Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 2092 2064. The Gate of Light

Messermo, who had collapsed to the ground with a deathly pale face after stabbing Marlenia and destroying half of her prosthetic leg, was now dead.

The huge gash on his stomach, which almost severed him at the waist, exposed all his internal organs and intestines, which had been mostly cut apart.

But right now, under Melina's [Golden Tree Restoration], his stomach is visibly returning to normal!

The golden tree is a symbol of life, and it has remained so since ancient times.

Therefore, the prayer of restoration learned from the Golden Tree often has a powerful effect.

Unlike the continuous, short-duration healing prayer of "Grace and Blessing," "Golden Tree Restoration" is a higher level and has more stringent requirements for casting.

And it recovers tremendously immediately.

Therefore, almost immediately after the light flashed on his body, Messermo, who had been lying on the sand dune and was almost broken in two, stood up again.

Besides the damage to its armor, there was almost only a pale red slit left on its belly.

His superior bloodline as a member of the Golden Clan, coupled with the restorative prayers from the Golden Tree, made his recovery speed incredibly frightening.

Even though he was almost cut in half at the waist, he still managed to cooperate with Lan En's plan despite his serious injuries, and mustered his strength to launch a final attack.

Messermo's expression remained indifferent and calm, as if he had long ago left pain and death in some unknown part of his past life.

However, the piercing spear he was holding did not stop. As soon as he was able to stand up again, he was ready to join the battle and take advantage of the fact that Lann had controlled Marlenia's shoulder and prevented her from escaping to completely establish the situation!
But just as he was about to pull the Piercer's Spear from the sand dune, which was wet with his own blood, and thrust it toward Marlenia.

With a "whoosh" sound!
Lan En suddenly released his grip on the Valkyrie's wounded shoulder. Not only that, the Witcher seemed to be startled and suddenly jumped back a great distance!
"You are……?!"

Even with Messermo's usual indifference, he was stunned by Lann's mistake at this crucial moment that would have secured the victory, and raised his voice to question him.

But Messermo's shout was only the beginning. Without waiting for Lann's reply, he already knew why the Witcher had loosened his grip on Marlene.

"Clang~"

Marlenia, who had just been exchanging blows at lightning speed with Lan En while breaking free of his restraints, causing a large curtain of sparks to erupt around them, suddenly seemed to lose all her strength and collapsed to her knees on the sand.

Her prosthetic limbs, whether broken or intact, clashed on the ground, making a metallic clanging sound.

The Valkyrie's iconic winged helmet, a symbol of invincibility, slipped off her head as she knelt and bowed, falling onto the greyish-white sand dunes.

Her long, fiery red hair cascaded down her back.

Kneeling on the ground is the action of the defeated.

Given Marlenia's pride, even in defeat, she would not allow herself to maintain this posture.

But at this moment, the Valkyrie's beautiful yet sickly pale face showed no tension or seriousness befitting her disadvantage in battle.

On the contrary, her expression was relaxed and resolute, as if she had accomplished some noble and sacred goal.

On her body, some scarlet power transformed into a visible radiance, which began to rise along with her red hair!
Without a sound, the sand dune where she stood, and even the foundation stone near the Spiral Tower God's Gate, the pinnacle of the Horned People's technology, were all compressed and crumbled under this seemingly gentle crimson radiance!
This force, which has not yet shown any characteristics but has cracked the foundation of the spiral tower simply by its existence, should have attracted people's most direct attention and vigilance.

But at this moment, everyone's gaze was focused on only one direction... the Gate of God, which had been open with a crack from beginning to end!

The light that once enveloped the Gate of God was cold and majestic, but now it is no different from the rest of Shadowlands.

The same gloom and heaviness.

Because all that light is now gathered in the slightly ajar cracks of the Gate of God.

The Gate of God, built from countless corpses filled with longing, madness, and faith, should have been an unobstructed view of the scene in mid-air outside the Spiral Tower.

But now, through that crack in the door... there's only light!

Holy light!

In the soft glow of the light, it seemed as if a sacred voice was singing and playing music in the air.

This is not an illusion.

Because Lan En was certain he had heard it before: in the royal city of Rodel, in the performance of the inhuman orchestra that heralded the arrival of a new era, the oracle messengers!
Indeed, in reality, outside the Shadowlands, on the borderlands that should be completely isolated from the Shadowlands, in the royal city beneath the Golden Tree, scattered throughout the inner city walls are oracle messengers, much like the snowmen mascots of Mixue Ice Cream.

