"The Lord shall return to the earth."
"When the path of justice is swallowed by darkness, when the wicked prey upon the weak, the Lord shall return to the earth."
"When the blood of the merciless fills the valley of vengeance, when the lost lambs cry out for guidance, the Lord shall return to the earth..."
The prayer spilled from Silas's lips of its own accord.
His eyes had gone unfocused, clouded and distant. His shattered, twisted body tore itself apart again and again, only to heal each time.
Behind him floated three translucent figures of deep crimson, their red hair flying wildly and their expressions haughty.
Everyone stared in a daze.
It was as though all color had drained from the world, leaving only the rich, saturated red surrounding Silas. It was the color of destruction, the glory of war waged through blood and flame!
"Heh heh..."
The man at the front wore black armor spattered with fresh blood, his long red hair falling across his shoulders. He was none other than the former "Red Angel," the "God of War," Medici.
The deep scar that had once marred his young, handsome face was gone, making him appear more alive and unburdened than ever.
The terrifying presence pouring from him was scarcely weaker than that of the "Divine Abomination" that had blotted out the sky.
The other two "Conquerors" were far less distinct, their bodies visible only as vague outlines. One of them seemed to bear some resemblance to Sophia.
"Well, you two. What's it like being back the way you were all those years ago? Feeling nostalgic, or just furious?"
Medici asked with a smile as he turned toward the two angelic spirits beside him.
"I feel regret. Regret that when we still had the chance, we didn't rip that mouth of yours apart."
"Agreed."
The two figures answered in turn.
"You two were weak and spineless even back then. You couldn't beat me even when you joined forces..."
Medici fired back without giving an inch.
Although their true bodies had separated, a closer look revealed that the lower halves of all three angels were still fused together, rooted in Silas's chest.
He had already dismissed the armor of the "Black Knight." The spirituality remaining within him was no longer enough to sustain it.
Slowly, he raised one arm.
"BOOM!"
Flames erupted in his palm.
"All right, that's enough. Save the arguing for later."
Seeing this, Medici ended the exchange himself. Still smiling, he turned his gaze toward the center of the island, toward the body of the "Divine Abomination," steeped in curses and filth.
"Now that we've finally come out to have some fun, it would be a shame not to hunt something worthwhile. Don't you think?"
The two angels, Soren and Einhorn, fell silent, seemingly in agreement. They moved behind Medici and each placed a right hand on Silas's shoulder.
The flame in Silas's palm immediately began to rage.
At first, it burned orange-red.
Then it brightened into a searing white before shifting to cyan, and finally to a deep, solid purple. With each change in color, the temperature rose dramatically.
By the time it reached that final shade of purple, what poured from it was no longer simply heat pushed to its absolute limit.
It carried an air of supreme authority, a terrifying presence that sought to conquer everything before it.
The pirates watching from afar, the two kings at the center of the island, and even the frenzied Suah all felt an unbearable pressure descend upon them.
For that moment, it crushed even the thought of resistance.
The flames spread above Silas's palm, radiating enough heat to seemingly boil the sea dry. They expanded, gathered, twisted together, and compressed until they gradually assumed the shape of a long spear.
The devastating killing technique of a Sequence 1 "Conqueror":
The Spear of Destruction!
It was a qualitative evolution of the "Cull" ability, capable of bringing complete ruin upon its target. If it struck a weak point, it could very well kill in a single blow!
"O Lord, may the nations praise You, for You shall judge the people with justice and guide all corners of the earth. May Your enemies be scattered and driven from Your sight, like smoke scattered by the wind, like wax melting before the flame..."
Silas prayed aloud, his voice steadily rising.
He gripped the flaming spear and slowly pulled his shoulder back. The three translucent spirits copied his movements, their hands closing around something
invisible as their arms extended behind them.
His eyes, now completely veiled in a rusty crimson, saw the weak point of the colossal creature at the center of the island with perfect clarity.
It lay at the very center of its torso!
All he had to do was throw the Spear of Destruction...
