Chapter 70: Never…
A terrifying flash of light split the sky, a single slash that divided day and night.
Although it was brief, its impact was far greater than the earlier clash, a tremor that shook both the Abyss and Solor.
As Elthorp’s blade descended, all fighting ceased, the very air thick with a palpable tension.
And on Solor, the flames of war were momentarily extinguished.
The blade, a concentrated beam of destructive energy, hurtled towards Bai.
“Bai—”
Ara, seeing this, knew she couldn’t stop it.
Even if she could have, the [Merciful Soul Passing Slash] was an attack on the soul, and she would have been caught in its wake, pulled into an eternal slumber with Bai.
So, in that split second, she didn’t try to save her. She trusted her. And she attacked, unleashing a torrent of her most destructive Authorities at Elthorp.
[City Breaker], [Shatter], [Execution], [Collapse], [Annihilation]…
Although each one was only at the mid-level Calamity Class, and her use of them was crude, the combination of them was a formidable force, one even Elthorp couldn’t ignore.
But he didn’t falter. He couldn’t.
If this attack landed, if Bai took the full force of his [Merciful Soul Passing Slash], then he would be victorious.
Ara’s attack could only cause some… collateral damage.
Bai looked up, and Elthorp’s blade filled her vision, the wind from it whipping her long, silver hair into a frenzy.
And in that moment, time seemed to slow, but her movements were still bound by its laws.
Hmm… is this the time flow of the soul vision…
Or is this the illusion of a dying soul, a final, fleeting moment between the material and the spiritual…
“No, not yet.”
“I know now. It’s not me who is reborn from death, but the Abyssal Lord… or rather, God. It was ‘she’ who reshaped me.”
“Every time I am reborn from destruction… I am one step closer to ‘her,’ until I become ‘her,’ a second ‘her.'”
“Even if I fall into an eternal slumber, this will not change…”
She gripped the Knight’s longsword, and, as Elthorp’s blade descended, she charged, her voice a low whisper.
“Do you know, Elthorp…”
“Sometimes, a choice is a choice. But sometimes, no matter what you choose, there is only one end.”
History, and the future, had many paths, each one shaped by the choices of individuals.
“No matter what, I will become ‘her.’ This was my destiny, from the moment I was born…”
The [Merciful Soul Passing Slash] was upon her, and although she raised her sword to block, the attack on her soul was unstoppable.
“I will accept this end. But I will walk my own path to it.”
“I can embrace my inevitable fate, but I will not let it change me.”
“If this is all predetermined…”
“Then I will shatter it.”
Elthorp’s attack, fueled by his own life force, struck her soul.
And the [Merciful Soul Passing Slash], a power that could divide day and night, collided with a soul forged from destructive flame.
Bai’s soul was indestructible, but her consciousness was shattered, her sense of self eroding.
The golden flame in her dark-gold eyes flickered and died, her gaze turning vacant.
The small, silver-white figure fell from the sky, her sword clattering to the ground.
Ara rushed to her, catching her in her arms.
But she saw Bai’s vacant eyes, staring blankly at the sky, her usual light gone.
“No! Bai… don’t… don’t be like this…”
At the same time, in the gray hall, Shaya opened her eyes.
She looked towards Bai, a hint of sadness in her scarlet pupils.
And in a distant corner of the Abyss, a pair of indifferent black eyes, which had been watching the battle, also closed.
And in the Frigid Lands, the Snow Maiden, in the sacred lands of the Bewildering Forest, Eleanor, and in the capital of the North Empire, Lilia… they all looked in Bai’s direction.
They all felt it, a familiar, precious presence, slowly fading away.
“Did… did it work!”
Elthorp’s face was filled with a triumphant glee, but then he coughed up a mouthful of black blood, his lungs burning.
The [Merciful Soul Passing Slash], though powerful, had a heavy price.
And Ara’s counterattack, though it would have only been a minor injury otherwise, had now pushed him to the brink, amplifying the aftereffects of his own attack.
He was now weaker than ever, so weak that even a mid-level Calamity Class being could kill him.
But it was worth it.
The falling silver-white figure, her consciousness fading, was a sign of her impending eternal slumber.
The crimson chains of the gray hall, no longer restrained by the wind, reached out, to drag Bai’s soul into the endless void, to sleep with the Abyssal Lord.
But before they could touch her, a Knight’s longsword flashed, severing them.
A purple-haired girl, her hands gripping the sword, stood before Bai.
And in her amethyst eyes, a silver-white flame flickered.
“No, Ara will not allow… you to take Bai…”
“Never…”
