260 Chapter 53
Ziel’s attack caused a tremendous explosion and blinded the eyes like painting the world a crimson color. The explosion’s impact was so terrifying that it shook the entire region of the continent.
After a long time, the explosion ended, and only smoke and dust covered the area. Kalya, Azalia, and the girls in the Monarch Palace slowly opened their eyes. They were dumbfounded when they saw the scene before their eyes.
Trees, mountains, hills, houses, and everything that existed before, including the city of Animaria, had disappeared. Azalia and the others could only see a giant crater as far as their eye could see and only the Monarch Palace in the middle stood upright on a high cliff like a pillar.
Ziel used the last of his strength to protect the Monarch Palace from the impact of his attack. Because of that, only the girls and the people inside the building survived the explosion. Apart from them, none of the citizens of the Animaria city were still alive from Ziel’s attack
(Is this Ken’s current strength?)
Kyouka looked at the scene with an incredulous face. Although she had merged with Shiori’s soul, Ziel was still not this strong in the past. Even the impact of a nuclear explosion that Kyouka knew from her homeworld wouldn’t be as dire as it was now. This was the first time Kyouka had seen Ziel fight at full strength.
“Ziel…” Kalya quickly understood what had happened. Not only her but Clara and the other girls could tell from the scene before their eyes. Kalya and the girls have been protected by Ziel again. It makes them sad because of their uselessness.
Lilith secretly unleashed her senses to the max to search for Ziel’s whereabouts. Even though she and Ziel were bound by a master and servant contract, she couldn’t figure out the seal’s location inside her.
Lilith had checked it several times, but she couldn’t find it because Ziel hid it so well. She looks like she doesn’t have a contract under normal circumstances, but if Ziel activates the punishment, the contract seal will appear and disappear again once it’s done. Because of that, Lilith couldn’t check Ziel’s condition through their contract.
“Ken… He should be around here!” Azalia clenched her fists tightly, but then she remembered seeing something fall from the sky. However, it wasn’t clear because the light from the explosion was so dazzling, not to mention the smoke and dust covering the entire area and blocking her view. But from his posture, She was sure it was Ziel.
Azalia’s voice caught the attention of Kalya and the girls. They realized now was not the time to sink into their sorrow. The most important thing was to find Ziel’s whereabouts and confirm his condition.
“Are you sure it was Ziel and not the Sacred Demonel?” Kalya asked hopefully.
“I’m certain!” Azalia answered thoughtfully. She couldn’t have said it if she had doubts about it.
“Okay! In that case, we better spread out to find him quickly!” Kalya looked at Azalia, then at Clara and the other girls. They nodded, and even Princess Cordelia joined in on searching for Ziel.
Kalya, Azalia, and the other girls quickly spread out in all directions in the crater to look for Ziel’s whereabouts. The girls searched very carefully and didn’t even hesitate to dig the ground with their hands because they were afraid of accidentally hurting Ziel if they used magic.
The girls ignored their muddy hands after digging the ground, and their faces smudged with smoke and dust. They just wanted to find Ziel quickly. Kalya and the girls searched for a while and still haven’t found Ziel’s whereabouts. Even so, none of them complained.
Clara continued searching for Ziel even though she was sweating and looking very tired. But her efforts finally paid off. While surveying the area around her, Clara saw a buried hand. If she hadn’t watched it closely, Clara might have missed it.
“That is…” Clara ran and approached the place. Then she cleaned the ground around the hand and was shocked to see the face of the buried person. After that, tears flowed from her eyes.
“Ken!” Clara removed the dirt covering Ziel more quickly. Her heart ached when she saw Ziel’s current condition. Although Clara found Ziel intact, his whole body was full of wounds from being torn apart by the space storm.
In addition, the burn from the skill Ziel used earlier was terrible and made the previous wound even more severe. Some of the bones in his body were visible from the burning flesh and shattered by the energy blast. Clara also discovered that almost all of Ziel’s internal organs were damaged, making her face sink.
Ziel couldn’t heal himself as he was currently unconscious. Moreover, he had run out of strength after the fierce battle against the Sacred Demonel, and his body was completely dry, without a shred of power remaining.
Ziel activated his last skill, not using his strength but with the power of lightning from nature. If it weren’t for that, he wouldn’t have had enough power to create such a huge energy blast and obliterate the Sacred Demonel.
Clara immediately gave Ziel first aid and didn’t forget to tell Kalya, Lilith, and Princess Iris through her communication brooch. Not long after, the three girls appeared along with Azalia and the others.
“Ziel!”
“Ken!”
Kalya and the girls shouted the name of the boy who was lying unconscious. They quickly checked Ziel’s condition and the reactions they showed were the same as Clara’s before.
“How can it be this terrible?” Kalya said in a trembling voice after checking Ziel’s condition. She knew no one could answer her question, but she subconsciously said it.
Kyouka and the other girls couldn’t help but be silent because they were as sad as Kalya after knowing Ziel’s severe injuries.
“We’d better take him back to the Monarch Palace immediately and give him intensive treatment.” Azalia said to Kalya. She intended to bring Ziel back to the Monarch Palace immediately, but she couldn’t do so in front of his fiancé.
“You are right! Let’s take him back to my room! It was safer there, and no one would interfere with his treatment.” Kalya picked up Ziel without waiting for a reply from the girls because she knew they would not object to her decision.
After that, Kalya, Ziel, and the girls left the place and returned to the Monarch Palace. Fornius and Aghares had also fled on Azalia’s orders to avoid any trouble due to their conflict with Princess Cordelia.
