Ending Maker Chapter 87
Ending Maker Chapter 87
Chapter 29 - Hell Gate
Holy Angel Lena.
A bright, gentle, and benevolent woman. An angel of compassion who deserved the title of saintess more than anyone.
She had opened the Hell Gate.
She had unleashed countless monsters upon Endymion.
But more than all those facts, Cordelia was excited about something else.
Her eyes went wide as she approached Lena.
"Lena!"
This was not the face of Lena that Cordelia knew.
It was also different from the dying face she had shown in the cinematic.
Her golden hair was the same, but her once-white skin was now tinged with a faint violet.
Where clear blue eyes should have been, there were red and black eyes instead. Black filled the space where the whites should have been, and the red pupils were slit long like a snake's.
How had this happened?
Lena was originally a Holy Angel.
An angel on earth who had obtained the power of an angel through Ancestral Regression.
"Don't come close. You mustn't come close."
Lena hastily stepped backward, avoiding Cordelia's touch.
Cordelia turned to Yuder with a face on the verge of tears.
She did not know why Lena had become like this, but Cordelia at least knew what condition she was in.
'Demon's Disease.'
It was a disease that afflicted beings eroded by the energy of Hell.
Most humans died the instant they were exposed to Hell's energy, but some with strong minds and bodies contracted Demon's Disease.
The effect of Demon's Disease was simple.
One became a demon.
Usually, one became a lowly monster without reason, but some—those with truly noble and mighty spirits and tempered bodies—became demons who retained their reason.
And right now, Lena was afflicted with Demon's Disease.
Because of that, Yuder was able to piece together a more complete answer.
"You escaped from Hell. And in the process, the Hell Gate was opened."
Lena slowly nodded.
"I was dragged into Hell while fighting demons in the Argon Empire. I fought and fought there, and barely managed to escape... but in the aftermath, the Hell Gate was opened."
Lena wore an expression of deep anguish.
She was someone who had lost not only the master she had thought of as a father—no, who had been a father to her—but also everyone she loved in the tragedy of Paragon.
And yet now, with her own hands, she had opened a Hell Gate that might bring about the tragedy of Paragon once again.
It was unbearable.
She had to resolve this matter even if it cost her life.
'Because of Demon's Disease, she can't properly use her angelic power. The reason her Demon's Disease was cured right before death was because she had exhausted her power excessively.'
It all fit together.
Lena had sacrificed herself to close the Hell Gate and then met a lonely death.
"We have to close the Hell Gate. I can do anything to close it."
Lena spoke in an earnest tone.
Her expression and voice made it look as though she were confessing her own sins.
"It's not your fault, Lena."
Cordelia said.
But Lena shook her head.
"No, it's my fault..."
"It's not. Anyway, it's not. You didn't open the gate on purpose. You're a good person, and even now you're trying your best to close it. That's right. So don't make such a pained face. Yuder and I will help you. We'll close the gate together and go back laughing happily."
Cordelia spoke almost in a rush, then took Lena's hand and smiled.
Taken one by one, her words were ultimately little more than reckless optimism, but Lena smiled along with Cordelia.
It started awkwardly, but it was the first proper smile she had shown since the Hell Gate opened.
And that made Cordelia smile even more.
Smiling brightly, she put her arm around Lena's shoulders and said.
"We can do it. Our Yuder is amazing. Yuder will find a way somehow. Right?"
This too was reckless talk.
But Yuder nodded at the conviction in her words.
"We can do it. So let's assess the situation first. Lena, you said earlier that there was a way to replenish your power, right?"
Yuder had begun to take the lead in the conversation before anyone noticed.
Instead of answering right away, Lena looked back at Cordelia and Yuder, then smiled again.
'It feels like being with Landius.'
A man who was absurdly positive, yet also a reliable bulwark he could lean on without fear, anytime and anywhere.
"I was thinking of using Endymion's grand magic circle."
Lena moved a hand through the air and cast a spell.
Then, over a projection of Endymion's layout that materialized in the air, a complex diagram of white light was drawn.
"The ancient High Elves staked everything on a final battle against the Demon Prince in Endymion... and ultimately weaponized their own capital."
It would absorb the mana of all citizens dwelling in the capital at once, activate the magic circle, and inject the concentrated and amplified power into a single person who would fight against the Demon Prince.
