Chapter 237: 126. The Tomb’s Guardian -4 (Part One)
Loud noises rocked the interior of the temple as black smokes gushed out from the descending meteor. The humongous piece of astral rock emitted an ominous crimson hue as it tore through the ripped-open space in order to descend below.
Even if it was Metatron boasting a large frame around twenty metres tall, it looked shabby and insignificant compared to the falling meteor.
Metatron’s glowing eye grew wider.
This was a magic spell?
How could a measly little human use such a power?!
Metatron urgently turned its body around after changing its target to the meteor. If that gigantic rock fell, then the resulting shockwave would definitely obliterate Holy Emperor Ordin’s tomb.
‘Can it be stopped in the first place?’
Metatron further compressed the already-condensed lump of divinity floating between its hands.
‘No, the concept of impossibility does not exist for an archangel!’
The legendary combat treasure crafted by over twelve thousand members of the clergy… the archangel.
To the one fulfilling the duty of guarding this tomb, nothing was impossible.
‘I shall show all of you a God’s miracle!’
The choking heat filled the air. Metatron, who boasted a gigantic frame, felt its entire figure getting increasingly heavier as if the effects of gravity had finally caught up with it, all the while the ripples coming from the descending meteor crashed into the archangel’s surface.
However, it still forced itself to move.
‘Oh, Holy Emperor Ordin…’
And at the meteor summoned through the distortion of dimensions, Metatron fired the lump of divinity compressed within its hands.
‘I shall faithfully…’
The lump of compressed divinity violently collided against the meteor.
‘…Carry out the task you have entrusted me with.’
Hans, Alice, ‘Norman’, and Allen stood on their spots and witnessed this spectacle.
Without a doubt, the ‘Meteor’ was a terrifying spell. If that rock managed to land on the ground, then even these quartet wouldn’t be safe from the aftermath.
However, they forgot about getting out of the area of impact and simply watched on in stupefaction. There was a very good reason for that, though.
Metatron was managing to push the meteor back.
“That’s impossible.”
The clearly-dazed Queen Rox muttered to no one in particular.
Her magic was able to summon a massive astral body by distorting the space and time itself. The Meteor spell possessed enough power to completely devastate an entire city, yet the archangel was capable of defending against such an attack?
At this rate, the meteor would be shoved back inside the open portal of the distorted dimension.
No, wait – that wasn’t even the end of this story.
The meteor itself was breaking apart.
The lump of compressed divinity was breaking through the dead-centre of the falling rock. The meteor began breaking apart into countless pieces before spectacularly exploding.
Debris fell everywhere and licks of flames flared up from the bombardment of the rock shards.
Whiiiiiiiirrrr!!!
The cogwheels spun around viciously.
Metatron didn’t breathe, but these cogwheels did a similar job for the golem.
This level of damage was acceptable. As long as the tomb wasn’t completely destroyed, it could be miraculously repaired through the power of god’s letters.
That’s why…
Metatron’s burning gaze shifted over to the intruders.
They needed to be eliminated right away. If not, Metatron’s powers might go out of control and stop functioning altogether, and then…
“It’s now.”
Allen raised his head up.
“With this…”
Metatron hurriedly scanned its vicinity.
“…We have our winner.”
A violent storm of flames gushed out from the maws of the Bone Dragon hovering right behind Metatron.
-Oh hear ye, the one possessing similar power as us but serving a different master.
The Skeleton King’s four bone hands grasped the hilt of its massive sword.
Metatron stumbled back.
-We shall grant you an eternal respite.
The Bone Dragon’s flames and the Skeleton King’s sword descended on their target at the same time.
**
Allen stared at Queen Rox. That spell must’ve taken a big toll on her, because she was barely keeping herself upright while leaning against her crystal staff.
He had no idea that she had disguised herself and joined in on the adventure.
“But right now isn’t the time to mind that.”
Allen quickly shifted his gaze over to Metatron.
That thing possessed enough power to even destroy a meteor. However, it must’ve paid a great cost to pull off such a feat.
This was the very last chance they would get. The combined might of the Skeleton King and the Bone Dragon should be more than enough to subjugate Metatron.
But then, particles of light began coming off from the bodies of both the Skeleton King and the Bone Dragon.
Wasn’t that…?
That phenomenon happened only when the summoned beings were about to vanish from this world.
Allen’s eyes shot open wide under Amon’s skull. He failed to hide the shock he was experiencing due to what was going on here. He then quickly looked over to Alice.
She was still singing a hymn with her hands gathered before her, but her body was visibly wobbling right now. Her unyielding legs were doing their best to barely prop the rest of her up.
