Chapter 579: [A Society of Secrets] [26] [Desperation]

The grin on Morningstar’s face widened as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.

Crunch.

Crunch.

The sound of him chewing echoed clearly in the deathly silence.

For a moment, everything turned silent for Himmel. A sense of senselessness took over his mind.

His eyes remained fixed on Shyamal’s body as it tumbled across the ruined ground.

The silver-haired girl was still without an ounce of life in her.

Morningstar swallowed the last bite and licked the blood from his fingers.

"Tastes ordinary."

His mocking gaze shifted towards Himmel.

"I expected better."

BOOOOOOOM!!!

The ground around Himmel tore apart. Every shred of mana within his range gathered towards him.

The bright sun dimmed as though it were losing its power, and the sky darkened.

Morningstar’s smile slowly disappeared.

For the first time since arriving.

He felt something familiar, something he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

....The presence of Azrael.

Far away, Anastasia’s expression changed.

Christina and Nymeria suddenly grabbed their chests.

A pain neither of them understood pierced through their souls.

"Himmel..."

The body that had been constantly regenerating stopped completely.

Blood dripped down his chin, but he didn’t seem to care anymore.

The mana of the world began gathering towards Himmel like an endless ocean.

Slow silhouettes of figures appeared behind him, but they soon turned blurry and vanished.

Something was stopping Himmel from summoning his daughters.

Himmel still didn’t care. The blankness in his eyes turned into anger.

His body moved before the First Dragon could react.

Morningstar crossed his arms, bracing for impact while his face turned serious.

CRAAAAAAASH!!!

The First Dragon’s body folded around the impact.

His arms flung outward while his ribs bent slightly inward.

The dragon shot across the horizon like a meteor before crashing through dozens of mountain ranges.

The moment Morningstar crashed into the final mountain, Himmel appeared above him.

BOOOOOOOOM!!!

The mountain beneath Morningstar exploded.

Layers of earth folded around him, but he quickly got a grip on the situation.

Without hesitation, he jumped toward Himmel, slamming his shoulder into his stomach.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The impact shattered the atmosphere.

A circular shockwave expanded across the continent, erasing clouds from the sky and splitting the seas below.

Like a beast that had finally found worthy prey, Morningstar grabbed Himmel’s leg and swung him through the sky.

BOOOOOOOOM!!!

His body smashed through a mountain.

Himmel gritted his teeth and spun his body. His leg broke in Morningstar’s grip while his other leg slammed into the dragon’s jaw.

The impact dislocated the First Dragon’s jaw. The monster was flung away, and Himmel broke free.

Without hesitation, Himmel slammed his body into Morningstar.

"AAHHHHH!!!"

Digging both thumbs into Morningstar’s eye sockets, Himmel pressed hard.

CRAAAAACK!!!

For the first time in the battle, genuine pain crossed the First Dragon’s face.

Morningstar roared.

The sound alone shattered the surrounding mountain ranges.

His hands immediately shot forward and grabbed Himmel’s wrists.

The two monsters wrestled in midair.

Morningstar’s regeneration desperately tried to heal the damage.

Himmel pushed harder as blood poured down the dragon’s face.

"YOU BASTARD!!!"

Morningstar’s roar shook the heavens.

BOOOOOOOOM!!!

His forehead crashed into Himmel’s face, crushing his nose.

Himmel still didn’t let go. Throwing his head back, he slammed it forward again, driving his thumbs deeper into the dragon’s skull.

A genuine agony appeared on the First Dragon’s face.

"AAARRRGHHHHHH!!!"

The monster crushed one of Himmel’s wrists and pulled his eye socket free.

His hand immediately shot forward.

CRAAAAACK!!!

His fingers sank into Himmel’s shoulder as he ripped off Himmel’s entire arm.

The severed limb spun through the air, yet Himmel didn’t even react.

Without hesitation, he pulled up his broken leg and slammed it into the chest of the First Dragon.

The shattered bones in his leg worked like sharp shards, digging into Morningstar’s body.

His bloodshot eye stared straight into the dragon’s face.

Then he lunged forward again.

BOOOOOOOM!!!

His forehead smashed into Morningstar’s nose and his own embedded hand.

The dragon’s head snapped backward.

Before he could recover, Himmel followed with another strike.

BOOOOOOOM!!!

"ARE YOU STILL ENJOYING THIS!?"

BOOOOOOOM!!!

"ARE YOU STILL HAVING FUN!?"

A golden chain flew through the air, wrapped around Himmel, and pulled him back.

The sudden jerk made him lose his grip. His thumb, which was already buried inside Morningstar’s eye, snapped.

Himmel turned and looked at the face that was a fusion of Nymeria and Christina.

A divine voice escaped from the lips of the goddess-like being.

"You are destroying yourself."

Himmel remained silent, no word came out of his mouth, all he could do was look at her.

"Haha..."

A soft chuckle echoed from behind him. Himmel turned to look at the First Dragon.

"HAHAHAHA!!"

The monster laughed while holding a portion of his ruined face, which regenerated moments later.

