Uwaaah!
The Divine Army let out a cry. Let's survive to see this through. Eugene considered it not a grand or profound statement, yet the troops thought otherwise.
The Divine Army knew that their Commander-in-Chief was the reincarnation of Hamel from three hundred years ago. He was a great hero who had once stood against the Demon Kings alongside the legendary Vermouth to save the world and had been reborn in this era as the chosen Hero of the Holy Sword. Now, he had transcended even his role as the Hero to ascend to divinity.
Eugene Lionheart. The battlefield under his protection and presence could truly be considered the center of an ongoing myth. The blood-red sun hanging in the sky was profound evidence. Along with his words for them to survive, the sun illuminating the battlefield was both a miracle and a divine blessing.
"You said exactly what we needed to hear," Carmen said while stepping forward. “Form Change,” she muttered under her breath.
However, it was audible not only to the Divine Army but also to the enemy forces. They had been cursing the Lionheart banner, which had embedded itself in their ranks, then turned around upon hearing the unexpected words Form Change.
Swish!
The coat she was wearing fluttered. Underneath, the special Exid that Carmen wore transformed and enveloped her body. The process of donning the Exid, a transformation for Carmen, normally took no more than three seconds.
However, Carmen deliberately slowed down the transformation process because she thought it was necessary. Like Eugene's words had recharged the morale of the Divine Army, she believed her transformation would infuse them with courage and hope.
And she wanted to ensure that everyone saw this stunning transformation. She also wanted to make her presence known as the cruel reaper of death for the vast enemy forces. She would crush them."The reaper..." Carmen whispered.
She liked that title.
Click, click...!
The transformation began at the torso and spread to the limbs.
‘This is not enough.’ Carmen observed the Exid covering her limbs and thought to herself.
Her specific Exid was named White Flame Dragon, but that was a name of the past. Carmen Lionheart had pushed the Stars of the White Flame Formula into a new metamorphosis. Carmen Lionheart, once known as the Silver Lion and the White Flame Dragon, no longer existed.
What stood here now was….
“The Grim Reaper,” Carmen declared proudly.
The Exid darkened to pitch black. Like the night, like death, the Exid completely shrouded Carmen in black. Carmen climbed onto the railing in full view of everyone.
"Go." Carmen looked back at Eugene and said, "No, that's not right."
She picked up a cigar with her fingers, which were as sharp as the scythe of the Grim Reaper. With all eyes on her, Carmen placed the cigar in her mouth. Then, with the fingers that had held the cigar, she pointed to the sky, to the castle of the Demon King of Incarceration, Babel.
"Come back," she said.
There could be no better response to the call to survive and see. It wasn't enough to just go. One must go and come back. Normally, Eugene would have been frozen by Carmen's childish actions, but not today. He felt the weight of the meaning behind her words.
"Yes,” Eugene responded.
Whoosh!
Prominence surged from behind Eugene. Kristina, who had not yet resonated with Eugene, similarly spread her Wings of Light.
"I’ll leave it to you," Sienna told the magical corps.
She did not take flight immediately but instead turned to look at the Archwizards. Melkith stepped forward as if she had been waiting for this moment.
"Don't worry. I, Melkith El-Hayah, will make sure everything goes well,” she vowed.
"If communication is lost, we will proceed as planned," Lovellian said, glancing up at Babel.
Although the members of the general staff had decided to be responsible for the battle on the ground, in the worst-case scenario, they too would enter Babel.
"Let's hope that doesn't happen,” said Sienna.
She floated up into the sky. She smiled wryly at Mer and Raimira, who looked up at her with worried faces.
"Don’t overdo it, alright?" she said.
"Yes...!" The two children nodded and waved goodbye.
Mer and Raimira were also participating in the ground battle. Despite their youthful appearances, their powers were considerable. Raimira, being a dragon, would merge with Maise’s Signature to become a key force in aerial combat, while Mer was tasked with maintaining communication with Sienna, interpreting the battlefield, and assisting the magical corps.
"I’m worried something might happen,” Eugene commented.
"Whatever happens here, it'll be better than what we might face," Sienna chided Eugene, who kept glancing nervously at the ground.
"Well, that's true,” he answered.
With that, he surveyed the enemy.
The missiles installed on the walls of Pandemonium were immobile. However, unknown vehicles and weapons inside the walls were now positioned behind the enemy lines. He had thrown the flag to pre-empt any advance, but the large gap it had created in their ranks had already been filled by other units.
