Harem Of Eternal Yandere Beasts: My Legendary Wives

Chapter 74: The Last Chance

The world held its breath. Caelum’s words lingered in the air long after he spoke them, carrying an unexpected weight across the courtyard.

*He’s the last chance.*

Not an heir. Not a successor. Not a replacement. The last chance. The specific distinction mattered to everyone present, and the silver-haired woman floating above the academy felt it too. Her smile faded only slightly, but Orion noticed the subtle shift instantly.

The Hunters remained suspended across the sky. Twenty figures, twenty terrifying cultivators, stood in perfect formation. Not one of them made a wasted movement, and not one of them spoke. Their absolute discipline was unsettling. Most elite forces radiated confidence, but these people radiated certainty. The difference was important: confidence could fail, but certainty didn’t think failure was a possibility.

The silver-haired woman studied Orion patiently, methodically, as though examining a weapon she might one day need to break or use. Neither possibility was particularly comforting.

Then she laughed softly, genuinely amused. "This? This is the last chance?"

Her voice carried effortlessly across the academy. A few nearby instructors stiffened at the slight, while others looked openly offended. Caelum merely shrugged.

"I had a similar reaction," Caelum remarked.

The Hunter leader smiled wider. "Then your standards haven’t improved."

The exchange confirmed what Orion suspected. These two knew each other—not casually or professionally, but personally. It was the kind of familiarity forged through years, or battlefields, or both.

The sky screamed again as the creature beyond the broken seal pushed farther into reality. The massive claw now extended completely beyond the darkness, and more of the scaled arm followed it. The sight alone caused several academy barriers to flicker. The thing wasn’t actively attacking or moving toward them yet, but reality itself seemed entirely uncomfortable with its existence.

Vale stepped forward, her voice amplified by her cultivation. "State your purpose."

The tone was direct and professional—an academy instructor addressing an invading force. It was a reasonable demand.

The silver-haired woman looked toward her for a brief moment, then immediately looked away as if Vale weren’t important. Like nobody present was important, except for Orion, whom her gaze returned to.

"We came for him," she said simply. The simplicity of the answer made it worse.

Every formation around the Hall brightened in response, expanding golden barriers as combat instructors emerged from concealment. The academy wasn’t backing down. It was hard to tell if that choice was good or merely foolish.

"Unfortunately," the woman continued, her eyes drifting toward the creature in the sky, the impossible eye, and the broken seal, "the situation has become more complicated."

Something almost resembling annoyance crossed her face. The development changed things; the Hunters weren’t responsible for the breach, or at least not entirely.

The System appeared.

◈ MYTHIC SUMMONING SYSTEM ◈

*She’s dangerous.*

*I hate competent people.*

◈ ◈ ◈

Orion almost smiled, but the impulse vanished as the ground shook hard. A crack split across the academy plaza, followed by dozens more. Ancient stone fractured, illuminating hidden formation lines beneath the surface. Golden energy surged upward as the academy’s deepest defenses began to activate.

Vale’s expression changed immediately, showing recognition rather than fear. "The Founders’ Array."

Selene looked toward her, her twin blades drawn. "What?"

"The academy hasn’t activated it in over a century," the instructor whispered, staring at the glowing fractures spreading across the grounds.

"Why is it activating now?"

Nobody answered because the explanation arrived on its own. The entire structure of the Hall of Founders began to glow—every stone, pillar, and carving. Ancient runes awakened simultaneously, erupting golden light into the heavens as a massive formation circle expanded kilometers wide above the academy. It was beautiful, terrifying, and impossibly ancient.

The Hunters reacted immediately, their perfect composure cracking for the first time as several stepped backward. The silver-haired woman’s smile disappeared entirely.

"Oh," she murmured, her voice carrying genuine surprise.

Caelum looked upward, then let out a real laugh for the first time since Orion had met him. "They’re awake."

The statement made no sense until the formation fully activated, and the world changed.

Figures appeared above the academy—transparent, golden, and gigantic. They weren’t living people, but echoes, memories, and legacies. One hundred ancient cultivators manifested within the sky, towering over the campus. Each radiated impossible pressure, wearing different armor and clothing, yet all carried the same symbol: the Sovereign Crest.

