"Just now, you said you sense the power of chaos, didn't you?"
Vaerisse asked with narrowed eyes. While she could detect magical energy as a high elf with strong affinity for mana, and to some extent spiritual energy, chaos was beyond her sensory capacity.
"... Yes, although the presence is faint, there is no mistaking it. The seal is slowly being corroded by the power of chaos. I estimate it will probably only take a few years at best until the seal is broken."
Livia explained, her brow furrowing into a deep frown. What she was most concerned about was not the reason the power of chaos could appear in this world of all places, but who could have brought it here.
The number of high-ranking beings who could potentially wield chaos safely was so meagre she could hardly consider many options, but it was that scarcity that bothered her so much.
(It really is unforgivable. To think someone would dare to target this world… The place I swore I'd protect.)
Despite appearing seemingly calm outwardly, inside Livia was naturally seething with anger. If there was still a trace or connection to the perpetrator who had wielded the power of chaos, she would've eliminated them directly, but…
"It's no use, whoever had set up this layer of chaos around the seal had already severed all connections and erased all their presence already, I can't even tell if they are still somewhere in this world right now."
Livia bit her lips as she uttered words of irritation.
"Indeed, there is nearly an infinite number of worlds, if whoever had erected that layer of chaos was in another world it would be nigh impossible to find them. However, the power of chaos is not something so easily controlled that one could do it remotely, isn't it?"
Vaerisse said with a stern frown. Considering the difficulty of wielding primordial energy, she assumed it must have taken considerable effort.
"Did you detect the opening of an origin gate?"
Vaerisse inquired. When it came to a method of traversing across worlds, the most effective and common way is to directly open an origin gate.
A technique used to connect one space to another. The God of Creation could directly move to any world with a thought, but for those under him, they had to open an origin gate.
(But it was extremely difficult to conceal the opening of an origin gate… Even if it was at a distance of 1000, 10,000, 20,000 kilometres, there is no way I'd missed it, which means…)
"Perhaps whomever it was, came directly from outer space?"
Vaerisse wondered, tilting her head slightly in doubt.
"No, that's most likely not the case. If they did enter this world directly from outer space Aegis, the world's barrier would've reacted to them."
"… Is that so?"
"Yes… There is no mistaken it. Whoever it was must've came here through an origin gate."
"Hm, you mean?"
"If they could create a layer of chaos energy around the gate, there is a way to conceal the disturbance an origin gate would normally cause."
"… Creating a layer of chaos around the gate? But doing that is no different than suicide, isn't it?"
To layer the power of chaos, the power that erase everything from existence around oneself, it was a crazy hypothesis, but...
"You're not wrong, but… The fact that they targeted this world is rather concerning, and why the seal?"
Livia placed a hand against her rosy, red lips as she sank into her thoughts, her crimson eyes narrowing at the weakened seal.
Sphere was currently shrouded in murky miasma, but she could tell it had shrunken down to a noticeable extent.
(Could their target be the Demon God, Lucifer? But if they could control chaos, why would they be interested in him? Wait, is he really their target, or maybe?)
"… The worldly core in his possession?"
Livia's lips parted as she uttered those words under her breath.
"Hm, the worldly core? Isn't that the item that bastard stole from the White Empress?"
Vaerisse said in mild surprise. Although she didn't know exactly what the worldly core was, she could remember how outraged the White Empress was when it was stolen from her.
(Come to think of it, after those demons had invaded her territory, she seemed more enraged that she lost the core then her own land being trampled by the demons, wasn't she?)
Vaerisse thought, her eyes widening in realization. But unfortunately, she lacked information, only a handful of people knew the details of the worldly core, the Elemental Goddesses the White Empress and the Spirit Monarchs.
Despite being the daughter of the Dryad of the world tree, it was information out of her reach.
"I could be wrong; it's just one of the many possibilities I could think of. Whoever it is might also not be interested in the Demon God and has some other purpose for destroying the seal, regardless I cannot allow anyone to trample over this world and do as they please."
Livia exhaled a faint sigh and opened her fan, covering her lower face as her eyes sharpened.
"I will erase this bit of chaos with my power."
"Hm, you'll erase it? Is that possible?"
"It would be difficult if there were a lot of it. Or someone actively strengthening its effects. But if it's this much it isn't a problem."
