Chapter 358: Leon, The Protector of Mankind (2)
The moment Samael’s body disintegrated into drifting motes of black ash, Leon released his grip on the domain.
Cracks spread across the scarlet heavens surrounding them. The isolated world he had forged solely to kill the Apostle of Chaos began to collapse, piece by piece, as fragments of burning reality peeled away into nothingness.
Leon remained floating amidst the ruins of the shattered dimension, breathing heavily while blood trickled down his chin.
His armour was fractured.
His blade, Ascalon, hummed weakly in his grasp.
But despite his exhaustion, there was relief in his eyes.
Finally... Samael was dead.
Leon had deliberately dragged the Apostle into a sealed life-and-death arena because he understood Samael better than anyone.
The Apostle of Chaos never fought fair.
He never gambled his life unless victory was certain. The moment the battlefield turned against him, he would vanish into the shadows and unleash destruction elsewhere. Entire cities would burn. Millions would die.
That was why Leon trapped both of them inside the domain.
No interference. No escape. Only one survivor.
And now, with Samael gone, the domain had no reason to exist.
CRAAAAACK!
The crimson sky shattered completely.
Leon returned to reality.
The instant he did, an overwhelming torrent of information flooded his divine consciousness. His newly ascended divinity connected him directly to the battlefield.
Pain... Fear... and death.
Countless voices exploded inside his mind all at once.
The screams of soldiers dying in the mud.
The prayers of terrified civilians.
The desperate resistance of the remaining armies.
He saw the rear lines collapsing beneath Ravenna’s assault. Saw the Chaos Dolls carving through battalions like inhuman machines. Saw the skies torn apart by divine warfare.
And above all else... he felt her.
The Goddess Hyades.
And the Prophet.
In the short time Leon had battled Samael, the entire war had transformed several times over.
Yet before anything else... Before the Goddess. Before strategy. Before victory.
There were people suffering.
"Argh! Hang on! Reinforcements are coming!"
"Dave! Dave, stay with me! Don’t you dare close your eyes!"
"Shit! We need medics now!"
The cries echoed endlessly in Leon’s soul. Not only from the Solaris Knights. Not only from the allied armies.
Everyone.
Every wounded soldier. Every frightened civilian. Every dying soul on the battlefield.
As the newly ascended God of Protection, Leon could hear them all.
And he could not ignore them. Leon slowly raised Ascalon.
The eighty-one suns orbiting behind him ignited simultaneously.
BOOOOOOM!
Golden radiance erupted across the heavens.
The darkened battlefield was instantly illuminated as eighty-one celestial suns engulfed the sky like a second dawn.
Rays of divine sunlight descended upon the war-torn land, washing over soldiers covered in blood and ash.
Wounds began closing. Broken bones mended. Exhausted bodies regained strength.
Fear-stricken hearts steadied.
At the same time, those still fighting on the frontlines felt warmth surge through their limbs.
Their fatigue vanished as divine power flooded their bodies, reigniting their will to fight.
"T-This power..."
"Leon!"
"The Hero!"
Across the battlefield, countless heads lifted toward the heavens. Some recognised Leon immediately. Others had no idea what was happening. But when they looked upon the radiant figure standing amidst eighty-one suns, protecting the battlefield with divine light instead of abandoning it.
Their hearts trembled.
Compared to the Goddess who had forsaken humanity, why wouldn’t they worship the one who stood protecting them?
Many soldiers instinctively knelt.
Others raised their weapons in salute.
Some simply cried in relief.
But Leon did not care about reverence.
He only focused on saving as many lives as possible.
And because of that... Hope returned to the battlefield.
"LEON!"
Gale rose from beneath a pile of corpses, gripping his spear once more.
Adelia wiped the blood from her lips and forced herself back onto her feet.
Lydia reignited her shattered mana circuits.
Even Rufus, whose armour had nearly been destroyed, roared as he lifted his mace and shield toward the enemy again.
If Leon still stood fighting... Then what right did they have to surrender?
The Solaris Knights charged once more. Their renewed momentum crashed into the Demon Empire’s frontline like a tidal wave.
Swords flashed endlessly.
Demons were cut apart by the thousands as the allied forces surged forward with renewed ferocity.
The battlefield became a slaughterhouse.
And then... The soldiers of the Hyades Republic also rose. The very people who had suffered most beneath the demonic invasion now stood tall amidst the flames. Their shattered morale no longer existed. Their fear had disappeared entirely.
All they saw before them... Was a demonic enemy that needed to be eradicated.
"For humanity!"
"For Leon! For the Hero!"
"Drive them back!"
They charged with suicidal determination, pushing the demon armies backward inch by inch. Even the Greater Demons and Demon Nobles began falling. Because Leon’s blessing did not empower only ordinary soldiers.
It empowered the elites as well.
Carmen Solaris became a blazing comet upon the battlefield. A blue lion mantle of divine fire draped itself across her shoulders while ethereal flames spiralled around her pink aura. The gauntlets known as the Fallen Stars shone with enough force to pulverise Demon Nobles with a single strike.
