novelraw Chapter 614: Self-Sacrifice
Chapter 614: Self-Sacrifice
"What exactly is going on?!"
When Eliog defeated Barbatos head-on and returned from afar, the first thing she saw was the Soul Flame burning fiercely in the sky above. As if trying to burn through a portion of the sky, very quickly, where it spread past, the vast universe close at hand was revealed, along with the surging, turbulent Scarlet Mist twinkling with starlight within it.
Through the already precarious Crevice, the terrifying power of that Scarlet Mist made Eliog unable to help but feel an extremely severe sense of oppression. But precisely because the Crevice hadn't been completely burned through yet, there was still a barrier separating that Scarlet Mist and reality, rendering it unable to thoroughly erode this patch of heaven and earth.
Then, what exactly was the situation inside the Dynasty?
Eliog had no mood to care about the weak living creatures in all directions that had already been intimidated beyond measure by this Mythical scenery. Right now, they were either going crazy or hiding, which frankly saved Eliog trouble. On the surface, Barbatos's Portal had already been destroyed. Eliog could only scratch her head, raised the weapon in her hand to use her own Portal, preparing to return to her castle located at the Gate of Victory.
"Buzz buzz buzz!"
As scorching flames completely wrapped her figure, the scene before her eyes also changed instantly, returning to the Demon Dynasty brimming with scorching aura.
She gritted her teeth feeling the death aura permeating all around, very quickly realizing which thousand-cuts-deserving bastard opened the ten gates serving as seals in the Dynasty. She turned to look beside her bed, and sure enough, she discovered the pillow she used to store the Gate of Victory's seal mark had been torn to shreds, with premium velvet scattered all over the ground.
Her castle had restrictions set up. Because she gave the Favored One's mark to Fisher—even though the original mark had already been overwritten by Baimon's, Eliog's aura still remained—he was able to enter. But she hadn't expected someone to seize the opportunity of him entering to sneak in and steal the mark away.
All these years, the other Demon Gods were all slumbering, and moreover didn't even have restrictions forbidding entry set up like her. Presumably, their marks had probably all been stolen as well...She grew increasingly displeased. She just wanted to get up and head towards the ten open gates, wanting to try to close the ten gates at the final moment before Death completely awakened. But right at this moment, the illusory door leaves in the sky suddenly closed in response. It was unclear who did it, but it indeed produced an effect, curbing the continued deterioration of the situation.
At the very least, Goddess of Death Heya wouldn't fully awaken.
But the aura of death had already spewed out, Her authority remained restless, the breaking of the seals was still devastating to the Dynasty.
Right now, the Demon Dynasty was still trembling unstoppably, the power of the Death authority was still corroding and spreading upwards. As the First Pillar, Eliog naturally knew the severity of the matter, but still couldn't help wanting to confirm Fisher's current condition and what exactly just happened here.
She didn't hesitate anymore, very quickly urging all her power to head towards the recent incident location, the Gate of Expression region. But before arriving at the Gate of Expression's location, she abruptly felt a familiar aura on the pink wilderness of the Gate of Carnal Desire.
"Baimon?!"
Eliog's toes fiercely stalled, descending from mid-air. The crimson-flame-like red long hair on her head trembled in the wind, looking at that Baimon who was currently using power to contend against the authority of Death.
Beside her, Raphaela's body was currently undergoing a metamorphosis into the Mythical Rank, while Fisher collapsed unconscious in her embrace.
Baimon had her eyes closed, surrounded by illusory morning light. That power was spreading deep into the Dynasty, guiding the already out-of-control authority of Death, but to no avail regardless of what was done.
Eliog grew angry from within. Raising the weapon in her hand, she was about to step forward. But at this moment, Baimon abruptly opened her somewhat exhausted eyes, looking at the Eliog before her with a complex expression.
"Let go of him aww!!"
Eliog had never seen such exhaustion appear in Baimon's eyes before. This made her forward-charging blade motion slightly pause, yet still fiercely smashed onto her body-protecting morning light in one go. The huge force made Baimon's face turn pale, golden blood seeping from the corners of her mouth. She still wanted to hold the Fisher in her arms, but couldn't help but loosen her fingers, letting him fall to the ground.
"Cough, cough..."
"You bastard, being free outside for so many years isn't enough, you still have to use Barbatos and Agreas to work their lives away for you. Now look, how did those ten gates open? What is the matter with the Crevice in the sky above?! Is this also a part of your plan, Baimon, what exactly do you want to do?"
Baimon reached out again wanting to pull the Fisher lying on the ground, but Eliog had already raised her blade, chopping right at her wrist with one strike. Amidst splattering golden blood, Baimon gained another wound, simultaneously retracting her hand in pain.
Yet she still curled up the corners of her mouth, albeit this smile being slightly heavy. She said,
"Are you going to continue fighting, or lend a hand to seal the authority of Death back in?"
