Final Chapter ~ Breaking the Door, the Last Link of the Fate Gear
Stepping into the pitch-black underground staircase, the oil lamps along the corridor suddenly lit up, seemingly triggered by some mechanism on the ground, waking these lamps from a hundred years of slumber.
Despite the numerous oil lamps, no one felt a trace of warmth; the basement remained unbearably cold.
Aistride descended into the basement, stopping to wait for her teammates.
“Aistride, are you okay?” Sensing Aistride was slightly off, Tillysha asked, her tone akin to an elder’s concern for their junior.
Aistride shook her head, indicating she was fine, then moved to stand beside Tillysha, silently following her pace.
Seeing Aistride silent, Tillysha refrained from asking more, perhaps because the earlier bell’s effect hadn’t worn off yet, making her appear somewhat dazed and detached.
Wenfu hid behind Princess Filisia and Tillysha. She wasn’t sure why, but seeing Aistride gave her the creeps, as if every hair on her body stood on end, sending a chill down her spine.
Perhaps… it’s just because the basement is too cold.
Wenfu consoled herself this way.
“Um… Hmm………” The little Yimi in Princess Filisia’s arms stirred, letting out a faint whimper.
“Yimi? Are you okay?” Hearing Yimi wake up, Tillysha went over to check.
Yimi seemed to have regained basic consciousness, lifting her eyelids slightly, her head limply tilting to one side, looking at Tillysha and then Princess Filisia.
“…… Where’s Wenfu? How is she doing?”
“Don’t worry, Wenfu is doing fine.” The first thing Yimi said after waking up was to inquire about others, prompting Tillysha to gently rub Yimi’s head, smoothing the messy hair on her forehead.
“Yimi Yimi!” Hearing Yimi call her name first, the little kitten was deeply moved, jumping around to indicate that she was present and not dead yet.
Hearing Wenfu’s energetic voice was almost enough to imagine her lively bouncing around. Nodding slightly, Yimi seemed to have no more strength to say another word, falling back asleep in Princess Filisia’s arms.
“Filisia, thank you for taking care of Yimi.”
“Are you kidding? Wasn’t that the least I could do?”
“Everyone, thank you for sticking by me and going through hardships together. I really appreciate it.” Tillysha solemnly bowed deeply to the three of them.
“Eh? No no, it’s Wenfu who has been holding everyone back throughout the journey………” Wenfu scratched her head awkwardly, not wanting to claim false modesty.
Which wasn’t exactly false modesty—it was a fact.
“Are we not companions on the same team in life and d*ath? Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?” Princess Filisia smiled. “Besides, it was my own decision to come to Ruglien. I also hope to eradicate this cancer of Caleburn sooner. Your role has been indispensable throughout, and I should be the one thanking you.”
“Thank you all.” Tillysha’s gaze swept over everyone, then glanced at Aistride who remained silent, speaking earnestly.
“Tillysha, you actually aren’t the same age as us, are you?” Princess Filisia finally brought up this unspoken secret.
“Yes, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to keep it hidden from you.”
“I figured as much. If you were our age, I would have been deeply discouraged.” Princess Filisia joked.
With her single effort, she had continuously destroyed the barriers of five Ruglien checkpoints—something the entire empire could not achieve. She had done it effortlessly. If Tillysha were truly their age, that would be an extremely strange thing.
Aistride glanced up at Tillysha, remaining silent.
The group continued down the straight underground passage, Tillysha walking ahead, Princess Filisia holding Yimi at the back.
Aistride in the middle underwent a subtle change in complexion, but no one noticed this.
She could feel the resonance from her soul growing closer, instinctually urging her to approach her target.
This wasn’t a situation where her cognition and brain were being controlled; instead, she felt clearer than ever, closer to her true self than any other time.
Surrounded in the underground passage, with no sight of the sun or sky nearby, only their footsteps echoed. Beyond that, even the sound of the oil lamps burning was distinctly heard.
Tillysha halted.
Ahead, there was no more road.
After walking for who knows how long, she looked upwards diagonally, at the end of the staircase—a metal iron door covered with hexagrams.
