Chapter 128 The Time of Parting Has Arrived
Under the pitch-black night sky.
The Crowned Griffin let out a rapid shriek, its massive Black Vulture wings flapped ceaselessly, breaking through the vast sky. On its broad back, Isadorella gripped the Holy Sword, its golden radiance overflowing, empowering the Emperor Rank Crowned Griffin’s form and granting it a speed far exceeding its usual. It transformed into a golden meteor, streaking towards the Valley of Termination a hundred miles away.
“Ten minutes, ten minutes left.”
She raised her gaze towards the direction of the Valley of Termination. She herself was not specialized in perception or reconnaissance, so she couldn’t manifest specific images like Tristan. However, as a Legendary Expert, Isadorella’s mental power was sufficient to perceive the general situation a hundred miles away. Just moments ago, she had distinctly sensed the aura of a clash between Legendary Experts erupting in the Valley of Termination.
Cain… he actually had the ability to contend with a Legendary Expert? This left Isadorella somewhat bewildered, but inwardly, she rejoiced. However, within a few minutes, she perceived the fluctuations of that Legendary battle slowly dim. Finally, it returned to silence. This caused Isadorella’s heart to sink. She knew very well what this meant. The battle was over… Cain had been defeated.
Yet, a faint hope still lingered in her heart. Perhaps Cain had merely escaped, after all, he had displayed astonishing self-preservation abilities before. Even if Cain had shown cowardice and chosen to surrender to Vortigern, becoming a prisoner of that humble king, it wouldn’t matter. There would still be hope for an exchange. As long as— it wasn’t the ending Isadorella was unwilling to contemplate, that would be enough.
But.
The Next Moment.
The Crowned Griffin suddenly halted in mid-air. Then, it let out an uncertain shriek.
“What is it, Griffin?”
Isadorella’s Legendary Majesty unfolded, forcefully calming the frightened emotions of the Crowned Griffin. This was the first time she had seen this Griffin, which had accompanied her since childhood, exhibit such a fearful and uneasy expression. But then, Isadorella understood the reason for her Crowned Griffin’s extreme apprehension. She looked up slightly. And then, she saw it: from the distant sky, a spear of light was descending.
*Zheng—*
As if stimulated by the Holy Spear, which was a Star-Forged weapon like itself, unleashing its full restraints. The Holy Sword in Isadorella’s hand erupted with an incredibly dazzling radiance, mirroring the meteor of light in the distant sky. The final shackle and seal shattered. Isadorella felt an immense, scorching, ancient mystery suddenly transmitted from her seventh Soul Pact. Such a blessing, imbued with the blessings of an entire world, caused her mental power to continuously replenish, and then break through. Afterwards, it propelled her to directly break through to the Status of a Legendary Expert, reaching the threshold of the Throne. This was the goal she had dreamed of and relentlessly pursued for years.
But at this very moment, as the goal was truly achieved, Isadorella felt no joy in her heart. She felt an inexpressible pressure, unable to speak. Then, she could only silently watch the trajectory of the falling star in the distant sky. The Holy Spear, launched from this planet’s near-Earth orbit with gravity as its bowstring—crossed the vacuum of near-Earth orbit, pierced the atmosphere and clouds, transcended the shackles of the magic net and the laws of the Material Plane. It tore through the air, stirring up storms. From the sky it fell, like a world-ending crimson flame. Then— it struck the target’s location directly, without the slightest deviation.
Vortigern, Flander, and the armies under the humble king, including the Abyss Monsters—the Valley of Termination.
…
The sound disappeared. Immediately after, the colors vanished. The World became Silent, leaving only the gushing, scorching starlight. Light was flowing. Light was roaring. The surging radiance stirred countless vortices. Be it flesh, magic, or metal, sand and stone, or monsters entwined with abyssal auras, the most power Legendary Experts… Everything was annihilated like weeds before the fully unleashed, true Majesty of the Holy Spear—the Tower of the World’s End, the Anchor of the Storm that connects the earth. All things were pierced and swallowed, towards the distant shore of the night sky. Then, an explosion.
The imprint of light was carved onto the celestial canopy, illuminating half of Escarnia’s night sky. Immediately afterwards. From the distant horizon, the shockwave, arriving a step later, reached this wasteland. It dispersed the clouds, shook the houses, overturned the forests, shook the earth, and swept through. The turbulent winds scattered the hairpin of Isadorella’s disguise, her silver-white long hair danced in the night sky, but she had no leisure to attend to it at this moment.