They had not yet advanced. Instead, they watched Eugene with a deadly gaze, waiting for him to enter Babel.
The most intense killing intent emanated from the Black Mist in the vanguard. Although their leader, Gavid, was dead, they still shrouded themselves in black mist and maintained a dominant presence within the enemy ranks.
'Their dark power has grown stronger. Is it the work of the Demon King of Incarceration?' Eugene wondered.
A few years back, higher-ranked demons had been bestowed dark power from the Demon King of Incarceration himself. The Black Mist had been excluded at the time since they were excluded from the rankings of the demons. But now, it appeared they had been granted new powers in preparation for the war.
This was troublesome. If the Black Mist had been part of the demonic hierarchy, the highest echelons would now be entirely comprised of these beings. They were already creatures specialized for battle and were now enhanced with the dark power of the Demon King of Incarceration.
"But it's better than three hundred years ago, isn’t it?" Sienna murmured as they both surveyed the ground.
"Definitely,” Eugene answered.
There was no denying it. Three hundred years ago, on the outskirts of Babel, a desperate band had gathered on the red plains, exhausted to the point of having nothing left but their lives to gamble.
The band, true to its name, had mostly perished on the red plains. But this time was different. Eugene gazed coldly at Babel.
Yes, things had to be different from three hundred years ago. Back then, Eugene, as Hamel, died in Babel. He never reached the throne of the Demon King of Incarceration.
"I've been thinking,” Eugene said suddenly.
Babel was drawing closer.
Whoosh!
The wing of Prominence flared dramatically behind Eugene, sending flames of feathers shooting forward. He engaged in a spatial leap and moved past the front gate of Babel. Rather, he reappeared at a higher point.
"Do we really need to enter through the main gate?" he questioned.
Sienna gave a hollow laugh in response to Eugene’s question. She cast a spell and teleported both herself and Kristina right next to Eugene.
"We tried that three hundred years ago,” said Kristina.
"Back then, we couldn't break through the barrier that enveloped Babel, so we had no choice but to enter through the gate. But don’t you think we’ll be able to break through this time?” asked Eugene.
They could see chains densely surrounding Babel. Three hundred years ago, they had failed to penetrate those chains and had to breach the outer gate first.
"There shouldn't be anyone hindering us in Babel now except for Balzac," Sienna reminded them.
There had been no Shield of Incarceration for three hundred years, and no new Blade of Incarceration had been appointed since the death of Gavid. The Demon King of Incarceration’s personal guards, the Black Mist, were also on the ground. As it stood, only Balzac stood in their way to the throne of the Demon King of Incarceration.
There might still be traps, monsters, or undead lurking around like three hundred years ago — but frankly, such things no longer posed a hindrance with how strong they were. They could immediately clear away whatever blocked their path.
"That's true, but..." Eugene started.
Dark flames ignited around Eugene. He gripped Levantein and eyed the barrier.
"I'd like to break that first."
Rumble!
Flames burst forth from the blade of Levantein. Sienna couldn’t help but smirk in response to Eugene’s straightforward statement.
She pulled out Mary from inside her robe and pointed it toward Levantein.
"I also want to break it,” she said.
Sienna had longed to overcome the chains of Incarceration and Babel her entire life. A light flickered from the tip of Mary. Scattered petals drifted into the flames of Levantein and burned to ash. However, the magic did not disappear; instead, it augmented Levantein.
Crack, sizzle!
Sparkling currents began trickling the surface of the flames. Eugene raised Levantein above his head, which was now heavier than before.
"Proceed as you wish,” said Kristina.
Obviously, Kristina had no intention of stopping Eugene, and neither did Anise. She did not intervene. Kristina clasped her hands in prayer and stepped back.
Levantein cleaved the sky. The crimson flames struck Babel like lightning falling from the sky.
Roar!
The chains encircling the space around Babel were shattered by the flames. Babel trembled as if it were about to collapse.
Whoa!
A great cheer erupted from the ground. It was the sound of the demon army starting its assault.
Eugene ignored it. He raised Levantein once more. He had completely sliced through the barrier of Babel with that single strike. Now, Babel was just a menacing demon castle floating in the sky without any barrier to protect it.
