Chapter 85
Silence did not last.
It never did.
A low metallic sound dragged through the shattered sanctuary.
Stone.
Dust.
And something heavier beneath it.
The Lord stood in the ruins.
Dust falling around him like dying snow.
Still.
Unmoving.
But not calm.
His gaze lowered.
Slowly.
Toward the broken ground.
Something stirred beneath the rubble.
CRRRK—
The Sword of War.
Half-buried in shattered stone… trembling faintly.
The Lord tilted his head.
Then walked forward.
No rush.
No hesitation.
Just certainty.
He reached down.
And grabbed it.
The moment his fingers closed around the hilt—
CRRKK—
The sword responded.
Not with light.
Not with fire.
But with pressure.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
As if the air itself had become too small.
Lord: "…So you broke it."
A pause.
Quiet.
Almost distant.
His eyes shifted.
To where Monessa once stood.
Only dust remained.
Still drifting.
Still disappearing.
Lord: "…Gone… again."
His grip tightened.
Just slightly.
Not rage.
Something worse.
Lord: "…After all this time…"
His voice lowered.
Lord: "…I finally had her back."
Silence.
Then—
a faint laugh escaped him.
Lord: "…Ha…"
Soft at first.
Then unstable.
Princess slowly pushed herself up from the rubble.
Her eyes narrowed.
Princess (thinking): What is happening to him…?
The Lord turned slightly toward her.
Lord: "You really think… you can stop me?"
A pause.
Lord: "…With this?"
Chris coughed, forcing air into his lungs.
Chris: "…Tch… he's lost it…"
Lord: "I will find her again."
His voice steadied.
But it didn't soften.
Lord: "…The ritual will begin again."
Guinevere steadied herself beside Chris.
Vendetta's golden shield flickered in the distance—cracked, unstable, but still standing.
Vendetta stepped forward, placing herself between them and the Lord.
Her hands trembled.
But her voice did not break.
Vendetta: "…And we will stop you."
A pause.
Vendetta: "…Again and again."
Princess stepped forward slightly.
Her eyes locked on the Lord.
Princess: "…I don't understand your rituals and the reasons behind it."
A breath.
Princess: "And I don't care how important it is to you."
Her grip tightened.
Princess: "But i know what you're doing… is wrong."
The Lord tilted his head.
Slowly.
As if listening to something meaningless.
Lord: "Wrong?"
A faint pause.
Lord: "…What do you know?"
Princess didn't flinch.
Princess: "I know people suffer!"
A step forward.
Princess: "I know people die because of choices like yours!"
The Lord's expression remained still.
But his voice dropped.
Colder.
Heavier.
Lord: "You know nothing."
Princess: "I know enough!
Princess : Awakening all gods can save humanity but what you are doing its only gonna cause more problems"
lord laugh slightly
lord:really?..So tell me Princess what do you actually know about the awakening?
Vendetta snapped sharply.
Vendetta: "Shut up!"
Her voice shook with urgency.
Vendetta: "Humanity has suffered enough for its sins!"
The Lord exhaled slowly.
Almost amused.
Lord: "…Did they learned anything from that?"
He looked toward the ruins around them.
Lord: "Then explain this."
A pause.
Lord: "Stonehaven—children used for immortality."
His gaze sharpened.
Lord: "Lumivale—rulers crushing the innocent beneath power."
a pause
lord:Princess what did you have done to stop that?
He looked back at them.
Lord: "…And you still call it justice?"
Silence.
Princess hesitated.
Just for a moment.
Princess: There are still good people.
Her voice softened.
Princess: "People who don't deserve this world ending like this."
The Lord's eyes darkened slightly.
Lord: "I never did anything to anyone."
A pause.
Lord: "…And I still lost everything."
The air around him tightened.
Lord: "Even those who claim 'greater good'…"
A faint pause.
Lord: "…still sacrifice others without hesitation."
Vendetta stepped forward again.
Vendetta: "Stop twisting everything!"
Suddenly—
the Lord's voice cracked upward.
Lord: "WHY?!"
The ground beneath him fractured.
Lord: "WHY DON'T I DESERVE A LIFE?!"
His grip tightened on the Sword of War.
Lord: "Why must I sacrifice for people who only destroy each other?!"
Silence.
Heavy.
Absolute.
Lord: "…No more words."
He lifted the sword.
Slowly.
Lord: "…It ends here."
The pressure changed.
The air became unbearable.
Vendetta raised her trembling hand.
Golden light expanded again—but weaker than before.
Strained.
Vendetta: I won't let you pass.
The Lord stopped.
Looked at her.
Lord: "…Move."
One word.
Absolute.
Vendetta clenched her teeth.
Vendetta: "…No."
The Lord raised the Sword of War slightly.
Not attacking.
Deciding.
Lord (quietly): Then you fall first.
BOOM—
The air shattered forward.
Vendetta reacted instantly.
Vendetta: "Divine Barrier!!!!"
Golden shields layered in front of her.
Radiant.
Divine.
Shaking.
The Lord walked straight into it.
with sword of war..
Unchanged.
Unstopped.
First layer broke.
Then second.
Then third.
Like glass under fate itself.
Vendetta's eyes widened.
Vendetta: "…No…"
The Sword of War moved once.
Just a horizontal swing.
CRAAAASH—
The Divine Barrier shattered completely.
Golden fragments scattered into the air like dying stars.
Vendetta was thrown back instantly.
Her body hit the ground hard.
No movement.
Princess's eyes widened.
Princess: "…Vendetta!"
The Lord stood beyond the broken light.
Still.
Heavier than before.
And he took another step forward.
...CHAPTER 85ENDS...