‘Is that why?’
The backlash on Allen for summoning both the Skeleton King and the Bone Dragon wasn’t as harsh as he initially feared. But it seemed that Alice had been dealing with the most of the burden all this time alone.
‘It’ll get troublesome if you falter here.’
A regular run-of-the-mill Priest or Priestess would’ve collapsed from the exhaustion by now.
‘Since we decided to do this together…’
Allen quickly rushed over to Alice.
‘…You will have to reach the end with me, oh Alice Astoria!’
“Alice!”
Allen cried out to her.
She was panting laboriously. Someone seemed to be calling out to her, but even making a simple response proved to be too taxing.
Her entire body felt heavy like a wet sponge. An indescribable fatigue crept up and was disorienting her vision. She felt queasy enough to throw up, so she hurriedly covered her mouth to hold it back.
Her legs finally lost all of their strength and she fell to her knees within the holy water lake.
‘No, not yet…’
It was getting too hard to hold on.
She had no idea that the strength of the divinity deviation would be on this level. Had his highness, the Imperial Prince, been enduring this level of burden all by himself up until now?
‘I must endure.’
Alice muttered to herself in her mind.
Metatron was still functioning. If she fell here, then both the Skeleton King and the Bone Dragon would disappear.
With them gone, there would be no other way to defeat Metatron, a golem powerful enough to even stop a falling meteor.
‘Oh, dear Goddess Gaia, grant me a little bit more strength to…’
Alice pressed her forehead on her gathered hands and earnestly prayed.
Her voice, which was still coming from her lips, was growing weaker as it unsteadily trembled. Her singing was also getting out of tune.
The divinity in the surroundings was steadily escaping from her control.
‘I must not give up.’
She must keep singing and offer her prayers.
‘Only then…’
Alice’s eyelids were getting heavier.
And right then and there, she heard a noise similar to a ‘Snap!’.
Her tired eyes shot open wide in shock.
She had reached divinity depletion.
The divinity’s melody which was resonating with her had abruptly stopped. And the divinity ruling over the interior of the temple began going out of control.
‘N-no!’
The aftermath caused Alice to vomit out a mouthful of blood. Even the little scraps of divinity remaining in her body began circulating backwards.
As a result, the movements of both the Skeleton King and the Bone Dragon were getting duller. Blinding light radiated from them as they began to disappear from this world.
An expression of despair floated up on Alice’s face as her body gradually tilted to her side.
She tried so hard to reach out. The scenes of both the Skeleton King and the Bone Dragon vanishing from existence entered her vision.
‘I can’t give up here…’
Her body was about to hit the holy water’s surface with her consciousness abandoning her. But then, someone held her hand and stopped her falling body.
Alice forced her drowsy eyes to open and looked to her side.
Allen, kitted out in a mountain goat’s skull and bone armour, was propping up her figure.
“Alice Astoria.”
Her eyes grew wider and wider.
Strength seeped into the boy prince’s hands still supporting her.
“As you are a Saintess supporting the Imperial Family…”
The twelve ‘wings’ growing out of his back wrapped around Alice’s figure.
“…I shall also support you.”
Divinity rippled; the divine energy within their bodies resonated and spread out everywhere.
The severed harmony was re-established once more. The faint yet distinct notes of a sacred hymn began leaving Alice’s lips.
Balance was met and the tuning of divinity resumed.
Resonance had been reached again.
Alice was about to pass out a second ago, but now, her heavy breathing regained its stability.
But at the same time, the backlash began to bore down on both Allen and Alice. The two of them were now sharing each other’s burden.
While gritting their teeth, Allen and Alice shifted their gazes and stared at Metatron.
They were really in the home stretch now.
**
The Bone Dragon spewed out its destructive flames in order to melt down Metatron’s back panels.
The archangel swung its arm around to grab the Bone Dragon’s skull before slamming it down.
But it was right at that moment that an ominous foreboding struck Metatron’s senses. The archangel quickly shifted its gaze and glared at Allen and Alice.
The two of them were supporting each other.
The singing voice of the Saintess echoed within the interior and affected the Skeleton King. The glowing eyeballs of the gigantic undead burned even fiercer than before.
A truly stupendous level of aura gushed out from its frame. The Skeleton King opened its huge jaw and breathed deeply into its bone-and-gold sword.
-I shall gift this…
The four bone hands tightly grasped the huge sword and pulled it back.
‘Dangerous!’
Metatron stumbled back. An attack boasting a destructive might exceeding everything that had come so far was about to strike it.
-Eternal respite to you!
The Skeleton King’s waist spun rapidly to swing the bone sword diagonally upwards.
