193. I Don't Want You to Die, Leoz
Li Aozi admitted that his ability to freeze time was limited.
After all, there was no such thing as time in the first place. Strictly speaking, he was merely using gravity to compress the spacetime around him to a halt.
This wasn't the same as general time stop. The time he experienced continued to flow, and he could still be injured or killed. Remaining Moon's development of Omega Energy and his attributes were so advanced that even though they were on the same level, with Omega Energy suppression, Li Aozi still fell short.
Unlike novels and movies, Remaining Moon, despite his chatter, placed great importance on finishing off his opponents. After his initial disdain, he unleashed his full strength, delivering a saturation attack against Li Aozi.
The entire Trivira City collapsed under the dimensional slashes. Spacetime was disordered, the commercial street fell into two dimensions, the subway resembled a plummeting wyvern crashing into the administrative center, and residential and industrial zones collided and overlapped in chaotic disarray.
People's bodies were sliced and rearranged. When they regained consciousness, they found their body parts on the other side of walls, watching their internal organs wriggle quietly on a car windshield.
The entire destruction process was silent.
The most terrifying aspect of Remaining Moon's Omega Energy wasn't its destructive power but the fact that dimensional attacks had no forewarning and couldn't be anticipated. It was purely about withstanding it with raw strength. For the civilians of interstellar civilizations, such attacks were far more terrifying than any weapon, as nuclear bombs and star-breaking cannons had signals and allowed for escape.
Under the dimensional onslaught of [Remaining Moon], no facility could hide. The latent panic brought by Remaining Moon was even more horrifying than the actual destruction.
Whether you were a bureaucrat, noble, tycoon, scholar, or commoner, you had no chance to scream or be heard under the relentless slicing of dimensional slashes.
The only limitation on Remaining Moon was the range of his Omega Energy attacks, as they required his hands as the medium to cast.
After 19 seconds of subjective time, Trivira was officially declared destroyed, both geographically and legally.
If it were any other Zeta-tier being, they would have died thousands of times under such brutal and ferocious bombardment.
「Hey! Leoz?! Are you just going to let yourself get killed like this?」
Jania kept shouting:
「Stop the time freeze now, quickly tear open a rift and escape. There's still a chance to survive. Run!」
Under the endless dimensional slashes, Li Aozi had no power to resist. Thankfully, being Zeta-tier and with the effect of the time freeze, his health hadn't been depleted yet.
He couldn't find Remaining Moon and couldn't possibly locate him—not even with the [Truth Eye].
Because Remaining Moon wasn't in this dimension at all.
This suffocating power disparity demonstrated the terrifying extent of dimensional attacks in every sense.
Yet even so, as Li Aozi was reduced to countless fragments by the infinite dimensional slashes, he held onto unwavering resolve.
In his fragmented pupils, the purple-red nebula still shimmered.
His mana was still regenerating, and the curse was still in effect.
The echoes of gravity couldn't catch that guy for now. Instead of wasting mana to prematurely end the time freeze, it was better to fight it out.
「Leoz, let's stop fighting. We'll definitely become stronger than him in the future. Just run!」
Jania was on the verge of tears, her tone filled with urgency:
「You'll really die like this. You haven't even scratched him, but he's already sliced you to pieces. Once time starts flowing again, you'll die! You'll die worse than the real Leozi!」
[Jania.]
Li Aozi said no more than this:
[I'm not the same as that useless Leoz. He died once and was done. Biologically speaking, I've already died three times.]
「But—this time, you'll really die.」
[No matter how many times I die, I'll crawl back from hell.]
「…You're lying to me.」
[I'm not lying. With the [Bloodline] ability, my vitality is incredibly resilient. Plus, with the planet's favor, I periodically regenerate life. At most, this attack will leave me near death. Unless he personally finishes me off, I won't truly perish.]
Besides, even if I die, I can always switch to a new prosthetic body.
Jania didn't believe him.
「I sensed it before using divine power, Leoz.」
Jania's voice sounded sad, like a little girl forcing herself not to cry:
「You'll die. I asked those who told me, and the divine feedback was the same—you'll die. The [Society] will devour the planet, and I'll lose everything.」
[Jania…]
「My civilization will be gone, my master will be gone, and the master's successor doesn't want me anymore. This planet will be gone soon too. I've waited so long, so long, so long—for a new sword-bearer. He's handsome and fun, boldly drawing his sword against overwhelming odds, even daring to face narrative-level civilizations—I like him so much.」
Jania could no longer hold back, pleading:
「I'm begging you, Leoz. I don't want to lose another partner. Draw me, and I'll use all my strength to help you escape. You're wealthy, right? You still have those immortal little servants and me. We can start over.」
[Jania.]
Li Aozi consoled her:
[I have a mechanic friend who once told me something. Anyone who hears it can't refuse.]
Jania fell silent, quietly listening.
Li Aozi told her:
[Trust me.]
「…I don't want to lose more.」
Leaving this sentence behind, Jania stopped responding.
Li Aozi had many conversations with her, but their mental exchange happened in an instant.
He turned his head and refocused on his actions.
[I can't run.]
On this planet were Faithkeep Village, built with the help of him and the players; his brothers Lucite and Hobbs; many friendly classmates; the scholarship foundation he personally established; refugees he had settled; and Nikita's family, whom he had invited here.
Of course, there was also the diligent Yavanna Huskisin.
These people could be seen as burdens or as his allies. Each had helped him in the past and present, and their futures rested on his shoulders.
"It's not about whether I should; it's about whether I can, and I will."
Li Aozi's strategy wasn't complicated—he was the bait, nothing more.
"For me, there's no retreat, only moving forward."
He didn't trust [Havoc] to decide what disaster it would bring. He preferred to act first.
As a fellow [Domination] path user, Remaining Moon understood the traits of prosthetic bodies. Eventually, he would show himself, using his hands to fully dimensionalize and seal Li Aozi in two dimensions.
Thus, he would definitely appear.
Remaining Moon also knew this. If he didn't show himself and simply waited for Li Aozi to die naturally, it would give Li Aozi the chance to transfer to a prosthetic body—would Remaining Moon allow him to live after their fallout?
Probably not.
Remaining Moon didn't need to kill Li Aozi. He already had the Truth Eye fragment. From his perspective, whether Li Aozi knew this or not—he might or might not.
Li Aozi decided to gamble.
Remaining Moon's worldview was based on "Social Darwinism". People with this view were prone to extremism. They worshiped the law of the jungle for others but had no sense of security themselves. They often killed to silence others, believing only the dead could keep secrets. In their twisted logic, they would even destroy backups of their own consciousness and fear their offspring surpassing them—paranoid to the point of grinding even their own bones to dust.
When in doubt, eliminate entire families. Better yet, kill the executioners and those who executed the executioners.
Li Aozi decided to bet—that Remaining Moon would make the final killing blow.
[Don't hold back, Remaining Moon. I'm begging you, Remaining Moon, make sure to finish me off!]