Those time travelers that year

However, no matter how much the demon struggled, he was unable to harm the knights who were surrounding and killing him. Instead, his body was torn apart by the blades several times.

"No. No, I am immortal, I am eternal..."

"Do not!!!"

Several greatswords slashed out simultaneously, severing his hands and feet, and the demon collapsed to the ground. Thin, almost invisible wisps of blackish-red smoke attempted to heal the demon's wounds, but to no avail.

Finally, a knight with fiery red eyes walked up to the demon who was on his last breath and raised his greatsword, which was now burning with twilight flames.

"I am...the king, you...cannot, do this..."

puff...

The blade fell...

……

"Medea..."

"What are your orders, my Master?"

“Purge that demon’s soul clean. Since he didn’t want to work for me while he was alive, he can work for me even after he’s dead…”

"Yes, as you wish!"

93. Awakening and End

In a bizarre and absurd dream...

The sun sets, leaving behind a lingering twilight glow on the earth. Darkness sweeps in, transforming into a tidal wave that devours all life. Twisted souls, remnants of immortal existence, wander the desolate city, their seemingly sacred bonfires actually burning within their own souls…

The world is heading towards destruction; the abyss will eventually devour everything. Neither powerful heroes nor wise kings can stop this moment from arriving. In the afterglow of the setting sun, only madness and destruction remain.

A colossal dragon soars through the sky, flying over a world on the verge of collapse; knights, rising anew from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, slay one another; a maddened bishop devours the bodies of his kin; a colossal king is resurrected from the dead; the embodiment of the burning sun battles in the final rays of its light, extinguishing the last embers of hope along with them.

In this land of the end, a figure seated on his throne arrives in this world with the apocalypse. The goblet in his hand is filled with endless destruction and despair; countless souls construct his throne and crown, and wails and curses transform into praises to him.

'Sing praises to you, my Lord, you are the messenger of the end times…'

'Praise be to you, my lord, you are the knight of the end…'

Beneath the dazzling starry sky lies the end of an old world.

'Amidst the interplay of darkness and fire, your kingdom rises into the heavens.'

'Death and destruction are your prerogative.'

Pain and sin are your majesty.

'You are the king of everything in the world.'

'You are the beginning of all realms.'

You are the end of all things.

Everything will eventually return to oneness.

'I kneel before you.'

……

A large group of believers dressed in black robes surrounded the firelight, shouting wildly and incoherently.

"Oh my, oh my, President Xia is giving out candy! President Xia is giving out candy..."

……

"Drink!!!" Startled awake by a nightmare, Iris jolted awake and sat bolt upright in bed. Her long, golden hair cascaded down her shoulders, slightly disheveled from being pressed down for so long, yet still smooth as ever. Iris, dressed in a pristine white nightgown, lay on a soft mattress on a luxurious bed. A faint, sweet fragrance filled the air, emanating from a cluster of beautiful white roses placed beside the bed.

"Where am I?" Looking at the scene so different from the last thing she remembered, Iris covered her head and muttered in confusion. "What happened? What's going on? Wait... um, um... I wasn't... who is that... Ciel Gretel?!..."

"Ah! You're awake, Miss Iris." Just as Iris sat on the bed, her mind a jumble of thoughts, a voice interrupted her. Iris looked up and saw a young girl dressed as a maid opening the door to the room, looking at her with surprise.

"Well, how are you feeling, Miss Iris?" The girl approached and asked with concern.

"No, it's nothing." Shaking her head, Iris cleared her jumbled thoughts and answered, "Where am I? What happened? Why am I here?" In truth, Iris had many more questions weighing on her mind. She now remembered that, logically, she should have been meeting the Lord by now, having been on the verge of death. But why was she unharmed? Her internal organs were ruptured, she was bleeding profusely, and nearly half of her bones were broken—even with a sacred artifact, this shouldn't be possible…

"Wait, where did they go?" Iris snapped out of her daze, her delicate face betraying her panic.

"You mean the cross you were wearing, Miss Iris?" the maid said kindly. "Young Master Charles has left your belongings on the table over there..."

Iris paused, looking at the table laden with roses. Beside the vase, a cross pendant carved with white roses sat perfectly intact. Iris quickly reached out and grasped the cross in her hand. As she held it, pale golden light emanated from it. A serene and peaceful atmosphere began to fill the room.

As if she had thought of something, Iris looked up at the maid who had entered.

