Calista stood over Esdeath’s unmoving body, her lips curling into a crazed smirk.
"For so long… day and night, I wondered—how did you know?" Her voice trembled slightly, not with fear, but with the excitent of victory. "I was constantly afraid… What if you exposed us the very next mont?"
She took a deep breath, the weight of that fear finally lifting from her chest.
"But now… none of it matters anymore."
Her dark pink eyes glead with satisfaction as she took a step back.
"You are dead."
With those final words, Calista turned on her heel and walked away. She didn’t hesitate. She didn’t look back.
But she should have.
Because just as she took a few more steps forward, a soft sound filled the air—the faint shift of dust settling.
And then—
A voice.
Calm. Steady. Unshaken.
"Ever heard of Thanos?"
Calista’s breath caught in her throat. Her body stiffened as pure disbelief shot through her veins.
No…
She whipped around, her heart pounding.
And there she was.
Esdeath Crimson—standing tall, completely unscathed, not a single wound on her body.
Her crimson-red eyes locked onto Calista, filled with amusent and sothing far more terrifying—control.
A black death glow pulsed briefly around her body as a system notification rang in the air.
It cost her 200 mana, a significant amount. But when compared to the re 18 MP she started with, it was proof of how far she had co.
Esdeath clenched her fist.
"You should have gone for the head."
Her voice was cold, emotionless, as if she was rely stating a fact.
In the next instant, her ZK-20 shimred, twisting and reshaping itself. The once simple weapon expanded into a massive cannon-like firearm, futuristic symbols glowing along its surface. Three large openings lined the front, each pulsating with power.
It was enormous.
More than twice Esdeath’s own size. Three tis thicker than her body.
A true monstrosity of destruction.
She hoisted it onto her shoulder, her body bending slightly under its sheer weight. The very air crackled with the overwhelming energy gathering within it.
This was no ordinary attack.
It was a Killer Move—a condensed, modified version of an S-rank killer move from the future. A technique once created by the Eldon Karanthis in future.
Esdeath used several Essence stone to form this killer move, But core essence stones were Force breaker, Soulpiecrcer and Phantom Thrust essence stone.
It was an attack that targeted both body and souls and it was also effective against sothing, Where physical atta ka are useless for ex; Ghost or Beheaded Man.
Esdeath’s fingers tightened on the trigger.
"Killer Move—Oblivion Nova."
For a brief mont—silence.
Then—
Light.
Blinding. Pure. Overwhelming.
A massive white beam erupted from the cannon’s barrels, illuminating the battlefield like a miniature sun. The force of the blast sent shockwaves rippling outward, forcing Esdeath to take several steps back.
Calista barely had ti to react.
Her breath hitched, her pupils shrank, and in that fleeting second—she knew.
Knew there was no blocking this.
Knew there was no surviving this.
A strangled gasp left her lips—
And then—
Splash…
Splash…
Splash…
The light consud her.
Her body.
Disintegrated.
Her soul broke into countless fragnts disappearing in air.
Not even a speck of dust remained.
And the sa fate awaited her Lightning Charm Wolf. The once proud beast didn’t even get the chance to howl before it, too, vanished into nothingness.
Esdeath lowered the cannon, watching as the last traces of her enemy faded from existence.
Cold. Unmoved.
She had no need for unnecessary words.
Esdeath looked at the battlefield with a small smile on her lips.
"Ti-related skills are really useful," she thought to herself, feeling quite pleased.
The battlefield was in complete chaos. Strong shockwaves rippled through the air, kicking up powerful winds. Her long black hair flowed behind her, making her look like a true warrior standing amidst the destruction.
But no one paid attention to her.
The reason?
Lortell Mariette had arrived.
She was locked in battle with Elara, and the force of their clash was shaking the entire area. Compared to that, the massive white beam Esdeath had unleashed earlier seed like nothing. It had co and gone in an instant, vanishing without a trace.
And now, another figure ca running toward her.
"Mother!" Selene called out, her voice urgent. "I identified the man! He’s in that direction, about 600 ters from here!"
She pointed into the distance, her expression serious.
"Nice," Esdeath replied simply, nodding in approval.
Without wasting any ti, she manipulated her ZK-20, reshaping it once again. This ti, she used a Rank D Iron Wheel Essence Stone and a Rank D Sharp Arrow Essence Stone to create sothing new—
A massive drill.
"Co with ," Esdeath commanded. "We’re going underground. We’ll dig a tunnel and reach him from below."
Selene nodded, following her orders without hesitation.
To make sure they weren’t detected, Esdeath activated Silent Magic, silencing all sounds coming from the drill.
As the drill spun, tearing through the ground, she couldn’t help but admire the efficiency of her weapon.
"Using multiple Essence Stones at once is exhausting… Normally, I’d have to carefully control each one and split my focus, which would be a huge burden on my brain…"
She glanced at her weapon, her grip tightening.
"But thanks to ZK-20, everything is so much easier. It acts as a middleman, processing everything for . All I need is a clear thought and enough mana, and I can use even multiple Rank C Essence Stones at once."
This was exactly how she had managed to unleash Oblivion Nova earlier.
And now, she was doing the sa—controlling several Rank D Essence Stones while using Silent Magic at the sa ti.
ZK-20 was proving to be more useful than she had ever imagined.
————
Esdeath drilled forward, carving a tunnel through the ground. Selene followed closely behind, her footsteps light and silent.
