Chapter 300: The End of the World (5)

A dry laugh slipped through my lips. There was no grand ambition behind it nor a noble purpose. Five hundred years ago, a stranger had fallen into an unfamiliar world; that stranger only wanted one thing. It was to return home.

The first outsider. No... Something’s off.

A faint sense of unease crept into my thoughts. It wasn’t a logical conclusion; rather, it was just a gut feeling. But as I looked at Morris, his gaze wavering as if his eyes would fall out at any moment, an instinctive suspicion rose within me. While I wasn’t sure of it, I wanted to confirm it.

Thick tree roots rose, encircling us like a tightening cage. Maybe it was because I had drawn too much power earlier when I burned the tree, the Primordial Flame was still unstable. But right now, I had no choice.

“Ignite.” Ashen Flames wrapped around me, roaring to life.

“You said that when the Primordial Flame and the Tree of Creation collide, the door will open, right?” I raised my sword toward Morris. “That’s not going to happen.”

The Primordial Flame and the Tree of Creation, those two powers would never collide. I explained, “Because I’ll stop it.”

“Hah.” Morris’s lips curled into a grin. “Nice. That’s a very admirable resolve. But...”

He chuckled, shoulders shaking. “Things in this world... don’t get solved by determination alone, do they?”

He raised his hand. A crimson flame ignited, wrapping around his palm. It burned greedily, radiating a fierce heat.

I found the flame too familiar. “That’s...”

“It’s the Primordial Flame,” Morris replied. “Hahaha! I told you, didn’t I? With my power, I couldn’t fully absorb the Primordial Flame. In other words, I can still absorb it, albeit incompletely.”

With a twisted grin, he extended his flame-covered arm toward me. The Ashen Flames around me surged violently, resonating with his. Then, my flames began greedily absorbing Morris’s.

No way!

I hurriedly drew upon the power of the Tree of Creation, trying to suppress them, but once the absorption had begun, there was no stopping it.

“Remember when you absorbed Amon’s flame in the Abyss?” Morris said. “Well then, try controlling this too.”

When an incomplete flame and a complete flame coexisted in the same space, the fire would naturally flow toward the complete one.

A massive torrent of flame gushed out of Morris and into me, being directly absorbed by my soul stigmata. The Primordial Flame I had obtained in my past life, the fragments I absorbed from the Holy Empire and the Empire, the remnants of the Demon God I devoured in the Abyss, and now Morris’s flame—with all these, the fragile balance I had barely maintained began to crack, tilting dangerously out of control.

Grinding my teeth, I forced the power of the Tree of Creation to rise. I had to control it. If the Primordial Flame went berserk now, everything would end. Shouting like a monster, I suppressed the raging inferno that threatened to devour the world. The wild, starving-beast-like flames calmed, if only slightly.

“Hah! You’re still trying to control it?” Morris let out a disbelieving laugh. He then raised his hand, a wooden sword forming from intertwined branches. “Guess I don’t have a choice but to distract you a little.”

He stomped forward, about to swing the wooden sword. However, a streak of silver cleaved through the air, knocking the wooden sword aside.

“Dale!” Yurina shouted.

Morris smirked as he looked at her. “Hmm. Yuren, no, I suppose I should call you Yurina Helios now? Guess Reynald’s blood still runs strong. Even after five hundred years, I can still see traces of that bastard’s face.”

Yurina bit her lip, pointing her sword at Morris. “I’ll protect Dale...”

The others had also come along with her. Iris saw my condition and asked, “D-Dale! A-are you okay?”

“It looks like something’s wrong with Dale’s body,” Elisha said worryingly.

“I-Iris! Q-quick, heal him!” Laneige said hurriedly.

“Okay!” Iris replied.

“Wait. Both of you, stop,” Elisha ordered.

Webs shot out, binding Iris and Laneige as they tried to run toward me. Elisha, her violet Cursed-Eyes gleaming ominously, firmly said, “Dale’s condition isn’t something healing magic can fix. You understand that better than anyone, don’t you, Iris?”

“B-but...!”

“Calm down. What we need to do is...” Elisha’s gaze sharpened as she looked at Morris. “We need to buy time. Until Dale overcomes this himself.”

Iris bit her lip, clutching the pendant around her neck.

