Chapter 1017: with translation of chapter title

Aglaea came to the Garden of Life, and from afar she saw Taining gazing into the distance at KefaLe.

"... Taining? It seems she is already preparing to defend Aohema." Aglaea stepped forward and exchanged information with her, "The threats in the city have been eliminated; I have cleared away the corruption one by one."

"Thank you, Ya. That elder… did she cause you trouble again?"

"It's nothing serious. No need to worry about me, Master."

"You should know, Kaines, she during the Golden War..."

Aglaea took over her words: "... She is a specialist 【Purge】 assassin of the Golden Descendants. I understand. As I said, the Senate is not our enemy… at least not for now. Let's return to the pressing issue."

"... Hmm. We have already made preparations to deal with Nicadoli." Taining lowered her head, her voice sounding somewhat muffled, "This isn't easy… Tian is already nearing her limit."

"How much strength does she have left?"

"If we count this time… perhaps we could still open three… no, maybe we could still open two Hundred Realm Gates."

Aglaea frowned: "... What about after that?"

"According to the prior agreement, Tibao will take over the duties of the Gatekeeper."

Aglaea closed her eyes, her long lashes barely trembling, and let out a deep sigh: "It seems all we can do now is wait."

——

Death God.

"So the cost of using the Hundred Realm Gate is this high?"

This was actually beyond Yiye's expectations; she had thought the "Hundred Realm Gate" was a privilege of the Path Titan, usable without limit. But upon reflection, if the power of this "Path" truly had unlimited uses, then when they first encountered Bai'e and Tibao, they wouldn't have needed to wait for the Earth Beast.

"This might be what a 'Demigod' is—rather than calling it a 'god', it still cannot escape humanity's shackles." Urahara opened his paper fan, placed it before his chest, and fanned lazily, "Perhaps all demigods have a day when they will eventually perish; it remains to see whether these two demigods can endure until the birth of the next demigod."

"Tian's strength is almost exhausted; how much longer can Aglaea hold on?"

Compared to Tian, Yiye is still more worried about Aglaea's condition. After all, the Path is divided into three, but the Romantic Titan is not; if Aglaea's strength is exhausted, Tibao alone cannot manage the overall situation.

As the former commander of Covert Mobilization, formerly captain of the 2nd Battalion of the 13th Guard Divisions, Yiye's former position was similar to Kaines's, specializing in assassination and secret executions. Looking at the conflict between the Senate and the Golden Descendants, perhaps there's no need to wait for Aglaea to exhaust her divine power; as soon as her strength weakens slightly, Kaines will likely choose to actively purge, erasing this demigod from Aohema.

Yiye has done plenty of such things before, which is why she feels even more anxious. Those responsible for the purge may not be opponents of a Demigod, but they are always a thorn that could at any moment pierce the chest of the Golden Descendants. Even if Aglaea does not intend to act, we cannot leave this menace to Bai'e, can we?

Bai'e… he probably isn't the kind of person who can harden his heart to strike against his fellow humans.

If possible, Yiye truly hopes that Aglaea's previous joke toward Tibao was not just a simple 'joke'.

——

Taining lifted her gaze toward the distant KefaLe: "Hmm. Let's wait a moment in this garden, Ya."

"Please tell me, Master… in your eyes, does the prophecy remain as clear as on the first day?"

Taining nodded: "Golden runes shimmer in the azure sky, countless fragments of words dance around KefaLe. The divine edict remains as clear as ever."

"Does it speak of Bai'e's party's victory?"

"It… keeps silent." Taining shook her head, "It seems to know the answer… but does not wish to share it with us at this moment."

"It seems this time we cannot obtain solace from the divine edict." Aglaea gazed silently at the distant mountains, "That would also be good. If he truly is the child chosen by fate…"

"... Then the prophecy is merely the narration of his story."

"……"

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Even on the outskirts of Xuanfengcheng, Xing and Xiadie could hear the earth-shaking, heaven-rumbling roar of the Conflict Titan within the inner city.

"I really wish I could go to the front to support them…"

Xiadie: "I understand, my lord… but for now we must head to another battlefield."

"Here, memory, complete. Entrust to me, the fragments. The past… by me, restored."

Xing handed the three memory fragments he had previously collected to Mimi, and with its help successfully opened a door leading to past memories; Xing entered and found inside a vast, hazy bright day.

Unlike the ruins they had been in before, the Xuanfengcheng in memory was quite bustling, so bustling that even dust danced in a scene of harmony. People went about their business, while the Titan's retinue wielded giant swords as guards—Xing had never before seen these retinue members interacting amicably with humans.

"Xuanfengcheng…" Xiadie looked around in surprise, obviously she had never seen such a bustling Xuanfengcheng, "Before Aigle closed her eyes, it originally looked like this."

"Truly magnificent."

"The City of Warriors, its magnificence lives up to its name."

——

Battle of the Twin Cities.

This is the former Xuanfengcheng, unexpectedly so prosperous… Jes looked at the ancient city bustling with people on the skyline, finding it hard to connect the thriving metropolis before him with the ruins where Wandi, Bai'e, and the others had previously stayed.

If this time Bai'e, Wandi, Xing and the others successfully defeat Nicadoli, could the Xuanfengcheng residents temporarily residing in Aohema return? Could they recreate this scene from memory?

"Oh, child, this certainly cannot be." Heimo Dingge said bluntly, "This Xuanfengcheng in the memory is remarkably martial and combative—look—"

Heimo Dingge raised his hand to point at the skyline; on that main thoroughfare of Xuanfengcheng, many youths wearing battle armor and wielding swords came and went.

"For a city-state that venerates martial combat, gradually weakening and eventually perishing is historically inevitable. According to Wandi, Xuanfengcheng even regards 'dying on the battlefield' as honor. This amounts to pouring a nation's most precious resources, its sharpest minds, and its strongest youths into the proposition of 'how to kill enemies more effectively'…… utterly mad."

"But aren't the citizens of Xuanfengcheng living well in Aohema now? I haven't seen them cause any trouble."

"Yes, so this also means that the people of Xuanfengcheng have abandoned their original traditions, discarding certain traits deeply rooted in their marrow—combativeness—for survival; this is the cause of their prosperity, and also the cause of their decline in the apocalypse."