Chapter 292: Breaking the Game, and a Second Stage?

The demon's voice echoed in both rooms simultaneously.

Ansu did not hesitate for a second, raising his hand to press the red button representing sacrificing himself.

On the other side, Freya bit her lower lip, her fingertips trembling slightly as she pressed the blue button.

There was only one thought in her heart.

Trust Lord Ansu! He will definitely win!

In the depths of the darkness, Zak-Eos's cold, sinister laugh rang out again, tinged with a hint of schadenfreude.

"Although I didn't expect this process, still..."

"Hahahaha, Ansu! This was your own choice!"

The moment the laughter faded, Ansu felt an invisible, eerie power.

On the desk before him, a short dagger glinting with a cold light appeared out of thin air.

Immediately, he felt like a marionette controlled by invisible strings; as if possessed, he reversed his grip on the hilt and stabbed ruthlessly toward his own heart.

Zak-Eos waited with full anticipation for the sight of Ansu committing suicide.

But as the tip of the blade was about to pierce his skin, it suddenly stopped.

The air seemed to freeze.

Zak-Eos froze for a moment, his lava-like eyes narrowing, his voice filled with unbelievable dismay.

"You..."

Ansu was not dead.

He slowly lowered the short dagger aimed at his heart and looked up at the demon in the void, a knowing smile curling his lips.

"Just as I thought... at its core, this is still magic."

Even the power of an ancient demon, no matter how old or mysterious... ultimately relies on the operation of this world's most primordial mana.

【Demon Contract: Command: Dominion】

【Effect: Within the arbitration range of the demon domain, command any humanoid creature within casting range, forcing it to execute the caster's instructions.】

"How did you do it?" Zak-Eos's voice was full of shock. "This is impossible!"

He couldn't understand it. Even if this guy had the Goddess of Holy Light as his backing, Ansu himself was just a mortal of ordinary strength. How could he possibly block a demigod-level Command magic?

"This is magic, right?" Ansu smiled as he looked up at the ceiling.

He naturally knew what the demon was shocked about.

The answer was simple.

"As long as it's magic, I can block it."

【Magic Immunity Lv2】

【You can select one of the opponent's magic skills; after selection, you will be permanently immune to the effects of that magic.】

【Note: The selection can still be changed. After re-selecting another magic skill, all previous immunity effects will be cleared. That is—you can only be immune to one magic skill at a time.】

【Selected Immune Skill: Command: Dominion】

The mechanic-exploiting monster has returned for a limited time.

He had previously used this god-tier skill granted by the system to guard against Celia, but since the Lady Witch hadn't used Hypnosis on him in a long time...

Faced with the demon's death trap, he hadn't hesitated to switch his immunity target to the demon's Command magic.

As for what would happen after he returned...

He had been out of contact in the North with the little Holy Maiden for so long, and so many 'stories' had happened with Freya during this time...

He didn't even dare to imagine how much punishment Miss Witch would have in store for him when he returned...

But Ansu could no longer worry about that.

The current crisis was more urgent.

The moment Ansu saw Gulzan being controlled by the rules to slit his own throat with a pottery shard, he had guessed Zak-Eos's methods.

It turned out this game was not just for Gulzan, but specifically designed to deal with him.

The demon didn't dare to kill him directly, so it used the method of guided suicide to evade the interference of the gods.

"Impossible! How did you do it?" Zak-Eos's voice was completely distorted. "This is primordial magic from the First Era! Its legacy was lost long ago. How could you possibly possess knowledge of this... or even be able to break it?"

This magic was older than even the Goddess of Holy Light!

But the trouble that terrified it even more was yet to come.

The power of the rules supporting the entire demon domain began to tremble violently. The black void was like a shredded curtain, with cracks spreading from all directions.

Before Ansu's eyes, the magnificent room began to collapse, revealing the void of chaos behind it.

The spatial barrier that had isolated him from Freya was vanishing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

He saw Freya on the other side immediately.

Because she had personally pressed the 'sacrifice other' button, the pink-haired girl was standing there distraught, tear stains still at the corners of her eyes.

When she saw Ansu standing there completely unharmed, she looked as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her. Tears burst from her eyes, and she let out a long sigh of relief.

"Ansu!!" Freya rushed over and threw herself into his arms, clutching his waist tightly.

