My starting summon is a small skeleton

In a chaotic Secret Realm world.

Lu Haikong sat cross-legged on a massive boulder.

At this moment, two powers within him clashed fiercely.

To be precise, it was more appropriate to call it an encirclement and suppression.

Li Haikong's own power was quickly cornered by this encirclement and fought desperately in the corner.

But that resistance was exceedingly weak.

Lu Haikong's strength stemmed from the Zeroer, and everything he had came from their side. Now they wanted to take it back, and it was really difficult for Lu Haikong to resist.

But no matter how difficult, he still didn't want to give up.

He still didn't want to lose to the Zeroer like that.

If he lost, what would happen to his wife?

For his wife's sake, he would fight with the last bit of strength and never give up.

"How ridiculous!

Is this really what you are struggling against me for?"

As an existence unified with Lu Haikong, the Zeroer knew his thoughts very well.

The clearer the Zeroer understood what Lu Haikong was thinking, the more disdain he had for him.

"You should know what my efforts over the past hundred years have been for, right?

I made that foolish mistake back then, turning the world that was in good shape into the fragmented mess it is now.

All my efforts over these hundred years have been to collect the Fragments and then restart the world, to restore the world to its original state!"

"As long as the world returns to its original state, my sins can be redeemed, and people won't have to live in a world where the strong can erase them at any moment.

They can live with dignity.

They can sleep in spacious and bright classrooms, play games on the couch, and do anything they want to do.

They don't have to worry about a Summoned Beast suddenly charging out to kill them nor fear that looking at a Summoner one extra time could get their whole family killed.

Isn't that kind of world better than this one?

Aren't they happier than now?

Am I wrong in what I'm doing?

I'm trying so hard to bring everyone back to that beautiful world, tell me, what did I do wrong?

Why are you hindering me? And for such a laughable reason too!

From the very beginning, you were nothing more than my substitute. You, this thing, just go..."

The Zeroer's words were cut off as Lu Haikong calmly delivered a sentence that struck at his soul, "Aren't you desperately trying to return to the past for the same laughable reason?"

This statement completely bewildered the Zeroer and plunged him into brief silence.

Then the Zeroer erupted completely, and a final assault broke through Lu Haikong's last defense.

With a "boom."

A sound like the evening drum and morning bell rang deep within Lu Haikong's soul, causing him to close his eyes.

The next moment, Lu Haikong's eyes opened.

But at this moment, Lu Haikong was no longer Lu Haikong; the Zeroer had taken his place and became the new Lu Haikong.

"The final trouble is gone, and now, no one can hinder me!"

Lu Haikong, or it should be said, the Zeroer, got up from that black stone at this moment.

As he rose, the chaotic aura around him dissipated, and the true form of the stone beneath him was revealed.

That was a block of ice, within which two figures could be seen—one was Li Ruyu, the other was Lu Wu's sister.

The Zeroer's brow furrowed, and with a backward sweep of his hand, he reduced the block of ice to powder.

By destroying Li Ruyu, he simultaneously erased his past as Lu Haikong. With this problem resolved, the Zeroer turned and left the mysterious Secret Realm, returning to the Alliance.

Keen to restore the world to its former state, the Zeroer headed straight for the Underground Palace upon his return to the Alliance.

"Lord Zeroer!"

Tie Xiong caught a glimpse of Lu Haikong's figure and subconsciously rose to his feet, respectfully bowing.

Without even acknowledging the gesture, the Zeroer strode toward the center of the ritual altar.

To be precise, he approached the center of the altar where Lu Wu had turned to jade.

"For over a century, for over a century, I finally get to see you again!"

The Zeroer gently caressed Lu Wu's cheek as one might cherish a rare treasure.

No, not as one might—it really was so.

Having absorbed all the fragments of the Gate, Lu Wu was to some extent the Gate itself; he was the most precious of rarities.