Livia said confidently, her rosy lips curved upwards. Vaerisse stared at the seal with a somewhat conflicted expression, even now her vitality was being devoured by the curse.
If she was being honest, she wanted the seal to break, she longed for it. But she couldn't stop Livia, even if she wanted to.
She couldn't be selfish in this situation where the power of chaos could threaten the world.
"There is no need for concern, even if I remove the power of chaos the seals destruction is already inevitable at this point. It will take a bit longer, though."
Livia said, as if she could see through the troubles weighing on her heart.
"… I see. So, the overall danger of that man's return is inevitable."
"Hm, I can see that you were infected with a terrible curse. I have no plans of stopping whatever you are scheming, but please do remember to be mindful."
"Of course, but… Can you really remove the power of chaos? It's not an energy that can be easily erase."
"Yes, I cannot allow the power of chaos to exist in this world any longer, as it could pose a threat to the livelihood of this world. It won't take long."
Livia said, her voice oozing confidence, with a faint swipe of her fan, a terrifying heatwave was generated, approaching the seal as if it were a storm.
"Guh, this level of heat… even the highest-class fire spells couldn't..."
Isalith covered her skin in layers of dirt to shield herself, though she was still feeling the effects of the heat.
Weiss, Mina and Bentu felt the moisture in their body drying rapidly as they were bathed in the heatwave.
"Auqa rendo."
Vaerisse quietly uttered an incantation. A dome of water sprung from the soil, engulfing them in a barrier. She had also created an air bubble to prevent suffocation.
The power of chaos resisted the heatwaves intensely, but it was eventually overpowered and was snuffed out like flickering candles.
"Mm, as I thought, without it actively being strengthened by the main source, extinguishing it was easy."
"I do wish you would warn me before you use that kind of attack."
Vaerisse said with some irritation, her barrier of water was slowly evaporating, but she recreated it as soon as it weakened.
"… I didn't?"
"No, you didn't!"
"Well, now you know, so it's fine, right?"
"It's definitely not fine!"
Vaerisse face was twitching, out of all of the Spirit Monarchs Livia was the most apathetic to her surroundings.
"Anyway, now that you have erased the power of chaos whoever's responsible should notice the moment it's been extinguished. Which means."
"They will most certainly try something again, which is perfect. I too, am interested in this person."
Towards Vaerisse's worried words, Livia said not hiding her bloodlust.
"By the way, although the power of chaos is gone, I can't do anything about the miasma already spreading around the world, and the demonic beasts currently roaming."
"I see… Sigh, that's unfortunate, the biggest issue now is those mindless beasts attacking at random.... Speaking of which, why were you hiding until now? I haven't heard of you Monarchs for the last three hundred years. The only Monarch that had caught my attention was the Water Spirit Monarch who destroyed that kingdom awhile back."
Vaerisse suddenly questioned, shooting Livia a searching look.
"I have been in the spirit realm; I recently came here to check on the current state of the Nullborn serpent class. The Black Serpent of the apocalypse."
"I see, but judging from your expression, it doesn't seem to be good news."
"No, it's not inside its cave, it seems to have awoken for some time."
A heavy silence fell over the surroundings.
"Wh-What! That calamity is back?!"
Vaerisse's face immediately paled as she stuttered over her words.
Weiss stared at her in surprise, as long as he has known her, he has never seen her so frightened.
"Apparently, I can't find where it is right now, but you should keep your vigilance up for now. It has been asleep for so long, it must be starving."
Livia spoke as if it had nothing to do with her, but even she was feeling irritated.
"It's one troublesome problem after another. If he was still here, things could've been… No thinking about that now is meaningless."
Livia dismissed her thoughts.
"Anyway, we should—"
It was at that moment, the ground shook, and an intense wind erupted, Livia promptly braced herself before the air pressure, her red dress ruffling wildly. Vaerisse had erected another barrier to lessen the air pressure.
"This is…"
They stared off into the distance sky, in the direction of the city. Above the trees, at a single point in the sky a massive cloud of emerald energy was wreaking havoc.
"Nihilistic orbs?"
Livia's red vail was blown off by the intense wind. She narrowed her eyes vacantly; her lips moved and mouthed those words without her noticing.
Indeed, it was the aftermath of Alya's Nihilistic orbs, exploding.
