At this moment, the mages in Endymion sensed the terrifying aura emanating from the distance.
The Twilight Airspace seemed to churn and roil within that chaotic aura.
And through the swirling misty chaos, they saw it.
A colossal figure, so vast it seemed to touch the distant horizon.
Its black and massive form emanated an awe-inspiring presence that made hearts tremble.
From its back spread a pair of black wings, their glossy black feathers radiating a solemn aura.
She held a dark, sharp blade, as if judging the justice within people's hearts.
The mages were shocked, as if touching something invisible, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
The mysterious divine figure was hard to see clearly, only its silhouette barely visible through the haze.
But still, they saw it.
The deity's hands weren't just holding the pitch-black blade.
Her left wrist, like flowing silk, gracefully held aloft a set of scales in the air.
Though the scales were equally black, as if tainted by some corruption.
Yet upon them still shone a brilliant radiance.
The noble and elegant scales in her hand appeared perfectly harmonious.
They carried a mysterious power that left observers in awe.
And behind those chaotic clouds, there was a terrifying dragon covered in sharp scales, seeming to radiate an extremely evil power from its entire body.
The third-rank mages of Endymion were naturally knowledgeable and well-versed in lore.
When they saw that majestic figure standing proudly in the sky, they immediately recognized it.
"That... that's the Goddess of Justice!?"
Meanwhile.
On Endymion's first level, ripples spread out around the central space.
Within those ripples, figures of mages appeared in the very center of the first level.
At this moment, it was extremely crowded here.
There was no help for it - mages transmitted news extremely quickly.
So quickly that almost the instant the explosion occurred in the Twilight Airspace, the news had spread throughout the entire City of Mages.
Indeed.
They had all heard.
In one of the most dangerous floating islands outside Endymion - the Twilight Airspace,
An extremely terrifying explosion had occurred!
Many mages had come because of this explosion, naturally gathering in the area with the best view of the floating island.
That is, the first level of the City of Mages.
But as soon as they arrived at this first level, these newly arrived mages were all dumbfounded.
As mentioned before, mages were widely knowledgeable, and seeing that black figure in the sky, they could only respond with silence.
That being who held the blade of justice's judgment and raised high the divine scales.
It was exactly like the Goddess of Justice recorded in divine history.
The Goddess of Justice had actually manifested!
This was absolutely explosive news.
Simply incredible.
The mages of the City of Mages all knew.
The Mage Council was an extremely righteous and moral organization.
Because from its founding, the council's standards were based on justice and morality.
And the mages who joined the council knew even better.
To join the council, one must pass the judgment of [The Scales of the Goddess of Justice].
Only those who met the requirements were allowed to join the council.
This standard of only allowing those with justice and noble morality to join the council had continued to this day.
So, any mage would believe that the Mage Council had some connection to the Goddess of Justice.
But now?
When the divine image of the Goddess of Justice appeared above Endymion, who would still think the council only had a slight connection to the Goddess of Justice?
This was clearly the orthodox lineage of the Goddess of Justice, right here in the Mage Council!
However, something about the Goddess of Justice before them felt discordant.
The Goddess of Justice had always been described as a pure and holy being.
Shouldn't such a deity be shining with golden light, even without any holy radiance?
But the Goddess of Justice before them...
Every part of her body seemed to be wrapped in blackness.
Her armor, and those divine wings representing holiness behind her.
Even the sharp-gleaming blade she held in her hand, and those scales symbolizing justice and fairness, were all a deep black.
After pondering anxiously for a while, the elder mages collectively reached a conclusion.
And in an instant, countless mages agreed with it.
"Never mind, this must be the true form of the Goddess of Justice."
"Right, though she looks a bit dark, this might be the goddess's true appearance!"
"Indeed, after all, none of us have ever seen the real goddess!"
Hahaha!
Amidst bursts of laughter, all the mages became certain.
The Goddess of Justice must be black!
They felt an extraordinary and wondrous feeling surge in their hearts, as auras of majesty and nobility continuously emanated from the goddess's form.
But no one noticed.
Though the Goddess of Justice stood proudly in the sky, above her head stood a black dot as small as a sesame seed.
It was a crow.
Completely black.
One eye gleaming brightly.
When the crow flapped its wings, that goddess with black wings seemed to move along with it, dancing together.
This goddess representing justice seemed completely controlled by the crow, like a puppet.
Lian's eyes widened like brass bells as he fell back onto the hard ground, clearly shocked beyond measure.