At this moment, they all played an unprecedentedly grand musical movement!

It was as if from this moment on, they truly began their performance to 'welcome the new era'.

In the city of Rodel, the few residents and the Mongot in the palace came out of their houses, watching this scene with either confusion or deep thought.

The golden tree's radiance seemed eternal, and golden bubbles, blown from the oracle's instrument, floated into the sky. Now appearing as the ominous demon Malkit, claiming allegiance to the Blessed King Mongot, extended his arm, covered in thick gray scabs and white fur, and gently caught a golden bubble.

The bubble burst in his palm, and the sacred golden power within it felt nothing to him.

His eyes were deep and unfathomable, hidden by the twisted corners.

“Oracle. Now that things have come to this, what else does Twofinger want to do? Isn’t jumping ship enough? Or…” He murmured, then shouted, “Guards!”

A Rhodes Knight arrived as ordered.

Although the Child of Omens is repulsive, his loyalty as a knight still forces him to acknowledge the [Omen Demon] who is being used by the Blessed King.

“Now,” Montgomery whispered to Knight Rodel, “how many Faded Ones have returned to the Hall of the Round Table?”

The knight also lowered his voice and announced a number. This number didn't seem to satisfy Montgomery, but there was no other way.

"Prepare to act!" He stared intently at the knight before him. "In the name of the Blessed King!"

The knight hesitated slightly, but quickly accepted the order and hurried away.

But in the shadowy land.

Holy light overflowed from the cracks in the Gate of God, and holy chants floated in the air.

And as Lan En and the others watched, a figure that was tiny compared to the Gate of God, yet somehow more eye-catching than the Gate of God itself, stepped out of the light.

"My blade, the path you traversed in battle will be sung for eternity. Now, fulfilling my promise, I have returned, and my sister—you will become my queen."

The system of 'gods and kings' that has existed in this world since the origin of life is now presented to everyone in a way that is both direct and clear.

According to Torina, the King of the Covenant that Michaela originally intended was General Rataen.

Lan En was puzzled at the time, since no one on the border had ever heard of any deep connection between Michaela and the demigod.

But since Torina said so, Lann didn't think he could know her better than her other half.

Since Torina had previously guided Malenia directly to the Shadowlands, causing her to completely miss Rataen, there was only one option for Michaela's ritual to continue—Malenia herself.

The ritual of the Gate of God requires several conditions to be met.

First, one must be a divine being to enter the Gate of God; only then is one qualified to elevate one's soul to godhood.

Secondly, for the soul to return, there must be a 'King' who accompanies God outside the door to guide God's soul back.

Malenia herself was a divine being, but as the world knows, the laws she bore from the day she was born only brought her harm. Furthermore, her brother was also a divine being, so the Valkyrie abandoned her own laws from the very beginning, devoting herself entirely to supporting her brother.

Malenia had long since relinquished her divine duty, and therefore—she could be 'King'.

A barefoot, blond-haired, beautiful boy emerged from the light of the Gate of God.

His eyes were slightly closed, but even so, it did not diminish his beauty in the slightest.

His face was very similar to Torina's, giving him an androgynous beauty.

Although he was not as tall as the other demigods, he was not 'always young' as the legends said.

I don't know if it was because the soul was sublimated in the Gate of God that even the curse eventually disappeared.

His blond hair was thick and long, just like Torina's, and when it floated in the air, it looked like waves crashing on the shore.

The sacred golden power, due to the appearance of the soul of 'God', almost filled every breath of air!

Messermo's originally indifferent eyes widened to an unparalleled degree!
Clearly, although he knew what the Gate of God was all about before, he still regarded it as something that could be stopped, something like a legend.

But he never imagined that when he saw Michaela return through that door, he would feel so shocked, so...familiar.

It was like... seeing his mother from his memories.

But at the same time, this sense of familiarity also stirred up a feeling of shame, as if he had been betrayed, and hatred for himself!
The holy Michaela, spotless, descended the steps made of the same ashen corpses.

He spoke softly, his tone as gentle and soothing as his voice, yet even such a simple act as speaking carried a vast echo formed by divine power.

“The Piercer, Messermo, my brother whom I have never met.”

"The so-called 'holy war' is nothing but illusion, nothing but deception and revenge. Why do you still insist on coming?"

(End of this chapter)