49. Valkyrie Malenia
The Academy of Raya Lucaria, this long-forgotten academy, welcomed its first guest, and a complete villain.
Surrender or being conquered?—what a ridiculous statement!
They were high-ranking magicians; how could they surrender so easily?
So, the magicians, both those with some sense and those without, attacked the Silver King.
But it was no use.
As the pyroxene magic approached the two at the top of the tower, it lost control, as if being manipulated by someone else, turning towards the other magic that was approaching them.
The cause of all this was the Tarnished, who was wielding a staff.
Magic power flowed through the staff, and an invisible wall seemed to surround the Tarnished and Xiling.
It's isolation, not manipulation, that is more accurate than manipulation. When the pyroxene magic entered the Tarnished's invisible wall, the Tarnished directly manipulated the magic within for its own purposes. Like a meteor collision, the entire academy was transformed into daylight by the result of the collision between pyroxene magic.
"We can communicate, but it doesn't seem like much. Why don't you just go ahead and do it?" the Tarnished said, meticulously manipulating the magic collisions. While it looked impressive, he couldn't actually control such incredibly fast and powerful spells.
So, it was exhausting. The Tarnished felt like he couldn't hold on any longer. The King next door didn't even move, sitting in his wheelchair with his eyes closed, as if enjoying the turbulence created by the magic collisions.
The Tarnished felt like kicking the guy's wheelchair from behind him, sending him plummeting from the tower.
Xiling opened his eyes and chuckled calmly, "Look, you're getting impatient again!"
"Get your ass off Lemuen's wheelchair. I'm going to kick it!" the Tarnished said, his teeth clenched in anger.
"Ah, I'm preparing too. And don't you also feel good? Look at their eyes, filled with surprise and disbelief," Xiling pointed at the people at the Academy of Raya Lucaria below.
"I don't have your worldly desires, thank you."
Xiling looked towards a spot where Queen of the Full Moon once stood, but there was a huge hole.
When Xiling saw the hole, he also sensed a familiar presence—Radagon.
Xiling hadn't expected that after being sent flying, he would choose to come to the Academy of Raya Lucaria and search for the Queen of the Full Moon.
Given the wreckage of the building, he probably came to get beaten. But now that Radagon's presence had almost vanished, he was probably no longer here. Or perhaps he had used the power of the Great Rune... to reforge himself.
Things were starting to take an interesting turn.
Xiling began to look forward to her next meeting with Radagon.
"During these days..."
"Radagon, what does this dilapidated Lands Between look like to you?"
"What will you choose?"
"Continue to uphold the shattered Golden Rule?"
"Or join the Silver Rule and pave the way for a new world?"
No matter which choice the other party makes, nothing will change.
Xiling slowly rose from his wheelchair.
Silver-white magic began to gather within him, and Xiling spoke slowly.
"Imprison—Magic Power"
Suddenly, all the mages in the area who were attempting to cast spells looked at their wands in confusion, waving them forward twice in an attempt to cast a spell.
But it was all in vain.
Just as these mages were at a loss, a voice boomed overhead.
"You have made your choice."
"I will grant you the path you choose."
The mages looked up, their eyes widening. Silver-white magic transformed into a pillar of light that reached the sky, and at its source...
The Silver King, holding the Holy Sword, smiled gently at the magicians below. He spoke word by word.
"Still standing there foolishly? Watch my sword's movements fall and flee."
The magicians, as if reacting, immediately moved away from the Holy Sword.
The next second...
The Holy Sword slashed!
Instantly, the Academy of Raya Lucaria, a magic academy that had existed for countless years, was split in two.
But it was only split in two.
There was no explosion, no casualties, as if Xiling had simply taken a knife and chopped off a piece of cake.
However, no one dared to resist. The magicians stared at the tiny sword mark, the mark that split everything in two.
Then they looked at the Silver King standing atop the tower, watching them with a smile.
They were conquered.
Or rather, they were forcibly conquered.
...
A huge roar was heard, but this wasn't the roar of nature, but rather the ravages of a far more violent, far more demented force—like a stone dropped into calm waters, stirring not ripples but a torrent of destruction.
What was once the Volcano Manor was now nothing but ruins.
