Hundreds upon hundreds of thick silver-white bolts of lightning descended from the void, transforming the land into a forest of thunder. A suffocating aura of destruction filled the air.
BOOM! BOOOM!! BOOOOM!!!
Those serpentine bolts of argent thunder struck down indiscriminately—onto Suah's massive form, onto the three demigods, onto Edward, and even onto Christine.
Clink!
Edward flicked out a gold coin.
"Leodero's lightning…ignores Lilith."
At once, endless grey fog swelled before his eyes. The majestic shadow of the Sefirah Castle flickered across his vision—a fleeting glimpse of that high domain. Once again, he had borrowed its authority to complete a divination, though he knew the answer could only be negative.
[Madman to the Right], Reverse!
Borrowing the Resurrection Stone Ring's ability of Spectre, Edward's spirit tore free from his body. He seized the potion he had prepared long in advance, lifted his head, and drained it in one gulp.
Immediately, he crushed the small box containing dice, snatching up the six-sided die within.
Forcing it to land with "6" face-up, he murmured grimly, "Now… let's see if fate is willing to favour me."
Rumble!
Endless lightning devoured everything.
Edward's soulless body—along with his clothes, his Leather Pouch, everything—was reduced to nothing but a handful of ashes in an instant.
Meanwhile, in his spiritual state—
The moment the potion entered, he tasted the bitter price of drinking before full digestion: the agony of forcing advancement.
It was a pain that came from soul and marrow alike, his spirit expanding uncontrollably, his mind spawning wild, deranged thoughts. He stood at the brink of collapse and loss of control.
His spiritual flesh warped and twisted. Brilliant worm-like creatures formed from starlight crawled from his body, curling into half-circles that outlined strange glimmers—like countless illusory doors.
I must not…I cannot lose control!
Edward fought to focus, forcing a sliver of clarity into the storm of madness.
It's just a little bit more—just a little more until digestion is complete. With the double blessing of the Snake of Mercury and the die's luck…damned if I believe I'll fail this advancement!
As though in response to his defiance, a vast night sky unfolded abruptly before his eyes.
A sky dense with countless stars, each brilliant point of light weaving together into a river of dreams.
The worm-creatures wriggling free of him shone in the starlight, dissolving into motes of pure brilliance. Each spark reached out with invisible bonds to the stars above, twitching, twisting, yearning to escape his body and throw themselves into the jewelled galaxy.
Each carried a fragment of his flesh and a sliver of his consciousness—as though they were uncontrollable clones peeling away.
Edward's thoughts grew frantic, muddled, unable to resist the pull of separation.
But then, a sudden idea bloomed: If they separate, then let them separate.
Separation means they can be joined again. Just like every time I use Animagus—the body divides, in a sense, yet as soon as I undo the transformation, it becomes whole again. So even if they scatter, they're still part of me. When I need them, they'll return, and I'll be whole once again.
The moment he realised this, the worms altered course. Instead of fleeing, they returned—together with the jewelled river of starlight—pouring back into his body.
His form turned translucent. The writhing and warping of his skin slowed, then stilled.
And then, Edward once again stood beneath that starry sky. Not far away stood that eternal, immutable door.
I've…succeeded.
The thought had barely formed when the door burst apart into myriad stars, surging into him, pouring endless streams of information into his mind.
No! I can't keep receiving this information. The longer it continues, the greater the danger!
I must…cut it off!
With sheer willpower, Edward tore himself from the current of advancement, forcing himself back into reality.
The world roared around him. Every boom heralded a thunderbolt of apocalyptic destruction—or perhaps the wrath of the True God, "The Tyrant" Leodero.
Fate's favour would not grant him endless immunity under the fury of a deity. Not unless Will had already ascended to Sequence 0—and if Will had truly become a God, then there would be no need to risk everything just to secure him a "tomorrow."
As expected, the moment Edward fully emerged from the advancement state, a bolt of thunder infused with Leodero's divine rage crashed down upon him.
——
Outside Bayam City—
The unceasing tremors and thunder made Klein's heart lurch with unease.
But he had no leisure to worry. After injuring a demigod in a surprise assault, he had wanted to press the attack.
Unfortunately, his spirituality was nearly exhausted, and the Sea God's Sceptre's backlash was imminent. He had no choice but to end the summons and retreat above the grey fog.
Lifting three Cards of Blasphemy, Klein hurled forth paper angels one after another, overdrawing his spirituality to grant Edward blessings—just to buy him even the faintest sliver of possibility.
At last, when his spirituality was utterly drained, Klein was cast out of the grey fog.
He staggered to his feet, gazed at the distant storm of thunder and lightning, and whispered a prayer:
"Edward…I've done all I can. The rest is up to you."
———
Backlund.
In Dr. Aaron's home, Will propped his chin on his hand and sighed.
"Haah…this isn't "favour of fate" at all. This is fate trying to kill me!"
Now I finally understand what Emperor Roselle meant by 'sunk cost.' If I give up now, then all my previous investment…it'll all have been for nothing.
