Chapter 276: Aestrea Against The World (Final) [III]

[Aestrea’s POV]

“…Another dragon heart, huh?”

I stared at the crystallized lump of crimson pulsing faintly in my palm. This was the second dragon heart I had ever seen.

“…Agh… at this point, I might as well become a dragon.”

I didn’t overthink it much.

It was strange to think that I decided to ally myself with ones who made me fall in this situation, but honestly…

I need their help, because Kagetaro… well, Yumi had told me about a way to ascend, and become a God.

But to do that… I would need to sacrifice Yggdrasil, so in a way, I would become the enemy of the world, nonetheless.

That aside… I finally pressed the dragon heart against the place where my Lich Heart throbbed inside my chest.

CRACK—CRACK!

The moment it entered, shards of crystallized blood scattered like burning embers, and veins of red light surged into me, stabbing straight into my rotten veins and blackened marrow.

B-BUUM! BUUUM!

My Lich Heart reacted instantly, pounding like it wanted to burst.

Its black core twisted, writhing like a living parasite as the dragon’s essence tried to merge with it.

I gasped, clutching my chest as smoke-like blood sprayed from my mouth.

“Ghh—haaah—!”

The dragon’s roar echoed inside me, not in my ears, but in my very soul. A burning sound, ancient and suffocating.

My Lich Heart split, veins of crimson tearing through its rotten shell.

FWOOM!

A phantom of a dragon appeared behind me, skeletal wings spreading wide, bones blackened yet lined with a red glow, like veins of molten fire.

Its jaws opened, spewing black flame mixed with crimson sparks.

A Dragon Lich Heart.

They seemed to have fused with each other somehow…

But suddenly…

“ARGHHHHH!”

A sharp pain ripped through my chest. My entire body convulsed as a strange dark-purple glow leaked out of my veins.

“V–Void energy…?!”

My eyes widened entirely.

“H-how… how is it still inside me?”

I quickly remembered that notification saying that I had a chance of awakening a Void Affinity, but I didn’t expect to still have Void Energy inside my body.

After all, I thought Lumi had swallowed the last of it. But…

“W-what is happening…?”

The void energy entered my body.

DOOM!

DOOM!

The Dragon Lich Heart inside me shook violently, each pulse heavier, sharper, as if the beats themselves were tearing reality apart.

Black cracks tore across the crystallized organ, glowing with both crimson fire and violet lightning.

My back arched as the phantom dragon behind me shrieked.

Its roar shattered into silence, then warped into a hollow, soundless scream that devoured even the air around it.

“Ghhhhhh—!”

I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t even hear myself anymore.

The void had stolen my voice.

VWWWWOOOOOM!

The crimson glow of the Dragon Lich Heart collapsed inward, sucked into the dark veins spreading across it.

The heart wasn’t just fusing anymore… it was consuming itself, collapsing deeper and deeper into something far beyond life or death.

My rotten veins lit up with violet cracks.

My bones rattled with each beat of it.

The phantom dragon’s fire turned into streams of nothingness, a breath of absolute erasure.

Its blackened wings expanded, yet their edges blurred, fading in and out of existence like they weren’t bound to reality anymore.

A heart of crimson. A heart of rot. A spark of void.

All three collapsed into one.

DOOM… DOOM… DOOM…

And then… it calmed down, turning into a…

Void Dragon Lich Heart.

[Ding!]

[Your attributes have been increased tremendously!]

[Your skills have been strengthened!]

A few notifications appeared in front of me, but I didn’t bother to look at them, pushing the window aside.

The only thing I knew… was that I was as strong as ever.

Looking at the barrier in front of me, I waved my hand, and it dissipated from existence itself.

“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

CLANG!

CRACKLE!

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

And as I did so… the sound of multiple weapons clashing, explosions occurring… reached my ears.

I looked around, and frowned slighly.

“…So this really became a war, huh?”

But then, I quickly noticed ten strong auras a little far away, and quickly noticed that it was probably the ten SSS-rankers.

“Oh? Yumi is also at the SSS-rank level?” I raised an eyebrow in surprise.

I didn’t bother checking before, but she was really strong.

And next to her was… Cecilia.

“Well… I don’t care anymore,” I shrugged my shoulders, taking a step forward and instantly appearing close to Cecilia.

FWIP!

CRACK!

The ground shook.

Space itself split for a moment before stitching back together.

Ahead of me, Yumi was locked in with two SSS-rankers at once, her clones swarming the battlefield like a tide of shadows.

The other eight were hammering against Cecilia. Thousands of her own mirrored bodies fought back, though every blow they took splintered them instantly.

…Strangely enough… none of them noticed me.

“…Ahem.”

All of them stopped instantly.

Quite funny… huh?

“…Aestrea~!”

The first one to call me was, of course, Yumi, who didn’t waste time parrying the other attacks before approaching with that same annoying smile.