They were about thirty ters deep now, moving steadily forward.
Then, after covering about five hundred ters, Esdeath suddenly stopped.
Selene tilted her head. "Why did you stop?"
"If we go any further, the enemies might notice us," Esdeath explained, lowering her voice slightly. "We need to wait for everyone to fully engage in battle first. The mont they’re all distracted and focused on defeating him, that’s when we’ll make our move."
Selene nodded in understanding.
She didn’t ask who he was.
She didn’t ask why he needed to be stopped.
She simply followed Esdeath’s command.
Just like a daughter following the will of her mother.
After a while, Selene glanced at Esdeath and asked, "What are we gonna do till then?"
Esdeath rolled her eyes and let out a small sigh before sitting down on the dirt. She stretched out her hand, a playful smirk forming on her lips.
"We’re gonna play rock, paper, scissors,"
———————
Above ground, chaos had reached its peak.
Arthur Mariette’s words had pushed everyone into a desperate fight. Weapons clashed, spells exploded, and killer moves lit up the battlefield. It was a brutal struggle where life and death hung by a thread.
Elara and Lortell had vanished, trapped inside Ti Prison for a brief mont, sealing lortell and himself away from the battle.
Even Elara’s clone, who had been in control of the situation all this ti, was now feeling the pressure.
No one knew that beneath them, hidden under the very ground they fought on, two figures were waiting.
The final showdown was reaching its climax.
And then—
Elara’s clone poured the final material into the swirling purple vortex.
Corin.
The mont his body was absorbed, everything changed.
The storm stopped.
The lightning disappeared.
The rain vanished.
All the chaos ca to a sudden, eerie silence.
Only one sound remained—
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
Tock.
As ti itself seed to count down to sothing inevitable, what were Esdeath and Selene doing?
Still playing rock, paper, scissors.
Their breaths had turned rough. Sweat covered their skin. Their hands were dirty from the soil.
They had been underground for so long that the air was getting thin. Breathing was becoming difficult.
But then—
Esdeath’s ears caught sothing.
The sudden silence above sent a chill down her spine.
Her crimson eyes sharpened.
"It’s ti. Let’s go!"
Without wasting another second, she gripped her drill and pushed it forward at full speed. The sharp tal spun violently, carving through the dirt like a beast breaking free from its cage.
— ———————
On the battlefield, everything was happening in slow motion.
Elara was laughing like a maniac, his voice echoing in the stillness.
"Too late… Too late…!" he shouted, his eyes filled with madness.
His clone’s hand reached forward, just inches away from the Divine Rank Essence Stone.
It was over.
Or so he thought.
Crack!
The ground exploded as Esdeath broke through, bursting out from the earth like a phantom erging from the underworld.
her pale black-haired figure flowing from ground like river, just a few steps away from where Elara’s clone was floating.
Her red eyes locked onto the floating Essence Stone.
She didn’t hesitate.
And then—
Push!
With all her strength, she shoved Selene forward.
"Go!"
Selene shot through the slowed ti like a bullet, her sharp fangs glinting under the eerie light.
She opened her mouth and bit down on Elara’s clone’s hand. Hard.
Her teeth sank deep into his flesh, piercing through skin and muscle until warm blood spilled into her mouth.
Elara’s clone’s eyes went wide in shock.
But it was too late.
Before he could react—
Another hand reached forward.
Pale. Delicate. Cold as ice.
Esdeath’s fingers wrapped around the Divine Rank Essence Stone.
And then—
A chilling voice echoed through the battlefield.
"XX days ago."
Swish!
A sudden surge of power erupted from the Essence Stone. The air trembled, cracks forming in space itself. The battlefield, once filled with noise and chaos, seed to hold its breath. Reality itself wavered as if unsure whether to continue forward or rewind.
Elara’s clone froze, his eyes widening in horror. An unbearable pressure crushed down on him, forcing his mind into turmoil. He couldn't think—he couldn't breathe.
In that very mont, far away, Elara’s real body stiffened. A sharp pain stabbed through his chest, and before he could process what was happening, he coughed up blood in anger and shock.
No.
No.
He looked up, and his eyes landed on the person standing amidst the swirling energy.
The one who had stolen it.
The one who had undone everything.
A furious scream tore from his throat. It was raw, filled with rage, disbelief, and utter despair.
"ESDEATH CRIMSONNNNNNNNN...!"
As if those words carried a curse, Esdeath’s body trembled. Her knees buckled, and she fell toward the ground.
The Essence Stone in her grasp, the very thing that had changed the flow of fate—
Disintegrated.
Vanishing into thin air.
The battlefield was silent.
All eyes turned toward her.
So were filled with shock. Others with jealousy. So burned with anger.
But Esdeath—
She smiled.
A bright, clear smile.
She raised her gaze to the sky, which was now cracking. Thin fractures spread across the heavens like shattered glass.
Then—
She laughed.
"Hehehe… Hahahaha… Hahahahahaha…!"
A sound that carried no fear. No regret. Only exhilaration.
And then—
Blink!...
Her body broke apart.
Like fragile glass shattering, pieces of her form crumbled away, dissolving into specks of light.
The world trembled.
The very fabric of existence began to fold inward. The sky twisted. The ground curled. Laws of reality bent and snapped, obeying no logic.
And then—
Whoosh!
With one final pull—
The world shattered.
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