With Lu Wu, the Zeroer had obtained the Gate, and now he was on the verge of fulfilling his centuries-old wish.

"No, no, not yet; there's still something missing. I need to make some preparations first.

Lu Wu, as he stands, is of no use to me. I must take one final step!"

So saying, the Zeroer grabbed Lu Wu and, with a swing of his hand, tore open a crack.

Countless beams of Holy Light seeped through the fissure.

Indeed, on the other side of this crack lay the homeland of Lu Wu's last Summoned Beast, the previously unexplored Holy Angel Secret Realm.

The final condition needed to activate Lu Wu as a Gate lay within.

The Zeroer forcibly ripped the fissure wide open, violently breaking through the gates of the Holy Angel Secret Realm.

The moment the Gate was breached, the angels inside the Holy Angel Secret Realm immediately detected the existence of the crack, with the surrounding Holy Angels quickly gathering to investigate.

Yes, to investigate.

The Holy Angels at that moment simply came to see what was amiss, curious about the unfamiliar disturbance in their world.

The approaching angels, one by one, wore looks of curiosity, as naive as simpleton deer.

But, no sooner had they arrived than an indescribably terrifying power erupted.

This force obliterated them, turning these simple-minded angels into droplets of golden liquid which the Zeroer funneled into Lu Wu's body.

At the same time, inside the Holy Angel Secret Realm.

Ilya, her father, and her mother's expressions changed drastically.

Sensing the intrusion, the two rushed to the location of the crack at once.

They were urgently fast, but still a step too late.

When they arrived, the multitude of Holy Angels surrounding the crack had already been slaughtered.

Witnessing this scene, Ilya's father and mother flew into a towering rage.

"I sensed from the start there were powerful beings on your side, yet I didn't expect two near-Divine Level demigods? Quite impressive. Killing you should about fulfill the conditions," the Zeroer said, extending his hand toward the angry father and the Angel Queen, closing his hand in the air.

A phantom of a hand emerged from nothingness, enveloping the two angels.

In the moment the hand encased them, the Zeroer's full Power was revealed.

His Power was essentially on par with that of Ilya's father and mother, both at the Demigod Level.

However, among demigods, the disparity in their Power was vast.

The former two had just barely reached this level, while the Zeroer had already peaked at this stage.

A single grip exerted immense pressure on Ilya's parents.

They burst forth with Holy Light, creating a golden light barrier around them, attempting to resist the crushing force.

But despite their desperate efforts, they were no match for the Zeroer.

With a mere increase of strength from him, a crisp shattering noise rang out.

They couldn't withstand it!

In that moment, the two Demigod Level powerhouses clearly understood.

They could not endure the onslaught of the Zeroer.

If this continued, the two of them were done for.

At the height of their panic and despair, suddenly, a crisp 'crack' sounded.

Following that, the giant hand that had been reaching for them fractured into pieces.

"What's going on?"

The two angels were stunned, then quickly turned to look towards the Zeroer.

At that moment, behind the Zeroer, Tie Xiong, who should have been obediently standing still like an ornament, now clenched a longsword in his hand, piercing directly through the body of the Zeroer.

Clearly, it was that strike that had saved the two Holy Angels.

The Zeroer, impaled by the sword, stood fixed in place, bewildered for a lengthy moment.

Coming to his senses and realizing what had happened, the Zeroer's reaction was completely different from that of a normal person being attacked.

He wasn't in a rush to escape the reach of Tie Xiong's attack, nor did he retort with a slap aimed to kill Tie Xiong. Instead, he turned his head slightly to look at Tie Xiong, squinting his eyes.

"You have surprised me!

Actually knowing to use the power of the Gate Fragment to conceal your aura and strike silently, targeting directly at my energy point with speed and accuracy.

Interrupting my attack with one blow, very good. However, I am curious.

Who gave you the courage to strike at me?"

