CHAPTER 443

OVERWHELMING

Eggor stood at the wall of the fortress, Alex on his right, Cain on his left, as they stared at a scene beyond their wildest dreams – two massive, world-shaking islands were ripped out of the earth and into the sky, tied to the fate of a castle of stone. Piles of rubble and debris fell off the rugged edges of the ceaseless, floating rocks around the fortress, stirring empty winds into the existence. A green paradise mounted by tall trees, weaving gardens, rivers and waterfalls now bounding off of the edge of the island on one side, with a mountain-capped valley stacked with breathtaking architecture on another.

It should have been impossible – yet, he made it possible, Eggor mused inwardly. All of this was possible exclusively thanks to Primul. No one but him came even close to grasping the essence of the Eternal Orbiter and how he fashioned the formation to support two massive eco-systems strapped to the floating islands ripped straight out of the earth itself. Yet, it was there, connected by invisible threads, linked forever, until the end of time.

“… the bastard really did it.” Cain mumbled, sucking in a cold breath.

“—I’ve to admit… I thought he was lying.” Alex said. “I think we all did.”

“We did,” Eggor said. “Except Lino.”

“… suppose he knows the best, in the end,” Alex sighed. “If this won’t shock the world… I don’t know what will.”

“—I wouldn’t worry,” Eggor chuckled. “He always manages to top himself. Soon enough people will have forgotten of the castles ripped from the earth.”

“… we should also head over to the Edge,” Cain said. “The island is already surrounded.”

“… yeah, let’s.” Eggor nodded. “This… ain’t gonna be easy.”

**

Dangwe stared at the phenomenon unfolding before his very eyes – two, massive islands orbiting a single fortress high in the sky, ripped out of the earth. Beyond shock and awe was a trace of concern, worry, as his brows fell down, limping into a frown. Yog’son stood by his side, similarly shocked by the scene. More so the one that preceded the current one – a massive chunk of earth heaved up into the sky and adjoined to the cold stone.

“… Lino has found someone…” Dangwe mumbled. “Who most-likely knows formations better than all our heads combined. It seems that the only restrictions are time and resources.”

“—w-what are your Orders, Your Grace?” Yog’son recovered rapidly, asking.

“Gather our forces,” he said. “We are going to the Edge.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

**

Vy was currently floating above the black mist, trying his best to bury the worry and anxiety he felt deep inside. On top of him, Lucky, Alison, Titus, Seya, and Ayar sat on the edge, overlooking the massive side of the beast and onto the misted isles. Perpetual, black fog covered everything to the point they weren't even able to discern how many islands there were in total. It has already been nearly a week since Lino, Ella, and Amadeel descended, and no messages had come through since then. They had already also realized they were surrounded far and wide by dogs of war, and the sole reason they were yet to be attacked is because of Vy’s deterrence.

Every day they’d wake up worried, yet thankful, that the trio was yet to emerge from the mist. In addition, the fortress was yet to arrive, meaning that they’d have to fight their way out of an encirclement all on their own.

“—it’s fine,” Titus suddenly said, smiling faintly. “I promised Lord Empyrean I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“—how… comforting.” Lucky mumbled, rolling her eyes.

“Though I may seem this way,” Titus chuckled. “I am fairly strong, all things considered. I can protect you.”

“… he’s right,” Vy suddenly joined. “Save for the three freaks inside, he might be among the strongest people on our side.”

“… what the fuck?!” Seya exclaimed. “This boot-lickin’, ass-kissin’, clearly-into-dudes maniac?! What the fuck?!”

“…” Titus merely smiled, saying nothing.

“L-language, Seya!!” Alison cried out, blushing faintly. “Manners!”

“… oh, s-sorry.” Seya mumbled, lowering her head slightly.

“Besides, don’t we have the big guy?” Titus said, pointing at the Dragon. “Though he may have sworn he won’t fight Lord’s battles, he’s still taken a liking to us. He’ll protect us if everything truly goes awry.”

“—don’t put too much stock into me,” Vy said. “I can, at best, hold them back for a little while.”

“A little while is all we would need.” Titus said, glancing sideways toward the distant, seemingly empty horizon. “But… truly… the Lord has cracked many-a-soul. Almost everyone that matters is arriving here.”

“… yea,” Lucky nodded, frowning faintly. “That’s the strange thing; it’s not just the Descent. Holy Grounds, hermits, even a few High Lords… heck, it seems even the Cultists are here.”

“They are? How can you tell?” Titus asked, arching his brows in surprise.

