Chapter 666: Dawn

The scripture said.

That humans were made in the image of the Father in Heaven.

The scripture said.

That humans are the Father’s most beloved creations.

The scripture said.

That’s why humans are the greatest beings among all living things and nature.

······But is that really true?

When faced with nature, the ‘great’ beings described by the scripture could only clasp their hands together and pray, overwhelmed by its sheer vastness.

Gazing at the starry night sky, humans would realize just how tiny they truly are.

When the rough waves of the Atlantic threatened to wash over the deck, humans would sense how weak and powerless they are.

In those moments, all humans could do was clasp their hands together and pray.

That was an undeniable reality.

Even if the ground caved in or the sky collapsed, it would probably be the same.

In that overwhelming despair, all humans could do was helplessly clasp their hands and look for God.

Just like right now.

“God… ”

A Holy Knight murmured, looking at the black and dark purple auras rising beyond the horizon.

The auras surged upwards as if trying to devour each other, piercing the sky and creating a massive hole in the heavens.

It was an unreal sight, like the sky was collapsing and the ground was sinking.

Seeing this, the Holy Knights who were supposed to watch over and protect the Dark Sorcerer were half-dazed.

Proof of this was that they only noticed the woman dressed in a black habit approaching them when she was right in front of them.

“D-Delra, Sister?”

“Greetings, Sir Mazopshe.”

The nun, called Delra, naturally called out the Holy Knight’s name.

She remembered all the zealous Holy Knights’ names from serving Archpriest Roderick.

Despite being pale from the strange phenomena happening beyond the horizon, the Holy Knight still sensed something was off, true to his extensive experience.

“What brings you here? You should be in the City, Sister.”

“I’ve come under the orders of Lord Roderick to take charge of the Dark Sorcerers.”

“Take charge… you say?”

“Yes, here is the order.”

The Sister handed a Paper to the Holy Knight. It was an official document bearing Roderick’s handwriting and seal, and the Holy Knight stared at it silently.

Just as the nun tried to pass the Holy Knight and enter where the Dark Sorcerers were, the Holy Knight raised his arm to block her.

“······Why are you doing this?”

“Forgive me, Sister, but I cannot trust this order.”

“Why not? I am His Holiness’s assistant.”

“That’s exactly why I can’t trust it. Lord Roderick never trusts such important orders to close aides. He always considers the possibility of forgery······. What is going on here?”

The Holy Knight questioned the nun in a voice laced with hesitation.

He hadn’t drawn his sword yet, out of respect for the Sisterhood, who had served in this harsh Central Continent their whole lives.

But a mission is still a mission.

The Holy Knight had already surrounded the nun before he realized it.

Even after witnessing the beautiful yet frightening sight beyond the horizon, they were carrying out their duty. It was truly a testament to their resolve······. Or perhaps they were carrying out their duty precisely because they had witnessed such a sight.

Even if they couldn’t fully explain it, they knew instinctively that this was a pivotal moment for humanity.

The Holy Knight demanded answers from the nun again.

“Sister······. Answer me. Forging orders from the Archpriest is a serious crime.”

“Hmph······. That’s just human law. A law created by arrogant sinners who think they act in the name of God.”

“Sister······?”

“Such laws do not apply to those who follow God’s will.”

Sh-ching!

With a sharp sound piercing the air, countless gleaming silver blades pointed at the nun.

“That statement cannot be tolerated!”

“But it’s the truth. If it weren’t, why would God’s wrath fall onto your heads?”

“What are you tal-”

-Crack!

Just as the Holy Knight was speaking, a massive shadow appeared out of nowhere, crushing the Holy Knight in an instant.

It looked just like a giant finger squashing an ant to death.

Faced with this surreal sight, the Holy Knights were frozen for a few seconds, and during those few seconds, the shadow crushed the nun’s surrounding Holy Knights, as well as the dozens of Holy Knights and servants guarding the area on Roderick’s orders.

Except for one Holy Knight.

