A woman fell from a tear in the sky while letting out a scream. Thankfully the spatial tear wasn't too high up in the air. It definitely still hurt though.

“Ow, ow, ow,” Ciel slowly stood up from the ground after the ungraceful landing. “I thought I was done for.”

She looked up at the sky and there was no sign of the spatial anomaly that spat her out. It seems the group had been separated. The Army of One effect was no longer active. As the focus of the War Formation, she bore greater burdens than the other participants. Adding the fatigue from the multiple battles she had had in the Magitek Wonder, Ciel wanted to just lie down and sleep for a week.

But she still had things to do, such as finding her friends and helping people.

“...Such injustice,” she muttered while looking at Valkut city in the distance.

The city was already half destroyed when the Tower rose from the ground. Now a flight of dragons and an army of fae were killing each other, their fight breaking the city even further. How many lives had been lost without them knowing? Most folk just want to live their lives but too many have had their livelihoods abruptly cut short by the whim of uncaring Pathseekers. It galled her that she wasn't capable of preventing this tragedy despite her presence, just like many previous instances.

Worse still, there was a big dragon wrestling a monstrous moth in the air and the battle between the Governor-King and the Cardinal seemed to be still going strong. Ciel saw flashes of Artes from the tower’s top, as far away as she might be. The city could very well be wiped off the map if just one of those attacks strayed and hit the area.

To begin with, where am I?

Her previously shiny white-silver armor looked like a hundred year old, battle-worn antique, the gray shirt under that was dusty with many tears, her blonde hair a mess, her skin covered in bruises, matched with patches of dried blood, and she hadn’t had a bath for a week. Despite all that, the sight of her looking around while tucking her hair behind her ear would still captivate passerbys if there was any.

A deserted ruin? At least there doesn't seem to be any danger.

Ciel gathered her bearings shortly and decided where she should go, to Valkut city. The signals from the other legionaries were disturbed, the location readings being unclear. She suspected it was because of all the space anomalies. Deciding to go back there was easy, because there were people that needed her help. If she could save even just one life, then it would be worth it.

Eh? Someone’s coming!

Ciel inhaled sharply. She couldn't sense it, but her eyes were special. It could see things others couldn't. To her, it was like a tidal wave of black on its way to her location.

Such suffocating evil!

Ciel deduced she was not their match, and escape was not an option, considering the other side’s speed, so hiding was her only course of action. She took cover behind a red mossy stone wall.

Arte - Light Is Everywhere.

Her most powerful stealth skill, or more accurately, presence dispersal skill. By blending her presence with the ambient mana around her, she would be like another stone or tree to other people’s senses. She wasn't invisible though, so she must not be seen.

In a short while, a man came to the ruins and leaned on a pillar. Ciel didn't dare to move or make breathing sounds. She peeked from behind the wall like a frightened child but by directly seeing the man, her fear only grew. In her sight, the stranger had an aura of death trailing behind him like a black river full of skeletons.

Time seemed to stretch across vast distances as she was gripped with the fear of death, until another person came.

It's Viers! He’s alive? I thought-

Ciel saw Viers sacrifice his life to save Rose. Seeing him alive brought a spark of happiness to her.

Thank the Goddess! But… Oh no. That guy is destroying him! Why? Viers doesn't seem to know him either. Did he bring the ire of a Level 5 somehow?

Even though she didn't know Viers for long. Somehow that didn't sound impossible, it even made sense.

Ciel’s gladness was short-lived as the man attacked Viers’ soul and twisted his limbs. While Viers screamed, Ciel closed her mouth with her hands as to not gasp.

“Behave, or I’ll take more drastic measures.”

Viers’ replied with two counterattacks, an arrow and a dagger. While it failed to secure his release, he managed to achieve what countless others failed, wounding a Level 5 despite only being a Level 3.

“You are an outstanding Pathseeker,” the stranger said.

After the praise, Viers’ eyes burst like overripe fruit, spilling red juices down his face. Ciel was glad Viers didn't experience the pain for long because his head slumped and he'd soon fainted.

The stranger lifted Viers without touching, raising him from the ground.

“I'll take this.”

