Boom! Boom! Boom!


    On the rooftop of the royal palace.


    A rough sky-shattering sound resulting from a battle that surpassed human limits resounded clearly.


    Findenai swung Snow White violently, splitting Pelestan in two. However, the ensuing torrent of blood transformed into a grotesque spectacle like a tsunami.


    “Tch!”


    Findenai clicked her tongue and immediately activated the Hand of Hemomancy.


    Her stamina began to recover as she absorbed Pelestan’s blood, but then the blood she was drawing transformed into a sharp spear, stabbing her palm.


    Fwooshh!


    “...!”


    And simultaneously, Pelestan’s blood seeped into the punctured palm.


    Fighting the urge to vomit, Findenai felt a sharp pain in her palm, as if it were on the verge of exploding. Utilizing her War Shoes, she quickly spun her body in a wide arc.


    After flinging away Pelestan’s blood, Findenai finally took a look at her throbbing hand.


    Her blood-soaked hand was convulsing uncontrollably.


    “How impressive.”


    Emerging from the pool of blood splattered all around, Pelestan offered her sincere praise.


    “You keep getting stronger, endlessly. It makes me wonder where your limit might be.”


    Pelestan realized that the longer the battle dragged on, the stronger this woman, Findenai, became.


    Normally, anyone would have judged that a drawn-out battle against Findenai would be unwise.


    However, Pelestan was different.


    Because...


    “Prolonged battles are my specialty as well.”@@@@


    Blood splattered everywhere. The longer the battle raged, the more the battlefield became drenched in blood—the ideal setting for a Blood Mage like him, transforming it into a stage where he could run wild with his powers.


    “The Hand of Hemomancy. That’s quite the rare piece of equipment. I’ll be taking it for myself.”


    Pelestan spoke while covetously eyeing the glove Findenai was wearing. The moment he said that, Findenai’s face twisted in anger.


    “You’re spouting nonsense.”


    Even if she lost everything else, she had no intention of ever letting go of this glove. Not only was it a piece of equipment that restored her stamina during long battles... R?a?????o??E??


    Wear it, it’s yours.


    It was also the first gift she had received from Deus. As such, Findenai had no intention of letting anyone else lay their hands on her belongings.


    “Hoo...”


    It was clear that the tide of the battle was turning against her.


    However, no matter how much she swung Snow White, her opponent just let the attacks flow away by transforming into blood.


    She could no longer charge ahead recklessly in this situation.


    She snuck a discreet glance at Deus. More than half of the end stone was already filled.


    The souls were flocking to Deus much faster than before, and Owen’s music continued without interruption.


    Exhausted, Saintess Lucia was down on one knee, barely holding back the clouds of Holy Power.


    The battle between the Dark Spiritualist and Heralhazard was so bizarre that it was hard to comprehend with the naked eye.


    With all the souls of the continent converging to this place, for the two necromancers, anything they could grasp became a weapon.


    However, the nature of the battle itself was strange.


    Whenever Heralhazard seized a soul and used it for magic, the Dark Spiritualist, on the other hand, defended against the attacks using the protection magic she had created, while rescuing the souls used in magic and guiding them to Deus.


    Although it might have seemed like the Dark Spiritualist had enough breathing room to do something like that, in reality, she was actually fighting by squeezing out every last ounce of her ability.


    “Everyone’s in a hurry...”


    Moreover, a huge butterfly and lightning were clashing in the sky.


    Even if it were a mess, there was no mess worse than this. Findenai smirked as she slammed Snow White hard into the ground.


    “Alright, I’ve warmed up enough, so let’s finish this.”


    “...I won’t let you go easily.”


    A chill began to settle. And even though Findenai’s entire body was burning hot, as she exhaled, a stream of mist escaped her mouth.


    It looked almost like cigarette smoke. However, the sight sent an inexplicable sense of dread down Pelestan’s spine.


    The explosive energy that Findenai had been emitting had calmed down almost instantly.


    Even the violent heat radiating from her entire body was now cooling quickly.


    Only then did Pelestan realize that this coldness was coming from the halberd, Snow White, in her hand.


    The freezing energy it emitted showed no mercy, even to its owner.


    From the sight of the sweat on her cheek and the blood on her hands slowly freezing, it was clear Findenai was also taking considerable damage.


    “Hoo...”


    With a deep breath, Snow White traced a silent arc.


    And then—


    Crack, crack, crack, crack!


    Everything within the range of Snow White froze. Pelestan suddenly realized that his feet were frozen solid, and even the blood he had been manipulating had turned into chunks of ice.


    “This is...”


    “There are plenty of weapons that turn against their own wielders, you know?”


    Findenai said as she pulled a cigarette from her pocket and lit it with a lighter. Only then did she seem to calm down a bit.


    Seeing the ice shards clinging to her cheeks and her pale, ghostly skin, it wouldn’t have been surprising if she was suffering from frostbite.


    “After fighting for a while, my body heats up to a point that I can’t control it.”


    In that sense, Findenai felt that Snow White might just be the perfect weapon for her.


