Chapter 100: Eat My Seven Deadly Sins Armor-Piercing Shell!
"..."
Carlotta let out a breath, trying to steady her emotions.
She watched as Montelli's ships were evacuating citizens from Ragunna in batches. Employees of Averardo Bank and Montelli personnel were doing their utmost to maintain order at the scene.
Fortunately, even when witnessing Avinoleum descending, the people of Ragunna hadn't fallen into panic. They trusted that the newly ascended "King" would resolve the crisis of Avinoleum's fall.
Thanks to Rover, that "King," they had also successfully established contact with other regions.
Now, everyone was carrying out their assigned tasks as previously arranged.
Zani was working with the Defense Division to prevent anyone from exploiting the chaos; Ciaccona was responsible for maintaining people's hope and preventing the spread of panic; under Phoebe's leadership, the Order was also joining forces with the people to confront this crisis.
Then there were Brant and Roccia, who had reappeared in Ragunna at some unknown time. The Fool's Troupe was guiding ships from the Black Shores and Huanglong, preparing for the worst-case scenario.
Rover, Cartethyia, and Cantarella were also at the most dangerous frontlines, striving to resolve the crisis.
As the current head of Montelli, Carlotta's duty was to ensure all operations proceeded in an orderly manner.
It would be untrue to claim she felt no anxiety. Faced with this crisis threatening all of Rinascita, her responsibilities as Ragunna's representative weighed heavier on her shoulders than she had imagined.
This duty had been entrusted to her by that person, and it was a path Carlotta had chosen for herself. She had no reason to abandon it.
"...Will they be alright?"
Yet despite this, Carlotta couldn't help but worry.
There had been no news of Aeron since Carnevale ended. What was his current condition?
Was he up there too? But it's so dangerous...
Or was he mixed among the evacuating civilians? Then Zani or the others should have contacted her.
Or... had he fled alone after seeing this potentially unstoppable crisis?
At this thought, Carlotta shook her head.
No, what was she thinking? This was no time for such thoughts.
Regardless of what that guy was doing now, her task was to properly handle what he had entrusted to her. To show him that Carlotta Montelli could bear everything he had entrusted to her—and bear the future of this city.
"...!"
Just as Carlotta was psyching herself up, a communication came through her terminal. The contact displayed was Ciaccona.
Without a moment's hesitation, Carlotta immediately picked up the terminal.
"Ciaccona, what's wrong?"
"Second Young Lady, it's terrible! Look at Avinoleum now!"
Ciaccona's panicked voice came through the terminal, suggesting some abnormal change had occurred at Avinoleum.
Hearing Ciaccona's words, Carlotta looked up toward Avinoleum. When she saw it, even she fell momentarily speechless.
There, above the inverted Avinoleum, a gigantic fish-like shadow was circling.
Just the sight of It made Carlotta feel a headache coming on, while whispers continuously arose in her mind.
"What—what is that?!"
"Fish shadow... Threnodian, that's the Threnodian Leviathan!"
"..."
The moment the colossal sea beast appeared, the mental impact from gazing directly at it instantly threw the barely maintained order into chaos.
Carlotta fought through the headache and the whispers, speaking to Ciaccona on the other end of the communication:
"Ciaccona, your poem...!"
The instant she received Carlotta's command, Ciaccona likewise endured the discomfort, cradled her instrument, channeled her Resonance Power into the strings, and began playing a melodious tune.
"Let the twilight soothe our skin~"
"In the sky we're forever wild and free~"
Ciaccona's singing voice carried an uplifting melody, emerald notes transforming into musical phrases that drifted into people's ears, pulling those gripped by panic back to their senses.
After stabilizing the immediate situation, Carlotta sent another communication to Zani and Phoebe.
"Miss Cantarella's prepared elixirs are still in stock. We won't let any unexpected situations occur."
"Everyone in the Order is also working hard to help!"
"Mhm... I'm counting on you."
Carlotta turned her gaze back toward Avinoleum. At this moment, the sea beast was looking down upon the land beneath its feet.
Is that... the Threnodian Leviathan?...
Even though the earlier discomfort had faded, just the sight of that massive form now made Carlotta feel suffocated.
That was what they had to confront—the Threnodian, merged with the Sentinels, drawing power from the Order, threatening civilization.
Now it had appeared before everyone. Could it be that Rover...
Before Carlotta could sort out her thoughts, an even more shocking scene unfolded before her.
The first thing Carlotta saw was someone she had parted from not long ago, yet it felt like an eternity since they'd last met.
"Aeron...?"
Behold—
The sky sea that separated Solaris from the sky and the true cosmos, enveloping Ragunna, was torn asunder.
For the first time, a genuine azure sky bloomed, and sunlight, unobstructed by anything, showered the earth.
And then—
A colossal demon with six wings sprouting from its back descended from the sky, positioning itself before the inverted Avinoleum and the false deity that had revealed its true form.
Aeron stood upon the demon's shoulder, desperately trying not to look down. It would be utterly embarrassing to lose his nerve from acrophobia here.
"I thought you'd used some high-level method... Turns out you just poured the Dark Tide into Avinoleum and used its weight to press it down. Can you get any lamer, Leviathan?"
