Chapter 59: The Final Battle (1)

War finally broke out.
The one who first broke the deadlock was Ximachimo, the demon god of Belial’s side and “Death’s Servant,” a sage from the ancient kingdom of Savos. His mastery over the soul far surpassed that of modern necromancers.
He raised the skeletal staff in his hand, slammed it hard onto the ground, and chanted loudly, “O ancient souls drifting in the Land of No Trace, awaken from your eternal slumber! I grant you the chance to regain your bodies once more. Please bestow your power upon me and my master to clear away all obstacles and slay every enemy! — Awaken, warriors of my kingdom of Savos!”
As he chanted, the earth trembled violently. The ground heaved, and armored hands emerged from the soil before slowly climbing out.
They were warriors from the ancient kingdom of Savos, clad in black armor, wielding dark shields, swords, or spears. Their armor bore the unique insignia of the kingdom of Savos.
The human army was thrown into slight turmoil, for these ancient Savos warriors could hardly be considered living beings. Their existence was even more shocking than the skeleton armies of the Immortal Kings.
Rather than being warriors in ancient armor, they seemed like armor driven by souls. Inside their dark armor, no body could be seen—only a gray mist filled the armor. Yet it was this mist that allowed the armor to function in mysterious ways.
The human soldiers swallowed hard, staring at the gray mist in their opponents’ helmets and the two blood-red glows within it, radiating cruelty and a thirst for blood.
“Savos… the King’s army…” The Immortal King Edmund Pankhes, the Bone Emperor, felt bitterness in his mouth as he spoke of the origin of that undead army with mixed emotions.
The kingdom of Savos was a legendary ancient nation that practiced a mystical civilization, using a force similar to magic but closer to primal energy. The warriors of Savos were incredibly powerful—so powerful that they could even subdue mighty dragons. In some ancient texts, “dragon slayers” referred to the warriors of Savos.
“King against king, soldier against soldier… hehehehe…” “Death’s Servant” Ximachimo laughed darkly. His laughter was harsh—at least that’s what the five Immortal Kings felt.

For they had forgotten one thing: the collapse of the Dead Realm not only strengthened the forces of the Allied Army, allowing some famous and powerful dark magicians from human history to return to the material world as spirits, but it also released the souls of the Savos warriors trapped in the Dead Realm. Worse still, these ancient souls were far more powerful than human souls.

Noticing the tone of the Immortal King, Allen, who was seated on his warhorse, asked doubtfully, “Are those ‘Empty Armors’ that difficult to deal with?”

The Immortal King, Cedric Kisler, the Void Emperor, sighed slightly and said in a peculiar tone, “You’ll find out soon enough!”

At first, Allen didn’t understand the true meaning of these words. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he saw giant creatures with wings sprouting from their ribs emerging from the raised soil. He had seen such creatures countless times in magic atlases.

Dragons?!

It was actually dragons?!

The legendary dragons that were said to be extinct?!

“I never thought the legends were true…” Scott said gravely, staring in astonishment at what lay before him. “Ancient texts state that the Savos warriors made the dragons submit… I never expected it to be the ancient dragon riders…”

Seeming to hear Scott’s murmurs, the Immortal King, Cedric Kisler, the Void Emperor, said softly, “You humans know little about prehistoric times. In fact, dragons were not rare or uncommon at first…”

In prehistoric times, these creatures could be found everywhere on this continent. They dwelled atop mountains and were considered the most powerful beings on the land. However, the king of the Savos Kingdom coveted the power of the dragons and ordered the dragons of the Wind Valley to submit to him. Thus, war broke out.

After decades of war, the Savos Kingdom emerged victorious. The dragons who refused to submit left their homes and headed to unknown distant lands. This led to dragons becoming extremely rare when humans appeared.

Fortunately, those powerful dragons who mastered dragon speech magic were unwilling to submit to the warriors of the Savos Kingdom. Only some subspecies of dragons chose to submit. Although these subdragons had strong bodies, they mostly relied on their claws and fangs to tear apart their enemies. Otherwise, the destructive power of hundreds of dragons who mastered dragon speech magic would be immeasurable—far more terrifying than even forbidden spells.

