NOVEL NEXT Chapter 373: The Calamity Begins
In Fall of Ares, a Calamity was simply referred to as something that could bring about the end of the world.
A calamity could be caused by a series of events leading up to a specific point, and to stop one meant you had to destroy it from its roots. But even that was never easy.
Once a calamity began, it was certain that people would die.
At least that was what Rain was used to.
She sat up in the empty classroom. Her head was pounding, and suddenly, a cold sweat drenched her back.
'He's dead.'
Her body went stiff.
She had sent a clone charged with her magic instead of going herself.
She had thought it was the smart thing to do… why risk her true body when she could still observe through a copy? It was a reasonable decision.
But now, that same decision had cost someone their life.
'How did I not see that Nari was in cahoots with them…?'
Her hands trembled and she clenched her fists against her chest.
Because of her mistake… Azel was dead.
And now, many others would follow.
This entire academy… this island was already doomed.
'Should I run?'
Her heart raced.
If Azel couldn't defeat that woman with the weapon, then there was no way she could. Her holy magic hadn't worked on her.
Nari's flames had overpowered her clone entirely.
'If I took a flight down to Rochel… I could escape…'
For a second, the thought almost tempted her. What was the point of living through regression if she just ended up dying again?
Why couldn't she just live peacefully, like a normal person?
But her mind whispered what her heart already knew.
'I can't escape… If Diabolo awakens, evil will spread across the world.'
Even if she fled, it would find her eventually.
And she knew… deep down that Nari wouldn't let her go especially since finding out she was a regressor.
So in the end, she was trapped.
[Hey, it's been a while… Do you know what happened to Azel's soul?]
Rain froze.
It was her.
The one person she didn't want to hear right now.
The Goddess Nyala.
[Rain, answer me. I can't sense him.]
'He… died,' she whispered in her mind.
There was a long pause.
[What do you mean by died?]
It was the first time Rain had ever heard fury in Nyala's tone.
[I leave for a few realm days… to shop, mind you and he's dead?! What in the hell happened?!]
'I led him to his death…'
Her body felt weak.
Her knees hit the floor as tears stung her eyes. 'It's my fault… I don't think I want to fight anymore. I'm just… tired.'
[Take me to his body.]
[If we get there, maybe we can restore him. Holy reconstruction isn't impossible… I can't sense his soul in the divine plane, which means he's trapped somewhere between realms. If I can see him then I c—]
"I can't get to his body," Rain whispered aloud. "I don't even know what they did to it… Just… look into my memories."
There was silence and then the connection faded.
Rain sat alone in the empty room, trembling.
…
Feng gritted his teeth as he sat inside the sky ferry heading down toward Rochel City.
The massive crystal-powered vessel hummed as it rose higher into the clouds.
He couldn't stop thinking.
'Is Master really dead?'
The soul link had gone completely silent.
The only thing that remained was Azel's last command… a direct order burned into their minds.
[Leave the island. If you don't, I'll never forgive you.]
And so, they did.
The entire group… Edna, Medusa, Veyra, Anya, the kids and himself boarded the ferry.
No one said a word.
Edna stared blankly at the sky through the window. Medusa's head rested on her knees. Even Lillia was silent.
Feng's fists tightened.
He wanted to scream, but the ache in his chest wouldn't let him.
Then, a voice sounded in Veyra's head.
[My daughter…]
Veyra's eyes widened.
Her breathing hitched.
That voice… she could guess who it was.
'Yes, my goddess,' she thought.
[You are grieving, aren't you?]
'Yes,' Veyra whispered internally. 'I am… I'm grieving.'
[Me too…] Kyone's voice quivered, though she tried to hide it. [You need to return to the island. I will lend you power. I just want you to kill every single enemy on that island.]
There was silence.
Then Veyra's jaw clenched.
"Yes, my goddess," she muttered.
Without hesitation, she stood up. The others turned in confusion.
"Veyra? What are you doing?" Edna asked.
The sky ferry shuddered as it began to move, the engines were roaring.
Veyra didn't respond.
She drew her fist back and punched the window.
Glass shattered and wind howled into the cabin.
"Veyra!!!" Edna screamed as the woman leapt through the opening, her body disappearing into the sky.
Feng rushed to the window searching the endless expanse of clouds.
But she was gone.
Just like that.
…
"Thank you all for coming," Nari said calmly.
She sat upon a black throne beside the altar… the same altar where Lorraine now lay.
Around her stood several figures… people that she had recruited since they had a common cause, and behind them, rows of kneeling cultists.
Some were academy students and others were commoners from the empire who had fallen under her sway.
She smiled.
"Mallicite."
From the shadows, a shape emerged. A woman made entirely of darkness, her form shifting and rippling as if made of liquid smoke.
Her eyes were hollow white, and her hair burned upward like black fire.
"Hex."
A towering skeletal figure stepped forward. His body was a lattice of bones and within his skull burned a violet flame.
He had once been a Grand Mage… a necromancer who sought immortality and found it in death.
"Velkin."
A woman in black armor sat silently near the wall.
Her limbs were grotesque and mismatched, fused with cursed metal and living sinew.
She had been one of the Aegis Empire's most gifted swordswomen once, but now her skin was pale and scarred with patchwork corruption.
Her cursed arms and legs twitched but she was happy she could move them again and wield a sword.
And then…
"Aria."
The final figure leaned casually against a pillar with a cigarette between her lips.
Her eyes were half-lidded and her expression was bored.
Unlike the others, she still looked human… she had short black hair, scarred knuckles, and a casual swagger that didn't belong in a place like this.
At thirty-three, she was the second youngest among them and perhaps the deadliest.
She had been cursed by the heavens themselves: unable to use mana or aura, yet that curse made her body so refined that it defied the laws of nature.
The weapon she held rested lazily against her shoulder… a massive blade with two jagged edges, shaped like a crescent scythe.
The Reaper Blade.
A weapon said to have slain gods and as her mother had instructed, Nari had given it to the woman.
Nari's gaze swept across them all.
They were her generals… Her family… Her monsters…
"All of you…" she said softly, rising from her throne. "The daughter of Diabolo commands you."
She raised her hand.
"Bring terror."
The cultists chanted.
"Bring despair."
The ground shook.
"Let us feed upon their fear—" she smiled with her eyes glowing violet, "—and resurrect my mother."
She turned her gaze to the door.
"Go," she commanded. "And bring forth… a Calamity."