Chapter 443 Witch, the Emperor of the Star Sea is watching you! - Socially Anxious Witch in the Apocalypse

Did the Gu-Emperor Mu really die that easily? The twisted temporal and spatial laws of escape that once made the Demon Emperor Magic seethe with envy, jealousy, and hatred were powerless against Su Miao's assault. He desperately activated the powers of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner in an attempt to resist. Dark malevolent energy created a special domain around him, but when it encountered the starlight torrent, it was like hot oil meeting raging fire—it exploded violently. The Demon Emperor Magic screamed as he and the Ten Thousand Souls Banner shattered together, leaving nothing behind. Emperors Mitai and Meya noticed that not even a divine spark was left of Emperor Magic, their souls nearly fled, attempting to amplify the domain they had unfolded. However, this was chaos, and their musical powers were inherently restricted, putting them at a disadvantage. Confronted with the torrent of starlight, their only choice was to resist desperately without an alternative. Fortunately, the other ninth-level emperors shared the burden, allowing the siblings to endure the onslaught of the starlight torrent barely. Still, they were severely wounded, injuries deep enough to affect their very foundations, requiring hundreds of thousands of years to recover. With worse luck, they might even fall from their current rank. As for Emperor Guangjin, thanks to the desperate efforts of the other ninth-level emperors protecting him, he managed to dissipate the aftermath of the starlight torrent, escaping with only minor injuries. After the bombardment, Guangjin prepared to retrieve the spear Emperor Heyuan had bestowed upon Emperor Yuanshen. But just as he prepared to reach for it, Guangjin stepped back in alarm. Before him in the void, Su Miao sat elegantly astride the Starlight Staff, her pink hair fluttering, as she beckoned, and three ninth-level divine sparks flew out of the chaos to her. These were the divine sparks of Emperors Yuanshen, Shuyi, and Luohong, each spark's laws proclaiming their identities. Gu-Emperor Mu's death was absolute, leaving no divine spark behind. Guangjin was shaken to his core. Dead. Several ninth-level emperors were dead. Emperors Luohong and Gu-Emperor Mu, what formidable figures they were, and yet the mightier they were, the quicker they fell. He had joked about treating the witch as an emperor; little did he expect that the witch truly held the power of an emperor, or was in fact, an emperor herself. Now, with twelve ancient emperors either dead or injured, and their top-tier artifacts damaged, how were they to contend? Moreover, the witch's pose on the Starlight Staff looked oddly familiar. Wasn’t it the posture of a magical girl? If not for knowing Su Miao was a witch, Guangjin might have gone mad. The first rule of the Star Sea: no magical girls are allowed into the Star Sea, a rule not set at random. What now? Guangjin wanted to plead for help from Emperor Heyuan, but would the witch even give him the chance? Besides, when they left the Star Sea to ambush the witch, such a commotion now—no less than when the witch first attacked—surely must have caught the attention of the Star Sea's emperors. Hopefully, they would value these top-tier artifacts enough to intervene promptly and rescue them. Yet, Guangjin noticed several top-tier artifacts attempting to flee. This sight cast a shadow over his heart. Why? Were the emperors abandoning them? Nevertheless, the top-tier artifact in his hands remained steady, showing no inclination to flee. But even if it stayed, was he to confront an emperor head-on? Ha… What a joke! … Su Miao raised her hand again, drawing back the top-tier artifacts as they tried to escape after losing their temporary owners. Even as they struggled, they could not leave now that they were here. They would be useful in the coming attack on the Star Sea. With several ninth-level emperors still alive, the research on artifacts could wait. Su Miao collected them all. Emperor Guangjin spoke, "Su Miao, should we address you as witch or emperor?" Su Miao showed a puzzled expression, then quickly understood. While the Star Sea used a common system of one to nine levels of power, titles like emperor, ancient emperor, sovereign, and main god still existed. In terms of the Star Sea's strength classification, she was indeed in the emperor category. But was a title truly so important? Su Miao couldn't be bothered. However, the implication in Guangjin's words seemed to suggest that it was despicable for an emperor to lurk in ambush. Weren’t they there to kill her? Did it matter if it was a direct confrontation? These so-called Star Sea emperors probably thought they could only attack others and not be attacked themselves. They