Chapter 783: Afterglow
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 783: Afterglow
【This is the seventeenth war council.】
【In the past fifty-three hours, four major human cities—Sharpness, Abdol, Cartagenas, and Brandwight—have been reduced to ruins. Tens of millions have perished in the various horrific disasters unleashed by the Evil God, while approximately three million more have been directly corrupted, transformed into warped monstrosities.】
【Their souls have become sustenance for the Evil God, and their flesh serves as nourishment for the spreading aberrations. The land is polluted, the sky is torn asunder, and the world is being devoured. Everything has entered the final countdown to the end. Every faction has exhausted its strength to halt the expansion of this catastrophe, but ordinary people are far too weak and powerless against beings known as gods.】
【Since the day the First Evil God descended, humanity has lost over sixty percent of its total population. This is a disaster without precedent... and we are the only ones who can end it.】
【After a total of sixteen joint special operations against the First Evil God, we remain blocked by the mountain that is the Demon God’s immortality.】
【Regardless of the intensity or method of attack, even if the First Evil God is reduced to ash, He will be completely reborn from those ashes, His power not weakened in the slightest. This trait has rendered our encirclements meaningless and resulted in heavy casualties.】
【However...】
【A turning point arrived during the last operation—the sixteenth. During the battle, the Origin-Tier Grand Magister Calodis, who led the assault, discovered that Origin-Tier magic constructed with specific materials and methods could significantly inhibit the First Evil God’s vitality.】
【Grand Magister Calodis discovered this and verified it with his own life. Please join us in mourning and paying tribute to him. As a former sinner, he has washed away his transgressions in his own way; he was truly the most powerful and outstanding mage of his time.】
【The seventeenth operation is built upon that foundation. We will abandon the goal of the previous sixteen missions—to kill the First Evil God—and instead choose to seal Him.】
【Using the technology left behind by Grand Magister Calodis and with the assistance of the People of Original Sin, we have created a specialized killing machine and formulated a detailed plan around it.】
【In summary, I will lead this operation. Accompanying me are once again the most brilliant elite mages of humanity. Regardless of what they have done in the past, at this moment, they are undoubtedly the heroes of all mankind.】
【We will stake everything to end the chaos of this world.】
【And if I... if this operation fails, then the next one... will be led by you, Mela Domir.】
【I hope there will never be a need for an eighteenth meeting. The world is on the brink of collapse, and time has become our most precious resource...】
【Oh, as for the name of that killing machine, we shall name it after the fallen Grand Magister Calodis...】
*
“God-Slaying Mechanism: Spear of Calodis.”
Amidst a deafening roar, Mela watched silently as that ancient, magnificent creation rose from the earth. Her mind couldn't help but drift back to those equally ancient memories.
“To think there would come a day when it would see the light of day again.”
It was a towering spire—or rather, from a human’s tiny perspective, the thousand-meter-long behemoth was undoubtedly a tower.
Its four-sided, rhombohedral exterior was cold and overbearing. Savage scars symbolized a millennium of age and glory. Though it appeared damaged to the naked eye, the structure still radiated a chilling, obsidian-like luster.
From tip to base, there were no seams; it looked as if it had been carved from a single, massive piece of raw stone. The intricate patterns on its surface were steeped in an ancient aura, but a closer look revealed they weren't decorations at all, but magic circuits so exquisite they were dizzying.
Those dense, complex lines—which would make any modern mage gasp in awe and lament their own inadequacy—covered the entire massive hull. Some had been lost in the great wars of the past, while others remained hidden beneath the mottled stains of time.
A thousand years had passed, yet it still flickered with piercing brilliance, still erupted with ear-splitting roars, and still... released the god-slaying power of old.
Divine Will’s thousand-year reinforcement of this Throne Space was meaningless. The weapon surged upward from the depths of the earth, easily shattering the reinforced seals. Like a giant bamboo shoot growing at a million times its natural speed, or a drill boring through the horizon, it burst through the ground!
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
From the moment Divine Will sensed its approach to the moment it appeared in his vision, barely two breaths had passed.
He hadn't even recovered from the shock of "two ants driving a mecha" returning to the fray before the spire—no, the God-Slaying Mechanism: Spear of Calodis—was upon him!
“Old man, this strike carries a thousand years of power. Can you handle it?”
Muen and Ariel both wore the sinister grins of final villains at the end of a story. They poured their entire spiritual power into the controls, operating the Spear of Calodis with perfect synchronicity as they drove it straight into Divine Will.
There was no need for complex maneuvers or high-level "man and machine as one" synchronization. At its core, this wasn't a mecha at all; it was a spear meticulously crafted by the saviors of a millennium ago.
It might be a bit oversized, but a spear... was meant for skewering!
BOOM!
