Chapter 75: Chapter 264

⟬«System» Warning. Additional combat activity in your current state will intensify the effects of [Holy Fever]. You are recommended to take breaks.⟭

⟬«System» Warning! You are strongly recommended to take breaks.⟭

I didn't need any of these warnings.

Tell me something more useful, system. Then I fired up my aura with my life on the line in open rebellion against what the system was telling me.

⟬The Scale that Judges Souls murmurs in agony.⟭

⟬The Executive of Creative Economy sighs.⟭

⟬The Advocate of Confidentiality smacks their forehead.⟭

Reed's voice kept trying to manipulate me.

"You should think about the Holy Fever. You might want to stop while you can, Ailette Rodeline."

His seemingly affectionate words reached my ears only a split-second before he went for my throat. It was horribly despicable, but I didn't care about any of it. I parried the demonic sword with my scythe while elongating the vertical shaft of the Whip Sword like a tail behind me.

"I know you're just pretending to have an easy time."

Reed laughed at my words after blocking my counterattack. "Okay, you got me."

For a second, I was surprised he was willing to admit his feelings.

"You're right. I'm so nervous and excited at the thought of being with you soon."

I should've known. But I couldn't dismiss his words as simple mockery, since I knew there was some truth to them. Instead of replying, I deftly popped another candy into my mouth. I had two tranquilizing candies left. As always, time wasn't on my side in my battle against Reed.

How can I make him leave this place? I was desperately racking my brain for ideas when I saw a message pop up.

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World says they found a way to restore you!⟭

My god finally opened up a path for me.

Lord Voice! Hurry and tell me what it is!

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World says they will personally wash away your demonic energy.⟭

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World says you will have to...⟭

I listened to the instructions that followed in silence. It required me to do something quite ridiculous, but I was surprisingly calm as I listened to the divine messages.

⟬The Critic for Balance says you'll have to risk your life for it.⟭

⟬The Scale that Judges Souls asks if this is the only way.⟭

It wasn't necessary to wait for an answer to the last question, since this was likely the best chance I had.

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World asks you whether you'd be able to do what they proposed.⟭

I don't have a choice. I'll have to make it work. I'm counting on you, Lord Voice. So please make sure you can save me. I changed my grip on Liv Lily and leapt far out of Reed's range.

We found ourselves at a tense stand-off, at which point Reed started glaring at me.

"Something just shifted in your eyes. I wonder what my unpredictable lady is up to this time."

"This fight is over," I answered briskly, making him change his expression as his suspicion turned into displeasure.

"What are you trying to do?" he asked.

I said nothing, instead choosing to not disclose my plans.

"Are you going to harm yourself again? Well, in that case..." Reed released his power and dominance with the Prophet of the Start Command skill in mind.

«Ailette!» Agnes shouted in alarm as dozens of dark aura blades formed around Reed.

He threatened me with a bunch of flying swords in the air.

"Once you're done, you will need the demonic sword to heal you. So I'd better offer the sacrifices in advance." His swords darted out of the coliseum upon receiving his order to kill, so they could fill themselves up with blood.

Likewise, I made a bouquet of aura blade blossom around me. They shot each of Reed's flying swords down, causing explosions all around us. Once the projectiles had completely neutralized each other, Reed and I started fighting in close range once again.

I decided to answer the question he asked earlier. "No, I'm not going to harm myself."

Those words made him relax somewhat.

"Then are you up to that trick again?" Reed asked, and I let him continue. "The landfill of the Demon Realm?"

He then rolled his eyes over to the right. He was staring at the stands. To be precise, he was looking at the large rift in those stands. The ghoulish hands that sought to pull Tesilid under had disappeared when I gained consciousness, but the hole leading to the landfill of the Demon Realm still remained open, displaying the swamp-like environment on the other side.

Reed pushed me back with his power and kept me at bay with his blade. He suddenly feigned a sorrowful look as if he was heartbroken. "Alas... Are you abandoning me?"

"No."

"Wow, it actually worked. I didn't think I could pull on your heartstrings."

It almost made me laugh, but I decided to correct his misunderstanding instead. "You didn't. I meant I'm pushing you into a different place this time."

"A different place?" the gorgeous man asked, his playful smile now gone from his face. He had become expressionless, and I knew that underneath that blank face lay panic and uncertainty. He tried to pry for clues with his eyes.

I stared back at him the whole time until I finally muttered the words, "Open the gate of Pantheon."

The sky responded immediately to the activation words.

⟬«System» Transcendent Skill [Gate of the Pantheon] has opened.⟭

Holy light poured out of the pitch black sky now ruled by the new moon. The light started to take form, as though it was being molded by the hands of an unseen creator. It turned into a gate inside a triumphal arch that seemed as glorious as the gate of heaven itself.

