The air within wasteland domain were dread, tarnished with an old blood of the dead and the soldier. The clash between the Margias and the undead had reached a brutal equilibrium. Most of the undead managed to neutralize the soldiers using their methods of agony, while the soldiers proved equally capable of cutting down the undead with their own combat prowess.

  Ordeus and Crake were having a difficult time fighting the two Apostles, whose attacks were perfectly synchronized. As a result, the two Holders were unable to counter, forced to retreat slowly while parrying the violent strikes aimed at their vitals.

  "What's wrong? What's wrong, Holders?! Where's your usual confidence?!" a male Apostle taunted, excitedly swinging his greatsword alongside his partner.

  Hearing the taunt, Crake clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Hey, Ordeus! When is the time we do that?!" he asked, doing his best to parry the onslaught.

  "Any moment now!"

  As both Holders reached their desired positions, they leaped away. The Apostles’ weapons struck the ground where the Holders had stood a second before, resulting in a heavy cloud of debris and stone that blinded them.

  In that moment, a nervous smile spread across Crake's face as massive, greenish magic circles manifested beneath the Apostles. From the circles, a deadly, powerful hurricane erupted, wounding the Apostles and knocking them into the air.

  In response, Crake enhanced his sword with tempest energy, which radiated strongly across the battlefield as he instantly vanished. Reappearing high above the Apostles, he swung his sword with immense force, creating a volley of wind to separate the pair.

  As one of them hit the ground, Crake immediately charged, his blade ready. "I guess you should never underestimate the Holders, kiddo," he said, swinging his sword toward the earth. The wind tore through the terrain in a straight line, but the Apostle managed to dodge by vanishing into a pool of shadows just in time.

  Suddenly, the female Apostle emerged from a shadow pool behind Crake, attempting to ambush him. However, as she lunged with her sword, Ordeus appeared behind Crake, intercepting the strike and locking his blade against hers.

  "Seems like you owe me after this, Crake," Ordeus said from behind, his focus locked on the female Apostle.

  "Well, if we're still alive, that is," Crake replied, remaining wary of the male Apostle’s whereabouts.

  "Of course we're going to live," Ordeus broke the clash with the female Apostle just as the male Apostle lunged from the high ground toward Crake.

  "These Apostles are nothing. You could say... they are still newborns!" As soon as Ordeus spoke, he and Crake delivered simultaneous kicks against the Apostles, sending them reeling.

  Both the female and male Apostles panted heavily after landing. They gripped their weapons in frustration as they listened to the Holders' assessment of them.

  "Newborns, huh? What about it?" the female Apostle responded, pulling back her hood to reveal short, blue hair.

  "Suzie..." the male Apostle mumbled to himself.

  "You think we're going to give up just because we're 'newborns'? After nobles like you abandoned kids like us?" she said, her fury overflowing. "We, as Apostles, were reborn through Lord Erlikh's Ender. Thanks to him, we managed to get a second chance—and that chance will be used to make you pay!"

  Hearing her statement, Ordeus let out a frustrated sigh. "Seems like I really need to check on your country, Crake."

  "You think this is my fault?!" Crake asked, bewildered by Ordeus's statement.

  Back where the group was gathered, Chris immediately summoned his ash-grey book from his bag, commanding it as dozens of corrupted magic circles manifested beside him. Within them, chains emerged, charging forward and bouncing off the surrounding walls to create a chaotic web of steel. Rein and Revir watched the chains warily, but another set slipped through their guard, attempting to ambush them from behind. Fortunately, Noire stepped in, parrying the chains with his heavy shield and swinging his gladius to shatter them into thin air.

  The remaining chains surged toward Rein and Revir, their bladed tips poised to thrust. Rein let out a heavy sigh of annoyance, while Revir offered a light chuckle of pure amusement. Both pulled out their wands, morphing them into their signature weapons, a lance and a halberd, as they charged directly into the storm of chains.

  Chris was shocked by their boldness. (What the...? Are they stupid?!) he thought in disbelief. For that, he tightened his control over the chains, commanding every link to converge on Rein and Revir.

  "Revir!" Rein barked, glancing toward his ally.

  "Yeah, I know!" Revir exclaimed. He commanded his book to fly from his bag, manifesting a shimmering barrier around them.

  As the chains made contact with the barrier, they instantly began to perish, dissolving into grey mist. Seeing the opportunity, Revir cancelled the shield. Both men stomped the ground with a force that cracked the stone beneath their feet. Rein enhanced his boots with Azure energy, freezing the corridor with Azure Ice, while Revir commanded his book to morph into a spiritual Warhorse. Rein leaped forward, creating platforms of ice with every jump, while Revir mounted his horse and spurred it toward Chris.

