Chapter 338: Evil God Subjugation (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 338: Evil God Subjugation (5)
In the manor of Holloway County.
In the dueling grounds, two magic knights were sparring, their blades weaving together a dance of swordsmanship and sorcery. A young Ian Fairytail watched the duel, his eyes wide with wonder.
Amy Holloway, frowning slightly, asked Ian what he found so fascinating. But Ian, his eyes sparkling, was too captivated by the clash to even hear her.
That was the day Ian realized his dream: he would become a magic knight.
Those two knights weren't legendary heroes, but the way they seamlessly blended magic and steel was enough to enchant him.
Later, in the flower garden, Ian thrust a sturdy tree branch toward the sky and made a solemn vow to Amy. He declared that he would become a magic knight—that he would become strong enough to protect her and everyone else.
The boy carried that dream in his heart for years.
Fwoooosh!!
The hands that once gripped a simple branch now held the Luminous Sword, thrumming with Divine Power.
As the Apocalypse Dragon, Azhi Dahåka, unleashed a violent storm of flames, the Evil God Slayers swiftly deployed their barriers.
Whoooosh!!
The scorching wind battered the barriers and swept over the subjugation force. A single flap of the Apocalypse Dragon’s wings carried the weight of high-level magic. If Ian were caught in that storm, the Divine Power imbued in his blade would unravel.
Ian synchronized with his familiar, Rex, his skin instantly transforming into the tough, pebbled hide of a dinosaur. Heat waves flickered around the corners of his mouth like phantom flames.
Boom!
With a fierce stomp, cracks spiderwebbed across the ground. His feet sank into the earth, anchoring him against the gale. Thanks to his synchronization with Rex, Ian could endure the searing heat against his skin.
His eyes, burning with a reflected fire, were fixed solely on the Apocalypse Dragon’s thrashing form and the giant eye watching the battlefield from the heavens.
The blade of the Luminous Sword continued to drink in Divine Power without pause.
[Do you think I’ll just stand by?!]
Mephisto the Contractor deployed a dark magic circle aimed at Ian’s back, but the attack was intercepted before it could land.
A muscular woman wielding a silver axe leapt from the ground, appearing before Mephisto in a flash. It was Isabel Silverwolf, the commander of Düpfendorf’s legion, whom Mephisto had previously fought in Aldreque.
“It’s been a while, demon!!” Isabel barked, a wide grin splitting her face.
She swung her axe, the air around them instantly condensing into frost. A magic circle flared beneath her feet.
Boom!!!
A deluge of frost erupted. The 5-star ice magic, [Frost Explosion], engulfed Mephisto.
Mephisto, perched upon her grotesque chair, quickly retreated to evade the blast. Isabel didn't give her a moment's peace; she summoned her griffin familiar, vaulted onto its back, and gave chase. Following her lead, the other commanders of Düpfendorf and the Ice Knights surged forward to pin Mephisto down.
As Mephisto unleashed torrents of dark magic, the Düpfendorf forces countered with synchronized ice spells, meeting her darkness with a wall of absolute zero.
Meanwhile, advancing from the landing bridge, the red-cloaked Michelle, the Iron Kin Noah Bartin, the Imperial Knights, and the wizard army moved to intercept the zombie horde, supported by the golem forces of the Stone Turtle Gormos.
The chaotic, combined dark magic of the zombies was neutralized by large-scale rock magic cast by the Stone Turtle. Michelle unleashed a vortex of her Red Axes, while Noah deployed countless greatswords that hovered in the air like a metallic storm. The wizards wove complex magic circles, and the Imperial Knights leveled their spears.
Soon, a massive melee erupted on the landing bridge, which was still being shielded by the Aegis barrier.
[Faust.]
At Mephisto’s nonchalant call, a massive dark monster—leaving no trace of its former human self—manifested in the air and let out a bone-chilling roar.
The Great Sage, Heinrich Faust. He was the most powerful human Mephisto had ever ensnared in a contract.
As the Great Sage opened his mouth wide enough to split his head, black and crimson flames took the shape of beautiful butterflies, fluttering in every direction as strange stars appeared in the sky.
This was the Great Sage’s domain expansion: [Witch’s Night].
The Subjugation Force on the bridge immediately went on high alert.
[Grrrrr!]
[Graaah!!]
The intensity of the dark magic radiating from the zombies spiked. Their power surged, fueled by the domain expansion unleashed by the Great Sage.
“Gerald!”
The legendary genius wizard, Historia Astrea, used wind magic to deflect the zombies’ dark spells. Beside her, the Sword Saint, Gerald Astrea, moved with lightning speed. With elegant, precise swordsmanship, he carved a path through the horde, striking directly at the Great Sage Faust.
In that moment, Mephisto—even while battling the Düpfendorf commanders—extended a spiraling tendril of dark energy toward the back of Ian’s head.
Ian didn't turn around. He had a role to play, and he trusted his allies.
Swoosh!
The dark tendril, cutting through the air with terrifying speed, was suddenly absorbed by a swirl of navy-blue night mana.
[Even you…?] Mephisto hissed, taken aback.
Before the demon stood Snow White, the white-haired girl with fairy wings.
“Princess White?” the Imperial forces gasped in astonishment.
White flew silently toward Mephisto, unleashing her night wind magic to engage the contractor. Her eyes held nothing but cold, unwavering determination.
Ssshhh!!
Simultaneously, a sea of navy-blue mana engulfed the landing bridge and the Army of the Black Flame. It was a power that ignored those within White’s "rules" and consumed everything else. Many zombies fell instantly, though the Black Flame soldiers leisurely spread their crimson fire to repel her magic.
