Lin Luo was not entirely unprepared for his battle with Yūmei. Although he was initially at a disadvantage, it was because he was weighed down by three burdens—as Arthur had put it, if Yūmei could just hold him off for a few minutes, the hundreds of thousands of evil spirits in the city, along with those four mid-tier Spirit Realm ghost kings, could annihilate Homura and the other two girls in a very short time. But that unfavorable situation vanished the moment he established the Heart Contract with Homura and Kagura.

This wasn't just because their power levels had dramatically surged; more importantly, they had accepted the inheritance of the Black and White Maidens, and the world itself was heading toward demise. The Black and White Maidens were the fundamental existence of this world, perhaps present since its very genesis, analogous to Gaia in the Nasuverse. Yet, the Black and White Maidens differed greatly from Gaia.

Gaia was the consciousness of the Earth; as long as the Earth endured, Gaia could not die, serving merely as the conscious manifestation of the world transitioning from formlessness to form. The Black and White Maidens, however, were the world's inheritance. Periodically, the world would select a Maiden of White, and from the Maiden of White's memories, the person most closely connected to her would be designated the Maiden of Black.

This was how the Black and White Maidens were born... But precisely when would the Black and White Maidens appear? It was when the world intended to shuffle its deck anew.

When the world decided that the current inhabitants of humanity were no longer fit to survive, the Black and White Maidens would be chosen. They would then spread word subconsciously among humanity that the Black and White Maidens would bring about the apocalypse—the objective being to manipulate humanity into killing either the Maiden of Black or the Maiden of White. Because the Black and White Maidens chosen by the world necessarily possessed human bodies, they could indeed be killed by humans.

However, the Black and White Maidens must not be killed, for they are the locks, the very mechanism closing the door to the world’s destruction... In a sense, while the world possessed the power to annihilate humanity, it could not wield it directly, as the world remained in an unconscious, chaotic state. The Black and White Maidens, having been selected by the world, were effectively its seals.

If either one died, the seal would break, unleashing the power of world destruction to mercilessly slay every human and creature on the surface. Lin Luo was unsure how many generations of Black and White Maidens there had been; neither Homura nor Kagura possessed memories of this in their inheritance. It was only known from existing records that the previous Maiden of Black had been killed by humans, ushering in the world's destruction, leaving no survivors.

This generation's Black and White Maidens were Homura and Kagura. Under the normal course of events, either one maiden would be killed, ending humanity, or, as in the original story, the Black and White Maidens would renounce that inheritance, and humanity would continue to exist... However, this time the circumstances had changed: Yūmei had already slain all of humanity before the Black and White Maidens could face that fate.

Thus, the step of destruction was skipped entirely, leading directly to rebirth. As long as the world’s lineage was not severed, the Black and White Maidens would not truly die. After humanity perished, the fallen Black and White Maidens would resurrect once more, and together, utilizing the world's power, they would transmute that destructive force into a power of renewal—that is, the World Purification.

On the third day, upon receiving this inherited memory, Homura and Kagura immediately informed Lin Luo. Thus, as Yūmei launched his assault, Lin Luo used his remaining two fixed-point teleportation charges to send them to opposite ends of the world... the extreme East and the extreme West.

These were the world’s purification points. Unless someone could suppress the world’s power, no force could infiltrate those two locations... Of course, just in case, Lin Luo also sent Arthur and one of his Mist Clones along, who could serve as cover should any unexpected situation arise.

Therefore, Lin Luo alone remained here, awaiting Yūmei’s challenge, while Homura and Kagura were positioned at opposite ends of the world, enacting the world's purification. Originally, Lin Luo had worried that Yūmei might see through his plan, abandon the fight with him, and move to assassinate the Black and White Maidens. After all, the Sanzu River knew the identity of the Black and White Maidens, meaning Yūmei, as its master, surely must too.

However... Yūmei had absorbed too many vengeful souls in his haste to break the rules of power, accumulating the hatred of billions. This caused him to be incapable of making correct judgments, his memory even becoming incredibly muddled, entirely failing to anticipate such a move from Lin Luo.

This was a case of 'haste makes waste.' Generally, analyzing the world's rules took at least a month, and achieving a full one-hundred-percent unraveling would take a minimum of three months. But Yūmei had been in this world for no more than twenty days. Without the aid of a Time House or something akin to the Root Scroll, how could he possibly reach one hundred percent in such a short span?