Another thunderous explosion rang out. The dark gray curtain Divine Will had instantly deployed was pierced in a flash, offering almost no resistance. He instinctively tried to dodge, only to find that the space around him had been sealed. He was completely locked on by the Spear of Calodis.
The Origin-Tier magic from a thousand years ago was still functioning. Carrying the murderous intent and fury once directed at the First Evil God, it crossed a millennium of time to fall once more upon this remnant of Demon God’s Blood.
“Muen Campbell—!”
Divine Will let out a shriek.
His roar was filled with ear-piercing, eerie static. His own voice was barely recognizable; it was hard to tell if the one screaming was Divine Will himself or the Demon God’s Blood within him.
Divine Will’s broken body swelled violently. Viscous, foul-smelling liquid boiled within him. Countless malicious eyes opened in the crevices of his flesh, and twisted tentacles bloomed like sea anemones in the deep ocean, constructing layer upon layer of defense to meet the spear.
Then, the two collided.
In that instant, the sound that erupted from the point of contact was no longer a deafening roar, but a faint noise, like a bubble popping.
Yet, at the center of that tiny sound was a raging tide of energy, compressed to the extreme before exploding outward!
Space visibly buckled. Countless twisted tentacles were reduced to ash in the blinding light. The stalemate between Divine Will and the Spear of Calodis lasted only a few seconds before he, along with the Demon God’s Blood inside him, was impaled by the spear that bore the name of God-Slayer!
The tower-like tip of the massive spear transfixed Divine Will’s body, then pushed him upward with terrifying momentum. Screams and noises capable of shattering an ordinary person's soul erupted continuously from the liquid within Divine Will, only to be forcibly suppressed by the fluctuations within the Spear of Calodis.
Aberrations were reversed, distortions were annihilated, and the spear’s momentum did not slacken. It drove Divine Will through layers of soil, through rock, through space—upward, upward, and further upward!
Until, within the ruins of Gutons Fortress, another towering spire stood tall.
Even the sky was pierced. A massive gap appeared in the spatial turbulence that had covered the Abyss for a thousand years. The rushing air currents blew away the dust and yellow sand, allowing sunlight from high above to fall upon this World's Scar for the very first time.
The sunlight also fell upon Divine Will.
The pitch-black filth was illuminated by the sun, appearing even more hideous. Divine Will’s chest was impaled by the tip of the tower, his entire body convulsing.
The Demon God’s Blood writhed inside him, no longer possessing its previous eerie madness. Instead, it moved slowly and feebly, like a dying worm.
By all appearances, Divine Will was in a more pathetic state than ever before, his life hanging by a thread.
But "near death" was not yet dead.
Though the Spear of Calodis was named for slaying gods, it could not truly kill the Demon God’s Blood that had inherited immortality.
And after a thousand years of decay, even though it had been successfully activated, it ultimately could not completely suppress the vitality of the Demon God’s Blood.
“Heh... heh heh... so close... just a little more...”
A nauseating, mocking grin curled on Divine Will’s lips. His deformed hands gripped the now-dimmed surface of the Spear of Calodis as he pulled himself off the tip.
His gaze seemed to pierce through the incredibly complex structure, landing on Muen in the cockpit.
“So close... I almost fell to a brat like you... Unfortunately... I am the Great Duke Divine Will... the ruler of the Demon Race for a thousand years... the guide for my King’s return... How could I fall here... How could I!”
“...No way.”
Muen’s face went pale. “He’s still not dead? That’s cheating...”
According to the tropes, shouldn't a specialized quest item like this have an instant-kill effect? Why was Divine Will still kicking?
This wasn't scientific!
“Stop dazing off!”
Ariel, snapping back to reality, shook Muen violently. “Kick him while he’s down! Hurry up and hit him again!”
“I want to!”
Muen frantically shoved the control levers, but no matter how he tried to drive the Spear of Calodis, he only received responses of "insufficient energy" and "excessive damage."
“Dammit... why did it stop now? This is the worst kind of blue-balling!”
“What do we do...”
Muen and Ariel looked at each other, seeing the same desperation in each other's eyes.
An ant driving a mecha could certainly fight a beast, but now that the mecha was scrapped, they were likely about to be swatted to death by that beast in the next moment.
Outside, Divine Will was already beginning to stir. The Demon God’s Blood was gradually regaining its vitality. Viscous, foul liquid flowed; he intended to corrode this Spear of Calodis along with the vermin inside it!
“To hell with it, let’s go for broke!”
Ariel grit her teeth. “We can’t just sit here and wait for death. If we push it, maybe we can get this thing moving again!”
After all, dying in the same place as this guy... that was just too disgusting.
She refused to die like that!
“True.”
Muen nodded. “Waiting for death isn't my style. Let’s try one more time.”
The two of them gripped the control levers with all their might, pouring in not just their spiritual power, but their fighting spirit and mana as well.