Lava flowed, and black smoke obscured the sky. This place had once been a hotbed of conspiracy and ambition, but now it was a battlefield ravaged by gods and monsters alike.
The giant serpent wailed.
It was a blasphemous, twisted monster, its body a patchwork of rotten flesh and writhing bloody hands.
It was a being that devoured gods, the embodiment of blasphemous rule—Rykard, the ruler of the Volcano Manor, had now become this.
And now, it was pinned down in the magma by a war-like giant, its two massive blades slashing down like a butcher's cleaver!
"Rykard—!!!"
Radahn's roar shook the volcano. Each of his strikes was laced with furious rage. As his blade pierced the serpent's body, it splattered not blood but countless twisted, bloody hands—throwing themselves in the magma, instantly reduced to charred ash.
The giant serpent roared, swung its tail, and with one blow, slammed Radahn into the rock face! Shattered rock crumbled, and smoke and dust rose in all directions.
The God-Devouring Serpent turned its head and looked to the other side. There they were, the people of the Volcano Manor.
And in front of them stood the armored Kevin.
Friends? Then there was no need to fight until they surrendered.
Enemy: Then fight until they are friends.
So, the people of the Volcano Manor chose to befriend Kevin.
But a few still stood numbly, following Tanith.
Their eyes were empty, as if they had long lost the ability to think, mechanically following some illusory belief. Until they saw the giant serpent's true form.
Radahn's roar still echoed, and the name he called struck these numb souls like thunder—
Rykard...?
That twisted, filthy giant serpent... was their Lord?
In that moment, their faith collapsed, and their eyes unexpectedly regained a hint of clarity.
—That thing wasn't the Lord they followed at all.
It was just a monster.
A pitiful creature that devoured gods and ultimately devoured itself...
As these people watched the God-Devouring Serpent collapse,
Kevin sensed something was amiss.
The serpent looked at them as if it were looking at prey. As soon as this terrifying thought flashed through his mind, Kevin spun around and unleashed a deafening roar at the stunned crowd:
"If you don't want to be devoured by that thing and become like those bloody hands, get moving and run!"
"Run!"
Kevin's reaction was quick, but the God-Devouring Serpent's was even faster.
The slow, ponderous form in the game now displayed astonishing explosive power. Its massive frame nimbly swam through the magma, its decaying flesh twisting and writhing in the heat, emitting a sickening gurgling sound.
It was just as Kevin had suspected.
The God-Devouring Serpent intended to devour them all, transforming them into nutrients for its own growth, and then devour the powerful demigod.
Radahn was too strong.
So strong that even the God-Devouring Serpent couldn't tear a single piece of flesh from him, even with all its might.
So it needed more nutrients, more fresh flesh... otherwise, it would fall back into eternal slumber.
The people stared in stunned silence at the approaching figure. Some experienced Tarnisheds reacted first, turning and retreating. Those members of the Volcano Manor who had just regained some sanity also fled in panic, their faces etched with fear.
But one figure remained motionless.
Tanith gazed up at the approaching blasphemous serpent, her eyes filled not with fear but with reverence.
She clasped her hands before her chest, her lips moving softly as she uttered a prayer, almost a dreamlike whisper:
"My king... You must live... As long as you remain, your great plan will surely be realized..."
Her voice grew increasingly fervent, her eyes gleaming with madness:
"And I... am willing to be the nourishment for your growth... Please allow me to merge with you forever..."
Just as Tanith closed her eyes, awaiting the moment she could merge with her "king," a slender yet powerful arm suddenly grasped her hand. At the same time, a familiar, anxious female voice rang out:
"Lady Tanith! Run!"
Tanith's eyes snapped open, and she turned back in disbelief at the girl holding her: "Rya?! Why are you still here?!"
Rya's face was filled with fear, but she still held onto Tanith's hand: "Lady Tanith, now's not the time for this! We need to get out of here!"
Tanith finally woke up, but her next move shocked Rya even more. She forcefully shook Rya's hand away, almost roughly pushing her away:
"Rya, get out! Don't stay here!"
"What about you, Lady Tanith?" Rya looked at Tanith, who had pushed her away, in confusion.
"I'll be fine, Rya! Be good, and get out of here!"
