When the gods' shadows appeared at the edge of the fortress, the leaders of the Church of the Four Gods flocked to the front of the city walls.
Atop these demon-proof walls, countless followers of the gods thronged. They were the first warriors to respond to the gods' call and flock to the city walls.
They had never seen their gods in their true form, but when these shadows appeared before them, they knew in their hearts that they were the beings they believed in.
Most of the believers were even ready to kneel in prayer.
Yet, facing their gods stood unseen evil gods. Those treacherous gods they had only seen in ancient books.
Even the demonic leaders could be seen below.
Everyone could see it.
It seemed as if something momentous had occurred without their knowledge.
Arka, hanging on the rack, had attracted these beings.
"Is that Lord Alka?"
"So, everything these past few days has been aimed at capturing him?"
After the recent expedition, most people had been searching for Alka, and considering the behavior of these demons,
It was almost certain that the fierce attacks of the past few days were solely aimed at Alka.
To be honest, for most people, it was somewhat incomprehensible.
But they couldn't quite understand why these demons were targeting Alka so much.
Although Alka was powerful, he didn't seem so powerful that the demons would fear him.
They wouldn't launch such an exaggerated attack just for such a single individual.
Only the grim expressions of the High Lords of the Four Gods Church and the expressions of those powerful forces told them the seriousness of the situation.
"He is your savior! His presence has severely suppressed our attack. He is the king of the dreamland corresponding to this place.
His dream realm is influencing reality, hindering our attack from achieving much of its intended effect. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't have been able to hold out for this long."
Someone in the Demon Lord's ranks seemed to deliberately begin reciting Alka's achievements.
These achievements were shared with everyone within the fortress.
Hearing this,
At first, most people didn't believe it.
However, the phantoms of the Four Gods, the phantom of the Evil God, and the gathered demons all took this fact seriously.
For this was the validation of his words.
The demons were instilling in their enemies the importance of their impending distorted existence.
"Now, we will execute your savior before your God!
Afterwards, you will fall into the embrace of the abyss."
After that, they finished speaking.
Salunster arrived beside Alka on the scaffold.
This specially constructed scaffold held Alka pinned to its cross-shaped frame.
A bright, mirror-like moon shone in the sky during the day.
With the appearance of this mirror-like moon,
everyone suddenly remembered.
It seemed Alka was the companion of the Moon and Star Valkyrie.
The moon shone in the sky, drawing ever closer to the earth, its size and brilliance almost surpassing the sun.
A dazzling meteor streaked across the sky, speeding toward them at a speed too fast for the naked eye to perceive.
Suddenly,
The sound of flowing water echoed in everyone's ears, and bells rang frantically.
A dark gray-green mist filled the air.
The fog was approaching.
Everyone seemed to feel their souls tremble. In the dense fog, everyone seemed to see the manifestation of a river.
A canoe, constructed like a dead tree, was moving rapidly above the river.
It was heading straight for the execution ground.
And on that canoe...
A figure dressed in tattered gray-green robes, holding an extremely conspicuous sickle.
"Bang!"
A dazzling meteor streaked across the sky, crashing down fiercely.
A completely impenetrable barrier appeared around the execution ground.
The figure revealed by the falling meteor was none other than Sofia, clad in a shimmering silver-white glow.
She was now dressed like a Valkyrie.
Also attacking the barrier was the figure in tattered gray-green robes, fiercely slashing the barrier with her sickle.
The aura she exuded caused her hood to flap.
It was Lucilia.
"Give Alka back to me!"
Two furious roars erupted from the two goddesses.
"Roar!"
"Alka!"
Atop the city wall.
Pororo and the others, who had been searching for Alka, quickly arrived, then, ignoring everyone's attempts to stop them, leaped from the wall.
A gigantic crystal dragon beast flew straight towards them.
Many of the unrepaired defenses on the wall, combined by an unknown force, formed a massive steel giant.
The sound waves formed into a piercing spear, visible to the naked eye, that pierced them.
Everyone on the wall could see it.
Alka's companions were desperately charging towards the barrier.
Their actions seemed to ignite the entire battlefield.
The four gods and the gods within the void immediately used their powers.
This seemed like some kind of signal.
"Warriors! Our gods have arrived!"
The archbishop roared, his entire body radiating an intense holy light. He, along with the saints and holy maidens behind him, rushed down the city wall.