"I discovered that a considerable amount of mana is still stored in Endymion. If we can activate the ritual... somehow, we should be able to gather enough mana to deploy the Heavenly Seal."
It was a plausible story.
But Yuder sensed a problem in Lena's story, and Cordelia realized it instinctively.
'The method Lena used in the original.'
And thus, the method that ultimately led to Lena's death.
So that plan alone would not do.
Something had to be altered.
"Wait, according to this text, doesn't the target who gathers the power have to be an angel?"
Kaplan, whose presence had faded into the background alongside Bellagio, spoke while looking at the projection in the air.
As befitting an archaeology professor of the Imperial Academy, he was proficient in the ancient language.
"That's..."
Lena hesitated for a moment as though Yuder had touched a sore spot, then slowly continued.
"Yes, to use this power, one must possess the angelic factor. Although I am afflicted with Demon's Disease... I have not lost the angelic factor. I will manage somehow."
Lena finished with a smile, but Yuder and Cordelia were not fooled.
This was it.
The reason Lena lost her life.
Lena, afflicted with Demon's Disease, was not a proper angel right now. Concentrated holy power would badly injure Lena herself as well.
So the plan had to be changed.
And Yuder and Cordelia had a way.
'I'll do it.'
Cordelia said to Yuder with her eyes.
Although she had not yet undergone Ancestral Regression, she possessed the angelic factor.
She handled the power of a witch derived from demons, but as long as she did not undergo Witchification, there was no reason for her to be harmed by holy power.
'You'll definitely do it?'
'I'll definitely do it.'
It was as if fire had been lit in Cordelia's eyes.
Because of that, Yuder acknowledged it.
It was impossible to stop Cordelia right now.
Yuder wanted to avoid any method that would be too hard on Cordelia if possible, but right now Cordelia was right.
Having Cordelia take Lena's place was the best solution.
"Let's do it."
"Leave it to me."
Cordelia flashed a charming grin and immediately began explaining herself to Lena, while Yuder turned to Kaplan.
"Sir Kaplan, can you help us?"
"Me?"
"Yes, we need your help to activate the magic circle. We need someone to operate the console that runs the magic circle."
Although this was Yuder's first time in Endymion, it was not his first time in Magellan, the High Elves' Magic Kingdom.
He had already encountered a similar type of magic circle in other Magellan ruins.
'The reason Lena took so long was because she had to handle everything alone.'
But not this time. Kaplan could operate a console written in the High Elves' ancient language without difficulty.
"I'm glad we have you with us, Sir Kaplan."
At Yuder's words, Kaplan flinched, then broke into a wide smile and nodded.
"Leave it to me. I've seen something similar in research papers."
"Yes, I'll trust you."
Yuder patted Kaplan on the shoulder and then approached Cordelia and Lena.
Lena looked a little surprised at Cordelia's words, but instead of doubting, she wore an apologetic expression.
"It will be a great burden."
"It's fine. I might not look it, but I'm super tough."
Cordelia laughed and thumped her chest, then immediately turned to Yuder.
"Yuder, once we activate the ritual, the demons will notice too. So we need to divert their attention elsewhere... why are you making that face?"
"No, I'm just amazed that you came up with a strategy... I'm sorry. Please don't hit me."
Cordelia clenched a fist and huffed at Yuder's teasing, but soon relaxed. She knew he had deliberately joked for Lena's sake.
"Lena, please handle the Heavenly Seal with the magic circle."
Because cramming a high-level spell like the Heavenly Seal at this point was absolutely impossible.
At Cordelia's request, Lena also smiled.
"Yes, I'll prepare right away."
In just a few minutes, the group's atmosphere had completely changed.
Close the Hell Gate and resolve the Endymion incident. Save Lena's life.
"We can do it."
Yuder spoke quietly and stepped forward.
The operation began.
* * *
To activate Endymion's magic circle, all nine magic stones located at the corners of the underground city had to be activated.
But it was not that difficult a task.
Six of them had already been activated by Lena.
While Kaplan operated the console and Lena drew the magic circle for the Heavenly Seal, Yuder circled the outskirts of the city activating the magic stones.
With Yuder's mastery of the Twenty-Four Gale Steps having risen to a higher level, once he deliberately moved in concealment, the lowly monsters—who lacked even a proper command structure—could not even catch a glimpse of his shadow.
'Good, it's going smoothly.'
He activated the final ninth magic stone as well.