…
Sometime before the explosion of Alya's Nihilistic orbs…
To the northwest of the capital city.
"Hahaha! As I thought Lady Luck truly is on my side!"
The boisterous voice of a young youth resounded through the vicinity. The young man with golden blonde hair and a handsome appearance was observing as his squad slaughtered the demonic beasts.
He was the heir to the Albanian Kingdom and next in line to the throne—Prince Tyler.
"Kukuku! Wasn't it as I said, your Highness? Once we have eradicated these plagues your rise will be inevitable!"
Cackled a young youth draped in knightly clothing. His lips were twisted into a fiendish grin. His demeanour and outfit felt off putting. Rather than a royal knight, his appearance would be better suited for an Adventurer or a Mercenary.
Rave, laugh maniacally, taking the charge with a younger knight following him from behind.
With every swing of his sword, he beheaded a demonic beast as they approach, drawing sprays of blood.
Aline stayed in the rear, supporting him with long range attack magic from a safe distance.
As such, they quickly took down the demonic beasts in the area without issue.
"As expected, everything is going according to plan. We currently have ten members here. Five knights and five mages. We'll fight in groups of three, two knights and one mage will support from behind, we'll take turns every half an hour to conserve our magic power."
The white-haired knight—Tristan said confidently.
Rave closed in on a demonic cyclops, he weaved out of the path of its fist and sliced its arms off cleanly from its wrist.
"Hahahaha! Is that all, weakling?!"
He leapt into the air, slashing down vertically with his fall, the cyclops body was cut cleanly in two halves.
"Isn't he enjoying this too much?"
Aline said, taken aback by his zeal.
"It's no problem. At this rate we will, hm?"
Tristan spoke up indifferently but furrowed his brow when he saw the two halves of the cyclops getting back on its feet.
It reassembled its two halves back together.
"What? Regeneration?"
He uttered in surprised. Although he did take notice of their abnormal healing, he was surprised their regenerative abilities were this strong.
"Heh, hehe! I'll just cut you up in tiny pieces!"
Rave said, unbothered, slashing with his sword. He swung his sword again, severing another limb.
A fist approaches his head, the cyclops newly regenerated fist attempting to blow off his head with a punch, Rave ducked down beneath its fist, stabbing the blade of his sword into its solar plexus.
"I'll keep cutting you up until you're nothing but bits of flesh!"
He yelled, swinging his sword. He had used magic to enhance his physical strength, the blade of his sword flashing in constant, precise swings.
He slices multiple times in a span of seconds, severing the cyclops arms, head and legs. And cutting its guts open.
"Ugh."
Aline frowned and averted her face from the nauseating sight.
"See… it's this easy."
"Tch, please don't let down your guard, these beasts are rather hard to take down, even numerous attack magic isn't able to get past their regeneration."
Aline said as she fired lances of light, stabbing the bodies of the demonic beasts.
"Heh, what are you all worried about? This area doesn't seem to have many of these filths. It's only a matter of time until we've cleared out this place."
Rave spoke smugly, the blade of his sword resting on his shoulder.
"That aside, aren't you a knight? Getting overconfident will not only dull your senses, but it will also—!"
"Do I need to receive a lecture from a mere daughter of a noble who knows nothing about the battlefield?"
"What?!"
"Just shut your yap and keep firing your magic."
He said indifferently. During that time the cyclops got back on its feet.
"Tch, you bug really are starting to annoy me!"
He stepped forward, swinging his sword in a horizontal arc, and slicing it from the waist.
"As expected, aside from their regenerative abilities they aren't—!"
"Fool, behind you!"
Aline screamed, but it was too late. Rave's expression froze as a shadowy hand loomed over him, crushing him beneath it as it slammed against the ground.
With a crunching sound, his body was flattened to pulp in an instant, his blood splattering.
"Wh-What… Is that?"
Aline uttered, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly as she stared at the red, glowing eyes of a large figure clad in smoke, its body obscured.
"A-A monster? No, there wasn't anything like this in the reports!"
Prince Tyler screamed, his legs shaking in fright. He was overwhelmed by the ominous presence the beast exuded.
"Tch. What are you all standing around for? Fire your magic!"
Tristan commanded, yelling his orders. Many of the mages present were young, and inexperience.
They were all young nobles from lower ranked families and had never once been exposed to the dangers of the battlefield.
