Chapter 255: Overwriting
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In the demonic continent, within a forest entirely populated by the remains of withered trees and rotting logs, a figure no taller than 180 centimeters wandered aimlessly.
The being had no truly distinctive features, apart from being entirely shrouded in a black mist.
If someone were to see it, they wouldn't think it was something material, and its sinister appearance would cause any normal person to either flee without looking back or faint on the spot in sheer terror.
This entity, which seemed to stagger forward in a single direction without any apparent goal or destination, suddenly stopped.
It froze in place, standing like a statue for several seconds.
Its head, which lacked a nose or any mouth and displayed only two white circles where eyes might be, began to tremble. The head jerked violently toward one direction, then to another, and then yet another, as though scanning its surroundings.
It was as if the head were a separate entity from the rest of the body, moving independently. After its frantic movements in every direction, it finally tilted upwards, still shaking slightly.
The eyes, which had long since been devoid of any emotion, now seemed to reflect a hint of fear.
Unlike before, it wasn't only the head that vibrated now. The entire body began to tremble violently, and for a moment, it seemed as though it might dissolve into nothingness.
But this being wasn't the only one to experience such a sudden change.
All the other entities scattered across the continent began to react strangely as well. Some collapsed to the ground, letting out intense, guttural cries of pain, while others seemed to lose their minds entirely, moving about erratically.
Even the half-demons, who retained a certain level of consciousness, visibly trembled as they gazed at the sky. Their eyes reflected an instinctive fear that rooted them to the spot, unable to move.
'W-what's happening to me?' he wondered, while his now completely black eyes reflected the image of the sky, while a strange phenomenon was taking place.
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'Is it because of that… thing?' he wondered, struggling more and more to maintain some semblance of clarity in his mind.
Just like him, many others had the same questions swirling in their heads as they witnessed the incredible sight: streaks of green light flashing across the sky in every direction.
At a quick glance, these beams of light seemed to contain countless smaller lights, numbering in the thousands, at least in the areas visible to those on the ground.
If someone could examine these beams up close, they would realize that the lights were none other than green symbols, traveling through the air as though imbued with a will of their own.
These symbols, each larger than an elephant, were inscribed in a language that neither humans nor beasts could decipher.
The symbols traveled in predetermined directions, and finally after some time, they all arrive at a certain point in the air and stop floating in place.
If these various symbols could be observed from above, a large circle formed by them would be visible.
Soon, the symbols began to rotate, some clockwise, others counterclockwise, like the hands of a clock ticking forward, pausing briefly at each second.
After a few moments, one of the symbols began to glow brightly, emitting a faint light in front of it. It moved forward, immersing itself in the light.
One by one, the other symbols seemed to find their correct positions and followed suit, merging into spheres of light that appeared before them.
In no time, all the symbols had settled into specific positions and entered their respective spheres of light. Once the final symbol merged into its sphere, a visible change occurred in the sky.
An intricate formation, radiating an intense yellow light, appeared suspended high above the continent.
The formation, composed of numerous symbols, seemed to grow brighter and brighter, while beams of yellow light shot up from various locations across the land, converging toward the formation in the sky.
First one beam, then another, and soon many more.
Before long, a dome made of yellow light engulfed the entire demonic continent.
This was the protective barrier that, a long time ago, had been cast over the three continents, a barrier designed not only to shield them from external threats but also to prevent internal dangers from escaping to attack the others.
Now, this ancient barrier, which had lain dormant for two millennia, was once again coming to life, illuminating the entire continent.
Although the beings of the continent did not know what was happening, they could sense that something was about to occur, and their instincts told them it would be nothing good for them.
And just as they feared, the barrier began to change.
At the base of the yellow light beams, where the sources that sustained the barrier were located, a faint green tint began to spread.
The green hue quickly enveloped the bases and started to rise along the pillars connected to them.
The symbols that had been absorbed into these sources now appeared to be overwriting the barrier, and in less than a minute, all the light beams had turned a pale green.
The beams now emanated an aura of vitality, a stark contrast to their previous appearance.
Even the formation hovering above the dome of light reacted to this change, losing its intense yellow glow, which was replaced by the green hue.
'Formation overwriting complete,' thought Ethan, the one responsible for this transformation.
With a smile, his eyes glowed a vibrant green, brighter than anything around him, and as if obeying his will, the symbols within the barrier's sources began to shine intensely.
Immediately, a new phenomenon swept across the demonic continent.
"W-what's happening?" a half-demon stammered as he watched black mist seep out of his body, and not just his, everything around him was affected.
From the ground to the plants, even the beasts and water sources, everything seemed to emit black mist and particles, which began to rise into the air.
The purification of the demonic continent had begun.