Laneige glared at Morris, her eyes blazing. “You. You did this to Dale, didn’t you?”

A freezing aura spread outward, cracking the ground as it froze over.

Morris chuckled as he looked at the four women standing protectively before me. “Wow. Is it because you’re my son? You’re really popular.”

After he had laughed for a while, his expression hardened as he gripped the wooden sword. “Stop getting in my way and get lost, you bitches.”

* * *

Tree roots burst violently from the ground. Morris said, “Do you really think the likes of you can stop us?”

At the same time, the masked Apostles of Eternity, who had been lying in wait, surged forward all at once.

“Yurina! Laneige and I will hold off the apostles! We leave Morris to you!” Elisha shouted.

“Yes!” Yurina stepped forward, blocking Morris’s path.

A brilliant silver radiance wrapped around her sword, igniting with dazzling light. Her silver sword clashed against his wooden blade in midair. An exchange of blows happened in an instant. After this exchange of swords with Morris, Yurina’s eyes sharpened.

She realized that his swordsmanship wasn’t that impressive. The power behind his strikes was overwhelming, but his technique itself was only slightly above average. Since that was the case, she thought she could win.

However, as if he had seen through her thoughts, Morris clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Yeah. Swinging a sword really isn’t my thing. Do you know why my swordsmanship is so mediocre?”

In the blink of an eye, tree roots burst up from the ground. He continued, “Because I don’t need to bother using a sword.”

The roots collided with Yurina’s sword. Her sword shattered into countless fragments. The splinters of the broken blade ricocheted, tearing into her body.

“KYAAAH! Ugh!” Bleeding, Yurina collapsed.

“Now that you understand, move aside. We’re busy.” Morris stepped forward to pass her.

“YURINA!” Iris yelled, a burst of rainbow-colored light flowing into Yurina’s body. “Please... don’t fall!”

Yurina’s battered body rapidly healed. Staggering to her feet, she gripped the broken hilt of her sword. “Okay...”

Her soul stigmata flared brilliantly. As though moonlight were illuminating the night sky, a beautiful silver blade formed from the hilt.

“Dale.” Yurina glanced back at Dale, who was curled up within the raging flames, and spoke softly. “I’ll protect you.”

To guard the fading sun, the moon chose to shine on its own. A surge of silver radiance erupted from Yurina. Then, a massive storm of mana exploded outward, sweeping violently through the surroundings.

“You!” Morris’s face twisted in irritation. “What a nuisance!”

He thrust his hand forward. Then, dozens of tree roots shot toward Yurina. However, like an acrobat, Yurina charged toward him, stepping on the incoming roots at incredible speed.

Morris was shocked. “What the...?”

“RAAAAAH!”

A streak of silver carved through the roots of the tree that created the world, and blazing moonlight slashed through Morris’s body. His head, arms, legs, and body split into dozens of pieces and fell to the ground.

As Yurina exhaled heavily and tried to lower her bloodstained blade, white petals fluttered before her eyes. Then, a sharp wooden branch pierced through her abdomen. Yurina let out a pained groan. Morris, who had been reduced to pieces, reformed as if nothing had happened, slowly rising to his feet.

He let out a hollow laugh, like he were baffled. “Got careless, didn’t you? Though, I didn’t expect you to be that strong.”

Clicking his tongue, he glared into the air. “That’s why I wanted to deal with things beforehand. Hah. Well, no point regretting it now.”

Shaking his head, he walked toward Yurina. “You’ll pay dearly for getting in our way.”

A sword formed of wooden branches pointed at her throat.

“Y-Yurina!” Iris tried to rush toward her. However, perhaps from overexerting her holy power, she collapsed to the ground, unable to keep her balance.

Elisha and Laneige tried to reach her as well.

“Yurina!”

“Y-Yurina!”

However, the relentless Apostles of Eternity clung to them, blocking their path.

Yurina let out a quiet breath, staring at the wooden sword aimed at her neck. As it swung down, slicing through the falling petals, Ashen Flames erupted, engulfing the wooden sword. Morris staggered back, caught in the flames. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the source of the fire in disbelief.

“This is insane!” he muttered. “You’ve already... brought the Primordial Flame under control?”

At the end of his gaze, a green glow flickered amid the violently burning Ashen Flames.