but an echo of infinity...’ the Hexgaze mused, ‘You are an unpredictable disruption, boy... and for that, you must be eliminated... Our master cannot tolerate you as a threat, and I shall personally ensure your story reaches its abrupt conclusion.'

Yet, despite its verbose declaration, Levi was entirely unresponsive. He remained poised horizontally on the side of the plunging rope, his feet firmly planted by his aetheric abilities.

Sensing no reply from Levi, the Hexgaze displayed little outward reaction. It flickered twice before commencing its preparations for a final blink, reaching out for another horn to secure its position. This maneuver had been executed flawlessly countless times before, never once resulting in capture.

It had become an ingrained routine: spawn, glitch, blink, repeat; an unending cycle.

The thought of being caught never crossed its mind, as no one had ever come remotely close to intercepting it. What it failed to anticipate was Levi's constant observation, his meticulous study, his analytical approach, and his flawless timing, all culminating in this precise, critical instant.

'Got you...'

Levi’s fingers twitched, immediately wreathed in emerald flames that surged across the rapidly materializing Judgement Chainstaff. In a single, fluid motion, Levi conjured hundreds of Aetheric Combustions in his palm while simultaneously awakening the Sun-forged Skeleton.

Levi did not merely throw the weapon; he unleashed its fiery potential!

In the span of a single heartbeat, every Aetheric Combustion stored within his palm was triggered!

The resultant explosion unleashed a concentrated surge of raw kinetic energy, functioning akin to a rocket propulsion system.

The staff vanished from his grasp, rocketing upward along the rope's surface at supersonic velocity!

It sliced through the air with a piercing shriek, leaving a sonic boom in its wake that shattered debris and deafened any Daywalker in its path.

Even as their ears bled from the concussive force, Nurah, Tyrese, and the other Daywalkers watched the verdant, flaming projectile tear through the inky blackness. Their gazes traced its trajectory briefly before instinctually shifting downwards toward Levi.

What they beheld sent shivers of dread down their spines.

The recoil from the launch had been catastrophic for Levi. The sheer power of the explosion had completely obliterated his arm up to the shoulder, leaving his shimmering, green, skeletal arm starkly exposed. However, this was not the most terrifying aspect.

The recoil had violently torn him from the rope, flinging him away from the surface and hurtling him toward the abyss, still engulfed in a tempest of emerald luminescence.

To the astonished onlookers and the Daywalkers, he no longer resembled a human. He appeared as a falling celestial body.

The spectacle was utterly mesmerizing, silencing them completely. In one direction, a fiery comet ascended through the darkness; in the other, a green star plummeted directly into the abyss.

The sole entity that found no solace in this dramatic tableau was none other than the Hexgaze Lurker. The instant it materialized atop the newly spawned horn near the cliff's distant edge, its heightened senses shrieked a warning.

Alas, the established rhythm was too ingrained. The Hexgaze's form flickered, transitioning back to its physical state as it calculated its next move, precisely as Levi had anticipated!

The Hexgaze, still in the midst of its physical manifestation, didn't even have a fraction of a second to react.

'Huh...?'

The Hexgaze Lurker met its demise before it could even utter a sound; the last image imprinted on its vision was the color green.

The supersonic impact instantly liquefied its internal organs, impaling the Chameleon onto the swinging rope like a trophy displayed for all to see.

-...-

-...-

-...-

Then, a crushing, oppressive stillness descended upon the dimensional sector... Across countless screens, Gamemaster Envy's rapid-fire commentary abruptly ceased, and the betting interfaces became unresponsive. Within the opulent VIP chambers, Bishop Na’thir remained in a daze, his grip so tight his knuckles turned white as he gazed upon the very spot where his last flicker of hope had been extinguished. Bishop Va’ren seemed to have forgotten the necessity of breathing, his voice caught somewhere within his constricted throat. As for the Daywalkers... their attention wasn't even on the Hexgaze's current state... they simply stared down into the chasm, fixated on the dwindling emerald luminescence. A mere fraction of a second later... chaos erupted.