Chapter 276: Returned

Saying those last words, Orivian finally lifted his ashen left hand. The moment he did, he looked toward the surrounding battlefield with a calm expression before speaking, "Now the ritual shall commence without any interference..." As his voice spread across the area, several ashen-colored spikes began materializing in the air behind him.

At first, there were only a few dozen, but the number suddenly increased to a hundred, and then continued multiplying at an exponential rate until countless spikes filled the space behind him.

"Consumption - Memories that dwell on the soul...

Make no haste until the world is old,

In this accursed world, gain what you long for...

Make no mistake as to chase only your goal,

Slumber of the Eternals-!"

Orivian continued his chant while the countless ashen spikes remained suspended behind him. However, just as he was about to finish the final words, a figure suddenly appeared directly behind him.

Orivian immediately recognized the presence and thought, ’That boy again? He is not that much of a threat now—!’ Before he could finish the thought, something suddenly pierced through his stomach. His expression changed as he immediately lowered his head, only to see the same sword that Kael had previously injected into the Illusion Orivian had created on the battlefield.

’???’

Confusion spread through Orivian’s mind as he stared at the sword.

How had it managed to pierce through his body? He wasn’t even supposed to be existing within that Space or Reality in the first place.

Yet before he could understand what had happened, Kael’s voice came from directly behind him, "And what did I tell you? You underestimate me way too much, you fucker!"

Kael twisted the sword while keeping it buried inside Orivian’s stomach. The reaction was immediate.

"KHUG! GAHHHHHH!!!"

Orivian screamed as an unimaginable amount of pain suddenly spread throughout his entire being. In his millions of years of existence, he had experienced countless forms of pain, but none of them could compare to what he was feeling now. His entire body trembled as he struggled to understand what kind of weapon could cause something like this.

"This sword wasn’t just piercing that illusion, you bastard," Kael said as he twisted it again. "This sword pierces through the ’Truth’ and seals every power that ’Truth’ possesses."

Orivian’s already widened eyes opened even further as he finally realized that something had gone horribly wrong. Before he could understand the nature of the sword’s ability, Sylvaris suddenly appeared in front of him. She placed her hand directly against his head and calmly spoke, "Dimensional Gaps - Severance of Space."

The moment the words left her mouth, Orivian’s entire mind suddenly stopped. His scream disappeared as though someone had simply cut the sound away, while his pupils rolled toward Sylvaris. His body remained motionless for a moment before he muttered weakly, "Y-You...bastards..."

Kael twisted the sword once more as he thought, ’I have been waiting quite a while for the sword to activate because it needed a specific amount of time before its real ability could work. But damn, he made me go through every sort of humiliation during that half an hour! Die, you bastard!’

His anger continued building as he finally pulled the sword with force. At the same time, the sword’s power activated completely, and Kael tore Orivian’s entire body apart into two separate halves.

Sylvaris’s ability had already done something far more serious than simply damaging Orivian’s body. His mind, thoughts, and even his soul had suffered damage that could no longer be healed. Kael immediately turned toward Atlas, who was still focused on Seraphiel’s soul, and shouted, "Atlas!! Do not despair! I have ways to deal with this bastard and get Seraphiel’s soul—!"

But...before Kael could finish, something suddenly pierced through his stomach from the front.

Kael’s eyes widened as he slowly looked downward before turning his gaze toward the figure standing directly in front of him. The moment he recognized who it was, his entire mind screamed in disbelief.

’How is he still alive?!!!!’

Every instinct inside Kael’s body immediately told him to run, yet the hand that had pierced through his stomach remained completely still.

"KHUG!!" Kael suddenly vomited blood, the liquid bursting from his mouth, eyes, and nostrils as his body trembled from the attack. He couldn’t understand how Orivian was still capable of moving, much less attacking him after what had just happened to his body, mind, and soul.

"That bastard did some nasty things to me," a different voice suddenly came from Orivian’s body. "I have been thrown to the side inside my own body! If I can’t get anything out of all the things I tried to accomplish, then I won’t let anyone else have it!!!"

Kael’s eyes widened as he immediately recognized the voice.

It was Azarion Embersun, the Human King who was supposed to be dead inside Orivian’s consciousness.

Yet...somehow, his consciousness had returned.

Kael couldn’t understand how such a thing was possible.

Azarion’s presence should have disappeared long ago, and there had been no indication that he could regain control of Orivian’s body. But before Kael could even begin to process the situation, he tried to escape from the hand piercing through his stomach and failed. His body refused to move properly as his eyes suddenly drifted toward Atlas.

His eyebrows furrowed when he noticed something else happening. Atlas was being dragged toward an unknown portal despite not moving by his own will, as though something on the other side was forcibly pulling him away from the battlefield.

’What the fuck is happening, System?!!’ The System responded after a brief pause.

[...Host, Azarion Embersun is preparing to detonate his body and soul simultaneously. If he succeeds, the resulting destruction will consume the entire world.]

’ ...Fuck! Why are you giving me bad news whenever you come to answer things in times of danger? Help me out here!’ Kael screamed internally as he desperately tried to understand what he was supposed to do. However, the System’s next response was even more confusing.

[Host shouldn’t worry much, he won’t be dying...]

’Huh?’

Kael became even more confused by the vague answer.

He wanted to ask what the System meant, but before he could say anything else, he suddenly felt something change within Azarion’s body. Kael’s eyes widened as a strange sensation spread through the battlefield, and then he heard a voice directly inside his mind. It wasn’t directed only toward him either.

Everyone present heard the same voice at the same time.

At that exact moment, Azarion’s right hand suddenly moved on its own.

The hand slowly reached toward Seraphiel’s soul, and before anyone could react, her soul suddenly disappeared from its previous position.

’Do not worry, everyone. Eliomor and I have prepared for this day since the Ancient times. I, Luberion Ashenworth, will be taking care of this man, Orivian, while my soul fragment is resting inside him. But...what comes after this will fall on your shoulders, young ones...’

The voice faded immediately after those words, leaving everyone either confused or completely shocked by what they had just heard. Kael’s attention remained fixed on Orivian’s body as he tried to understand what had just happened, while Zaakrax immediately focused on the same body.

’Luberion’s soul is interfering with him...’

Zaakrax reached the conclusion almost instantly. He already knew that Orivian had somehow consumed Luberion’s soul, although exactly how he had accomplished it remained unknown. However, after hearing that voice and seeing the change in Orivian’s behavior, Zaakrax had no doubt that the one interfering with Orivian now was none other than Luberion himself.

And if that really was Luberion, then there was finally someone capable of stopping both Orivian and Azarion.

The thought had barely formed in Zaakrax’s mind before his massive figure disappeared from its position.

He reappeared directly behind Kael and lightly touched Kael’s shoulder with one of his claws. The moment he did, Kael vanished together with him. In the next instant, Zaakrax and Kael appeared behind Sylvaris, and without wasting even a moment, Zaakrax took Sylvaris with them as all three figures disappeared completely from the area.