The monument was ten floors high. I stood beneath it for a few minutes, staring at the word "Anno Domini," while Li Liu stood beside me, her expression slightly serious.

"Qin Yang, take a look."

"I see."

The monument was surrounded by a large pit, with square tombstones settled among plum blossoms and bamboo. The inscriptions on the tombstones were weathered to the point where almost no complete content or names could be discerned. Below the monument sat a set of white bones.

"One person buried them all. Perhaps it's time you find peace in the earth as well."

"What are you talking about?" Li Liu watched as I muttered to myself while looking at the bones.

"You see, the only person without a grave is the one who built these coffins and monuments for the others. He is the greatest of them all. Find someone to bury him."

Li Liu instructed the soldiers to bury the lone individual, while her focus remained on the monument.

"Some parts have eroded, but I can make out a few words... 'nuclear'?" My attention drifted to the second paragraph of the inscription.

"The final nuclear war of the Anno Domini! So it happened here?" Li Liu used magic to slowly clear the dust off the monument. In the discernible words, she read about the last nuclear war during the era of human Magic, with this land enduring three nuclear blasts of immense power. Environmental destruction had spiraled out of control, leading to a decision to use the rudimentary Magic then possessed by humans to address the situation. The survivors who were irradiated ended up starving to death.

"The one who inscribed this must be this unknown white skeleton, bearing the pain of everyone else's death. However, nuclear blasts were the deadliest weapons of that era, with little Magic power to counter them."

"But were there any Magic at that time capable of resolving it completely?"

"Yes, the most foolish method—burial in the depths of the sea."

"I still don't understand what Magic could have done before the Magic era arrived."

"Each era has individuals with powerful creativity. I would guess it was Magic that defied the surface, isolating this land from outside and entrapping radiation here." I continued reading the inscription, which described the loathing and pain the writer felt towards the nuclear war, as well as their agony.

"If they had today's level of Magic back then, would there have been better options?"

"Huh? If the leaders who wielded the deadliest weapons of that era and callously abandoned civilians had today's Magic level, humanity might not exist now."

"I forgot, those who could use the most dangerous weapons of that era and ruthlessly cast aside civilians had lost their reason." Li Liu continued to feel the writer's pain between the lines, sensing a strong sense of world-weariness. He detested being abandoned by this world, being imprisoned in a radioactive place and left to starve in radiation-induced agony.

"Don't read any further. They have long been dead, perhaps reincarnating in the underworld." I hugged Li Liu's forehead, as girls are easily affected by sad things.

"Ah~ Vice President, you're so cunning!" Qin Ying appeared between us in her long boots, clearly disapproving of our actions.

Li Liu quickly stood from my side, composedly adjusting her clothes.

"What are you afraid of?" I embraced Li Liu once more, teasing Qin Ying with my other hand.

"You... you... Qin Yang, you scoundrel! Enough fooling around. Have you found a way out?" Qin Ying forcefully pushed me away, her eyes playful, knowing well that I was just playing around.

"Of course, otherwise why would I bring Li Liu out?" Qin Ying urged us. She knew I would have a way, with over billions of Magic in my memory, even if there were extremely tricky Magic formations, Nofice could handle it.

"First of all, from the inscriptions, the function of the Magic formation can be seen. The fifth paragraph mentions a large number of white-robed individuals singing by the seaside in an unfamiliar tone that had never been heard before, not like singing nor like recitation. That is certainly the chanting of early Magic. The strongest radiation is at this deep pit location, and the seaside should be considered a safe area. The Magic formation is by the seaside."

"Soldiers, to the seaside!" Qin Ying immediately commanded.

"The coastline is too long, how can we find it in a short time? Let Li Liu and I search." Li Liu activated his Illusion Pupils, and I activated my Colored Pupils as well. Back to back, we scanned the shoreline of the island, but after a few rounds, we found no clues.

"Qin Yang, you seem to have guessed wrong." Li Liu glanced at me, poking me with a hint of disappointment.

"This is not a guess, it must be by the seaside. I feel the Magic formation is moving... a bit troublesome. Think about what the Magic formation would be like back in the time when the Magic era hadn't arrived yet."

"The Magic formation is just the Magic formation, right? The lines on the formation map drive the magical power to perform special operations, causing changes... At that time, who had a continuous thirteen million years of magical power?"

"Magical power is one issue, but first of all, back then, there was no effective way to operate the formation map, so the formation map must have been very simple and very useless, mainly relying on the source of magical power, which is crucial."

Qin Ying reacted immediately, "Is it another dragon?"

"No, after the dragon's body is split, it still endlessly produces magic power, that is the dragon's characteristic. But now this Magic formation is weakening, the source must be a living being, and at the same time, it is on its last legs. We need to do something to lure it out!"

I took a deep breath, and the roar of the dragon echoed in the sky. The ground had a slight quivering sensation. Li Liu remained alert on all sides, and after the sand and stones stopped vibrating, it seemed that this dragon roar had not produced the expected effect.

"There!" I looked to the southwest, where suddenly a curtain of water burst forth, as if something was jumping out from the seabed.

