Chapter 228: The Fairy Forest (8)

The Beast Sea in the eastern continent had distinctive characteristics setting it apart from other regions.

Unlike the other Three External Worlds, it consisted of dozens of massive connected islands. Because of this, sea routes were more developed than land routes, and each island had its own slightly different culture.

On one of these Beast Sea islands-

“WAAAAAAH! WIPE THEM ALL OUT!”

BOOM!

Claire and her hero party stood at the island’s edge, watching the war unfolding before them. The conflict was so vast it seemed to engulf the entire island.

“This is no joke. We have to get right into the middle of that?” Rain asked Claire after clicking her tongue at the scale.

But no answer came.

The hero stared at the battlefield with dull eyes, as if in a trance.

“Claire? Claire!”

Only after Rain called her name several times did Claire’s eyes regain their focus.

“Sorry, did you say something?”

“Yeah. Several times.”

Rain’s eyes held faint worry as she spoke. This wasn’t the first time their leader had acted this way.

Ever since visiting the Temple of Fate recently, Claire would occasionally space out like this.

“Is something bothering you? You haven’t been yourself lately.”

“…”

The hero remained silent at Rain’s question.

Even she couldn’t tell if the thoughts occupying her mind counted as worries.

Of course, those thoughts centered on Zion Agnes.

Ever since learning his true identity at the Temple of Fate, she’d been unable to focus on anything else.

The sense of loss from learning the gods had made contingencies beyond just her regression.

And the emptiness of feeling like her role had vanished filled Claire’s thoughts.

Moreover, she felt confused by how strangely reassured she felt knowing that contingency was the Eternal Emperor.

Then-

“Get it together,” Turzan spoke in a low voice from behind, watching this scene.

“Whatever anyone says, you’re our center. If you lose focus, we all waver.”

“…Yeah. You’re right.”

Claire nodded at his words, closing her eyes to clear the various thoughts from her mind.

‘For now, I should focus on completing what I’ve been entrusted with.’

With this thought, she opened her eyes again and spoke in a quiet but determined voice:

“From now on, we’ll turn the tide of this war.”

“Even attacks strong enough to prevent the Claws from regenerating… How did you manage that? A lowly human, no less.”

CRUNCH!

Zeloth tore away the hand gripping her throat and looked at its owner, Liushina, with interested eyes.

“Really? That barely tickled. Felt more like an insect bite.”

The witch grinned while staring straight back at the Archdemon as she instantly regenerated her destroyed hand and activated a spell.

SWOOSH-

The surrounding space turned blood-red in an instant as hundreds of claws emerged from between the spaces.

Though each claw held enough power to easily destroy a hill, Zeloth’s face showed no concern despite being their target.

She knew these attacks couldn’t harm her at all.

CRACK!

With a discordant sound, countless spatial rifts formed around the Archdemon.

All the claws Liushina had unleashed were sucked into these rifts.

Then simultaneously, Zeloth pointed a finger at Liushina.

As if this gesture designated coordinates-

SCREECH!

Without warning, house-sized thorns appeared ripping through space and surged toward the witch in a dense formation.

BOOM!

The thorns pierced through Liushina’s entire body, creating a tremendous explosion.

Her body was once again torn into thousands of pieces.

Though similar to before, what happened next was completely different.

This time, instead of regenerating immediately, all the scattered flesh pieces froze in midair.

Then tiny mouths formed at the center of each frozen piece.

-ŒÞŊđij????

The moment these thousands of mouths simultaneously chanted a spell no human could pronounce-

SCREECH!

The scattered blood transformed into a massive blood dragon’s head that immediately swallowed Zeloth whole.

This was one of the techniques Liushina had gained while pioneering the path beyond a thousand killings.

CRUNCH, CRUNCH!

Inside the blood dragon’s tightly closed mouth, space itself continuously melted away with grotesque sounds.

Normal beings cannot exist without space.

If existence was a painting, space was the canvas it required.

The spell Liushina had unleashed was meant to eliminate that canvas itself.

In theory, it could annihilate anything, but…

“You know something?”

Not this time.

Zeloth’s voice came from inside the blood dragon’s mouth.

Her voice held no trace of anxiety or pain.

Then-

CRUNCH, CRUNCH!

“You really remind me of Madness.”

The Archdemon of Jealousy forcibly pried open the blood dragon’s jaws with both hands and emerged while speaking slowly to the witch.

“Though your power and appearance are different, you’re oddly similar. Makes me want to kill you even more.”

With these words, Zeloth smiled viciously as purple energy flowed from her entire body, consuming the surrounding space and beginning to choke Liushina.

The spatial poison was lethal enough to instantly kill any normal person who touched it.

“Oh? Then I should kill this Madness too. I don’t particularly like those similar to me.”

CRUNCH!

Liushina responded with the extreme method of destroying and regenerating her own lungs, creating hundreds of mouths across her body.

“Of course, after I kill you first.”

Different spells flowed from each mouth.

Each spell individually possessed power exceeding level 9.

“Such empty boasting.”

The moment Zeloth muttered this while watching the witch’s magic near completion-

SCREECH!

Another clash began.