  Frustrated, Chris backed away, leaping into the air as he aggressively cast countless chains to counter their advance. Despite the onslaught, Rein and Revir dodged the strikes with ease, destroying any chains that got too close with their lance and halberd. As Revir closed in, he leaped from his horse, morphing the spirit back into his book to cast his own chains from behind. Chris responded in kind, and their chains collided in mid-air, clashing until they both vanished into thin air.

  (This power...) Revir thought, momentarily stunned as fragments of the broken chains flew past his vision. Despite that, he gripped his halberd with both hands, ready to swing. Meanwhile, Rein closed the distance, leaping toward Chris with his lance empowered by Azure energy, its tip spinning into a lethal, spiraling ice drill.

  Desperate, Chris manifested a barrier just as Revir and Rein’s weapons slammed into him. The barrier held, but Chris’s expression hardened as he watched the two warriors struggle to shatter his defense.

  "You," Chris said, looking directly at Revir. "Why do you fight alongside the Margias? Aren't you one of the Sealers?"

  "Huh? What the hell do you mean by that?" Revir replied, straining as he pushed his halberd against the barrier.

  "You have the power to conquer them, to rule over the other Sealers," Chris stated. "Half-Sealer and Half-Margias... a rare bloodline with far more potential than any typical warrior. Yet, you decide to waste it for fun."

  "Oh yeah? So what?" Revir countered. "It's not like I'm the only one here with the potential to grow. We literally have a successor to the Holders, a half-monster, and... the Child of Light."

  As soon as he heard those last words, Chris’s eyes widened in horror at Revir's taunting smile. Both figures recoiled as Saria stepped forward, her light-bow drawn and a glowing arrow pointed directly at Chris.

  "O Light, I beg of you," Saria cast her holy magic with absolute determination. "Be a beacon for us! Shine against the darkness that seeks to destroy all!"

  She released the empowered arrow. It traveled at a blinding speed, leaving a trail of smoke and debris in its wake. Chris, unable to react in time, took the hit directly in his stomach. The arrow shattered his barrier and triggered a massive explosion, shrouding him in thick smoke.

  Revir and Rein landed beside the group, their hearts racing as they watched the smoke-filled corridor.

  "Is he gone?" Mira asked, covered her eyes with her arm from the dust.

  "Of course not," Revir replied casually, glancing back at her. "Do you think the Child of Light's strength alone is enough to finish him?"

  "I-I'm sorry... I'll try my best to train harder after this..." Saria whispered, looking down to the ground, feeling guilty about herself.

  "Nah, it’s not your fault. It's just that guy... he's starting to make me worry a little," Revir said, trying to reassure her, but his expression hardened afterward.

  "Worry about what?"

  Before Mira could finish, countless chains, larger and more jagged than before, pinned themselves into the walls, floor, and ceiling. Erick, Dulcinia, and Mira recoiled in shock. As the smoke cleared, it revealed Chris levitating, held up by the chains like a macabre puppet. His posture was hunched like a dry corpse, his body visibly rotting, with a hollow hole where his stomach had been. No blood leaked from the wound—only a thick, dark mud of Ender.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  "Worry about his power. A literal deceased Sealers, awakened as an Apostle wielding the same bloodline as mine," Revir spoke, his grip tightening on his halberd. Rein, Noire, and Saria readied their weapons with Aria pulled out her wand, while Erick and Dulcinia morphed their books and Mira drew her twin knives. "Half-Sealer and Half-Margias. Heh... what a twist."

  Meanwhile, Mary’s expression hardened as she watched Dein close the distance between them. She cast a swift spell through her staff, halting her momentum just before she hit the wall, and leaped high into the air. At the same moment, Dein swung his longsword with such force that it shattered the brick of the wall, sending a thick cloud of debris into the air.

  Mary grew more nervous as the seconds ticked by; she could no longer see Dein through the haze. However, the flickering glow of his red eyes betrayed his position, radiating through the smoke with lethal intent. Dein lunged from the dust, targeting Mary with the hideous, wide smile of a maniac.

  Annoyed, Mary casted the trunk of tree behind her, pushed her away to the ground. In response, Dein latched onto the ceiling and pivoted instantly toward her, his grip tightening on his sword. Desperate, she leveled her staff and manifested countless violet magic circles behind her, unleashing a barrage of light beams. One after another, the beams surged toward Dein, but they weren't enough to make him falter. He parried most of them against the walls with a few violent swings, channeling his Dark Ender to release a massive volley of dark blades in return.

