Vol 4. Chapter 99: The Past — Part Three

After a flash of crimson light,

a magnificent set of white-gold armor and a scarlet divine sword fell from high above.

However,

the armor was no longer reinforced by Holy Aura, and the divine sword was no longer wrapped in the Church’s blazing holy flames.

The Brave who had been revered by countless people as a hero, the savior of the world, had been completely devoured by the Blood Butterflies just like that... Not even a scrap of flesh or a single bone remained behind...

“H-How is this possible?!”

Mebili’s dragon pupils abruptly contracted, filled with disbelief and overwhelming horror. Even his enormous dragon body began trembling uncontrollably.

Watching his former companion die so miserably beneath the Blood Butterflies’ attack without even being able to resist was something completely beyond Mebili’s expectations.

Although Anze’s attack this time had been somewhat reckless, Mebili knew very well that the world-saving Brave had possessed something he could rely on.

The greatest characteristic of Anze’s ‘Holy War Body,’ when combined with the Church’s holy flames, was its unimaginably powerful vitality. Even if he died, he could be reborn from the flames.

Unless he was killed three or four times, it was impossible to completely eliminate this Heavenly Apostle.

Anze was a genuine human shield.

And yet now?

That human shield had actually been defeated so casually by that black-haired girl?

And his ‘revival’ had not even activated?

He was just... gone?

A peerless powerhouse of an entire generation had simply disappeared?

“Are you... fucking kidding me!!”

Mebili could not help roaring furiously as he rapidly spread his mana in every direction, attempting to locate Anze through his perception.

Unfortunately,

after searching for some time, Mebili still found nothing.

Across the vast frozen plains, Anze’s presence had completely vanished.

The instant Mebili realized that the companion who had fought beside him for so many years no longer existed, an indescribable grief spread through his heart like a virus, causing the great dragon to let out a sorrowful cry.

However,

as a top-tier powerhouse, the Holy Dragon King quickly suppressed his grief.

Because he understood very clearly that now was not the time to mourn his companion.

The next moment,

under the grave gazes of Mebili and Helitia, after completely devouring Anze, the swarm of Blood Butterflies abruptly changed targets and charged toward the two people possessing the strongest mana signatures present...

Facing the Blood Butterflies whistling toward them from every direction, Mebili felt an unprecedented sense of terror.

The feeling was even more horrifying than when he had once faced the Demon King empowered by the Shadow of Silence Power.

While trembling,

Mebili stared fixedly at the distant black-haired girl, an intense sense of danger suddenly surging through his heart.

“This monster... is extremely dangerous...”

The concentration of Shadow of Silence Power contained within her body had completely surpassed his imagination.

If this girl left the northern lands and entered the human world,

this power would undoubtedly contaminate the entire world.

By then, every living creature would become a bloodthirsty, savage monster. The entire continent would turn into a living hell.

There was no doubt that, in Mebili’s mind, the threat posed by this black-haired girl had already surpassed even the once-ambitious King of the Demon Race.

Furthermore,

after the three of them had released their power, Mebili could clearly sense the disgust and killing intent contained within the girl’s crimson eyes...

Clearly, the records in the ancient books had not been baseless.

Beings possessing the Shadow of Silence Power truly did harbor extreme hatred toward other living creatures.

A monster possessing such terrifying power, combined with endless hostility toward the lives of the continent, was unquestionably an unprecedented threat!

If she were allowed to leave the northern lands, the consequences would be unimaginable!

After realizing this, the Holy Dragon King, one of the guardians of the continent’s order, immediately revealed a resolute look.

Terrifying mana accompanied by overwhelming dragon might continuously surged out from his body, forcibly dispersing the oppressive field of Shadow of Silence Power surrounding him...

After restoring his dragon might, Mebili suddenly took control of the surrounding energy, and countless mana particles rapidly converged inside his mouth.

Since the girl before them was so dangerous,

for the sake of every living creature on the continent, even if only the two of them remained, they had to defeat this monster.

Besides,

surrounded by the swarm of Blood Butterflies, they already had nowhere left to retreat.

Fighting with their backs against the wall was their only option.

After signaling with his eyes toward the blue-haired female mage not far away, Mebili suddenly accelerated the accumulation of power.

Just as the Blood Butterflies were about to engulf him, a dragon-breath cannon containing devastating power abruptly erupted from the Holy Dragon King’s mouth.

Several dazzling golden beams tore through the atmosphere, carrying a magnificent force seemingly capable of piercing the stars as they violently bombarded the ocean formed by the Blood Butterflies ahead.

“BOOOOM!!!!”

Accompanied by an earth-shaking roar, a golden mushroom cloud suddenly erupted above the frozen northern lands.

