Chapter 244: Main StoryEach passing day was more fierce than the previous. Most of Dante’s Dark Mages were dead, and both Luaneth and Pelestan were captured.


    However, the main figures such as the Cadavermancer, the Entomancer, and the Blightcaster had somehow managed to escape using their unique abilities.@@@@


    Though Gloria played a significant role in taking down most of the Dark Mages by herself, she blamed herself for the ones that managed to get away.


    However, with Luaneth captured, Dante was essentially considered to be annihilated.


    Wanting to hear the truth he possessed, King Orpheus had the execution date postponed.


    And I also wished to show him something—Another world that would come to this continent.


    After all, Luaneth is also a person from 200 years ago.


    He was someone who should have died a long time ago.


    Hence, I had planned to bring his soul, along with the others and finally grant them eternal rest.


    Even though he had inflicted an irreversible wound on the Griffin Kingdom, I still didn’t want to be involved with him after his death.


    As I always said, I was not the one to judge or condemn.


    I was merely a comforter who would listen to their stories and allow them to close their eyes in rest.


    “Hmm.”


    In front of the massive Mana Stone.


    I stared at it for a moment, lost in thought. It was an immense power that had taken Luaneth over 200 years to amass.


    And it certainly wouldn’t be impossible to achieve what I had in mind if I used this.


    However, I couldn’t just use all of it at once.


    Three times in total.


    My plan was to divide this power into three purposes for different Mana Stones: the foundation stone, the middle stone, and the end stone.


    To do that, it was necessary to split the power of the Mana Stone.


    And fortunately, we had an expert in this field with us.


    “Are you really that worried?”


    The Archmage Ropelican approached me in silence and asked. This was the laboratory he and his apprentices used. I could still vividly remember creating the Maek with them to save Princess Eleanor in this very laboratory.


    “No, I believe you will do a marvelous job.”


    The massive Mana Stone was like an exquisite piece of machinery—one wrong move, and you would have to pay a heavy price.


    However, the Griffin Kingdom’s top experts in magic were gathered right here. If they couldn’t do it, I would doubt anyone else on the continent could.


    Regardless if my answer satisfied him or not, Ropelican smiled and stroked his chin.


    “We will proceed in reverse order. We will begin pouring mana into the end stone first, followed by the middle stone, and finally the foundation stone.”


    “Because the end stone will hold the largest amount of mana?”


    “That’s right. Think of this Mana Stone as a cup filled with water to the brim. The more mana you draw out, the more stable it will become, so we decided to proceed with the stone that requires the most mana first.”


    “Thank you.”


    Having said that, I chatted with Ropelican for a few more minutes before stepping outside.


    The preparations were nearly complete. Until the three Mana Stones were ready, my only task was to review and re-evaluate the calculations to ensure they were correct.


    “Ah! There you are!”


    Just as I was about to head toward the secret room in the hallway that had become my personal laboratory, a voice called out to me from behind.


    The disheveled woman with pink hair, struggling to drag along her luggage, was Professor Fel Petra.


    She thanked the knight who had escorted her and smiled brightly while waving her hand.


    “Professor Deus! I came because of your summons!”


    “Professor Fel.”


    I accepted her duffel bag with gratitude seeing that she came in response to my letter.


    “Thank you for coming right away. You must have classes as well.”


    “No! The Dean coordinated with me and allowed me to skip the lecture as soon as I said I was coming to assist you, Professor Deus!”


    It seemed that this was her first time entering the royal palace. She adjusted her glasses and looked around in wonder.


    Her voice was heightened and notably excited, unlike her usual self.


    “Huh?”


    “Oh, you’ve arrived.”


    I initially intended to escort her straight to my laboratory, but it seemed that the timing was bad.


    Findenai and Deia bumped into us as they were passing by. I wasn’t sure what they were up to lately, but it looked like the two of them had been spending a lot of time together.


    “Oi, long time no see, original Titty Monster.”


    “...Did I just hear that correctly?”


    Findenai laughed gleefully as she raised her hand to greet her. Looking confused about what she had just heard, Deia pointed to Findenai and asked me.


    It might have been unpleasant, but perhaps because she was happy to see Findenai after quite some time, Professor Fel nodded and laughed, finding it amusing.


    “You haven’t changed in the slightest.”


