515. Final Frontier

This was it.

The final push. Edithe Dawrnrise watched as the United Coalition of the Human Lands converged on the ruined city. Inor had been reduced to rubble and debris. There were no walls left standing and girdling its peripheries, although there was a gray dome surrounding it. There were only the remnants of the Demon army, and the mass of wild Demons.

The redhead swept her gaze over her surroundings, searching for the rest of her company. She couldn’t find any of them. Not even Hadrian. All she saw were soldiers from the Hellbir League and the Sunmere Republic rushing around her. She even caught sight of a handful of tall Cyclopes tearing through a rank of [Greater Legions].

At some point during the battle, Edithe had been separated from her company. It must have been when the grand ritual to merge the planes changed into a summoning ritual. She had been so lost in the chaos, she didn’t even realize she’d been swept away from the rest of the Valiant Dreamers.

She wanted to find them— she needed to make sure that they were safe. But the redhead stopped herself as she took a step back. She nearly stumbled over something lying on the ground. Looking down, her eyes grew wide at what she saw.

It was a corpse. A dead body. Not anyone she knew. He was just a soldier who had been impaled through the chest. He looked up with lifeless eyes back at the redhead, and she pursed her lips. She glanced around her surroundings, seeing the dead adventurers and soldiers gathered at her feet. So many deaths.

But soon it would all be over. Just one final push.

So Edithe strode forward. She raised her staff as a white aura wisped off her body. The essences of the dead flowed around her, and she took in a deep breath. There was only a single hurdle left to overcome. She saw the hordes of wild Demons ahead. They fought fearlessly— savage beasts that didn’t understand that they were losing.

A wall of these wild Demons blocked the path of the army. And Edithe was going to shatter them. She raised her staff, whispering softly.

“[Vindication…”

She started. But she was interrupted by a screech. The redhead looked up just in time to see a [Savage Agarat] swooping down at her. Her eyes grew wide, and she stumbled back.

But before she could even react, a vial of yellow liquid zipped through the air and intercepted the wild Archdemon. Acid exploded all over the [Savage Agarat], eating away at its flesh before it could reach Edithe.

Blinking, she watched as the wild Archdemon slowly fell before her, before melting into a puddle of black blood at her feet. She backed up and turned to face a pair of figures standing behind her.

One of them was an [Alchemist]. A man with a grizzly white beard. He wore a blue cloak, and he carried at his side a Bag of Holding. She couldn’t see his levels, but she knew he was strong. Probably higher level than she currently was. He produced a pair of potions and tossed them into the air.

The vials exploded in the air like fireworks. Blasts of multi-colored sparks that sent a flock of [Vampyr Bats] scattering. Edithe just worked her jaw as she stared at her two saviors.

“Gabriel… and Jake?”

There they were. The two members of the True Valiants Company. The members of the Valiant Dreamers who left after discovering the truth behind the company. That their former leader, Baris, had kept the purpose of the Valiant Dreamers— protecting the Sword of Alexander— a secret. And because of that, the two split companies had continuously clashed with each other ever since then, especially with Jake’s antagonism.

But now, they had… saved her?

Gabriel started forward, nodding at Edithe. He had been one of the least hostile members of the True Valiants, but she was still surprised to see him here.

“Try not to get too distracted while on the battlefield, Edithe. If you have a long spell to cast, ensure you do it behind the front lines.”

“R-right. But what are you two…?”

She stared past Gabriel, looking at Jake. The leader of the True Valiants harrumphed and stepped forward. He drew a sword, eyeing a pair of charging [Hellhounds] in the distance.

“The battlefield is no place for a conversation.”

He spoke simply. But then he paused, glancing back at Edithe briefly.

“However, I have decided. While the Valiant Dreamers and the True Valiants will never see eye-to-eye on what happened that day our leader betrayed us. There is no point for us to squabble amongst each other. Not when we have the same goals and the same ideals.”

A [Hellhound] lunged at him, but he sliced it in half. The second one didn’t even get close before he threw his blade. It impaled the wild Demon, before appearing back in his hand. Jake closed his eyes, and Edithe blinked.

“That’s…”

She wasn’t sure what to say. She just found herself gaping at Jake. After everything that had happened, this was how it was resolved? The redhead was genuinely at a loss for words. Especially since she didn’t know why he came to this conclusion now.