The ground shattered and nearby buildings collapsed from the shockwaves of their power.

As if that wasn’t enough, the air itself split open where the shockwaves touched, revealing its innards.

The battle was so overwhelming that normal beings couldn’t even perceive a single movement.

Unlike initial expectations, the balance of this battle somehow maintained itself.

BOOM!

With Zion’s help, Liushina’s power advancing toward “the end” already rivaled those beyond Heaven beyond Heaven among the Seven Heavens, allowing her to barely hold her own against the injured Zeloth.

Moreover-

“We must help!”

WHOOSH!

Diana and the other Leaves belatedly regained their senses and joined the battle, further extending how long this balance could be maintained.

‘Yes, at this rate…!’

The Fifth Princess clenched her fist as she summoned spirits with all her power from the start.

Beyond their assistance, the witch’s power directly confronting Zeloth far exceeded her expectations.

That level would rank among the empire’s top three.

‘We can definitely hold out until reinforcements and Zion arrive!’

Just as hope began filling Diana’s eyes with this thought-

“This is getting annoying.”

An irritated voice flowed from Zeloth’s lips as she deflected attacks from Liushina and the fairies.

Then the next moment.

CRACK!

Along with a sound like grinding teeth-

FLASH!

Purple light burst from the Archdemon and instantly covered everyone’s vision.

The light was so intense it seemed capable of melting eyeballs.

After some time passed like this-

When the purple light covering the world faded and vision returned, the scene was beyond devastating – it was horrific.

As if a meteor had struck.

A massive crater centered on Zeloth with smoke rising from it.

Liushina and the other fairies within the crater’s range had vanished without leaving even fragments of corpses, while fairies slightly further away barely clung to life, having lost all body parts that had been within range.

“Tch, I wanted to finish this without damaging the barrier if possible.”

“Ah…”

Diana slumped to the ground, staring blankly at Zeloth as the Archdemon clicked her tongue while looking at the Cradle’s slightly damaged barrier.

“Still impressive though. To trouble me this much without even being an Archdemon.”

As Jealousy slowly walked toward Diana with these words-

SWISH-

“Preparations are complete, Lady Zeloth.”

Krevis, one of the Five Great Demon Generals, appeared behind her accompanied by numerous demons.

He had gathered all remaining forces while Zeloth fought here.

As the light in Diana’s eyes watching this faded further-

CRUNCH!

“It’s not over…!”

Liushina regenerated beside Zeloth as if rewinding time and immediately tried to launch an attack.

Tried being the operative word.

CRACK!

With another strange sound, her entire body twisted and collapsed.

This was Zeloth’s authority of jealousy.

This authority created discord in everything in the world, shaking and distorting existence itself.

The authority had finally shown its true form.

“Your regeneration ability is truly remarkable. I should take you for research. You’ll make a good substitute for venting my frustrations on Madness too.”

CRUNCH!

Zeloth muttered this while watching the witch caught in her authority endlessly repeat regeneration and collapse with interest, then turned back to Diana.

“I only need to keep one person alive to disable the barrier.”

With these words and a slight smile, Zeloth passed by the panting Halegrion and approached Diana.

She had decided to kill her first.

“I’ve never liked your family much. You understand.”

Deep despair began filling Diana’s eyes as she watched Jealousy approach.

“Ah…”

Her body wouldn’t move despite death approaching.

Yes, perhaps there had never been any hope from the start.

This was a being who had already escaped fate’s bonds and reached demigod status.

There was nothing they could do against one of that level.

The earlier battle had been merely an illusion created by the Archdemon’s whims.

Like bugs crawling on the ground versus birds soaring through the sky.

That was the gap between them and this demon.

“I’ve always wanted to personally end an Agnes bloodline.”

Zeloth had reached Diana and seemed to enjoy watching despair fill the princess’s eyes.

The Archdemon’s hand swept down lightly.

“No! Princess Diana!”

Along with Halegrion’s desperate cry watching this-

‘So in the end…’

The moment Zeloth’s hand finally touched Diana’s neck.

THUD!

With a catching sound, time seemed to slow for everything there.

Blood drops from corpses falling slowly toward the ground, building debris frozen in midair, even Halegrion’s urgent eyes expanding very slowly.

In this slowed time, Zeloth’s hand very slowly began slicing through Diana’s neck.

As bright red blood started trickling, very slightly, from the Fifth Princess’s neck-

SCREECH!

Something rushed in at terrifying speed, shattering the Cradle’s barrier.

SLASH!

It immediately severed Zeloth’s arm.

In the nearly frozen time, this something alone moved at normal speed.

THUD!

Then, as time resumed its normal flow-

“…Huh?”

Jealousy muttered in confusion while staring blankly at her hand falling to the ground.

Then her body-

BOOM!

Was sent flying at imperceptible speed by the delayed impact and crashed into the debris behind her.

The battlefield fell silent at this incomprehensible situation.

In this silence, the survivors’ gazes turned toward the being who had created this scene.

A man standing where Zeloth had been moments ago, holding a pitch-black sword with languid eyes.

“…Zion.”

Diana’s lips formed this man’s name.