Free Web NovelChapter 371: The Dawn Of The Golden Era
[Music recommendation: Villagers of Ioannina City - Age Of Aquarius]
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The battle had raged on for what felt like an eternity. Though the skies still remained dark, a faint light had begun to touch the horizon, marking the end of a harrowing night and the beginning of not just a new dawn, but a new era.
However, before they could step into it, one final obstacle remained.
And it was the most dangerous one yet.
Ivan and Eve slowly broke away from their embrace and turned their attention towards Azrath.
He no longer resembled a dark prince of hell.
What stood before them now was a grotesque demon in every sense of the word, his body writhing with multiple tentacles, each ending in skulls that spewed dense, suffocating fumes, deadly enough to kill any living being.
Eve’s eyes hardened at the sight. She noticed that one of the skull-tipped tentacles held a dark, powerful sword summoned from the depths of Hell. It was a weapon every bit as formidable as Ivan’s Incendium, which had belonged to the God of Fire.
There was a reason Ivan had severed Azrath’s arms first.
To prevent him from wielding that very sword.
But he had not accounted for this. The demon prince had grown new tentacles across his body, not just along his back, allowing him to wield the weapon once more.
Exchanging one final look, Eve and Ivan both raised their swords, taking their stances for the ultimate confrontation.
Azrath’s wicked, evil grin widened as he saw them prepare for his onslaught. "Do you truly believe that killing my subordinate and severing my arms was enough to rid yourselves of the Seventh Prince of Hell? If so, you are far more naive than I thought. Prepare to bear the brunt of the true might of the highest-ranking demon in existence!"
With those words, his sword hummed with thick, dark magic. Swinging the otherworldly blade, he launched a devastating arc of energy toward them. But Eve and Ivan were ready. Ivan’s sword hummed in response, vibrating with divine fire as he swung to meet Azrath’s strike with his own.
The collision of fire and dark magic was catastrophic. The explosion of energy engulfed the entire protective dome Eve had formed, the barrier straining to prevent the volatile magic from leaking out and harming their allies.
The ground shook so violently that it seemed the entire volcano was about to collapse. A massive crater formed where the three of them stood, and huge cracks spider-webbed outward toward the onlookers, forcing everyone to scramble back for safety. The cracks widened rapidly, revealing the glowing, molten lava that flowed beneath the broken earth.
"Everyone retreat! The volcano is about to explode!" Regulus roared, warning the others to move away from the crumbling ground.
Ivan and Azrath charged at each other one final time, their swords colliding as each attempted to overpower the other.
Eve, meanwhile, began to glow with the brilliance of a star. In her hand, her sword shifted and transformed, taking the shape of a magnificent golden bow. Wind blew fiercely around them, whipped up by the impact of Ivan and Azrath’s relentless, powerful exchanges.
Eve watched as Ivan continued his assault. Azrath countered every strike with disturbing efficiency, a twisted grin never leaving his face. His tentacles lashed out constantly, seeking any opening to impale Ivan.
However, Ivan was sharp enough to dodge the reaching shadows or burn them away. Dangerous fire swirled around him like a living inferno, putting the surrounding volcanic eruptions to shame.
With one final, heavy attack, they collided with everything they had before being hurled backwards by the force of the impact.
Ivan rose to his feet, as did Azrath.
The demon’s wicked laughter boomed through the air, madness gleaming in his eyes.
"I will end it all!" Azrath shrieked. "I will destroy every one of you worthless beings and reclaim what was mine to begin with!" ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
As he spoke, his sword gleamed and swirled with dark magic before hovering in the air above him. His skull-tipped tentacles rose up, surrounding the blade as it began to ooze power so dark it formed a massive, swirling vortex. It became a black hole, beginning to suck everything in existence into its crushing depths.
Azrath continued to laugh manically. "Nothing shall survive this! This day marks the end of your world and the beginning of my era!"
Ivan and Eve stepped forward to stand side by side, and without a word, they reached for each other’s hands just as they had once done before, their fingers intertwining as their eyes held no fear or hesitation, only unwavering resolve fixed entirely on the monstrous entity before them.
Without looking at each other, Ivan finally spoke to Eve, "Let’s finish what we couldn’t in the past, shall we? I would like you to finally fulfil the promise you made to me in this life..."