But anyway, the impact of hundreds of dragons flying in the sky still disrupted the morale of the human army, even though they were merely shells made of souls and earth. The dragons of the Kingdom of Savos and the bone dragons of the undead army roared at each other simultaneously, their thunderous roars echoing across the entire battlefield. “This is terrible!” Allen, one of the army’s commanders, shook his head helplessly. He took a deep breath, drew his great knight’s sword from his waist, raised it high, glanced at the troops around him, and then shouted, “Glory, with us! — All troops… attack!” As soon as he finished speaking, the human army let out a loud roar, for if they didn’t, they would be overwhelmed by the enemy’s momentum. Once their fighting spirit collapsed, there would be no need to continue the war. “Woooo…” The sound of horns rang out among the human troops. Under the leadership of Allen’s Free Wind Knights, the allied forces launched an attack on the souls of the Kingdom of Savos. Vando’s black magicians also unleashed their prepared spells. In an instant, sharp ice arrows rained down like a storm, pinning those “empty armor” to the ground. Then, scorching flames formed long serpents that slithered through the warriors of the Kingdom of Savos, setting the ground ablaze wherever they passed, creating an impenetrable barrier of fire. Yet… Suddenly, a slight fluctuation appeared in Allen’s eyes, as he clearly noticed that those souls of the Kingdom of Savos struggled out of the ice with little effort. Even the scorching flames could not stop them. Watching them walk carefree through the flames, Allen felt a bitter taste in his mouth. “Tch!” With a snort, Allen, using all his strength, spurred his horse to leap high. He waved his right hand downward in a powerful swing, and a visible slash, accompanied by an unstoppable gust of wind, cut through the Savos warriors in front of him, splitting more than a dozen “empty armor” in two. But to his great surprise, the gray mist within those split “empty armor” showed no sign of disappearing. On the contrary, within just a few seconds, the shattered armor began to heal again. Staring at that gray mist beneath their helmets, Allen couldn’t help but pull back his horse and mutter in confusion, “Hey, what the hell is this?”

While he was distracted, Kanso, the castle puppet following Allen, swayed forward and stepped toward the enemy. He then raised his fist and slammed it down with force, producing a loud crash that seemed to shake the ground itself. As the smoke cleared, a pit about half a yard deep appeared on the ground, and the two warriors from the Savos Kingdom were crushed into it. Although Kanso was the slowest among all puppets, his strength could not be ignored. Yet even such immense strength could not completely destroy those two Savos warriors; after struggling, they managed to stand up again. These painless, indestructible enemies once filled the human army with terror. After all, even the undead armies of the Immortal King could be destroyed by conventional forces—yet these Savos warriors… “Simachimo…” The Immortal King, Eynser Kravts, the Bone Emperor, frowned at the scene before him, a nostalgic look in his eyes. Suddenly, as if struck by an idea, he pointed at the distant Fourth Demon God, Simachimo, and shouted, “Kill him! Go and kill him…!” But his voice stopped abruptly as he realized how foolish his words were. Kill a demon god? Demon gods were guardians chosen by the Savos Kingdom to protect this land. The mysterious powers of the Savos Kingdom granted these chosen warriors immortality; they could only be sealed, not completely destroyed. Who could kill them then? Actually, there was someone… In this world, only one person could kill an immortal being—that was the apostle of the Ancient Will, Sloth. Sloth’s unique divine power, [Erasure of Existence], could destroy any being with infinite life, provided that being was not under the protection of the laws of the world. Immortal Kings, for instance, were immortal beings that could not be destroyed by conventional forces no matter when or where, but the divine power of Erasure of Existence could do so—as long as they left the Death Zone, stepped outside the protection of the world’s laws, or if something went wrong with the laws that protected them. Unfortunately, the only power capable of killing demon gods was not in human hands now; it was held by Belial! Yet even though they couldn’t kill them, the humans still had another option… That was Lilith!

“Simachimo? Leave it to me!” After saying those words, Lilith, dressed in a black leather bodysuit and skirt, transformed into a black torrent and rushed toward the Fourth Demon God Simachimo at incredible speed.
Demon Gods—divine forces incapable of resisting ancient wills—Asmontis’s apostle, Lilith, though unable to erase them using her existence power like the Power of Escape, could control them. Her divine power, [Fantasy Control], allowed her to dominate any intelligent, emotional being—except for apostles and those who possessed Source Power and understood the truths of the world. In other words, on this battlefield, aside from Belial, Zos, Little Lilith, and Jerry Belford, the head of the Royal Magic Association who stood by doing nothing, Lilith could control anyone else.
Yet, there are always exceptions in the world…
Just as Lilith was about to reach Simachimo, a figure suddenly appeared in her path, blocking her way.
It was the Third Demon God, the one known as the “Prophet Who Knows Everything,” the sage of the Kingdom of Gushavos—Vashak, Lord Vashak!
Lilith wasn’t surprised by Vashak blocking her path. After all, Belial must have known she was Asmontis’s apostle, so it was only natural for him to send someone to stop her from controlling Simachimo, the Demon God who summoned the king’s army of Gushavos. She had thought Belial would handle it himself, but not expected…
Hah!
Just sending a Demon God to stop me?
Lilith glanced at Belial, who stood in the distance without even looking at her, feeling anger at being underestimated. She turned her blood-red eyes toward Vashak and said in a deep voice, “Move aside!”
She thought the Third Demon God would obey and be controlled by her, but to her astonishment, Vashak, who clearly saw her demonic eyes, still stood in her way.
How is that possible?!
Surprise appeared in Lilith’s eyes. After all, back in Sasan’s time, she had already controlled the Demon Gods under Belial… Wait!
Suddenly, Lilith remembered that encounter. She recalled that at that time, her power had no effect on Belial but fully controlled all his Demon Gods, including Belial’s king puppet, Cain—except for one person…

