Fool's Library

First came the already dim and unlocked sequence ranks, then "Forest," "Hermit," "Sun," "Justice"...

Then there's the "moon" representing Dean Gin, the "Grim Reaper" representing Axia, and the "Fate" representing Gray...

Everything inside the tower was collapsing, turning into the blinding flames that engulfed the sky.

In the end, only two cards remained in the crumbling Library of Fools—

The "chariot" symbolizes Hiltina, and the "tower" represents Rust himself.

"Last, Last..."

"The last shore keeper?"

Deep within her heart, Grey's soft reply echoed.

"So, it turns out that the little boy with black hair and black eyes harbored such a grand dream..."

"It really is true, it makes one feel somewhat ashamed."

Although it was just a trace of her image left in the Library of Fools, a fleeting shadow... Rust could clearly feel Grey smiling.

In his memory, the girl who stood at the end of the starry sea with a sorrowful expression, bidding him farewell, now revealed a beautiful and moving smile, a smile tinged with tears.

boom.

The second-to-last staircase, representing the "chariot," is shattered, with glittering specks of light drifting among the clouds.

"Indeed, even among all the past guardians, Brother Last is the most special one."

"The reason why I, the leader of Cisel, and those predecessors of the former civilization's shore guardians... failed is perhaps because we lacked this resolute determination to leave no way out, the awareness that it was none other than us, and the unwavering belief that we would succeed."

"If you're always looking back, how can you see ahead?"

Her voice paused slightly.

"so--"

"If it were Brother Last, he would definitely have succeeded."

"Only those who have experienced such hell can step into the deepest night, to the very end of the abyss..."

"Then, sever the destiny of us who guard the shore."

……

Grey's last words vanished along with the shattered Library of Fools.

at the same time.

The last long sequence, symbolizing the collapse of Raste's own "tower," also meant that Raste's own "tower" had crumbled.

Behind them, the magnificent Tower of Babel vanished into nothingness.

Along with its owner's burned body and soul, it was transformed into the imaginary bullet loaded into the pistol's magazine.

"So--"

"Goodbye, gravedigger."

Ten thousand meters in the air, the demon king, whose wings fluttered with sin and depravity, making it impossible to tell whether he was an angel or a demon, pulled the trigger.

The jet-black bullet spun rapidly as it left the chamber.

Although the bullets are based on fantasy, their surfaces are engraved with intricate and beautiful runes symbolizing the seven deadly sins.

Without any earth-shattering commotion, it swallowed the light and shot straight toward the tomb keeper.

High in the sky, the half-human, half-dragon quasi-angel instinctively tried to escape, only to find that he had already lost the ability to struggle.

The moment the "Library of Fools" materialized, he was completely locked onto by Rast's aura. Not to mention dodging, even moving a finger became a luxury.

This shot, fired at the cost of disrupting the sequence and burning the mind, is a bullet directly aimed at its origin.

The moment the gun is fired, the chain of cause and effect is reversed.

This is a demonic spear that has overturned the order of this world and reversed cause and effect.

First came the effect of "the gravedigger's heart being pierced by this shot," and only then did the cause of "Raster pulling the trigger and the bullet leaving the chamber" come into being.

There is no escaping it, no dodging it—

That was a predetermined judgment, like destiny itself.

A fraction of a second later, the armor-piercing bullet, etched with sin, pierced through the true form of the tomb guardian, a mythical creature resembling a dragon.

The ancient dragon's body, which was originally covered with scales comparable to diamonds and could not be harmed even by a nuclear explosion, now had an enormous hole blown open in its chest, through which one could see the clouds tinged with the color of dusk behind it.

But this was not the end. The moment the tomb guardian's ancient dragon body was pierced, all the basic particles that constituted his existence, and even all the information and data, collapsed together.

Physical damage alone is enough to kill a true pure-blooded ancient dragon, but it cannot kill a tomb guardian—as an existence that left its mark of destiny on the Eternal Night Stone, as long as the mark on the stone remains, even if he is reduced to ashes, he can return from the river of history once again.

But that bullet, which originated from fantasy but went straight to the origin... killed not only flesh and blood, but also the origin of the tomb keeper, the wheel of fate from his birth in the Age of Gods to the present day.

The trajectory of fate has been erased from the river of time; from this day forward, the traces of this quasi-angelic guardian of the tomb will never again appear in the entire river of history.

Even if the Eternal Night Stele possesses the power to turn back time, it cannot resurrect a person who never existed in history.

……

The clouds high in the sky suddenly broke apart.

Amidst the roaring storm, all the residents of the capital city saw the intense yet clear light that pierced through the dark clouds and illuminated the surrounding gloomy sky.

And then, all that remains is the beautiful sky bathed in the glow of the setting sun.

Almost simultaneously, in the distant sky, that magnificent figure, like a demon king, also vanished.

The wings of that sinful fallen angel quickly collapsed, vanishing into nothingness in a very short time.

Amidst the drifting, jet-black feathers, Last shed his illusory, Satanic-like persona.

The remaining, frail human figure lost its support and, under the influence of gravity, helplessly plummeted towards the ground.

This is an obvious fact. The demon king-like posture of Satan Yell just now was a symbol of Rast briefly touching the realm of angels at the cost of destroying his own sequence long rank and Nightblade "The Library of Fools".

But that was not Rust's own power after all; it was just a brief performance like a falling meteor, and it could not last long.

At this moment, his body and mind were burned to ashes. With his sequence tiers and Nightblade completely destroyed, both his physical body and spirit were in ruins. All that remained was a desolate wasteland and broken ruins after the tower collapsed and the flames burned out.

