The air between the sky and the earth seemed to freeze at this moment.

Even in the area of the black mist, Shirley and the others couldn't help but feel the pressure emanating from their bodies.

"Divine Authority!"

An intense wave of vibrant energy concentrated around the body of the God of Light, roaring as it spread throughout the surroundings.

"Solidify!"

Seeing the critical situation, Shirley wasted no time.

She immediately opened her hands, and all the black particles under her control quickly transformed from a dispersed, unstable black mist into a thicker and more stable liquid.

This thick, viscous black liquid rapidly covered everyone's bodies, forming a protective black layer.

Then, the black particles solidified into a more stable, solid form.

"Crack... Crack..."

When the Divine Authority released by the God of Light collided with Shirley's solidified darkness, sharp cracking sounds echoed continuously.

From the outside, it looked as if a massive layer of onyx-like defense was trembling frantically, with cracks gradually spreading from top to bottom.

Finally.

Shirley’s solidified darkness shattered, turning into pieces like black crystals floating in the air.

"Are you all okay?"

Shirley was using this ability in battle for the first time, so she wasn’t sure how effective the defense of the black particles was.

"I'm fine, it’s just a bit stifling in here."

Karina, the first to emerge from the black protective layer, floated above the black "crystals" and quickly arrived at Shirley's side.

"We’re fine too."

The others began to gradually emerge from the black defense layer, joining Shirley.

"What should we do now?" Luna asked.

Shirley looked at the God of Light, exuding a powerful energy, and said, "We need to break his Divine Authority, or my ability will have no effect on him."

Yes, by activating "Divine Authority," the God of Light was repelling all of Shirley’s black particles.

If this continued, their plan would fail.

"Either way, we can only face him head-on!"

Rosamund wielded her spiked staff, filled with determination.

"Yes, it seems there’s no other option..."

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At that moment, the God of Light raised his right hand towards Shirley.

"Divine Authority – Divine Penalty!"

Shirley’s eyes narrowed, and she shouted, "Watch out!"

At the same time, the black particles around them began to stir frantically, and almost instantly, a new defensive shield was raised above them.

In the next instant!

A pillar of radiant light descended from the sky, striking Shirley and the others.

The defense layer, which had been created less than a second earlier, was shattered into pieces.

Fortunately, the group’s reaction speed was swift, and in that brief moment, everyone managed to evade the Divine Penalty’s attack area.

"You reacted quickly..."

The God of Light merely smiled indifferently.

"But how do you plan to avoid the next attacks?"

The dazzling white light illuminated one side of the sky where the God of Light stood, while the darkness around Shirley seemed much more diminished by comparison.

The white light continually pressed on the darkness surrounding Shirley, causing the already disadvantaged darkness to recede once more.

However, it stopped there.

When the darkness receded to a certain point, it stabilized again.

"Enough, attack!"

Seeing the situation stabilizing, Shirley immediately gave the order to attack.

With the darkness controlled by Shirley as their base, everyone quickly approached the God of Light's position.

He’s coming towards us...

Alright...

In this world, although the God of Light could continually absorb the power of belief, it didn’t actually increase his strength.

After all, he was in another "world."

As a foreign god, he should be repelled by the surrounding world’s will.

Continuing to fight in this manner would bring him no benefit.

Meanwhile, Shirley and the others, relying on the powerful characteristics of the black particles, might very well be able to force him back to his divine realm if they managed to prolong the fight.

Understood...

That was their plan...

With the situation as it was, the God of Light believed he had figured out Shirley and the others' plan.

To prevent things from developing in Shirley’s favor, the God of Light decided to end the fight quickly.

Seeing the distance between him and Shirley decreasing, the God of Light still hadn’t moved.

Until...

"Divine Authority—"

"The Sky Falls!"

The white light shone intensely.

Everything in the world seemed to have been stripped away, leaving only that sharp, dazzling, and powerful light.

In an instant, it seemed that even the darkness where Shirley and the others were had completely disappeared.

Only when the light dissipated, the ground revealed an enormous crater, as if the entire sky had fallen onto the earth.

The God of Light hadn’t considered the consequences of such an attack.

Even if he destroyed this world now, he would only feel a bit disappointed.

After all, even if he stayed here, he couldn’t remain for long, and in the meantime, his intention was to extract all remaining value from this world.

From the God of Light's position to the massive crater on the ground, there was nothing left.

He surveyed his surroundings and found no trace of Shirley and the others.

They disappeared in an instant, didn’t they?

The God of Light found this situation a bit surprising, but still within his expectations.

They were merely the native inhabitants of this world, hadn’t even touched the domain of "gods," and yet had managed to come this far, which was quite a feat.

If it weren’t for that strange black substance, they probably would have been exterminated by him already...

Thinking this, the God of Light withdrew his Divine Authority and looked down.

If there were any remnants of black substances, he’d like to collect some for research.

If he could unravel the mysteries of these black substances, perhaps he could further elevate his power.

However, the moment he directed his attention to the ground.

A strong sense of crisis emerged, making him instinctively move his head aside.

It hurts...

The God of Light had this realization at that moment.

He reached up to touch his cheek and felt blood...

Without a doubt, he had been injured.

His body instantly moved to another position, and before he could see who attacked him, he felt another assault from behind.

With caution and preparedness, he managed to dodge in time.

The one who attacked him seemed to find that continuing the ambush was pointless and stopped attacking.

Karina’s body floated like a shadow in the air.

She placed a drop of blood from her claws into her mouth, tasted it, and made a disgusted expression.

"What a nasty taste..."

She said.