  Frustration began to consume her heart. Mary spun her staff in a blur, gripped it with both hands, and slammed it harshly into the ground. Several magic circles erupted around Dein, and from them, massive trunks of dead wood surged forward like lances. But even this could not stop him. Dein spun his body, releasing a deadly cyclone of Dark Ender that pierced through the wood and shattered Mary's magic circles. Without losing momentum, he manifested platforms of dark energy beneath his feet to advance further.

  "I’m not done with you, you bastard!" Mary roared, swinging her arm to trigger her next spell. A massive golem, constructed from gnarled tree trunks, rose behind her.

  Dein snorted in pure amusement, his smile widening as if he were savoring every moment of the struggle. He gripped his hilt with both hands, raised the blade above his head, and brought it down toward the golem. The construct raised its own wooden limb to defend itself, but Dein’s sword sliced through the dead wood like butter, cleaving the golem in half along with it.

  "You’re holding back, aren’t you, Chie—no, I suppose I should call you 'Traitor.' Not Mary, not the 'Chief Maid' you pretend to be," Dein stated, his smile intimidating as he looked down at her. He landed on the ground and charged like a predator certain of its prey. He closed the gap and prepared to swing.

  However, Mary offered a confident smile instead. "Well, it’s not like I ever wanted to work with someone as twisted as you anyway."

  As she spoke, magic circles erupted beneath Dein’s boots. A trunk of dead wood slammed into him, pinning him against the ceiling. Immediately, more magic circles appeared around him, unleashing heavy wooden limbs that snagged and bound each of his arms and legs.

  Mary extended her palm toward him and clenched her fist without hesitation. The trunks responded to her command, violently pulling in opposite directions to tear his limbs away. A spray of dark mud splattered across the corridor as his longsword clattered to the floor.

  "Y-you bastard," Dein hissed, grinding his teeth in frustration as he glared intensely at Mary.

  "As expected of you. Still clinging to life despite losing half your body," Mary stated, a nervous smile touching her lips as she looked up at the bound Apostle.

  "That reaction you had back then... enjoying the death of that child for the sake of our Priestess... was it all just an act?" Dein demanded.

  "Something like that. But my joy in seeing Carol grow? That was the real thing," Mary explained. "The promise I made to Lydia was what pushed me to do what you wanted. Although I wanted to help Carol, I couldn't interfere with her life directly. So, I told myself, that the only thing I could do was play the part of an Apostle while watching her journey from afar."

  "That’s your reason, huh?" Dein said. His expression darkened, but inside his cloak, a page torn from a grimoire began to pulse, slowly being consumed by his Ender. "I wonder, where did you find such 'humanity' when you've spent so long acting like a monster?"

  "In the same place Lord Erlikh found his, after he married Lydia. That woman really had the courage to love a monster, and I respect that," Mary answered casually.

  "Is that so?"

  "Now, it's my turn to ask," Mary pointed her staff at Dein, her expression hardening. "Was your entire plan, your supposed motivation for serving Lord Erlikh, is all a lie?"

  Hearing her question, Dein snorted in amusement. "What of it? I told you recently that I only do this for the sake of Fate. Therefore, I’ve done a magnificent job... inflicting and manipulate such burning trauma upon the Priestess’s delusional life."

  Mary’s eyes widened in horror. She ground her teeth in fury, her anger finally boiling over. "You're really love playing someone's life like a game, aren't you?"

  "Yes. And I’m proud of it." As soon as Dein finished, his Dark Ender fully consumed the grimoire page. A violent explosion shattered the wooden trunks binding him. Mary shielded her eyes from the flying splinters, catching only a glimpse of Dein’s smile before a pillar of darkness swallowed him whole.

  "What the...?" she whispered in disbelief.

  The wind howling from the pillar grew stronger by the second, dragging Dein’s severed limbs into the dark vortex.

  As the energy dissipated and the pillar vanished, Dein stood revealed in a new, terrifying form. His hair had grown long, and sharp horns curved from his forehead. His cloak was half-charred, and both of his arms were encased in shifting Dark Ender.

  "Amazing," Dein stated, stretching his neck to release the tension. He extended a palm, and his sword levitated from the floor, flying into his hand.

  "You’ve got to be kidding me," Mary said, slowly backing away with every step.

  "Well," Dein said, resting the blade over his shoulder as he prepared to strike. "It's my turn."