"Lino gave me a talisman that seeks their unique Qi," Lucky replied. "After all, he's more likely to jam a sword through his own eye than to trust anyone completely."

“… the question is whether they know we know they’re here, and would that change whatever their plans are.” Titus said.

“Don’t be afraid,” Alison suddenly said, sitting next to Ayar and caressing his head gently, causing the young boy to suddenly stop trembling. “None of us here will let anything happen to you. I promise.”

“… t-thank you…”

“He he,” she snuggled closer, pushing Seya away. “Tell me something about yourself.”

“Hm?”

“What’s the best place you ever sailed to?”

“—uh…”

“Were there any interesting animals there? I’m always looking to expand my horizons with cute and quirky animals, you know?”

Lucky glanced at the scene with a mellow smile before closing her eyes and leaning against a spike, relaxing. She, of all people here, both Vy and Titus included, was the most relaxed. Many things went into building her confidence, yet prime one was that Lino and Ella had already told her all of this – down to the last detail, ever predicting the Cultists would arrive. Their job was simply to float here in place and draw attention and suspicion, to keep everyone around for as long as necessary.

She still had no clue what they were currently doing, but she was hardly worried; the combined strength of the trio was something that was difficult to match, no matter who she looked at, especially so due to their combined fighting style – Amadeel supporting, Lino drawing attention and Ella cutting away at them. It didn’t hurt that they were all beyond specialized in those roles to the point that Lucky dared claim there was nobody in the world who could match their performance if strength was equalized.

Opening her eyes suddenly she jumped, leaning over the edge as she saw a single figure emerge from the mist, cradled in thick shadows for a moment that folded over the edges of his body before vanishing behind him like smoke in the wind. She, like everyone else on top of Vy, immediately recognized Lino who had a rather relaxed expression on his face. He cast them a brief glance and winked with a smile, causing them all to relax and sit back down.

Not a second later, space in front of Lino ripped open as a single figure walked through. She had a faintly distorted expression, the pair of eyes staring at Lino as though he were already a corpse, fingers cramped into two bleeding fists.

“… considering you don’t look all that happy to see me,” Lino said, chuckling. “It’s odd you went out of your way to find me, isn’t it?”

“—you won’t be escaping today.” Two said, her voice cracking faintly. “Just as I’ve killed those who’ve sold their souls over to you, I’ll kill you too.”

“…” Lino’s smiling expression vanished, hardening. “You really… went after them? Innocent people? Most of whom were simple merchants who didn’t even know they were working for me?”

“Oh, they knew.”

“No, they didn’t,” Lino shook his head, sighing deeply. “This… haah…”

“… your lies end today.” Two suddenly extended her arm in an attempt to pull him into her grasp, yet found herself blasted backward by a world-bending, repellant force. Cries of wonder echoed out into the world as the mist surrounding the islands rapidly and violently swelled up with a cry, bounding toward Lino’s back as though he were sucking it in himself.

His shirt and coat ripped open as the mist seeped into his back, carving the sigil of chaos into his very bones as he gritted his teeth and endured the pain. Winds ravaged through the world immediately, causing tidal waves to appear in the open ocean, carrying onward for hundreds of miles.

Just as the world began faintly settling, and as the last of the mist found its way into his back, and as the silence once more dubbed itself the emperor, a roar, deep, grudge-bearing, angry roar bellowed out. And then another. And another. And soon tens and hundreds and thousands joined in, uniformly shaking the world down to its very core. Everyone, including Vy and those on top of him, stared in shock and awe at the scene that transpired before their eyes.

A swarm of massive Dragons, bounding all elements, heaved up from the earth into the sky, blanketing the horizon, as they swarmed around Lino, standing neatly behind him in perfect rows and lines, shaking the reality by their very presence. From young fledglings barely the size of an elephant to several that were three times Vy’s size, they were all-encompassing, far surpassing the combined might of everyone else currently startled into brief retreat.

Two stared at it all with deep indignation in her eyes, bone-deep unwillingness. Yet, she was no fool; today, clearly, would not be the day she would win, or a day they would win. The Empyrean… would vanish once more.

Dangwe rubbed his temples repeatedly, feeling the world around him slowly crack and fall apart. It was too… unpredictable. The Empyrean was too unpredictable. Despite the Empyreans’ innate nature, Dangwe was more than confident in being able to predict the general thread of their lives, the major events that could shake the foundation of the world. Yet, he faltered time and again. He had finally settled on admitting one simple truth, one that he had been avoiding thus far: nothing in terms of Lino was within his control… nor it ever was… nor will it ever be.