Tanith's voice was nearly hoarse. She desperately pushed Rya away, but the girl's hands gripped her wrists tightly like iron clamps, dragging her backwards. The heat of the magma washed over them, the stench of rotting flesh thick in the air, and the blasphemous snake—the "king" she once believed in—now stalked them with its bloody maw.
She was willing to be devoured.
She was willing to become a part of Rykard, willing to use her flesh and blood to nourish his rebirth.
But she could not accept Rya being dragged into this!
"Rya! Let go!" Tanith cried desperately, but tears of determination gleamed in the girl's eyes.
"I will not abandon you! Lady Tanith!" Rya's voice trembled, but she was incredibly firm.
"I will never let you be devoured by that thing!"
However, their struggles seemed futile before the blasphemous snake. The giant snake's shadow loomed, a stench of decay blew across their faces, and its abyssal maw gaped—
"My king! Wait! At least let Rya—"
Tanith's cries abruptly ended. Because the blasphemous serpent wouldn't listen to her pleas.
It only wanted to eat.
"BOOM!!!!"
Radahn plummeted from the sky like a meteor, carrying destructive gravity magic as it slammed into the giant serpent's head!
Then—
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
Countless silver-white blades materialized from thin air, pouring down like a torrential rain, piercing the giant serpent's back with a dense mass! Corrupted flesh was torn apart, pus and blood splattered, and the blasphemous serpent let out a shrill wail.
At the top of the volcano, Morgott's figure stood proudly.
"ROAR!"
As the giant snake writhed frantically, Radahn, in the distance, had already leaped into the air. His arms clenched with muscles, and the two massive blades reconnected, forming a twin blade that spun rapidly in his hands. Gravity was compressed to its limit, and even light was distorted around the blades.
The moment the twin blades left his hands, the air was torn apart, creating a vacuum. The spinning blade, like the razor of death, neatly sliced through the serpent's decaying flesh the moment it touched, revealing its still-writhing entrails.
Even with such horrific injuries, the serpent's agonized roar remained powerful, shaking the entire battlefield.
It was an undead serpent that had lingered here since ancient times. In this Lands Between, where the runes of death had yet to return, its very existence was a symbol of blasphemy—eternal, decayed, yet alive.
However, as the figure leaped from the ruins and soared into the air, the serpent's roar suddenly froze.
The serpent felt a fear: it—it would die.
The black blade, stained with death, was once Maliketh's weapon.
But its current wielder was—Kevin.
But just as the blade was about to strike, Kevin's pupils trembled. He abruptly reversed his movement, shifting the black blade from slashing to blocking; the blade was resting across his chest.
"Dang—!!!"
Amidst a deafening explosion, Kevin flew backward like a kite, slamming into the distant ruins. Dust and smoke rose into the sky. The figure that had repelled him slowly revealed its true form.
Her tattered cloak fluttered in the wind, her helmet half obscuring her face. Her presence was like a drawn blade, her mere presence causing the air to freeze.
"Valkyrie... Malenia?" Morgott's voice was low and alert, his brow furrowed.
He knew the person before him.
Radahn was even more familiar with her, yet a profound change had taken place.
The body, once ravaged and broken by Scarlet Rot, was now intact, as if it had never been ravaged by the curse.
However, even more horrifying was the body she held tightly in her arms—a dried corpse.
The divine body of Miquella, of the Mohgwyn Palace.
No one knew why she was there, why she had stopped Kevin from striking that blow, and why she was clutching a torso in her arms.
The God-Devouring Serpent rose again, its gaze fixed on Malenia and the dried corpse in her grasp.
"He's been waiting for you, Radahn."
Malenia's voice was eerily calm, as if she were speaking of a preordained fate:
"Waiting... for the promised king to appear."
The blasphemous serpent suddenly opened its maw, and Malenia took one last look at the withered corpse in her grasp.
Morgott, as if sensing something, instantly crossed the distance and arrived beside the Valkyrie Malenia, slashing fiercely with his cursed sword.
"Dang!"
Malenia didn't even turn back, casually blocking with her prosthetic hand. The next moment—
She flung Miquella's dried corpse into the serpent's gaping maw.
The serpent swallowed it whole.
At that moment, the God-Devouring Serpent's eyes sparkled with excitement.
It had once again tasted the power of a demigod.
The body of a god.
——
——
A/N: Who made Miquella leave so early? Hahahaha