  The moment he swung, a concussive blast of wind slammed into Mary, hurling her down the corridor. She crashed through the stone walls, the impact shattering thewall as she was buried in the rubble.

  "What the hell was that?" Erick asked, bewildered after catching a glimpse of Mary being hurled violently through the wall.

  "Instead of being confused, how about you focus on the matter at hand!" Dulcinia barked, slamming her mace into the ground with immense force.

  The shockwave caused Chris’s chains to lose their balance, providing the group with just enough time to strike. Seizing the opportunity, Saria loosed several arrows at Chris, which pierced his form and exploded. Chris groaned in agony, shielding his eyes with his palms as the holy light from Saria’s arrows blinded him.

  Frustrated, he manifested a row of straight magic circles behind him, unleashing a high-speed jet of deadly water at Saria. Before it could strike, Aria slipped in front of her friend, leveling her wand and releasing a fireball. Although both spells vaporized upon contact, blood dripped from Aria’s mouth. She clutched her stomach, doing her absolute best to suppress the surging pain.

  "A-are you okay?!" Saria panicked, watching Aria’s blood splatter onto the floor.

  "I’m okay... for now," Aria said, attempting to reassure her. She glanced back over her shoulder, though her pained expression told a different story.

  "Bastard... bastard... BASTARD!!" Chris roared, finally losing all self-control. "I’ll kill you all! I’ll kill you all!!"

  Countless magic circles erupted around Chris in response to his breakdown. Erick, Dulcinia, and Mira felt a wave of dread; the circles now surrounded the entire group, leaving them with no place to run or hide.

  However, before Chris could act, Dein’s sword suddenly impaled him from behind. "Don't worry. I’ll grant that wish of yours... for a small price," Dein whispered into Chris’s ear. He reached out with his free hand and gripped Chris’s face. Dein’s smile was full of menace as Chris’s eyes widened in sheer terror. Without hesitation, Dein began to drain Chris’s Ender as if it were a meal. Chris’s screams of agony sent a wave of horror and goosebumps through the group.

  As the chains and Chris’s body began to dissolve, Rein and Revir moved desperately to stop Dein, but they were swatted aside by a pulse of Dark Ender. Saria tried to fire a concentrated arrow of holy magic, but it was useless; the dark energy vaporized her arrow into dust before it could get close.

  "How..?" Saria mumbled, freezing in place as horror took hold.

  With Chris completely consumed, a new set of massive chains erupted from Dein’s back, forming the shape of wings. He casually extended a palm toward the nearby wall, commanding the chains to thrust forward and shatter the stone into pieces.

  The group watched in disbelief, paralyzed by the sight of Dein’s new power. Noticing their fear, Dein turned slightly and aimed his palm at them. With a surge of force, he levitated the entire group and hurled them through the hole Mary had made, casting them out of the castle for the first time.

  The group landed harshly on the uneven ground outside. Some crashed into the ruins of Carol’s village and lost consciousness instantly.

  Saria was the first to lift her head. She noticed a slight movement among the rubble of the throne room, but her focus was immediately pulled back to Dein as he walked out through the breach. Her fear intensified as Dein leaped into the air. From her perspective, he had become a threat far greater than anything she had ever felt; his presence alone overwhelmed her own Ender.

  "If the Leviathan refuses to follow its fate, then I will gladly take up the role," Dein declared. He raised his hand toward the sky, manifesting a colossal spike of Dark Ender that roared with power. "Goodbye, Child of Light. May your contribution be remembered," he snorted in amusement. "Though I doubt anyone will be left to remember you anyway."

  He swung his hand downward, commanding the spike to plummet toward Saria and the group. At that exact moment, the stones of the throne room exploded outward, and a blur in a dark, chestnut brown dress charged toward the village center.

  Saria closed her eyes. Within her mind, she saw red strings intertwining, leaving her confused... until the confusion finally gave way to an answer.

  "Didn't I tell you already? What’s the use of that power if you can't find the courage to face your fears?"

  Hearing the familiar voice, Saria snapped her eyes open. She gasped in shock as tears began to stream down her face.

  "Why are you so late, dummy..." Saria whispered, her gaze dropping to the ground as her emotions finally ran wild.

  "Heh. Sorry about that, Saria," the figure said casually. She intercepted the massive spike, yet she bore no wounds whatsoever. She turned her head over her shoulder, looking back at Saria. "It's just... I finally found something worth fighting for. And I’m going to protect it, no matter what."

  It was Carol, wearing her usual, non-chalant smile.