He can barely maintain his consciousness now, and the source of his power is only the ashes that still retain heat on the wasteland that was burned to the ground by the great fire.

At this moment, any ordinary person could take his life... no, there's no need for outsiders to intervene. Given Rust's current terrible condition, the impact of falling from a height of ten thousand meters would be enough to kill him.

But at the same time, a huge airship swept past the clouds, narrowly missing him.

In that fleeting moment, Last used his last bit of strength to grab the ladder that was hanging from the airship.

His slender figure hung from the suspension ladder, with ethereal golden threads appearing on his body, making him look like a puppet pieced together by a puppeteer.

The enormous airship, under the watchful eyes of countless people in the capital, slowly glided through the clouds and headed towards the remote mountainous region on the outskirts of the city.

Chapter 241 Hiltina, I await your answer.

The capital city, in the heart of the inner city, deep within the palace complex.

Aaron stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the distant horizon, lost in thought.

"Did you see that, old man Aaron?"

“The golden threads that appeared on him, like those of a doll.”

A fluffy ferret appeared beside him at some point, gazing in the same direction as him.

"In the field of porcelain restoration, there is a technique called 'kintsugi'... which involves gluing fragments of porcelain together and then decorating the seams with materials such as gold powder, silver powder, and gold leaf."

"At this moment, Rust was like a broken piece of porcelain; the gold threads on his body were the marks left after his body and soul had been burned and shattered, then stitched back together with cheap glue—"

"The only thing that remained unchanged was his dilapidated yet still existing ideal, known as the 'Guardian of the Shore.'"

Dean Yin stared into Aaron's eyes: "After witnessing such an ideal firsthand, you haven't changed your mind... and only see Rust as a tool to force your daughter into a marriage of convenience?"

Aaron did not answer Dean Yin's question directly.

But what was written on the middle-aged man's face was not denial, but a solemnity as if he were gazing at something tragic.

"It's not about making Hiltina compromise and return to the normal life of an ordinary person—"

"Or, should we stand further ahead on the path to our ideals, guiding her forward together?"

A hint of reminiscence shone through his weathered eyes.

"This is something I never managed to do. Even though I tried my best, I ultimately couldn't become Cecilia's companion..."

"But, if it were him..."

The old king's words vanished into the night fog, leaving only a long sigh that lingered in the air.

……

In the capital city, Hiltina gazed at the airship sailing in the distant sky and stopped in her tracks.

She knew she was too late; it was all over.

He was unable to participate in the battle and could only witness it all as a spectator.

The hunt for the tomb guardian quasi-angels seemed earth-shattering; the entire capital city's residents could see the towering tower and the phantom of the demon king, like Satan... but in reality, the battle ended extremely quickly.

Or rather, this was not a battle at all, but a one-sided massacre. From beginning to end, Rust only fired two shots: one to announce his arrival, and the other to sever the wheel of fate of the angels.

After the two shots, the quasi-angel who guarded the tomb was erased from history and never existed again.

During this time, Hiltina was a spectator, and could only be a spectator...

Because from the very beginning, Rast never intended for anyone to interfere—

This was originally a hunt that belonged solely to him, a reckoning between the shore guardian and the tomb guardian. In this long feud that had lasted for several eras, there was no room for outsiders to interfere.

She glanced at Ophelia, who had appeared beside her at some unknown time and was also gazing at the horizon under Kate's protection. The silver light of the rapier in her hand dissipated into starlight.

"So, you planned all of this all along, didn't you?"

In the distance, Ophelia nodded slightly.

“That’s right, this matter has been kept from both Father and you, my sister…”

"If your sister knew, she would never allow him to risk his life alone, would she?"

"After all, as long as you are alive, you must never allow your companions to die; this is the creed of a forest ranger."

As she answered, she gazed at the horizon of the dusky sky, at the slender figure that was now almost imperceptible, disappearing into the distance along with the airship.

As an accomplice, Ophelia knew that it was an airship piloted by Ingrid and had been waiting nearby for a long time.

From beginning to end, every aspect and every step of this hunt for the gravedigger was part of Rust's plan—

Having worn countless personas, he is both the best actor and the best director.

Since he had arranged the opening of the performance, he had naturally planned his own closing act as well.

"And this is what he entrusted to me—"

"This letter will be given to you, sister, after everything is over and the dust has settled."

"Because, according to Brother Last... given his current state of being, riddled with wounds and broken like ruins, he probably won't be able to speak to you in person for a long time, and can only convey his message in this way."

Ophelia took out a clean white letter.

The letter unfurled in the gale, then was tightly clutched in Hiltina's hand.

The black lettering stood out vividly in the twilight.

Hiltina knew without a doubt that these were the words written by Rust.

I'm sorry, Hiltina, for choosing to leave without saying goodbye in this way.

First, please allow me to apologize to you and your father... After all, in the eyes of outsiders, this should be considered an elopement, which might have a significant impact on the prestige of the royal family.

However, this is something I have to do.

I can't hide behind girls and use nepotism to gain safety... Since that quasi-angel of the gravedigger came because of me, I have to face him myself.

[Furthermore, Hiltina, perhaps everyone thinks your persistence is naive, foolish, and simply pure stubbornness and shortsightedness. But in reality, in my eyes, your ideal called "Forest Ranger" is glorious and dazzling.]

I do not wish for your pure radiance to be tarnished because of me… Between the paths of becoming a “Forest Ranger” and drawing the holy sword to become a king, there may be a way to have the best of both worlds.

I don't want this wedding between us to be a hasty affair, forced by external pressure and completely disregarding your own wishes...