Chapter 90: Attack On Emerald Grove City – Slaying The Traitor [3]

Verdant panicked instantly at the sight of a tattered, Dragonoid-transformed Louis and a fully demonic Mirai. His eyes trembled with terror; blood tears streamed down his face. He writhed in agony and tried to flee, only to discover his body had fused into the monstrous pillar—his “God’s” garden.

“Verdant! I know everything, you filthy traitor! My mother gave you everything you could ever ask for, and yet you plotted to overthrow her?! To kill her?! And you even made a pact with a Grievance! Do you understand what you’ve done?! Look at your city—your people—all twisted into Entities…! Do you have any shame left?!”

“T-That’s…! It wasn’t my fault! It was…! I was…! I needed power! I…! You wouldn’t understand! Why won’t you just die already, you crippled bastard?!”

Losing all composure under Louis’s confrontation, Verdant screamed with a guttural cry from the depths of his soul. The pillar trembled; red eyes bloomed within roses and fired beams of corrupted Fantasium. Louis and Mirai charged, attempting to tank the assault with enhanced defenses and barrier magic—only for their spells to shatter and their skin to burn and explode.

“Ugh?!” Mirai screamed. “S-So strong! What is that?!”

“It can combust Fantasium—it must be the Gardener’s last resort!” Louis said. “Come on, Mirai—we have to end this now!”

“Damn it, you’re right…!” Mirai roared, brows furrowed as she unleashed even more power. She removed two rings and transformed fully into a red-skinned demoness—four demonic wings, two extra pairs of arms tipped with long black claws, hair blazing into red and black flames that grew longer, radiating overwhelming might.

Seeing her go all-out, Louis did the same. He linked all his Incarnations fused within his body to his Cultivation Methods and Fake Dragon Heart, sacrificing every remaining Enslaved Soul at once for an explosive surge. His Dragonoid form mutated further—larger, more muscular frame, a long tail of white bone and ashen frost scales, skeletal wings now clad in dry, mummified flesh of ashen frost.

Overflowing with combined power, the two Sinners charged. Louis unleashed Swordsmanship Arts and Spearmanship Techniques with four metallic claws—each nail elongating into a blade-spear—ripping through vines and tentacles. Mirai summoned a massive scythe of black and red flames, slashing with unrelenting force.

“S-Stop! Don’t come any closer! Get away from meeeeeeee!” Verdant screamed helplessly, trapped in the pillar the Gardener had forced upon him. Louis and Mirai’s combined assault split him apart instantly. He collapsed through the altar into the throne room below. They pursued, watching as both shattered halves sprouted legs of red and green vines and attempted to flee. The Gardener was on his final threads.

“Come back here!” Mirai screamed. “Demon Spirits! Hear my call! Don’t let him escape!”

“…?!” Louis’s eyes widened as Mirai activated her Unique Ability. Her Aura surged and transformed into dozens of Demonic Spirits—she had trained diligently to finally master this power.

The Demonic Spirits overtook the fleeing pillars and halted them with explosions of flame. Louis seized the opening and delivered the killing blow. He channeled all available Fantasium into his Soul Gear and activated its new Spirit Artifact Ability: The Five Elemental Spirit Core.

Gungnir’s golden radiance shifted to chromatic light. Five colors—Wood, Metal, Earth, Fire, and Water—shone brilliantly within Louis, merging with his reversed Ashen Frost into Holy Light. He channeled his mother’s legacy, infusing the still-developing Holy Dragon Spirit Soul Vein into the strike.

Mirai couldn’t keep pace; the Gardener targeted her most fiercely with dozens of vines, ignoring Louis as the seemingly weaker threat.

With every ounce of strength, Louis sprinted along one of the long vines leading to Verdant, leaped forward, and descended with his glistening spear.

“Do it, Prince Louis!”

Mirai, Althea, Stella, Stone, and Eduard rallied behind him as they fought for their lives. Louis channeled the power of his Fantasy Heart—beating faster and faster—as a gigantic dragon’s presence filled the room. Something he had only manifested within his own Fantasy Realm now emerged in this critical moment, fueled by everyone’s belief in him.

“T-That’s…! Has he awakened his Psychic Abilities?!”

Eduard instantly recognized the Imaginary Dragon: a Psychic Manifestation of Louis’s mind itself. As the son of one of the world’s strongest Espers, Louis had—without realizing—already awakened as one.

“Holy Dragon Lance Style.”

“Third Form – Heavenly Dragon Ascent!”

“Dragon King’s Divine Blade Art.”

“First Form – Ascending Heavens!”

Louis fused both techniques into one. The giant Fantasy Dragon roaring from his Fantasy Heart merged with the coiling Holy Dragon born from his mother’s legacy—forming a colossal holy dragon with glistening golden scales. Its ethereal body fused with Louis’s single thrust. A devastating beam of all-powerful Fantasium Energy erupted at full force, engulfing Verdant’s two halves.

The traitor disintegrated completely in a single strike. A massive explosion demolished the rest of the castle as half the giant Treant supporting it detonated. The attack pierced the skies of the Fantasy Realm, distorting reality and shattering the spatial barriers holding everything in place.

BOOOMMM!!!

A rain of purifying light cascaded from above, cleansing the entire Fantasy Field. The Pillars Eduard had placed earlier activated simultaneously as Althea and Stella combined their magic, amplifying Louis’s attack to fully purify the Field before it was too late.

The dark swamps burned away, revealing fresh soil beneath. Remaining Entities slowly reverted to plants; some transformed back into citizens. Zorba, overtaken by the Gardener, vomited vines and flowers from his mouth. The roses in his eyes withered, allowing him to open them again. He gazed at the blue sky with a calm smile.

“So it’s over, huh?”

Stone raced through the collapsing castle, catching those who returned to their elven or human forms, then gathered everyone else and leaped onto Althea’s wooden bridge with a relieved sigh.

“Well, a job well done is a job well done, eh?” he laughed.

“Yeah… it was tiring though,” Stella sighed. “It’s been a while since we’ve fought such a stubborn Grievance.”

“I agree… I need a quick recharge. My battery reserves are dangerously low now,” Eduard sighed, buzzing with static.

The three Agents looked at Louis and Mirai, both unconscious and resting on the wooden floor. Althea, Anastasia, Catrise, and Juliette quickly rejoined them, while Zorba approached slowly, ashamed of having failed his lord.

“It looks like they’re sleeping peacefully, huh?” Stone laughed.

“They really did everything they could. Well done, everyone,” Eduard nodded. “All of you deserve a good rest now!”

“How about we celebrate a little too? I want to drink something to kick off…” Stella yawned.

“Some wine or beer?” Althea asked.

“Ah, I’m in the mood for beer and maybe some barbeque…” Stella smiled.

“Barbeque?! Well, if that’s the case, girls, I’m in!” Stone said.

“Oh dear, I’m the only one who can’t eat normal food anymore. What a dilemma…” Eduard sighed, jumping down to find Elias asleep atop a destroyed magician tower. “Looks like someone else also gave everything he had and passed out, huh? Better send you back to the VPI while you’re sleeping.”

Despite Elias’s immense strength, he was still human, exhaustion would eventually claim him after enough rampaging. The handcuffs drained his energy faster, creating the weakness that allowed VPI Agents to manage him.

As everyone began to celebrate and Althea conjured a large wooden hand with her spirit magic to carry the two sleeping heroes… she noticed something unsettling about Louis.

“…Huh?”

Her eyes widened. A pair of red roses had blossomed over the prince’s eyes. Red and green vines were growing from his chest.

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