    And remembering that it was Deus who had given her this weapon made her smile bitterly.


    “He knows me too well.”


    She had no real complaints about fighting to protect that man even in her current state. However, her opponent was much like Findenai; he, too, had something he couldn’t give up on.


    Crack!


    “Gahhhhh!”


    Adding strength into his frozen legs, Pelestan took a step forward. There was no giving up, no hesitation.


    Realizing that just staying like this would lead to his defeat, he clenched his fist tightly and swung it hard.


    Ironically, both of them were fighting to protect someone, and the people they each wanted to protect shared the same grand goal of saving the continent.


    And if they ever decided to just sit and talk, it seemed that they might discover they had more in common than expected. However...


    “Hoo.”


    He was so focused on the magic that he seemed oblivious to his surroundings, and by now, the gem had collected most of the souls scattered across the continent.


    Success.


    Raizel let out an honest sigh of awe. If left like that, that man would surely succeed.


    He would save the continent, but in a different way from Luaneth.


    More beautifully and more grandly.


    And under normal circumstances, Raizel would have applauded and praised the man’s great achievements.


    “But this is not fate.”


    Crackle!


    Raizel hadn’t descended directly to the continent to save it.


    He had come to ensure that everything would flow according to its destined course.


    It was the duty given to the gods.


    He hadn’t waited for thousands of years just to let one mere human twist the flow of fate.


    Another bolt of lightning descended from the sky.


    The god of lightning and clouds now stood before Deus, glaring at him.


    Crackle! Crackle!


    The ominous thunderbolts scattered all around.


    Grasping this power, Raizel extended his hand.


    The end stone was almost filled with souls. If he were to destroy it, it wouldn’t be that far from what Luaneth was attempting to do—annihilating the souls.


    Raizel scattered his lightning somewhat aggressively.


    Crack!


    Suddenly, a slender arm clung to him.


    A woman, carrying the fresh, spring-like scent unique to elemental spirits.


    It was Erica Bright, who had just taken a direct hit from his lightning.


    She had somehow flown back and clung to his arm, continuing her desperate resistance.


    The remaining spirits helped her.


    Raizel understood that much, but why? Why did she continue to put up such a pathetic struggle?


    Raizel found himself becoming curious.


    If you don’t have teeth, use gums—even without magic, she could still use her body to obstruct him.


    Just like that, Erica continued her struggle.


    “It’s futile.”


    Crackle!


    Lightning surged again.


    Erica screamed as her legs went limp, but her grip remained steadfast.


    Black smoke continued to rise from her entire body.


    Her flesh was burned, her brain trembled, and she would be in grave danger if not treated immediately.


    However, Erica refused to let go of Raizel.


    She didn’t even have the strength to shed tears. Yet she still wanted to overcome this and protect him.


    Even if it meant struggling pathetically, she still wanted to save him.


    And that brief moment created by Erica’s desperate struggle...


    “You bastard!”


    Was enough for Findenai, who had defeated Pelestan, to intervene.


    Boom!


    Findenai slammed her axe down, aiming for Raizel’s hand reaching out to Deus.


    However, Raizel’s body remained firm, unshaken, and as stubborn as his character.


    Crack!


    Erica bit down hard on Raizel’s lightning-charged arm, using her teeth to anchor herself in place. She then reached for Raizel’s face.


    She drew her remaining mana from her elixir field. Blood flowed from her teeth, and her eyes strained from scraping every last bit of mana. They turned red as if the blood vessels had burst.


    The mana she gathered wasn’t the usual golden hue but instead stained a blood-red color.


    “I said I will not allow youuuu!”


    Boom!


    Erica’s magic struck Raziel straight in the face. The impact could only make him tilt his head slightly, but Findenai immediately swung her axe with both hands to follow up.


    Crash!


    “Keuuu...”


    At this point, even Raizel seemed somewhat affected, his face twisting in discomfort.


    But that was all.


    In the end, it seemed they were yet to inflict any significant damage on the god.


    However, this wasn’t about killing a god.


    It was just to buy time for one man.


    Before they realized it, the sky finally came into view.


    The landscape, once filled with countless souls, was now completely clear.


    The horizon was visible.


    The moon had risen to replace the setting sun.


    It was the time for the Soul Whisperer, Deus Verdi.


    He had already secured the Land of Eternal Rest, which contained all the souls of the continent, in his hand.


    Then, Deus opened his eyes calmly and, after looking around, gathered his senses.


    Even with Raizel glaring at him with eyes full of hatred, Deus’ gaze remained steady.


    Whoosh!


    However, a gust of wind blew from behind.


    A staff carrying an ominous power disrupted the flow.


    Although the staff simply brushed the end stone in Deus’ hand lightly, even that slight touch could have caused the souls to start escaping through the cracks once more. The barrier containing them collapsed.


    Deus quickly turned his head and there stood Heralhazard, wearing a raven mask and staring blankly in his direction, as if possessed by something.


    The Dark Spiritualist who had been protecting him could no longer be /genesisforsaken