That was the demon god standing in her way now—the third demon god, ‘Prophet’ Vashak!
Staring at the strange inverted triangular eye on his forehead, Lilith asked doubtfully, “How… why can you resist my control?”
Vashak looked at Lilith with a gaze filled with care and kindness, speaking humbly, “Because I am the only one among the seventy-two demon gods of Savos who can perceive truth. The great and ancient deities have granted me the power to see through illusions and foresee the future… Honorable apostle of the Ancient Will, Asmontis, your divine power has no effect on me at all!”
“You!” Lilith snorted disdainfully and tried again out of suspicion, but as Vashak had said, no matter how she tried to use Asmontis’s divine power, Vashak remained true to his own will, uncontrolled.
“Damn it!” Lilith cursed angrily. Not wanting to waste time here with Vashak, she transformed her body into a black torrent once more, ready to force her way through his blockade. But surprisingly, no matter which direction she tried to go, Vashak could always appear to block her path. Even more astonishingly, Lilith, as an apostle, was being stopped by a mere demon god…
“You…” Repeatedly blocked, Lilith became extremely angry. She unleashed intense dark power and said viciously, “Then I’ll kill you first…” But before she could finish, she was interrupted by Vashak’s calm and humble words.
“No, you cannot kill me, a demon god. In this world, only the apostle of the Ancient Will, Sloth, that is, Belial, can kill us…”
“Nonsense!” With a sharp exclamation, Lilith turned into a streak of black light, closing in on Vashak in an instant. Her right palm, glowing with a faint black light, swung down toward Vashak’s neck.
But Vashak easily dodged…
Frowning, Lilith used teleportation magic to appear behind Vashak and raised her right palm again.
But Vashak dodged once more…
Time and again, no matter from which direction or when Lilith attacked, the third demon god Vashak managed to evade her attacks with precision, leaving her furious and confused.
Seemingly seeing through Lilith’s thoughts, Vashak sighed slightly and said humbly, “Honorable apostle, I can see your confusion… You cannot attack me. Without mastering the Source Power…”

“Source… Source Energy? You actually master Source Energy?” Lilith widened her eyes. As an Apostle, how could she have never heard of Source Energy?
Under Lilith’s incredulous gaze, Vashak raised a finger to the inverted triangular eye on his forehead and said humbly, “No, I do not master Source Energy. But the gods have granted me this all-seeing ‘Eye of Truth,’ allowing me to see through illusions and foresee the future. This power comes from the primordial force that existed at the birth of the world—that is… Source Energy!”
Lilith could hardly believe it. Vashak, the seemingly frail Third Demon God, was actually someone who could wield Source Energy?
This guy… might not be the strongest among the Demon Gods, but he was definitely the most troublesome and difficult to deal with.
Damn it!
“I’ll say it again—get out of the way!” Lilith snapped through gritted teeth.
Vashak shook his head slightly. The Eye of Truth on his forehead scanned back and forth, observing every move of Lilith before him, before he said softly, “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that…”
“You! Do you know what you’re doing? Aren’t you Demon Gods the guardians of this continent? Do you want to see it fall apart?—Why help Belial? You, who can access Source Energy, Belial can’t even kill you!”
“Yes, you’re right. Lord Belial cannot kill me with his divine power that erases existence. I also know that everything we’re doing now is wrong…”
“Then why…”
“You don’t understand,” Vashak interrupted Lilith, a hint of guilt on his face as he spoke softly. “I don’t want to conflict with you, nor do I want to see this world go to ruin, but…”
“But what?” Lilith frowned, eager to know the truth.
Vashak sighed softly, shook his head, and murmured, “If this world truly cannot escape its fate of destruction, then perhaps this is destiny… an unchangeable fate…”
Lilith stared at Vashak foolishly for a long time, then her face twisted with anger as if she had been mocked.
“Die!”
[First Round: Lilith vs. Third Demon God Vashak]

Lilith’s voluntary offer indeed reassured the Immortal Kings quite a bit. After all, as an Apostle, there should be no one in their faction—except for Belial—who could resist the power of [Lust]. Yet here came Vashak, a man who had never clashed with anyone since following Belial, and who unexpectedly possessed the Power of Origin. As for Lilith, she had not yet mastered the Power of Origin, meaning that no matter how strong she was, she could not defeat Vashak—at least not until he ran out of energy.

