The club swung by his emaciated body was far heavier than expected.
I charged in boldly myself, only to get beaten so badly I could’ve been left without a trace of my bones.
Even the club he wielded carried power comparable to the chains.
It was probably made from those chains as well. Maybe he had set some aside as spares.
“It’s enough to make you click your tongue in disbelief.”
Still, even if Faust had some skill in close combat, it was only that. Basic competence at best.
In a one-on-one fight, he couldn’t handle not just Lobelia but even Yuna.
It felt like he was using magic and dark magic to hold us back as much as possible, only using the club against those who managed to break through.
And even that, he wasn’t properly managing.
Yeah, Faust was being pushed back.
He had already taken more than five hits from Lobelia and had been struck several times by the others as well.
At that point, even with immortality, the damage to his body was visibly severe.
“He’s unbelievably tenacious.”
Even if no one besides Lobelia could land truly effective blows, Faust’s condition was disastrous.
It wouldn’t be strange if he died at any moment.
Not only were his wounds deep, but he was visibly exhausted.
And yet, Faust didn’t fall.
His entire body had been shredded, several parts torn off completely, and he kept coughing up blood—
“…….”
Still, he endured.
It was utterly desperate.
The idea of “immortal” now felt different.
Tap!
Lobelia once again succeeded in closing in on Faust.
His magic and dark magic were often easily nullified.
Most of the Under Chain forces that were once vast in number were occupied holding back the main Imperial Army, and we had nearly dealt with the rest.
There were still plenty left, but none capable of interfering in this battle.
“The situation’s quite different from back then, isn’t it? Wouldn’t you agree, Great Sage?”
“….…!”
Lobelia looked relatively composed, while Faust was desperate to the extreme.
He felt different from the final boss candidates we’d seen so far.
He wasn’t the type to overwhelm enemies with sheer power, nor the type to maintain overwhelming presence even while dying.
Faust was simply desperate.
There was no composure of the strong.
No overwhelming aura.
Just a relentless, grim determination to survive.
Boom!
Lobelia’s fist and Faust’s club collided.
Craaaash!!
Soon, after an uncountable number of thunderous crashes, the club Faust had been holding shattered.
Crack!
Lobelia’s fist, which had just destroyed the thick bone club, finally slammed straight into Faust’s face.
Everything up to now had already shown it; wherever Lobelia’s attacks landed, it burst apart without exception.
This time was no different.
Craaaaack!!
Faust’s head was blown away by crimson lightning.
No matter how formidable he was, losing his head should have been the end.
He shouldn’t be able to move anymore. No, he had to be unable to.
But…
The strange unease didn’t fade. Even as I watched his head get blown off and his body collapse, something felt wrong.
“…….”
Even without words, everyone shared the same feeling.
It wasn’t over yet.
Even after blowing away the head of a man who had been so relentlessly tenacious and desperate, it didn’t feel like it had ended.
“No way?!”
Realizing where that unease was coming from, I immediately looked up at the sky.
The ritual magic Faust had been risking his life to prepare. The one he never once tried to retrieve the chains for, even while fighting us.
I had taken something for granted.
The premise itself might have been wrong.
Killing Faust wouldn’t necessarily stop the ritual.
***
Jeff wasn’t particularly strong compared to the others around him.
Even though he came from the Cradle, the people around him were simply too exceptional.
Helena, the Oracle. Dietrich, the Sword Saint. And recently, even Johan had begun to surpass him.
Of course, Johan relied on many variables and external aids.
Even so, Jeff was certain now. He could no longer defeat him.
Still, Jeff had an ability he didn’t fall behind in.
“Haah…”
Releasing divine power to make his presence known, Jeff found himself surrounded by countless dark mages even now.
He had been cutting them down one by one.
But he wasn’t overwhelming them. He couldn’t even take one down with a single strike and was instead stuck in a muddy, drawn-out fight.
His use of divine power for healing and defense made that possible.
Even if he lacked a decisive blow, he could endure more stubbornly than anyone else.
That was Jeff’s specialty.
“Come on! Bring it!”
An iron wall.
Jeff shouted boldly.
The dark mages, having spotted the radiant light, swarmed in like moths drawn to a flame.
But what awaited them at the center wasn’t a roaring blaze. It was nothing more than a tiny ember that could go out at any moment.
Yeah, Jeff was being pushed onto the defensive.
No matter how tough he was, without the offensive power to match, this outcome was inevitable.
And yet, Jeff burned on.
He pushed himself to the limit, using that radiant light to draw the moths in.
Because in the end—
“What the hell are you thinking?!”
—he knew she would come.
Covered in blood, Jeff gave a faint smile. Melana, looking at him with worried eyes, hadn’t changed at all.
She hadn’t changed and that alone was enough for him.
Melana hadn’t betrayed him.
“You idiot!”
Even as she saw the dark mages closing in, Melana grabbed the unmoving Jeff and forcibly pulled him away, starting to run.
Jeff, as if he had no choice, let himself be dragged along, fleeing from the dark mages.
“Why did you come?”
“Melana, get it straight. I didn’t come…you did.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit!”
Jeff grinned slyly, and Melana snapped at him, clearly irritated.
“I knew you’d come.”
“I told you to stop talking nonsense!”
Jeff had nearly died just moments ago.
If he had stayed there, he would have eventually been overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
Yet he didn’t run. He held his ground, drawing the enemies in.
He scattered brilliant light so anyone could see.
He was calling out to her.
And Melana fell for that obvious ploy. She couldn’t help it.
“You dumb, brainless idiot!”
“Hahaha!”