The stranger took Viers’ inventory item. He couldn't use them but the main reason was so Viers couldn't pull off another ambush. The arrow was extraordinary and so was the dagger. They even made him wary for an instant. If a more capable hand was using them... someone like himself.

“Adequate souvenirs,” the stranger hummed.

Behind a deteriorating wall, a resolve took form inside a young woman.

I have to save him!

Because Ciel owed Viers several life debts and hadn’t paid him back a single one. Because doing nothing while Viers was getting beaten to death was not her justice. If Viers was to face his sins then let it be by a proper trial, not by this man who appointed himself as judge, jury and executioner.

Her body was trembling despite her resolve. She wasn't blind to her chances and wasn't a fool so she couldn't just come out screaming and hope it would accomplish something.

I need a chance. Anything… Radiant Lady, please give me a chance and strength to do the right thing.

“Akh…?”

A pained gasp escaped her lips. She looked down and saw a dainty woman’s hand come out from her chest.

“Hihihihi~”

A laugh sounded right beside her, made by a pretty female ghost wearing floaty blue robes.

Ciel fell to the ground and the ghost flew to the stranger’s side, leaning intimately on his shoulder before separating from sight.

“Your soul is unable to escape my soul sense, girl. Besides-”

Ciel felt life leaving her body.

I must not die yet… I still… have many promises to keep.

Regrettably, death did not care and his footsteps sounded ever closer.

“...Truly a beautiful soul,” the stranger assessed Ciel who was lying in a pool of her own blood. “I can sculpt a work of art using such high-quality clay. Don't worry, I’ll be sure to give your father the duke a chance to appreciate it, Miss Valentine.”

Ciel’s vision turned increasingly dark.

The stranger extended his hand to Ciel.

***

In the much-destroyed throne room of the Valkut Spire, Alvared had pinned Judith under a pulsating metal pillar. The Magitek Tower shook as the massive Radiageus struck the earth, causing a massive crater and spreading destruction. The moth followed shortly, encompassing the angry roaring elder dragon with silk binding.

Since the fight between the two monstrosities was nowhere close to an end, the marquess unleashed a second strike from the portal, heavily injuring Radiageus’ left wing and tipping the balance.

“It’s your defeat, my traitorous sister,” Alvared’s eyes were cold.

The moth’s victory screech and the marquess’ cackle vibrated the air. With their boss defeated, Radiageus’ brood were also getting defeated one after another by the ever-increasing fae.

“No,” the blind cardinal replied calmly. “It’s our victory, my misguided brother.”

To the Governor-king’s surprise, he only realized the presence of another person because of the sound of clacking footwear on the throne room’s marble floor.

It was a woman with silver hair that reached her waist. Her robe of humble gray matched with the material and style of a villager’s, but her face that lacked blemishes and her blue eyes that hid wisdom quickly erased any assumptions that she was of ordinary origin. The woman looked to be in her late twenties. When seeing her face for the first time, it would give the impression as if she was someone that had toiled for three hundred sixty five days for hundreds of years without rest yet somehow stayed graceful.

She stood before the portal that Foulfae’s main body would use to cross.

“Marquess Fae, Governor-King Alvared, forgive my intrusion.”

Popess Sallustia Amaris' politeness made Alvared uneasy. Among the Level 5 circle, the head of the Estellian Church had a reputation of being the absolute strongest Pathseeker in the world.

Unrivaled under the divine!

“Hmm… It seems not all humans are as insignificant as I thought,” the wooden totem conveyed the marquess’ voice. “Well done. You have my permission to speak, woman.”

All eyes on Sallustia.

“I’m grateful for the permission. I come here to humbly request the cessation of your crossing, Lord Marquess. This world cannot bear the weight of your presence. Please quell your anger and stay in the fae realm.”

Foulfae was not impressed.

“I will wage revenge against the humans of this land and they’ll get what they deserve.”

Sallustia shook her head. “That is not what all humans deserve. Most of those who wounded you in the past have been laid to rest and buried in the earth. Please show compassion, o fae lord. I cannot absolve their wrongdoings, nor can we return what you have lost but I can try to make amends. Should you be willing, I can purify your malevolent nature, Marquess, returning you to the Seelie Court. Also treaties between our kind. There was once peace between your people and the humans, Lord Reedglade. Let there be so again.”