"Is that...?"

Reed froze on the spot upon noticing what now stood behind him. It was the perfect opportunity, but I couldn't seize it due to the consequence of using Tier 9 divine power smiting me down.

I let out a groan as divine power coursed through my body, which had been modified to serve as a shell for a Demon Lord. My heart and lungs ran wild. It felt as if every drop of blood in my veins had been replaced by molten iron that now pumped backward. I wobbled away from Reed and swallowed several mouthfuls of blood as I wondered whether I was about to explode.

That's when something miraculous happened.

Rumble!

The gigantic gates of the Pantheon slowly began to open, and the blinding lights bursting out from the gates turned the night into the day.

"Ha... Haha..." Reed let out a laugh that sounded more like a sigh. He seemed to be completely captivated by the Pantheon, but he soon glared at it as if he had noticed something within it. "Ailette Rodeline! What have you done—"

"Reed." I cut him off in the most polite way possible.

He turned his gaze around and faced me once again.

"It's time to return to the light," I beckoned softly. "We'll do it together."

I wasn't going to roam the abyss with him, but I was willing to burn up in the light by his side. He didn't say anything back as he intently stared at me. Although it only lasted a brief moment, it felt like an eternity.

He blankly gazed at me because he didn't know how to react. This was my chance. I darted toward Reed with the Force of a Queen. I gathered my aura into a small point in Liv Lily and struck him.

"Ugh!"

Not even Reed could withstand a direct hit when he was unguarded and unprepared. It toppled his balance. I then tackled him backward with my body.

The Pantheon stood waiting, its gates wide open behind him. It felt as though my divine power was burning up every cell in my body as I stepped closer to the gates. Thankfully, the immense gravity behind those doors helped my efforts.

Reed only realized what was happening when the light started drawing him in. He growled with the light behind him. "Stop, Ailette Rodeline. You won't be safe in that light, either."

"I know."

My short answer convinced him of my firm resolve, and he went quiet. Right then, the searing light completely blinded us, swallowing what was left of our shadows.

Thud!

The gates of the Pantheon slammed shut with Reed and me securely behind them.

✠

The immaculate gates of pure white light sealed shut. The wild storms of battle immediately subsided over the arena. Despite the number of people present, there was not a sound to be heard. The allied forces of various nations clearly saw what happened.

Mutual destruction. The Divine Emissary threw the dark mage knight and herself into the light that purges all evil. It's worth noting that the light pouring out of the Pantheon alone was enough to melt the body of Nazril, the fallen angel, like a candle in a pot.

To evil beings, the source of that light inside the Pantheon was like getting exposed to the surface of the sun itself. And yet, the Divine Emissary, who was now a Demon Lord, willingly brought herself and the dark mage knight into those gates even though she was fully aware of this.

As if that wasn't enough, her demonization was only the result of bringing down Inferinos. She fended off another evil being even after being corrupted and sought to purge herself as well. Everyone gathered there, or rather, everyone living on the continent of Serentra, owed their lives to her three times over.

"No..."

Someone finally expressed their sorrow. The crowd on the Litennial Plains grieved the loss of a heroine.

"The Divine Emissary saved us..."

"H-Her Eminence is gone..."

"God... Why have you taken her?"

Some fell to their knees as their grief turned into sorrow. It wasn't any better for the five most powerful warriors of the continent.

"My granddaughter?"

Grand Duke Heathfenrir was in a state of shock. Marchioness Lecandro and Fleagel Night kept their solemn silence because they didn't know what they could say to console the grand duke. Only Moriphys, who had a rather peculiar set of emotions, and Saintess Muriel, whose entire existence was questionable, remained apathetic to the event that had just occurred.

"Hmm, what a fascinating door. It seems to be a material form of divinity that created a passage to another realm."

"Yes... How fascinating indeed."

Muriel seemed unable to take her eyes off the pure-white triumphal arch of divine power. She seemed utterly fixated on it.

"Ugh..."

Meanwhile, Tesilid regained consciousness in a pool of his own blood and slowly raised himself up once the knight division of the Silver Citadel got down to the stands and started healing him.

"Tesilid! Can you hear me?"

"Big bro! Are you all right?"

But Tesilid could hardly hear what his comrades were saying.

"Where is Allie?"

No one could bring themselves to tell him what happened.

Right then, the battlefield started rumbling once again. The ground shook, and everyone knew where the tremor was coming from. It was coming from the gate of the Pantheon that still stood tall over the battlefield and radiated its holy energy to all those around it.

Its tightly shut gates parted once again. Once the opening just was wide enough for a person to pass through, the gates of the Pantheon spat a dark shadow back into the human world.