“What the hell are you laughing at?! Can’t you read the situation?!”
“No, I’m just happy.”
“You’re insane.”
Even in such a dire moment, Melana frowned at Jeff’s carefree laughter and turned her head away.
Jeff had always been like this….bright as light itself. The complete opposite of her, who shrank back in fear of death.
“Melana.”
“If you don’t want to bite your tongue off, keep your mouth shut. You’re heavy enough already. It’s hard to run while carrying you.”
“Marry me.”
“Shut… Hey, you lunatic! Who proposes like that?!”
“Hahaha! So what’s your answer?”
“No!”
“Well, that’s a failure. Guess I’ll have to try again somewhere with a better atmosphere next time.”
“Atmosphere, my ass. I’m not marrying you. You idiot.”
Melana grumbled, her face bright red. Jeff smiled brightly again as he watched her.
That only drove her crazier. There was no way to win against him.
“So, you don’t like me?”
“……”
“You do like me, huh?”
“That’s the worst thing about you, Jeff. Seriously, go die.”
“I like you. Enough that I’d die with you.”
“……”
Melana came to a sudden stop.
It was the one thing she least wanted to hear.
“You live.”
“Okay.”
Melana had always been afraid.
Afraid of what would happen after she died. Worried about Jeff being left alone.
That’s why she sought out Faust and walked straight into his trap.
“Even if I die, you keep living.”
“I will. I’ll live on, remembering you for the rest of my life.”
“Don’t be sad. And don’t go getting yourself screwed over somewhere just because I’m not around.”
“Can’t promise that.”
“……”
“But if you marry me, I’ll at least try to remember more of the happy moments.”
“You piece of trash. You’re using my worry against me to threaten me?”
“Puhahaha!”
He was always like sunshine.
Only after seeing that did Melana finally manage to let go.
Not of life but of worrying about what came after.
If it was Jeff, he’d be fine. She could finally admit that.
“Then propose again somewhere with a better atmosphere, you idiot.”
In the end, Melana left the door slightly open.
It was practically the same as saying yes.
And just as the tightly shut door of her heart began to crumble in the sunlight—
Clatter!
“……!”
As always, the harbinger of death came for her without warning.
The hand that had been holding Jeff’s was pulled away as if something were dragging it.
Chains coiled around her arm burst out of thin air and yanked her back.
The suddenness of it all left both of them unable to even grasp what was happening.
Clatter!
“Ghk!”
Melana was dragged away by the chains. Beyond the chains that had shot out from the air, a dark presence flickered faintly.
Jeff ran with everything he had to save her, but there was no way his hand could reach her.
But Jeff did not despair.
To reassure the Melana being dragged away, he smiled and declared,
“Just wait a little! I’ll come save you!”
“Do whatever you want, you idiot.”
Seeing that smile, Melana let out a bitter laugh.
***
Even after Faust, the one at the center of the ritual, was brought down, the ritual did not stop. It was already close to completion.
It had to be stopped.
“Ariel!”
In this situation, there was only one person who could respond the fastest.
At my urgent call, Ariel immediately looked up at the sky.
As if it were a single motion, she raised her staff, and just as she was about to forcibly shatter the magic circle—
“Huh?!”
Something revealed itself between the chains moving as they formed the magic circle.
The ritual was not yet complete.
But Faust’s obsession went far beyond anything we had imagined.
Long chains stretched across the sky.
People hung from those chains.
“You despicable bastard!”
They were hostages.
Ariel’s large-scale bombardment would put their lives at risk as well.
But if we tried to prepare a precise strike, it wouldn’t have enough power to break the ritual.
Rescue them all first?
If we had that kind of time, we wouldn’t be this desperate.
“Damn it…”
Among those hanging limply from the chains were familiar faces. Melana and Ollie.
From the start, Faust had taken those two to prepare for exactly this.
Once again, the words of Lapis and Mephi echoed in my ears.
Faust does not care about means or methods.
He has no convictions, no cause.
Only his objective matters.
There was nothing wrong with those words.
I didn’t think we let our guard down.
It was simply that Faust was far beyond anything I had imagined.
A fleeting moment of hesitation.
A split second of faltering.
That alone was enough. Faust had prepared all those hostages for that very instant from the start.
And that single moment decided everything.
Hummm!
The ritual was completed.
From the center of the magic circle, a single strand of black light fell.
It was so thin it looked as though it could snap at any moment, like a lone raindrop falling from the sky.
Tap.
That light touched Faust.
The beam that fell onto his grotesquely destroyed and twisted corpse began to thicken. The process was eerily silent.
And when that black light finally swallowed Faust’s entire body—
“Can you see it?”
Faust’s voice rang out once more. As if he had never died, he rose to his feet, and every wound etched into his body had vanished.
Within the black light, Faust quietly extended his hand.
Even in that moment, the beam consuming him continued to grow.
“It begins here.”
Faust reached his hand toward the boundary between that light and reality, but the boundary only stretched farther.
“It starts at my fingertips.”
It was a familiar sensation.
The feeling of being overwhelmed by a higher existence. Not mere strength, but power that naturally inspired awe.
It was the same presence the prophet had when he obtained the sacred relic and the same as the judge who held all seventy-two demons.
If I dared to put it into words—
“From my fingertips, the world will forget death.”
It was the domain of a god.
“Rejoice in this, all of you….gods, demons, the emperors of the human world, and those abandoned in its lowest depths! This hell shall be equal for all!”
Faust who was reborn as the Horseman of the Apocalypse and the harbinger of death shouted,
“Today is a feast day!”
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