"S-so, the Martial Blade God died for nothing?!"
Edward couldn't believe what he was hearing. His ancestor had given his all in an epic showdown against the Nether, and he had even protected all of them—no, the whole world—in the process.
Yet… his sacrifice had been in vain?
"No. The Martial Blade God did well in fighting the Nether. That means he's expended a lot of power. Plus, with that blast's effects, I can only imagine that he's gotten even weaker."
Kazen was simply trying to say that the Nether would be a far easier target now that the Martial Blade God had played his part.
"But how are we supposed to stop him if the Martial Blade God couldn't?" Ivan spoke, sighing as he shook his head.
The situation was too messed up for a simple man, like him, to wrap his head around.
"Ivan has a point. If we can't even kill him, then what are we supposed to do? " Jerry asked, looking at everyone in the floating fortress.
He knew their combined might was far weaker than the Martial Blade God's shown power, so if the Martial Blade God couldn't win, how could they stand a chance?
"We don't need to kill him. We just need to offset one of the Arcanas inside him. That should create an unstable reaction, destroying him from the inside out. Jared had the same plan, before he…" Kazen stopped before she could finish.
The mere mention of Jared clouded the faces of almost everyone.
'I understand how you feel, kids. He was a boy that showed so much promise and potential.' Unfortunately, even the most gifted minds had to go eventually—some in worse ways than others.
"For now, though, let's go after Ciel. She must have used a great deal of her power to bring the Nether here. She should also have no energy left to power her Arcana replicas." Compared to them, Ciel was pretty defenceless.
With this in mind, the team moved in the direction of their target—hoping that their actions would end up saving everything and everyone they cared about.
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Ciel's eyes widened in devastation.
Her expression showed shock and fear, and her body was paralyzed because she was overwhelmed by it.
'I… I didn't know he was that strong!'
The Martial Blade God proved to be a more formidable threat than she had surmised. How could she have let him live to face her master? How could she have let the both of them fight?
As she stared into the sky, spotting the supernova that stretched throughout the space that was beyond the world, Ciel could feel her heart pound violently.
She knew her master wasn't dead, but she just hoped his body wasn't completely damaged. Unlike his core self, his vessel could be injured. If that happened, then he would either be forced to appear without a vessel, or his vessel would become imbalanced—both of which were terrible outcomes.
"I am so sorry, Master. I should have interfered.' She knew the Nether would have refused her assistance, and also… she was no match for the Martial Blade God.
At this point, she hadn't seen anyone display that sort of power since Merlin. With a great deal of her power depleted, she was also vulnerable.
'If I'm vulnerable, and the Nether is vulnerable… that leaves us in a bad position.' She thought to herself while gritting her teeth.
It was all so infuriating.
'WHY DO PEOPLE GET IN THE WAY OF MY—!'
"CIIIEEEEELLLL!!!" A loud voice emerged from a distance, and Ciel recognized it instantly.
The owner was none other than—
"Kazen. You…" Ciara growled.
She really wasn't in the mood for this.
Kazen and her allies rode on their fortress projection, all of them grinning at Ciel, ready to strike.
"Tch."
They finally stopped a mere couple of distances between both sides.
"It seems your plan was once again thrown into the pit, and by one of your allies nonetheless." Kazen grinned, revealing herself as the roof of the fortress vanished.
All those who remained present and accounted for focused their gazes on the lone Ciel.
Edward, Serah, Ciara, Jerry, Ivan, Lemi, Aurora, Jane, Dulum, Z'ark, Gerard, Asa, Maro, Beruel, and Ana. With Kazen leading the charge, they were raring to go.
"You've had your fun with this world, haven't you? You've caused so much death and suffering. But now… your Cult is gone, and even your 'master' has been badly damaged by the strike of your own ally." Kazen knew it would take some time before the Nether fully recovered.
Or even partly recovered.
As a result, she and her team were going to end Ciel before the Nether returned. Once the force of malevolence returned, she would enact the final part of her strategy.
'I just pray this body holds on for much longer…' She thought to herself.
"Do you really think you've won?" Ciel narrowed her gaze on Kazen.
For a second, perhaps two, there was silence. And then—
"Don't let her stall us. Use all you can on her." Kazen broke the silence with words, and her allies prepared for action.
With the Nether gone, this was the perfect chance to—
"HAAAAAA…."
Sudden paralysis befell everyone who opposed Ciel. In a mere instant, none of them could move at all. They could only watch with bulging eyes of confusion, as the skies darkened once more and an utterly despicable being descended from the heavens.
Contrary to what any of them had thought, the Nether wasn't in a terrible state, and neither did he look weakened in the slightest bit.
He was miniature in size—about five meters tall—but that didn't seem to diminish his power. No, it was even the contrary. It was almost as if—
"This body has acclimated again. I have evolved—and at the perfect time too." The Nether grinned at his shocked audience.
"And now… it's time to continue from where we left off."
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