"Don't worry, Miss Iris, I'm not one of those uninformed ordinary people." Seeing Iris's gaze, the maid smiled slightly. "I am Melia, the maid of young master Charles Grete, and this is the Grete family's fief estate, the home where young master Charles returns."

"The answer to your question is simple: it was Young Master Charles who brought you back. And it was Young Master Charles who healed your wounds."

“This…” Iris pressed the crucifix to her chest, falling silent. After a long while, she finally spoke. “Um… how are the enemies? I mean… is Charles… alright…?”

"Don't worry, it was the young master who brought you back safe and sound. So, the young master is also perfectly fine."

'Sleeping Beauty is awake?' Just then, Ciel's voice rang out in the room. 'That's perfect, your guardian has come knocking. If you hadn't woken up, I would have been arrested on charges of indecent assault and human trafficking.'

"Grete!? What's going on? That demon is..."

"Please rest assured, Miss Galgwin! He's just a demon who recently broke free from his seal; he'll only bully someone who's holding you back."

"What do you mean, Ciel?!"

"Ah! I didn't mean anything by it, I was just telling the truth. I was the one who saved that beautiful little she-wolf in the end. If I hadn't arrived in time, she would really be a dead wolf. She wouldn't be like this now, full of energy..."

“Charles, you…” Iris gritted her teeth, a suspicious blush creeping onto her cheeks.

'If you're awake, come down! Melia, bring our young lady down... Don't let her family, who rushed all the way from the capital, keep worrying.'

“Yes, young master.” Melia bowed towards the door, then turned to Iris. “Would you like some help to get downstairs, Miss Iris?”

“No, thank you.” Iris took a deep breath, suppressing her thoughts. But recalling Charles's appearance, Iris unconsciously bit her lip. “Thank you for your trouble, Miss Melia.” Iris thanked the maid and got off the bed.

“No, not at all. It’s what a servant should do.” Melia smiled slightly at Iris’s thanks, then stepped aside to let Iris pass and walked toward the door.

——————————Divider Line——————————

He opened his eyes, looked at the simply dressed elderly priest sitting on the opposite sofa, and said, "Alright, it looks like our Sleeping Beauty has just woken up. Don't worry, Hong Nuoliu."

Glancing sideways at the other young knight standing to the side, who was watching him warily, Charles narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "If possible, we could get this young knight to put away his undisguised hostility..."

"...And is there some inexplicable jealousy? It's just bringing someone back, is it really that big of a deal?"

"You..." The young knight's face flushed with anger, about to rebuke Charles. However, a glance from Charles's dark golden eyes silenced all his words. In a daze, the young knight seemed to see a dark sun in the twilight, and rolling flames surging towards him...

"Cough cough!!!" Just then, the elderly priest coughed, jolting the young knight back to his senses. However, the young knight, now covered in sweat and with a fearful look in his eyes, took a small step back.

Although he didn't turn around, the priest frowned when the young knight took a slight step back, but then immediately relaxed his brow.

“Zavisha is still very young, and please forgive his immature offense, Mr. Gret,” the priest said.

“Young?” Charles said. “I’m young too! Hmm, let me think, I’m about the same age as your young lady! Hey, the restlessness of youth, like, setting up duels for some inexplicable reason or something… don’t you think so, Father Brown?”

“Young men who haven’t been trained are still fledgling eagles, but…” Father Brown began, “…a young lion who is already roaring across the plains could easily kill the old and confused lion king and take his place. It’s just that the young and energetic lion is unwilling because of his affection for his family.”

“Hahaha, you’re mistaken, Father Brown!” Charles laughed. “Perhaps the young lion simply looks down on that small hunting ground. But the little eaglet shouldn’t worry that the lion will actually fancy that beautiful she-wolf, nor should it lack confidence in itself…”

"After all, a fledgling eagle is completely unqualified!"

Gritting his teeth, Zavisha lowered his head in resentment. He dared not respond. After those dark golden eyes swept over him, it was as if an invisible monster had taken up residence in the young knight's heart. A voice full of majesty roared at him, "How dare an ant presume to be great..."

Father Brown's face darkened as he faced Charles with a serious expression. He didn't express his displeasure at the young man's retreat, for even he felt his hands sweat when he saw those beautiful, dark golden eyes.

This was definitely not the power of the Fifth Order, Father Brown thought to himself. As a member of the world's largest violent organization, now in his sixties or seventies, he had experienced all sorts of ups and downs. In his youth, he had even been active on the front lines of fighting heresy. Having seen so much, he still felt a chill to the bone when he saw those dark golden eyes. It was a world of difference, a difference between lives.

