Chapter 1321  End of Calamity

Although Oren proclaimed such bold words, the ensuing fight was anything but easy for him. If not for the creator"s lack of desire to do anything other than gaze at the heavens, Oren would have died multiple times already. The nearby water vaporized before it even approached them, making the seabed their battlefield.

The armor he wore had already disappeared after sustaining too much damage. Lancelot could not help him against the creator because inside these walls of darkness, nothing could interrupt their fight. His sole weapon against wrath was his sword, which proved ineffective time after time.

"You should give up on this fight," said the creator, its form still made of black flames and infinite wrath. "Although you are powerful for a human, this is beyond your capabilities."

Oren could no longer muster any witty rebukes, as that truth was hammered into his bones: he was weak. It was not even a fight, to begin with. Nothing worked against him, no matter how hard he tried. Summoning the last of his strength, Oren shouted as he jumped forward with his sword, striking down toward the creator.

Raising a single hand, the creator stopped the giant sword effortlessly. Oren"s entire strength left him, as if he were suspended in s.p.a.ce. He dangled from his hilt, as helpless as a sheep. The two locked eyes, and inside the creator"s white pupils, Oren saw terrifying nothingness and an absence of emotions.

"Your sword is indeed tranquil, but it lacks conviction. How can a troubled heart convey tranquility? How can someone give what he does not have?" asked the creator, each word striking Oren where it hurt. In the end, the creator sighed and threw Oren and his sword away.

The two landed on the sand, which had lost its moisture. Oren felt the harsh texture rub against his cheek as he could no longer find the strength to stand. In his mind, a single question repeated itself.

"What did I come here for?"

Oren thought he had grown powerful after reaching the astra-rank. He was even waiting to see the surprise on Arthur"s face once he knew that Oren had surpa.s.sed him. But in the end, he just felt… utterly pathetic and useless.

"Another emotion that I have yet to learn," muttered the creator as Oren pushed himself upward, his expression hidden beneath his long brown hair. "What did you come here for indeed, young human?"

The harsh, gritty voice spoke his deepest insecurities. Oren sat on the seabed, staring at the heavens as well. Instead of seeing an infinite sky, it was the darkness of the wrath barrier that separated them from the world.

"What did you create this barrier for?" asked Oren as his hair stuck to his sweaty face. "Are you just going to stand there?"

"I did not create this," said the creator from within the shadowy figure. "Arthur did, before he lost the last of his sanity. He ensured that his wrath would hurt no one until it faded. No one except him."

"What is going to happen to him?" asked Oren as he looked at the creator. "Is he going to die?"

"Arthur will not die, but this wrath has already destroyed his body. Once this ends, he will face the result of humans using the powers of G.o.ds," answered the creator as he looked at the heavens too. "She should be here soon."

"Her?" muttered Oren as he looked at him with confusion. "I thought you gazed toward the heavens, but you were expecting someone?"

"It seems appropriate that the person behind this wrath is the one to end it," said the creator as a thin smile appeared on his face. "This is my favorite feeling. It is the reason I entered this love, and I finally experienced it through your brother."

Oren sat there watching the creature with its slight smile and antic.i.p.ation. Then, he looked above as well, before a small figure broke through the wrath barrier. There were two people, one carrying the other as they fell through the sky. His high perception allowed him to see an old man carrying a beautiful woman, the same one that he saw in Arthur"s vision.

The two people came crashing from the sky. Oren stared with amazement at the falling pair, seeing that they had no means to land. However, the pair seemed to spot them as well, and their ecstasy was evident.

"Arthur!" shouted the woman, and her crisp, clear voice penetrated the entire seabed, almost making it rise to greet her. The old man let go of her, letting her dive toward the humanoid creature whose flames began to disappear.

The scene was akin to a fairytale, as the beast turned back into a human. Arthur"s body resurfaced from within the flames, his face being the first to look at his falling lover. Before she could hit the ground, his arms spread with golden mana as runes worked to reverse gravity at the bottom of the ocean.

Oren felt his body float slightly as the woman"s fall began to decelerate. Arthur flew to receive her in his arms, looking at her in a daze. As he watched his brother overcome his wrath just by seeing her, Oren didn"t know if he should be happy or annoyed that nothing he tried worked.

"Diana," muttered Arthur who was in a daze, his eyes focusing on her. "Why are you not recovering? How are your wounds?"

"My wounds cannot kill me, and I had to come here," said Diana with a smile as she pinched his cheek. "You see me wounded and you let the entire world suffer for it? I didn"t ask that you take revenge for me."

"I… lost control," said Arthur, whose cheek was stretched under her pinch, making his speech appear silly. Diana smiled as they descended to the ground, and then she turned to Oren who was still sitting with a helpless expression.

"I apologize for the trouble that he has given you, Oren," said Diana with a smile that made the scarred man stammer for words. Her beauty left him stunned, as it did countless others. "Selena told me about your efforts to save him."

"I did nothing," said Oren as he snapped out of his stupor and turned to Arthur with a complicated glare. "I fought for hours and your wrath disappears just because she appears?"

"Your fight was the sole thing that kept me sane," admitted Arthur as he shook his head. "But the images of me losing her never disappeared. And my wrath is secondary to her safety, after all. Your sword did more than you could ever imagine."

"And now what? We just go home?" asked Oren while folding his hands. "How did your wrath grow worse over just a few months? How could I stop you if you lose control again?"

"I don"t need to be stopped—" Arthur began to explain, but Benjamin interrupted him mid-sentence.

"Oren is right, Arthur," said the old man as he landed on the seabed. "Your wrath can feel like yours, but you need to control it. If you keep losing your senses every time something happens to Diana, you need Oren to knock some sense into you."

"First of all, who are you?" asked Oren with confusion. "And second, I could barely fight against him when he uses his wrath."

"You need to address your grandfather with respect," said Benjamin while folding his hands together. Oren was confused and he turned to Arthur, who nodded to confirm his ident.i.ty. "And as for your fight against wrath, I can help with that. I once suffered because of wrath, and I found ways to counter it, but I could never master the techniques."

"…You are our grandfather?" asked Oren with furrowed brows. "How come we never heard about you when we were both struggling to survive? You just decided to appear now?"

"Benjamin has been living in the Uncharted Lands for his entire life," explained Arthur with Diana beside him. "He never knew that we existed before I barged into their mountain and fought against them."

Oren was still hesitant to accept this. It was one thing to have a grandfather, but another to accept a stranger as one and treat them with affection. As he stared at Benjamin, Oren began to see the similarities they shared.

"You are a splitting image of me in my younger days," said Benjamin with a grin as he rubbed his chin. "We both have green eyes and brown hair, although mine turned white already, hahaha!"

Before the two could communicate further, Arthur opened a portal that led them outside. The wrath was disappearing and the ocean was going to crash into them if they stayed. Once outside and above the waters, they met with the Nightroad Company and their military.

Arthur understood that they were the ones who brought Diana over here from the Uncharted Lands. Alaric was the one to communicate with them, explaining that his ability was not affected despite the wrath that disabled the runes.

As soon as they left, Arthur received a message from Julia, summarizing what was happening around the world. Because of his wrath, the barrier around the second trial had disappeared and the entire world knew about it now. Furthermore, some guild members had already entered while investigating it.

This revelation made Arthur realize that the seven families were no longer the only ones that could partic.i.p.ate, although they should have an advantage with their insignias. But since Devaheim now controls the crown to select their vessels, the entire world could partic.i.p.ate in the trial.