Chapter 289: Ch 288: Trigger for World Magic

The goddess’s expression darkened as she stared at Leon, and for the first time since she had entered the room, there was something other than amusement and confidence in her eyes.

"You...you really are his fragment, aren’t you?"

Leon frowned at her words, but he did not lower his sword. His divine energy continued to flow around his body, forming a barrier between Kael and the others as he kept himself firmly positioned in front of his teacher.

"I don’t know what you are talking about. But I do know one thing. You are trying to take away the people I care about, and I am not going to let you do that."

Leon declared as he raised his sword, his divine aura becoming even brighter as he prepared himself for another attack.

The goddess stared at him for a few seconds before she let out a disappointed sigh.

"You really are just like him. Always getting in my way even when I don’t want you to. I suppose that is why he chose you as his successor."

"I don’t care what you think about me. I just know that it is my duty to take you down."

Leon replied before charging forward, his sword cutting through the space between them as he aimed directly at the goddess.

The goddess raised her hand, and a massive wave of corruption rushed toward him with enough force to tear apart the ground beneath their feet.

Leon swung his sword and cut through the attack, but the impact still forced him several steps backward, his boots digging into the floor as he struggled to maintain his balance.

"She is stronger than I expected..."

Leon muttered as he looked at the goddess, but there was no fear in his eyes despite the overwhelming power standing in front of him.

Kael heard those words and frowned as he continued to pour his magic into the spell behind him.

"Leon, you cannot fight her alone. Get the others away from here."

"But what about you?"

"I have already made my decision."

Kael replied as he looked toward the magic circle behind him, where the massive spell continued to absorb the mana surrounding it and convert it into the power required to complete its function.

The spell was almost complete.

Only a small portion remained, but Kael knew that the final part was also going to be the hardest one to complete, especially when his body was already starting to break down from the amount of power he had forced through it.

If he lost his concentration now, everything would collapse.

Leon seemed to understand this as well, and his eyes hardened as he turned toward the corrupted girls who were still trying to reach Kael.

"Then I will hold them back."

The goddess frowned when she heard those words.

"You think you can stop all of them?"

"I don’t need to stop them forever. I only need to buy my teacher enough time."

Leon said before his divine aura exploded around him, forcing the corruption back for a brief moment.

Seraphina and the others rushed toward him, but Leon met them head-on without allowing any of them to get past him.

He did not attack them.

Instead, he used his sword to deflect their movements and push them away from Kael, carefully avoiding causing any serious injuries despite the fact that they were trying to break through his defenses.

"Seraphina, wake up!"

He shouted as he blocked another attack.

"You are stronger than this! Don’t let her control you!"

Seraphina’s eyes flickered for a moment, and her movements suddenly slowed as if his words had managed to reach something buried beneath the corruption.

"Leon..."

Her voice sounded faint, almost as if another person was speaking from beneath the corruption that had taken hold of her mind.

The goddess noticed this change immediately, and she raised her hand without hesitation.

"Do not listen to him."

A wave of corruption slammed into Seraphina’s mind, and her expression quickly returned to normal as the brief trace of awareness disappeared from her eyes.

"Teacher...you need to come back."

She whispered before charging toward Leon again.

Kael watched this scene with a heavy heart, and he could feel his resolve beginning to crack as he watched the people he had tried so hard to protect fight against each other.

He wanted to help them.

Every instinct inside him was screaming at him to stop this madness and save them, but he knew that doing so would mean abandoning the only chance they had left.

He could not.

Not anymore.

The spell behind him suddenly began to glow brighter, and Kael could feel the magical structure finally approaching its final stage.

[World Magic has reached 97% completion.]

[Warning: Contractor Kael’s physical condition has deteriorated severely.]

[Time until body ceases functioning: 17 minutes.]

Kael smiled bitterly when he saw the notification appear in front of him.

"Seventeen minutes..."

He muttered before looking at the goddess, who was still watching the battle between Leon and the others with an increasingly disturbed expression.

"That should be enough."

The goddess heard him and her expression immediately changed.

"What did you say?"

Kael did not answer her.

"What are you going to do?"

Instead, he poured the last reserves of his magic into the spell, forcing his already damaged body to process even more mana than it could safely handle.

The entire room began to shake violently as the magic circle expanded until it covered the floor, walls, and even the ceiling.

The light coming from the spell became so intense that even the goddess was forced to shield her eyes.

And then, she finally understood what Kael was attempting.

"No..."

For the first time since she had regained her power, genuine fear appeared on her face.

"You cannot do this."

Kael looked at her with a tired smile, even as blood began to trickle from the corner of his mouth.

"Then stop me. But I am afraid that it is too late."

[Your world magic has met the activation trigger.]

[Your body and magic are not enough to sustan your existence and the flow of the world magic. Would you like to sacrifice your body to compensate for the difference in magic?]

[Warning: The magic needed to make the world flow might not be enough, even with your magic and body’s sacrifice.]

So this was a risk. Kael had no idea whether this would work or not, but he had to at least try.

Leon was holding back Seraphina and the others, but he was not able to hold back the terrified goddess who was rushing toward Kael.

"This is idoticy! Stop it at once. This is a command from your goddess!"

She yelled in desperation as her eyes continued to look...no glare at Kael. He suddenly had a feeling that she would do anything to keep him alive.

And right now, his instincts were counting on her to help him out.

"I am sorry."

He whispered as he gave his answer to the world magic.

[Understood. User ’Kael’s’ body will be used up as a sacrifice needed for the world magic’s activation.]

[Warning: the magic needed for world magic is not enough. User’s soul will be consumed to initiate.]

It hurt so much. Kael felt like his whole existence was being torn apart as he felt his magic being stripped away and thden his soul. But he held on tightly to that sensation and allowed his body to relax.

He could do this. He could stay still and allow himself to become the one that would end it all.

But the goddess could not let him go that easily. She broke the barrier and grabbed Kael’s face, forcing him to look at her.

"Did you think I would allow you to leave me so easily? I am the Goddess who caused this all because of you. So now, I am going to make sure you remain by my side, no matter what I have to sacrifice for it."

[A new candidate has been found for ther power soure of world magic.]

[the candidate has voluntarily given in to allow the world magic to use them.]

[Goddess Aria Solwyn’s power will be mixed in with the world magic.]

"I am going to blast this system and corrupt it beyond measure. I will make it such that it will become impossible to cast the world magic. And then, you and I will stay together forever."

The goddess promised as her corruption started to sink around Kael and the world was starting to shake.

But he did not feel scared the same way he had felt before. Infact, he could see that the goddess meant him no harm.

All she wanted to do was save him and be with him.

However, it was already too late.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kael knew that this would be possible...no, he counted on the goddess to make such a decision, so he had taken counter measures against her and her magic.

And now, it was a fuel for his spell that would save this world and his kids.