572 Here’s to the New World Part 2 (1/2)

In just an instant, heavy rain started to pour. What fell were not water droplets, but the charred remains of eagle-bodied demons roasted by thunder.

In the vacuum, all the blood of the demons had spewed out of their bodies. After becoming dehydrated, the bodies shriveled, shrunk, and were burnt into unidentifiable masses by the thunder. In a flash, a carbon-like substance covered the entire battlefield.

Countless demons had fallen. It was just an overture, a prologue to the war…

The clouds, which had resembled an iron curtain, dissipated, and the huge shadow also shook in front of the figure slowly rising on the battlefield.

The night was torn.

Because the hot sun had descended.

The frenzied, terrifying aether waves suppressed all the other noises completely. It was as if Charles was sitting on the throne of the gods, shrouded in a strong light, dignified and blinding… Even the so-called king of the sky couldn't look straight at him!

The half-human, half-eagle old woman screamed sharply, spreading out her wings, dyeing the whole sky black again. The sky was an extension of its wings. Shrouded by the shadow of the wings was death.

After losing most of her descendants in an instant, the catastrophe, Eagle Wing Mother, was enraged. Sensing the familiar and repulsive aura of the 1812 Overture, she hesitated no longer and pounced at Charles fiercely. Unfortunately for her, this time, she was no longer fighting against a saint.

Symphony no.6—Pathétique!

So, the sad and desolate melody swept, covering the entire sky. The bleakness contained in the deepest part of one's heart flowed like water, sauntering gently and deftly. It embraced everything in its arms, narrating whispers about the world, dreams, and pain. Soon, grief was surpassed, and everything was no longer important.

Great bliss descended. It descended in the embrace.

But between the heavens and the earth, screams of extreme pain rang out, like sorrowful weeping.

Black rainwater fell from the sky like a waterfall. It consisted of countless withered feathers. The wings that had merged with the sky into one shattered together with the sky.

In the blissful embrace, 'Decomposition' cruelly and mercilessly turned everything within into nothingness, without hesitation. It was the power of 'Dissociation' which overrode everything else.

In the vast domain covered by the movement, where the light from the sun-like scepter shone, the terrifying aether waves showed their cold nature as the music theory evolved.

It was the essence forged by the great power that combined the music theories of the school of abstinence and the school of modifications, bridging the huge gap between the two schools. At the moment, the power contained within even surpassed that of saints and was beyond that of the catastrophe!

The dark night had left and light appeared.

Under the shine of the sun, all matter, all aether, and all beings, tangible or intangible, dissociated and disintegrated, unable to remain intact any longer.

Even catastrophes.

Even the Eagle Wing Mother.

A cold and cruel miracle had descended here.

In the melody of Pathétique, it gave all disasters their end.

It gave all grieves a peaceful slumber.

It gave all despairs salvation.

Death saved everything.

In the most agonized scream ever, the dark wings wrestled with the hot sun, sending the heavens and the earth into turmoil.

The earth was torn and cracked to reveal huge gaps, giving birth to canyons.

The wilderness shook, crumbled, then rose once more, forming hills.

The sky shattered, exposing the darkness of the universe behind it nakedly. The glow of the stars swayed, being caught in the crossfire of the strong powers, and broke into pieces. The hurricane swept between the heavens and the earth, its wretched howl blended with the melody of the movement, like a sad song that God would play when destroying the world.

”Charles...” Gaius stood on the city walls and raised his head with difficulty. He held his hair and looked up at the light battling with the darkness.

His bodyguard rushed in front of Gaius, disregarding his own safety, and blocked the huge rocks smashing towards them and the sharp, knife-like gale from Gaius. The bodyguard shouted hoarsely, ”Lord Gaius, it's dangerous here! Please leave quickly...”

In the chaos, Gaius did not move but stood where he was like a nail. He simply stared fanatically at the sun, despite the light scorching his pupils. Finally, the last of the wretched screams sounded, and the darkness was torn apart.

The bright radiance of the sun descended upon the earth once more.

The sun was glorious.

In the terrifying glow, half of Charles' body was torn, burning blood dripping from the wounds, but he still looked majestic. In his hands was the catastrophe that had been damaged beyond recognition.

After losing its wings, the king of the sky could no longer fly.

Half of the Eagle Wing Mother's body had disintegrated completely, leaving only its incomplete face and what remained of its shriveled body. Charles gripped it by the throat, and it struggled difficultly, but could not break free from the hands that resembled the embodiment of judgment.

Charles stared at its face, but he had an empty look in his eyes. His empty gaze seemed to penetrate its body and fell on the earth.

At the torn corner of his eye, blood dripped, like tears.

”Mr. Gaius, it's true that heaven doesn't exist?” he whispered softly like he was asking a question.

Gaius was silent for a long time and nodded. ”Yes.”

”So, everyone is unhappy?” Charles murmured again.

”Yes.” Gaius kept his eyes low.

”But it can be changed, right?” Charles asked.

”Definitely,” Gaius replied softly but firmly.

So, Charles laughed. ”That's great.”

The hands of judgment slowly closed, crushing the bones and causing the Eagle Wing Mother to scream hoarsely and struggle madly.

As if it had understood its ending, the ugly face of the old woman twisted into a writhing mass and screamed wildly. It spoke, hoarsely and difficulty, in a vaguely human tongue.

”I will return again.” It said, ”You can't kill me.”

”You're wrong.” Charles shook his head. ”I can.”

In his palms, flames rose. As if it was a living thing, the fire wormed its way into the catastrophe's face and filled its body. Charles took over its consciousness, extending and spreading its perception towards the far distance. It only took a brief moment before the vast source of the catastrophe, which was slumbering in the desert and the ruins were detected by the pair of golden eyes.

At that very moment, an iciness colder than ever arose in the consciousness of the Eagle Wing Mother. It was an emotion that the catastrophe had never experienced since birth, what humans named as 'fear'.

Aether, music theory, consciousness, life…and everything else was all robbed away!

The distorted face of the Eagle Wing Mother stiffened. It couldn't move, and even the strength to scream was taken away from it. The last remains of its body were rapidly petrified and shattered.

In the end, between the closed palms, it turned into flying dust.

No trace of its existence was left. It had no more so-called 'future.'

But in the sky, Charles roared painfully.

The sun shook. In the terrifying light, he bent over and screamed. Behind him, a horrifying scar emerged suddenly. Aether gathered and turned into slender bones that proliferated, unfolding painfully in the cold air. The scorching light covered the bones like flesh and skin. In the end, flames were ignited and evolved into scarlet red feathers.

It was a wing! A lonely wing grew from Charles' back. It seemed to cover the entire sky simply by waving!

On the city walls, the surviving soldiers looked up at the terrifying radiance and slumped on the ground. They raised their hands to block their eyes, not dare to look directly at the frightening magnificence.

After witnessing the entire process, the believers, whose abilities to reason had completely been defeated, wailed plaintively. ”What on earth is this?”