Behind him, the color drained from Tie Xiong's face, and his gaze flickered evasively as he held the longsword, his entire body beginning to tremble slightly.

He was unable to respond to the Zeroer's words, but someone else did for him.

"I did!"

With those simple three words spoken.

A figure slowly emerged from the rift torn open by the Zeroer.

Seeing this person, a hint of surprise appeared on the Zeroer's face.

In his memory, this person should have been dead, especially since it was by his very own hand.

To his astonishment, not only was she alive, but she had turned his own person against him, and now even dared to stand before him.

This left the Zeroer all the more surprised and perplexed.

"How did you manage to turn him against me? And who gave you the courage?"

From the other side of the rift, Zhang Yunyi smiled brightly: "Rather than saying I turned him against you, it's more accurate to say you forced his hand.

You never gave him a chance to survive.

Once you Reset the world, you would be the only one left living.

Everyone, including him, was to die. Under the clear consciousness of impending doom, how far do you think he was from betraying you?

All he needed was courage!

As for where my courage comes from?"

At this, Zhang Yunyi paused slightly, narrowing her eyes.

The next second, an aged figure appeared out of nowhere behind the Zeroer, sending a backhanded slap that sent the Zeroer, pinned by the longsword, flying away.

As the Zeroer was propelled away, countless pillars of Light sprung from nowhere.

These pillars of Light formed a prison, pinning the Zeroer down.

Simultaneously, a pure black longsword appeared, piercing directly into the prison of Light and locking him inside.

In addition to the action of the Light pillars.

One by one, drone-like objects materialized.

Aiming their cannon-like lenses at the Zeroer, a barrage of Antimatter Cannon shots bombarded him in the next moment.

In an instant, three Demigod Level powerhouses appeared, unleashing an assault on the Zeroer.

Recognizing them at the same time, the Zeroer realized who they were.

These three were the founders of the Holy Sect Alliance, Dark Conference, and Science Alliance.

All previously cared for by him, presumably already dead. Yet unexpectedly making an appearance now.

This caused a slight change of expression on the Zeroer's face.

He started to take the situation more seriously. What truly concerned him wasn't the three before him, but the one who had to be present.

That one was the hardest to deal with.

Sure enough, just as the Zeroer felt this tension, a force of destruction erupted around him.

The three Demigods' barrage had caused little damage to the Zeroer, but this force of destruction tore both of his arms to shreds straight away.

At the same moment, an elder appeared.

This one was Lu Wu, the highest leader of Elder Mountain.

With this, the entire Alliance's highest-level individuals were all assembled.

In this moment, the Zeroer also came to realize that everything before him was a conspiracy aimed at him.

This group had sat back and watched him plot and lead, all for this moment, to take this opportunity to strike a fatal blow at him.

And unsurprisingly, the woman named Zhang Yunyi likely played an unusual role in this conspiracy.

"Zeroer, you have ravaged the Alliance for over a century.

Countless have lost their families because of you, countless cities have been destroyed by your hand.

Your Zero Organization is filled with evil deeds, and now you even wish to destroy the world. You deserve to die!"

"You've been causing chaos for over a century, today, it's time for you to finally settle down here!"

"No matter what, you won't leave this Secret Realm today.

To the two Holy Angels over there, please join us, lend us your strength, and extinguish this Demon!"

Seeing this turn of events, Ilya's parents exchanged a look, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately stepped forward to join Lu Wu and the others in a united front.

This immediately put the Zeroer in a very dangerous position.

Surrounded by six Demigod Level powerhouses and with both arms disabled, he was afraid he might actually die here.

However, in this dangerous situation, the Zeroer remained eerily calm: "It seems you've been wanting to kill me for quite some time, huh!

Well then, come and try, if you can!"

Lu Wu and the other three exchanged glances, no time for idle words, they struck out immediately.

In an instant, six Demigod Level powerhouses exerted their strength together, raining down a terrifying assault upon the Zeroer…