Now all he had to do was return to the central tower, rejoin Lena, and begin the diversionary operation to draw the demons' attention.
"Yuder!"
"Lena!"
When Yuder reached the first floor of the tower, Lena approached at a brisk pace. She had just finished drawing the magic circle.
Everything was truly going smoothly.
If things continued like this, they would be able to successfully close the Hell Gate.
But it was too much to hope for, after all.
Time had passed even while he moved around activating the magic stones.
The Hell Gate had finally begun to change from Stage 1 to Stage 2.
Aaaaah-!
A ghostly wail shook the entire underground city.
The demonic energy of Hell grew much stronger, and a dreadful yin energy spread in all directions.
The Hell Gate also grew larger.
The rift widened further, and now it truly looked like a gate.
And more monsters began to cross over.
A demon with an epithet also revealed itself.
The distance was great.
The Hell Gate and the tower were several hundred meters apart.
But even so, it was huge enough to be seen clearly.
Upon a massive chariot pulled by hellhounds stood a Lacto radiating powerful energy.
Not an ordinary Lacto, but a powerful demon with an epithet.
The moment it appeared, the atmosphere of the underground city churned once again.
Its mere appearance made the hair stand up all over his body.
"Bandaisel."
Yuder and Lena said almost simultaneously.
To Yuder, it was a boss that appeared midway through Hero Legend 2; to Lena, it was a tenacious pursuer that had chased her several times in Hell.
'We have to draw its attention.'
It was no ordinary opponent.
If they recklessly activated the ritual, the tower could be destroyed before the magic circle's power even concentrated on Cordelia.
So they had to fight it and buy time.
Yuder and Lena's task was to keep it from approaching the tower.
"We only need to hold out for 3 minutes."
At Yuder's words, Lena smiled.
"Yes, 3 minutes."
"Though it will be a very, very long 3 minutes."
"Indeed."
Lena was not in her normal state right now.
But she was one of the Five Heroes.
Even if she was afflicted with Demon's Disease, she was still the hero who had ended the tragedy of the Paragon Kingdom.
'This is a strange feeling.'
Fighting alongside a hero of Hero Legend 1.
Not being protected or receiving help, but standing together as equals.
'I've gone a little crazy too.'
His heart was pounding even in a situation like this.
"Let's go, Yuder."
"Yes, Lena."
Yuder and Lena stepped straight toward the Hell Gate.
And Bandaisel felt it.
Standing before the Hell Gate, it looked into the distance and smiled.
"Lena."
Bandaisel was a demon with an epithet.
The moment it appeared, the disorderly horde of monsters transformed into a single army.
Everyone looked in the same direction at once.
There was still some distance between them, with dozens of buildings lined up in between.
But that did not mean much.
"Three minutes."
"Three minutes."
They would manage somehow.
Yuder grinned and activated the power of the Nine Heavens Nine Gates.
Lena also focused her magic into both hands.
"Cordelia."
Yuder said it without thinking, and those words became the signal flare.
Yuder and Lena kicked off the ground.
At the same time, Bandaisel let out a great shout, and the monsters of Hell charged forward, shaking the earth.
RRRUMBLE—!
Then something else joined the rumbling.
A roar joined the tremors, along with a light so strong and beautiful that it drove the darkness from the underground city in an instant.
Pillars of light shot up all at once from the nine magic stones.
The ground shone, and a mighty ancient magic circle began to activate.
The monsters hesitated for a moment.
But Bandaisel did not.
It could not clearly grasp what had just happened, but it knew full well that it had to move at once.
"Smash it! Destroy it! Sweep it all away!"
At Bandaisel's roar, the monsters began to move again.
Bandaisel spread its great wings and launched itself from the chariot.
And Yuder and Lena scattered to carry out their respective roles.
Only Lena could hold back the countless monsters swarming toward the tower.
So Yuder's role was naturally fixed.
"Three minutes."
Round one against Bandaisel.
"Cordelia."
Yuder murmured Cordelia's name once more, as if in prayer, and then launched himself forward. He hurled his body toward Bandaisel, who had begun flying straight for the tower.
Black Dragon Cross Strike!
He unleashed his strongest technique right from the start.
As the mighty black cross tore through the air, Bandaisel halted its charge. It swung its iron whip at the black cross rushing toward it.
CRASH!
The black cross was shattered in a single blow. Not only that, the atmosphere itself was torn apart, and flames erupted along the whip's trajectory across the ground.