The founders had arrived, or at least echoes close enough that the distinction no longer mattered. Every student fell silent, every instructor stared upward, and even the Hunters looked unsettled.

The largest figure stepped forward. He was an old man with a long beard, ancient robes, and eyes brighter than stars. His gaze swept across the battlefield, the academy, the Hunters, and the creature beyond the seal.

Then he sighed. The sound rolled across the entire region like thunder, history itself expressing profound disappointment.

"Again?" the old man muttered.

Absolute silence followed. The ancient legend looked genuinely annoyed.

"Every few centuries," he sighed again. "Every single time."

Orion blinked. The Founder Echo sounded less like an ancient legend and more like a tired grandfather.

The System immediately appeared in his vision.

◈ MYTHIC SUMMONING SYSTEM ◈

*THAT’S HIM.*

◈ ◈ ◈

Orion froze. *What?*

The notification expanded for the first time ever, additional text forming rapidly.

◈ MYTHIC SUMMONING SYSTEM ◈

*Original Founder.*

*Creator of most of the problems.*

*Creator of several solutions.*

*Old Bastard.*

◈ ◈ ◈

Orion stared upward, and the ancient founder stared downward. For one brief moment, their eyes met. The Founder Echo paused, then pointed a giant finger directly at Orion.

"There you are."

Thousands of people turned toward Orion all at once. He considered leaving, but unfortunately, that wasn’t an option.

The old man grinned—a dangerous grin possessed by people who thought consequences were optional. "You’re later than expected."

The academy remained silent, nobody understanding what was happening, including Orion. Then, the founder looked toward the Hunters, the creature, and back to Orion. His smile vanished instantly, replaced by a dramatic gravity, like a storm blocking out the sun.

"How bad?" the founder asked.

The question wasn’t directed at anyone in the plaza. It was directed at the System. To everyone’s shock, a second voice echoed across the sky—ancient, sarcastic, and much too familiar.

"Very."

A figure slowly materialized beside the Founder Echo. He wasn’t transparent, golden, or a memory, but something else entirely. It was the Old Bastard.

For the first time, Orion actually saw him: an elderly man with messy white hair, simple robes, and an annoyingly relaxed posture. He had the expression of someone who had survived impossible situations and learned the wrong lessons from all of them.

The Founder looked toward him. "You sealed it badly."

The Old Bastard looked offended. "I sealed it perfectly."

"The mountains exploded."

"That’s unrelated."

"The mountains are gone."

"A temporary condition."

The two ancient beings began arguing, leaving the academy and the Hunters to watch in stunned silence. Even the creature beyond the seal seemed to pause, as though reality itself were confused by the display.

Finally, the Founder pointed toward the giant eye. "It’s waking up."

The Old Bastard sighed. "Yes."

"Can we stop it?"

"Probably," the response carried absolutely no confidence.

The Founder closed his eyes. "We are doomed."

"Possibly."

The academy had never witnessed two legendary entities discussing the apocalypse with such casual resignation. It was deeply unsettling.

Then the Old Bastard looked directly at Orion, and everything else vanished—the noise, the chaos, the arguments, and the threat of war. Only that gaze remained as the old man’s expression became truly serious.

"Listen carefully," he said, sharpening every instinct Orion possessed. "The next few days are going to be unpleasant. Possibly the next few years. Actually, let’s just assume everything becomes unpleasant forever."

It wasn’t encouraging, but the old man ignored that.

"The Sovereign Path wasn’t created to defeat what’s behind the seal," the statement landed heavily, shattering old assumptions. "It was created to replace the seal."

Absolute silence reclaimed the world. The creature beyond the broken sky moved again, the Hunters stiffened, and the Founder Echo closed his eyes.

Orion finally understood why Caelum had called him the last chance. If the old man’s words were true, then the Sovereign Path had never been about power, advancement, or greatness. It had always been about sacrifice.

The System delivered one final notification, completely devoid of jokes or sarcasm.

◈ MAIN OBJECTIVE UPDATED ◈

*Prevent the End of the World*

*Progress: 0%*

◈ ◈ ◈

Then the creature’s second eye opened, and the Founder stopped smiling.