Still in one of his eyes, Himmel’s thumb was still embedded.

His gaze shifted towards the woman as the smile on his face grew wider.

"He listened to you?" he asked. "Or perhaps... he listened to the body you are taking control of."

He straightened his back and stood tall.

"I wonder..." The ground beneath him cracked. "HOW HE WILL REACT IF I KILL THAT BODY!!!"

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The First Dragon vanished.

Anastasia didn’t seemed to care about the damage it will cause to the body.

With a cold look on her face, she raised her hand and thousands of golden runes appeared between her and the approaching dragon.

CRAAAAAASH!!!

Morningstar’s fist pierced through every layer of divine protection as though they didn’t exist.

His enormous hand reached toward her throat.

A grin twisted across his face.

"Let’s find out."

A hand grabbed his wrist and swung him away from her.

Himmel looked at Anastasia, panic covering his entire face.

"Get out," he said with difficulty. "Get out of here—"

"You cannot beat him alone," she cut him off. "He cannot be defeated alone."

Morningstar rushed in once again, targeting her while ignoring Himmel.

Himmel quickly got between them and used his remaining leg to kick the First Dragon away.

He didn’t even spare Morningstar a glance after that.

Instead, he immediately turned toward Anastasia.

The panic on his face had only grown stronger.

"Leave."

His voice came out rough and strained.

"I have lost someone already." His voice grew emotional. "Please, don’t put them in danger... please."

The dragon descended upon them once again.

Surprisingly, he didn’t attack her but slammed his body into Himmel.

"YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND, BROTHER!!!"

His voice roared across the entire continent as Himmel’s body was sent flying.

"THERE IS NOTHING THAT WILL STOP ME FROM KILLING EVERYONE AROUND YOU!!!"

He stopped pushing him away while the initial inertia kept Himmel suspended in the air like a broken kite.

"YOU HAVE NO ONE!!!"

As soon as the dragon’s roar echoed, Himmel felt a familiar presence.

A hand caught him and gently stabilized his body.

Himmel turned to look at a young man with closed eyes.

El shifted his head and looked at the First Dragon.

"You are wrong," he said calmly. "He has me."

---

The space around Shyamal’s corpse distorted and trembled.

A woman wearing a delicate black knight’s gown made of precious metal that possessed the grace and flexibility of silk appeared beside her.

Her long platinum hair was braided behind her back, complementing her sharp features.

Esmeray looked at the broken body of her unofficial disciple.

She crouched beside her and spoke softly.

"Let’s make a deal, Taishareth."

As if to prove her sincerity, she raised her hand and willed it.

The mana around her stirred, and like threads weaving together, something began to form.

A moment later, she was holding a beating heart in her hand.

Esmeray blinked and the whole world around her changed.

She found herself standing in darkness that was filled with souls in agony.

Without panicking, she looked up at the enormous figure before her.

The woman possessed eyes made entirely of luminous green light with no iris, pupil, or sclera.

The glow of her eyes gently illuminated her face.

A slim headband rested upon her head while a single braid pulled back her onyx-black hair.

Rising from her back were feathered wings of glossy black, arching gracefully behind her slender frame.

Elegant hands ended in long black nails sharpened to perfect points.

The Goddess of Misfortune looked down at Esmeray coldly.

"You planned everything, didn’t you?" she asked. "From sending Shyamal here to planting the thought of protecting Himmel."

Esmeray neither denied nor confirmed the accusation.

She simply repeated herself. "Would you like to make a deal?"

The darkness trembled violently as the goddess leaned forward.

"What makes you think I would ever work with you?" she asked angrily. "With someone who is actively putting my vessel in danger?"

"Don’t bother pretending you care about her," Esmeray replied calmly. "If you could, you would have changed vessels long ago."

For the first time, genuine anger appeared in Taishareth’s eyes."You dare judge me?"

Esmeray met her gaze without fear. "If you let Shyamal die, then you will need to start over."

She tilted her head slightly. "The ’Heart’ may appear soon. Do you really wish to lose the opportunity to claim it for such a petty reason?"

Taishareth glared at her for a long time.

Finally, she whispered, "What do you want?"

---

Esmeray blinked and returned to reality.

Even though she had spent a long time speaking with Taishareth, only a few seconds had passed in the real world.

Without hesitation, she placed the heart in her hand back inside Shyamal’s chest and repaired the broken veins and bones.

Using dark matter, she forced Shyamal’s body through an enormous shock.

The silver-haired woman screamed before immediately losing consciousness.

After finishing her work, Esmeray gracefully stood up and looked toward Aimar, with whom stood a boy who looked exactly like him.

"How is he?" Esmeray asked without any emotions in her voice.

Oliver glanced at her.

"Broken, but alive," he replied while staring at her.

Esmeray turned her gaze toward the distant battlefield where Himmel was fighting.

Without looking back, she spoke.

"You will only have one chance to save him."

She took a step forward. "Take him out of the battlefield."

Then she vanished, leaving Oliver to tend to Shyamal and Aimar.