It was inevitable that they would panic when under pressure, especially in a situation that endangered their life.
However, multiple higher and mid-tier flame magic were sent hurdling towards the giant, igniting hopes back into their eyes.
Unfortunately, those hopes were short lived. The giant raised its four arms, picking up a carriage that was parked at the side of the street, launching it towards the rain of spells.
BOOOOOOM!
With a rumble, the carriage exploded from the collision of spells and was smashed to pieces, the wooden parts of the carriage splintering.
"… Ugh."
Some of the mages were sent flying from the pieces of broken woods, hitting the paved road with a thud. As the dust settled, they saw a clear view of the beast.
It had dark blue skin, and four arms and stood roughly eight feet tall. The beast beats its chest with its muscular arms and let out a deafening shriek.
Conveniently as it maybe, it was at that moment Alya unleashed her attack—Nihilistic orbs.
…
Mana… it was the essence of life itself, the invisible current that flowed through every living being.
To live was to possess it, as inseparable from the body as oxygen, as inevitable as the heartbeat.
Even in worlds untouched by magic, humans carried it within them—an innate force that made life possible. It was the power that sustained flesh, the quiet, ever-present rhythm of existence.
Spiriurem, on the other hand, was the fundamental essence of the spirit. It was not life, but consciousness; not flesh, but soul. Where mana animated the body, spiriurem gave form to thought, emotion, and will.
It was the unseen tide that shaped spiritual life, the opposite of the physical, yet equally absolute in its influence over the universe.
Alone, each energy was formidable.
Together… they were a paradox. Mana and spiriurem were fundamentally incompatible, two forces at opposite ends of reality's spectrum.
To combine them was to court catastrophe. If the energies clashed without harmony, they would tear at one another violently, consuming everything in the vicinity—including the one who dared to wield them. Reality itself seemed to recoil at such reckless fusion.
Yet, for those capable of perfect balance, for those who could weave the life of the body with the essence of the soul in precise equilibrium… a single, incomprehensible power could be born.
It was called the Nihilistic Orb—a sphere of annihilation that carried both the potential for simultaneous creation and destruction in its core. It did not merely strike; it erased. Matter, life, spirit—all were swallowed into the void it birthed.
To summon one required mastery few could ever hope to achieve. Even the slightest imbalance risked self-destruction.
But in that peril lay its perfection: a weapon that transcended all known limits, a fusion of opposing forces so absolute that it left nothing behind, not even existence itself.
This was a technique only those with divinity could handle, but since it touches upon the aspects of both creation and annihilation, it was deemed too risky and was classified as a taboo.
The explosion sent the ambient mana in the atmosphere scurrying in a disarray. The heated energy erupted as flames of emerald.
If an analogy were to be given, perhaps it was comparable to setting off a nuke in the modern world.
The heat directly vaporized all the trees within a distance of roughly 2 kilometres. And the air pressure levelled the ground around them.
Alya had activated this attack thousands of kilometres away from the city and above ground, but the shockwave could still be felt, even from that distance.
Although she had suppressed the energy output considerably, the resulting destruction was still devastating.
"It stopped?"
Katsumi uttered, the loud boom sent her ears ringing. Fearfully, she dubiously glanced around surrounding as her hold on her katana tightened slightly.
As if out of caution, she subconsciously took a defensive stance and brace herself to endure the wind currents that would erupt from the explosion. But soon realize there was no wind, or rather, there was no shockwave.
The knights in the surroundings also gazed in wonder at the lack of air pressure.
"Sigh… Really, that girl. To think she would use such an attack out in the open."
The exasperated voice of a young woman resounded gently in their ears.
"Huh?"
Katsumi raised her head, staring at the sight before her. She belatedly notices the view of the night sky was blocked. Or rather, they were encased in a dome of ice.
The air felt chilly against her skin. It was unknown how big the dome was, but it created a very spacious area.
Her eyes were drawn to the back of a silver-haired woman. Her gaze was stolen at her beauty, but more importantly, the features of that she possessed.
Nine fox tails moved fluidly as if they had a mind of their own, and on her head were fluffy fox ears.
(So… So cute.)
She thought, enchanted at the sight.
"Huh, what's with those looks?"
The fox beastkin—Nikita was startled at Katsumi's expression, her reaction mirroring a certain spirit.