The marquess stayed silent for a time.

“I am,” he began. “Foulfae.”

It was a rejection as clear as it could be.

“Your views mean nothing to me. I’m not subject to your morality and laws! I’ll not suffer your arrogance! I am Valkut’s reckoning!”

“This saddens me,” Sallustia lowered her head. “To return hurt with even more hurt, creating an unending chain of hatred. This should not be. Marquess, I must banish you from the Prime Material Realm. Forgive me.”

“You’re welcome to try,” Foulfae said, unafraid.

Sallustia turned to Alvared. She gave a light appreciative nod to the pinned Judith beside him before addressing Alvared.

“Can we reach an accord with talks, Governor-King Alvared? There has been enough-” She rephrased. “Too much death and suffering.”

“I’d sooner die than abandon my ambition, Popess. It’s my reason for living,” Alvared replied.

“Then with a heavy heart, I have to stand against you. As the gardener of Goddess Estelle’s garden.”

The signal of the battle was a deathray from the portal by Foulfae. Alvared coordinated the attack by clenching both hands. Two opposing palms pressed against each other to form a mountain-shattering pressure crush, bringing an echo of what he had done in the past into the present reality.

Sallustia's response was to raise her hand. A white staff appeared, bearing the holy symbol of Estelle. The staff was the icon of the Estellian Holy See. The prime divine object of the faith, given by the Goddess herself, passed from Popess to Popess since the beginning of the Church.

“The light of the Goddess guides all beings. Purge Evil Maxima.”

The end of the staff tapped the ground and pure white light bloomed, illuminating even the blackest of hearts.

For the second time today, Purge Evil Arte was used in this place. However, comparing Rose and Sallustia's Arte would be as if comparing the majesty of a firefly with the moon.

***

Georgi Zhirkov extended his hand at Ciel... and stopped. Turning his eyes to the top of the Magitek Wonder.

So you've come. How many decades has it been, Sallustia?

The Grandmaster of the Dumuzin Cult calmly watched as the light from her Purge Evil Arte expanded. With the top of the tower as the center, it swelled until it enveloped the entirety of Valkut city.

And the light expanding.

And expanding.

And kept expanding.

"Nu!?"

Georgi's calm was broken. Why on earth would Sallustia power her Arte to such a degree? It was needless and dangerous! Not for her but for potential collateral. Even if she could choose who would be damaged by the Arte, the sheer number of people involved was a risk.

The expansion speed of the Arte was quicker than Georgi’s maximum speed so he raised his defenses instead.

For a time, it was as if light flooded the world. The whole area inside Valkut's isolation barrier, an area as big as Belgium, was touched by Popess Sallustia's light.

When the light rescinded, Georgi's body was emitting smoke.

"Grhh..."

Did she know of my arrival? It can't be... I took enough precautions.

Two things happened in an instant. The first was the emergence of a shining sword giving off divine aura from Viers’ Thousand Treasures Casket. Georgi had sealed it before but the seal was broken thanks to the Poppess' Arte. The second was a soul coming out of Viers' body; a female with the lower body of a snake.

In Georgi's eyes, things were unfolding at a snail's pace because he had just been hit by Purge Evil, he was unable to prevent it!

Divine items were items Pathseekers that had stepped into the realm of the divine saw fit to use. One such thing was Solarion, the sword that Viers pried from the warm hands of a dead MC inside Aletro's book.

The sword that had refused Viers’ eligibility to wield it had made itself covered with rust but it was now shining brilliantly and went into Ciel's body.

Ciel suddenly opened her eyes accompanied by a gasp of life. The hole in her chest was now closed with a white, diamond-like crystal, pulsating with a faint rainbow-color that beat alongside her heart.

"Faiya! To me!" Clarissa shouted.

The fire elemental came out of Viers’ mouth and merged with her. The elemental became her body and the Level 5 lamia princess from the Age of the Gods was temporarily reincarnated in a fiery rebirth.

Hand on fire, Clarissa slapped Georgi's face with the power of bona fide Level 5, careening him far away from Viers.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM, YOU BITCH!"

-

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Chapter 280 - Counterattack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aElM_uHL00E