"I'll seal your head aww!"
Eliog forcefully yanked Baimon's white robe, lifting her up. The giant hammer raised above her head swung menacingly. And the fury in Eliog's eyes was also increasingly difficult to suppress. She said through gnashed teeth,
"Explain clearly to me, what exactly is going on? Otherwise, I'll smash your head to a pulp right now. Besides, you aren't a Demon anyway, even if you die it has no bearing on sealing the authority of Death. It'll also spare you going outside randomly causing harm to others!"
Baimon just looked at the Eliog before her with a beaming smile like this, but remaining silent from beginning to end. This made Eliog become increasingly furious, wishing she could smash this guy's head to a pulp immediately.
If it wasn't for Fisher having already returned to normal from that previous terrifying state, Eliog probably really wouldn't have been able to hold back.
But the aura of the authority of Death around them grew increasingly dense. Even though closing the ten gates didn't diminish it in the slightest. Seeing the Dynasty's shaking becoming increasingly violent under such influence, Eliog also had no choice but to put her down, angrily saying,
"Then what are you planning to do now? The authority of Death was originally unstable. Now that it is released, even our power won't be enough to fully seal it back up. Could it be we helplessly watch it explode outward?"
"It was that guy Solomon... I was always focused on my plan, yet ignored what that human who always wanted to die had been doing inside the Dynasty over these several thousands of years. He sneaked into the palaces of the First Pillars behind each gate and stole the marks they watched over, just to awaken the authority of Death and then die... Of course, to a death-seeker like him, whether others died or not had absolutely no relation to him anymore..."
"... As a Mythic Species acting freely outside, you'd watch him steal your mark aww?"
Facing Eliog's suspicion, Baimon merely shrugged her shoulders and said,
"That Base, even when sealed its influence on me is very great. Have you forgotten how my Angel compatriots were exterminated completely by It in the Spirit World... Therefore, in order for the plan to go smoothly, I no longer went back after storing it inside my palace, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to succeed."
"..."
This explanation was indeed reasonable. The power of that Spirit World Contamination had exceptional lethality towards Angels. Although she didn't know the reason, Eliog knew this point from very early on. And Baimon glanced at the trembling Dynasty around them, continuing,
"... Moreover, right now, even if the power of the authority of Death has already been strengthened again, it's not entirely without solutions... For example, me transforming into the Dynasty's true seventy-second pillar, letting my power thoroughly become a part of the Dynasty. This way might perhaps be able to seal it back up again..."
Eliog froze slightly, frowning, and sneered saying,
"Didn't see it, you actually have such resolve? Actually willing to thoroughly sacrifice your freedom?"
Baimon looked at Fisher lying on the ground, smiling radiantly as she said,
"My plan failed."
"What, Agreas discovered your flaws?"
Baimon shook her head, saying with pity,
"It's impossible for them, and even more impossible for you. From several thousands of years ago, I began waiting and scheming. If I let you guys stop it easily, then I wouldn't have made so many of you hate me so much."
"Hehe."
Regarding Baimon sarcastically implying she had no brains, veins bulged on Eliog's forehead, while her smile also grew increasingly stiff.
"Only unfortunately, I calculated everything, except for failing to expect the person I waited so long for would refuse to leave with me..."
"Oh? Is that so aww..."
Hearing this, Eliog's darkened face couldn't help but brighten up. She swayed the long tail behind her, and even the crimson "cat ears" on her head trembled rapidly, entirely appearing to be taking pleasure in someone else's misfortune and secretly rejoicing.
While Baimon looked condescendingly at Raphaela who was currently advancing in the near distance, adding one last sentence,
"... Also for a Dragon-kin who bestowed suffering upon his body."
"..."
Eliog's tail and ears both stopped swaying. Subsequently, she softly clicked her tongue, and looking at the rising magma all around, she looked at Baimon and said,
"Start quickly, what exactly needs to be done?"
"First of all, I need all of you to return to the Dynasty. Agreas has already taken her place, you are also here, and Barbatos and Cidi those two..."
"We are here ah!"
Right after Baimon finished speaking, after a soft breeze swept past, Cidi supporting the heavily-injured Barbatos appeared before his palace at the Gate of Carnal Desire, greeting them from afar.
Barbatos cast a cold glance at Baimon, while Eliog also breathed a sigh of relief. Right as she wanted to explain the current situation to the two of them, Cidi stroked his chin and said,
"What exactly is the situation with the Crevice above I'm unclear about, but the aura of the authority of Death here is so dense, let me guess, you need us to return to our places to control the authority?"
"That's right, from now on, I will also become a part of the Dynasty."
Cidi nodded, subsequently smiling and saying,
"Sure, no problem, but with one condition: from now on, my main body and Barbatos's main body must be together. Might as well take advantage of this time to move our main bodies a bit. With your current power you should be able to do it right?"