After defeating Leviathan's avatar within the Dark Tide, Aeron absorbed all the Dark Tide in the Holy Spire of Confluence and, with Leviathan's involuntary authorization, became the agent of both Leviathan and the Dark Tide.
He had assumed this would halt Avinoleum's descent, but unexpectedly, the falling process continued.
Thus, Aeron calmly chose to deploy the box weapon.
[Instant Mastery, activate!]
As Aeron was now the Proxy, a simple scan through the Dark Tide could easily reveal Leviathan's location.
Though the sensation of the Dark Tide rampaging through his body was truly uncomfortable.
The final conclusion he reached was: Leviathan was evenly distributed across Avinoleum, leading Aeron to realize it was merely using its weight to press Avinoleum down.
Thus, after asking the Imperator to take care of Little Carte and attempting to force Leviathan out, Avinoleum's descent finally ceased.
Now, it was Aeron's own matter to handle.
"You used my power... to do what?!"
"Ambitions that manipulate human hearts shall be defeated by the collective wishes of those very hearts—quite fitting, isn't it?"
Though the words sounded ironic coming from Aeron, at least others had willingly given him their power.
Those ordinary people who, in despair, still chose to turn their gaze to the sky and entrust their prayers to the "Wraith."
And coincidentally, something by Aeron's side could precisely transform people's wishes into weapons.
"Look, that's—"
"It's the Wraith who exposed the Order's true nature!"
The wishes of Ragunna's people converged upon Aeron, channeled through the Dark Tide within him, becoming immense nourishment for "Arsène." Then, with a slight enhancement from the new ability granted by the System.
[One-time Ability Enhancement, activate]
[Hidden condition fulfilled—The Soul's Poem of All Humanity]
A new Persona Mask was born.
Its name—
"Satanael."
Answering Aeron's call, the demon that denied divinity slowly raised its head, staring directly at the false god before it that sought to destroy all of Rinascita.
With just that single motion, the surrounding light twisted and dimmed, serving also as a judgment upon the god before it.
"...A mere mortal, daring to defy a god?!"
"You can't put it that way. I am the Proxy you chose yourself. I must say, your taste in selection is truly impeccable."
"Foolish. The paradise I bring, compared to the 'void' reaching here, is—"
"Even now, you still don't understand what I'm doing."
Interrupting Leviathan, Aeron slowly raised his gun, aiming at the true form of the Threnodian before him.
"Satanael" similarly raised its musket.
"Between you and me—it's nothing but the simplest personal grudge!"
Aeron pulled the trigger with his index finger, but the gunshot did not ring out immediately.
Time stretched, and only at the muzzle of "Satanael's" gun did an immeasurable, space-warping frequency madly gather and compress—ultimately condensing into a thread of blazing white.
"Sin-Piercing Armor-Penetrating Round."
BANG!!!!!!
The blazing white bullet pierced through the clouds, accurately striking the center of the colossal fish-shadow's forehead, tearing apart the lingering filth in the sky.
The gunshot echoed throughout Solaris. The blazing white bullet passed through the sea beast's forehead, its Dark Tide-constructed body gradually fading in color, turning to dust and dissipating.
"Phew..."
Aeron holstered his gun, letting out a long sigh, relieved that the troublesome affair had finally come to an end.
Next, the Dark Tide within his body would gradually disappear, but because he was a proxy, bound too deeply, he would die once more.
But none of that mattered now. After resurrection, Aeron would return to his peaceful, ordinary life.
Carlotta would become the leader of Ragunna, Phoebe would shoulder the responsibilities of the Order, Cartethyia and Fleurdelys's past would be saved, and Zani, after a promotion and raise, probably wouldn't be so busy anymore. Ciaccona's poetry would continue to be sung, Cantarella and Fisalia would walk the world together once more, and Brant and Roccia would return to Ragunna with the members of the Fool's Troupe to live their lives. As for Rover... she would continue her journey toward Septimont.
Although everything in Rinascita had been thrown into chaos by him, from the outcome, it all seemed fairly good.
A happy ending, cheers and Coca-Cola.
"..."
As the Dark Tide within him vanished, the eroded organs began to shut down one after another, and "Satanael" gradually dissolved into shadows, returning to Aeron's body.
Finally, Aeron's body began to fall uncontrollably from the sky.
To be honest, free fall made heights feel less frightening.
Taking this rare opportunity, while his body and Newton fought over who would be the culprit, he pondered.
Where should he go afterward, and what should he do?
Return to the Order, stay with Montelli, laze around in Fisalia, or set sail with his buddy to start a business... though none of these paths seemed particularly easy.
Though he felt a bit sorry for Rover, honestly, he really didn't want to get involved with her again.
Opposing Leviathan was already an unexpected twist for Aeron, and now it was time to fast-forward to "Thank you, Aeron, everyone has their own dreams and paths."
His vision gradually filled with darkness, and intense exhaustion dragged the last shred of consciousness into the deep sea.
However—
Just before his consciousness sank into the deepest chaos,
Aeron saw—an "eye."
Its color was indescribable, its size immeasurable.
It jolted him wide awake.
"...Ahhhhhhhhh, holy shit, this can't be real?!"
Then, the ground gently embraced him.
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