Muen even felt a surge of massive soul power join them, intending to restart the ancient machine and deliver the final blow to Divine Will.
BOOM!
At that moment, as if sensing something, Divine Will’s expression changed. Just as he was about to corrode the spire, he lunged back to put distance between them.
Muen and Ariel were simultaneously overjoyed—the Spear of Calodis was actually moving again!
Their final, desperate gamble had actually worked!
Except...
“Why does the movement feel... weird?” Muen looked at Ariel.
“Does it?”
“Don't you think? This slow, sluggish movement is completely different from that 'one-shot-burst' feeling from before. It doesn't feel like the Spear of Calodis is moving on its own. It feels more like...”
“Correct.”
Suddenly, a cold voice rang in Muen’s ear.
“It handles quite well.”
“...”
Muen turned his head stiffly. Through the extended perception of the Spear of Calodis, he saw a terrifying creature—larger even than this God-Slaying Mechanism—stepping out of a rift in space right beside them. As she spread her scale-covered wings, all the sunlight was instantly blotted out.
“...”
Muen blinked.
Strange.
Why was there a dragon outside?
And why did this dragon look so familiar?
Most importantly, why was the dragon reaching out a claw to grip the tower, looking... as if she were the one pulling the Spear of Calodis out of the ground?
Muen felt the massive soul power from Ariel’s teacher quickly withdraw, but sharp warning alarms began blaring in his ears.
“Charging... Charging... External energy charging... 3%... 5%... 10%...”
“Warning... Energy reservoir failure... Energy storage at maximum... Overload imminent... Overload imminent...”
“...”
Muen swallowed hard, then whipped his head toward Ariel.
“Hold on tight!”
“Hold... Hold on?”
Even with Ariel’s mental fortitude, she couldn't help but scan the area in a panic. “Where the hell am I supposed to hold on in this dump?”
“Forget that, just hold onto me!”
At a time like this, he didn't care if he’d get stabbed later; Muen pulled Ariel into a tight embrace. Ariel hesitated for a split second before reaching out to hug him back. The two of them braced themselves in the narrow cockpit in the most stable position possible.
In the next instant, the entire tower shook violently.
Hamulein looked at the tower in her hand... No, to her, the Calodis was currently a spear—a handy, genuine spear.
“I didn't expect I’d ever have the chance to use you. Back then, I didn't even have the right.”
Hamulein’s golden pupils flickered, her tone turning uncharacteristically gentle. “You must be quite frustrated, failing to completely kill His vitality back then...”
Hum...
The Spear of Calodis vibrated slightly. Although the authorization to activate it came from the key in Muen’s hand, it resonated with Hamulein’s words.
“A pity you’re so excessively damaged now.”
“Eh?”
Just as she spoke, Hamulein looked down in surprise.
Through the massive hole Calodis had just created, she saw the girl on the throne raise her hand. Using the power of Divine Blessing, An manipulated the magic-conducting metal materials buried beneath the Throne Space, causing them to rise slowly.
An closed her eyes and focused. The moment she saw the tower, more fragmented memories had surfaced in her mind.
They seemed to be about how to manufacture this god-slaying spear, but the details were far too complex for her to understand.
Even so, it was enough for her to perform some simple repairs.
Thus, the materials Divine Will had spent so much effort preparing for the "Demon King’s" resurrection were forcibly diverted by An. Since no mana had been injected into the magic materials yet, her Divine Blessing could easily control them, melting, decomposing, and then filling the cracks and damages of the Spear of Calodis.
Soon, the entire Spear of Calodis was coated in a layer of dazzling radiance, appearing to have completely returned to its form from a thousand years ago.
“Excellent.”
Seeing this, the Calamity Dragon flashed a satisfied smile.
Her wings beat, kicking up a violent hurricane as her massive dragon form soared into the high heavens.
“No... no...”
Divine Will’s eyes followed Hamulein as she ascended. As if sensing something, his entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.
The Demon God’s Blood within him became even more violently agitated. A fear that hadn't been forgotten in a thousand years spread through the viscous, foul liquid. But at this moment, it was bound by this body, unable to escape.
Of course, escape would have been futile anyway, for He had already been locked on.
By the weapon born to slay gods.
“Watch closely. This is what a thousand years of power really looks like.”
Hamulein passed through the spatial turbulence, reaching the highest reaches of the sky.
The sunlight dyed her black dragon form crimson, like a ball of raging fire. But when she raised the spear, the flames vanished, and night instantly descended.
All was silent; the entire world seemed to hold its breath.
Only her proclamation echoed through the air.
“This is also the final afterglow of that era—”
And so, the Spear of Calodis fell, carrying an endless radiance that tore through the night.
With that, it completely transfixed the remnant of the Demon God.