“WHO…! WHO DARES NOW?!”

The Gardener—already furious from battling Soma—spoke through Lord Verdant’s mouth, realizing three powerful presences had arrived. Soma smiled as a man stepped before him, radiating golden light and ashen gray—Hope and Despair intertwined within him.

“Soma, stand up and fight. We’re kicking this thing out. Afterward, get the hell out of my country.”

“Hohoh, Prince Louis! What a surprise to see you here! This is our first meeting, yet you speak as though we’ve known each other for years…”

“I won’t repeat myself.”

“Yes, yes, I understand, your majesty. Hohoh… youth these days.”

Soma rose slowly, healing himself. He noticed a small black hand resting on Louis’s shoulder and smiled warmly, eyes widening for a moment. “I see! You’ve already joined the cradle, haven’t you?”

“…?” Louis raised an eyebrow, wondering what nonsense this fool was spouting—until he saw Handy watching Soma as though she recognized him. Technically, she did. “…Hm.”

Louis made no confirmation, only a small acknowledging sound. For some reason Soma believed he followed the Abyssal Mother’s cult.

As a Tier 5 Spiralwalker, Soma could easily detect lies—so Louis leaned into the misunderstanding, remaining stoic and silent to confirm the priest’s assumption.

“I see. We’ll keep this between us then,” Soma said, spreading his arms with a smile. “Now, shall we rid ourselves of this thing once and for all?”

“We can’t waste time,” Louis replied. “We’ll destroy its influence and force it out. Someone is in the castle—my father… may die at any moment. I must save him.”

“I see! Then it’s urgent,” Soma nodded, pressing his hands together. “Let’s begin.”

The Gardener’s vessel approached, shaking reality with every step as the enormous tower of flowers and vines moved on its own.

“I’m not in the mood to play games,” Louis said. “Let’s end this quickly. My parents are in danger.”

Louis summoned the rest of his Incarnations and their fragments, fusing them into himself. His False Dragonoid form swelled—three times larger, bulkier, more muscular—covered in scale armor, six skeletal and phantasmal arms, four wings, a long tail, and a dragon-shaped helmet.

Power from multiple Spirals surged through his body and soul, fueled by sheer madness into raw, overwhelming strength. To Soma, this was the first time he had witnessed someone become vessel to so many Spirals at once. Even two could drive a person to utter insanity and mutate them into a Grievance.

Yet Louis held more than six within him, forcibly fusing them into his idealized draconic power.

Gripping Gungnir in one claw, the Ashen Frost Blade in another, and swords of Void, Ice, and Holy Light in the rest, Louis leaped—shattering the ground beneath him.

“Lowly human, no matter how hard you try to imitate— Ah, what is this beautiful flower?! S-So colorful…!”

The Gardener froze for a moment as Louis charged. With his spear charged by the deaths of dozens of Entities, Louis unleashed a piercing strike that tore through the giant plant monstrosity, making it explode and collapse.

BOOOM!

More towers surged up instantly, shielding the vessel and Avatar while trying to claim Louis as part of the garden. He tore them apart without hesitation—masses of vines, wood, and flowers that could flatten cities.

Mirai and Zorba flanked him on either side. Zorba summoned his two Spirits; Veynar and Hecatoncheires roared together, unleashing Death Auras that cursed and withered the Gardener while their immense strength ripped through the masses of vegetation.

Zorba himself fused the Necromancer and Dark Knight powers into his body, gaining full black skeleton armor and a giant black bone sword wreathed in phantasmal flames. He swung it in perfect imitation of his master’s movements.

“Hahahahah!”

He laughed maniacally, reveling in his newfound power. Each swing unleashed massive cutting shockwaves of phantasmal, ghostly, shadow, and sword energy.

The Dark Knight Incarnation granted innate swordsmanship; fused with it, Zorba instantly became a capable swordsman capable of producing sword energy by converting his internal life force (Ki).

“He sure is enjoying himself…” Mirai sighed, shaking her head. Fused with her own Incarnation, she leaped across the battlefield, spreading Demonic Inferno and firing dozens of Chaos Stars that fell like black meteors, detonating in gigantic explosions of destruction across the Gardener.

Soma laughed along as he watched the trio fight, seeing Tisha, Pekorine, Catrise, and the others handling the Entities. All were clad in powerful Dragon Bone Armor conjured by Louis and Zorba—ensuring their protection and boosting their strength.

“This is incredible…! Hahaha, Lord Louis, you truly are worthy of the throne!”

