"You say your King is our only hope against Agaroth... but he lost, did he not?"
Snow reasoned calmly.
"Nameless lost to Agaroth, and that happened long ago. From what I know of the Demon King... his greatest ability, the Devourer that consumes all things, endlessly strengthens him with no limit."
Snow had confronted Agaroth in the past as the Pure Vessel ..
and he had been utterly defeated.
During that battle, he had realized one terrifying truth:
Agaroth possessed a world-breaking ability ..
the power of the Devouring monster.
A monster that grows stronger by consuming others and stealing their abilities.
"I am certain the Demon King has grown stronger since his battle with Nameless... even by a small amount, that would be enough."
Snow spoke with certainty.
Adyr did not deny it ..he could not.
Nameless had sealed Agaroth inside Helmund...
but he did not seal his power .. only his presence.
Since then, Agaroth had fought many battles with the First Upper One .. Crimson.
Meaning Agaroth had not been dormant ..he continued to grow.
In other words, the Agaroth of today was stronger than the one Nameless once faced.
"So how do you expect to win with Nameless’ power alone?"
Snow asked sharply .. especially disturbed by the implication that his friend might simply be a vessel to be overtaken by another being.
The conversation left the others speechless.
They had never understood even a fraction of the truth until now.
In response, Adyr looked back at Frey.
"Frey Starlight... is different."
"What do you mean?" Snow frowned.
Adyr hesitated for a moment, then continued:
"What I am about to say is only my assumption... because I do not fully understand the plans of my Lord or of Gehrman. But what I am certain of... is that Frey Starlight is not the same as before."
"When Nameless returns this time, he will not return in the same state he had when he lost to Agaroth. He will return stronger."
Adyr spoke with unwavering conviction.
Faith.
Absolute and unshakable.
"When my Lord lost to the Demon King, he devised a long and intricate plan... one only he and Gehrman fully understood. If there is any path to victory... it lies through him, and nothing else."
Snow fell silent.
Was Frey Nameless himself?
Or a separate existence?
What did Adyr mean by "different"?
Just what was Frey Starlight?
"...Speaking of the Demon King seems premature when we cannot even defeat the Fourth Seat and his followers," Snow finally replied, exhaling tiredly.
He didn’t like any of this talk of "Nameless."
But he chose to wait ..
to see Frey’s stance first.
To focus on the war at hand.
"You say you fight on our side .. then is your Shadow Sect prepared to fight alongside humanity in this war?"
Adyr nodded.
"As long as my Lord is among you... we will fight with you to the death."
"Good," Snow said.
"I doubt we’ll get much use out of you in your current state... but if your fellow warriors are as strong as what you displayed before, that will be more than enough for me."
He turned to the elite class.
"My friends .. listen. I know everything that has happened is overwhelming, but you must adapt. What comes next will be far worse than anything before."
The time for games was over.
The battles to come would be SSS-rank and above.
Snow set his immediate goal:
Break through to SSS-rank.
Only then could he begin reclaiming the half of the Light Soul that Agaroth had stolen.
That half was currently held by Nito.. ranked ninth among the Upper Demons despite not being a demon at all.
Agaroth could copy abilities and grant them to his followers...
but Snow was sure he had not bestowed the Light Soul.
Simply because he could not use it.
It was the one power that was fundamentally anti-demon.
In other words, if Geppetto really gave the Light Spirit to Nito, then that would be the true Light Spirit Snow had been searching for all this time.
The legends about Nameless were astonishing, yes .. but Snow had no intention of relying on him, nor on whatever plan the warriors of the Shadow Sect were weaving.
Snow had already chosen his own path, and he would walk it to the end.
There were still many things he did not understand.
But what he did know was enough for now.
Enough to push his strength even further.
That was the resolve of the White Knight of Earth.
Meanwhile, Frey Starlight still lay unconscious... waiting for the moment his eyes would open, so he could return to the war once more.
...
...
...
Far away from the Shadow Sect...
The situation inside the Empire was in chaos.
Geppetto had descended upon human lands with an army of the dead at his command, accompanied by several powerful High Demons.
The invasion was rapid and overwhelming .. so much so that countless humans were slaughtered in the very first hour.
However, soon after, the Empire witnessed the return of ancient champions who rose to meet the invasion .. and they slaughtered an enormous number of Geppetto’s corpses in retaliation.
"What the hell is happening?"
Geppetto cursed, feeling dozens upon dozens of his puppeted corpses shatter — the backlash tearing into him like thorns of ice.
That was the effect of the old heroes returning.
From the Starlight Family, a terrifying swordsman appeared .. a master of the Star-Dust Style, refined to an overwhelming, celestial level.
He moved like a falling star across the battlefield .. swift, radiant, annihilating entire battalions of corpses alone.
Likewise, another figure rose from the Sunlight Family .. even more brutal in nature.
A warrior who unleashed the Flames of Elyos upon the demons .. a blaze that burned hotter than the sun, scorching entire formations from existence.
His combat style was violent, explosive .. a raging inferno that carved massive craters across the battlefield.
These two caused devastation unlike anything seen since the first age of war.
As for the Moonlight Family...
The gates of the Grand Library opened.
Thousands were evacuated within its walls.
Inside, the blind librarian Rem stood watch, accompanied by a young girl .. one who, by herself, held back wave after wave of demons.
Who would have thought that the little girl, Azura, could wield power comparable to Semiramis, the first Matriarch of the Moonlight line?
These three alone were enough to inflict deep wounds on the demonic forces .. and that was more than enough to ignite fury in Geppetto.
"After hiding all this time, they finally crawl back out, huh?
Good. Very good."
Geppetto laughed softly...and then turned toward the man standing behind him.
"The one who will slaughter humanity this time will be a human just like them!
Go. Show them despair.
Exterminate them to the last one!"
The masked man stepped forward.
Then, slowly, he removed the cloth covering his face.
A man in his early forties, with a light beard and long black hair.
His eyes burned with a blinding white shine... twisted with a deep, consuming darkness.
"The True Star... Abraham Starlight.
It is time for you to step onto the stage once more."
Geppetto laughed .. ecstatic as he gestured for Abraham to move out and destroy the heads of the great families.
"This corpse is the greatest treasure I have ever taken...
It will be my ticket into the Top Ten High Demons!"
Geppetto grinned, eyes filled with ambition and madness.
Rank Thirteen intended to climb higher .. much higher .. and he would do it through war.
The humans did not yet know...
That the brightest star they once revered ..
Had returned not as a savior...
But as their executioner.