A demon with an epithet.
A monster unsealed, fresh out of Hell and overflowing with power.
It smiled.
It caught sight of Yuder beyond the spot where the black cross had been shattered.
"Hello."
Yuder spoke, and the demon burst into wild laughter. Black energy flared up like flames, and then it charged at Yuder.
SWISH!
The iron whip lashed through the air again.
And everything within its trajectory was destroyed.
RUMBLE! BOOM!
It was not thunder. It was the sound of buildings collapsing all at once.
Yuder kicked off the ground. He sprang off the crumbling debris and ran, and ran again.
'Focus on evasion.'
Act like an outboxer.
A head-on fight was unwinnable. He had to toy with the demon using mobility.
Faster.
A little faster!
BOOM!
A massive hammer destroyed the spot where Yuder had been standing just moments before.
It was the warhammer in Bandaisel's right hand.
Bandaisel stood a little over seven meters tall.
To Yuder, it was practically a giant, but it was by no means slow.
BOOM!
Another roar erupted.
This time it was Yuder. Instead of widening the distance from Bandaisel while whipping up gales and whirlwinds, he closed it.
Simply running away would not hold the demon's attention.
Blood Wolf Hell Slash.
A crimson sword aura slashed across Bandaisel's waist.
It was shallow.
But it was enough to draw blood.
"You little rat!"
The enraged Bandaisel turned with a roar and lashed its whip at Yuder.
It was sharp and fast.
An attack that could not possibly be dodged.
So Yuder did not dodge. He did not move out of the iron whip's path.
CRUNCH!
The ground was pulverized.
But Yuder was not. He ignored the blow with Fairy's Footsteps.
After passing beyond the attack by crossing through space, he kept sprinting.
"You bas-tard!"
Bandaisel spread its wings.
It was fast.
So Yuder had to become faster.
Twenty-Four Gale Steps. Black Wind Arrival.
A pitch-black wind blew.
A black gale racing between buildings shattered and split the wind itself.
"ROOOAR!"
Bandaisel accelerated further. It tore through space itself with its iron whip and unleashed a lion's roar that shook not only the air but the black gale as well.
"Urgh!"
Yuder was sent flying mid-run. Unable to fully evade the wave crashing in like a tide, he tumbled across the ground, and Bandaisel appeared before him and swung its hammer without a word.
BOOM!
Yuder rolled to dodge.
But once was his limit.
When the demon swung the iron whip again, there was no way left to avoid it.
The iron whip split the air.
It rushed in to turn Yuder into a bloody pulp.
Fairy's Footsteps had already been used.
So he had to do something else.
He had to dodge the demon's attack somehow.
What should he do?
There was no time.
Countering with the Black Dragon Cross Strike, which took time, was impossible.
Dodging an iron whip that covered the entire space with just a few steps was impossible.
Then what was he supposed to do?
What should he do?
An instant.
A gap in time.
Yuder calculated.
No, he did not calculate.
In this moment alone, he instinctively sensed it, just like Cordelia.
It was a strange thing.
It was an incredibly short span of time, but within that instant, he could think.
He could even recite an incantation.
So Yuder acted.
He added the incantation of the Nine Heavens Nine Gates not to the Twenty-Four Gale Steps, but to the Thirty-Six World Steps.
Just as he had advanced the Holy Cross Thrust into the Black Dragon Cross Strike, he granted new power to the Thirty-Six World Steps.
And the result.
BOOM!
It was as if thunder had struck.
The terrifying flurry of iron-whip strikes swept through the surrounding area and smashed everything in its path.
But Bandaisel could not smile.
Its face twisted.
Because it was not everything.
Because within the fierce storm of destruction, there was one person still standing.
Yuder stood there.
He had not moved far.
He remained exactly where he had originally stood.
The Thirty-Six World Steps was a footwork technique that could extend in every direction to evade attacks from every direction.
And the power of the Nine Heavens Nine Gates had been added to it.
Thus, Yuder dodged.
No matter how much the iron whip's flurry resembled a storm, in the end, it was an attack made by a single line.
If he could accurately perceive the direction in which that line poured down, and if he could perfectly evade that single line.
Repeat.
Using the Thirty-Six World Steps, which could launch his body in any direction, Yuder repeatedly slipped outside the path traced by the whip.
And so, at last, he evaded the storm itself.
