Chapter 1016: Witch Hunt: Consequence
Ryan was still in the Dream Palace when he felt the intense aftershocks. The entire space seemed to tremble nonstop, and cracks appeared in the air.
He looked up and muttered,
"This place is done... I need to get out of here.
"
Ryan used a device on his wrist to record the data he had discovered in his investigation.
The data was important.
He hadn't discovered the
"Second Rebel,
" but he had learned something else.
It was called the
"War of Heaven.
"
It referred to a war in ancient times, an era that wasn't recorded. According to the data, several powerful civilizations from different worlds fought for dominance. It was during this time that the Divine Planet Imperium was formed, connecting all realities and creating the so-called World of Gods.
It was a time when gods lost their concept of creation. They lost their authority to create worlds or creatures.
"That also bothered me... So that's why gods couldn't create any living beings even though they are 'God.' They lost their authority for some unknown reason. And also...
"
Ryan narrowed his eyes.
The Divine World wasn't called Imperium at that time. The ancient civilizations that stepped foot into Imperium after it was formed called it World Amalgamation, the planet that rooted everything.
"It seems that Morgan Le Fay's research is beyond what I expected... No, wait...!
"
Ryan looked at the data and scanned it once again. He then widened his eyes, realizing something.
"The other paragraphs formed two words: Akashic Records... what's that? I don't have time. I need to get out now.
"
He then looked up and immediately moved. Ryan sped through the terrain as fast as he could, with the spatial structure of this place collapsing around him.
The entire Walpurgis Night was about to collapse. The clouds of dream power above started descending like meteors, the boundaries of each region began falling apart, and cracks formed around the barrier that isolated Walpurgis Night.
The survivors started panicking, trying to find a way out before they got caught in the destruction.
Edeya looked at the sky before turning to Zhang Ren, Bryan, and the others. She said,
"We need to leave now.
"
Zhang Ren nodded at her words.
"We can fly through the cracks in the barrier to get out before this place collapses.
"
They had no choice but to do that. The witches were going to lose their home, and not all of them had the capability to fly through the cracks in the barrier. Only a few people would probably survive after this.
"The six holy stakes were used, and the game ended in failure. It's lucky that the barrier was affected,
" Edeya muttered.
"Can we return to reality now?
" Amanda asked.
"No,
" Zhang Ren shook his head.
"We need a more stable place if you want to return to reality, or find a dreamscape and rob the dreamer of their dream to descend to reality.
"
The Walpurgis Night was unstable due to the usage of the six holy stakes that had destroyed its structure.
...
Souta landed on the ground with Eilan. He looked around at the devastated land. The Dream Palace was slowly collapsing.
Eilish's figure flashed as she hugged her brother tightly.
"Eilan...
" Eilish muttered, tightening her arms around him, afraid he would disappear once again.
Souta looked at Eilish and the unconscious Eilan before saying,
"There's something we need to do.
"
"What?
" Eilish asked.
Souta said,
"Your brother is dying. His body is falling apart at this moment.
"
That's right, Eilan was separated from the elemental being, and his body wouldn't be able to last long without it. However, Souta did something using the power of the six holy stakes, and Rhongomiant gave him an opportunity for it.
They managed to lessen the side effects of having the elemental being separated from Eilan's body.
Souta had already planned for this when he saw the six holy stakes. He knew that he wouldn't be able to use their power to destroy the black sun if he used them to kill the elemental being and lessen the side effects on Eilan's body. Alice also did a great job severing the connection between the two using Rhongomiant. She pierced through it, and the holy spear managed to even cut through the side effects.
Looking at Alice, Souta wondered where she had gotten that holy spear. It was a powerful universal-grade weapon wielded by the King of Knights.
He said,
"Alice... use it to pierce his body, and I'll amplify it using the lingering energy from the holy stakes. It should be enough.
"
Alice nodded as she glanced at Eilan.
"I-Is this going to work?
" Eilish asked nervously.