Eugene stared at the center of Babel, at the wide, tall main castle. Three hundred years ago, Hamel died attempting to ascend it.
A smile tugged at his cheeks. Eugene raised Levantein high again. Divine flames erupted around it, and he instantly slashed, striking deep into the main castle of Babel. The castle seemed to crumble with a loud explosion. It appeared to sway greatly and then turned into a vast black mist. The mist swelled massively like a cloud and engulfed the castle entirely.
"That’s…." Eugene frowned while eyeing the mist.
This was a fog born of dark power, of black magic. Eugene knew what the darkness floating in that mist signified. Before Eugene could say more, Sienna briskly stepped forward.
"Take Levantein in and pull back,” instructed Sienna with a voice as cold as ice.
Eugene did as told, sheathing Levantein and stepping back. Sienna moved forward, wielding Mary. The fog that completely enveloped the castle writhed as if alive, but no one here felt apprehensive or fearful of it.
Instead, they felt anger and a killing intent. Sienna glared at the fog while biting her lower lip. It wouldn't be difficult to dissipate or destroy it from the outside. However, Sienna chose not to do so. If they wanted her to come inside, thinking it would be to their advantage, she would go in directly and destroy it thoroughly, decisively, and overwhelmingly.
Without averting her gaze, Sienna silently walked into the fog. Eugene and Kristina did not stop her. It was not only due to their trust in Sienna but also because they understood that trying to stop her at such a moment was futile.
Sienna entered the fog and was swallowed by it. Eugene, keeping Kristina close, also walked towards the fog. His vision turned completely black. However, it wasn’t that the thick fog was obscuring his sight. The fog had taken away his vision entirely. Blind — this was Balzac Ludbeth’s Signature.
"I expected it to be used below,” commented Eugene.
Eugene blinked several times, though his eyes couldn't see. He knew from past battles in Samar how deadly a large-scale application of Blind could be — if millions of the Divine Army were visually impaired simultaneously, it could have been disastrous.
Of course, they had prepared for such a possibility. If Balzac had cast a veil of Blind on the ground, the sun Eugene had created would have immediately torn through it.
"Hmm." Eugene tilted his head slightly. Though his vision was blocked, it didn't mean much to him. Even without sight, his other senses remained intact. In fact, he didn’t even need to rely on those other senses. Just by blinking a few times, his vision returned.
"Magic like this can't possibly work on me," Eugene muttered as he surveyed his surroundings. Kristina, too, had regained her vision on her own. She sighed softly next to Eugene.
"You chose not to listen to Sir Eugene’s advice,” she said.
Balzac had been spared, allowed to flee, and even advised to run. Kristina narrowed her eyes as she stared ahead. Balzac stood in front of the firmly shut gates.
"I almost expected you to try entering the throne room outright. Doing so would make my position as the gatekeeper quite ridiculous, wouldn't it?" Balzac adjusted his usual glasses slightly as he smiled.
"Gatekeeper?" Sienna tilted her head as she muttered.
Blind was still in effect. However, Sienna had not lost her sight from the beginning. One of Sienna's signatures, Empress Rule, allowed her to dominate magic at a lower level than hers. Although Empress Rule typically had several limitations when it came to black magic, Absolute Decree allowed it to control even black magic.
"The door is already open, so why would you need a gatekeeper?" Sienna commented.
Sienna's chilly voice caused Balzac's shoulders to twitch.
“Haha…" Balzac let out a hollow laugh after immediately turning around.
Until just moments ago, the door had been shut, imbued with multiple spells to ensure it would never open. Yet, unbeknownst to Balzac, it now stood wide open.
"The door is open, yes. But if you do not allow entry, is it not the same as being closed?" Balzac gave a bitter laugh as he looked forward again.
"Balzac Ludbeth," Sienna spoke as she extended Mary forward. "What are you as you stand before me now?"
Balzac didn’t reply.
"Former Black Tower Master? A wizard? A black wizard? The gatekeeper of Babel?" questioned Sienna.
"All of the above," Balzac responded.
A dark staff appeared from the drifting fog. Balzac held the staff in his left hand and stretched out his right hand towards Sienna.
"And also the Staff of Incarceration,” he added.
Creak.
The palm of his right hand split open, revealing a small mouth.
"Good."
Sienna nodded.
"Then die."
Mary flashed brilliantly with light.
Openbookworm & DantheMan's Thoughts