"Crack. Crack..."
As Silas moved, the annihilating aura contained within the spear spread outward.
His body began to crumble inch by inch. Cracks blossomed across him like fractures in porcelain, and this time, they refused to heal.
"Hurry!"
Behind him, the black-haired Antia spread both hands wide as spirituality surged through her.
Using the authority of an angel to invoke "Distort," she poured everything she had into sustaining his movements. Worry and urgency flashed through the angelic woman's crimson eyes.
"Throw it now! Your body can't take much more!"
At the center of the lake...
"So this is the Red Angel..."
Bernadette had removed her pale mask, and some color had returned to her face.
She was still marveling at the power contained within the enormous flaming spear when she suddenly felt the pressure around her lessen.
What was happening?
She instinctively looked up and saw the island's grotesque landscape rapidly receding. The enormous black, viscous arms were withdrawing one after another.
Suah's colossal true body was slowly retreating, crawling upward like a mountainous centipede with countless legs. It was trying to force its way into the spatial rift it had torn open through sheer power.
The Divine Abomination, Suah, was trying to escape!
After seeing all three "Conquerors" emerge from Silas at once, the angel-level monster, which fought almost entirely on instinct, had finally experienced fear. It chose to retreat without the slightest hesitation.
It was insane, not stupid.
They had to keep it here!
The thought flashed through Bernadette's mind. Ignoring the cost and harmful effects of using a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, she activated "Mythic Manifestation" once more.
From somewhere unseen, she produced a chess piece and hurled it toward Suah.
It was another Fairy Tale spell under her command:
The "Chess Game of Years!"
Its effect was to slow the target's movements, as though it had entered a region where time flowed at a different pace.
The chess piece instantly dissolved into a streak of light.
Suah's enormous body faltered, and its movements grew noticeably slower.
However, the authority of an angel neutralized most of Bernadette's spell, and the rest of its body continued climbing.
It had no time to waste on them.
All it wanted was to escape!
"Amplify!"
Aboard the nearby ship, Nast saw what was happening and immediately issued an authoritative command.
Order and law took effect at once, dramatically slowing the flow of time within the space occupied by Suah!
Suah's movements became even more sluggish, yet it still showed no sign of stopping. Its filthy body continued releasing an aura of curses that counteracted the influence exerted by the two kings.
"Damn it..."
Bernadette clenched her teeth as enormous amounts of spirituality poured from her. Beside her, Nast supported her with everything he had.
Even so, their combined strength was not enough.
They could only watch helplessly as Suah pushed through their power and continued climbing, inch by inch, toward the rift beneath the black canopy overhead.
"Craaack..."
Silas had pulled his arm back as far as it could possibly go, his gaze locked firmly on Suah.
But one of the creature's forelimbs had already reached the edge of the rift. With one final surge, it would slip through and successfully escape.
It was really going to get away!
Urgency flashed in Bernadette's eyes.
They were so close.
If only someone could hold it back for even a moment...
The kings were already straining with everything they had. Silas had reached the critical point. Antia was pouring all her strength into supporting him.
Of everyone present, not a single person had anything left to stop the Divine Abomination, Suah, from escaping.
Driving it away would still count as a victory, but it would leave a deadly threat unresolved!
Everyone watched helplessly as one of Suah's massive hands entered the rift, while its countless mouths erupted into a chaotic clamor.
Was it mocking them?
Or was it expressing relief?
Either way, it celebrated too soon.
Suddenly, far above Suah's head, even higher in the sky, an immense force tore open the sealed spirit world through sheer power.
In the next instant, dark clouds wrapped in a tyrannical, suffocating presence descended without warning.
Before everyone's eyes, they unleashed a single thunderbolt powerful enough to shake the earth!
"CRACK!"
Thunder rattled the heavens.
Lightning erupted in a blinding flash, and that terrifying force struck directly against Suah's arm.
"Praise the Fool!"
Out on the nearby sea, aboard the ghost ship "Deep Blue Avenger," Alger lowered his head in prayer.