With the aid of the Dark Elemental Lord, Ren Ashdoll, Est successfully absorbed the power of the Fire Elemental Lord, who had been slain by Elise.
Now, Est could be said to have completed the first step of her evolution—she could already wield the power of the fire spirits.
However, after absorbing that power, Est also fell into a certain degree of weakness. It seemed she would need a few days to recover before attempting to assassinate the next Elemental Lord.
Although the Water Elemental Lord had already been slain five years ago by Kamito through a wish, fortunately, her power had still remained.
Now, within the Elemental Spirit World, aside from the Fire Elemental Lord who had just been killed by Elise, there were still the Earth Elemental Lord and the Wind Elemental Lord left.
In other words, Elise still had to fight two more exhausting battles like this one.
"Let's hope there's still enough time, and that the Sacred Queen in the human realm doesn't do anything reckless."
Would the Sacred Queen really sit idly by and wait for death?
Of course not!
The moment the Sacred Queen discovered Elise had left the human realm, she immediately returned to her Holy Nation—the ruling nation representing her power in the human world. Then, without hesitation, she launched a war!
Originally, she had planned to wait until her preparations were complete, but since she had been prematurely revived because of Elise, the redundant parts of her plan were no longer necessary.
She would now open the Gate to the Otherworld as quickly as possible!
"Why… why is this happening?!"
Inside a grand palace, an emperor roared in despair.
If one looked closely, one could see that the palace itself was trembling for reasons unknown, and the roaring of explosions could be heard continuously from afar.
"I am… the rightful emperor of Ordesia… Arneus…"
"Why has it come to this?"
Countless military spirits were falling from the sky, and the moment they touched the ground, violent explosions erupted.
Each tremor caused the luxurious chandelier—adorned with countless spirit crystals—to sway violently.
It was like the countdown to doomsday!
For some unknown reason, the Holy Nation had suddenly declared war on every neighboring country without any prior warning!
What was even more shocking was that not only had the Holy Nation's army not been repelled, but they were driving every other nation into retreat!
Some battles were decided in an incredibly short time—the Holy Nation achieved complete victory!
According to reports from the front lines, the Holy Nation had performed a forbidden summoning ritual, calling forth countless magic spirits prohibited by international treaties. Entire cities were wiped out in an instant.
Some opportunistic cowards even chose to surrender, directly joining the Holy Nation's army.
As the war dragged on, the Holy Nation's forces only grew larger and stronger.
"Those shameless bastards!" The emperor's expression twisted with fury, but at the same time, helplessness.
"Your Majesty, this is too disgraceful… Even we can no longer bear to watch!"
Within the nearly empty palace, a young girl's voice suddenly rang out.
"This throne you cling to so dearly—was it ever yours by your own strength?"
The emperor looked up, and before his eyes appeared a woman he knew all too well.
The Cardinal of the Holy Nation's Sacred Law Office—
Millennia Sanctus!
"Why has the Holy Nation declared war on us?"
"I… I was supposed to be…"
Though deeply afraid of the woman before him, the emperor could no longer restrain himself in this dire situation and shouted loudly.
"You want to say—you were our puppet, so why would we wage war against you?"
Indeed.
The Emperor of Aldicia, Arneus, was nothing more than a puppet of the Holy Nation. It was precisely thanks to their support that he had been able to sit securely upon the throne.
"Isn't the answer obvious?"
Millennia smiled coldly.
"Because you've outlived your usefulness."
"Huh?" Arneus was bewildered. "If that's the case, then why put me on the throne in the first place?"
He knew well his own position as a puppet emperor. He had no grand ambitions—being a puppet ruler, enjoying the privileges of a king without fulfilling his duties, had suited him just fine.
But now, that life of comfort and indulgence… was about to end.
"I… I should still be of some use, right? There must still be a reason to keep me alive, right?" Arneus' tone grew increasingly hysterical. Having long grown accustomed to imperial authority, he clearly would not let go so easily.
"No, Your Majesty, your role has already ended."
Millennia shook her head, denying the emperor's words.
"For the number of living sacrifices we require is already sufficient."
"Living… sacrifices?"
Arneus was confused, but Millennia made no effort to conceal anything from him.
Or perhaps, in her eyes, he was no longer even considered a living being.
"Our goal has always been to ignite unending wars across this continent—whether it was the Lambal War, this current war with Aldicia, or even the war against Solomon's Demon King a thousand years ago, they all served one purpose—"
"To create living sacrifices that will shatter the order of the human realm!"
Upon hearing Millennia's words, Arneus could not help but tremble in terror. These lunatics actually dared to do something like that?
"The collapse of order in the human realm will cause the existence of the Elemental Lords to become unstable, and the very fabric of the world itself will begin to waver."
"When that happens, the conditions to open the Gate to the Otherworld will finally be met!"
As Millennia's last words faded, the sound of the palace gates being breached echoed from outside, signifying that the place was no longer safe.
"Farewell then, last emperor of Aldicia—"
Millennia bowed deeply toward Arneus, then turned to leave.
"No, don't go! I beg you, take me with you!"
The emperor's cries were in vain. Millennia did not even glance back. Her pure white robes fluttered once, and in the next instant, she vanished from the palace.
"Hahaha… we're all doomed…"
Arneus collapsed weakly onto his throne, as though all will to live had drained from him.
Just then, more military spirits in the skies above released another volley of explosive bombardments aimed directly at the royal palace.
Boom—
With a deafening explosion, the grand palace of the Aldicia Empire was reduced to ruins.
And the emperor of the empire… fell into eternal slumber beneath the earth.
High above the sky, Millennia quietly observed the scene, pressing her hand against the eyepatch covering her left eye.
"To think the Sacred Queen would break her seal so soon… I must truly thank that being from another world."
"However, according to the Sacred Queen, she seems to possess an unusual power—and has already gone to the Elemental Spirit World…"
Millennia furrowed her brows.
"I must move quickly."
She pressed harder against her left eye beneath the eyepatch.
"If there's no other choice, then I'll use that to deal with the otherworldly being…"
Within Millennia's eyes dwelled a darkness not belonging to this world.