Chapter 921 – A Choice That Makes His Heart Ache
Just as the cloaked figures swung their death scythes to claim the souls of the people that they had targeted, five glowing silver arrows pierced through the grim reapers’ body, turning them into particles of light.
Everyone except Raymond had closed their eyes during the moment of life and death, so they didn’t see how the Grim Reapers died. Only Raymond, managed to compose himself as he glanced in the direction where the arrows came from.
At the end of the street, a young lady, who seemed to be in her early teens, walked towards them with a bow in her hand.
She was wearing a set of light-weight armor with an intricate design that glowed faintly. Her long, black, hair was tied in a ponytail and held up by a purple butterfly hair clip.
Although she was still young, her beauty was enough to mesmerize anyone who laid their eyes on her.
“Good thing I arrived in time,” the young black-haired beauty muttered.
Raymond’s eyes widened in shock because the young lady walking towards them had an uncanny resemblance to his daughter, who had just opened her eyes to look at the face of their savior.
Belle’s heart trembled after seeing the girl’s face because she knew, with absolute certainty, that she was looking at someone very precious to her.
“W-What is your name?” Belle asked as her lips trembled.
She had seen Raizel in William’s memories, which made her feel envious and jealous. However, when she laid her eyes on the young lady who shared her same features, she understood then and there that one of her wishes had been granted.
“Stella,” The young lady answered with a smile. “Stella Von Ainsworth.”
After giving out her name, Stella drew on her bow and three silver arrows materialized in her hand. With one swift motion, that neared perfection, the young lady released the string of her bow, and the three silver arrows pierced through the heads of three more grim reapers that had wandered over to their location.
After killing her targets, she continued walking towards Belle.
Aethon on the other hand transformed back to its original form and perched itself on Belle’s shoulder. It deemed that Belle was safe, so it no longer felt the need to retain its battle form.
When William went to meet Dias, and Hebe, in that strange world. Aethon was transported to the Valley of the Monsters, where it had met the Mother of All Monsters, Echidna. There, the little wren was given the opportunity to drink some of her blood, which allowed its body to mutate and take on the form of a Giant Roc.
Echidna’s blood also made Aethon very smart, which allowed it to make quick decisions, just like what it did when Belle and the others were attacked by grim reapers.
For the little Wren, Stella was not a threat because it could sense William’s and Belle’s bloodline flowing inside her body. Because of this, it didn’t make any move to attack the girl and allowed her to come close to them.
“Here, wear this,” Stella said as she presented a golden bracelet to Belle. “Papa needs all the help he can get.”
“Papa?” Raymond asked. “Who’s your Papa?”
The corner of Stella’s lips curled up into a smile as she pointed at the red-headed teenager who was busy attacking the black tower.
“I’ll be going now,” Stella stated before winking at Belle. “Everyone, please take care.”
As soon as Stella said those words, the sandals she was wearing grew wings. She then jumped to the roof of the nearest building and disappeared from sight, leaving Belle, her parents, and her two best friends, looking in the direction where Stella had gone.
—–
As William fought against the Giants, he noticed glowing orbs of light flying in the direction of the Black Tower.
He was very familiar with this scene because this was what happened whenever someone died in the Deadlands. Their souls would be housed inside the tower and stored to be used as a battery to power its operations.
After the souls had lost their strength, the tower had two options for them. One was to use the souls as a catalyst to turn them into Undead, the other one was to send them to the cycle of reincarnation to start their lives all over again.
William was stuck in a dilemma. If K-City was indeed the Deadlands then whatever he was doing right now was pointless.
The result had already been determined from the start, and the only thing he could do was to accept that this was inevitable.
However, William didn’t want to accept it.
He wouldn’t accept it.
Right now, Belle was inside K-City. No matter what happens, he wouldn’t allow her to turn into an Undead Creature, or have her soul be used by the Tower then discarded after she was no longer of use.
This was something that William would prevent no matter what, even if it meant sacrificing everything to ensure her safety.
Suddenly, a giant red portal that spanned for miles appeared in the sky above K-City.
William felt that something very ominous was going to happen because the number of monsters that the Tower created increased drastically.
It was also at that moment when the city trembled, as it once again rose towards the sky.
The Half-Elf’s expression became grim when he realized that the city was being sucked up toward the red portal, which would spell bad news for those who were still alive within the city.
< William. When this city enters that portal, the possibility of any life remaining in the city will cease to exist. Tell me, do you wish to save everyone? >
Optimus’ voice broke William out of his daze as he firmly nodded his head.
< Very well. You have two choices. The first one is to teleport all the people from the city towards the ground before this place is swallowed up by the red portal.
In order to do this, you need to use your Einherjar Job Class and create perfect clones of yourself. After doing so, you will harness the power of the mirrors and use the laws that you have already absorbed in the Deadlands to teleport everyone out of the city.
Since the laws of the Deadlands have already merged with your body, mass teleport will be possible. Unfortunately, if you choose this option, you will be rendered motionless, and will not be able to defend yourself against any attacks. >
William nodded his head in understanding. Although this move was risky, as long as he endured a little, he would be able to save everyone.
“How about the second option?” William inquired.
< Same thing. You will need to use your Einherjar Job Class to break through the black tower’s defenses. However, I have a bad feeling about this. >
“A bad feeling?”
< Yes. I feel like if we break the black tower’s defenses, the final boss will make an appearance. Right now, we can’t gain any information on our enemies, which puts us at a disadvantage. >
The red-headed teenager narrowed his eyes as he looked at the red portal above him. The time had come and he knew that no matter what choice he made, he would lose something important to him and it made his heart ache.
