NOVEL WEB Chapter 710 Epilogue-Final
710 Epilogue-Final
— ??? —
Under the shade of the leaves above the moonlit ground, two silhouettes rush through the forest.
The first silhouette is cloaked in a long robe, with dark energy emanating from its body. The second silhouette is graceful, wielding a sword that emits a sacred light, relentlessly pursuing the first.
"Where do you think you're going, cursed creature?" the pursuer shouts at the first silhouette. Her graceful features are adorned with white armor.
At that moment, the robed black silhouette speeds up and leaps into the sky, beginning to fly. The graceful silhouette follows suit, her six wings materializing from sacred energy as she accelerates toward the escaping figure.
She is none other than Mechaela, the Archangel. She has been tasked by Envy to hunt down the fugitive.
"Shit! Shit! Shit! Why is an Archangel coming after me?!" the dark silhouette mutters through gritted teeth. He increases his speed, burning his mana in a desperate attempt to escape the Archangel.
The one retreating is Thalassar, the Archlich. An ancient being who has survived since the era of King Solomon, his sense of danger and intuition have made him adept at escaping and preserving his life.
Thalassar glances at Mechaela with hatred. He wants to teleport away, but there's no time to cast the spell. Besides, he was ambushed by Mechaela and injured by her holy sword, which greatly weakened him.
Now, he can only hope that Mechaela doesn't have enough energy to continue chasing him, or that he can find a place to hide from this relentless Archangel.
While Thalassar is frantically searching for a place to hide, a group of blessed blades homes in on him, piercing his accursed body with precision. Thalassar, now resembling a pincushion, falls to the ground, followed by Michaela, who follows after him with her blade poised to pierce his black heart.
Thalassar is alarmed, but the blessed blades that pierced his body are not the immediate threat. Their holy properties only hinder his mana-channeling ability. If he had a minute or two, he could negate their effects. However, their timely appearance, injuring him while he was fleeing from the Archangel, spells potential doom for him.
The blades' sealing power has rendered him unable to utilize his magic, and even his desperate measures for escape have been sealed.
"No! Noooooooooooo!!" Thalassar screams in despair as the angelic sword pierces his black heart.
Sacred power bursts forth from the sword, cleansing all of Thalassar's accursed body, power, and eventually his soul, which he struggles to resist. This time, Thalassar was hunted to the point where he had no opportunity to create a new phylactery. Ultimately, his cursed existence comes to a close as the holy flame purges his being, erasing him from the world.
On the ground, now charred black by the holy flame but still emitting a cleansing holy aura, Michaela stands still, scrutinizing the ashes beneath her feet. She unleashes her holy flame once again, blasting the ground to ensure the Archlich is genuinely dead.
This is a lesson she learned from Daniel: that a cockroach must be burnt to a crisp, and its corpse must be blasted again to ensure it stays dead.
"Magnificent! Lady Michaela, with this, the cursed heretic has been cleansed from the world of the Lord," a voice spoke in admiration.
A group of priests in black trench coats, armed with blessed blades and holy armaments, emerged from the shadows and approached Michaela. Leading the group was Christopher Ward.
Since the incident with Envy, the relationship between the Vatican and the Order of Ember had become strained. Recently, however, Envy decided to assign Mechaela the role of bridging the gap between the Order of Ember and the Vatican, given her status as an Archangel.
"This is not enough. Before our Lord returns, we must cleanse this world further to prepare for His arrival," Michaela stated matter-of-factly.
"Yes, Your Excellency!" the paladins in Christopher's group responded with enthusiasm. Christopher, however, could only smile wryly.
The "Lord" in Mechaela's speech was not the same Lord they believed in. Christopher knew this, but he couldn't openly say it without shattering the morale of his men. Some truths were better left unspoken.