“Sister.”

A devoted follower, who had spread Davement of faith among the Dark Sorcerers, approached the nun and asked.

“What should we do next?”

“Take the Dark Sorcerers to that place. And watch. The birth of the Prince. According to God’s true will.”

***

Hell Summon.

Two voices echoed in the void.

From Filgarett came the voices of Oliver and the Pied Piper. Around them, an unknown black and purple substance began to pour out, consuming the surrounding area.

It was like God had spilled an ink bottle across the earth.

But this absurd scene was a very real reality. The Allied Forces, made up of various nations and the Pater Church, were about to be swept away like a swarm of ants.

[Imprison]

Just as the purple substance was about to engulf the Allied Forces, Oliver’s voice rang out, and the black substance wrapped around the purple like a cyclone, preventing it from advancing.

The black and purple substances were now locked in a stalemate.

The two substances twisted together like serpents trying to devour each other, surging up into the sky and tearing it apart, leading to a massive explosion that could hardly be described.

In this powerful explosion that bleached the surrounding area of its colors, the substances rained down as solid masses.

The raining black and purple substances corrupted the land, claiming it as their territory.

Two figures landed on that territory.

One was Oliver, with a face full of emotion, and the other was the Pied Piper, now transformed into a beautiful figure.

Despite falling from high in the sky, they landed lightly and immediately charged at each other.

━━━━━━━━━━━━!!!

When Oliver’s Longinus collided with the Pied Piper’s fist, the surrounding air and terrain were pushed away, and a deafening roar erupted as if the world was collapsing.

With each clash, the impact made it almost impossible to keep one’s eyes open, forests disappeared, the sky split, and the earth swelled and crumbled.

It was no longer a mere fight. It was closer to Hell, or perhaps, the apocalypse.

“Truly impressive.”

The Pied Piper, who had been using his purple substance to consume the surrounding humans, exclaimed when Oliver blocked him.

His voice carried a tone of genuine admiration.

······.

In contrast, Oliver remained silent, leaping through space with the black substance he had summoned and suddenly appeared behind the Pied Piper, swinging Longinus.

The spear, capable of splitting the heavens and piercing the earth, slashed into the Pied Piper’s body, yet the Pied Piper simply caught Longinus as if he had never been wounded.

A grip that could not be shaken off.

“Amazing. You’ve put Hell itself into your body without even cracking the shell. It’s even more impressive that you’re staying sane.”

The Pied Piper looked into Oliver’s eyes over Longinus.

He was sincere.

[Bloodstained Longinus]

Oliver invoked, pooling the blood from his palm onto the tip of Longinus’s blade.

The red blood gathered at the spear tip lengthened, piercing through the Pied Piper’s torso, within sprouting dozens of blade tips that pierced through his body.

It was a lethal wound that no human could survive, yet the Pied Piper merely drew back his fist.

“That stings.”

And then the fist came flying.

Oliver retrieved his spear and created a wall of black substance to block the Pied Piper’s blow, but the Piper’s fist shattered it easily and struck Oliver.

As Oliver was sent flying, he remembered what The Burned One had said.

[······Did you really think I, who governs one of the 72 Hells, would fall to an attack using the power of Hell and its sinners?]

It was as pointless as burning fire with fire, striking air with air, or wetting water with water.

Oliver realized that he was no different from back then.

‘It doesn’t matter······.’

Even in this overwhelmingly despairing situation, Oliver repeated his plan to himself.

Winning would be great, but even if he didn’t win, it wasn’t a failure.

‘I need to buy time······. According to the plan······.’

“What kind of plan are you trying to stall for?”

Oliver looked up at the comment as if reading his thoughts.

Their eyes met.

In that moment, Oliver instinctively knew that he and the Pied Piper could read each other’s emotions, and possibly even thoughts, as if they were connected by something.

Just as the Pied Piper tried to penetrate deeper into his mind, Oliver poured his blood over the black substance, strengthening it.

