Before, he hadn't noticed the anomaly in the Mysterious Realm's false sky. But once Jenkins had pointed it out, he found that even with his eyes closed, he could sense the eerie and terrifying presence within the stars. It was a pressure that crushed the soul; even if he completely shut down his senses, he could feel his spirit being constantly eroded, constantly tainted.
He could almost see the phantom of a steel city overlapping with the scene before him, almost see dirigibles and steam-powered clockwork whales dancing together under a jaundiced sky.
This was a power no mortal should ever encounter, yet among the twenty-four demigods, so had brushed against sothing similar before.
"The Beast of Calamity!"
The demigod from the pseudo-god sect, the Spirit Summoning Association, stared wide-eyed at the sky as two lines of bloody tears stread down her beautiful cheeks. The old gravedigger imdiately cupped the back of her head, forcing her to look down, while the demigod from the Church of All Things and Nature helped to calm her violently agitated spirit.
"No, the Beast of Calamity—the Difference Engine—hasn't fully ford yet. It's still gestating..."
The celestial phenona from the battle had been cald by Jenkins, and now, under the sumr stars, it was as if the river of cosmos had been inverted. This was partly due to the monster slumbering in the sky. Jenkins stood in the plaza, holding his cat, feeling as though he could reach out and pluck the stars from their perch.
The exceptionally brilliant starlight signified the power leaking from an even more exceptional calamity. Just seconds after they had discovered "it," the light from the stars had already surpassed that of the two false moons. Silvery-blue starlight draped over them all, dyeing Jenkins's hair and shoulders, and the fur of the black-and-white kitten in his arms, in that sa intoxicating hue.
This was the color of the calamity from the stars, the color of madness. The false stars of the Mysterious Realm, rely by coming into contact with a fragnt of the unford Beast of Calamity's power, were already on the verge of mutation. The true might of the Beast of Calamity was plain to see.
"Savior, but..."
Soone wanted to seize this critical mont to strike down the entity in the sky, but Jenkins raised a hand, silencing them. Though he stood in their midst, he seed impossibly distant. He had truly changed since the mont he first set foot in the tal tower as a mortal man.
"A Beast of Calamity is destined to appear in every epoch. It is the crystallization of excess sin. So, even if we defeat the Difference Engine now, another Beast of Calamity will eventually erge. Please be patient. It's better to solve the problem once and for all. As I said, this is the final battle."
He restated the theory he had once explained before. While it was certainly logical, the others worried whether they, with such hasty preparations, could truly defeat the newborn eighteenth Calamity.
In the ancient epochs of the past, the people of the material world always received warnings long before the apocalypse arrived. Whether it was the appearance of the purple star of destiny, the unusual activities of the Saviors, or the prophecies of great sages, civilizations were always alerted decades, even centuries, in advance.
Jenkins himself had encountered shelters built by past civilizations in Mysterious Realms more than once, proof that they had ample ti to prepare a path forward for their people. Ample ti to try and save their era, to save everyone.
But for the Eighteenth Epoch, less than a year had passed between the manifestation of the purple star of destiny and this final confrontation with the Beast of Calamity.
The people had no ti to prepare for the end. Neither the secular powers nor the religious orders had ti to ready themselves for battle or to arrange for refuge in the worst-case scenario.
Therefore, faced with the impending birth of the Beast of Calamity, the best course of action seed to be to terminate it now. Then, they could use the next few decades, or even centuries, to formulate a new plan to face the calamity and the apocalypse, and build the last bastions for the continuation of their civilization.
Only after being fully prepared could they face the Beast of Calamity without regrets, face the final chapter of humanity's eighteenth civilization.
That was the best option—but only for everyone else. For Jenkins, who had painstakingly climbed to the ninth floor, the ti for the final battle was now.
"This is a trap."
Jenkins declared, gazing at the sky with his cat in his arms.
"It is deliberately slumbering among the stars to make us believe we've arrived at the ninth floor a step ahead, that we can prevent its final apotheosis. But it's a trap. How could the Difference Engine not have anticipated this? Just wait. It and I have already made our resolve. Destiny has already passed its judgnt. Today is the day of the final battle. The Savior and the Calamity will both fulfill our missions today."
Since Jenkins had spoken with such conviction, no one dared to object. They refrained from suggesting they test the Difference Engine's current state. Jenkins then asked:
"What's the situation outside?"