"I'm so glad you're okay..." Her voice trembled with the relief of a narrow escape. "I knew you'd be fine!"

Ansu ruffled her messy hair and said softly in consolation, "I'm fine... I told you to trust me."

"Don't ever make me make a choice like that again..." Freya buried her face in his chest, her voice muffled. "I was so scared, scared that I would become the one who killed you with my own hands... If that happened, I would never forgive myself."

If Ansu had died because of her, she certainly wouldn't have wanted to live on alone...

"Don't worry, it won't happen!" Ansu smiled and winked at her. "It's precisely because I knew I wouldn't die this time that I felt safe letting you press the button, right?"

Freya smiled through her tears and nodded. "Mhm!"

After saying that, Ansu looked up at the crumbling dark space, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

The demon domain... had collapsed because of his operation just now? Had it glitched?

But it made sense.

The demon domain and the demon contract were all built upon power the demon could control. But if a power appeared here that it could not dominate, then this meticulously woven cage would naturally collapse on its own.

In the depths of the darkness, Zak-Eos's pained roar rang out.

Ansu could clearly feel that the entire demon domain was accelerating its collapse. The cold and the sound of the wind from the snow mountain outside were already faintly seeping in.

Is it going to end?

"Lord Ansu... let's get out of here!"

Freya quickly let go of him, looking around anxiously. "While the demon is too busy to attend to us... let's escape quickly!"

"Wait a moment." Ansu shook his head.

Since he was in a simulation, he didn't have much fear of death.

He stepped forward a few paces. Not far away, where Gulzan had been just a moment ago, the divine spark fragment emitting a soft emerald light was floating in mid-air.

A pure and rich aura of nature dispelled the surrounding cold and malice.

Ansu reached out.

The moment his fingertips touched the fragment, lines of information surfaced in his consciousness.

【Aiseweida's divine spark fragment】

【One of the divine spark fragments that shattered when Aiseweida, the God of Nature, fell. Due to the law of the "Immortality of Gods," this fragment still retains some authorities, such as collecting faith and eventually reforming a divine spark.】

【Authority: Nature Affinity, Resurgence】

Just as Ansu was carefully inspecting the fragment, even attempting to feel the powerful lingering divine power within it—

The demon's voice rang out again in the darkness.

Perhaps due to the backlash of the rule's power, the voice was low and pained, yet it still carried a trace of lingering mockery.

"If I were you... I wouldn't touch that thing. It's not something you should lay hands on."

"Foolish human..."

Ansu looked up. For some reason, he felt that the demon wasn't just scaremongering this time; its mockery was sincere.

"Why?"

Zak-Eos's tone carried a kind of malice that was almost schadenfreude.

"Because it never belonged to you! I can use Aiseweida's divine spark fragment, and that idiot Gustav could use it, but you are the only one who cannot!"

"As a follower of the Goddess of Holy Light, Her most loyal Chosen One... do you not know why the God of Nature fell, Ansu?"

"Do you think your god will tolerate you embracing another hostile deity?"

"Taking it is equivalent to betraying the Goddess of Holy Light! She will obliterate you instantly!"

As the words fell, the demon's aura receded from the domain like a low tide, leaving only one final sneer—

"You're finished, Ansu!"

The darkness vanished, and the domain completely lost the support of the demon.

Ansu suddenly had an ominous premonition.

His heart pounded wildly, and he snapped his head up.

Suddenly, an indisputable and powerful will abruptly descended from the heavens.

At the edge of the sky, blinding light tore through the clouds, carrying the Spear of Judgment that represented the divine will, crashing down toward his position!

"Ansu!!" Freya's eyes widened instantly.

The last scene Ansu saw.

Was her expression of utter despair, her eyes bloodshot.

【Simulation has ended...】

【Reality】

【Radiant Calendar Year 625, September 1st, 13:26】

Ansu snapped back to his senses. Before him was a steep mountain ridge covered in snow, with a piercing cold wind whistling past his ears.

Freya was standing right beside him, and not far away was Gulzan, covered in blood and fleeing in panic.

"Found you!" Freya pulled Ansu's arm excitedly. "Quick! Let's go and kill him right now, then this can all finally be over!"

But the current Gulzan was already irrelevant to Ansu.

Nothing but a stray.

Ansu lowered his head; his palm was empty.

He couldn't help but sigh in relief, complaining silently to himself.

'There's even a fucking second stage...'

...