Chapter 1000 End of Arc 12
Everyone was knocked out except for me who managed to remain standing. It was instantaneous and I didn't know why that suddenly happened. But I am not hearing it wrong, the Goddess of Life...killed everyone.
"Wielder! Don't falter! If you die here and now, everything will be for naught and whatever you and everyone else are doing will only fail if you give up now!"
Anger suddenly burst into my being after the realization. It's not because I have a slow realization of it, but rather, I refuse to believe that the people before me are now dead and gone. No, no. I refuse to believe that.
On the other hand, The Goddess of Life has remained confused seeing me still standing. Whatever she did earlier caused everyone's death. They have been killed by none other than the Goddess herself.
I pulled out the Devourer and pointed it at her. Despite my feelings ready to burst while being surrounded by everyone lying and lifeless, I held back my whole power. I can't afford to let their bodies get damaged or anything. Even if they were dead, I still needed to protect them!
Darting forward toward the confused goddess, I thrust the Devourer in her direction. I know she would try to stop it but she effortlessly swiped me away so that I didn't even get to close my Devourer to her.
"If you didn't die, just quietly squirm over there instead of throwing away your life. I can kill you right now, but it would also be boring for you to die after you didn't die from my [Soul Harvest]."
"Bring back everyone, motherf*cker!"
"Oooh...what a vulgar way of talking! But if you wish, then I will grant it!"
She snaps her fingers and everyone who collapsed rises back up again. However, I can easily tell that these people before me are no longer the people I once knew. But there is one person who didn't wake up immediately Queen Tanya. She looked up and frowned seeing that it was not the thing she had been hoping to happen.
"Oh, so even the last priestess of Death did not die. I guess the blessing of my sister is too potent to both of you that dying with my abilities is not an optional thing."
"Tch...and here I thought I could use this chance to fool a goddess and fight her when she thought I was dead. What a cursed way to do it," Queen Tanya wiped away the dust in her body before she glared at the Goddess of Life.
"I guess only two flies are being annoying right now. Well, doesn't matter to me. Anyways, you lot should kill each other instead."
She snapped her fingers once again and the others who have risen from the dead looked at us with their dead eyes.
"Damn this goddess. She is even pitting us against everyone."
"Your Majesty! Don't kill them. Incapacitate them instead if possible."
"I know. If she thinks she can use everyone's bodies as she wants to, then she will have to try again. Manato, I will deal with them, I will be gentle. You should take care of her and prevent her from gaining access to the altar itself. Whatever happens, she cannot have access to that altar whatever happens!"
"You don't need to tell me!" I darted back toward the Goddess of Life once again and attempted to attack her again.
"Persistent! Die!"
Seeing that she was about to use something fast, I immediately changed the Devourer into the Weapon of Pride form and formed a shield to protect myself from whatever she was doing and as I did, I activated [Shield Bash] as well to attack the Goddess herself.
The Goddess of Life didn't even look in my direction as her eyes were laid on the altar. Golden Chains that were once used by Pandora are now being used against me. Also, a few obelisks suddenly dropped in the sky dropping all around me. Before I can do anything, a torrent of light comes down in the sky which lands in my direction. I bathed in the light as I screamed in pain. The light that landed with the obelisks is like a volatile acid. The endless stream of light suddenly comes down to my direction and everything starts to feel like I am burning apart.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The pain is unimaginable. It was the most painful pain I experienced in my whole life even counting the pain I experienced back in the previous life as well. It was like melting my whole being to the point that I was ready to collapse. I don't even hear anything else anymore. I felt like my whole body had been scorched by flames that were not flames. A flame meant to extinguish life itself.
After what I felt to be an eternity of pain, the light stopped shining above me and the obelisks that fell have disintegrated. As for me, I fell to the floor and knelt as I could feel my flesh had been burnt to the point that I was ready to give up and die. However, I refuse to give up.
As my eyes land on what the Goddess of Life is trying to touch, I have made a decision. If I can't protect it from her, then there is no need to protect it. Although struggling, I aim the point of the Devourer to the location of the shrine. Without thinking too much, the Devourer changed into a cannon form, a cannon form that resembles the cannons used in ships to blow holes into the other ships.
"I leave the shot to you," I said as I steadied my arm. Despite the pain I was feeling, I made sure that she would not be able to touch it.
BOOM!
The Goddess of Life was about to touch the altar when a big cannonball whizzed past her. It seems the defense mechanism she had didn't activate since the target wasn't her to begin with. Instead, the cannonball that was shot immediately just went straight to the altar. The altar that wasn't even holding any sort of defense to stop anything from destroying it couldn't stop the cannonball's full power. As the two objects collide, the altar shatters into pieces.
The Goddess of Life was shocked and petrified on the spot when she saw the altar that she had been seeking for quite some time shatter before her eyes.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"
I grinned as I lay still glaring at her seething in rage.
"DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO DO? YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SH*T!"
She kicked my body up into the air. I could not move anymore after pouring all of my remaining energy into the shot I did earlier so even dodging her kick was not possible. Receiving her kick was like being hit by a truck with all the impact focused on my stomach. It was like my whole body would be broken beyond repair with the abuse I was getting right now.
"ARRRGH! You will pay for everything, you little sh*t!"
She snapped her fingers and multiple chains appeared from the ground and bound me up in the sky. The chains were so tight that I didn't know if my flesh could even hold on. Blood starts to pour out of my body and I can even taste the blood coming in my mouth as well.
Before I could say anything to mock her, multiple swords made of light materialized and rained down on my whole body. I couldn't dodge it with my pained body and with the chains tying me down, that was enough to pin me in place. Pain is now multiplied by how many times the pain has already felt like all of it has been piled to my whole being.
"Manato!" Queen Tanya shouted as she finished knocking everyone unconscious.
Perhaps, this is how I will die. Perhaps everything I did for these past years was all for nothing. Even the goddess that is the final hurdle of my troubles is something that I can't even defeat.
"THIS IS THE FINAL NAIL FOR CAUSING DISTURBANCE TO WHAT I AM ABOUT TO DO. FOR BEING A NUISANCE, YOUR EXECUTION WILL BE PAINFUL AND LONG-LASTING TO ENSURE THAT YOU WILL NOT FORGET ME EVEN IF YOU ARE NOW DEAD."
The materialization of the Iron Maiden appeared before me and I was tossed inside the Iron Maiden. I couldn't even move when straps of iron put me in place.
"I may be the Goddess of Life but that doesn't mean I have no ability to kill. Don't think too much about what I am about to do."
She snapped her fingers and tried to make the Iron Maiden close. And yet... it didn't happen.
"Huh?" the Goddess of Life frowned when the doors didn't close at all.
"Playtime's over, sis. I am taking my disciple back."
In a snap of a finger, I disappeared and in a blink of an eye, I was in the hands of someone I know. The smell of coal and smoke is present in her body and yet it doesn't smell bad.
The Goddess of Life had a very bad look on her face, incredulous even after seeing Almira.
"Long time no see, Sis. It seems even though many years have passed, you have not changed a thing," Almira grinned, as she mocked the Goddess.
End of Arc 12.
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