They glanced at one another, each waiting for soone else to speak first. Finally, Papa Oliver broke the silence.
"The situation is terrible. Almost every doomsday scenario you can imagine has appeared in the material world. The level of poison in the air no longer permits ordinary people to leave their hos freely. Furthermore, we're receiving reports from all over the world of people being transford into gear people by the falling white ash."
Though it sounded terrifying, it wasn't entirely unexpected. Jenkins, however, turned his gaze to Papa Oliver, making the old man a little uneasy.
"What is it?"
"Papa Oliver, are you alright?"
He grabbed the old man's shoulder, and a green radiance imdiately burst forth, enveloping all twenty-six of them. It felt like warm water pouring over them from above, not only healing their physical injuries but also slowly replenishing the spirit they had exhausted in the great battle.
"I have to say, the Difference Engine's nine-story tower is quite a challenge. I imagine even an ordinary person would be greatly changed if they could walk safely from the first floor to the ninth."
Jenkins comnted, stroking his cat. Papa Oliver quickly checked his own condition. Although his injuries had been healed and the centuries-old curse on his lifespan, which had spread after the departure of the Evolution Key, had been diminished, his state of dying within three days remained unchanged. This was sothing Jenkins couldn't fix right now.
"Savior, we are only the first wave of reinforcents sent by the Church. After you entered the tower, it has shaken violently multiple tis. The barrier between this Mysterious Realm and the outside world has weakened considerably. If we can hold on a little longer, the Church will find a way to send in a second wave of support."
Mr. Gilbert explained. He was the youngest of the twenty-four demigods and the youngest the Sage's Church had seen in a millennium. He should have had a boundless future, yet he had volunteered to join the reinforcents to aid the Savior.
However, this sa man who had once called him "Jenkins" now addressed him as "Savior," a change that reflected the consequences of Jenkins's deification before entering the tower.
He didn't intend to address the matter for now, rely nodding.
"That's not really urgent. After all, no matter how many people co, the final battle will only be between it and . Speaking of which, have there been any riots among the populace due to fear during this ti?"
"Not yet."
A middle-aged man from the Traveler's Church spoke in a deep, muffled voice. Though he appeared unassuming, he was the strongest among them, a demigod Jenkins had never even seen before—likely one of the Traveler's Church's hidden assets for dealing with unforeseen events.
"It hasn't been 24 hours since you entered the tower. The Church and the Kingdom can maintain order. But if the situation outside becos the new normal, I'm afraid things will not remain optimistic."
"It hasn't even been 24 hours...?"
Due to the different flow of ti between the Mysterious Realm and the outside world, from Jenkins's perspective, a considerable amount of ti had already passed.
"Very well. We'll aim to finish the battle today."
He announced to everyone, though none of them shared his confidence.
"Jenkins, what preparations have you made?"
Papa Oliver asked, the only one who still called him by his na.
"I have many preparations. We can try them one by one in a bit. Don't worry, Papa Oliver. There won't be any problems. You still have to attend my wedding next sumr, you know. That's been planned for a long ti."
He said it casually, unconcerned about whether it was appropriate to say such things on the eve of the final battle.
"Everyone will go back alive. Everyone."
Even Chocolate was a little surprised by Jenkins's confidence, but thinking of its own power, the small cat decided Jenkins was absolutely right. Soon, it would appear before Jenkins as the one who would save everything. The thought of the look on Jenkins's face made Chocolate tremble with excitent.
Jenkins gently stroked his cat, which he suspected might have epilepsy, and looked up at the black hole in the night sky. It was growing "heavier," so heavy that even the current Jenkins felt a reluctance to face it.
"Ti's about up. My suggestion is, you all leave first. I'll face this alone."
His voice was sowhat low.
"We've co this far. How could we leave now?"
The others protested. Jenkins sighed, looking at the faces surrounding him, all their gazes so similar. They were filled with resolve, having already considered the worst-case scenario before entering the Mysterious Realm. No one would flee now. This was their responsibility as mbers of the Church, and their responsibility as human beings.
"Alright then. Let's go together."
He was just about to fly toward the stars, to face the final enemy, the ultimate calamity, the Difference Engine, in that boundless sea of cosmos. But as Jenkins was still considering who might carry him up, a trendous boom suddenly echoed from the sky above.
It was the tolling of a bell, a proclamation. The final mont had arrived.
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