Chapter 11: Moon Landing!

Soul and flesh became one.

Zoran opened his eyes.

Below him, Shendu stood on the lunar surface, watching with a complex gaze. On the other side, Jackie and Uncle were poised and ready, preparing to seal him away once more.

"Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao... Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao..." Uncle muttered the incantation.

The Chi Spell was activated. Jackie gripped a potion in his left hand and a lotus bud in his right. By all appearances, Zoran's demise was imminent.

Unfazed, Zoran also channeled a Chi Spell, attempting to neutralize Uncle's power. Simultaneously, he manipulated the forces of attraction and repulsion, blasting the approaching Jackie backward and keeping him pinned dozens of meters away. On his own domain, he would not be defeated so easily.

"Jackie, go now!" Uncle urged frantically.

"I'm trying, Uncle! You have to counter his magic!"

"Bah! Tso Lan has mastered the spells too! It is not so simple for Uncle!"

Despite his retort, Zoran felt the pressure intensifying. It was the manifestation of Uncle's power in his "Archmage" state. He, a Great Demon, was actually struggling to match a human in a contest of Demon Chi.

Such is fate, he thought with a helpless smile.

But immediately, his Demon Chi billowed out, merging with the lunar surface. The violet-black energy began to envelop the moon, and his power started to climb steadily.

"Hurry, Jackie! Tso Lan is absorbing the moon's gravitational pull! We must not let him succeed!"

"I'm on it, Uncle! Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao!" Jackie mimicked a swimming motion, paddling his arms through the vacuum to close the distance. He had to get close to Zoran to combine the enchanted potion with the lotus bud; only then could he kick Zoran back to the Netherworld.

In front of him, Zoran raised a hand. Gravity instantly snatched Jade, who was unconscious inside her spacesuit, and pulled her over. She hovered in the air, her brow furrowed.

"Jade!" Jackie cried out in panic.

"Step any closer, and I shall exile her beyond the moon's orbit," Zoran threatened.

"What do we do, Uncle? The demon is using Jade as a shield!" Jackie's face was full of worry.

"He is too sinister! Uncle is getting angry!"

Two pairs of furious eyes locked onto Zoran, but he remained indifferent, saying simply:

"I am the villain, am I not?"

Meanwhile, he continued to siphon the moon's gravity without pause. By now, at least two-thirds of the moon was shrouded in Demon Chi. His strength was returning, yet the pressure on his body grew heavier by the second. Looking toward Earth, he saw that only the very tip of the planet remained unconsumed by the Ultimate Darkness. Consequently, Uncle's magic was becoming increasingly difficult to resist.

Zoran slowly rose, his skeletal hand pressing against the lunar surface, straining to accelerate the absorption. He was almost there. Once he absorbed the moon's gravity in its entirety, he would return to his peak. Furthermore, Jade was still in his grasp.

But in the next instant, his vision blurred.

Jackie's speed suddenly spiked. The silhouette of Jade, who had been acting as a barrier between them, vanished in a flash. Jackie gently set Jade back near the lander, revealing the Talismans in his hand and a triumphant grin. "The power of the Rooster and the Rabbit!"

"Uncle, I told you the Talismans are important!" He gripped the charms tightly, combining the enchanted potion with the lotus bud. A blinding radiance erupted instantly.

The Rooster Talisman allowed him to move his body freely in space, while the Rabbit's superspeed made him impossibly fast. Channeling both, Jackie clutched the lotus bud and shot toward Zoran like a bolt of light.

"Tso Lan, your time is up!"

At that very moment, the moon's gravity was only a hair's breadth away from being fully absorbed. Just a tiny bit more.

It's always like this, a sliver of despair flashed through Zoran's mind.

Uncle's magic was nearly equal to his own and was still rising. With the Talismans and the Immortal's weapon in Jackie's hands, a man who almost never failed in a clutch moment, was it over?

Is this the end? The thought crossed Zoran's mind.

"NOT YET!!!"

A roar rang out. Shendu had answered him.

The dragon-possessed Valmont leaped up, body tensing into a straight line. As if he had anticipated this move, he threw himself directly in front of Zoran. Jackie's arm, holding the lotus bud, slammed into Shendu, sending the dragon-man spiraling backward.

In the collision, the glowing, enchanted lotus bud slipped from Jackie's grasp. Caught by the lunar gravity, it drifted through the void, slowly sinking.

"My brother, I will help you!"

Shendu was sent tumbling by the massive momentum, rolling several times across the dust, nearly falling off the visible curve of the moon.

Zoran's pupils shrank. Shendu... he actually...

But in the next heartbeat, the moon's gravity was fully restored. The glory of the ancient Demon Sorcerer returned in a flash. An incredibly comfortable sensation coursed through his entire body. He tilted his head back slightly and couldn't help but declare:

"I no longer... lack for anything!"

The system notification did not trigger. Clearly, "Moon Landing" was not meant literally; he needed to clear all obstacles to succeed.

"No! Uncle!" Jackie cried out in despair.

"Uncle still has a way! Let Uncle take him on!"

Zoran had returned to his peak, and the world's dark forces had reached their zenith. Yet Uncle grew even more confident. He formed a hand seal, and a beam of spiritual light poured into the crown of his head. This light came from ancient texts he might have read, or perhaps only dreamed of; strange but familiar runes manifested one by one in his mind.

This was an ancient incantation, recording a mysterious power capable of turning the Moon Demon into a stone statue. Right now, those runes were being imprinted into his consciousness. Uncle struck a pose, enveloped in the light of a Noble Sage.

Zoran was speechless. You're not even trying to hide the plot armor anymore, are you?

He spread his arms, and a staggering amount of magic poured out, but not toward Uncle. Shendu had bought him an opportunity. Regardless of the dragon's past deeds, at least for now, in this moment... he accepted him as a brother!

The Demon Chi that shrouded the entire moon condensed into Zoran's palm in the blink of an eye, forming a black hole that swallowed all light, a murky, terrifying orb that defied the gaze.

He flicked his finger, launching the condensed mass toward a specific target.

Earth.

…

On the other side of the void, Tarakudo stood atop the peak of Mount Everest, staring at the world with hungry eyes.

He was finally about to succeed. The last fragment of Asia was about to be incorporated into the Shadow Kingdom. On the slopes below, the nine Oni Generals marched through the blizzard with indomitable steps. One more step, and they would complete their grand work.

In truth, their power had already grown to an unfathomable level. Tarakudo's voice boomed through the snow like thunder.

"The great work of the Shadowkhan is complete! No one remains to stop us!"

"THE ULTIMATE DARKNESS HAS DESCENDED!!!"

The nine Oni Generals had reached his feet. The sky, the earth, the lakes, the mountains, the plains, and the valleys, only this final step remained. His voice echoed across the globe.

It was done. He had won... or had he?

A tiny, pitch-black sphere of light fell from the heavens, silently landing on the very tip of Mount Everest. It hung there, motionless.

Tarakudo stared at the lightless orb.

In an instant, he was struck with absolute horror.