Chapter 273 – Extinguish the Spark
The wind was fiercely sharp.
A storm of wind, like a downpour of blades, poured from the sky.
“Arthur!”
Lily, her hair disheveled, urgently turned to look at .
It was a signal—asking what to do.
I pointed toward the massive vortex covering the night sky and spoke.
“That way. Get us as close as you can!”
“Okay!”
Even though she was close enough for her hair to brush against , her voice was faint, swallowed by the wind.
The broom spun with a twist and soared upward, cutting through the air.
It was hard to keep my eyes open.
We reached the top of the World Tree, then pierced above it toward the clouds.
The pressure pressing down intensified, but Lily silently followed my directions, drawing nearer to the eye of the vortex.
Kukung!
A chaotic light flashed like a bolt of lightning.
A massive vortex that swallowed even the clouds.
As we approached, a chilling energy made it feel as if we’d be swept away and vanish.
What the hell did she do...?
Because I had been keeping an eye on Gram, I knew this phenonon was her doing.
But strangely, Gram herself was nowhere to be seen.
Even Ella’s Veluga had vanished.
Did they escape...?
The energy around us was so intense and bright that spotting their glow above the clouds was nearly impossible.
I quickly looked below.
Other Stars were still down there.
But—
“They’re retreating?”
Frowning, I looked outward.
I spotted two wyverns quickly pulling away from the World Tree.
The riders of those Velugas were Clarke of Fla and Ren of Radiance.
And it wasn’t just them.
The mont the vortex ford, the bombardnt of spells stopped completely.
The Hotaru that had been wrestling with Keros retreated with shrill cries, and the supporting rcenaries also fled in haste.
All that remained now were the heaps of Demtor corpses, and—
“...Ugh.”
Keros, drenched in blood, and the witches collapsed around him.
Elder deia and Cordy, visibly exhausted.
Even Fenry, panting heavily, stood his ground.
The sa with Lochter and Natasha, now in tatters.
Everyone leaned against the World Tree—or guarded it.
They all gazed blankly up at the vortex.
No, they were staring at .
That’s right.
We were the only ones left here now.
This isn’t good.
A grim thought passed through my mind.
But confirming the situation ca first.
“Lily! Hurry!”
“Eek!”
At so point, the broom’s speed had noticeably slowed.
Even with Lily’s spells, the oppressive force in the air was too strong to pierce through.
Drrrrk!
Eventually, her broom couldn’t hold on any longer—it began to crack.
A terrifying pressure bore down on us.
[It’s a chaotic mana wave.]
“...A mana wave?”
[It ans the space has beco warped due to the imnse mana. If you approach unprepared, your body will explode.]
Just as Reto warned, the mont we pierced the clouds and faced the vortex directly, Lily’s face twisted in agony.
The broom staggered, repeatedly ascending and falling.
We couldn’t go any farther.
“D-damn it!”
In the distance, I could see the vortex’s core.
And at its center, a pitch-black orb was spinning.
It felt and looked different from Terremor, but at a glance, I could tell—it was a terrifying wide-area bomb.
The mana surging from the orb was familiar.
Lindbergh of the Tempest.
It was a Terremor made from one of Demtor’s Stars.
The fissure’s growing too fast!
The rampaging mana was so intense that the rate of destabilization was too rapid.
It was already too late to issue a warning or command.
I reached out, even if barely.
If I could just touch it—maybe Reto would offer a way to dismantle it.
“Aagh!”
But just as we neared the orb, Lily coughed up blood and was flung back.
She barely regained her balance midair, but the distance to the orb widened.
Lily’s face turned pale.
She was barely hanging on.
Caught in the storm of mana waves, we were helpless—until sothing sticky wrapped around us.
In an instant, our bodies were cloaked in black.
If seen with the eyes, it would’ve been terrifying—but the mont we turned black like ink, the crushing pressure disappeared like a lie.
A presence that repelled the mana waves.
It was soone’s shadow.
[What’s going on?]
“...Fenry?”
Fenry’s voice echoed in my mind.
It felt like conversing with Reto.
He seed to be watching and moving to help us.
“Fenry! Take us up!”
[The shadow can’t move on its own. I’ll block the mana waves, you guide the direction.]
Looking down, I saw a massive black shadow breaking through the clouds and gently supporting us.
Using the Shadow of the World Tree, he was helping.
Gritting her teeth, Lily adjusted the direction.
The shadow enveloping us stretched farther and farther, drawing close to the orb.
Thanks to its blessing, we were no longer affected by the mana waves.
The orb, dyed in black light.
Roughly the size of a child’s head, it spun rapidly with intense vibrations.
The mont I touched it, I could feel it—sharp enough to erase us all.
Then, Lily moved.
Wuuuung!
Light flowed from both her eyes.
Magic Nullification spell.
With the orb before her, she stretched her arms wide, then slowly brought them together.
The orb’s rotation gradually began to slow.
“Ah, Arthur!”
[Arthur!]
Their urgent cries rang out simultaneously.
I grabbed the orb with both hands and poured all my Sacred Power into it.
Flash!!!
The core of the vortex turned gold.
A divine force burst out to restore order to the chaotic space.
The vortex paused.
Like ti itself had frozen, the night sky halted—like a single fra from a photograph.
[Did it work?]
Fenry’s hopeful voice rang out, and—
Crackle!