seemed to forget many universes were destroyed by the Star Sea. Guangjin said, "Witch, are you planning to oppose the entire Star Sea?" Su Miao glanced at him, skipped the banter, and pointed the Starlight Staff forward, causing the void to collapse. She had no intention of waiting for these ninth-level emperors to recover before fighting. If she could kill them outright, why not? "Everyone, fight to the death!" Guangjin gripped his cleaver tightly, speaking in a stern voice. Yet, after his declaration, no one responded. Emperors Mitai and Meya, frightened out of their wits by Su Miao's earlier assault, immediately fled into the chaos as Guangjin charged fearlessly forward. Their sole thought was to escape back to the Star Sea, where the protection of the emperors would ensure their safety. "No!" Seeing the two fleeing, Guangjin shouted. However, the collapse of the void reached him, as laws swirled around him, fully activating the power of the top-tier artifact. He barely survived but was gravely injured. In that moment, Guangjin understood the vast gulf between ninth-level emperors like them and true emperors. Even with top-tier artifacts in hand, they were no match. Worse still, his prior suspicion proved correct. Emperor Heyuan treated them as mere tools, guinea pigs. Their venture out of the Star Sea was solely to probe the witch's power and trump cards. Otherwise, with six emperors in the Star Sea witnessing this one-sided battle, surely one would have stepped in by now. They were truly abandoned. Hmm? Su Miao was a bit surprised, questioning if the void collapse's power had lessened. Under normal circumstances, should not Guangjin be crushed to death? "Witch, the Star Sea's emperors are watching you!" "Slay us, and you'll die too." "Perhaps you could spare—" Guangjin attempted to barter for his life with information. How to enter the Star Sea, the number of emperors within, and the laws each emperor controlled. Yet, before he could finish, the cleaver in his hand suddenly turned, its blade flashing, decapitating him, and extinguishing his soul. [An emperor, so deceitful…] Guangjin’s eyes widened as his soul was obliterated. Su Miao was slightly surprised that the artifact in Guangjin's hand betrayed him, killing him outright. Were he at his full strength, he would have withstood the backlash. But in his severely injured, near-death state, even a backlash from a common artifact might succeed. Despite the surprise, Su Miao's actions never faltered, the Starlight Staff crushing down, shattering the cleaver's essence, sealing the top-tier artifact away. Alongside, she pointed a finger, disintegrating Guangjin's body to retrieve his divine spark. This divine spark was stronger than those previously obtained. Good. To prevent any mishaps, Su Miao habitually cleansed the divine spark with starlight before putting it away. Of the twelve ninth-level gathered here, five were slain, four divine sparks acquired, leaving seven. The remaining seven ninth-level emperors fled to the depths of the chaos. Aside from Mitai and Meya heading towards the Star Sea, the others fled deeper into the chaos, wary of being cornered at the door. Su Miao quickly locked onto their locations, her figure flashing before Mitai and Meya. The Star Sea had a black hole-like structure. Approaching carelessly could result in unpredictable time flow issues. Su Miao wished to avoid wasted time under such circumstances, deciding to deal with these two first. Faced with the blocking witch, Su Miao, Mitai, and Meya’s expressions transformed drastically. At their peak, they could not contend with an emperor, let alone in their injured state. But their desperate will to survive steeled their resolve, as they unleashed top-tier artifacts, hoping for a decisive turn, a path to survival. In an instant, the chaos was resplendent with the grandeur of great laws, echoing countless ages, the great sound silent. These laws attacked with overwhelming strength, as if to consume all. In her eyes, a faint gold light flickered, discerning the essence of Mitai and Meya's attack. Their attack might be formidable among ninth-level emperors, but before her, it was nothing. The Starlight Staff was exchanged for the God-Slaying Silver Sword. Without any unnecessary motion, Su Miao unleashed a single sword strike. Countless laws descended, shattering the flashy combined attack of Emperors Mitai and Meya. Emperor Mitai was the first to bear the brunt of the attack, unable to react before he was annihilated on the spot. "Brother!" Empress Meya exclaimed in horror, only to be destroyed in the following instant. Amidst the chaos, blood rained down as two ninth-level divine sparks attempted to escape using the destructive explosion's shockwave. But Su Miao acted swiftly, pressing the void to reclaim the two sparks. "Feigning