On the other side, the god of war and the evil gods who had betrayed the world began to suppress them from a distance, resisting the power of the four gods.
"What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for failure?"
Hearing this voice,
Knowing there was no time to delay,
Salunster didn't hesitate.
A huge, giant-toothed sword appeared in his hand and he swung it at Alka on the cross.
"No! Stop!"
Sofia roared from outside.
But then...
Alka suddenly raised his head and smiled. The crowd who had just arrived at the execution platform noticed Alka's smile and watched him wink at them.
"Want to execute me? Wishful thinking, hahahaha!"
Amid Alka's laughter.
As the sword swung, Alka's body suddenly solidified into crystal beneath the chains that bound his body and soul.
"Dang!"
The demon's furious blade slashed at the crystal, surprisingly having no effect at all.
An object, seemingly a soul, emerged from Alka's body, transforming into tiny specks of light that scattered outward.
The crystal formed from Alka's body then solidified into a towering crystal pillar, instantly piercing the outer shell of the execution ground.
The sudden change made everyone pause.
Even the gods suddenly stopped.
The crystal pillar that soared into the sky was incredibly solid, connected to the world like an indestructible tower of trials.
Carrying a powerful wave of order, it rippled wildly around, instantly pushing away the abyssal aura that had permeated the front lines.
The demons could almost immediately feel their strength rapidly declining.
This place was becoming the domain of order.
Seeing this, the four gods immediately took action. Their power began to transform into rays of light, streaming from the shadows beyond the world and pouring into the crystal.
Sofia and Lucilia seemed to understand something as well.
The threads of power flowed into the crystal pillar.
The figures of the gods gradually faded.
The figures of the evil gods also vanished.
Salenst, with a complicated expression, looked at the crystal pillar rising beside him.
Their action was successful, but also, in some ways, a failure.
As the execution ground they had encased shattered, their figures gradually faded, for the execution ground had been forcibly relocated.
The figures of the demon lords, following the destruction of the planet, reappeared at the spot where Arka had been trapped.
Only a single crystal pedestal, rising into the sky, remained, radiating light.
Invisible power links transformed into threads connecting from beyond the world to the crystal pillar.
As the demon lords retreated,
A large number of demons, who had been lurking around for a long time, suddenly rushed over.
Because many humans had already descended the city walls.
"Rally to me!"
With a roar,
The humans who had descended the city walls began to form a defensive line, fighting and retreating.
"What's going on? These demons are so weak!"
"Could it be that..."
Everyone noticed that the demons had become extremely weakened, far weaker than they had been before the Demon Wall, let alone before.
Even under these circumstances, with the help of Sofia and the others, they were able to repel them head-on beneath the city wall. These demons couldn't withstand them at all, leaving not even a few bodies behind.
They slowly retreated to the edge of the city wall and climbed up using the ladders provided.
Under the pressure of the siege equipment and the soldiers on the wall, the demons didn't even have the strength to reach the bottom of the wall.
The reason for this was self-evident.
The crystal pillar in the sky.
...
"So what was the final problem?"
In the obsidian hall of the volcano, eight demon lords gathered.
The tall, thin, red-skinned barbed devil, whose bones seemed devoid of flesh and blood, asked.
He saw only Sullenster preparing to strike Alka with his sword, but nothing he had imagined would happen.
Then the present change occurred.
Sullenster sat on the throne, his head propped up by his hand, seemingly lost in thought, and did not answer.
At this moment, Farol turned his head and looked at the demonic figure formed of black smoke beside him.
"Would you mind explaining?"
"I could sense it, and I actually witnessed this Arka's death.
He must have known his inevitable death, so he made some contributions to the world before he died."
"Please explain it more clearly."
"Before his death, he burned his soul, transforming his body into that gigantic crystal pillar.
Through this transformation and the burning of his soul, the chaos in the area surrounding the World Scar was forcibly suppressed.
Now I can clearly sense that, although the corresponding Dream Realm is dissipating, its power, channeled through this crystal pillar to the outside world, is able to repair the world.
Through this sacrificial means, the World Scar is being suppressed."
Hearing this, the demons probably understood.
"So, haven't we gained anything? Instead, we've been suppressed even more! So, we've failed miserably?"
Facing this manic demon,
Sullenster, seated on the throne, suddenly spoke.
"No, we succeeded."
Sullenster stood up.
"The corresponding dream realm is disappearing. The burning soul and the crystal pillar won't last much longer."