“......!”
The orb’s surface burst into fla and began to spin again.
Unable to endure the resistance, Lily coughed up blood and fell back.
And I—
“Ggaaahhhh!”
“Arthur!”
My hands, which had been holding the orb, twisted violently, and—
Crunch!
Each of my fingers broke, one by one.
All ten fingers shattered.
My face contorted in agony.
[No! Stop!]
As the orb vibrated on the verge of exploding, Fenry quickly wrapped it tightly in the World Tree’s Shadow.
It was a desperate attempt to contain the mana rampage, but after examining the orb through the shadow, Fenry let out a scream.
[T-this is insane!]
Even the Shadow King was shaken.
This wasn’t sothing she could contain.
[Run! Everyone get away from it!]
Her panicked cry spread through the shadows, through the World Tree, into everyone’s minds.
But no one moved.
It was too late.
Even knowing it was useless, she kept shouting for them to flee.
Because that was all she could do in that mont.
Zzzk—
The orb cracked and began emitting light like shattered glass.
With arms limp, I stared at it.
I had tried to calm the bomb with the sa thod that had worked many tis before, using the strength of my heart.
But I failed.
And failure ant death.
Lily knew it too.
“Uwaaaaah!”
Her eyes glowed once more.
She poured every drop of her spiritual energy into another nullification spell.
At this point, she could barely hold on without Fenry’s help.
As the magic waves around the orb weakened under her spell, I grasped the orb again with my broken fingers.
I enchanted my heart again, drawing out Sacred Power and pouring it into the orb.
But this ti, I added one more thing.
“Burst Strike.”
Kuuuuum!!
In an instant, my mind went blank.
My eyes, wide with pain, felt like they’d split open.
I couldn’t even scream.
It felt like a bomb had gone off inside my heart.
I used Burst Strike on the heart that produced Sacred Power.
Fwoooosh—!!!!
Blood sprayed like a fountain.
Enough to kill from blood loss alone...
But because it was a life-risking attack, it had effect.
The cracking orb stopped moving.
Sacred Power was stabilizing its distortion.
But it was only a mont.
Chaos began pushing out Sacred Power again, and the pieces started to split apart once more.
[You madman. If your heart bursts, you’ll die.]
“...We’ll die anyway.”
[Your Sacred Power isn’t enough to suppress it.]
“There’s still more Burst Strikes.”
[At your current synchronization rate, your heart won’t last. It will explode.]
I exhaled and bared my teeth.
“Then tell how to stop it.”
I held the orb with all I had.
If even Reto had no hope, then I’d detonate all the Burst Strikes—even if it cost my life.
I felt like I could endure two more.
At that mont of resolve, Reto’s voice returned.
[The bomb before you was made by a divine master. Your current vessel can’t suppress it.]
“...So it’s over?”
[Expand your vessel. Then you can stop it.]
“You think this is a joke...?”
There was only one way to expand a divine vessel:
To add a new divine na to the list.
And now, in this situation, I had to do that?
It was insanity.
[Increase the mbers of the Hunt.]
But when I heard Reto’s next words, my mind went blank.
I hadn’t even considered it.
To recruit a new mber into the Hunt?
Only the owner of a divine na could be recruited.
And soone fitting that condition was right beside .
Lily let out a pained groan.
“Arthur... h-hurry...”
I saw her struggling, lips bitten.
She knew that if her nullification spell collapsed, my remaining fingers would be gone.
[Hurry!]
At Reto’s cry, I looked at Lily and asked:
eting her pain-twisted gaze, I gritted my teeth and asked:
“Lily, will you walk with ?”
A desperate question at a desperate mont—but as a divine na bearer, she instinctively understood the aning.
To enter soone’s vessel ant accepting restrictions—it was a form of recruitnt that required deep trust and life-risking value.
[Hunt – Leader (3)]
But Lily didn’t hesitate.
If it was Arthur, it was okay.
He had always brought her good mories.
“Okay!”
[Hunt – Leader (4)]
The number had only changed from three to four.
But the mont the divine na list changed, my body reacted.
My breathing eased, and the crushing pressure on my heart began to lighten.
I drew out Sacred Power at full strength and poured it into the orb.
Burst Strike—!
“Graaaaaah!”
A blinding golden light illuminated the night like midday.
The sight before felt as if ti were rewinding.
The shattered orb returned to its original shape.
At that mont, from Fenry’s throat, a dazzling light erupted.
A radiant, multicolored glow.
[Th-this is...!]
The World Tree’s Necklace.
The light from her necklace shot into the sky and wrapped around .
[Blessing of the World Tree]
A new divine na was inscribed above .
As the blessing took hold, my heart pounded harder than ever before.
Swelling as if it would burst, it pulsed.
Thump—
[Extinguish the spark!!!]
“Uwaaaaaaaaahhh!”
At Reto’s signal, I detonated one final Burst Strike and clutched the orb with all my might.
Destroy it!
Flash!
A massive golden light pierced the vortex like a blade, splitting it in half.
It looked like a massive golden spear had been hurled across the sky.
The golden light, bright as day, faded away with the vortex.
Thunk—
Like an empty shell, the orb dropped and rolled to the ground.
Above it, Fenry descended slowly, holding the unconscious Arthur.
One by one, the witches and allies began to gather around him.
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