"Fine, fine, fine!"
"You people really do have everything calculated—scheming heaven and earth, even the air itself. Pulling strings like it's all laid out. And here I am, the only honest man, just obediently waiting for my chance, huh?"
"Alright then. So be it."
A white serpent biting its own tail appeared reflected in his eyes. Will flicked his wrist, casually tossing a small paper crane into the air.
——
Above Blue Mountain Island, a tiny paper crane flitted out from the Spirit World, flapping its wings as hard as it could as it flew toward the region engulfed in thunder.
One after another, silvery, complex symbols leapt from its body, weaving together in an instant into a colossal, spectral, scale-less serpent.
The silver-white serpent's surface was inscribed with dense runes and sigils, forming interconnected wheels, each marked with distinct symbols.
Its scarlet, icy eyes swept downward. The serpent arched across the sky above, bent into a circle, and bit its own tail.
Its shadow fell across Edward's position, looming like an immense, mysterious wheel.
"Reboot."
A quiet voice resounded.
In the next second, countless black ashes reversed their fall, streaming upward to gather rapidly, condensing into a charred, broken body.
Fragments reassembled. Burnt flesh retracted, fading into nothing. In an instant, the ruined husk reformed into whole, living flesh. Edward's body—just moments ago reduced to cinders beneath Leodero's thunder—was restored to its original state.
At the same time, the bolt that had struck his spirit also rewound under the effect of [Reboot], returning along its original path. It lasted less than a second—but it was enough for Edward to cancel Spectre and drag his spirit back into his body.
For a brief moment, Edward felt it clearly: just like when using Animagus, he could now switch freely between corporeal and spiritual states.
So it's true…
Is this what a Spiritcaster really is?
The thought flashed and vanished. What mattered now was—
Escape!
From the moment he had shouted Leodero's name, his survival had ceased to depend on the Rose School of Thought or the Demoness Sect's demigods and angels. His only true "enemy" was the rain of thunder falling like a forest from the sky.
And his method of escape was simple.
He would use the [Hearth] ability he had obtained at Sequence 5, leaping instantly to any of the four special coordinates tied to his advancement ritual—the Spirit World, the Sea of Collective Subconscious, the Astral Plane, or the Harry Potter World.
Even if his advancement hadn't granted him the ability to switch between body and spirit, he would have chosen this method anyway. At worst, he could abandon his flesh and become a wandering wraith forever.
After all, based on Klein's own experience calling upon "Leodero," as long as one left the area, the Tyrant would not pursue endlessly. Otherwise, the Fool would have perished long ago.
Of course…it was also possible that Leodero had spared Klein precisely because he was the Lord of the Mysteries.
But no matter what the truth was, Edward had no choice left!
The Astral Plane. To the Evernight Goddess's domain.
I don't believe Leodero would dare storm into the Goddess's realm just to smite me!
Doesn't the Demonic Wolf have any pride?!
Yet at that very moment—
The purple-gowned witch appeared once more. Her body was blackened, half-charred by lightning, yet she seemed completely unbothered. She materialised at the spot where Edward had stashed Lilith in his pouch.
Turning back toward Edward, she gave a faint smile. With a casual wave, she stooped and picked up a leaf from the ground.
Snap.
Her fingers crushed it to powder.
And in the next instant, Lilith dropped into her hand as though out of thin air.
"Lilith!!"
Edward's face went ashen. He blinked forward instantly, pouring every ounce of spirituality into amplifying and distorting the witch's thoughts, reaching desperately for Lilith.
But the witch was unaffected. Smiling softly, she said to the terrified girl, "Heh…Lilith, I truly wish…I had never known you at all."
BOOM!
Another thunderbolt fell—thicker, brighter, more terrifying than all the rest. It engulfed Edward, Lilith, and the purple-robed witch alike.
The witch raised Lilith high into the air.
"Farewell."
BOOOOM!!!
The moment Edward's hand closed on Lilith's, a tide of silver-white brilliance consumed everything.
Edward, Lilith, the purple-robed witch—everything was annihilated, leaving not even a trace behind.
———
Backlund.
"Haah…so in the end, it still failed?"
Will leaned back helplessly.
"After all, it's a true god. How could someone like me—a mere Sequence 1—possibly contend against that?"
"So next…it's up to that so-called 'Fool,' isn't it?"
"…Damn it. How unwilling this makes me."
As he muttered resentfully to himself, his brows suddenly furrowed.
"Hm? What's that?"
———
[Note]: Enjoy the Extra Chapter! (hhaha~ Evilsmile*2.jpg) 845 Powerstones for another one tomorrow! Go, VOTE!
P.S. - There you have it! The girl on the cover! But wait, why does she have golden eyes, you ask? Heh. That little detail? That's not getting explained for, like, another 200 chapters. Enjoy the wait~
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Link - (P)atre(o)n.c(o)m/ Iseeblack [Remove the brackets]