The scorching force directly shattered the surrounding glaciers before instantly vaporizing them.

In a single brief moment, the endless frozen plains vanished completely...

The entire northern world was enveloped in dazzling golden light.

The Holy Dragon King

was indeed worthy of being one of the strongest beings on the Anqieka Continent.

Even an attack unleashed after only a short period of charging possessed such world-destroying destructive power.

The ocean of Blood Butterflies that seemed capable of devouring everything was also torn apart beneath the relentless bombardment of the Holy Dragon King’s mighty dragon-breath cannon...

It had lost its ability to engulf the Holy Dragon King.

After witnessing this scene, even the black-haired girl seemed slightly surprised.

Almost mechanically, she blankly tilted her head.

And during the brief instant when the girl ‘lost focus,’

the Holy Dragon King, possessing extraordinary battle experience, immediately seized the opening.

Without hesitation, he spread his dragon wings.

After absorbing the mana contained throughout heaven and earth, another golden dragon-breath cannon carrying overwhelming force suddenly roared forward like a ferocious beast, charging toward the black-haired girl not far away.

At the same time,

after receiving the Holy Dragon King’s signal, Helitia used an instantaneous movement spell and appeared directly above the black-haired girl.

Intense killing intent filled the blue-haired mage’s eyes.

As the Tower Master rapidly chanted, six Sanctuary-level magic formations of completely different colors and attributes quickly took shape across the sky.

With a wave from Helitia,

an endless barrage of elemental mana projectiles poured down toward the black-haired girl below like a violent storm.

...

Facing the enemy who had killed their companion,

the two peerless powerhouses immediately released their power without holding anything back.

Years of fighting together had given Mebili and Helitia an almost instinctive coordination.

Even now, after Anze’s brutal death, they were still capable of instantly organizing an explosive counterattack as swift as thunder.

They transformed all the rage and sorrow within their hearts into power and poured it into their attacks.

In the next instant,

the dragon-breath cannon and tens of thousands of elemental mana projectiles shattered the defenses formed by the Blood Butterflies before violently crashing into the black-haired girl’s delicate body.

And the two destructive forces even began reacting with one another.

Merging.

Converging.

Exploding...

“BOOOOOOM!!!!”

Accompanied by a deafening roar that shook heaven and earth, a dazzling death-light resembling the arrival of the apocalypse completely swallowed the black-haired girl.

Everything in the surrounding area, including the seemingly endless Blood Butterflies, was instantly reduced to ashes by the spreading death-light.

The terrifying shockwave traveled for thousands of miles, completely transforming the terrain of the northern frozen plains.

The vibrations from the aftermath were so powerful that even the Saintess of the Asumos Church, far away within the Divine Capital Grand Hall, sensed them.

And as the two people closest to the center of the explosion, Mebili and Helitia were also violently struck by the backlash.

They were suddenly blasted several thousand meters away, blood spraying involuntarily from both of their mouths...

Clearly,

even the two peerless powerhouses had suffered considerable injuries from that attack.

However,

they had no energy to care about the condition of their own bodies right now.

After stabilizing themselves within the raging explosion storm, the two immediately focused all their attention on the center of the blast, attempting to determine the current condition of that ‘Demon King’s dependent’...

However,

as the smoke and pale golden light gradually dispersed,

the moment the scene ahead entered the eyes of the two peerless powerhouses, their expressions abruptly changed.

From Mebili’s perspective, even if their combined attack could not defeat her outright, it should at least have inflicted considerable damage and substantially reduced their enemy’s combat strength...

However,

after seeing the scene before him, Mebili realized

that he had been far too optimistic.

Forget severely injuring her.

Their terrifying, earth-shattering attack had not even managed to scratch her...

“T-This is impossible?! This... this is absolutely impossible!!!!”

Overwhelmed by extreme shock and disbelief, the Holy Dragon King could not stop himself from roaring.

At this moment,

at the center of the explosion,

the icy cliffs and glaciers had already disappeared completely.

Yet somehow, an enormous sea of thorns had appeared in their place.

Countless thorny vines had completely surrounded the black-haired girl who had been the target of their attack.

And judging from the enormous scorched patches covering those thorns, it was precisely these vines that had blocked the combined attack of Mebili and Helitia...

The next instant,

under the stunned gazes of the two powerhouses, both of whom were beginning to question reality itself,

countless thorns glowing with eerie blue light gradually gathered beside the black-haired girl.

They twisted around one another, converging, intertwining, and distorting.

Finally, surrounded by surging dark-blue Shadow of Silence Power, they transformed into a blood-red flower bud roughly the size of a human.

And as the flower bud slowly opened, a young, bell-like voice filled with respect gradually came from within.

“Mother... these... are enemies. Do you need me to eliminate them?”