Baimon nodded, subsequently looking towards the silent Barbatos beside him, and said with a beaming smile,
"It's a deal."
"Hehe, Baimon's 'it's a deal' is even more unreliable than a human's promise..."
Eliog sneered coldly, but still threw the weapon in her hand onto the ground. Subsequently, she took a deep breath, and the flames all over her body flared up increasingly higher. While the pink brilliance and verdant breeze on Cidi and Barbatos also spewed out simultaneously, spreading down along the ground, heading straight for the authority of Death.
Hearing this, Baimon was neither agreeable nor disagreeable. She merely cast a deeply meaningful glance at Fisher on the ground. Subsequently, her entire body was wrapped in the purest morning light. Her figure grew increasingly bright, much like the morning sun at eight or nine o'clock. Its radiance very quickly covered the land of the Gate of Carnal Desire, wrapping the remaining Demon Gods within.
Barbatos's figure disappeared from the spot bit by bit, transforming into a sky-piercing pillar of fire that reappeared within Cidi's palace, gently intertwining with Cidi's main body—the pillar of fire separated from the soul.
And Eliog's main body also instantly disappeared, returning to that lazy appearance anew. The ferocious six arms also reverted to two arms, making her somewhat unaccustomedly twist her own shoulders.
Meanwhile, inside Baimon's palace, Jasmine who had been bitterly supporting the Base also instantly rolled her eyes back and went soft, collapsing onto the ground.
The Base in her hand dissipated bit by bit, yet after Jasmine broke connection with it, it bizarrely extended a bit of Scarlet Mist wanting to draw near her...
"Oh my, you thousand-cuts deserving thing!! The great Sir Book Artifact is here!!"
Fortunately, Eimhart beside her had quick eyes and—uh, quick book—violently flying over, wrapped in golden light, to push that Base away for quite a long distance. Only then did that red mist distance from Jasmine, slowly dissipating in mid-air.
And lastly, that morning-light-wrapped Baimon also violently bloomed a massive radiance. Only she didn't transform into a pillar of fire, but exposed her true Angel form. Compared to ten thousand years ago, it was merely the wings behind her being dyed with a bit of chaotic and impure colors.
"Buzz buzz buzz!"
At this moment, Demon God Baimon, who had always remained detached outside the Dynasty, finally thoroughly took her place, opting for self-sacrifice to become a part that suppressed the authority of Death.
The boiling magma around gradually quieted down under the wrapping of the morning light. All that dense death aura was swept away by that morning light, completely entering Baimon's body, fully sealing the power accumulated over ten thousand years since the authority of Death was sealed and suppressed.
And the Dynasty also quieted down once again, the dust finally settling.
Fisher had a dream, a dream of a scene he had seen before.
In the dream, he turned back into an infant anew, lying helplessly in swaddling clothes inside a wooden basket, swaying along with the swaying arm of the figure beside him holding the cradle.
He suddenly felt somewhat dizzy, because an infant's body was truly too fragile.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Not far away, the sound of the small bronze bell from the church school—which ran through his entire childhood—abruptly chimed from the lighthouse not far away. It was clearly an inferior bronze bell so its sound was always muffled and small, but at this moment in his ears, that sound was like a tsunami, seeming to pierce his eardrums, and also making him increasingly awake.
He opened his mouth and opened his eyes, trying with all his might to see the true face of this figure beside him clearly. But apart from her slender fingers extending to grip the wooden basket, he couldn't see anything at all...
Who exactly are you?
Why don't I have a past life, why did you place me here?
Various doubts echoed uneasily in Fisher's heart, yet he was also getting closer and closer to that wall. That woman's footsteps finally slowed down a bit, and also took advantage of the momentum to switch hands holding him.
"Who exactly are you?"
The curiosity in Fisher's heart drove him, making him unable to wait to know this answer. He opened his mouth "waa waa aah aah", perhaps wanting to ask her this way, but could only do as all infants could, crying continuously...
But differing from the scenes he saw in the Soul Completion Handbook, at this moment, hearing Fisher's babbling, that woman carrying him actually made a movement.
So, she took advantage of the momentum and lowered her head to look towards Fisher, and Fisher also hurriedly looked at her.
But the next moment, what appeared before his eyes wasn't a person, but countless golden tentacles entrenched together, twisting and spinning. It was like a maelstrom floating in the gloomy deep space, just lawlessly fusing with everything, and just spinning drawing near him like this.
"&*()%&..."
Those tentacles surged continuously, seemingly wanting to say something to Fisher. Yet Fisher was already shivering down his spine, violently jolting awake from the dream and sitting up.
He panted several breaths. Amidst the surging memories in his brain, he then mumbled anxiously and in panic,
"Raphaela?"
"..."
He sat on a soft bed. No one around responded to him. Only beside his bed, a beauty with golden curly hair who was currently reading a certain book silently lowered the book a bit...
From behind it, a pair of blue-gold loose pupils were revealed.