…
The body of the demonic dragon was burnt to ashes, not the slightest trace of it had remained.
(Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about the destruction of the land. But it was necessary. It will take several months for the mana in the atmosphere to return to its usual density.)
Alya's eyes were pitch black, and her long, flowing green hair lost its lustre, every single strand had become sheet white.
She no longer exudes the mighty pressure of a spirit monarch; her current presence could not even match that of a mid-tier spirit.
"… It seems that was my limit."
Alya exhaled a deep sigh, her body was severely burnt, and her form was becoming transient. She was about to be force back into her astral form from energy depletion. However…
Her body stiffen and Alya gasps, she felt a powerful murderous intent directed towards her.
"Don't tell me!"
With a quick glance over her shoulder she saw the lingering black, murky miasma gathering around. Although the physical body of the demonic dragon was destroyed, miasma could gain sentient and take on physical form.
Before her eyes, one such phenomena were taking place.
A massive, humanoid beast appeared, it had black exoskeleton that seem to be made of some metallic armour, horns protruding from its head, and razor-sharp claws. In addition, a pair of dark leathery wings.
"This is an unforeseen occurrence. I didn't think the lingering traces could produce a mid-tier devil, how bothersome."
Alya clicked her tongue in frustration. She currently has no energy left to fight and was in the process of losing her materialize form.
"P-Perhaps, I should—"
But the devil gave her no time to think, it closed the distance between them in an instant, swinging its claws.
Alya promptly extended her delicate slender arm, manipulating the air molecules into a barrier of wind.
Unfortunately, the wind did not heed her command despite her being the Wind Spirit Monarch.
She had used up all the spiriurem and was losing her grasp on the physical plane.
(Tch, if this thing run loose, there is no telling how much casualties it would cause. Should I exercise my authority? But doing so in this state, will...)
As the claws reflected within her pupils drew closer, Alya desperately racked her brain, searching for a solution in her current predicament.
However, time was merciless, it merely took a single instance for the gap between them to completely close.
Clang!
But those claws were deflected by the blade of a sword; sparks flew as they collided in a flash.
"Piss off."
With a cold, seemingly curt remark, a foot drove into the abdomen of the devil, it jerked backwards from the force of the kick.
Its dull, empty eyes staring warily at the newly arrived enemy. Two golden eyes were glaring at it coldly.
"H-Huh, Haruto."
Alya uttered weakly, belatedly noticing she was being held snuggly in someone's arms. Yes, holding Alya in his arms was a young, black-haired boy, her contractor—Haruto.
"Sorry… I'm a bit late."
His tone was rather stiff as he was enveloped in her sweet scent, and the warmth of her body was being transmitted to him from holding her in a princess-style carry.
But currently, he had no mind to think of all that as he looked at the condition, she was in.
A fury was lit in his eyes as he glared at the devil who hovered a few meters away.
"Ngh, its fine... My physical body is only temporary. Regardless of what happens to this body, I'll be fine as long as my core is intact... Furthermore, a Monarch cannot naturally die."
Alya said faintly, she gently moved her hand to caress his face, soothing the fury that quietly burned within him.
".... I see. You should rest within my soul, leave this thing to me."
Despite the edge to his voice, he spoke with the same gentleness that was so typical of him, nevertheless.
"Be… Careful… That thing is a mid-tier devil. It can't be easily dealt with."
Alya explained, her body disappearing into faint, glowing particles of light. She had returned to her astral form and entered his soul to recover her strength.
"Don't worry, at least now I can test the results of my training."
Haruto muttered, he used wind arts to fly until he reaches an altitude of roughly 300 meters above ground. The devil eyed him warily, getting into the most optimal stance to attack with its claws.
(Nikita can take care of those on the ground. As for this guy.)
Haruto pointed the blade of his sword towards the devil a few meters away and frowned.
"That exoskeleton-like armour, just what is it made of?"
From the sensation that was transmitted to his leg, he could at least tell it wasn't going to be easy to get through its defence.
Aside from making it stagger, he couldn't even make a dent, and he had cladded his leg with magical energy.
(Alya called it a devil, which means.)
As he calmed his breathing, the blade of his sword was clad in heated light energy.
"I'll be your opponent. I won't let you hurt anyone else."
He declared boldly.