— Japan —
In a bamboo forest not far from Kyoto, under the moonlit clearing in the middle of the forest, a vast open space has been created by the destruction and collateral damage of a fierce battle. Koyuki stands in front of a giant nine-tailed fox. The fox lies on the charred ground, gazing at Koyuki, who is dressed in red armor over her miko robes. Beside her, Momotaro stands guard at a distance.
"It's over, Tamamo-no-Mae. You don't need to run anymore," Koyuki says, her eyes filled with sympathy.
The fox demon before her is Tamamo-no-Mae. She was accidentally released when Daniel fought the Golden Scale Enforcer, and one of them crashed into the sealed stone that imprisoned Tamamo. The fox demon entered the Enforcer's body without anyone noticing and escaped. After nurturing her strength for some time, she caused trouble in South Korea and took control of the Mara Society. Later, after Daniel destroyed the Mara Society's headquarters in South Korea, she fled to Japan and became a fugitive.
Koyuki sympathizes with her because her mother confined her to the training grounds not long ago. She imagines how it would feel to be sealed for centuries, like this demon fox, and understands how it could drive someone to insanity. However, that doesn't mean she will let Tamamo go without consequences.
"Damn human!" Tamamo weakly curses at Koyuki, her eyes filled with hatred but also with weakness and dread.
"Tamamo, I have a proposal for you," Koyuki begins. "First, I seal you just like before and throw your sealed stone into the Elpis Vault, overseen by a sentient A.I. that will ensure the seal remains intact as long as the A.I. is operational."
Tamamo listens quietly, not interrupting, as she knows Koyuki is presenting the worst option first.
"Second… I seal all of your power. Aside from your long lifespan, you will be no different from a mortal human. You will have freedom, but your power will remain sealed forever within a special seal that I will keep in the same vault as the first option," Koyuki offers.
The fox demon lets out a sigh. "I don't have much of a choice, do I? I choose the second option," Tamamo replies.
With the choice made, Koyuki begins her ritual to seal the demon fox's power. She cuts off all of the demon fox's tails, leaving only one connected to its body. Then, she seals each of the severed tails into a separate sealing box, one box for each tail.
After the ritual is complete, the fox demon transforms into a mortal woman, no different from any other normal human.
She slowly rises from the ground and looks at her transformed body. "Impressive… I don't know how you did it, but you've sealed all of my power, leaving only the bare minimum for a demon like me to live a normal life. As expected from the offspring of the most powerful miko," the fox demon says, clearly impressed by Koyuki's work.
"Thank you for the compliment, but I won't unseal your power just because of that, you know?" Koyuki replies with a cheeky smile.
"I know. I'm not that naive. But let me ask you something. Why didn't you just kill me and be done with it? Why offer to seal only my power? I can see that it's harder than sealing me entirely or killing me. Is it because of Inari-sama?" the demon fox asks.
Koyuki nods. "Yes… that's part of the reason. Inari-sama is why we didn't dare to kill you, as doing so might affect Inari-sama's power. Inari-sama is the god protecting many shrines. But the real reason I offered you an alternative is that I understand how painful it is to be sealed away and deprived of freedom," Koyuki explains, thinking of her own experience of being confined to the training grounds by her mother until her training was complete.
Hearing this, the demon fox can only nod in understanding.
— New Atlantis - Order of Ember HQ —
At the Ivory Tower, located at the center of New Atlantis, significant changes have unfolded over the past three years. New Atlantis has become the heart of the world and a coveted destination for many. Its technological advancements, educational opportunities, and wealth of knowledge, including the magic school situated here, have drawn people from all corners of the globe.
During these times, Envy has begun sending agents to cleanse hidden threats across the world. The outcomes for these threats are clear: either they submit to the rule of the Order of Ember or face neutralization.
Envy knows that the descent of gods into the mortal world is inevitable. She can only hope to eliminate as many hidden threats as possible before that time comes, ensuring that these threats don't ally with the gods and attack the Order of Ember.
Daniel isn't here to help them battle these threats. All Envy can do is try to minimize the dangers before the gods arrive.