Even if I'm destined to die one day, it will only be for the one I love the most.
As for you lot? You think you're worth my life? Screw off!
From the very beginning, Danitz had been secretly observing everything—scouting for the best chance to escape.
Meanwhile, the dozen or so members of the Numinous Episcopate were kneeling before the massive coffin, wildly shaking their heads as they chanted:
"The Essence of Death;
Lord of the Dead;
Final Home to all Living-beings"
"Please accept our faith,
Accept our sacrifice,
We beg you to descend upon this land of despair,
And purge these filthy souls!"
A pallid green mist—blended with white and filled with an unsettling chill—began to seep out from the coffin, spreading outward in waves of malevolence. The first to be touched were the inner-circle cultists, those kneeling closest to the coffin.
Their life force drained away in an instant. One after another, they collapsed, lifeless.
At the same time, the ominous aura emanating from within the coffin grew thicker and heavier. From the cracks in the coffin lid, white feathers—tinged with yellowish oil stains—began to sprout. They gathered and wove together, extending upward until they tore open a rift in the very air itself.
From that gash, a violent presence poured out—silver-white lightning arcing through the void.
Peering into the rift, one could vaguely make out a dark, ancient ruin, filled with collapsed or crumbling buildings. And curled up in its midst was a massive figure, roaring in fury as it released devastating storms and thunder.
—It was the elven ruin where Sea God Kalvetua had taken refuge!
But the white feathers didn't stop after tearing open the rift. As more and more Sea God cultists perished, the feathers continued to slip through the rift and infiltrate the ancient ruin.
Inside the ruins, the Sea God's guardians, who had once been slumped against stone pillars, suddenly stirred. Their movements were stiff but quick. They stood—only to sprout the same white, oil-stained feathers. Then they turned, raising their weapons against their own comrades.
By the time Edward arrived at the massive ritual chamber, this was the scene that greeted him.
He quickly grasped what the Numinous Episcopate was trying to do:
They intended to forcibly corrupt Sea Serpent Kalvetua using the authority of an Artificial Death, reshaping him into the "form" of this man-made deity.
After that, the believers of the Rorsted Archipelago—still thinking they worshipped the Sea God—would unknowingly redirect their faith to Death instead. And the more belief it received, the faster the Artificial Death would "resurrect," eventually becoming a true deity.
That meant the sea serpent would become a pseudo-avatar of the Artificial Death.
Which also meant…Edward's entire "online class" scheme would go straight down the drain.
His gaze swept rapidly across the cultists, trying to locate Danitz, but there were just too many people. All were kneeling with heads bowed, chanting devoutly—it was impossible to pick him out quickly.
"That idiot…don't tell me he's actually been brainwashed into a real believer?!"
"Phoenix, if that rift closes, can you still take me to that ruin?"
Edward didn't receive a response.
He turned to look—
Only to find Phoenix staring fixedly at the coffin, its pitch-black pupils filled with overwhelming desire.
"…"
Edward quietly inched a few steps away.
Fortunately, the bird's moment of longing passed as quickly as it came.
"What did you just say?"
Edward narrowed his eyes.
"What were you just staring at?"
"That coffin…No, more accurately, the place it connects to. There's something very important to me in there!"
Something important to it? Did it mean…the Artificial Death?
Normally, high-level entities on the Death pathway heavily suppress those beneath them. From what Edward had seen so far, Phoenix's power was definitely no higher than Sequence 5. But when faced with an artificial god-like being with a near-Sequence 0 presence, not only did it not get suppressed—
It showed desire?
Could it be…this bird really is the resurrection fallback plan of the Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace?
…Does the Evernight Goddess know about this?
If she does…what does she think?
If she doesn't, and this causes problems when she tries to claim the Death domain later…will she blame me?
Edward shook off the chaotic thoughts, clearing his mind. He asked again, "I asked: if that rift closes, can you still get me to the ruin?"
"Yes!"
Phoenix nodded decisively.
"I can trace the aura left behind by those feathers. I'll find it."
So, as long as that sea serpent dies, Edward would be the first to reach the elven ruin.
But the real question was—
How do I kill it?
Edward immediately swung his wand, casting the Imperius Curse toward the nearest cultists. But the spell was abruptly blocked mid-air by an invisible wall.
Cautiously, he stepped forward and jabbed his wooden wand out—again, it struck against a transparent barrier.
"As expected. There's no way Numinous Episcopate would leave their ritual unprotected."
Edward pulled out a few coins and, as he tossed them forward, activated Magnify + Cull. A low hum followed—buzz!—as the coins struck something, and massive ripples spread outward from the point of impact. Through the disturbance, Edward vaguely caught sight of ghastly white bones, interlocked and twisted into an enormous spherical bone wall, sealing off the Sea God believers and Numinous Episcopate members beneath it.
"Why are these bones so tough?"
Phoenix replied, "Their power comes from the coffin."
From the coffin? Then the source is…Artificial Death?
