Chapter 372: Next Test

"Let’s make this fair enough." The God of Death slowly raised his hand, his gaze fixed on Sunny who was already crouched in a defensive stance, eyes darting. With a small, dry chuckle that sounded like bones rattling, he snapped his fingers.​SNAP!

​The sound didn’t just ring in their ears; it echoed across the entire bone-strewn landscape, a sonic ripple that disturbed the red dust. Sunny stumbled, gasping as a rush of power flooded his veins. He stared at his hands in disbelief, watching the golden aura reignite beneath his skin.

​"All my spirit energy has been restored?" He asked, looking up at the God before him, suspicion warring with relief.

​"This is better... I don’t want to fight someone who’s on his last leg. It feels... unsporting," The God of Death said, smoothing the lapel of his void-woven robes. He gestured to Sunny with a casual flick of his wrist.

​"Come on. I will use one finger to fight. If I use another finger, you win."

​".....??!!"

​His words confused Sunny more than anything. No matter how you spun it, he was being looked down on with cosmic levels of arrogance. But anger wouldn’t help him here. He forced his breathing to steady.

​"You’re so arrogant!!" He yelled, feigning a loss of temper to mask his strategy.

​He reactivated transformation, and instantly summoned two hundred clones. The air filled with identical Sunnys, each one radiating Seventh Order power.

​’I mustn’t let my guard down. This guy is beyond anything I have encountered. He’s not just strong; he’s a fundamental concept given form.’

​With one final exhale, the true Sunny vanished into stealth, erasing his presence from the visible spectrum, while the two hundred clones launched themselves towards the God in a suicidal wave of violence.

​"Impressive coordination."

​The God of Death didn’t even blink. He raised one index finger into the air.

​In the next microsecond, he moved it. The speed was so absolute that it didn’t register as movement; it registered as a glitch in reality. The finger blurred, tracing lines in the air faster than light, before flicking dismissively to the west, his arm barely moving from his side.

​BOOM X200

​Instantly, the entire army of clones detonated. They didn’t just die; they were unmade, shattered into motes of light by invisible, precise strikes of compressed death energy.

​And then, silence.

​Sunny appeared on the God’s left side, his stealth broken not by choice, but by shock. He was frozen in a striking pose, his eyes wide in horror. He lowered his gaze to his weapon—the All-Changer Blade, a God-rank artifact capable of slicing through dimensions.

​It was stopped dead. The God of Death had caught the invisible blade with the tip of his index finger.

​"Making your blade invisible is a clever idea," The God said, turning his head slowly to look Sunny in the eye. "But are you forgetting who you’re fighting? I am Death. I see the end of all things, even invisible ones."

​He pushed his finger forward a fraction of an inch.

​The force was catastrophic.

​BOOOOOM!!!

​Sunny was launched miles away as if hit by a planetary railgun. He smashed through three ridges of bone, plowing a trench in the landscape before finally coming to a halt.

​He vomited a mouthful of blood, clutching his chest. His sword, the legendary weapon that had never failed him, had a hairline crack running down its center.

​"One finger! This... This is beyond crazy! He is a freak!" Sunny forced himself to one knee, using his cracked sword as a crutch. His vision swam.

​’He destroyed all my clones with just his finger. I couldn’t even follow his movements.’

​He looked up, wiping blood from his chin, only to see the God of Death standing directly in front of him again.

​’No!! How did he get so close?!!’

​Before Sunny could think, defend, or even blink, the God of Death leaned in and flicked his finger against Sunny’s forehead.

​BAM!!!!

​"AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

​Sunny screamed, a sound of pure agony. It felt as if a spike of molten iron had been driven into his frontal lobe. His neural pathways overloaded, his consciousness shattered, and the moment the God removed his finger, Sunny dropped to the ground like a puppet with cut strings.

​His brain had simply shut down to protect itself.

​The God of Death stared at the unconscious mortal for a moment, his expression unreadable. He slowly shook his head, the red light of the sky reflecting in his eyes.

​"Too fragile."

____

​[Lower World - Star Nation.]

​The air in the city was different now. The panic had subsided, replaced by a heavy, contemplative silence.

​Thousands of people gathered at the ruined gates of the Royal District. They stared at the crater where the castle—the symbol of their nation’s unshakeable power—once stood.

​Standing on a makeshift dais before the crowd were Josephine, Ellen, Jinx, Nioh, Nicolas, Blood Eye, and Star, who had reverted to her striking elf appearance.

​The revelation of Bella—alive and standing tall—had sent shockwaves through the populace. They had mourned her death months ago. Seeing her now was like seeing a ghost, but the truth that accompanied her return was even more haunting.

​Giant holographic screens, set up by Nioh’s tech team, played a damning loop. The video showed Matilda, ordering the execution of Bella. It showed her conspiring to assassinate Sunny. It showed the destruction of Vancouver’s mansion and the murder of the Commander and countless lives.