"A Monster? Before the Magic era, someone could actually control Monsters, that's unbelievable!" Li Liu's Illusion Pupils saw very clearly, and I saw clearly too. It was a giant fish, resembling a demon fish.

After the giant fish leapt out of the sea, it did not show any discomfort at all, but instead swam freely in the colorful sky, seeming equally at ease in both the sky and the sea.

---

Buzz~ A clangorous sword hum pierced through the water curtain at the seaside, the sword being the "Shattered Cloud," as Hanya broke through the water curtain and attacked below the giant fish, a whirlwind pierced through from bottom to top. The giant fish reacted quickly, which surprised me.

Hanya's figure floated on the surface of the water, and the giant fish immediately retaliated, spitting out water bullets wrapped in magic from its mouth. Hanya used her sword wind to break the water bullets, leapt into the air, but to her surprise, the giant fish dodged sideways. It was only then that Hanya realized that while this Monster resembling a demon fish had a relatively simple way of attacking, its reflexes were extremely swift.

"If we defeat you, this monstrosity, can we leave?" Xiao Qiong stood on the shore with both hands in the sea, causing an area of seawater to transform into a sea filled with an electric net, while Sima Yao next to her raised both hands and gathered "Holy Water," tossing it into the sea, turning the blue sea into a deep white. She controlled the entire area of the electric net sea, quickly closing in on the giant fish.

The giant fish brushed its tail against the electric net and instantly let out a tragic scream as it was shocked by the net.

"It sounds completely different from its ugly appearance, much more pleasant," someone remarked.

"Peng! The giant fish, unafraid of the pain and injuries from the electric shock, broke free from the surrounding net. At the same time, it spat out water balls from its mouth to attack Xiao Qiong and Xiao Yao on the shore. Helpless, they joined Hanya to engage in a fierce battle with the giant fish.

“Why is it so agile?” the three of us ran to the seaside, and the battle before our eyes seemed somewhat unusual to me.

"It doesn't seem to have much to do with the phrase 'on the verge of death,' but rather more akin to 'unstoppable'," Li Liu observed, noting that the enormous fish showed no signs of decline.

Xiao Yao used the arcane white holy water on herself and her sister, reducing the damage between them. Hanya continued to dart through the water curtains raised by the giant fish, her emerald green hair looking like a mermaid's in the moist sea.

"It's all covered in wounds, but no matter how we attack, it's not showing any weakness!" Hanya cut a deep scar across the back of the giant fish, but it remained strong. The giant fish glided through the water curtain on the sea surface once again, hiding behind waves of water curtains, sending out one-meter-diameter water arrows in quick succession. The three girls dodged narrowly, as the giant fish's attack strategy became more complex.

"Xiao Yao, do you need help?" Lilith sat by the seaside.

"If you really want to help, you wouldn't sit and talk. We can defeat it!" Xiao Yao activated the contract, floating gently on the sea, gradually parting the water curtains in front of her, making it impossible for the giant fish to hide behind them anymore.

"I see! It's the same fish as the one underwater, it's the core of the Magic formation." Below the sea area cut by Xiao Yao, I saw the fish fixed in the Magic formation on the seabed, looking clearly "on the brink of death."

"Xiao Yao, Xiao Qiong, Hanya, trap the fish in the sky!" Li Liu instructed.

"Yes!"

"I'll go, Li Liu, you just woke up, take a rest."

I stepped out and instantly moved next to the giant fish. I saw that the fish had lost all its colors, looking much smaller and dimmer up close compared to its appearance from afar.

"Living in one place for thirteen million years isn't easy. It's better to end you now." I gripped Qin Ying's "Twin Stars" black gun, pointing it at the fish's head. It made a faint sound, as if saying - be gentle.

"It's okay."

Suddenly, a loud explosion, a water arrow struck beside us, exploding on the spot.

"It's like this already, do you still want it to live?" I looked up at the giant fish in the sky, its anger reaching its peak, not sparing any living beings that came close.

The fish in the sky threw off the three girls, flew to the seabed, and stood guard above the giant fish on the ground, staring at me with its dark red eyes.

The giant fish then spat out water bombs, the droplets piercing through rocks. I shot through a water bomb, the black Magic bullet tearing its skin but unable to penetrate its flesh. In this place, both elemental magic and light and dark elements were equally ineffective, relying solely on oneself.

My figure flashed past the giant fish, no matter where I moved, the fish always protected the core of the Magic array behind it. The two Monsters had a deep emotional connection, and the giant fish dared not attack recklessly, sensing my power.

"Qin Yang! This is for you." Qin Ying suddenly appeared by my side, handing me a white magical gun loaded with live ammunition.

"It's covered in scars, one barely surviving, yet it fights so fiercely, more emotional than humans." In Qin Ying's eyes, the giant fish was covered with sword wounds and electric burns, struggling hard just to buy more time for its companion behind.

"Perhaps we should help them both out, wishing for their reunion in the afterlife, continuing their fate."

With the sound of a bullet being loaded, a shot rang out, one bullet piercing through the heads of the two giant fish, both embracing each other as they met their end, a scene that evoked a tearful feeling.

"Qin Yang, you seem quite relaxed about life and death."

"After seeing so much~"