Chapter 137: Even Purification Comes in Pairs?

A colossal pillar of golden light pierced through the very heart of the cavern.

Darkness was torn asunder, devoured, and utterly vaporized.

The entire world was bleached, leaving nothing but an ocean of pure, brilliant white.

Every creature locked in battle, regardless of friend or foe, was forced to squeeze their eyes shut against the light—a radiance so holy it felt almost violent.

Wherever the pillar of light passed, filth was scoured away and evil spirits were purified into nothingness. The twisted, demonic runes etched into the rock walls trembled, disintegrated, and dissipated under the immense pressure.

The ghastly green soulfire flickering in the eyes of the Plague Messenger, Noth, suddenly shrank to a single, terrified point. The shadow of death seized his very soul; this was an erasure on the level of fundamental laws, an attack impossible to dodge, impossible to resist.

‘A priest… how could a priest possibly wield such a nonsensical power?!’

This was the last coherent thought that flashed through his consciousness.

Driven by pure combat instinct, he abruptly thrust the lantern—the core of his power—horizontally before him. The soulfire within it flared with desperate intensity as he drained the last shred of death energy from his body and poured it all into his final defense.

“Source of Plague, Shield of Decay!”

A shield as black as ink and as viscous as crude oil condensed in the air. Upon its surface, countless human faces, twisted in agony, emerged and struggled as if trying to break free.

But his deepest intuition screamed at him. This was not enough!

“Ice Wall of Bones, solidify!” he roared. A pale, grotesque wall of ice mixed with skeletal fragments instantly formed behind the Shield of Decay.

A double defense! This was his ultimate trump card, a combination that could theoretically withstand a legendary-tier forbidden spell.

However, before that pillar of pure golden light, all his struggles appeared utterly ridiculous.

Boom—!

The sound was not the thunder of an impact, but the deafening roar of annihilation.

The golden pillar swept through everything like a divine broom clearing away dead leaves. It first vaporized the pale Ice Wall of Bones, then pierced directly through the pitch-black Shield of Decay without a hint of resistance. The pained faces on the shield didn’t even have time to wail before they dissolved into the holy light, transforming into motes of pure, shimmering energy.

Its momentum completely undiminished, the pillar of light struck the lantern on Noth’s chest with perfect, horrifying precision.

“Crack—!”

Amidst the overwhelming roar, the crisp sound of shattering was exceptionally piercing.

That silver lantern, bound to his soul for countless years, cracked inch by inch before exploding into a cloud of fine dust.

Noth let out a choked grunt, his entire body jolting as if struck by a lightning bolt. He was flung backward, slamming heavily into the distant rock wall and carving a deep, human-shaped crater into the unyielding stone.

“Pfft…”

A thick, ink-like stream of death energy gushed from where his mouth should be, accompanied by the psychic wail of his soul being torn asunder. Spiderweb-like cracks spread across his pale, handsome face, and from within those fissures, wisps of golden holy light spilled out, purifying every last inch of death energy within him.

He was finished.

The source of his power was destroyed, the very foundation of his soul shattered. Nothing awaited him now but complete and total annihilation.

The entire battlefield fell into an eerie silence in the wake of that devastating blow.

Whether it was Eldara, locked in a desperate struggle with the Frost Troll Warlord, Korlak, or the other party members barely holding back the yeti leader, Noinam—all of them froze, their actions halting in shock as they stared at the aftermath.

Even Girousse, the goblin king locked in a deadly mental battle with Elaniel, experienced a violent fluctuation in his psychic power for a split second—an opportunity the Elf Queen immediately seized to launch a fierce counterattack.

“Cough… cough, cough…”

Noth, leaning weakly against the rock wall, struggled to lift his head. He gazed at the pink-haired priestess, still bathed in a fading golden radiance and holding a strange, staff-like weapon.

In the soulfire of his eyes, now on the verge of extinguishing, there was no anger, no hatred. Instead, there was a tenderness that bordered on obsession.

“Truly… an interesting power…” His voice was intermittent, but it was no longer hoarse. It had somehow recovered the clarity it possessed when he was alive.

“I can feel it… you are tainted with… her soul mark…”

“That is the unique vow between us… It’s telling me… it was you… who purified Farina, wasn’t it?”

Celeste was stunned.

‘Soul mark? Vow? What the hell is he talking about? I don’t remember anything special happening when I took out that Farina chick!’

