Chapter 467: What is the Price?
Chapter 467: What is the Price?
Two seconds later, Fang Cheng revived with a grave look.
Isis in her complete form had far greater attack range and power, effortlessly crushing him.
Delaying further would only waste his lives. Without hesitation, Fang Cheng upgraded Ghost Shadow Stealth from Level 1 (87/100) to Level 4.
Life: -81
Remaining: 168
Ghost Shadow Stealth Level 4 (1/400)
The moment the upgrade finished, Isis’s second attack arrived, turning Fang Cheng to ash.
But moments before dying, his soul slipped free from his body, snatching two Items from the shadow.
The Thunder Hammer gripped his left hand, the Child-Cutting Ankan his right.
Though souls normally can’t touch physical objects, Fang Cheng’s absorption of Wakagi Kazuhiro’s ability granted him this power.
A glance revealed his body already destroyed by Isis.
Being in an out-of-body experience meant he wasn’t fully dead yet—but lingering too long as a soul meant final Death.
Thankfully, Level 4 Ghost Shadow Stealth stretched his soul’s deadline to six months instead of half a day.
The skill’s possession effect meant claiming any body within that time would prevent Death.
Fang Cheng briefly marveled at Ghost Shadow Stealth’s power, then focused.
Wielding both weapons, he activated War God Bloodline. Only Teleportation and Heart Body Technique worked now—Crazed Blood and Mountain God’s Protection required a body.
“Soul escape?”
Isis’s red-lit eyes instantly spotted his approaching soul.
A clever counterattack—but her Idealism could strike spiritual entities too.
Invisible force crushed inward to obliterate his soul…
…and dissolved harmlessly upon contact.
She struck again. Same result.
“Iyaya!” Isis snarled, sensing the evil god’s power shielding him—combined with that earlier paradise strike, the meddling was obvious.
Though Iyaya seemed unwilling to join the battle directly, Fang Cheng exploited her protection anyway.
Teleporting through Isis’s attacks, he closed the distance and unleashed paradise.
Even as a soul, he shivered when two pale arms slid over his shoulders, crossing at his chest—like someone clinging to his back.
Isis froze… then shook off the effect in mere seconds.
But Fang Cheng teleported over and thrust.
Thud!
The Child-Cutting Ankan plunged through her chest and out her back.
He swung his free hand, smashing the Thunder Hammer into Isis’s head with a thunderclap. Lightning erupted where they connected.
A shockwave exploded from Isis’s body, battering Fang Cheng. Even with Iyaya’s protection and Vector Control shielding him, the impact sent him flying.
He steadened himself mid-air, eyes snapping back to Isis.
She floated unhurriedly, her head partially caved by the hammer, the sacred blade still lodged in her chest. One weapon for sealing, another for slaying immortals – his final gambit.
Isis traced her fingers over the head wound, erasing it instantly. She plucked the Child-Cutting Ankan from her chest with deliberate slowness. Each movement made Fang Cheng’s hopes wither.
“This blade…” Isis examined the weapon before letting it clatter to the ground. “Adequate against lesser immortals. But legends say it only killed Shōki.”
True power only when striking its destined foe. Against others, mere suppression. Useless against a primordial like her.
Fang Cheng’s face stayed blank. No more cards left. 168 Life remaining. Even his soul-state escape plan failed without access to mother’s middle finger.
The gap was insurmountable.
Isis smiled as if reading his thoughts. “You trusted that evil god’s protection?” Blood pooled in her palm, twisting into a black scythe. “The Scythe of Kronos. A cheap imitation, but sufficient.”
Fang Cheng didn’t recognize the name, but understood instantly – she’d used Idealism to manifest this weapon from blood. He’d thought her blood creation limited to ordinary objects, not legendary arms.
Iyaya’s voice suddenly filled his mind after long silence, flooding him with knowledge: *The Scythe of Kronos. Earth-Mother Gaia’s deepest stone, forged by Sekros. Second Divine King’s weapon to slay his father Uranus.*
This gave the Scythe of Kronos the ability to slay gods.
The scythe had always been Kronos’ symbol, as he was considered the harvest deity before ancient Greek times. Later, people confused him with Chronos who represented time, so Kronos holding a scythe became a symbol of time’s passage.
This transformed the scythe into an emblem of death, explaining why Western mythology’s Grim Reaper wears a black cloak and carries a scythe.
Thus, the Scythe of Kronos became known as the Reaper – harvesting crops as a harvest god and collecting souls as Death’s weapon.
This divine weapon could harvest spiritual beings and possessed god-killing properties.
It was the perfect tool against souls protected by evil deities.
As information about the Scythe of Kronos flashed through Fang Cheng’s mind, he felt overwhelming helplessness for the first time.
He thought Iyaya had spoken to assist him, but her next words shocked him: “I can’t help you anymore. Save yourself.”
While proxies could be replaced, her power projected into Fang Cheng’s body couldn’t defeat Isis without her true form’s arrival.
“Wait! You–”
Fang Cheng never expected Iyaya to abandon him now.
Isis already moved. With a gesture, she dragged Fang Cheng’s soul before her. The Scythe of Kronos in her right hand swept downward.
The god-slaying weapon shattered Iyaya’s protective power on Fang Cheng’s soul, then effortlessly severed his soul with its harvesting effect.
Darkness filled Fang Cheng’s vision as his soul scattered like dust.
Life: -1
Remaining: 167
…
When the N5 explosion’s aftermath faded, Kanzaki Rin and Asaka Akihime returned to the suburban construction site.
Seeing the nine-tailed fox and Eve alive made their hearts drop – Isis had survived.
This wasn’t unexpected. Kanzaki Rin never believed N5 could kill Isis, hoping it might give Fang Cheng some advantage at most.
Peering through binoculars at the distant suburbs revealed nothing through the haze.
Static answered her attempts to contact Sato Hayato – the explosion’s electromagnetic pulse likely destroyed his communication device.
With nothing left to do, Kanzaki Rin waited anxiously.
She noticed Asaka Akihime’s drowsy state and tapped her shoulder. “Akihime? What’s wrong?”
“It’s not me,” Asaka Akihime rubbed her forehead. “It’s Yuqing. Something’s happening with her.”
This reminded them of Ye Yuqing’s previous soul instability, solved by Fang Cheng’s soul stabilizer. The recurrence filled Asaka Akihime with dread.
Despite her attempts, Ye Yuqing remained unresponsive.
Ye Yuqing wandered through endless darkness, shouting uselessly for Fang Cheng and Asaka Akihime.
A hooded woman materialized before her, face shadowed except for a sharp chin.
“Who are you?” Ye Yuqing demanded, keeping distance.
“Fang Cheng’s dying. He can’t defeat Isis,” the woman answered.
“Lies! Ah Cheng won’t lose!” Ye Yuqing shouted, missing how the voice mirrored her own.
Images flooded her mind – Fang Cheng repeatedly dying by Isis’ scythe, reviving each time with growing despair.
Ye Yuqing trembled violently, recognizing the hopeless expression she’d once seen on Kanzaki Rin.
“I can help repel Isis,” the woman offered.
“What’s the price?” Ye Yuqing asked warily.
“Losing everything. Will you pay?”
Only then did Ye Yuqing notice their identical voices. “Who ARE you?”
After a pause, the woman lifted her hood, revealing Ye Yuqing’s own face. “Call me Tsukimi Narumi.”