Rumble, rumble—thunder shakes the heavens as the domain of Yin and Yang churns and flows ceaselessly. In the vicinity, whether natural magic or hellish mana, all are disrupted and drawn in. Masters who specialize in magic have no choice but to retreat again and again, distancing themselves from the domain, lest they end up like a tiny boat caught in a giant whirlpool.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—if you squint, you can see blazing gold and blue-white streaks zipping around inside the domain, like photon energy beams blasting the Great Winged Demon. From start to finish, the domain only lasts about three minutes. But in those three minutes, the Great Winged Demon is like a geek cornered by a hundred bullies—totally helpless, no chance to fight back.
Three minutes later, the Miracle Radiance fades, and Yin and Yang take a break. This bizarre domain vanishes in a snap—gone as soon as it’s called, with a clear start and finish.
"Aaaahhhhh—!!!"
The desperate scream echoes far and wide, carrying the last wave of intimidation in all directions. The surrounding soldiers and strongmen shudder at the final roar, turning to look—only to see the Great Winged Demon on its knees, pinned to the ground by Jill Young and Jack Young.
Jill Young and Jack Young are still in their transformed state—golden fire blazing in reverse, chilling cold swirling down, looking like two gods escorting a demon. One on the left, one on the right, each grabs one of the Great Winged Demon's wings, locking it down. Their other hands face each other, palms apart, with golden sparks crackling between them like a capacitor discharging.
Golden ripples mixed with Yin and Yang energy waves pour into the Great Winged Demon’s wings, sweeping across its whole body. Then, layer after layer of phantoms peel away from its form, curling up and converging in the space between Jill Young and Jack Young’s outstretched palms. Crackling golden sparks link their hands, and in that electrified void, a "Dragon Pearl" slowly takes shape out of nothing.
With the Great Winged Demon thoroughly defeated, it’s finally time for Jill Young and Jack Young to refine it.
"Ah—! No—! No—!" As layer after layer of phantoms are seized and refined, the body’s instincts and restraints keep dropping, and the Ringwraith’s soul finally manages to control the body enough to speak real words. It thrashes left and right, but it’s useless. It screams and curses, but nothing happens.
"The Great Winged Demon has deep roots, so the refining process takes longer—giving you the chance to spit out a couple sentences. But look at yourself! I’m embarrassed for you!" The blazing gold flames slowly die down with a soft pop. The power of the Sacred Flame retreats into the sun-mark on Jill Young’s brow. She cancels her demon transformation and scolds the last Ringwraith: "Come on, at least leave behind some decent last words worthy of your reputation—maybe you’ll even go down in history!"
"Heh heh, ha ha ha, hahahahaha! You think beating me means you’ve won? Fools!" Phantom after phantom gets sucked into the Flesh Blossom, a pain beyond words. The Ringwraith endures it, staring at the White Path Alliance heroes closing in from all sides, and leaves behind a crazed last message: "I’m nothing, but my master Sauron—he’s the greatest! While you’re tangled up with me, he’s already become immortal! He’ll transcend this world! He’ll become a god!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—the refining speeds up, and the Great Winged Demon’s body is on the verge of collapse. The Ringwraith’s spirit emerges from its shell, a faceless ghost, but everyone can feel its wild laughter: "He’ll kill you all, then torture your souls forever! And I’ll follow my master into eternity—"
"Eternity? Maybe just a little reincarnation." Swish—Jill Young forms a sword-finger and slices through the Ringwraith’s spirit. With a soft pop, the Ringwraith’s soul shatters into pieces, vanishing for good. After the soul breaks apart, a flickering black fire appears, jumps twice, then snuffs out—impossible to capture, just like every time before.
At the same time—crack! crack! crack!—the Great Winged Demon’s body finally falls apart. Starting from the wings, its limbs crumble like a sand sculpture, and that Dreadwing Armor collapses with a clang. Whoosh—the wind scatters dust everywhere. The old demon is gone with the breeze, leaving only a hollow suit of armor as proof of its former glory.
"Those last words were straight out of the 'Villain’s Dying Curse' and 'Villain’s Final Freak-Out' playbook—total cliché, nothing surprising, way too boring." Jill Young picks up the Flesh Blossom and takes a look: "A four-star Dragon Pearl? With the Great Winged Demon’s skills, I thought it’d be at least six or seven stars."
"It’s been dead for ages—most of its essence lost to the river of time. Even this Dreadwing Armor probably isn’t as terrifying as it once was." Jill Young flicks her sleeve, and with a swoosh, lifts the Dreadwing Armor off the ground. It’s just an empty shell now, but still perfectly intact—a seamless whole. Ethereal light shimmers across its surface, proving it’s no ordinary relic.
"If the real Great Winged Demon was here, even with all our skills, we might not have won." Dreadwing Armor, heart, dragon wings—these transcendental elements represent the golden age of Middle-earth, when heroes and tribes vied for godhood. Jill Young sighs: "Too bad we never saw them at their strongest. The Ringwraith was just a wannabe—never made it to the top."
"Sure, the Ringwraith’s a wannabe, but there’s still the Demon Lord, and you know that one’s no pushover." Jill Young stows the Dreadwing Armor, turning to look at Mount Doom, her brows furrowing: "Seriously, we’ve fought all the way to the doorstep, wiped out all his best minions—so why is the Demon Lord still sitting tight?"
