"So who chose her?" Lian asked coldly.
From the moment he learned that Selina had been chosen as the new Vessel of the Calamity, this question had come to his mind.
Why her? Why, among all the humans present and even the Cindari, was Selina the one who had to be chosen? Was there something special about her that no one knew about?
Was it just a completely random and accidental matter? Or was there a much more complicated mechanism behind it?
Who was even responsible for choosing her? That bastard, the leader of the Cindari? Their founder? The Tree itself or the Calamity itself? Or even.... that being who was called Father?
There were so many scattered possibilities that it was basically impossible to make any proper conclusion.
Caelus moved back, roots rose from the ground but the young Vorhelm moved through them.
"Someone who had been watching your world even before your ancestors were born."
Lian did not stop his attacks even after hearing those words, but they made his mind even more confused.
The sentence was clear, but its meaning was impossible to understand without knowing more information, but did this mean that someone had been watching their world for thousands of years and then brought the Calamity of the monsters down upon them?
In fact, it was not only their world, at least all ten Ruined Realms had been destroyed by these Calamities and this small Special Area was also almost destroyed.
So was there really someone behind all of this? But could the words of this Cindari even be trusted?
Of course, this partly answered his question, it was probably the work of the same being who was called Father.
"What did you do to the Forgotten Tree?"
"The Tree?" Caelus actually laughed this time.
One of the roots targeted Lian but he caught it with Glacial Reaper Claw and broke it.
"It’s just a lock."
Seris sent Moonless Severance from the other side. And the Cindari dodged, although the second line of his clothes was cut.
"And locks don’t stay closed forever."
"Why are you freeing Black Silence?" Lian activated Thunder Step and punched him in the jaw.
"Freeing? You still think it’s imprisoned?" Caelus smiled even after the hit.
The young Vorhelm frowned.
The leader of the Cindari put his hand on the ground and First Root Dominion raised a wave of roots.
"The child is only returning home."
"What home?" Lian destroyed the first wave with Cataclysm Pulse.
Why was this idiot talking like a madman?
Caelus suddenly looked at the sky and his eyes were shining.
"When the sky becomes black again... the gates will open."
Lian only looked at him for a moment, none of the answers were complete, they were more like pieces of a mad sermon.
This stupid Cindari was not even trying to speak logically anymore.
He appeared behind him with Thunder Step and his hand closed around Caelus’s throat, lifting him from the ground and then smashing him into the ground with all his strength.
BOOM!
The ground under his body cracked and Lian put his foot on his chest.
"What exactly does Cindar want? What is his goal?"
"Brother Cindar?" The madman’s smile changed.
"He was simply the first one to understand that death is not the end."
[Calamity Gestation Progress: 95.7%]
Seris also saw the panel, and looked at the young Vorhelm.
Lian sighed, nothing useful was going to come out of this man anymore, every question had a half-answer and they were basically illogical and unbelievable and God knows if they were even the truth or a lie or an illusion.
Every answer was mixed with fanatical madness and they also had no time.
"Nothing useful is coming out of him anymore." He then looked at Seris.
"You finally understood." The young Pendragon answered tiredly.
"We should finish this right now."
"Then let’s finish it."
Caelus got up from the ground, First Son’s Authority was still active, the golden and black veins on his body were shining.
Father’s Blood was healing the last injuries.
He might have thought he had another chance to attack but.... he didn’t.
Seris moved forward.
[Sovereign’s Judgment.]
The mental pressure landed directly on the Cindari’s mind, this time he was expecting it, he resisted but even a fraction of a second of stopping ... was enough.
[King’s Breaker.]
Her sword hit directly at the center of the Root Armor on his chest.
The first hit.
Crack.
The second.
The Mana structure of the defense became unstable.
The third.
The central Barrier broke.
Caelus immediately activated Rootless Step, his body started sinking into the roots under his feet.
But Lian had sensed the direction of the movement before it was complete and he was not going to let him escape.
[Thunder Step.]
The leader of the Cindari appeared at the new location and Lian was already there, the man’s eyes opened for a moment and it was clear that he had not expected it and at that moment a direct punch hit his stomach.
The air left his lungs, his body bent and pain spread through his body again.
[Glacial Reaper Claw.]
Ice moved from his wrist to his elbow, shoulder and then reached his chest.
Caelus activated Father’s Blood, heat and Mana rose to break the ice.
But Seris appeared behind him, they were not going to let this bastard have any chance.
[Moonless Severance.]
The sword moved and the Slash appeared with a delay along the Cindari’s back.
A deep wound appeared from his shoulder to the bottom of his waist. Caelus fell onto one knee, but First Son’s Authority was still active.
He hit the ground with his hand and the roots started rising.
Although Lian stepped in and did not let him.
[Iron Fortress Charge.]
His shoulder hit Caelus’s body directly, this time the goal was not only to throw him away, he carried him with himself.
Ten meters.
Fifteen.
Twenty.
Then Caelus was smashed into the broken ground with great force and at the exact moment of impact—
[Cataclysm Pulse.]
The destructive wave entered through the Cindari’s body, from the inside, the inner Root Armor, Mana Channels and defenses strengthened by the Authority.
All of them shook from the inside for a moment.
Caelus opened his mouth and blood came out.
Lian did not move back and clenched his right fist, this time Thunder Calamity was different.
The lightning did not only move around his fist, it was gradually compressed, every extra spark was pulled toward the same point and for a moment the sound of the area mixed with a heavy buzzing sound.
The leader of the Cindari tried to create Crown of Thorns but Seris attacked from the side and cut the new roots.
He tried to activate Father’s Blood but the young Vorhelm did not wait for the healing.
[Thunder Calamity.]
The punch landed directly at the center of his chest.
BOOOOOOM!
The lightning entered from the front of his body and came out from his back, the blue and white wave tore the ground several meters away and Caelus’s entire body was covered in light for a moment.
First Son’s Authority shook, the golden veins on his neck went out one by one.
Black.
Gold.
All of them disappeared.
The System reacted.
[External Authority Disrupted.]
[Bloodline Resonance Collapsing.]
Caelus was still standing, but only because Lian was holding his collar and when he let go of him, the man took one step back.
Then a second.
Father’s Blood tried to close the wound, blood rose from the ground and reached his chest, but this time nothing happened, his internal structure had been damaged too badly.
Everything had been damaged by that same attack, he looked at the bloody hole in his chest and then slowly raised his head.
Lian expected fear, or anger, but his enemy only smiled, a real smile as blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
His eyes moved past the human in front of him and went to the Cocoon. Then they moved to the gray sky of the Dead Zone and finally he said in a broken voice.
"You think..." He coughed and blood fell onto his chin.
"I was protecting the Birth?"
Lian frowned, he felt that bad feeling again, he really did not like these bad feelings and recently he had been feeling them too often.
"No..." His legs shook.
"I was only... buying time until the family arrived."
"Family? What do you mean?" The young Vorhelm asked coldly.
But Caelus seemed unable to hear him anymore and his eyes were looking at the sky.
"When the dead return..." His smile was still there.
"You will understand why Father never forgets his children."
His breathing became shorter, but he still said one more sentence.
"Those who should be dead.... have awakened right now."
Then his body became limp.
Caelus Vael fell to the ground, for several seconds nothing moved, First Root Dominion disappeared and the roots that were in the air fell to the ground.
The golden light disappeared from his body and finally the man died...
[You killed a Level 35 Cindari]