Monster, this is really...

"Father!" At that moment, Iris entered the living room.

"Phew!" The priest breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you alright, Deacon Calgwen?"

“Thank you for your trouble, Father.” Iris nodded her thanks to Father Brown in a friendly manner, then walked over, but did not look at the Knight Zavisha who had been looking at her eagerly after she appeared. Instead, she sat down directly opposite Charles.

"Thank you very much for your help, Mr. Gret."

"No need, your quick departure is the greatest thanks you can give me," Charles said dismissively, indicating his intention to send them away.

Well, the main world's storyline will probably take a while longer. The next chapter will begin with the protagonist building up his power in the main world.

94. I have to work overtime this week.

"Master, it seems you've captured that young lady's heart!" Medea, who appeared beside Charles after the people from the Sanctuary had left with Iris, said in a cryptic tone.

"Are you kidding? As one of my people, can't you see?" Charles rolled his eyes. "I never imagined that healing that little she-wolf would cause a wisp of my power to parasitize that girl, to the point that..."

The fel energy used by warlocks is no benevolent force. This power can not only plunder the life force of an entire world, but also mutate any creature corrupted by it. In World of Warcraft, the orcs of the Horde drank demon blood, causing the entire race to become insane and bloodthirsty, and permanently turning their skin green. This fundamentally alters even the DNA in their genes, and this change is irreversible and can even be passed down through their bloodline.

Even the strongest will can be eroded by continuous infiltration. The opposite of light is darkness, and the opposite of darkness is light. Although the healing stone was used to help Iris heal, it was ultimately through Charles's own power, which inevitably allowed his power to infiltrate the body, or rather, the soul, of the lady from the sanctuary.

What can this power do? Currently, it is beginning to influence the intruder's intentions toward the source of the power, Ciel. Over time, it can subtly influence the entire person.

“This is probably the power of the Dreadlord!” Charles sighed. He could sense that the power that had seeped into Iris’s soul was still weak, only able to slightly alter her perceptions or thoughts. However, this was just a seed, and it would take time to take root and sprout. Perhaps this seed would even secretly increase the implanter’s power little by little, until finally, under Charles’s will, it would grow into a great tree, or Iris herself would suffer a blow for some reason, her spirit would wither, and she would fall into depravity.

"In other words, this is exactly the Demon King's method. Luckily, this isn't an hentai anime!"

Shaking his head, Charles turned his gaze to Medea.

"By the way, has the matter with Medea been resolved?"

"Hmph." Our Princess of the Age of Gods gave a low hum with slight dissatisfaction, then said seriously to her Master, "Although the systems are inevitably different due to the different worlds, they are still quite similar. At least for now, Master, the replication of the Holy Grail War ley line system you envisioned has been measured and is feasible."

"Shouldn't there be some restrictions?" Charles asked.

“That’s right, there is no Hall of Heroes in this world, so it’s impossible to create a Holy Grail War using this system. However, the Command Seals system can be copied.” Medea replied, “So, Master, I have a preliminary idea… perhaps, we can directly mass-produce a sufficient number of qualified soldiers in this world.”

"However, this requires your cooperation, Master."

——————————Divider Line——————————

In the pitch-black basement, countless strange carvings were etched into the walls, and layer upon layer of translucent domes enveloped the low-lying room. At the center of the room stood an altar in the style of ancient Greece. From the center of the altar, a series of channels connected to various parts of the room, filled with highly toxic mercury. This mercury flowed along the channels, forming a magical circle that permeated the entire room. At the confluence of the channels, a large mass of mercury floated on the central altar.

Heaven knows how Medea modified the magic knowledge he got from Director Ken. This was Charles's bewildered thought upon stepping into the magical array Medea had just created. Compared to Medea, a magician from the Age of Gods, Charles was still a complete slacker in terms of both knowledge and understanding of spellcasting, even after experiencing several worlds. At least, having him create the array and other magical artifacts was less efficient than simply casting area-of-effect spells to clear the area.

"You've already begun to control the ley lines of this world?" After taking a quick look at the layout of the basement and sensing the much more active magic here, Sharti asked.

“Yes, Master.” Medea nodded with a smile. “Although the worlds are different, and even the ley lines of this world are different from the world I came from, it’s just a matter of the amount of energy contained in the ley lines. As for the magical knowledge extracted from the souls of those magicians who were erased by Master, I’ve sorted it out a bit and have a new idea.”