He then turned to look at her, his raven-black hair billowing in the wind, his molten orange eyes fixed on hers as he asked softly, "...I hope you remember it now... do you?"
At his words, the memory struck Evelyn with force, as the voice of five-year-old Ivan echoed in her mind.
"If you live with me, I will make you my bride. Mother says my bride would be the luckiest girl in the world. Do you want to be lucky?"
A soft, beautiful smile curved along Evelyn’s lips despite the looming destruction before them. Turning her golden eyes towards the man beside her, she replied softly, "I do... I’m ready to get lucky."
Ivan mirrored her expression with a devastating smile of his own. He gave her hand a firm squeeze, a gesture she returned immediately before they both looked ahead at Azrath. Above the demon, the black hole was growing larger by the second, and they could feel the forceful, crushing pull dragging them toward it.
"Let us end this, darling," Eve said, finally letting go of his hand to take her stance.
Ivan closed his eyes and raised his sword before him. He began channelling every ounce of his power into Incendium, whispering, "Father, lend me your strength."
Beside him, Eve raised her hand toward the heavens. Closing her eyes, she whispered, "Mother, lend me your strength."
In an instant, two massive pillars, one of roaring fire and one of brilliant golden light, descended from the sky. They engulfed Eve and Ivan completely, illuminating the dark battlefield. Azrath, who had held a confident grin, felt his triumph falter. His eyes widened in shock as he witnessed the sheer magnitude of the power descending upon them.
Before he could react, the pillars dissipated to reveal their transformed states. Ivan was entirely wreathed in flame, his features resembling someone carved from pure fire, with massive wings of embers spreading wide behind him.
Eve appeared as if she were crafted from living gold, her form radiating a divine brilliance with beautiful golden wings unfurled at her back.
Goosebumps rose across every person watching from afar as the sheer magnitude of their transformed presence pressed down upon the battlefield.
Then Ivan moved.
Raising his hand, he unleashed a colossal beam of fire that tore through the air, surging forward towards Azrath’s stunned form. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
"N-No!" Azrath screamed. He unleashed his own dark magic, desperate to counter the strike, but the fire engulfed him with such force that his cry was cut short by a howl of agony.
That was not all.
Eve had conjured an arrow of pure, shimmering light. She released it with a precision that cut through Ivan’s fire and struck Azrath’s exposed core.
A massive sphere of golden light and swirling flame formed at the point of impact, consuming the demon prince entirely.
His screams were heard across the land. The golden light emitted from their devastating attack reached outward, touching every dark creature still alive on the battlefield and reducing them to absolute oblivion.
At that moment, every onlooker held their breath, their mouths agape as the ground trembled and began to shatter beneath the weight of the divine power.
Damien, Cece, Edward, Iskara, Solan, Septimus, Regulus, Oliver, and everyone present struggled to keep their footing as the ground beneath them crumbled, the volcano on the verge of total destruction.
Panic surged through the crowd as voices rose in terror.
"The volcano is going to explode!"
"We are about to die!"
"We cannot even run, the plains are too far from here!"
"Brace yourselves for the impact!"
But just as the volcano reached the brink of eruption, a massive orange magic circle suddenly appeared beneath them.
Before anyone could react, flames swirled around them, rising rapidly until they were completely engulfed.
For a brief, terrifying moment, they believed they had died.
When they finally opened their eyes, they were stunned to find themselves back within the city of Zareth. The houses that had been set ablaze by Kai’s destruction were completely extinguished, leaving the survivors in a state of shock and bewilderment.
Then, as if struck by a sudden wave of nausea, several of them doubled over, those with weaker stomachs hurled where they stood, while others struggled to steady themselves against the violent churn in their gut.
Dante was the first to speak after he had just about finished throwing up. "Ugh... I swear I have experienced this horrible feeling before."
This time, Seira shared his misery and added, "Alright, now I understand what you meant by throwing up your entire existence the last time it happened."
Leo, who was new to this sensation, did not throw up, but he dropped to his knees. "Happened before? What are you two... talking about?" he asked, struggling to catch his breath.
"Well... let us just say it is an act of mercy by our beloved Crown Prince," Dante murmured.
His crimson eyes moved toward the volcano in the far distance just as a massive explosion tore through the peak. Every eye turned toward the horizon, the realisation sinking in that it was the very spot where they had been fighting moments ago.