In Isadorella’s perception—in the direction of the Valley of Termination. Countless originally immense and powerful army and monster auras, vast as grains of sand in the sea, now dissolved like ice and snow within the beam of light descending from the sky. The Myriad Horses were thus swept away by the wind, transforming into dust in the sky. Not a single trace of life remained.
“The Sword of Damocles suspended at the end of the sky.”
“The solidified divine punishment—descending from the celestial curtain.”
Only now did Isadorella truly understand the origin of the titles “Sword Holder” and “Sword in the Sky.” And “Black Knight” Cain. He was the first Sword Holder. Towards the despicable king and the demons from the Abyss—he brought down the divine punishment spear of judgment from the celestial curtain.
…
“What exactly happened in the Valley of Termination?”
“Flander betrayed me? But what was that fluctuation?”
In Escarnia’s Royal City. On his throne, Vortigern’s main body turned pale. He felt that the half-body he had projected using a Holy Relic and a Familiar had suddenly lost contact. In other words, it was dead. But how was this possible? Even if that King of Knights had broken through to Legendary, revolted along with Flander, holding the Holy Sword, his half-body would never have died so inexplicably, without even a trace of information being transmitted back.
…
A hundred miles from the Royal City, at the Dawn Holy See. The face of the Cardinal Archbishop was also shocked. Under his watch, he clearly sensed the aura of the humble king in the Royal Capital plummet. From originally touching the threshold of a demigod, it instantly dropped to the level of a normal Legendary Expert. Did he fail to break through and suffer a mental backlash, or was this a deliberate disguise to lure me into action?
The Cardinal’s thoughts had barely arisen. The Next Moment. His gaze, along with all awakened residents throughout Escarnia at that current moment, cast towards the pillar of light descending from the heavens to the mortal world. Immediately afterwards.
“Citizens of Escarnia.”
“I am the founder of ‘Dawn’, Cain.”
That hazy yet calm voice suddenly echoed throughout the entirety of Escarnia. This was an invisible projection array that Shaya, using the Dawn Organization, had spent half a year etching into the Vast majority of villages and towns throughout Escarnia. At this moment, it was functioning for the first time. Thus, his words, along with the spear of divine punishment, were heard by the people within Escarnia.
“This is our first meeting, and also our last meeting.”
Shaya’s voice was not loud, but at this moment, it pierced through the stars and the earth. “What I want to tell everyone is… this current era of disaster, where people live in misery, suffer from hunger and cold, and war is rampant, is only temporary.”
“This long, long night is not without end.”
“If this World lacks light, then I am willing to be the firewood myself, to become the torch that illuminates this starless night.”
“This divine punishment is the dawn light I leave behind.”
Shaya’s words paused slightly. “Today, though I myself perish.”
“However, the true meaning of the Dawn Organization will not perish with my death.”
“As long as your eyes have not become accustomed to the darkness, and still retain a trace of yearning for light, then each of you can become Cain, become the dawn that illuminates this World.”
“One Cain falls, but thousands upon tens of thousands of Cains will rise again.”
“So…”
“Everyone, no matter what, do not hate yourselves for being born in this era.”
“Please wait, and hold onto hope.”
“In this extremely dark night, you will never walk alone.”
“Always believe that good things are about to happen.”
The Next Moment. Accompanied by an illusory light screen akin to ripples on water. Myriad identical images were projected before countless citizens of Escarnia. It was a dreamlike kingdom, a land of ideals. Orderly, with people living and working in peace. Industry was highly developed, even the poorest farmers could wear luxurious silk clothes and eat their fill. Even if infected with illness, they no longer needed to ask priests from the church for treatment, but could buy cheap medicine at any time. Even children from poor families had the right to literacy and elementary education. And even the offspring of Legendary Experts, once they committed a crime, were punished the same as commoners.
…
Isadorella stood on the Crowned Griffin, sensing the image projected from a distant village, feeling slightly dazed. Such a utopia— it seemed she had seen it somewhere else before. However, the Next Moment. Isadorella heard the sound of horses galloping from the land beneath her.
“King.”
Gawain fell from his horse, his face covered in dust, appearing extremely disheveled. However, he still looked up at Isadorella, his face filled with fear and unease. “I found a letter written by Cain himself for you on the wooden table in Lord Cain’s room.”
“A letter from Cain for me?”
Isadorella took the pure white envelope. Immediately, her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. On the cover of the letter, there was a line of text.
“King,”
“I think the time for our farewell has arrived.”
