ALL NOVEL Chapter 158
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Crimson torrent.
Black frost storm.
Amidst the battlefield where war and death collided, the Third Imperial Princess arrived.
“Edanant!”
She called out.
Too hasty.
The monster was still alive.
The Divine Status of Disaster and the power of Command had completely fused.
Despite receiving injuries from excessive use of the Command, it was merely superficial. The fierce frost storm wrapping the beautiful monster with flowing white hair still proved its existence.
Kwahwahwahwah—!!!
Was it because of an unexpected variable?
The frost storm intensified.
The sharp killing intent surged in the eyes of the monster, which blazed with white and black light.
“It won’t be easy holding on for long!”
“Third Imperial Princess! You must retreat immediately…!”
Kakak. Kakarak.
The crimson torrent and black frost storm simultaneously battered the barrier set up by the Grand Magicians. With ominous sounds, cracks began to appear in the barrier.
Holding on was difficult.
The interior of the Demon King’s Castle was thoroughly contaminated with the Divine Status of Disaster.
For humans, the Divine Status was seen as a merciful blessing manifested from faith. But like all medications, when exceeding limits, it swiftly turned into deadly poison.
Once the barrier shattered, there was no escaping the disaster.
At that point, even the Grand Magicians, including Elizaveta, couldn’t guarantee their safety.
-Liza!!
I must get Elizaveta to safety as quickly as possible.
Sensing the fear weighing down on him, Edanant shouted sharply. The entity manifesting the Disaster of Death raised a cold greatsword towards the direction of Elizaveta.
But—.
An utterly unforeseen anomaly occurred.
The giant of death halted.
It even lowered the greatsword it had raised above its head.
For some unknown reason, it lost control of its avatar. The monster frantically reached out, command after command, urging the Disaster of Death, but for some reason, it didn’t budge an inch.
“W-what the…! Why aren’t you moving?!”
A complete empty shell.
The Disaster of Death, fully swallowed alongside Beatrice, was nothing but a tool.
It must have fallen into an eternal slumber.
All control over its body and divine powers naturally belonged to itself.
Yet, the empty shell of the Disaster of Death refusing commands resulted in the monster displaying panic bordering on horror.
-Come forth, my avatar.
“Third Imperial Princess…?”
With the protection of the Grand Magicians, Elizaveta stepped forward, extending her hand.
The atmosphere shifted.
The Grand Magicians, looking at the back of the princess with her luscious golden hair flowing, felt an inexplicable sense of dread.
Kwajik!
The barrier barely managing to hold back the whirlpool of disaster was destroyed.
The crimson torrent rushed in.
Following it, the pitch-black frost storm targeted Elizaveta and the Grand Magicians.
However, the disaster of the Divine Status still didn’t ensnare them. As Elizaveta gestured, the torrents and frost storms parted left and right, avoiding them.
Kwahwahwah—!!!
At that same moment, the giant of death struck down with the greatsword.
To the astonishing target of its aggression was the controlled monster.
“How dare a mere shell…!”
Gahk.
Gritting its teeth, it glared at the out-of-control giant.
It evaded the ambush from behind, but control still didn’t return. The ice giant it had summoned had completely succumbed to the girl who appeared alongside the pitiful old men.
-Did you truly believe you could completely tame death, nameless being?
“You can’t be…!”
-I will reclaim the divine authority you stole from me. The vessel I choose is not something you can handle.
“You pathetic remnant of a specter!”
Elizaveta was accepted as its vessel.
Using a loophole, it made contact through dreams, yet it was sufficient to appoint her as a Reaper.
Elizaveta von Valtaria.
The Third Imperial Princess of the Empire was appointed as the new Reaper of Death.
An authentic successor starkly contrasting with the mutant born from the Miracle of the Saintess. As if to show this, the Disaster of Death that possessed Elizaveta commanded, and the frost storm slowly calmed.
-Elizaveta…, but it can’t be, can it? Is it the Disaster of Death?
-You’ve worked hard to guide me here, noble war.
The Disaster of Death extended its white hand.
It was an indirect request indicating that it would be fine to kiss the back of its hand. Edanant purposely ignored it.
-What happened to the Master of the Magic Tower?
“She is currently locked in a stalemate with the Akrich and the sage who has fallen into undeath!”
What would a mother feel fighting against her cursed son?
It was a miserable situation.
Surely her heart would be torn apart, as if it were being butchered.
The tragedy created by their unlucky fate had ultimately driven the once-revered mother-son relationship into catastrophe. Edanant swallowed his silence and nodded at the Grand Magician’s reply.
-Leave this to us and join the Master of the Magic Tower.