"Urgh."
Yuder let out a ragged breath. Blood trickled from his lips, and his legs gave out, dropping him to the ground.
'Still too much for me.'
He could not properly control it.
The fact that he had evaded the attack at all was nothing short of a miracle.
Bandaisel was flustered.
But it soon regained its composure.
It was true that Yuder had displayed a miraculous maneuver, but right now he was collapsed on the ground.
"Die."
A clichéd line.
Yuder, collapsed and gasping, looked at the demon's hammer, then simply lay flat on the ground.
He murmured one person's name.
"Cordelia."
Time was up.
Three minutes had passed.
The tower began to shine.
Bandaisel knew it too.
It knew full well that a mighty power was concentrating in the tower.
But it paid that no mind.
Right now, killing Yuder before it was more urgent.
It did not commit the folly of turning to look at the tower.
It simply raised the hammer, unwavering.
It would bring it down and crush the enemy before it.
It was the right course of action.
It was the precious iron rule that had kept Bandaisel alive until now.
But because of that, Bandaisel did not see.
It did not see the woman approaching who valued Yuder's life more than closing the Hell Gate.
It did not see the woman who, the moment she obtained Endymion's power, clenched her fist and kicked off the ground instead of activating the magic circle, charging straight at it.
"YUDER!"
BOOM!
A roar exploded.
Bandaisel had no choice but to turn, but by then it was already too late. A formless force of overwhelming power struck Bandaisel and sent it flying.
CRASH!
Bandaisel's massive body tumbled across the ground, smashing through buildings.
And Cordelia paid it no mind.
Her entire body shrouded in pure white light, she landed right beside Yuder.
"Hey! Are you okay? Hey!"
"I'm o-okay."
He appreciated the concern, but being yanked up by the collar made it rather hard to breathe.
"The seal, hurry..."
Yuder said, grasping Cordelia's hand.
He was grateful that she had rushed over to save him, but they had to close the Hell Gate quickly.
Endymion's power would last at most a few dozen seconds.
Even now, she had to return to the tower and activate the Heavenly Seal magic circle that Lena had installed on the tower's top floor.
But before Yuder could even finish speaking.
Bandaisel rose again.
The moment it stood, it unleashed a mighty wave of energy, and Cordelia hastily swung her hand to block it.
BOOM!
A terrifying roar erupted, and Cordelia swallowed a scream. Endymion's power was simply too immense. If she kept maintaining this power, it alone would destroy her.
Yuder realized it too.
So he tried to say something, but Cordelia was faster.
She suddenly flashed a charming smile and looked straight at Yuder.
"Hey."
"Huh?"
"You trust me, right?"
What was she suddenly talking about?
Just as Yuder's expression went blank for a moment, Bandaisel, who had been sent flying by the energy wave, rose again, smashing through the building debris.
There was no time now.
Yuder looked at Cordelia.
Cordelia was looking back at him with a smile that showed a hint of her fangs.
At those blue eyes, Yuder nodded.
"I trust you."
"Then I'm doing it. Luke will take care of Kaplan, so don't worry."
"Huh?"
That was as far as it went. Cordelia did not say anything more this time.
She was going to do it.
Since Yuder trusted her, she would go ahead and do it.
Cordelia stood up straight and looked at Bandaisel.
She spoke to the demon and to Yuder at the same time.
"I realized while looking at the map in the tower—there's a Dragon Vein flowing here too, you know?"
A Dragon Vein flowed through here.
What was she suddenly talking about?
Why suddenly—
He understood.
He realized.
And so Yuder shot to his feet and shouted.
"Hey! Hey hey hey!"
No! Hey! Don't tell me! Hey!
But it was already too late.
He had already said he trusted her.
"The second way to close a Hell Gate."
Destroy the very place where the Hell Gate opened.
"And as a bonus, wreck the demons along with it."
Bandaisel still could not understand.
Instead of stopping Cordelia, Yuder gave up and closed his eyes.
Then Cordelia flashed her fangs in a fierce grin. She gathered every last bit of Endymion's power to form the Spear of Calamity, then drove it straight into the ground.
She slammed the very power of Endymion into the Dragon Vein.
What would happen because of that.
What only Cordelia could bring herself to do.
"Fucking boom."
The moment Cordelia spoke those elegant words.
With a tremendous roar, the Dragon Vein went berserk.
The final day of the underground city of Endymion had begun.