She tried pulling, but the door was incredibly sturdy, immovable like Mount Tai.
Tillysha activated the Divine Analysis Technique, detecting the structure of the metal door. After clearly understanding it, she cut at each point of the hexagram, then kicked the door with her foot.
The hexagram’s light dimmed, and with one kick, the iron door was blasted away.
The view suddenly opened up to an endless plain ahead, sunlight streaming through the cracks, scattering among the trees. What should have been an expansive field was blocked from view by the ‘monstrous beast.’
A fortress suddenly appeared on the plain, shrouded in gloom. Everywhere else basked in the sun, except for this fortress, which, like an unsightly flaw on an oil painting, stood glaringly in the center of the plain, the purple haze in the sky obscuring the heavens.
“Sky Shuttle City…………” Princess Filisia dumbfounded stared at the vast fortress city.
The brick walls were laid with a layer of black oil, known as a ‘Black Lipid’ alchemical substance; spreading it on structures rendered them impenetrable by weapons.
Carved with exquisite bas-reliefs on the battlements, inlaid with priceless jewels on the walls, rising so high it seemed endless, the observation tower’s crossbows still stood, guarding the empire for a thousand years—the only absence being the flag planted high on it. Apart from that, this fortress stood proudly like it did four hundred years ago, its grandeur undiminished.
Rumor had it that this human holy city still existed in Ruglien, yet it remained just a rumor. Most historians believed that the city was destroyed during the battle against the Demon Race and had become a regretful chapter in history.
Princess Filisia had never seen the legendary city, but she could immediately recognize it as the majestic capital of the ancient empire, Sky Shuttle City.
Beyond Sky Shuttle Pass was Sky Shuttle City.
Even observing as an outsider, Tillysha couldn’t help but feel awe-struck.
Humans, though a short-lived species, could still accumulate knowledge, basing themselves on the sediment of knowledge and culture, to construct this king city symbolizing ultimate power and domination.
Unfortunately, the builders had become history, regimes changed, and this city’s masters had become other races.
Among her awe, Tillysha caught a familiar scent. Her intuition told her that all the answers she sought lay within this fortress.
The Demon King, Ifen, the truths of the Demon Race, and now, where had her fellow kin gone?
In her memory, the Gold Elf village was plundered by demons; most Gold Elves died in the war. What was dubious was that the Elf Sacred Tree did not become dry and lose all its leaves as a result. Though not as vibrant as before, it remained basically lush.
This proved her fellow elves were still living somewhere.
Tillysha had to not only find Ifen but also question her regarding her actions toward her own people.
If… If Ifen really was the one who opened the doors, allowing demons to massacre the Gold Elf clan, then even she……
“Sister Tillysha?”
“Um? What’s the matter?” Wenfu’s words were like a cold spring drenching Tillysha’s head, restoring her clear vision.
“Um… Never mind.” Wenfu wanted to say, “Your eyes just look so scary,” but held it back at the last moment.
“Is the Demon King, the root of all evil, really inside this city?” Perhaps because of the cat’s ‘spider sense’, Wenfu clearly felt something was wrong with this fortress, radiating an atmosphere that sent shivers down her spine.
“Probably.” Tillysha gave an ambiguous answer, her eyes fixed on the fortress.
Unlike Princess Filisia and the others who noticed specific elements, the silent Aistride’s eyes were tightly focused on a certain part of the gate, as if she could see someone through it.
She took a deep breath to calm herself.
Now, at this very moment, her emotions were stirring as much as Tillysha’s, but it wasn’t because everything was about to end.
On the contrary, everything was just beginning.
Am I… not really “me”?
Aistride stared at her own palms. Between the intertwining, inexplicable lines, she could see a source that she had never been able to see before.
Her exquisite eyes, reminiscent of a purple moon in the sky, were filled with an otherworldly transcendence, as if nothing in the mortal world could capture her gaze.
“Thank you for coming with me this far, but from here on, I can take care of it alone.” Tillysha didn’t want them to follow her anymore.