“Farina…” Noth whispered the name, and a smile of both relief and fanaticism bloomed on his cracked face. He looked at Celeste and, using his last ounce of strength, uttered a final dying whisper that left her utterly dumbfounded.

“Thank you… for helping me escape the control of that goblin…”

“And thank you… for sending me on my way…”

His voice became incomparably soft, laced with an attachment that even death itself could not erase.

“To be able to follow her…”

“To die at the hands of the same one who brought our end…”

“It is the most romantic reunion… I could ever imagine…”

“Farina… wait for me…”

As his last word fell, the soulfire in his eyes completely extinguished.

His body, caught in the brilliant holy light, dissolved into countless specks of light and drifted away with the wind. All that remained was a perfectly tailored black tuxedo, lying in a heap on the ground, and a final sentiment that left the entire battlefield in deep, confused contemplation.

Celeste: “…”

Selene: “…”

Su Wan: “…”

Xia Lian: “…”

Elaniel: “…”

Eldara: “…”

The scene was dead silent.

Everyone’s brain was desperately trying to process the absolute explosion of information contained in those last words.

Farina? Who was that? This powerful commander of an undead legion had a “vow” with her? So, this was… a love story that transcended life and death?

And Miss Celeste was the one who played both matchmaker and executioner, sending them both off to the great beyond?

Celeste felt her own CPU overheating.

‘Holy crap! What the hell is this plot twist?!’she screamed internally.’This guy dropped a massive lore bomb on me right before kicking the bucket?! So it turns out he wasn’t loyal to that goblin king, he was being controlled? And he was Farina’s devoted boyfriend?”I purified Farina, and now I’ve purified him. Does that mean… I just officiated a tragic-end wedding for an undead ship?!”This drama is way too messy! Is the dating scene in the afterlife this goddamn intense?!’

“Sister…” Selene’s weak, hesitant voice broke the suffocating silence. “Farina… wasn’t she the core of the last secret realm… that really good-looking Necromancer?”

“Shut up!” Celeste shouted subconsciously.

She couldn’t let the elves know about this! Otherwise, wouldn’t her glorious image as a “Hero from Another World” suddenly gain a bizarre new title like “Designated Cremator for Undead Couples”? The social death would be catastrophic!

However, it was too late.

Elaniel’s beautiful, wine-red eyes were flickering with the intense flames of gossip. She was looking at Celeste with deep interest, a gaze that clearly said: Miss Celeste, it seems you have many, many stories to tell.

Even the usually aloof Eldara couldn’t help but glance at her twice, a flicker of inquiry in her scarlet eyes.

“Ahem!” Celeste cleared her throat awkwardly, forcing a change of subject. “Uh… everyone, don’t worry about the minor details! The point is, we took down a BOSS!”

As she spoke, she abruptly swiveled her weapon, aiming it squarely at the Frost Troll Warlord, Korlak, who was still struggling against Eldara.

“Next! I’ve decided it’s you! Big guy!”

Her shout successfully dragged everyone’s attention back to the battlefield.

Korlak found itself locked in her sights. Its eyes, which held little wisdom to begin with, were instantly flooded with primal fear. It had just witnessed with its own two eyes how its powerful companion was blasted into slag by that terrifying golden light.

It let out a roar mixed with terror, swinging the massive metal rod in its hand with renewed frenzy, trying desperately to get rid of the annoying Death Knight before Celeste could fire. On the other side, the yeti leader, Noinam, also seemed to feel the pressure, its attacks growing increasingly violent.

But the true core of the enemy’s command, the goblin king Girousse, was now driven to complete madness by Noth’s sudden demise.

“Trash! A worthless piece of trash that couldn’t even handle a mere priestess!” he roared, his massive mental power crashing against Elaniel’s psychic domain like a tidal wave. “My collection! My perfect work of plague art! Destroyed by you, just like that! I will make you pay the price! I will rip out your soul and make it the most gorgeous decoration on my throne!”

Elaniel’s face grew increasingly pale. She was clearly at the end of her rope.

Celeste’s eyes narrowed. The transformation time for the Barbara (Special Armament Form) had already exceeded twelve minutes.

‘No more time to play around with you guys!’

Her high-profile targeting of the troll had been nothing but a feint.

Her true target, from the very beginning, was the goblin mastermind attempting to crush the Elf Queen.

Before anyone could react, the muzzle of her weapon shifted in an instant, locking onto Girousse, who was still locked in his mental duel.

[Elysian’s Note:

Having a good time with the story?

Every single bit helps immensely:

Thanks a ton for making this journey possible!]