Ch.94The Day of the End (2)

“Anger has ceased its activity, Saintess.”

“Following the will of the holy light, we have walked the path of light, and at the end of such a path, there shall be glory.”

An endless prayer.

I have no idea what prayer she’s reciting, but if the Saintess is praying this long, it must mean there’s a way to defeat that monster.

Plok turned his head and gathered the survivors.

He needed to rally them while Anger was immobilized to have any chance of doing something.

The Beast of Apocalypse, which had swung its fist once, dropped lightning to vaporize a mountain, and now showed no movement.

Just one black lightning bolt had fallen, but the sight of a mountain evaporating was enough to leave everyone, including Plok, dumbfounded.

With Uldur having prophesied a war from mythology becoming reality, all they could do was pray.

Only Plok gathered the survivors, rallied them, and gripped his shield tightly.

Defeating that monster was impossible.

Therefore… he would have to use a self-sacrifice spell to seal it as much as possible.

“Me… a… ry…”

Just then, a voice echoed from the sky.

At first, he thought he’d misheard, but the survivors around him all claimed to have heard it too.

If that’s the case…

“Me… a… ry…”

“Impossible… Does this mean that monster can even speak human language?”

The word “Mary” continued to echo.

The Beast of Apocalypse, which had been muttering this word, soon began to move again.

Rumble…

“Damn it! Anger is moving again! Everyone—! Be care—!!”

Grrrrrr…

The earth began to form a massive axe according to the beast’s will.

The axe extended to where the mountain had disappeared, and buildings on the ground where the axe was forming were crushed and vanished.

Rumble…

And when the axe was completed, it went into the Beast of Apocalypse’s hand.

“Ugh… What is it planning to do with that?!”

As Plok, tightly gripping his shield and ready to activate the sacrifice spell if necessary, watched vigilantly.

The axe in the Beast of Apocalypse’s hand rose to the sky, cutting through the clouds, and the monster’s face became visible.

Its face was so enormous that it couldn’t be seen properly, and only its red pupils were visible.

And in those pupils, tears were welling up.

“Tears?”

While wondering what such a monster could possibly be sad about.

ROOOOOAAAAR—!!!!!

With a roar, the axe was swung.

When the tears in the Beast of Apocalypse’s eyes scattered to the ground, creating a scene like rainfall.

The axe that had risen high into the sky fell back to the ground.

Having seen a mountain blown away with one punch and another mountain disappear from the lightning it dropped, Plok:

“Uldur, I beseech you now as your servant! I shall offer everything I have, so grant me a shield to block that thing! Sacrifice!”

Sacrifice.

A miracle that offers everything to God and in return realizes what one desires.

The miracle of light, which only clerics of archbishop rank or higher could use, was realized.

“Aaaaargh—!!!”

“Brother Plok…!! I shall soon follow!”

Plok’s body decomposed and transformed into light, creating a shield of light that headed toward the blade of the descending axe of Anger.

“Sacrifice!”

“Sacrifice!”

And all seven surviving archbishops activated Sacrifice, transforming into shields of light.

The Sacrifice of the Knight of God and seven archbishops.

The survivors made the sign of the cross and bid them farewell for their noble sacrifice.

Crack—!

But a miracle is something humans cannot achieve.

In the face of the Beast of Apocalypse, which could pierce mountains with just the wind pressure and vaporize mountains with a single lightning bolt, such human miracles were ineffective.

The shield, which had only bought a few seconds of time, disappeared, and all the archbishops’ shields vanished as well.

When this happened, the Saintess, who had been kneeling with her eyes closed in prayer, opened her eyes.

“I, Aura Philocheise, daughter and agent of Uldur, beseech you! Lend me the power of those in the heavens!”

Rumble…!!

Whoosh—!

With those words, a shining gate opened in the sky, and chains descended to wrap around the Beast of Apocalypse.

Grrrr—?

Turning its hundreds-of-meters-long face upward at the sudden interference, what it saw were angels displaying wings of light.

They each had red wings and pure white wings, with halos shining, and they pulled the Beast of Apocalypse’s axe back up into the sky with chains wrapped around their hands, preventing it from touching the ground.

[Being from another world seeking to destroy this world! Your existence already transcends the principles of this world! We shall seal you eternally and once again shine Uldur’s light!]

[Your existence is like that of a Titan from mythology. Such beings should not exist on earth. Please be sealed quietly, Anger!]

“It’s El Rapim and El Zeria…”

“To be able to see those two with the naked eye…”

“Oh, great angels who follow Uldur, please use your power to seal that being…!!”

While all members of the order knelt and prayed at the sudden appearance of angels.

Creak…

The chains of light holding the Beast of Apocalypse screamed as the axe tried to descend to the ground again.

[Impossible! How can the chains of light be challenged by a mere creature of the mortal realm…!!]

[It’s a being from another world! El Rapim, never let your guard down!]

El Rapim and El Zeria were astonished by the monster’s power from the heavens and sent down more chains of light to block its movement, but…

It was too much for the angels alone to face a beast with the power to bring about the end of a world.

ROOOOOAAAAR—!!!!

Crack—

BOOM—!!!

“Kyaaaah—!!!”

“Aaaaargh—!!!!”

The chains the angels were restraining couldn’t withstand the Beast of Apocalypse’s power and disappeared, and the monster used the force of the chains that had been restraining it to strike the ground with that rebound.

The Grancia continent couldn’t withstand the power contained in that axe.

When the axe struck the ground, everyone except the Saintess was blown away, and the axe embedded in the earth began its work.

Rumble…

The earth began to wail.