But Jake just shook his head at her.

“We can talk more later, alright? Use your Skill, already. Gabriel and I will cover you.”

Edithe paused. She watched as the [Alchemist] hurled a volley of potions into the distance, blasting apart a group of wild Demons. Slowly, she nodded.

She stepped forward as a white aura coalesced at the tip of her staff once more. It flowed through her— the power of all the deceased. It was overwhelming. And yet, she still channeled it through her. Their rage. Their anger. Their wills.

“[Vindication of—”

But once again, before she could cast the spell, she was interrupted. The ground shook. The redhead was thrown off balance. [Vindication of They] was dissipated as the earth rumbled with a terrible tremor.

The ground beneath her feet shone. The vast magic circle encapsulating the battlefield lit up once more. Edithe’s eyes grew wide as she felt the magic in the air rapidly draining.

“What…?”

And before she could parse what was happening, the gray dome up ahead burst open. The redhead’s eyes widened as she just stared on.

“Oh no.”

Daniel Song looked up as he heard the popping sound. He watched as the dome slowing the grand summoning ritual vanished, and he saw the black spire rising rapidly from the earth.

He gritted his teeth, whispering a name.

“Salvos…”

Saffron stumbled back as the ground at her feet ripped open, threatening to swallow her. She nearly fell through, but a hand caught her, pulling her back.

“Are you alright?”

Amanda carried the young Vampire back from the front lines. The former assassin wore an uncharacteristically worried look on her face. Saffron closed her eyes, not even looking at what was happening in the distance. She could sense it. Any [Mage] within a thousand miles could sense it. It was finally time.

Regnorex wasn’t at the gates anymore. He had broken through.

And the black palace made its way through to the Mortal Realm.

Far away, Willy just coaxed the three baby Wyverns as they stared into the distant horizon. The sky was glowing a dark crimson there, and they knew something was going awfully wrong.

“Mama…”

Orgaf tore through the ranks of wild Demons, rushing his way to the very center of the grand ritual. He had thought Salvos had it. He had seen the silver-haired girl bring down Levithus with the help of Mori Gladius.

But even despite that, the ritual continued. And the Thief of the Golden Scales didn’t understand why. It seemed that for whatever reason, with the death of Levithus, the ritual was only empowered.

And for once in his life, the Elite Ranked [Rogue] was too slow.

All throughout the battlefield, the Elite Ranks moved towards the center of the grand summoning ritual as fast as they could. Helena Warshade, Kaitlin Darkhelm, and Revis Umontos tore through the ranks of [Legions] to get there as fast as they could. Even Titus the Thrilling Bard and Ze-jai The One With Nature themselves had lost their normally calm demeanors, and moved in a hurry to stop this vile magic.

The only one who remained idle was Clayton Skyshredder. He was the highest-leveled [Mage] in the world. He had done everything he could to stop it. But all he could do was delay it.

His [Antimagic Field]— one of his three Grand Skills— was only able to slow the summoning ritual. It was a spell that would be able to disable the entire spellcasting capabilities of an army. Yet, here, it wasn’t even able to put a halt to the grand magic the Demons had set up.

He had understood this, but he still cast the Grand Skill regardless. Because he had hoped it would have delayed the grand summoning ritual long enough for Salvos to defeat Levithus, putting a halt to the spell.

But Clayton now realized— perhaps too late— that that wasn’t enough. This was unlike a normal summoning ritual. All it would usually take to prevent a summoning ritual from going through was killing its caster. This summoning ritual… was being cast from the other side of the planes.

It was being cast by the Demon King Regnorex himself.

It was a disillusioning realization. Even with Levithus dead, the ritual would continue. But if that was all, Clayton would be the first one descending upon the site of the spell itself to figure out how to dismantle the magic.

However, here he was, hovering high in the sky, closing his eyes. The Headmaster of Mavos Academy had made a second realization. Once again, far too late. And it perhaps cost them their defeat.

Perhaps it cost them the entire Mortal Realm.

And it was the fact that the grand summoning ritual was being powered by all the deaths in the battlefield.

Now, it was too late to put a stop to it.