    “Sigh, I will warn her about this again. I apologize.”


    “You are a brilliant Mage and researcher, but you also need to consider the weight and responsibility of what you’ve created.”


    I, too, had thoughts like that after I received my prosthetic arm.


    If I could create an entirely artificial body and place Stella and the Dark Spiritualist within it, wouldn’t that give them new bodies?


    However, that must not happen.


    Because that would destroy the very conviction I was holding until now.


    To change the mood, I tapped her gently on the shoulder and said.


    “That is not the reason I called for you.”


    As I spoke as gently as I could, Professor Fel’s expression finally began to soften, and she carefully began to put away the items she had taken out into her bag.


    * * *“Hueheehehe!“


    Entomancer Barctos burst into a hearty laugh, so full of life that it seemed impossible to come from an old man. This prompted an irritated outburst from the Blightcaster Becklin.


    “What’s so funny?! We barely managed to escape from that knight bitch with our tails tucked between our legs!!”


    “Huehehehe! That’s exactly what makes it funny, isn’t it? You couldn’t even cast a single spell!”


    “Damn it!”


    Being a Blightcaster, he couldn’t simply cast his magic directly, especially with his companions around, so he had no choice but to flee without even having the opportunity to stir his mana.


    Watching Becklin kick a tree in frustration, the Cadavermancer Yun scratched her cheek and responded.


    “There was no point in going all out. After all, Sir Luaneth and Pelestan have surrendered.”


    “Those fucking idiots!”


    “Don’t be angry like that.”


    Seeing Becklin yelling harshly, the Dark Mage from Han Empire, Zhang Run absentmindedly touched his now missing left shoulder.


    It was a wound inflicted by the Royal Knight Gloria.


    “Who would’ve ever imagined that Pelestan would have surrendered like that? Leader had no choice but to surrender because he couldn’t let his Mana Stone be destroyed.”


    “So what?! Do I have to worry about that too?”


    Unable to hold back his anger, Becklin swept his bangs back and finally declared.


    “I’m off to Graypond. I’ll make them regret messing with the wrong people.”


    The group ‘Dante’ was now practically dissolved.


    The only remaining Dark Mages were the four gathered here.


    “Is anyone planning to accompany me? Are we just going to let it end like this?”


    In response to Becklin’s question, the Cadavermancer Yun had a subtle expression. She, too, hadn’t even bothered to bring out her cherished corpses, so the sense of defeat felt faint to her.


    “If you follow Becklin, you’ll probably get a lot of corpses.”


    Barctos said, tempting her, but Yun shook her head.


    “The risk is too great. I’ll sit this one out.”


    “If Yun’s not going, then I won’t either.”


    Zhang Run, resting the spear on his right shoulder, chimed in. Becklin grumbled, calling him pathetic.


    “You got your left shoulder sliced off, and you’re still chasing after a woman.”


    “That’s what you call love.”


    Yun, the supposed subject of his love, stood there emotionless, showing no reaction.


    “Hueheehehe, it does sound fun, though. Should I tag along?”


    Barctos decided to join Becklin, and just as Dante’s Dark Mages were about to split up without accomplishing anything...


    A ray of light shone down upon the Dark Mages.


    The light wasn’t just sunlight; it was filled with divine purity, causing even the most veteran Dark Mages to falter in confusion.


    All of them were mesmerized, unable to tear their gaze as they watched.


    The light formed a path, and walking upon it was a woman.


    Though none of them followed any religion, the moment they laid eyes on her, the word ‘God’ consumed their minds.


    And just like that, a truth poured into their heads.


    No one whispered it to them. It was as if they had always known it, and that singular truth was branded into the minds of the four like a seal.


    For the souls slumbering on this continent, there were only two choices offered.


    Either the continent reached its limit, becoming oversaturated, and the boundary between life and death collapsed, or the other possibility was Luaneth’s success—the annihilation of all spiritual beings.


    As if being brainwashed, these harsh truths forcefully lodged themselves into the minds of the Dark Mages.


    The woman, now standing in their midst, declared warmly but firmly.


    “There is no other fate for this continent.”


    Creating a new world to shelter the souls?


    From the perspective of the gods, whose sole purpose was to guide the continent along its rightful path (the main story), such an outcome was utterly unacceptable.