Under the twisted scarlet sky, the earth had transformed into a pulsating hill of flesh.
Within this desolate and despairing offering, a completely black, massive raven silently stepped out from the shadow of a toppled giant obelisk in the distance.
Its feathers gleamed with a metallic luster under the evil god's pathological light, and its eyes, like the deepest night, coldly watched Carina and the others' self-harm.
It also watched the "Ian Crystal".
This clone carried his memories, his magic, his indomitable will, enough to perfectly play the role of "Ian", to fight, to exhaust, to test the limits of the evil god, even to "sacrifice". Of course, Ian mostly focused on the ultimate evil god, floating in the sky, exuding "perfect" coercion.
That evil god's perfect form, composed of countless tentacles and tumors, floated between heaven and earth.
It had "perfected", it was "god".
Exuding an aura that could end everything.
However, even this "perfected" evil god still did not notice the raven lurking in the shadows. After shedding its embryonic form and outer shell of true goodness and beauty, it lost part of its abilities, such as the ability to sense the aura of "destiny", naturally making it unable to perceive the raven's existence.
Nor could it realize that the one battling it all along was merely a clone created by Ian using transformation techniques. How to say, such a situation was quite normal, regardless of the concept of monopolizing destiny to become a new destiny.
Just speaking of pure perception. Ian had been discovered by the evil god once before; how could he possibly be discovered by the evil god a second time?
As a little wizard whose talent even amazed Albus Dumbledore, Ian's learning and coping abilities were especially strong; he could certainly summarize and adjust his concealment methods from the situation where he had been discovered. After all, Ian was not some NPC in a monster-hunting level-up game.
Adapting to circumstances, promptly discovering and solving problems, this is the basic quality a truly outstanding wizard should possess, and cautiously dealing with everything likewise.
Because of this.
From the moment the evil god was born, Ian had quietly hidden his real body, always probing the evil god's weaknesses through clones. The tricks of Hogwarts, in this ancient era with a fundamentally different understanding of magic, became an unfathomable "heavenly mystery".
No one knew, and no one could understand. How could Ian, that cunning student who loved researching Multiple Shadow Clone Spells, Traceless Stretching Charms, and Apparition Combination Skills in the Hogwarts Library, be foolish enough to let his true body face such a level of ultimate existence engulfing all?
What the evil god devoured was merely a "container" carrying Ian's will; what Carina and others mourned was merely a heroic "performance." The true Ian, his real body, was presently, like this raven symbolizing "shadow" and "observer", hidden in the crevices of reality.
With the coldest gaze, he observed the evil god's "perfected" form, recording its every detail, searching for that perhaps existing tiniest hint of a... "flaw". To know, from attending Ravenclaw College, it was apparent that Ian was the embodiment of both wisdom and strength.
The crystallized "Ian" was indeed him, but not his complete self. That body was infused with enough magic power and memory to be a perfect imitation, even pain responses and combat habits were flawlessly replicated. However, a fake is ultimately a fake; the enhancement brought to the evil god by the fake body created through transformation techniques would only be a bomb Ian left.
Secretly spying, then scheming to catch the opponent off guard, can also be regarded as the application of strategy. How to say, this method usually works quite well.
However, the evil god here indeed also had enough capital for pride. Despite Ian's perceptive observation and wisdom, alongside assessing and exploring the evil god in every direction through clones, even leaving some contingencies on the evil god using his clones, Ian still had no assurance of completely defeating the opponent.
"His ability is just too absurd." The raven tilted its head, emitting an extremely soft, metallic grinding "click", as if evaluating the outcome of this farce. Ian Prince in raven form stood quietly atop a broken stone column, his sharp avian eyes fixed on the evil god undergoing transformation in the distance.
The form of Set-Apep continued to change.
Sometimes swelling into a mountain of flesh obscuring the sky, sometimes condensing into a dense black crystal. Every transformation included the wails of thousands of souls.
The lives consumed were becoming nourishment for the evil god's evolution.
"Even my attacks are merely nourishment."
In Ian's raven eyes, magic glowed, and through the Advanced Perception Spell, he could clearly see the essence of the evil god's power operation. It was more than just simple devouring—every attack landing on Set-Apep, regardless of its strength, would be analyzed, adapted to, and immunized against in a very short time.
Indeed.
This monster's core ability was far beyond just "devouring" and "assimilation".