The only explanation was that his method of analyzing the world's rules was unorthodox. He took a shortcut, a perverse path driven by ambition. While this might yield significant breakthroughs in the short term, perhaps even surpassing his peak, the residual consequences would certainly be far greater.

Ultimately, it was a means of self-destruction. If Yūmei had been willing to spend three months or more, using conventional means to analyze the world's rules, Lin Luo might genuinely fear him given Yūmei's intellect and capability, and Lin Luo would have acted much more cautiously—even the possibility of capsizing in a ditch wouldn't be out of the question. But by employing this method of artificially accelerating growth, even if he became stronger, his mind would be a mess, like a brute who possessed immense power but was as thick-witted as a pig.

Such an enemy posed little real threat to Lin Luo, who wielded the Black Flame of Destruction. Worse still, upon realizing he couldn't win, Yūmei had resorted to using the power of the Killing Stones... His rationality had truly reached its nadir.

The Killing Stones were the world's tool for annihilation; their true owners were the Black and White Maidens! Before the Black and White Maidens awakened, him using them meant little. But now that they had accepted their inheritance and begun purifying the world, the Killing Stones would only serve as fuel for the Maidens' purification, not only failing to aid him but actually accelerating his demise.

At the world's extreme East, Tsuchimiya Kagura stood within a ten-meter diameter halo, hands clasped before her chest, gazing upward in an attitude of prayer. With slightly parted lips, she uttered ancient incantations incomprehensible to any observer. A brilliant white light rose from her, pure as a saintess, soaring toward the heavens before showering down upon the world.

Shirayuri and Lin Luo’s clone guarded the outside of the halo, vigilantly watching the countless evil spirits and the living dead who tried to approach but were unable to cross the boundary. At the world's extreme West, Isayama Homura floated within a similarly sized black halo, right arm raised high, surveying everything below with an imperious posture, filled with majesty. She recited deep invocations, and endless black light ascended from the ground, stretching upward toward the sky, shrouding heaven and earth in darkness.

Guren and Arthur stood outside the black ring, watching the evil spirits scream in agony as they were corroded by the black light. "Ah! Don't go!

Don't go! My power! My power...!" When the white and black lights shone upon Yūmei, the tormented, struggling spirits suddenly calmed.

Those touched by the black light vanished one by one, while those touched by the white light ascended with peaceful smiles, as if achieving nirvana, finally dissipating into nothingness. More and more vengeful souls disappeared from his body. Yūmei felt both terror and agony—terror at the prospect of never recovering that power, causing his strength to plummet; agony because the stripping of this power pierced directly into his soul, making him feel as if he were trapped in hell.

"Impossible! Stop for me!" Yūmei’s face contorted hideously. He reached out with a trembling hand, trying to drag the souls back, but no matter how he struggled, it was futile.

The world’s purification was unstoppable, unless he could shatter the world in an instant. Yet his power had not reached that level. Under the guidance of the Black and White Maidens, the Killing Stones had already left him, and the power of destruction was beginning to convert into the energy of purification.

"Have you still not realized?" Lin Luo watched his powerless, tormented state without immediately attacking. He spoke calmly, "From the moment you made this world's billions of souls your source of strength, you should have known that this resentment and hatred would eventually turn back on you. What is not yours will never be yours.

You lost the moment you started." "Myōō!" Yūmei suddenly whipped his head around, glaring at Lin Luo, his eyes nearly spewing fire. He crushed a soul yet to be touched by the purifying light that was tearing at his body, grinding his teeth. "You...

Don't gloat! Even in death... I will drag you down with me!" With that, Yūmei violently tore at his own body.

Skin split open, blood splattered, and countless vengeful souls burst forth from within him. Using his blood as a guide, they emitted low, terrifying roars. But before they could launch any attack, the black and white light descended, engulfing them entirely.

Lin Luo ignored the souls being purified and looked upon Yūmei with genuine regret. "Although your character leaves much to be desired, in terms of both mind and capability, you were not bad among the Wanderers. You could have been a formidable opponent for me.

Unfortunately, your own greed cost you that opportunity... Your decisiveness is truly lacking. At this moment, you should be thinking of escaping via the Starlight Avenue, not of mutual destruction." Yūmei's expression shifted violently.

Hearing Lin Luo’s words, he finally remembered the Starlight Avenue was an option. But before he could summon his Codex, he saw a streak of black light pierce his chest—not the light of purification, but... black flames.

Crack Lin Luo’s right hand tore through Yūmei’s body, and the Black Flame of Destruction erupted fiercely.