Proud that such a promising young man had secretly embraced his mother goddess’s teachings, Soma charged forward. He conjured endless curses born from the pain and grief of countless innocents he had saved, shaping them into a gigantic black arm studded with dozens of red eyes.

“Oh mother! Watch your children fight for humanity! We shall forge a bright future together! Yes! Hahaha! This is what your teachings mean—our hearts, spirits, and wills united as one! For a better tomorrow for all!”

Laughing wildly, the enormous black arm smashed and crushed every foe while overriding the Gardener’s Authority and rapidly dismantling its Fantasy Field. Accompanied by Soma’s unhinged laughter, the Abyssal Mother’s arm rampaged through thirty percent of the domain, greatly easing the burden on Louis, Zorba, and Mirai.

“T-This can’t be happening…! My Garden…! S-Stop it, my beautiful white lily…! Why are you doing this?! Join me! Join me, my beautiful flower!”

The Gardener’s distorted voice echoed from its vessel as Louis roared, tearing through countless tentacle-like vines to reach the traitor elf he never tired of killing.

“ENOUGH.”

With overwhelming, domineering presence, Louis’s “Authority” manifested—as though he were a Grievance himself. Dark red trees topped with dragon heads sprouted everywhere, rapidly eroding the Gardener’s influence.

“T-This forest…! So beautiful! What is this?! What is this beauty?!”

As the Gardener became entranced, Gungnir plunged into the vessel’s chest, ripping apart its Mana Heart and destroying the elf’s spirit soul. The spear unleashed all its stored power in a blinding surge of white light shaped like a roaring holy dragon, disintegrating the body and everything nearby.

BOOOMMM!!!

The Fantasy Field began to collapse. The emerald moon in the sky crumbled, and the Gardener’s eye faded…

Only for its Authority to lash out, invading Louis’s Heart.

FLASH!

“My beautiful flower, why don’t you come to me instead?”

The Grievance tried once more to drag Louis into its Dominion and turn him into one of its endless blooms.

But a new inhabitant now dwelled within Louis’s Fantasy Heart—and it refused to let anyone take him.

“…Huh?”

The Gardener found itself in an endless ashen wasteland of spiraling dark red forests and red roses with watching eyes—eerily similar to its own.

“Where…?”

Powerless and confused, the Grievance realized it had been pulled here instead of pulling Louis in.

“YOU.”

Its single eye widened as two massive crimson eyes opened in the dark sky above, followed by eight more—each pair belonging to a gigantic draconic head of dark red wood.

“…?!”

The five heads glared down. Their jaws blazed with black flames as curses spread everywhere, burning the Gardener in fury.

“This vessel is already claimed. Find another!”

“Gyaaaaaeeerrgh!” The Gardener screamed in horror and despair, consumed by the flames.

Realizing continued resistance would mean its own death, survival instinct took over. The Gardener severed the fragment of consciousness it had left in Louis’s Fantasy Heart and fled the Nameless Streets entirely. The severed piece was devoured by the Abyssal Dragon Tree of Ruin.

The skies cleared. The Fantasy Field shattered completely and vanished.

“It’s done,” Louis said.

“It’s as if it was never here…” Zorba marveled.

“Is it really gone?!” Mirai asked. “This time it didn’t try to take our hearts…”

“I scared it,” Louis smirked. “Soma, fulfill your part of the Act now. We saved your life.”

“Yes… I suppose I do owe you this much, Prince Louis!” Soma nodded. “Haaa, I’m quite exhausted myself. I’ll see you later—perhaps at that Academy I heard about… Hohoh, goodbye! May the mother goddess bless your paths, children.”

Soma wasted no time—clearly with many tasks ahead—scattering into countless black dots and vanishing without a trace.

“Well, the fanatic freak is gone,” Louis sighed in relief. “We’re heading to the castle immediately! Andromeda, the teleportation array is ready, right?”

“Yes, Prince Louis. It’s in the plaza!”

Several emergency teleportation arrays—mostly for evacuation—connected the capital to the VPI. Through Andromeda, Louis could activate them, allowing instant travel without the long flight and security breach that would waste precious time.

“Very well. Fernand, Elises, Knights! Stay behind, protect and save as many people as possible, and guide them to the underground shelters!” Louis commanded. “Tisha, Pekorine, Catrise—come with me. And…”

Louis quickly assigned several souls from his shadows to search the sewers for Selene or anyone else.

“Alright. Let’s move!”

With no time to lose, Louis led his group to the ruined plaza’s teleportation array. They activated it and instantly arrived at the VPI floor where his father and Helena guarded his mother.

It was now or never.

—–

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep