༺ The End (1) ༻
Ascender.
Not much was known about the ultimate realm called Ascender.
Pretty much everyone knew that a Master could dominate a whole country.
Meanwhile, a Grand Master could command the entire continent.
As such, naturally one would try and speculate about what lay beyond such realms. Or at least wonder if there was such a realm to begin with.
However, in an era when Master class was considered to be the peak of a martial artist, when the Grand Master class was only considered as something that existed in legends just a few decades ago, not many could even glimpse a fragment of the next realm.
Some speculated that the next realm would be a journey to ascend to the Divine Throne.
While others claimed that it was the true evolution; Breaking the limits of all life forms.
There were also others who believed that mere humans couldn’t possess such power yet.
‘Humans’, not just the mankind, but demons and different races as well, the umbrella term that encompassed all life on the continent.
But the Immortal Corps Commander knew.
That Ascender did exist.
He lived in the most barren land of the continent, deep within it where he built his own castle and resided in it. The infamous Demon King’s castle!
His name alone made all beings, humans and demons alike, bowed their heads, revered him, trembled before him, and shivered in fear just by hearing it!
“Demon King…”
Back before he was known as the Immortal Corps Commander…
When he was merely the heir of the Great Forest, mastering ancient magic for hundreds of years. He left the forest to bring destruction upon a certain kingdom, becoming well known as the Immortal King. That was when he received an invitation from the Demon King’s Army, met the Demon King himself in person, and was appointed as one of his Corps Commander.
He closed his eyes, and he could still vividly remember it…
The cold gaze of the Demon King as he looked down at him from his throne.
His overwhelming presence, as if he could crush him with a flick of his fingers even if there were a hundred like him standing there.
It was since then that a new emotion had emerged in the corner of the Immortal Corps Commander’s heart, stained with his anger and hatred.
A desire that grew as big— no, even bigger than his past vow to exterminate every single human on this continent.
“I want to become as powerful as him.”
Because with power, anything became possible.
If one had enough power to dominate a country…a continent…the whole world itself, then nothing would ever be taken from them again.
That was why the last great war was such a tremendous opportunity for the Immortal Corps Commander.
Humans and demons could never coexist under the same sky. The war was destined to last until total annihilation of one side, the perfect chance for him to fulfill his personal vendetta, and at the same time to supply himself with an abundance of excellent sacrifices.
For years, he had prepared for his ascension. Building several towers of human corpses through repeated massacres. His became almost attainable, just a fleeting moment away from turning into reality.
He only needed to take one last step. Just a single step away from realizing his dream…
-Crash!
At that moment, a crimson spear tore through the surrounding magical storm like a knife slicing through butter.
That storm wasn’t merely a mass of magical energy. It was a concentrated dark magic that he wielded, almost akin to a miasma, a lethal force to any living being that dared to even breathe an air of it.
-Swooosh!
But, a man walked through that storm, splitting it in half.
With a crimson spear in his hand, and a flickering glare in his eyes, he was nothing less than a nightmare to the Immortal Corps Commander.
[Malevolent Star—! It’s you again—!]
‘If only you weren’t there! If only you didn’t exist—!”
‘I could have been the new Demon King already—!’
The Immortal Corps Commander emitted a bright blue glare from his eye sockets. They were not his eyes, as his head was nothing but bones, but Eon could read the raging fury that he felt from the blazing flames.
Eon twirled his spear, before taking a stance.
“How many times have I killed you so far? Twenty five? Six?”
But, there was a deep-seated weariness hidden beneath the fury, and Eon could relate to that emotion well.
As he too, felt the need to put an end to this long-standing grudge.
“It’s getting tiresome to keep count. Let’s just end this.”
[How dare you—! A mere feeble human dares—!]
Their magic power clashed violently.
The ground cracked like a spider web before collapsing. Under their feet, the sand darkened as they trod upon them. Even the land itself was unable to withstand the dark magic emitted by the two Grand Masters; Its vitality drained to the point that it turned into a desert.
This resulted in a fierce sandstorm that made it difficult for the people in the city to see the battle clearly. They could only discern the dark and red flashes from within and nothing else.
Occasionally, there were inhuman roars that echoed from the distance.
“Ahhaaaaaaaa―!!”
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaa―!!”
-Boom!! Whammmm!!
Only then did the students understand.
The reason why such an ominous name, Malevolent Star, was bestowed to Instructor Eon.
“Ah…”
“Instructor…”
There was nothing noble and majestic in his fight, unlike that of a hero fighting evil that everyone dreamed about.
Instead, his fight was ominous, frightening and desperate.
Only destruction and death was left in its wake.
And he had always been engaged in such battles.
They realized this belatedly.
Fortunately for them, the fight between Eon and the Immortal Corps Commander didn’t last for long.
-Ssssssh-!!
That was probably what it would sound like if thousands of sheets of paper were being torn all at once, and the sound was amplified ten thousand times. It was as if the world itself was being torn apart. But that rough shredding sound ended the sandstorm.
“Kuuuaaaaak!!”
And the scene that was revealed was that of the Immortal Corps Commander’s arms being severed and flying off.
If one were to think about it, this was an inevitable outcome. A ritual, once started, could not be reversed.
Because he had to maintain the ritual, the Immortal Corps Commander couldn’t even use half of his power. In that kind of situation, he had to fight against the Malevolent Star who had unleashed his full power, while his Undead Corps was being held back by the Imperial Army. It was simply impossible for him to defeat Eon in this kind of situation.
And Eon didn’t miss the opportunity presented to him.
-Crash!
The blade of his spear, Ajetus, pierced through the Immortal Corps Commander’s chest in a single strike.
Instead of a beating heart, the Lich’s source of life, the Life Vessel was there.
“You had it this time, I see.”
It wouldn’t make any sense if the Corps Commander were to keep his Life Vessel, which could be considered as his true form, somewhere else while conducting the ritual of ascension. That would be like performing a ritual with only an avatar, while his main body was being stored elsewhere.
Since he had started the ritual, Eon surmised that he must have kept his Life Vessel close, and his speculation had proven accurate.
Though the Immortal Corps Commander had survived Ajetus’ soul-rending power in the last great war, and he had to forcibly mended his soul back together to resurrect himself…
With his Life Vessel pierced, he couldn’t do that anymore. Such was the nature of a Lich’s existence.
“Kuuuuuuuurrr….”
To a Lich, the Life Vessel was both the ark that held its soul, and the anchor that tethered it to this world.
Since his ark was lost, the Immortal Corps Commander began to scatter slowly.
The power that he had amassed over a lifetime for revenge, for his ascension, was slipping away in vain.
Seeing this, Eon clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.
He planned to get the truth about Ella’s seal out of his mouth, but that was impossible now.
Then again, subduing a dark mage of the Immortal Corps Commander’s caliber was a challenging errand, and keeping him alive was a risky endeavor, as there was no telling what he might do if he was left alive. Eon himself wouldn’t forgive his own complacency if he managed to capture him only to let him slip away right before his eyes.
[No…no…]
The Immortal Corps Commander was filled with resentment.
‘I can’t just die like this–! All my efforts can’t end in vain! I had not lived just to have such a meaningless end—!’
‘One step—! Just a single step more—! Ascension!’
[Just…one step…?]
‘Right…only a little further…’
‘Only a single step before the ritual is complete—!’
Realizing this, the Immortal Corps Commander’s mind surged violently.
The ritual had not yet failed, only its caster had lost his life.
Until now, he had killed humans in the material world, creating a foundation with their blood and flesh, and kindled the furnace by burning souls that he gathered from the underworld.
All those offerings had not disappeared, which meant the power source was still alive. All he needed was to give a slight twist in the subject of the ritual.
Directing it from himself to Malevolent Star!
He was already doomed. Having lost his Life Vessel, it was impossible for him to become an Arch Lich.
And so, he decided to assimilate his remaining soul into the ritual, and ascend Malevolent Star in his place.
Only then he’d proceed to devour the wretched human’s soul, claiming his flesh as his own!
The combination of Malevolent Star’s supreme body and the Immortal Corps Commander’s knowledge regarding dark magic, which even gods would find blasphemous, would create a far more powerful being than if he had ascended alone.
Since Malevolent Star was already in the center of the ritual, everything had aligned perfectly!
-Whooooosh!
“…?! What—?”
Just as the soul fragments of the Immortal Corps Commander, previously scattered in vain, began to be absorbed into the center of the ritual.
Eon, intuitively sensed the danger, quickly moved away from the spot.
[Too late!]
But, by then, the ritual was completed.
A dark pillar of light rose from the ground, piercing through the clouds and splitting the sky in half.
In the face of this overwhelming sight that one would only hear in legends, even the Imperial Army who was still engaging in a battle, forgot what they were doing and looked up at the sky.
Caught in the ritual, Malevolent Star, and the mind of the Immortal Corps Commander became entangled as one.
Both of their consciousness was sucked into the darkness.
Deeper…darker…
As if they were sinking into a bottomless swamp.
The Immortal Corps Commander felt as if he had been falling down for hours.
‘What is this…?’
‘Is this how it’s supposed to go?’
‘No way…how can this be…?’
Frustration and helplessness weighed down on the Immortal Corps Commander.
After all, this was far from what he had imagined. Who woulda thought the mind of a human would be like this?
Not only was it completely dark, there was also no light, sound nor air. Only an abyss so deep that one couldn’t even guess where it ended was there.
And something that should be there, wasn’t there.
Since this was the mindscape of the Malevolent Star, then where was he? Why was the Immortal Corps Commander left alone in this darkness?
It was unfathomable, incomprehensible.
Despite his great amount of knowledge, he still couldn’t understand anything.
At that moment, a voice snapped him out of his confusion.
[At first, I thought that stubborn fool had finally come to find me…but it turns out it was just a bug crawling in.]
[Huuurgh…!!]
Lightning struck in the Immortal Corps Commander’s mind.
Sweat trickled down his palms, which only consisted of bones. His spine tingled as if struck by lightning, his body felt as if it was struck by a chilling cold. Like a prey in front of a predator, his heart pounded relentlessly as if it would burst.
He abandoned physical body long ago, that was for sure.
Moreover, this place was supposed to be a mindscape, it was unrelated to his physical body.
Yet, his knees buckled, and he collapsed right there and then.
Crawling on the ground, he buried his head in the direction of the voice.
As if he dared not to look up at that presence.
But, though he couldn’t see it, he could feel it.
There was a very thick, very dark, and very immense darkness lurking in that direction.
“M-M-My— My Demon King—!”