***
In the Monarch Palace’s secret room, Raphael and the two people with him were confused after feeling a tremendous earthquake far more terrifying than before.
“What’s going on out there? This room is supposed to be earthquake-proof. But it was already shaking twice from their fight. What’s more, the vibrations this time were much different than before. What kind of attack could make this earthquake-proof room shake so violently?” Raphael muttered. He suddenly raised his eyebrows after feeling something on the chains that bound him.
King Regulus and Prince Ozkar just stared at him and didn’t dare to say a word for fear of disturbing Raphael.
Raphael used his strength and tried to break the chain again. Unexpectedly, his attempt this time was successful, and the chain was broken.
(What is happening?)
Raphael was shocked to see the chain shatter easily and turn into light particles.
“Could it be…” Raphael thought of one possibility why he could break the chain.
“You come with me! We will check the situation outside!” Raphael walked towards the exit of the secret room.
“Isn’t it very dangerous outside, Mr. Raphael?” King Regulus was taken aback by Raphael’s words. He saw with his eyes that the Sacred Demonel was very strong, and even Raphael was powerless against her.
“I want to check something. If you don’t want to come, you can stay or return to your place.” Raphael snorted and left the room without waiting for King Regulus’s answer.
“Wait, Mr. Raphael! We’ll come with you! Come on, Ozkar!” King Regulus looked at his son and then followed Raphael.
When Raphael arrived in front of the Monarch Palace, he was astonished at sight before his eyes.
“What is this? Was this the result of Princess Azalia’s fight against the guardian of the continent? If so, where are they now? I can’t feel their presence. Is it possible that both of them are already dead?” Raphael said in disbelief. He knew Azalia was stronger than him, but their difference wasn’t that great. The terrifying sight in front of him now could only be caused by a person possessing a level of power far beyond him.
“Unless… Princess Azalia has a god-rank artifact that has tremendous destructive power.” Raphael muttered. He couldn’t believe that Azalia could do such damage with just her strength. Raphael was sure that Azalia had brought an artifact from the divine race with her to save her life at a crucial time.
“Yes. That’s the only possibility that can explain this situation.” Raphael tried to convince himself.
On the other hand, King Regulus and Prince Ozkar still hadn’t returned from their shock. But upon hearing Raphael’s voice, King Regulus returned to his senses.
“What has happened? Where is the Animaria city!? Where are the residents of my kingdom!? Who has done this!” King Regulus roared hysterically with bloodshot eyes. He was furious about what had happened to the Animaria city and its inhabitants.
“Father! Please calm down! The guardian of the continent must have caused this!” Prince Ozkar jolted when he heard his father’s voice. He was speechless after seeing such horrific damage.
“Damn! Damn! Damn!” King Regulus could only grit his teeth and beat the nearby statue to smithereens when his son reminded him of it. He felt powerless against a being that even Raphael couldn’t win.
“Alright. There’s no point in thinking about it right now. you can still rebuild the city of Animaria.” Raphael said indifferently and left the place. He wanted to find Azalia’s whereabouts and ask her for an explanation. That’s if Azalia is still alive.
“Ah, I forgot to say. Suppose you meet a student named Azalia. Ask him to meet me in my office immediately. Besides, I asked you to gather the royal leaders from the other demi-human regions because I wanted to discuss something with them.” Raphael suddenly stopped his footsteps and turned to King Regulus, who looked depressed. On the other hand, Prince Ozkar was confused by Raphael’s sudden request to meet with Azalia.
“I understand! But, what about the other guests? Especially people from the human region?” King Regulus could only save his anger and sorrow for now. He knew that revenge against the guardians of the continent was unrealistic for him. Moreover, he didn’t know whether the Scared Demonel was alive or dead.
“I don’t have time to deal with them. You can deal with that matter on your own or ask for help from other royal leaders. Whether you drive them back to their territory or let them stay here for a while, I leave that to you.” Raphael walked into the Monarch Palace and answered without looking at King Regulus.
“I understand!” King Regulus could only clench his fists and leave the place with Prince Ozkar.
***
“What happened?”
“Is this the result of someone fighting?”
The people of the human region panicked after feeling the tremendous earthquake. They were in a closed room that had no windows. Therefore they had no idea what was going on outside.
“Do you know what’s going on, Merlick?” King Leonida asked with a gloomy face. His instincts told him that something big had happened out there.
“I don’t know.” Merlick shook his head. He was also as curious as King Leonida and the other kings.
“We have to check it out. I’m worried about my daughter out there.” King Raghnall said anxiously. He thought about Princess Cordelia, who was assigned to look for Kyouka and the others and still hadn’t returned until now.
“Let’s check it out. I also have to find out where my daughter is.” King Jonathan agreed with King Raghnall’s suggestion.
Merlick and the kings came out of the room. Besides them, Hikaru, the princes, and princesses also followed behind. When they found a window not far from the place, they were astonished at what was happening outside.
“What is this?” Someone muttered in a hoarse voice.
The kings couldn’t say anything after seeing the terrifying scene before them. If they had not seen it together in person, they might have thought the scene before their eyes was an illusion. Hikaru, the princes, and princesses, broke out in cold sweat and their faces were full of fear. Princess Freya and Princess Aishia looked at each other with worried faces.
(Is it possible that Ziel fighting with someone? So how is he now, and where is he?)
Princess Freya had many questions on her mind at the moment. Her body trembled slightly after imagining the level of battle that changed the terrain to such a degree.