His breathing became heavy, even his scattered white beard trembling in his own breath.
Staring in shock at the black Goddess of Justice before him, he exclaimed:
"The... the Goddess of Justice!?"
In his several hundred years of life, this was his first time seeing a ghost... no, seeing a god.
Though slightly different from the descriptions, with this goddess appearing somewhat dark, that natural divine presence remained undiminished.
So, if the Goddess of Justice had appeared, then... those scales Viktor was holding earlier were...
"The Scales of the Goddess of Justice!?"
Damn, this time he really had seen a ghost.
Where did Viktor get such an item?
At this moment, Viktor stood with his hands in his pockets, calmly gazing forward.
Faced with this holy presence, the Chaos Dragon King was clearly terrified.
Its massive body trembled slightly, the chaotic magic flowing over it becoming intermittent.
Even its eyes were tense, as if facing a great enemy.
The black scales on its body couldn't stop shaking.
Indeed, divine will.
Although these divine scales were only a replica.
But they truly possessed the divine power of the Goddess of Justice.
The Grand Mage, to prevent the goddess's obsessive will from affecting more humans, had stolen her divine power.
And built the magnificent sky city, Endymion, in the clouds.
Afterwards, the Grand Mage used the stolen divine power to create these scales, intending to weaken the goddess's influence.
In truth, Viktor couldn't use these scales.
Because his moral weight far exceeded the goddess's requirements.
However, the scales in his hand were, after all, only a replica.
Since he couldn't use them himself, he let Vega do it.
With Vega's current divine power, controlling a replica was still possible.
"It's good to know fear, but unfortunately."
Viktor stood with his hands in his pockets, looking at the giant dragon in the sky.
His voice was steady and cold.
"It's too late for regret."
As soon as the words fell, the Goddess of Justice in the sky raised the black scales in her hand.
The scales swayed back and forth, finally stabilizing in a balanced position.
In this instant, the Chaos Dragon King's body seemed gripped by giant hands on all four limbs, completely unable to move.
The bones inside its body creaked, as if colliding with each other, producing a chilling friction sound.
At the same time, the Goddess of Justice raised her blade of darkness, fiercely slashing toward the giant dragon before her.
The giant blade cut through the air, carving out a canyon-like rift, advancing swiftly with a sharp momentum.
Terrifying black waves spread across the entire cloud layer, following the chaotic magical power, dispersing throughout the entire City of Mages.
Like black flames, like black waves.
Rolling and turning, refracting and distorting.
BOOM—!
The moment the blade touched the giant dragon's body, a dazzling white light exploded in the sky like the sun, hot waves rapidly rolling and spreading in all directions.
The Chaos Dragon King's sturdy scales completely shattered upon contact with the giant blade.
Tough skin and flesh split open, black chaotic magical blood spraying out, huge blood pillars shooting straight to the sky.
White flames instantly swept across the entire sky city, as if the whole world was turning over.
That illuminating light seemed to have the determination to annihilate everything, continuing to spread until all things were submerged by it.
White rock fragments turned to powder under this terrifying impact, merging into that white light.
The clouds gradually dispersed, along with various sounds in everyone's ears being torn apart, gradually leaving only sharp and monotonous echoes, finally sinking into endless silence.
Causing absolute oppression and fear.
[Will of Judgment]
BOOM—
Until the white light gradually dispersed, like clamor fading away, tranquility returning to the entire City of Mages.
The pure sky was cloudless for thousands of miles, as if washed clean of filth.
The endless blue, like paint poured down by a deity, completely dyed the entire sky blue.
Wind swayed in the vast high sky, cloud wisps and green leaves from unknown sources danced floating in the air.
That bright sunlight continuously poured out heat, trying to reawaken this sky.
The black clouds of the original Twilight Airspace had likewise vanished, apparently completely purified.
Even the white rock fragments had largely disappeared, leaving only a few simple pieces of floating ground still swaying.
Along with the dancing wild wind.
That majestic black goddess also disappeared like an illusion.
"Caw—"
A hoarse cry slowly drifted down from the sky, a black crow flying down through the azure illusion.
It struggled to carry the scales twice its size by their top, somewhat unsteadily landing on Viktor's shoulder.
Lian stared at Viktor, completely dumbfounded.
Viktor calmly looked at him, reaching out to take the black scales from Vega's mouth.
Gripping them again in his hand, his eyes showed a long-absent appreciation.
To Lian sitting on the ground, he appeared so towering, so unreachable.
"So."
"I told you, this thing can be used to make a staff."
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