The Twins’ Ultimate Combat Art isn’t unlimited—tests show Jill Young and Jack Young can only keep it up for ten minutes max. When they were ganging up on the Great Winged Demon, Jill Young and Jack Young kept a bit of focus on Sauron, just in case he made a sudden move. But, surprise! Sauron never showed up, like he wasn’t even at Mount Doom.
"Tracking his soul with foul energy doesn’t lie—Sauron’s definitely here." Jill Young insists: "If he hasn’t shown up, there must be a reason. I’ve thought it over and only found one possible explanation, and that is—"
"He’s at a critical moment—he can’t come out!" Jill Young cheers, "Isn’t that perfect? The Demon Lord’s climbing to new heights, so let’s sneak up and kick him in the butt right when he’s scaling the cliff! One good kick and Sauron’s big plans go up in smoke, Middle-earth finally gets some peace, and we finish Brother Xiao’s quest. After we crush the big bad, we can chill and study foul energy—perfect ending! Uh, wait, have you seen where Brother Xiao went?"
Jill Young’s sudden question makes Jack Young pause. She’d split her focus—half on the Great Winged Demon, half on Sauron in case he burst in—so there was no energy left to track anyone else. Now that she thinks about it... yeah, where did Brother Xiao go?
Jill Young and Jack Young look around for answers—the Elf Queen, the White Robed Wizard, and the rest all glance at each other, dazed, then shake their heads. Nobody noticed where the Paladin went.
"Boss lady, superhuman, Young Master Xiao went that way!" Right then, Liu Xiaoying puts her sharp eyes to use, rushing over and pointing toward Mount Doom: "There’s a cave over there—Young Master Xiao just went inside!"
"Hey, looks like our bro’s got strategy—he beat us to it." Jill Young waves, "Even if Sauron’s dangling on the edge of a cliff, his butt’s not that easy to kick. Let’s go—together!"
"Let’s go—make it quick, before things change." Jack Young adds, "No time to waste—speed is everything."
Jill Young and Jack Young use lightfoot kung fu, racing up along Mount Doom’s ridge. All enemies have been cleared out—the distance is long, but for the Twins it’s just a blink. Swish, swish—they arrive at the cave entrance together. Listening closely, they hear the sounds of fierce fighting echoing from inside; must be the Paladin battling Mordor’s leftover goons in the depths.
Jill Young and Jack Young nod to each other, turning into streaks of red and blue light, and zip into the cave. The tunnel twists but is wide, sloping downward. The Flame Tide is constantly sucking up hellish mana, so every bit of energy produced deep inside Mount Doom gets snatched by the little fireball, leaving the rest of the place totally drained. What should be a dark red glow is now just pitch black.
But darkness doesn’t bother Jill Young and Jack Young, and neither do the maze-like passages. They follow the sounds, soon arriving at the big cliff Jill Young visited before.
"The fight’s over here—let’s go!" Jill Young calls out as she charges ahead.
Whoosh—Jill Young and Jack Young zip into a cave different from last time, flying at lightning speed. In no time, the tunnel opens up—they’ve entered a massive chamber: the lava canyon where the Blackgold Dreadwing was mined. The once-roiling lava is now cooling, turning into vast sheets of pitch-black volcanic rock. Only faint red lines glow in the cracks, lighting up the enormous space.
On the rocky path ahead, a bunch of little monsters are sprawled out everywhere, while others are squeaking and hammering as they scurry deeper inside. Looks like Jasper Xiao barreled through and didn’t waste time fighting them—their only move is chasing after him, way out of their league.
"Looks like our bro’s in a hurry—he’s finally learned to charge in like a wild boar." Jill Young swats away a few monsters as she speeds ahead, Jack Young close behind.
"Yeah." Jack Young nods, frowning a bit. "Normally, he’d clear out the enemies first, then move forward step by step. But today’s different—emergency calls for shortcuts. It’s the best way right now."
"I was just making a comment, and look at you analyzing it to bits—just like Dad. Oh, there he is! Hey—Jasper! We’re here!" Jill Young calls out, Jack Young at her side.
At the end of the path, in front of a giant gate, Jasper Xiao stands quietly. Hearing Jill Young’s distant shout, he jolts and glances back. Just then, a Sulfurous Veil drifts in, blocking their view, so Jill Young and Jack Young can’t see Jasper’s expression. All they catch is a strange smile on his face—so odd, they can’t even guess what it means.
Then—rumble! Without anyone touching it, the gate swings wide open. A bizarre wind rushes out, carrying a creepy chill and a hint of something monstrous lurking beyond. Jasper Xiao steps forward, natural and resolute—one stride, and he’s through to the world behind the door.
"Hey, hey, what’s the rush? Wait for us!" Why did he go in alone? Jill Young freezes, then panics. Jack Young’s eyes flash, then narrow. They both stomp down, shattering the stone bridge, and dash at full speed for the stone gate. Jack Young grabs Jill Young’s hand and flings her forward, giving her a burst of speed.
But—thud! The gate slams shut, locking Jasper Xiao’s silhouette out of sight. Jill Young and Jack Young are left outside, unable to follow.
"Wah!" Jill Young flies in and kicks the stone gate. With her strength, any gate should fly open—or at least crack a chunk off a solid cliff. But, surprise! There’s a pop, and black energy ripples out where she kicked. The ripples swirl across the gate, then quickly fade, leaving it totally unharmed. Jack Young watches, ready to try next.
"What the heck is this?"