“Are you sure it’s alright?”
-When Beatrice awakens, even those turned into undead will return to their original forms. They probably haven’t truly become walking corpses. So just hold on somehow.
“I understand…! I will deliver that to the Master of the Magic Tower!”
The Grand Magicians who had been escorting Elizaveta turned around.
Edanant, watching their retreating figures, confronted the monster alongside the Disaster of Death.
“Hmph… To think this residual being is merely parasitizing humans. Your true self is still in eternal slumber, alongside that foolish girl.”
Brrrrrrrrrrrrk—.
The ice giant collapsed, spilling forth enormous shards. It seemed to have decided to dispose of the avatar, believing there was no way to regain control.
The Disaster of Death sighed deeply as its avatar, which imitated it just so, perished brutally.
-You have made my beautiful form useless; what rudeness! Even if it was just an avatar, it was a masterpiece that imitated even one-tenth of my beauty.
The narcissistic deity exhibited its self-love openly.
Was that its original nature?
Or was it a result of Elizaveta’s influence?
Either way, it was equally troublesome.
The sight of the Disaster of Death, possessed by Elizaveta and rambling, made Edanant dizzy.
“No matter how you pulled this trick, in the end, you are nothing. The control is still mine. You know that well.”
-It’s a useless worry. I will regain it.
The odds are slim.
The Disaster of Death, which possessed Elizaveta, was only a tiny fragment.
It merely succeeded in possession through an incomplete loophole. Although it had shown prowess in swiftly seizing control of the ice giant, compared to the monster that entirely devoured the Divine Status, it seemed pitifully inadequate.
-Hmm.
Extending its hand, frozen particles gathered.
Before long, the particles formed into a massive greatsword.
A blade forged from harvested cold.
The base and hilt carved from blackened ice.
The size was strikingly different, yet it was undoubtedly the greatsword wielded by the ice giant. The sight of Elizaveta’s slender hand gripping the heavy greatsword felt bizarre.
-War! It is time to reclaim my true body and all my power that was stolen!
-From where do you dare to give commands? If it were Liza’s order, I would naturally obey, but…I have no desire to listen to the one who instigated this war.
The Disaster of Death was the mastermind behind summoning the Demon King’s Army and the cultist forces, inciting the Racial War.
Thus, Edanant showed clear disdain.
It was for Beatrice’s sake.
He had no choice but to collaborate only to save the Saintess.
Clearly stating his determination, Edanant asked the Disaster of Death about ways to save Beatrice.
*
Ka-dak—.
Grrgk. Grrrgrk—.
The chains of the Fallen Angel restrained the Mercenary King, and then the Akrich.
A blue flame, imbued with coldness, rose.
But Akrich’s resistance was blocked by the dispel cast by the Master of the Magic Tower.
Then, the sage activated teleportation magic, but Querisa’s response was much quicker. Querisa cast dispel again, disrupting the accumulation of magical power needed for the teleportation.
-B-Bea… Beatrice…! Noooo!!
Even having lost his sanity and fallen into a cursed being, the only burning desire was to protect his beloved Saintess.
Facing the desperate form of the specter, Querisa wryly smiled while gently patting the skull that shone with blue eye light.
“Now all that remains is the Mercenary King…, and the Abyss Knight.”
“We should hurry to join my brother. He must be quite exhausted by now.”
Ludmilla and Zebeline turned their heads, gazing towards the battlefield where Maximilian was clashing with the Sword Saint, who had fallen into undeath, alongside the Master of the Magic Tower.
They were nearing the end.
It wouldn’t be long before Edanant and Elizaveta returned with the Second Saintess.
The resounding rumble and tremors spreading around the Demon King’s Castle constantly triggered unease, yet for now, they had no choice but to trust and leave it be. After all, the Abyss Knight continued to engage in a fierce back-and-forth against Maximilian.
Thud—.
Thud—.
The moment they took a step,
The tremors transmitted towards Ludmilla and Zebeline.
The shockwave from the Demon King’s Castle was not what they sensed. The tremors felt from the ground were coming from beyond the steep ravine.
With thousands of soldiers—
The Holy Knights of the Holy Kingdom, raising the banner of the holy war, were certainly approaching.
As the Holy Knights, who worship the Creator Deity, drew near, the Tyranny of the Three-Headed Dragon and the Fallen Angel instinctively revealed their hostility. If the Earth Mother’s loyal hounds dared to attack, they would retaliate immediately.
But the disaster did not occur.
The troops of the Holy Kingdom, slowly surrounding the Demon King’s Castle, suddenly halted their advance as the distance closed.