The ground trembled, and the black substance surged, expanding its territory infinitely.

As the torrent took over, the Pied Piper also drew on his own blood to fortify the purple substance in resistance, but fortunately, Oliver was slightly ahead this time.

Oliver’s black substance slowly eroded and isolated the Piper’s purple substance, attempting to swallow him whole.

If he couldn’t defeat him, he had to seal him.

The Piper, surrounded by black substance with no escape,

called out to something as he was about to be consumed along with his remaining territory.

“Come forth, Minstrels.”

At his command, minstrels holding all the world’s instruments rose from beneath the purple substance, and began playing a majestic symphony beyond this world.

A melody so profound that it defied description in human language.

The countless soldiers who had been watching the scene in a trance knelt as blood flowed from their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth in unison.

The mages and Holy Knights were no different, staggering slightly as they bled from the seven orifices, with only the Archpriest enduring firmly.

But this was nothing. It was merely an aftereffect, like the smoke that follows the firing of a gun.

The true effect was to summon countless sinners from Hell through the melody, turning them into rats to gnaw away at Oliver’s black substance.

Before the endless waves of these rats, Oliver’s control over the black substance, or rather Hell itself, was eroded and disappeared, and the rats charged towards Oliver.

It was an unavoidable catastrophe.

Facing it, Oliver raised his scorched right arm and snapped his fingers.

Snap.

The light sound of fingers snapping echoed, and the world bleached white. Even sound disappeared.

But soon, a strange melody broke the silence and then, a powerful sound wave swept Oliver’s White Flame away.

The wave hit Oliver as well, driving him back and causing blood to pour from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

But it wasn’t over.

The Pied Piper pounced, relentlessly attacking the blind, deafened, and scentless Oliver.

He battered Oliver, punching him in the face, kicking him in the chest and stomach, tossing him away as he went.

So battered, Oliver was hurled endlessly, his sight, sound, and scent all gone.

A force that could easily shatter him into pieces, and in that force, Oliver tumbled across the ground, finally opening his eyes.

He found himself at the very place where the Pied Piper had lost his son, where the kidnapped children were, where Kevin, Yareli, Rosburn, and Joanna were helping them escape through a portal.

Smash!!!

A sharp yet heavy sound rang out right beside Oliver.

······!!

The Pied Piper had flown over and stomped down between Oliver’s left arm and shoulder, where he was holding Longinus.

The impact crushed and severed Oliver’s left arm, separating it from his body like a squashed tomato.

“Does it hurt?”

“······No.”

Oliver denied it, grabbing the Pied Piper’s ankle with his scorched right arm and throwing him to the side.

The Pied Piper was flung away, kicking up dirt, and meanwhile, Oliver stood up, left arm missing and shouted.

“Hurry, escape-”

No, he tried to shout.

But as he turned his head, he saw the countless terrified children.

······.

······.

Among them were the children from Ark Orphanage, whom Oliver had recognized.

The children who, the first time they saw Oliver, had loudly chattered and bragged about Joanna.

But now, these same children were frozen, terrified, as if they had seen a monster.

Among them was Rosburn.

“······It must be disappointing. To receive such looks from the very children you tried to save by confronting the truth you wanted to avoid.”

As Oliver silently watched the children’s gazes, the Pied Piper approached and spoke.

Despite being sliced dozens of times by Longinus and covered in dirt, he appeared unchanged.

At his words, Oliver gasped for breath and turned to face the Pied Piper.

“O-Oliver······.”

Joanna called out, looking at Oliver as he turned.

She, along with everyone else, was radiating fear, tension, and terror.

These emotions were directed at the Pied Piper, but also at Oliver himself.

“What are you doing? Sir······. Follow the plan.”

Oliver said, follow the plan.

He told them to use the Paper filled with space magic to evacuate the children in case he couldn’t bring down the Pied Piper.

Everyone had already agreed to this plan.

