Chapter 21: Chapter21-Descent of a God — The Static Black Hole

And then—

She saw them.

Two figures appeared abruptly at the very heart of the battlefield, atop the hideous Hellfire Platform, as if they had stepped out of a painting.

One was a black-haired, blue-eyed man, whose plain bearing somehow contained the weight of the entire cosmos.

The other, a silver-haired, blue-eyed girl with delicate features, clutched his hand, gazing upon Elizabeth with a mixture of curiosity and sympathy.

The man didn’t so much as glance at the colossal demon platform. He simply raised his hand, casually.

In the next instant, the massive Hellfire Platform—which had taken the concentrated fire of an entire Imperial fleet to even scratch—along with the thousands of demons upon it, vanished noiselessly, as if erased by an invisible hand wiping ink from parchment.

Then the man’s gaze swept across the orbiting battlefield.

The once-arrogant demonic fleet—bone warships, flesh-vessels, abominable bio-motherships—melted like snow beneath the sun.

They dissolved from prow to stern, disintegrating into primal particles, returning to the void.

No explosions.

No sound.

In just a few breaths, every demon ship in orbit was gone, leaving only the battered Imperial fleet adrift—its crew frozen in expressions of terror, despair, or defiance from one second before.

On the ground, the demon legions suffered the same fate—entire swathes crumbling into ash.

Elizabeth’s jaw dropped. Her mind went blank.

“Gods… has a god descended?”

Only after he had ended everything did Leo turn his gaze toward her.

His voice, calm and unshaken, rang in her ears:

“The aftermath is yours to handle.”

Before she could even react, he and Lilith began to fade, their forms turning translucent.

“W-wait!”

“Honored one, please wait!”

Elizabeth jolted back to herself, sprinting forward with every ounce of strength.

Time resumed.

Above, Imperial officers and sailors stared blankly at the empty sky and vanished enemy signals—shock giving way to wild joy and, finally, confusion.

Below, surviving soldiers and civilians of Aelfis Star watched their tormentors crumble into dust. Silence fell—then erupted into deafening cheers and sobs.

But Elizabeth Lightblade had no time for them.

She rushed to the place where Leo and Lilith were fading, dropping to one knee, head tilted back, her violet eyes shining with excitement, gratitude, and an iron will unlike any she had ever felt.

“Honored lord! Thank you—for saving us, for saving the billions of lives on Aelfis Star!”

Her voice shook with emotion.

“I am Elizabeth, a subject of the Luminous Empire. Though my status is low, I beg you—allow me to follow you!”

Leo regarded her with quiet puzzlement.

“To follow me? Why? Do you even know who I am?”

“Your Empire needs you. Your people need you. After today, your renown alone could secure the highest throne.”

He had already noticed: the Emperor of the Luminous Empire had suffered mortal wounds in the battle’s aftermath. Elizabeth’s fame was blazing—if she wished, the crown was within her reach.

But Elizabeth shook her head violently, her white hair whipping, her face alight with resolve.

“No! Lord, I care nothing for that!”

Her voice was fierce with conviction.

“I was born in a golden cage. I grew up watching fathers and sons slaughter each other, siblings turn against one another, all for the sake of power!”

“My mother was one such sacrifice of that struggle! And I myself was cast aside, forced to grow up in a village on the border stars!”

Her eyes brimmed with tears as she looked back at the broken battlefield and the weeping soldiers.

“But even if I reclaimed my title, even if I sat upon a throne of power, I still could not protect those I most wished to protect. Ham’s father, Mary’s mother—they were just retired soldiers seeking peace. Yet because of demons… because of this cursed war…”

Her voice caught. She forced the emotion down, hardening her gaze into steel.

“And more than that—”

She raised her voice, like a soldier swearing an oath.

“On the day demons killed them, I swore a blood oath at their graves! No matter who it is—human, elf, good or wicked—so long as they can drive back the demons and shield the innocent of this world, I, Elizabeth, will follow them unto death, without regret!”

“I beg you—take me in! I will pay any price, even if it is only to serve as the lowest soldier under your banner!”

Her words rang like a drawn blade, filled with battlefield resolve.

Leo studied the kneeling princess calmly.

He saw her determination—unyielding, almost fanatical.

“Are you certain, Elizabeth?”

His voice was even, but it pierced straight into her soul.

“To follow me means abandoning every honor and duty of this world. Your sword and your wisdom will move at my command. Your Empire, your army—they will become your past.”

“I am certain!”

Her answer came without hesitation. She raised her head; her eyes, tempered in blood and fire, shone unwavering.

“The crown of the Empire is nothing more than a more elaborate shackle to me.”

“The Empire needs a ruler versed in politics to guide it to prosperity. My battlefield is no longer here.”

Lilith, listening at her father’s side, felt her heart ache with sympathy.

She tugged gently at Leo’s sleeve and whispered, “Father…”

At last, Leo spoke.

“Your request—I grant it.”

“From this day forward, you are no longer a princess of the Luminous Empire, but a General of Dalton Town.”

“Your sword shall defend Dalton Town.”

Elizabeth bowed deeply.

“Elizabeth obeys! I will give all that I am, for you and for the city you guard!”

…

With a wave, Leo enveloped Elizabeth in light, sending her back to Dalton Town, where Elarielle would arrange her place.

The process was silent, unseen.

When the Luminous Empire’s army discovered that their warrior princess—the Sword of War—had vanished, despair hung over them for a long time.

…

Having sent Elizabeth away, Leo continued his journey with Lilith across the stars.

His will spread farther than ever before, an unseen net cast across the deep void.

Rivers of information flowed into his vast consciousness, sifted and refined.

Finally, his will halted at one peculiar place.

On the bleak edge of the cosmos lay a black hole of unimaginable size.

Yet it was not like ordinary black holes that devour surrounding matter.

This one was eerily still.

Its event horizon was unnaturally smooth—no accretion disk, no luminous jets of torn matter.

It was simply a flawless circle of absolute darkness, a hole punched in the fabric of the universe.

Stranger still, the spacetime around it was unnaturally stable, as if fixed in place by some titanic force.

And the instant Leo’s will brushed against it, the silver moon pendant he carried gave off a faint, resonant pulse…

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