[Kaaaah!!]
The Apocalypse Dragon roared, its massive body turning pitch black as it ignited. It had fully transformed into a black dragon. The Elemental Kings and their familiars had succeeded in cornering it, but even a single flap of its wings was proving to be too much. They were already battered and bleeding.
Whooosh!!!
When the Apocalypse Dragon unleashed a fiery storm, the flames of annihilation swept through the knights, devastating the battlefield.
“Ugh…!”
By now, Kaya had switched to her dark persona, focusing entirely on healing her comrades with a mixture of blood and plant magic. She and the other healers were forced to cast spells without a second of rest just to keep the front line from collapsing.
Even in the heart of this chaos, Ian gathered his focus for the final strike.
Wheeeing.
A pure white magic circle expanded above the Apocalypse Dragon’s head. Sensing mortal danger, the dragon tried to flee, but the Elemental Kings poured the last of their strength into elemental barriers, sealing its path.
Ian swung his sword.
Boom!!!!
Divine Power poured down like a celestial waterfall, engulfing the Apocalypse Dragon. Within the pillar of pale light, the dragon let out an eerie, fading scream.
Ian’s strike, [Expelled from Paradise], had landed perfectly.
As the light subsided, the Apocalypse Dragon crumbled like a dying ember, its remains scattering into the wind. The Subjugation Force watched with wide eyes as the beast fell.
“Azhi Dahåka has been vanquished!!” an Imperial Knight reported, his voice trembling with relief.
The Subjugation Force erupted in cheers. The tide of battle finally seemed to be shifting toward hope. The death of the Apocalypse Dragon fueled their determination.
“Well done, Ian!!”
“It was nothing,” Ian panted.
“…From here on, it’s all up to you. Let me know when you’re ready, and I’ll unleash everything I have. I swear, I’ll protect you with my life,” a middle-aged Imperial Wizard said to Ian, his expression grim.
“…Okay.”
Ian gazed up at the massive eye filling the crimson sky. The next challenge was Angra Mainyu—a terrifying behemoth that could make any living creature tremble with primal fear. The force, a gathering of the world’s greatest powers, had barely managed to corner the dragon, but only Ian could face Angra Mainyu.
Ian took a deep breath, steadying his heart.
“I can win…” he whispered to himself.
Everyone clung to that hope. They believed that if they kept this momentum, victory was within reach.
Rumble!!!
But as if mocking their resolve, the sky trembled. The [Realm of the Eternal Glacial Palace] was suddenly engulfed in black and crimson flames.
Fwoosh!!!
The opposing domains of Isaac and the Evil God clashed, and Isaac’s collapsed. The Evil God’s domain had devoured the ice.
The [Realm of the Eternal Glacial Palace] was undone.
As if time itself had slowed, the Subjugation Force watched the impossible unfold. The massive summoned beasts were forcibly reverse-summoned, plummeting from the sky all at once.
The Frost Dragon Hilde, Eden the Breaker, the Frost Spirit Merphil, the Glacial Bear Barbatoma, and the Icebound Crocodile Tugaros—all vanished.
And then, the lone figure of a falling ice wizard came into view.
For a moment, the world was swallowed in a suffocating silence. Helplessness and despair filled the eyes of the soldiers.
“Isaac…?”
Luce, Dorothy, Alice, and White all watched the scene, their eyes wide with shock.
“Isaac!”
Reflexively, Kaya rode the wind and caught him before he hit the ground. Isaac was unconscious. His skin was scorched, and his body was covered in horrific wounds. Though he hadn't been directly consumed by the Evil God’s flames, the strain had left his body in tatters.
Rumble!
The goddess in the black dress, exuding a dazzling yet malevolent aura, reappeared in the sky. The sheer pressure of her presence weighed down on the Subjugation Force like a physical mountain.
The Evil God, Nephid.
The entity floating in the sky unfurled five pairs of fiery wings.
Fwoosh!
The Subjugation Force desperately deployed barriers, but the mere overflow of the Evil God’s mana shattered them instantly.
“Kyaaa!”
Kaya, still holding Isaac, was shielded by a barrier of blood and Dorothy’s starlight, but even that was burned away, sending them tumbling backward.
“Ugh…!”
Ian, swept away by the scorching wind, planted the Luminous Sword in the ground to steady himself. He looked up at the sky.
As he stared at the Evil God Nephid, Ian was engulfed in an overwhelming fear. His resolve to protect everyone felt like a guttering candle in a hurricane.
The Evil God raised her right arm.
Fwoooosh!!!
An immeasurable amount of mana ignited above her hand, taking the form of pitch-black flames. In an instant, the flames condensed into a black sphere—a dark sun. The sheer density of the mana distorted the very fabric of space and time. No natural phenomenon could hope to rival its power.
“C-Charlotte! The Aegis…”
“You must have realized it too.”
The Archwizard Charlotte closed her eyes, her shoulders slumped in resignation. “Aegis won’t help. We can’t stop that.”
The truth was crystal clear. Even the strongest barrier in the world, constructed by its greatest mages, was utterly meaningless before the Evil God. Everything they had built, every sacrifice they had made, felt futile.
[It’s over.] Mephisto cackled.
Rumble!
Black spheres began to appear across the world, consuming space itself. This was Nephid’s power. Wherever the spheres touched, the world was replaced by a void of nothingness.
“Everyone!! Stay away from the spheres!” Jacule Calix, the Royal Guard, shouted through amplification magic.
The black spheres grew indiscriminately, devouring parts of the academy buildings, the earth, and the sea. That power did not care for dimensions or worlds.
The end of the world was drawing near.