Chapter 111: The Doom of the World (Part 2)
Boom boom boom boom boom—
In the dark, overcast sky, thunderous roars erupted like an angry beast, as countless streams of molten fire tore open dozens of meters wide holes in the swirling black clouds. A gigantic infernal fire meteor peeked out from the cloud, scorching winds and raging waves slammed down on the wasteland, and blazing flames whipped into a frenzy, making the atmospheric pressure feel like it had suddenly multiplied by a factor of several. In the distance, ruins crumbled with a thunderous crash, and the knights and clerics galloping on their horned horses were sent tumbling in a whirlwind of dust!
“Ughhhh—”
“It’s an infernal fire meteor!!”
“We can’t get out in time…”
“Hold steady, everyone hold steady!”
“Ohnastasi—!!!”
Shouts of panic mingled with the screams of horned horses, beneath the blinding flames, the Captain of Knights, mouth stained with bl**d, had his hair and eyebrows singed into wild curls by the shockwave. Gripping his longsword, he pointed it to the sky with a grim face, shouting at the crowd with utter disregard for his own well-being. Almost instantly, a faint light of holiness began to glow around him.
One beam, two beams, three beams…
As the lights gradually coalesced on the barren land, some people struggled to rise from the ground, their robes in tatters, arms crossed defensively over their chests. Golden light flowed from their bodies, dazzlingly bursting forth, merging into the sky with the miracle lights of the other clerics and knights. In a flash, the Sin Barrier of Ohnastasi coalesced above, blocking the oncoming wave of searing heat and swirling dust, enveloping everyone beneath it.
And then, the meteor fell.
Boom boom boom boom boom—
It was as if the very sky was ablaze, hurricane-force flames turned the air into scarlet fire. The terrifying infernal fire meteor descended from the black clouds, the gust of wind it created made the ground tremble as if it were alive; a fireball, brighter than the sun, rushed down in the blink of an eye. The Captain of Knights tilted his head back, his sword clanging to the ground as despair reflected in his widened eyes.
“This is it… it’s all over now…”
Boom!!!
The crimson meteor smashed down upon the just-formed faint golden barrier, exploding in a cataclysmic blast that echoed like the world splitting apart. As the flames surged, the once unbreakable Sin Barrier of Ohnastasi shattered like fragile eggshells beneath the impact of the infernal fire meteor, turning into a dazzling array of golden shards that were promptly devoured by the flames, followed by the panicked screams of countless onlookers below.
The horrific scarlet flames, spread by the shockwave of the explosion, lashed out across the barren land, the shrapnel of exploding fire rained down like confetti, converting everything in sight into an ocean of fire. Countless horned horses, clerics, and knights were caught off guard, their panicked cries swallowed by the encroaching waves of fire.
The excruciatingly high temperatures scorched hair and flesh, turning pain into a numbing sensation in an instant. There was no time to fear, nor any sensation of the torture of flames consuming their bodies. In a mere blink, everyone was incinerated to the point where not even ash remained. The cleric Larix, enveloped in golden light, teleported thirty meters away, but he had no time to escape as the following flames consumed him entirely.
Boom boom boom boom boom…
The infernal fires still rolled through the air.
The mighty and fearless Captain of Knights slowly closed his eyes.
He didn’t resist anymore; there was no point in fighting against this scene of doom. Not even a shred of rebellious spirit emerged as the fire and smoke enveloped him, his flesh turned to charcoal, his organs and bones turned to ash, as if he had never existed at all, vanishing in the tongue of molten bright red fire.
They were all dead.
The colossal explosion shattered the barren ground like a sadistic torch, spreading with astonishing force, causing even the distant towering Ice Mountains and the staircase that extended from them to collapse beneath the onslaught.
Melting ice vapor billowed into the air, the scorching gusts sweeping out a mile away, flattening vast ruins beneath the chaotic winds. A mushroom cloud of intertwining red and black rose defiantly from the center of the explosion, leveling the little town of Mase to nothingness.
Time passed.
When the residual shockwaves finally settled, silence returned to the barren land. Yet the earth was ablaze, thick black smoke rising everywhere, and the temperature in the air had reached a level that no ordinary human could withstand. On the charred ground, not a single living figure remained, except for a diminutive young woman, standing tall and resolute like a green pine.
With a flick of her little hand, the imposing ice wall nearly ten meters high collapsed in an instant, swirling mist from the frost fog around her effectively blocking the brutal heat from the wasteland. The clash of cold and warmth entwined, creating a perfect little pocket of temperature.
—The girl didn’t have to do it.
Neither the icy cold nor the raging inferno could harm her anymore. But the swordsman lying in the back could not say the same. She was aware of this and precisely maintained the temperature around them, seemingly determined to protect the feeble, unconscious swordsman from even the slightest injury.
Yet even so, when she turned back, she could see a thin layer of frost forming on the swordsman’s face, his breathing fluctuating between soft and rapid.
She frowned again.
Before long, a commotion arose in the distant horizon.
“d*mn it…”
From the north of the wasteland, hundreds of knights of the Graceful Scale who had been waiting outside the town for signals, regrouped with Bishop Aresta after the explosion. Only then did they shake off the shock of the blast.
This was the second time they had witnessed such a terrifying disaster that day, and this time, the destruction caused by the fire meteor was even more terrifying and intense than before, almost paralyzing them with fear. It felt impossible to fathom just how horrific their enemy might be.
As the frenzied winds whipped around them, had Aresta not reacted quickly, joining forces with others in the nick of time to raise a massive Sin Barrier in front of the knights, they would have lost most of their elite before even laying eyes upon the enemy.
And that fire meteor had fallen a whole kilometer away from everyone.
“d*mn it, d*mn it, d*mn it…”
The golden-armored ranks had become chaotic, and from the north of the town, which now resembled a war zone, a few scattered, charred debris fell from the sky. The sounds of shouting, and the cries of horned horses echoed through the swirling dust, and Bishop Aresta nearly toppled off the panicking horned horse beneath him.
Cursing under his breath, he steadied himself and shouted back to everyone, “Don’t panic! Reform your ranks! Things are still under my control! No one is to act without orders! Knights of the Graceful Scale fear nothing! Show me your spirit and courage, and keep moving with me—”
Though he shouted these words to steady the troops, deep down, even Aresta himself was desperate to flee. He understood that the calamity of the infernal fire meteor surely wasn’t conjured up by Carlos or anyone else. Once again, things had taken a turn for the worse, and during the time it took to regroup with the remaining knights, something much more terrifying had emerged.
That something was likely more fearsome than any enemies he had faced before.
But bearing the heavy responsibilities of his family, if he were to retreat in such disarray, he would face the penalties awaiting him, the losses inflicted upon Rossius, and what would become of his future reputation and status? This was a fate far more terrifying than facing a formidable opponent for Aresta.
He had no choice but to steel himself and move forward.
Even if it meant wagering the lives of everyone here.