While fighting off the Savos warriors, the Immortal Kings anxiously scanned the area, looking for someone to harass Simachimo. They noticed that since summoning this army of Savos kings, the demon Simachimo had remained in a state of chanting spells. Perhaps this was directly related to the strange phenomenon of the Savos warriors being indestructible. The Immortal Kings urgently needed someone powerful enough to break through the line of Savos warriors and pose a threat to Simachimo, to test their hypothesis. But who should they send? Or rather, who had the ability?

Sos? That human brat? The Immortal Kings believed that the boy called human could do it, but he absolutely couldn’t be sent lightly. After all, the focus of this war was Belial, and although this boy had lost his Apostolic power, he now possessed the Power of Origin—meaning he posed a greater threat to Belial than an ordinary Apostle.

As for the Apostle of [Anger], that human girl named Little Lilith, she might also be able to do it, but she was currently busy commanding the clay puppets [Pabete] to help the human army resist the Savos warriors. Even if she were free at the moment, the Immortal Kings still didn’t intend to send her. After all, the current battles were merely the prelude to this war—a war of attrition between pawns. How could they risk using the power of Apostles now? Their Apostolic powers needed to be preserved intact to deal with Belial, who was far too powerful for a single Apostle to handle…

Just as they were anxious about this, two dark figures darted past them at incredible speed toward the battlefield—Vampire Ulrich of the Vanthor clan and Vampire Connel of the Gungro clan.

As they moved swiftly, their forms changed—Ulric transformed into a giant blood-red bat, while Connel turned into a massive wolf covered in black fur. Both of them were among the few beings in the Third World with infinite lifespans. Though not as powerful as the Apostles, no ordinary person could withstand them. Yet, even they couldn’t match the demon god Simachimo…

The Kingdom of Savos was never short of powerful warriors. It could be said to be a land that produced great heroes. Since it was a land of great heroes, how could its army lack one or two heroic figures?

Sure enough, as Ulric and Connel moved through the Savos warriors and approached the demon god Simachimo, they were stopped one after another. The one who blocked Ulric was a dragon knight riding a giant dragon, while the one who stood in Connel’s way was a heavily armored warrior wielding a long battle axe.

Unlike the other Savos warriors, these two prehistoric warriors had particularly dense gray mist surrounding their armor, indicating that their souls were extremely strong. They must have been incredibly powerful warriors in life.

Unconsciously, the enemies in front of Ulric and Connel introduced themselves at the same time.

“Isidore.”

“Ithosdar.”

Ulric and Connel’s expressions turned serious, as they could sense the intense fighting spirit in their eyes—eyes meant for battle and death.

Glancing at the dragon knight riding the giant dragon, Ulric reverted to his human form before quickly shifting into his blood form. His black robes were instantly corroded by blood, and a pair of giant blood-red wings unfolded behind him.

At the same time, Connel also returned to his human form from his wolf shape, his muscles bulging as he watched his opponent warily.

【Second Round: ‘Vampire of Vanthor’ Ulric vs ‘Dragon Knight’ Isidore, ‘Gangrel Vampire’ Connel vs ‘Dragon Slaying Warrior’ Ithosdar】.

Meanwhile, the situation on the battlefield changed. Perhaps the blood had stimulated both armies, turning the initial probing battles into more intense fights. Beelzebub’s first demon god, the “Tyrant Who Rules Thunder,” Bal, and his sixth demon god, the “Duke of Shadows,” Valifer, also began to slaughter the human army, with almost no one able to resist their formidable strength.

Especially Bal, the ruler of thunder, was constantly surrounded by dangerous electric sparks that turned any human who dared approach to ash. Lightning was the most powerful force in magic, possessing destructive power comparable to fire and speed akin to holy light. Even throughout the entire history of human magic, few mages had been able to fully master thunder. Who could possibly stop this tyrant? Just as Bal laughed as he took the lives of human warriors, treating slaughter as entertainment, a sudden bolt of lightning struck his body precisely, leaving a small white mark on his muscular chest. “Hm?” Bal frowned and instinctively turned his head, only to show an intrigued expression soon after. Standing not far in front of him was a female mage dressed in a gray magical robe. Surprisingly, her robe was adorned with magical circuits and various precious gems, especially the wand in her hand, whose smallest gem was already the size of a thumb. “So you are the ruler of thunder, the tyrant Bal, right?” “…You? A human mage who wields the power of thunder… Heh!” Bal’s smile was quite peculiar.