​Every secret, every lie, every drop of blood Matilda had spilled to maintain her pristine image was laid bare. The nation was reeling. They had vilified their King, Sunny, accusing him of tyranny, while worshipping a monster.

​Josephine stepped forward, her voice amplified by her spirit energy. She explained everything—that King Sunny was actually God Wolf, the ruler of the Beastify Nation, now known as Eldoria.

​The pieces fell into place for the smarter citizens. The timeline matched perfectly. The mysterious disappearance of the "useless" King coincided exactly with the rise of the God Wolf. The people were a whirlwind of emotions—shame for their ignorance, anger at Matilda, but overwhelmingly, relief. Their King was not a weakling; he was the strongest ruler in the nine nations. The Star Nation was safe under the banner of Eldoria.

​Casey stood some feet behind Josephine’s group. She looked small, her shoulders slumped. Her injuries had been healed by Ellen, but the internal wounds were raw. She watched the crowd react to her mother’s crimes with vitriol and hatred.

​She wanted to scream, to defend her mother, but she couldn’t. Everything on the screen was true.

​From this moment on, she was no longer a Princess. She was the daughter of a traitor. She couldn’t follow her mother—no one knew where Matilda had fled—and she had no place here. She was alone. No father, no mother, no title.

​’Mum... Why would you do all this?!’ She thought, her fists clenched until her nails drew blood.

​"So, from now onwards, the Star Nation will be integrated into the Eldoria Empire," Josephine announced, her voice commanding yet calm. "But as you all know, we already have our own planets to manage. We need someone to oversee this territory in our absence."

​The crowd murmured, waiting. Who would it be? A general from Eldoria? One of God Wolf’s terrifying subordinates?

​"We plan to hand the administration of this territory to Casey."

​"Huh?!"

"...!!"

"....?!!!"

​The gasp was collective. Casey’s head snapped up. She stared at the back of Josephine’s head in disbelief. Even the crowd seemed stunned. Give the territory to the daughter of the woman who tried to kill the King?

​"Yes! Casey is the daughter of Matilda," Josephine continued, silencing the murmurs with a sharp look. "But the sins of the mother are not the sins of the child. Casey is not responsible for her mother’s crimes."

​She turned and smiled at the dazed Casey—a genuine, warm smile—before facing the people again.

​"We have been observing the Star Nation for a while now... Casey is the only one in the Royal Family who truly cared for her people when the castle walls were high and the gates were closed!! My husband trusts her. And if God Wolf trusts her, then I trust her."

​She looked over her shoulder at Casey again.

​"So, this territory will be under her stewardship. If she needs help, she will have the full support of the Capital." Josephine turned back to the sea of faces. "Do you all understand?"

​The silence held for a moment, then heads began to nod. The men, women, and children remembered. They remembered Casey sneaking out to help the poor. They remembered her kindness when the other royals sneered. She wasn’t her mother.

​A cheer started, hesitant at first, then growing louder. They accepted her.

​Josephine nodded, satisfied.

​"Hmm..."

​She suddenly raised a hand to her chest, pressing against the fabric of her dress. A sharp, cold pang shot through her heart—a pain that didn’t belong to her. Her expression faltered for a fraction of a second.

​’What is this feeling?’ She thought, a chill running down her spine.

​"What happened, Mother?" Ellen whispered, stepping closer, her sharp eyes noticing the subtle shift.

​Josephine blinked, shaking off the sensation. She looked down at Ellen and forced a reassuring smile.

​"It’s nothing," she lied, hiding her sudden terror perfectly.

​’Sunny... Please be safe,’ she thought, projecting the wish into the void, unaware that Ellen, could hear the desperate thought as clearly as spoken words.

_____

​[Unknown Realm - Domain of the Dead.]

[Three days later.]

​Sunny’s eyes fluttered open. The first sensation was cold—a biting, deep chill that seeped into his bones. The second was roughness against his cheek.

​He frowned, groggily pushing himself up. The moment his eyes focused and saw the blood-red sky, memory slammed back into him. His eyes snapped wide open, and he sat upright with a gasp.

​"This?!!"

​"You are finally awake. It seems I struck a little too hard. My apologies."

​The God of Death was standing some meters away, his back to Sunny, his hands clasped behind him as he gazed at the endless horizon of bones.

​"This?" Sunny rubbed the center of his forehead. The pain of the flick was still there, a throbbing reminder of the impossible gap in their power.

​’This guy is truly a freak. He knocked me out for three days with a flick?’

​"Ok Sunny... Get ready for your last test. Don’t just go unconscious again," The God said, glancing over his shoulder with a bored expression.

​"Last test?" Sunny asked, his voice raspy. He was speechless. He hadn’t even passed the "one finger" test. What madness was next?