Unable to withstand the Beast of Apocalypse’s power, seawater began to flow into the cracks, and as it used the power of Earth, the cracks gradually widened…

ROOOOOAAAAR—!!!!!

And those cracks began to spread throughout the continent.

* * * * *

“Hmm…”

In Elvenheim, which had become quiet again after destroying the human empire a few months ago, Lassis, daughter of the World Tree and High Elf, raised her head.

“Khan…? No, this is on the level of a Titan from the mythical era… How could such a monster appear in the current Grancia continent?”

Surprised by the sudden enormous energy, Lassis raised her head and looked in that direction.

As her body tingled at the momentum similar to the Titans, the giant race that had been formidable in the mythical era.

Rustle…

“Yes, I know, Mother. You don’t have to say it like that. But… what are you going to do about that? It seems like it’s trying to destroy the continent right now.”

Rustle—

“Nothing? Well, since you’re Mother, I’m sure you have some way. I’ll just trust you, Mother.”

Elvenheim chose silence despite the sudden anomaly, and the forest returned to its daily routine.

* * * * *

“Your Majesty… Khan is sad…”

“Yes… I see.”

Fairy Tail.

The home of fairies and Mary’s hometown.

The fairies living there felt the sudden crisis of the continent and gathered in one place, trembling.

“Mary… will she be okay?”

“She’ll be fine. Khan is strong.”

“That’s right! Khan is strong!”

While some fairies agreed with the queen’s words and chattered noisily despite their anxiety, as fairies do.

“Khan… Mary…”

Only the Fairy Queen was looking into the distance with concern.

* * * * *

Rumble…!!!

The earth screamed, and the cracks that spread from where the axe had struck began to split the entire continent.

“Kyaaaah—!!!”

“What is this…!!”

People who had been living ordinary lives were fleeing in panic due to the sudden earthquake and cracks in the ground.

This phenomenon was occurring throughout the entire Grancia continent.

“Daddy—!!!!”

“Erisha!!!”

As the earth split, more and more people were separated from their loved ones.

And this was happening not only in villages but throughout the human kingdoms of the Grancia continent: Silpin, Lacor, Salion, and even the Northern Barbarians.

All human races were confused by the sudden disaster and tried to do something about it, but there was nothing they could do.

“No… No, no, no—!!!”

“Uldur… why such a trial…!!”

Humans screamed and denied the unbelievable reality, but what had happened couldn’t be undone.

The land was now completely split, with seawater rising, and the Grancia continent had changed into seven islands.

* * * * *

The Beast of Apocalypse’s strike had turned the continent into islands.

From the aftermath of that strike that changed the continent into islands with a single blow, the only survivor from the order was now the Saintess.

But even the Saintess was in terrible condition.

Her clothing, the sacred robe of light worn by all previous Saintesses, was completely torn, revealing her naked body.

The reason Saintess Aura had withstood the impact of the Beast of Apocalypse’s strike was due to the defensive magic circle created by her summoning of angels.

But now that defensive magic circle was gone, and the angels she had summoned had disappeared without properly blocking the monster.

“Anger…!! I cannot allow you to destroy the Grancia continent any further…!”

She had tried to summon angels to seal it during the time created by the archbishops and Plok using the sacrifice spell, but…

The angels alone couldn’t stop that monster.

So, the Saintess, with the same mindset as those who had been martyred before her, uttered a spell.

“Great Uldur, your daughter now wishes to offer her existence and bring light to this land. I shall offer everything to you, so please seal that being permanently!”

Sacrifice.

“Kyaaaah…!!!!”

With those words, the Saintess’s body transformed into light and was sucked into the heavenly gate that had remained open due to her summoning of angels.

When Saintess Aura was sucked into the heavenly gate, the gate began to emit an intense light.

There, a sphere began to emit a strong light in front of the heavenly gate.

Grrrr…?

When the Beast of Apocalypse, which had split the continent, was about to throw its axe and pulled it far back, it revealed hostility upon seeing the being visible through the open heavenly gate surrounded by light.

ROOOOOAAAAR—!!

The greatest threat, interfering with its role.

To confront that threat, it aimed the axe it was about to throw at the transformed islands using the power of Earth toward the heavenly gate instead.

Crackle—!!

Black lightning wrapped around the 2-kilometer-long axe blade, and despite being several kilometers up in the sky, that lightning exerted its power on the ground, further devastating the already shattered land.

ROOOOOAAAAR—!!!

The lightning-wrapped axe flew toward the heavenly gate with Khan’s roar.

A several-kilometer-long axe flying toward the sacred gate connecting heaven and earth.

[Light of Seven Stars]

But before that, with a sacred voice, light extended from the heavenly gate and wrapped around the Beast of Apocalypse.

Grrrr—?

The Beast of Apocalypse showed confusion as the light touched its body without causing any wounds, but… that light instantly enveloped the Beast of Apocalypse.

BOOM—!!

And at that moment, the axe collided with the heavenly gate and completely shattered it.

With the destruction of the heavenly gate that served as a bridge between heaven and earth, Uldur, a heavenly being, would no longer be able to influence the earth.

But he is a being that could be called the monotheistic god believed in by humans.

Despite the heavenly gate being shattered, the light surrounding the Beast of Apocalypse emitted an even brighter light, and seven lights poured down from the sky to envelop the monster.

ROOOOOAAAAR!!!

BOOM!!!

It tried to break the prison by banging its head, but the power of the being called God withstood such resistance and succeeded in an incomplete sealing.

Flash—!!

With Khan’s resistance, a strong light was emitted, and when the light disappeared, all that remained was the Beast of Apocalypse, which had become a bright statue of light surrounded by seven lights.