Even without the mask, her smile was wide enough to be terrific.

“Asta!”

Cecilia called me by that nickname… but well, I don’t care, like I’ve said before. That was the past… and now that I’ve joined them… it’s alright.

“Aestrea…”

Another voice reached out, it was soft, almost trembling.

…Christina.

I turned my eyes toward her for a brief second, her golden hair swaying in the wind… but that was all.

My gaze slid away from her and locked onto the others.

“You’ve got five minutes,” I said flatly.

“Five minutes to tell your armies to fall back—or every single one of them dies.”

Their faces dropped instantly, shock rippling through their ranks.

“You—” one of them began, but never finished.

BAAAAAAAAAAAM!

The air itself bent under my will. In the next moment, every single one of them slammed into the dirt.

The armor broke instantly, and their bones creaked.

BAAM!

The ground cracked beneath their weight.

“Urghhh!”

“W-what the hell is this—?!”

“Ghhkk—can’t… breathe!”

I pressed my palm lower, the invisible force grinding them further down.

“This is not a warning,” I said coldly.

“This is an order.”

The pressure grew heavier with my words.

Their faces twisted, veins bulging, eyes watering as they struggled against it. And just as quickly, I released it, snapping my hand away.

The weight vanished. They gasped for air, coughing, clutching their chests, their pride cracking worse than their armor.

“Tch… how dare you…” The Beast King muttered through gritted teeth.

“We’re not… slaves to take commands from—”

But then they looked up.

Their protests froze in their throats.

Because what stared back at them were my eyes

Their bravado was shattered, and fear rippled through them like a plague.

“…Tch—Fall back!”

“Withdraw the troops—NOW!”

“Move, damn it, MOVE!”

The so-called emperors of the world barked out their orders in shaky voices, and instantly, their armies began pulling back, banners lowering, shouts echoing with confusion.

My gaze shifted to Yumi.

“You too.”

Her grin widened, sharp and satisfied.

“Hehe~ understood, Aestrea~”

With a graceful flick of her hand, the air split open. Thousands of portals bloomed like black blossoms across the battlefield.

The undead answered her instantly.

One after another, they marched, dragged, or crawled through the swirling gates until the entire swarm had vanished.

But strangely… one army still remained.

The Holy Nation’s forces.

I turned my head back to Christina.

“This applies to you as well.”

My tone didn’t rise, didn’t crack. I simply looked at the sky… then lowered my eyes back to her.

“Two minutes.”

Christina’s teeth sank into her lip, her hand trembling at her side as my words echoed through the silence.

“…One minute.”

I spoke again.

Blood flowed from her lower lip, but I didn’t care at all. And just when I was about to say: ’Thirty Seconds’…

“…EVERYONE! FALL BACK TO THE HOLY NATION!” she shouted, causing the soldiers to sigh in relief.

They saw how easily I made the SSS-rankers bow down, so naturally, they wouldn’t dare to provoke me.

The soldiers quickly disappeared from the battlefield, but suddenly, I felt like a needle was prickling at my head.

Like there was something wrong…

And that’s when I looked at Christina… sharply.

“…Where is Solara?”

That heaven-defying sword had disappeared.

“Christina?”

I looked at her, and suddenly, her eyes turned completely while as she fell onto her knees.

Tears of blood slipped through her eyelids, as suddenly, the divine Sword Solara pierced through her chest.

SPLURT!

Blood sprayed across the ground, warm droplets spattering her dress, the soil, and the fractured stones beneath her.

Her body twitched violently, crimson gushing every second, pooling fast around her knees.

“FUCK!” Yumi cursed, her hand gripping my shoulder.

“RUN! QUICKLY! SHE SACRIFICED HER OWN BODY TO INVOKE THE GODDESS OF LIGHT!”

She ripped open a portal, but before we could step through, a violent suction yanked it closed.

But strangely, both Yumi and Cecilia were pushed onto the portal, being able to enter it while I wasn’t.

And then…

BAAAAAAAAAAAM!

A golden wall slammed into existence, a massive barrier spreading outward like wildfire.

It swallowed the land in seconds, sealing everything inside. Two hundred kilometers across, nothing could escape.

“Agh—!”

Christina was gone, and in her place stood something else.

Two vast, golden wings unfurled from her back, each beat shaking the air.

Her hair shimmered like molten gold, flowing down in radiant waves. Her dim pink eyes now glowed like suns, bright and merciless.

A golden gown wrapped around her, regal and divine.

And in her hand… the Divine Sword Solara gleamed, dripping with her own blood, burning like a star.

“…Aestrea.”

Her voice sounded different as well.

“It’s time for you to die.”

She said those words so casually that it almost made me shiver.

I quickly scanned her.

[Rank: 1✯ True God]

“…Fuck.”

I clenched my jaw, letting out a bitter laugh.

“I really can’t have a break, huh?”

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