Every punch distorted the air.
Every step left burning craters.
Elsewhere, Bawi—the Sword Saint’s granddaughter—formed an enormous sword array in the sky. Hundreds of flying swords rotated around her like a heavenly constellation, each blade engulfed in blue divine flames before raining destruction upon the Chaos Dolls below.
One after another, the elite warriors of humanity began challenging enemies far beyond their previous limits.
And they won.
Above them all, Leon stood watching over the battlefield.
Protecting. Guiding. Leading. Like the shield of mankind itself.
Then Leon noticed something.
Far above the battlefield, the heavens themselves were trembling.
Yue. Yval. And Hyades.
The three divine beings remained locked in a stalemate amidst collapsing space.
Yue, the Spirit Goddess.
Yval, the Dragon Goddess.
Yet even together, they could not overcome Hyades.
Because Hyades was different.
She was the original divine ruler of the planet.
The ancient Goddess who had governed the world for thousands—perhaps millions—of years. Her authority was engraved into the laws of existence itself.
Leon immediately flew toward them.
The moment he arrived, his eyes landed upon Ellahan.
Or rather... the body Hyades had stolen. Emerald hair fluttered amidst divine winds while cold golden eyes gazed down upon him with absolute indifference.
Leon’s chest tightened painfully.
Ever since Hyades seized Ellahan’s body, he had searched desperately for a way to save her. But now he finally understood the truth. As long as Hyades remained upon this world, Ellahan could never break free.
Leon tightened his grip on Ascalon.
Then he pointed his blade toward the Goddess like a rebel challenging heaven itself.
"Return Ella!"
Silence.
Hyades did not answer. She merely raised one elegant finger.
The world shook. An enormous divine root erupted through space and shot toward Leon like a spear capable of piercing continents.
BOOOOM!
Flames exploded from Ascalon. Leon unleashed a massive crescent slash that cleaved the incoming roots apart before continuing toward Hyades herself. Yet the Goddess remained untouched. Not even a scratch.
"Leon... It’s useless."
Yue and Yval appeared beside him, both visibly exhausted. Their divine auras flickered unsteadily as though they had already exhausted nearly all their power.
"Hyades is protected by the laws of the world," Yue explained grimly. "We cannot damage her like this."
Leon frowned.
"Didn’t the Will of Heaven abandon her?"
"It did," Yue answered. "But Hyades has held the Mandate of Heaven for too long. Even if the world rejects her now, she still controls part of its authority."
Yval let out a snort from her draconic snout.
"As long as she possesses the Mandate, conventional attacks are meaningless."
Leon stared at Hyades silently.
"So what do we do?"
Yue’s ruby eyes narrowed.
"If we wish to harm her... we need a new authority."
"A new law."
"One that even Hyades has never faced before."
Leon looked toward her.
"And what would that be?"
Yue answered without hesitation.
"Faith." Her voice echoed with absolute conviction. "More specifically... faith in a new deity."
Leon’s eyes widened slightly.
"You mean..."
"Originally, I intended for Amon to become that deity," Yue admitted. "But he’s occupied fighting the Prophet."
She turned toward Leon.
"And honestly... you’re more suited for the role."
Leon froze.
"The God people pray to."
"The God who protects them."
"The God humanity places its faith in."
Yue smiled faintly.
"Amon may possess overwhelming power, but he isn’t selfless. He saves people only when it aligns with his goals."
"But you?"
"You protect others instinctively."
"You save people even when there’s nothing to gain."
Below them, the battlefield continued burning. Yet amidst that chaos, countless soldiers were still looking toward Leon with hope-filled eyes.
Praying. Believing. Trusting.
Yue pointed downward. Her spirits were broadcasting the entire battlefield across the world itself. Every city. Every nation. Every survivor. All of humanity was witnessing the truth. They were watching the Goddess abandon them.
Watching the Holy Church crumble.
Watching Leon stand between mankind and extinction.
"Their faith in Hyades is broken," Yue said softly. "So tell me, Leon..."
"When humanity loses its God..."
"Who will they turn to next?"
Leon remained silent.
Questions filled his mind.
Am I worthy?
Shouldn’t someone else do this?
Amon would be stronger.
The words nearly escaped his mouth.
But then he looked once more at Ellahan’s face.
At the woman trapped beneath Hyades’ control. And something inside him solidified. Determination blazed within his chest. Leon stepped forward. The eighty-one suns behind him flared brilliantly once more. Then, with unwavering conviction, he declared:
"I will do it."
Yue smiled.
"Yes, I knew you would."
There were times Yue felt jealous of how much Amon cared about Leon.
But she understood why.
Because Leon embodied everything humanity needed.
Amon and Yue may possess greater power.
But Leon... was the true protector of mankind.
The hero who illuminated the darkness.
The shield that stands between humanity and annihilation.
And perhaps... The true God that humanity deserved all along.
