Chapter 1105 Thank You

The divine creature stared at the incoming mortal who seemed to carry a million wrathful voices. He called himself Netherborne, a name long forgotten and forbidden. But although everything about him scared her, his golden mana made her feel nostalgic.

Artemis was similar to every divine being, who rose from being a mortal to Devaheim through countless battles, wisdom, or sheer power. However, every god shared the same sentiment toward the golden mana, which was the difference between gods and those below them.

But the goddess knew that this mana was different. It did not come to bestow her with strength, as it supplemented the dark dagger well. It sought to destroy the gods, and it was damn capable of it.

As the golden mana shot toward her, it painted a stark contrast against the night the dagger created. The wrath, coupled with the golden mana, seemed a lot like the divine judgement she promised earlier. However, she could not do a thing against this mortal, despite her big words.

The black dagger cut through her, and the divine mana struck her soul, making the goddess unable to summon any protection. Her divine energy should have been invincible, but he cut through her like cutting through butter.

Artemis let out a scream that resonated through the heavens as she fell to the ground after the wrathful man passed through her. Like ashes falling from flame, the goddess dwindled in size as she fell to the ground.

As soon as her divine body touched the ground, it crumbled beneath her as her moonlight devoured it. The goddess began shrinking in size as Arthur landed, staring ahead instead. Then, his dagger dissipated into black light particles.

The black lights disappeared, and so did the voices. Before they were no longer there, countless voices muttered the same sentence, at the same time.

"Thank you."

Arthur stood rooted in place, not moving an inch. After a few seconds, he raised his head with a smile toward the disappearing lights. Two droplets of tears streamed down his face as he stared at the sky with emotions.

"Rest in peace."

The voices disappeared, and so did the black particles. Arthur turned toward the goddess, who still retained her consciousness. However, every time she tried to rise, her body failed her. She kept uttering something incomprehensible as she descended into madness.

"How can I lose?"

Artemis kept asking herself as Arthur walked toward her, choosing to face her. She raised her head, which had no flesh but just divine energy, to glare at him with hatred.

"I will never forget this humiliation, Arthur Netherborne!" roared the goddess as she tried to flare, but the moonlight scattered again. Arthur stared down at her without any sympathy or fear before he smiled.

"You better remember that name," said the smiling man as he eyed her struggle, quite aware of how futile her efforts are. "You can no longer exist in this realm, Artemis. I have branded your soul, and your powers will keep diminishing until you are nothing but a consciousness."

"Bluffing!"

"Quite the possibility, but I know that I cannot kill you," said Arthur as his smile disappeared. "I cannot kill gods in lower realms because I know they do not descend with their real body. If I wanted to kill you, I would have to ascend myself or create a separate dimension and drag you there. Then, I can execute you."

His last sentence made the goddess shiver as she stared at his golden eyes, knowing how confident he was about his declaration. Although she stood atop the entire universe, she could no longer answer this mortal, who terrified him almost as much as her king.

"…I will leave," said Artemis after dropping her arrogance, choosing to admit her defeat instead of trying to win a losing battle. "But this is the beginning of your end."

"Not mine, but The End," said Arthur while stressing the two words, making her realize his meaning. "I revealed my presence for a single reason. I know your secret, and I shall kill you because of what you have done."

After those words, Arthur turned around and left. Artemis remained shaken before a portal appeared above her, connecting her to the upper realms. Then, the portal covered her with twinkling lights that transported her toward Devaheim.

Arthur walked back under the eyes of countless people, who saw him as a single figure emerging from a terrifying battle. However, despite how scared the onlookers were, the goddess could not even put up a fight against him.

Seraphine and the rest stood close, waiting for their new king. As he emerged from the dust and moonlight, they all knelt on the ground in respect. Arthur stared at them with a blank face, walked until reaching them, and smiled.

"Artemis is gone."

"It was rather one-sided," said Seraphine with a frown, but she knew that this signified his strength. "Is it really over?"

"Far from it," said Arthur with a shake of his head. "The gods know where to find me until I leave this tower. The final battle will not be here, but after we clear this tower. This realm will lose its structure, and the gods will take that chance to transport us to a higher realm."

"How can you be so certain, my lord?" asked Ilia Perli with confusion, seeing Arthur talk about this with absolute certainty.

"Because of this little fellow," muttered Arthur as he reached into his pocket and took out a blue creature, sleeping peacefully. "This is the wisdom of the blue dragon. It guided me through my training and taught me about the gods."

"Even their plans?"

"Just their limitations," said Arthur as he stroked the dragon with his fingertip, letting it snuggle into his palm. "As long as I know their weakness, I can predict how they would counter it. The upcoming battle will be dangerous to us all."

"Even if we die, we shall follow you to the end," said Whisker as he bowed his head. "My friend, Lucius, was among the voices that you have saved. Those voices have now rejoined the cycle of reincarnation after their wrath has disappeared."

"Wrath never disappears, but it gets transmitted from one person to the other," said Arthur with a melancholic expression as he placed the dragon back into his pocket. "I have freed the voices from wrath, but it exists within me. A small portion was transmitted to Artemis, too. She will never recover from it."

"That seems like a proper punishment," said Seraphine with a smile. "My sister was also among the voices that you have saved. I cannot express my gratitude, Returning King."

"I have to ask… why do you keep calling him that?" asked Sarohan while scratching his head. The rest glared at him for such an inappropriate question, but Arthur laughed. His light-hearted and peaceful chuckle surprised them all.

"I don't understand everything myself, Sarohan," said Arthur with a thin smile. "I just know that I have awakened after a long slumber. My past is unimportant, but the future determines everything."

"In the past, present, or future, we shall follow you," said Sarohan in an attempt to fix his image in front of the rest. The other three smiled and repeated the same words. Arthur smiled at them and raised his hand, palm facing the sky.

"I entered this tower to take revenge on a certain person, but I gained a lot in the process. I learned about my ancestors, self, and grew as a person. However, I cannot be thankful enough for the friends I made."

The four stared at him with moved expressions. As the crowd began gathering again, the final show was ready for the second floor. The three lords that fought against Artemis resurfaced, staring at Arthur with determined expressions.

Before the three could utter anything, shouting came from the sky. The crowd raised their heads to see two people being dragged across the sky by another. Then, the three landed on the ground while one of them was still shouting.

"My mother is yours! And my grandmother! And every daughter the two of them have! Just spare me!" shouted the man in red robes before being thrown on the ground, right before Seraphine and the rest. As they saw his face, they realized it was the lord of Blood Keep.

"I found him trying to escape the second floor, teacher," said the man with one arm as he walked forward, dragging an unconscious man on the ground. "This one is the Lord of Westcoast, who also tried to run after the goddess appeared."

"You did well, Koby," said Arthur with a smile as he stared at the lord of Blood Keep, making him shiver in fear. "I suspected that someone would try to escape, so it was wise to send you beforehand."

"Who… who… who… are you?" asked the lord of Blood Keep with confusion as the rest followed. Arthur smiled as he surveyed the onlookers, seeing that someone was still missing.

"Bring him over, Ramiel," whispered Arthur, and something flashed from a distance. A loud explosion echoed as another lord appeared beside the one on the ground. The one carrying him was Ramiel in his new form.

"I apologize for the delay, my liege," said Ramiel as he looked toward the distance. "Dorian and Luna are coming over as we speak. Everything is set for the last plan."

"Indeed," said Arthur with a smile before he turned toward the lords. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the end of your era and the ten cities. I demand from you that you hand over your position and cities to a young man I trust."