"GUAAARRRRRGHHHHHHH!!!"

The Nether's scream of pain spread through the lands—or whatever was left of it. It had a mix of agony and rage—pure rage toward the one who put him in this state.

'I can't believe she destroyed her own soul and counteracted the unity of my Arcana formation. By damaging [The Moon] Arcana, it's already useless to me. Without a stabilizer.. I'll be—!' The Nether could feel his body breaking down.

Once one offset occurred, it was only a matter of time before the next one happened, and after that the next. This chain reaction would keep going until there was nothing left. That was how delicate he was internally.

'I made a mistake!' And it cost him dearly.

"Master.. here!' Just when the Nether thought it was the end, his little pet came through for him once more.

Ciel was holding a card up in the air, while panting as if she was close to death. Her eyes seemed bloodshot, and a couple of wrinkles slowly appeared on her previously clear face.

Not only did she now look old, but her tone was rather coarse, and her breathing was uneven. Blood trickled down her nostrils; yet despite all of this, she leaked out a toothy grin.

"Use this!" She yelled, flailing the card at him as she approached.

"This is..!

It was an Arcana replica of [The Moon].

"When I retrieved the Original from her, I studied its components well enough to replicate it.." She was heaving now, barely speaking.

Even though Ciel knew the components and structure, there was one thing she was lacking—energy.

She had used almost all the power she had in trying to revive the Nether—over a thousand years' worth. The remaining energy, coupled with the stockpile she had kept for herself in case of emergency, as well as the immense energy that kept her in her youth, was what she used to create this new Arcana.

historical

It literally took everything out of her.

"Hahaha! You did well, Ciel! This is why I love you so much!" Yanking the Arcana from her, the Nether absorbed it instantly.

Ciel blushed hard, even in her older form, as she watched her master get well. He ejected the damaged Arcana from his body, sending it plunging down into the darkened abyss. Now that a new one replaced it, he was now perfectly fine.

"Haaa.. now that's more like it."

Now full of health, the Nether could return to his menacing grin.

"Where was I? Aah.. yes, kill them all, Ciel. I have no further use for these worms." He smiled, slowly ascending to the sky.

Once he reached a certain threshold, he would spread his energy far and wise, thus consuming every single thing in this world. Once he got to the core of the planet, it would die. With that, he would have taken one part of the Root.

'Once I take complete control over this reality, I'll have the properties I need to be whole. Haha.. I can see it now.'

He ascended and left Ciel below.

Even in her weakened state, surely she would be able to deal with a couple of paralyzed fools. In fact, killing them off so prematurely would be an act of mercy, wouldn't it?

They wouldn't be around to watch their world die.

*

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*

It felt strange how meaningless everything was.

Ana realized that now that she was right in front of the jaws of death. The enemy was overwhelmingly powerful, and there was no further alternative left to explore.

She, and the rest of her allies, were completely frozen. Their joint efforts ultimately amounted to nothing. In this situation, more than anything, she felt like crying.

Her vision was stuck in a single direction, and that was the Nether himself.

He must have ensured they were all staring at him as he ascended to destroy their world. The last thing she was going to see would be the monstrous actions of an absurdly powerful being who was immortal.

They would watch as he consumed the world, all while his servant—Ciel—executed them.

To distract herself from these thoughts, even though her widened eyes could not close, Ana remembered the past—the times when things were so simple.

She remembered her family—how her brothers were so accomplished and she was allowed an almost unlimited reserve of freedom. She remembered how she befriended Edward, the pauper who had a nice personality and a strong will.

Ana remembered how they both shared their dreams with each other, and how they enrolled at Ainzlark to fulfill them. She remembered how Lewis Griffith had inspired her to never give up, and her childish assumption of not utilizing Magic to surpass him.

Then.. Jared came along and changed everything.

She remembered how they all hung out as friends—how they trained together, and how he helped them to become the best versions of themselves.

The more she thought of it, the more it hurt her. She regretted her actions toward him in her time of grief—how she was so mean and angry at him, when it wasn't his fault.

'I.. I'm so sorry, Jared.'

Perhaps she deserved this. Yes.. perhaps this was her punishment for being so inconsiderate.

"You're amazing, Ana." A voice suddenly played over in her head.

It belonged to the person who believed in her far more than she did herself. He was also dead, and it made her realize how the two people she loved, and who encouraged her to strive for growth beyond the limits, were both dead.

.. It hurt her so much.

'Jared.. Kuzon.. I'm so sorry.'

Perhaps it was best that they weren't here to see the end of the world—though, it wasn't as though they got to have peaceful deaths.

Still, how she wished to see them again—especially the boy she loved with all her heart. Even now, in the brink of death, with her eyes forcefully witnessing the victory of the Nether, his image appeared in her mind's eye.

'Kuzon..'

>VWUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!<

Suddenly, a bright and blinding light surged through the area.

It pushed Ciel far away from the helpless group, who weren't so helpless anymore. The glorious burst of Aether that just appeared had done the impossible—it made the group completely free from the Nether's paralyzing influence.

"N-no way.." Ana whispered, watching the golden light, like a flare, ascend into the darkened heavens—clearing it away instantly.

'My ring!'

The golden light emerged from her ring, and its power still resonated with her. She could feel the energy coursing through her veins, and a bright beam of hope shimmering in her heart.

It seemed, even though Kuzon was gone, his will still protected her.

That is.. if that was the case.

"Wow! This is quite the mess!" A voice emerged from the flare that ascended above.

The voice sounded young, cool, yet playful. It belonged to someone still in their youth—perhaps late teens.

"I hope I'm not too late." The bright glow of the flare dispersed, revealing the man who was within it.

Flashing a confident smile, while moving his gaze to the group beneath him—especially the short blond girl who returned his gaze with hers—the returned Kuzon gave a wink and spoke with ease.

"Thank you all for waiting. I'm back now!"

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