Chapter 452 The Demon Lord Descends

Hum!

The Brave's Divine Sword drifted slowly toward Arthur.

Without a single word exchanged.

Instinctively, Arthur reached out and grasped its hilt.

BOOM——!!!

In the blink of an eye, a vast, surging aura erupted outward.

"Alice"’s eyes widened with unbridled terror.

Then—

She fled.

Arthur lifted the Divine Sword slowly.

Tremendous power surged forth endlessly within him.

"AAGH——!!!"

He swung the sword with all his might.

A massive torrent of light erupted forth.

Watching the oncoming radiance, "Alice" let out a desperate scream.

"No——!!!"

Then—

The white light engulfed everything.

When the radiance faded.

A straight, gaping chasm split the earth, cleaving the entire forest in two.

At the very same moment.

The emergence of the Brave's Divine Sword seemed to send out a signal.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM......

Five more identical pillars of light rose in succession from different corners of the continent.

Then—

Five enormous shooting stars streaked out from the pillars, scattering toward all corners of the world.

The Divine Staff flew westward without pause, until it reached the World Tree, then plummeted downward abruptly.

Inside the grand cathedral of Ilz City.

Prarlulu, who had been praying for the people, suddenly felt a glowing, peculiar crest materialize on her forehead.

She looked up, and saw the Divine Staff, descending from the heavens, hovering before her. She reached out both hands instinctively......

The Divine Tome flew toward a vast wasteland west of Mirnabith.

It landed atop a white tower standing in the heart of the wasteland.

A young girl who had been practicing magic halted her cultivation, lowering her gaze to the glowing crest that had appeared on her chest.

Suddenly, she seemed to sense something, and looked up toward the sky once more.

She spotted the Divine Tome drifting slowly down toward her.

She too reached out her hands instinctively, catching it gently.

As for the other divine relics—

The Divine Spear flew toward the distant east.

The Divine Shield landed in a fortress in the northern borderlands.

The Divine Bow also flew northward, but vanished into the frigid northernmost lands, no one knew where it had fallen.

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......

Beneath the World Tree.

Watching the Divine Staff—the symbol of the Staff Hero—descend, Irus turned her gaze eastward, her voice soft as she spoke.

"It has begun. The new Demon Lord War......"

Atop the White Tower standing tall in the wasteland.

The Sage stood at the tower’s peak, gazing at the six colossal pillars of light rising from the earth.

After a long, silent moment, he let out a sigh.

"War has finally arrived."

Then, his gaze drifted slowly to the young girl chosen by the Divine Tome, and a faint, imperceptible look of kindness crossed his eyes......

On a snow-capped mountain where no mortal dared to tread.

CRASH!

The snow at the mountain’s peak exploded outward with a deafening bang.

A woman with the appearance of a white-haired cat-eared girl sat atop the mountain.

She opened her eyes abruptly.

BOOM——!

An astonishing aura burst forth from her body, triggering an avalanche that engulfed the entire mountain in an instant.

She stood up slowly, lifting her head to gaze at the six pillars of light rising from the earth.

"......At long last, the time has come."

After a brief pause.

She turned her gaze toward another direction.

"I wonder if that little girl Eperu is still alive......"

She pondered for a moment, then sighed.

"Ah, well. I suppose this old lady should head back to check on her."

BOOM!

A sonic boom echoed through the air.

The white-haired cat-eared girl atop the snow-capped mountain vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye......

On an island in the southern seas.

The Master Swordsman opened his eyes abruptly.

He looked out the window, his gaze fixed on the six pillars of light.

"......"

After a short silence, he muttered to himself.

"Is the time finally upon us?"

"Heh!"

Suddenly, he let out a sharp chuckle, his eyes blazing with an aura as sharp as a drawn sword.

"Perfect timing. My blade has long been itching to be unsheathed. Armen!"

"......"

No response.

"Armen!!"

"......"

Still no answer.

"A——RMEN——!!"

A roar like a raging storm shook the entire mountain peak.

THUD THUD THUD!

A silver-haired youth came scrambling into the room in a fluster.

"Master! Did you call for me?"

"You’re too slow! What were you doing?!"

"Weren’t you the one who told me to train beneath the waterfall, Master?"

"......"

The two stared at each other, an awkward silence hanging in the air.

"Ahem."

The Master Swordsman cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Next time, keep your ears sharp."

Armen wore a look of bitter grievance on his face. It wasn’t like being alert was something you could just turn on and off at will!

"Master, please, what is it you need?"

At his words, the Master Swordsman’s expression turned solemn, all traces of his earlier laziness vanishing without a trace.

Armen immediately realized that something momentous was about to happen.

Sure enough, the words that followed from the Master Swordsman left him utterly stunned.

"Go notify all your senior brothers and sisters. Every single member of the Master Swordsman’s Sect—"

"Is to leave the mountain at once!"

In the Lidoyar Kingdom in the north.

At the heart of a vast volcanic region, an active volcano spewed forth rivers of molten magma without cease.

And deep beneath the volcano’s surface.

"Hehahaha~!"

Amidst the flames, a massive, ferocious figure let out a malicious cackle.

"I can feel it! I can feel it! The new Demon Lord is descending~!"

"Dwarves! Just you wait! The new Demon Lord shall destroy this world, and slaughter every last one of you!"

"......"

THUD!

Opposite the ferocious figure.

A Dwarf slammed his weapon heavily onto the ground.

"Before that happens, I’ll finish you off first."

"Curses! You damned dwarf!"

A wave of scorching magma surged forward.

BOOM——!

Only to be annihilated with a single strike from the Dwarf.

The ferocious figure jumped in fright, scurrying back into the molten lava in an instant.

"You just wait! When I emerge, I’ll kill all of you!"

CLANG!

The Dwarf set his weapon down, his gaze unyielding.

"Is that so? Then I’ll wait right here for you."

"......"

......

In Bongisto, the fortress city at the easternmost edge of the continent.

Farther east still lay an extremely perilous stretch of ocean.

And if one sailed across that ocean, they would eventually reach a desolate, pitch-black continent.

This continent was shrouded in perpetual dark clouds, its soil littered with countless ancient bones—not a single trace of life could be found here.

At this moment, on this continent—a forbidden zone for all living things.

High above a cluster of ruins that had lain abandoned for hundreds of years.

Crack. Crack......

A massive, pitch-black rift slowly tore open in the sky.

Then, a thick, noxious miasma from the Demon Realm gushed forth from the rift, pouring endlessly into this world.

Behind the mist-like miasma—

A pair of blood-red eyes emerged.

Soon after, more and more blood-red eyes appeared behind the first pair.

"Gaa——!"

As a single green-skinned goblin stumbled out of the black rift, leading the charge.

The army of the Demon Realm set foot on the soil of Himril once again.

The rift continued to expand, growing wider and wider.

An endless horde of monsters poured forth from the rift without cease.

Among them were numerous terrifying figures whose very presence twisted the air around them.

No one knew how much time passed.

Then, an eerie stirring emanated from within the rift.

Even before the figure stepped forth.

The terrifying aura leaking from that presence eclipsed every other powerful being present, making them pale in comparison.

Feeling that aura, every monster and demon fell to their knees, trembling uncontrollably. Not a single one dared to lift their head to look directly at that figure.

Then—

A colossal foot stepped out of the rift, planting itself firmly on the continent’s soil......

The Demon Lord had descended.