On hearing this, Kevin shouted and started moving the children towards the violet portal, while Joanna and Yareli regained their focus and moved.

Only Rosburn was still frozen, staring at Oliver.

“That won’t do.”

The Pied Piper reached out towards the portal Oliver had opened.

But Oliver didn’t miss the moment and leaped across space, trying to cut the Piper’s extended arm, but the Piper simply withdrew and dodged, followed by a kick to Oliver’s stomach.

Pain shot through Oliver, like his belly was being ripped apart, but he endured it and grabbed the Piper, throwing him aside.

Then he immediately lunged forward, stabbed with Longinus stained with his blood, and with a blade of his own blood, launched a frenzied assault.

“Pathetic.”

The Pied Piper calmly commented, receiving Oliver’s attacks.

“Do you think this will change how they look at you? That they’ll appreciate you?”

“······I’m not doing it to be thanked.”

Oliver dodged one of the Piper’s punches while swinging Longinus and responded.

“I’m doing this to take responsibility for my words, to be even a little more justified. And to change the Gardener’s heart.”

But Longinus could no longer cut through the Piper’s body, bouncing off instead.

“Then you won’t achieve that either. You’re growing weaker. Aren’t you feeling it?”

Oliver silently agreed. Filgarett was gradually losing its effects.

To prove this, no matter how much Oliver attacked, it no longer affected the Piper, and Oliver found himself slowly pushed onto the defensive.

Meanwhile, the Pied Piper remained unchanged from the beginning.

His wrath was boundless.

Still, Oliver, staggering, swung Longinus, but the Pied Piper knocked it away with a punch and then struck Oliver’s head.

In an instant, Oliver’s consciousness dimmed, his vision filled with darkness, and he lost his sense of direction.

He was lucky. It was a wonder his head hadn’t exploded······. The Piper must have controlled his strength.

But even though he wasn’t dead, the huge blow had taken its toll, and Oliver collapsed, unable to get up.

While this happened, the Pied Piper reached out and closed the portal Oliver had opened.

There were still many children left, and Kevin, Yareli, Joanna, and Rosburn were still there.

They had stayed behind in the chaos to help the children escape.

Everyone fell silent as if they had made an agreement, and the world fell into an eerie silence.

All that could be heard was Oliver’s labored breathing, almost as if it might stop any second.

“Ha······. Ha······. Ha······.”

As he looked down at Oliver, the Pied Piper spoke.

“In the end, this is the limit of one who hasn’t broken the shell. Though I must admit, you were a surprise······.”

The Pied Piper’s eyes glimmered with a strange curiosity.

He didn’t finish off Oliver, who seemed on the brink of death, but instead turned toward where the children were.

Kevin focused on summoning his magic while Joanna and Yareli gathered their wits as they watched him.

“Stop… Stop…”

Oliver called out to halt the Pied Piper, who was heading towards them.

To Oliver’s words, the Pied Piper stopped.

He asked a question.

“Is there something more you want to do?”

The Pied Piper asked sincerely, and Oliver responded.

“The shadow… My arm… You may feast on it.”

At that moment, the Pied Piper’s gaze shifted.

Thanks to that, he saw it. Oliver’s shadow, creeping across the broken terrain, devouring his severed left arm.

A paradoxical situation where the residue of light consumed the essence.

The shadow, after devouring Oliver’s left arm, not only fully healed the damage caused by the Pied Piper but also seized the Pied Piper’s left arm.

“To waste time with such meaningless actions-?!”

The Pied Piper struggled to shake off the shadow, but halfway through his words, he stopped.

His feet had also been caught by the shadow.

Oliver had fed his intact legs to the shadow as well.

Madness.

Everyone silently watched the madness unfold, and the Pied Piper, who saw it up close, spoke with a surprised expression.

“…It will be over in a moment.”

To that, Oliver, with his dazed eyes from the head trauma, opened them and answered.

“A moment is all I need.”

With that reply, Oliver raised his only remaining right arm and began chanting.

“Extract.”