The black mist-like demon nodded.
"Indeed, they themselves know this pillar can only last about ten years. By then, the dream realm, the crystal pillar in reality, and the glimmers of soul will have vanished.
Nothing will be able to suppress us then."
Hearing this, the demons probably understood.
Simply put, Alka, facing certain death, sacrificed himself to buy ten years for the Scar of this world.
"Hmph, alright. Just ten years."
For these demons, ten years is indeed a very short time.
Even the most impatient and reckless demons waited patiently.
Then the demons began to narrow their offensive lines, stationing various demonic camps within a 50-kilometer radius of the demon-proof wall.
The demon lords also focused their efforts on various locations, primarily to prevent humanity from resorting to any means to perpetuate the current situation.
Ensuring that ten years from now, with the destruction of the crystal pillars, they could conquer this world in one fell swoop.
But demons continued to pour out of the rifts.
The entire demonic realm became a playground for demons to fight each other.
All the demon lords only implemented the most basic restraints.
Because this was their preparation.
Ten years of fighting had been enough for the demons to eliminate the weaker ones.
…
In a quiet villa in the city behind.
In the main hall of this villa.
Sofia and the others sat in various locations throughout the hall, remaining silent.
"So... what did Alka's final expression mean?" Jason asked.
They all saw Alka before them, his soul flaming and scattering.
Let's put it this way: the chaos within the World Scar has receded, and that's partly due to Alka's soul being scattered across the scar.
They also saw Alka's body transformed into a crystal pillar.
Normally, Alka should be dead.
Because they were immersed in the dream, they could still see.
The dream realm was slowly dissipating.
All of this foreshadowed Alka's demise.
However, Shadow Robe, who managed the Dream Realm, remained unfazed, instead contemplating something.
And Хирви, who had temporarily taken over Alka's responsibilities, continued his daily patrols.
It seemed as if he was unaware of Alka's demise. Lilu, who shared a deep connection with Alka, remained carefree in his dream.
‐‐These strange behaviors hinted at Alka's hidden agenda, unknown to them.
‐‐Plus, all this happened so suddenly.
‐‐Alka didn't ask for help.
‐‐Alka had no foreknowledge of his impending danger.
‐‐Even until the very end, they didn't know what Alka had been through. This was incredibly unusual.
‐‐At least if his life was truly in danger, Alka would have made some preparations to let them know.
‐‐He was captured so suddenly, then sacrificed in public.
‐‐"He won't die like this," Sofia said.
‐‐Jason nodded, then opened his hand, revealing a key.
‐‐"What is that?" Simon, standing beside him, looked up and asked.
Hearing this, everyone's attention shifted.
"This was given to me by Alka a few days ago. He said we'd know when the time came. Just when Alka died, it shook."
A spirit-like smoke appeared in Lucilia's eyes.
Fog looked at the key.
"That's a crown-level treasure."
"Huh?"
At that moment, Jason suddenly remembered something.
"Remember earlier, Alka asked us if we'd memorized the spell to enter the Libra.
Normally, he never asks that question, does he?"
And asking that question meant that Alka already knew something. He had been prepared for the current situation. They also knew clearly that Alka had been waiting on the city wall for the past few years.
He had been hesitant to ascend to godhood and hadn't made any major changes to the front lines. This wasn't like him.
It was as if he was waiting for some crucial opportunity.
Add to that everything that had happened today.
However, Alka was facing the threat of death at the time, so they had no mood to ponder the underlying issues.
Now, calmly reflecting on Alka's behavior over the past two or three years, he could discern some strange clues.
"Clearly, he seemed to have known about my situation all along. He did it deliberately," Jason said, frowning.
Having once been responsible for gathering intelligence, he keenly sensed a problem.
At this point, Juanlu spoke silently.
"No matter what, the Virgin Mary knows more about the inside story than we do."
The meaning was self-evident.
As soon as he finished speaking, Sofia's figure vanished into thin air.
Seeing this, everyone fell silent again, awaiting a more definitive answer.
Soon, Sofia reappeared in the living room.
His expression was no longer silent.
Instead, he nodded with a puzzled look. From his expression, everyone could tell that Sofia was still confused, but at least he had received a relatively positive answer.
Everyone roughly understood the meaning and could only leave, each filled with questions and hopes.
It was obvious.
Although they didn't know the specifics, it seemed like something that required a certain level of confidentiality.