To put it bluntly, they were just a group of rookies, their strength far inferior to the centuries-old demons within the city.
It was time for the Elf Divine Warrior to cleanse everything.
“You’re talking nonsense. Let me tell you, I won’t leave my teammate to fight alone.” Princess Filisia raised her eyebrows.
“Wenfu can be useful too!”
Yimi looked at Tillysha and nodded; her eyes already conveyed what she wanted to express.
Just like Tillysha, now that the answers were about to become clear, she was equally concerned about the safety of her own race and couldn’t possibly stay here waiting.
She had to go with them, even if it meant crawling.
“………Filisia, Aistride, please look after Yimi and Wenfu.” With no way to stop her teammates and needing someone to take care of Yimi, Tillysha was left with no choice but to let them follow behind her.
“The demons lurking in Sky Shuttle City are all over a century old, and each one may be more powerful than all of you combined. Let me make it clear before we set off: don’t act recklessly, try not to engage in battle, and stay behind me.” Tillysha seriously reminded them.
Everyone but Aistride nodded in agreement.
After giving them the necessary briefing, Tillysha looked toward the distant fortress, yet feeling strangely close.
Ifen……….
I’m here.
Let our grudges come to an end today.
Beneath the towering gateway, Tillysha looked up, releasing her magical bloom, sending an arrow toward the top of the tower. The light arrow was deflected by an invisible barrier before it hit.
As expected, the city was fortified with a barrier and impossible to breach easily.
Tillysha withdrew her long sword, causing leaves to scatter as she attacked the gate, but all were deflected by the barrier, leaving no trace on it.
Even without the barrier, they wouldn’t be able to penetrate this human holy city, which even the Demon Race couldn’t destroy.
“Clearly, ordinary means won’t suffice to breach this fortress.” Aistride suddenly spoke, her tone subtly guiding them, then giving Tillysha a slightly indistinct glance, a glimmer of reluctance flickering in her eyes before quickly disappearing.
Tillysha, sensing her meaning, looked at Aistride. “Hmm, you’re right.”
Even though Aistride seemed a bit odd since yesterday, Tillysha still trusted her fellow Elf and Aistride as a person.
“Have you truly made up your mind?” This was obviously directed at Tillysha, and it didn’t resemble Aistride’s usual tone when conversing with her, but it didn’t feel out of place either.
“Opening this gate might mean there’s no turning back.” Aistride was deeply convinced.
Had it not been for following Tillysha all this way, perhaps she could have stayed the same, continuing to be the Elf Princess. But since coming here, she had faintly sensed who she truly was.
There was no going back now.
“Aistride, you should have said this to me before the expedition. If I hadn’t been prepared for this, I wouldn’t have come this far.” Tillysha seemed to understand what Aistride wanted to say, yet also seemed a bit unsure.
Instantly, the heavens changed color, and a deep, black spear appeared in Tillysha’s hand, the power to destroy heaven and earth within her grasp.
Seeing this, Aistride shook her head and took a step back.
Everything was predestined, just like it was certain that she would eventually uncover her true identity.
Since the final link in the chain of fate had been set in motion, she could only accept the facts accordingly.
Breathing heavily, Tillysha couldn’t count how many times she had used this absolutely unfair divine weapon, “Holy Oblivion.”
Each use brought her new realizations.
Not exactly realizations, it was more like she was increasingly remembering and understanding the dangers of this weapon of unimaginable power.
She even began to doubt if the weapon was something she was born with, and if not, how did it even come to reside inside her??…
Moreover, coincidentally entering Ruglien and breaking through numerous obstacles was exactly the person who could destroy the barriers, was this really a coincidence or arranged?
Straining, she swung the weapon, a divine artifact that could destroy everything, including its master, and swung it down with difficulty.
“HOOOONNNGGGG!!” No matter what level of protection, it was laughed at under this “concept” weapon’s might, destroyed in one stroke, with both the barrier and city gate shattered.
Sky Shuttle City now had a huge breach, and the lurking “something” began to stir.
Final Volume: Elves, Pure, Yet Maddening