one move to escape by another?" Su Miao wondered, her gaze turning towards the depths of the chaos. She had thought these two ninth-level beings would instinctually rely on their divine sparks to flee, but Emperors Mitai and Meya were different. In the moment their bodies were destroyed, they had melded their residual souls into every drop of blood rain. This blood then scattered into the chaos. Though chaos was fraught with danger, should a single drop or cell survive and drift into some universe, hope for resurrection remained. With a blink, Su Miao left a collapsing void in the direction of the blood dispersal and disappeared, pursuing the remaining ninth-level beings. If even one cell from the dispersed blood rain managed to escape, she didn’t mind them being reborn. After all, her heart was inherently kind. Five remain. Her gaze shifted towards the chaos. While others sought to slip away quietly, only two seemed unafraid of catching her attention. Su Miao could have detected malice, but these two were so radiant with holy light it made them glaring beacons in the chaos. Empress Sailen and Emperor Harlan stopped in their tracks. They faced the witch blocking their path, expressions grave. "Witch, heretic!" declared Empress Sailen, "In the universes I've destroyed, two birthed witch civilizations. Too bad I didn't find yours sooner, or I would have purified it completely with holy light." Emperor Harlan felt bitterly amused: [For heaven's sake, couldn't you say less? Here I was, thinking of surrendering. In this situation, bringing that up is just inviting a quicker death, isn't it?] Su Miao blinked. Her expression remained cold as she turned to Empress Sailen, finding such pride in destruction of worlds intolerable. "Do you like holy light?" Su Miao finally spoke, her voice rare but cutting. In the next moment, she slightly raised her Starlight Staff. Laws of light intertwined, forming a dreadfully ominous holy light formation in the chaos. "Then I shall kill you with holy light," she declared calmly. "Impossible!" Empress Sailen was shocked, staring at Su Miao. "How can an evil witch wield holy light?! The laws of holy light are mine, they are mine! The holy light cannot betray me!" Her voice turned hysterical as all her divine power surged into her staff, attempting to combat holy light with holy light. Yet the more energy she channeled, the more was drawn into the holy light formation. Even her foundational holy light laws began to waver unsteadily. Emperor Harlan wanted to assist but found himself equally suppressed by the destructive holy light formation. It seemed as if, with this formation present, the holy light within them was completely extinguished, refusing to respond to their calls. He longed to rise, to wield the divine sword bestowed by Emperor Shengge, but found himself utterly powerless. The holy light, it seemed, had betrayed them. The laws of holy light had turned against them. What was more absurd, was the holy light being just a part of the light laws Su Miao controlled... Such immense power, even the Emperor Shengge they followed couldn’t achieve such a feat, could he? Boom! The holy light formation erupted with devastating energy, vaporizing and purifying Empress Sailen and Emperor Harlan, leaving behind only two slightly searing ninth-level divine sparks and two light-based artifacts. With a gesture, Su Miao claimed both the divine sparks and artifacts. Of the ninth-level ancient emperors that emerged from the Star Sea, only two remained. Su Miao's gaze shifted towards Emperor Zhuli standing in the chaos, "Why aren't you running?" Emperor Zhuli, clutching his lotus-shaped candelabrum, spat blood and replied gently, "I can't escape, so why not put up a fight? Long have I wished to battle an emperor." Hmm? As Su Miao prepared to dispatch Emperor Zhuli, she suddenly noticed the surrounding space becoming markedly viscous, as if about to solidify. Emperor Zhuli employed a particularly unique set of laws, giving her the sensation of being ensnared in a web. This web, made from laws, was adept at entrapment. But it consumed a lot of energy. Even within this brief exchange, Emperor Zhuli’s once black hair had turned white. His jade-like skin was becoming mottled; should he continue, even his divine spark might be doomed to sacrifice. Su Miao counted the seconds; approximately five had passed during her confinement. Though she hadn’t truly resisted. But to maintain Emperor Zhuli’s precious divine spark, she concluded he couldn’t go on. With a downward slice from the God-Slaying Silver Sword, Emperor Zhuli’s domain was shattered. He gave a bitter smile. An ant shaking a giant tree, how laughably foolish. Countless laws descended, his body was obliterated, leaving behind his divine spark and artifacts, which Su Miao promptly gathered. (End of chapter)