"It should. I'm eighty percent sure that it will work,
" Souta replied with a serious look on his face. He then glanced at Kayla's squad and asked,
"Can any of you use healing spells?
"
They started the operation as Eilish laid Eilan on the ground. Alice stabbed the tip of the spear into Eilan's chest while Souta placed his hands on Eilan's stomach. The healer kept casting healing spells on Eilan to ensure his body wouldn't completely collapse.
Ohm!!
Intense energy emerged from the spear as Alice used its power. On the other hand, Souta used the lingering power of the holy stakes to amplify its effect. Then, a parasite emerged from his hand, entering Eilan's body. The parasite didn't last long before it dried out, vanishing into
thin air.
'Even the parasite couldn't repair the damage to Eilan's body. At this rate, Eilan will die,' Souta thought inwardly. He glanced at Alice and said,
"Put more power. I'll handle the excess
energy.
"
Alice nodded and gritted her teeth. She tightened her grip on the spear and slightly pushed it
downward.
Swoosh!!
Souta took a deep breath as he slowly guided another parasite inside Eilan's body. Then, he let out a tiny bit of Douion to aid Eilan.
'Nice... The parasite didn't die, and the destruction of Eilan's body has stagnated. Let the parasite seep through and repair it along with Douion,' Souta thought.
The Douion, which could even repair a damaged inner consciousness, was a huge help.
After a while, Eilan's condition stabilized. Souta breathed a sigh of relief as he stood up and
looked at the sky.
"Is my brother okay?
" Eilish asked.
"Yeah, but this isn't done yet. Alice, protect them with everything you've got.
" As soon as Souta finished his sentence, a deafening sound reverberated in the sky.
Bang!!
Souta narrowed his eyes and said,
"I didn't finish the game, so the consequences of failing it
will appear. This is the real problem.
"
The power of the Purity would descend now since he didn't use the holy stakes to destroy it.
Layla, the elders, and the other survivors looked at the sky with grim expressions. They knew
that the result of the game was failure.
An intense energy was seeping out of the black sun.
"This is...
" Layla muttered, sensing the ominous energy spreading throughout the land.
They were in the region where the Dream Palace was located, far from the edge of the Walpurgis Night. They wouldn't be able to leave this place easily.
Boom!!
Heavy pressure bore down on the entire land, accelerating the destruction of the Walpurgis
Night.
"S-Souta... This pressure...
" Alice stammered.
It wasn't just her. Every living being in the Walpurgis Night felt it. Even weaker experts were completely restrained by the pressure. They felt goosebumps across their bodies, their
instincts screaming at them.
Even Souta, who was the strongest among them, could feel it too.
It was a higher power, completely above any of them.
The power of the Purity.
Ohm!!
A ripple spread across the sky.
Souta looked at it and tightened his grip on the vajra sword. He had resolved the issue with
Eilan using the six holy stakes, so only this problem remained.
"S-Souta...
" Eilish fell to her knees, unable to withstand the intense pressure. Even using her
energy was useless.
Souta pointed his finger at her, and a string of crimson web wrapped around her wrist containing his Douion to help her endure the pressure.
"Don't worry, I've thought of this scenario before,
" Souta said calmly.
Ohm!!
The dream power in the sky spread, and the black sun slowly descended.
Boom!!
The black sun exploded, scattering a huge amount of dream power across the land.
A figure emerged from it, looking down at everyone. The energy he emitted was so dense that
the space around him twisted.
"Hmm... The Walpurgis Night is collapsing? This isn't what I expected,
" his voice echoed
through everything.
"Damn, this is quite bad...
" Souta forced a smile onto his face after sensing the energy level
around the figure.
There was no doubt that the one who had emerged from the black sun was the avatar of Purity. The energy level was hundreds of times higher than his own.
Just by existing alone, the avatar caused the acceleration of the Walpurgis Night's
destruction.
The other witches below the Fourth Shackle fell directly to the ground. They felt their bodies
being crushed in every direction. If no one helped them, they would die from the avatar's overwhelming energy.