Beyond the battlefield, where the skies weren’t glowing red, and where the oppressive magic was nothing but a disturbance in the air, a little girl sat in a temple, playing with a stolen kitchen knife. Rachel briefly glanced towards the stained glass windows, but a man’s voice called out to her, and she rushed to hide from the approaching [Priest].

Further away, an Elven [Necromancer] raised his head and furrowed his brows. Minnow Fellingchamp looked away from the three [Lion Beastmen] cubs. They were kicking around a Corrupted Skystonem and he had been trying to stop them. But now, he simply stared into the far distance, wondering what was going on.

And past the fading Plaguelands, a pair of Kobolds exchanged a worried glance. Xidra the [Herbalist] and Hoxle the [Diviner] looked at each other, sticking out their tongues as they confided with each other about what could be happening. After all, even if neither of them were of the [Draconic] Class, they could sense the number of cracks in the planes growing.

And in a far distant throne room, Dominion As’triel tilted her head. The Matriarch of Elvenkind sensed the disturbance coming from the southwest and called for her greatest [Generals]. It seemed like it was time for her to expedite her plans to invade the Human lands.

Somewhere in the Netherworld, the Beast slumbered. And in the Spirit Realm, the Archangel woke up from his sleep. The Spirit Lord remained undisturbed sitting alone atop his throne, and the Fairy Queen continued forging her new plane. The Demon King’s plans finally began to unfold.

And the Devil just watched it all unveil from his home.

He swiped through the various flashing screens, casually looking through the various scenes across the Nexeus, only pausing for a moment as he eyed the Watcher standing inconspicuously in the middle of the busy street. He— no, she seemed completely unbothered that her entire world could come to an end. But that was expected from her at this point.

Sal just leaned back, flicking a finger at the screen. It vanished, and he pulled up the only scene he cared for. He whispered as he watched a silver-haired girl rushing past the rising sable spires, stumbling her way to the center of the ritual circle. There, a buzzing fly waited for her. So small and so insignificant. Yet ever present, and ever so annoying.

“The play has come to a close. The curtains have fallen, but the audience have not left. Because the encore is about to begin.”

Smiling, the Devil just watched as the climax he had been so looking forward to, finally began.

“Scarlet—”

I called out, but I couldn’t find her. The ground was collapsing at my feet, and the spires of a dark palace rose all around me. I tried searching for her with my spatial senses, however the world was so distorted, I couldn’t find her. A hole was forming in the Mortal Realm.

A massive gaping hole was tearing through the planes.

And I had to stop it. I didn’t know where Scarlet had gone, but that didn’t matter. I shook my head and dashed through the crumbling white earth around me, running past collapsing debris, and heading straight for the center of the ritual.

I saw the brightest section of the vast spell circle, and ran straight for it. It was glowing brightly, and a large domed roof was emerging from the ground. I slowed as I saw a figure buzzing there.

Belzu hovered ten feet in the air, his wings moving slowly, his body slumped and bleeding. But he still moved. He raised his spindly arms tiredly, weaving threads of mana around as fast as he could. I came to a halt next to him as I spoke in a hurry.

“What are we doing? How do we stop this?”

The Lord of Lies didn’t even turn to face me as he replied.

“There is nothing to stop. It is already too late. We have failed.”

“What do you m—”

I opened my mouth to argue, but leapt back as another tall spire broke through beneath my feet. I caught myself as Belzu continued.

“Regnorex is responsible for all this. He is the one who plans to bring Demonkind to the Mortal Realm. He wishes for us to live like mere mortals. A peaceful world, as he calls it. But that is not a Demon’s world.”

I gritted my teeth, staring at the [Hellprince].

“What are you talking about? What are you doing, Belzu?”

He simply descended to the ground as he brought his hands together. I watched as the vast ritual circle at my feet shifted. The runes turned and reshaped. The grand magic altering ever-so-slightly.

“I am going to bring Regnorex himself alone over to the Mortal Realm, Salvos.”

Belzu spoke as he continued to make small changes to the grand summoning ritual. My eyes grew wide, listening to his mad plan.

“No army. None of his minions. And when Regnorex arrives, I shall kill him and become the Demon King myself.”

I just stared at Belzu in horror as the earth trembled around me.

“What…?”