Even though this artificial entity couldn't yet compare to a true King of Angels, it was at least on the level of Sequence 1.
"How the hell are we supposed to break through that?!"
Meanwhile, in the elven ruins, Sea Serpent Kalvetua, who was still locked in a long-range clash with Sea King Jahn Kottman, suddenly sensed something. Its territory had been invaded.
Furious, it released bolts of thunderous lightning aimed at the encroaching feathers.
A huge swathe of the white, oil-stained feathers was scorched by the lightning. They writhed and curled backwards, as if in pain. But with each new wave of cultist deaths, the feathers revived, pushing forward inch by inch toward Kalvetua.
This development was clearly unexpected for Kalvetua. Despite having once accidentally consumed a high elf's Beyonder characteristic and ascended to Sequence 3, it had spent most of its existence in a state of semi-madness and loss of control, with little understanding of the Beyonder world.
It had no idea what these strange feathers were—only that they were extremely dangerous.
More dangerous than that damnable old enemy outside the rift.
The reason Kalvetua had erupted with such fury tonight, insisting on descending to Tiana Island to wipe out its own believers, was precisely because it had sensed this terrifying, deadly presence.
Now regaining a trace of clarity, Kalvetua made a decisive choice: it would abandon its descent and immediately retract its spirituality. The sacrificial gate leading to the outside world had to be shut down, so it could concentrate on fighting the feathers invading its realm.
But Jahn Kottman wasn't about to let that happen.
They were both Sequence 3 on the Sailor path, and this was the perfect chance. The sea king surged with spirituality and helped maintain the illusory gate on Kalvetua's behalf, while simultaneously ramping up his assault as the sea serpent diverted its focus.
The battle on Tiana Island grew so intense that even people far away in Bayam could feel the world-shaking tremors.
Kalvetua suffered heavy damage, giving the feathers even more opportunity to invade. As the power of Artificial Death encroached closer, even Kalvetua's scales began sprouting white feathers in patches!
It went berserk, tearing feathered flesh from its own body with savage fangs, until it was covered in deep, gaping wounds. But with its incredible regenerative ability, all the injuries visibly squirmed and healed within seconds.
Kottman, observing all this, sneered coldly.
"No wonder Gehrman Sparrow lured me here. You lot from the Numinous Episcopate must've planned to use my fight with this serpent to help you gain control over it. You're quite the schemers!"
Ralph: (panicked inner voice) I didn't! I don't even know that damned Gehrman Sparrow! Stop spouting nonsense!
But Kottman ignored him. His eyes flicked across the dense forests of Tiana Island like lightning. Then, with both hands, he formed two silver-white thunder spears and hurled them violently downward.
Ralph's expression changed dramatically. He gritted his teeth and was forced to open another Gate of Underworld for defence.
——
In the underground chamber—
Edward had tried every form of magic and Beyonder ability he could think of against the skeletal bone wall, but nothing worked.
Just then, a violent tremor shook the area. The air suddenly became humid. Thick mist rolled in from all sides, and arcs of electricity crackled overhead.
It felt like standing inside a thundercloud right before a storm.
BOOM!!!
The next moment, a thunderstorm exploded.
Silver lightning engulfed the entire underground passage in an instant. Edward shielded Lilith with one arm and clutched Phoenix with the other. Wrapped around his body was an intangible Emperor's New Clothes, protecting him from the damage.
A few seconds later—
The light faded.
Everything within the tunnel had either been incinerated to ash or scorched black by the extreme heat. Even the earthen walls had a faint glassy sheen from crystallisation.
Even the bone wall had sustained noticeable damage. A few more strikes like that, and it might just collapse completely.
That's the true power of a Sequence 3 Sailor Pathway Beyonder—
No frills. Just pure, violent destruction.
(Of course, it probably helped that lightning has bonus effects against undead creatures.)
Unfortunately, there was no second thunder strike. And Edward's cloak wore off before anything else happened.
"Looks like this wall draws power from Artificial Death, but it hasn't reached Sequence 1 yet. Then…let's try one last thing."
An illusory book flipped open in Edward's mind. He turned to a page showing a bloodstained long spear—the Spear of Longinus.
With Sequence 3 magnification, this strike would be almost as powerful as Bernadette's original.
"Let's hope it works…"
Edward recalled his encounters with those on the Death pathway—Zangwill, Ludwell…The worst part of dealing with them had always been the wave after wave of undead they summoned to serve as meat shields.
Now the Numinous Episcopate had taken that a step further by crafting an undead-based barrier.
"These poor undead souls really are the unluckiest bastards."
Edward muttered under his breath.
The blood-scented spear began to coalesce in his hand.
But just before it fully took shape, a sudden thought struck him. He cancelled the ability and turned to Phoenix.
"Where's that ring?"
Phoenix opened its beak and spat out the black, square ring they'd obtained from Ludwell.
Edward caught it and held it in his palm. Then he slowly extended his hand toward the bone wall—
And passed right through it.
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.