Weeks passed.
Together, they kept pushing forward—eradicating demons across the continent one after another. It was relentless.
"Heww, this is exhausting." Elias groaned, yanking her dagger from a demon's corpse. "These things are getting stronger by the day."
Joseph wiped sweat from his brow. "Now that I think about it, we still haven't seen any high-tier demons yet, right Von?"
There was no response.
"Von?"
Von blinked, as if snapped out of a trance. "Ah… yeah. Right."
He'd been somewhere else again. Deep in thought. Haunted, maybe.
Lumine gently wrapped her arms around his. "Focus on me, okay?" she said with a soft smile.
That's when it happened.
A thunderous explosion roared from the distant sky.
They all froze.
Up above, two orbs—one radiating golden light, the other a swirling mass of dark energy—were clashing in midair. Each collision sent shockwaves tearing through the clouds, shaking the ground beneath them.
Wendy shielded her eyes. "Wh-what are those!?"
Joseph instinctively pulled her close, shielding her from the force of the shock.
Von stood motionless, eyes wide. In all of his 98 reincarnations, he had never seen anything like this.
"Higher-tier demons!?" Elias shouted, gripping her blades tighter.
Lumine narrowed her eyes. "No."
She stepped forward, her tone sharp.
"But get ready—because they're heading straight for us."
The golden orb was the first to fall.
It crashed into the ground just ahead of them, sending a wave of dust and light into the air. Everything vanished into the haze.
Moments later, the dark orb followed—slamming into the earth with a force that cracked the very ground beneath their feet.
The dust began to clear.
Beams of light split the sky. From above, radiant figures descended—archangels, the divine protectors of Nethoria. Their presence made the air heavy with power. Even the archangel who had once spoken to Von before his reincarnation had come.
Each of them stood firm, weapons drawn. Their eyes filled with grim resolve.
"Well, well," came a voice dripping with disdain. "All the loyal dogs in one place."
The dark orb twisted and morphed, reshaping into a man with three pairs of black wings. His presence swallowed light. "Tell me, Evenglion... are you really this desperate to save your creations?"
"You don't have the right to speak of the Lord," an archangel roared, lifting his blade.
But before his words could echo, his head was severed—gone in an instant.
"I didn't give permission to speak," the dark-winged man said coldly.
Then, the golden orb began to reshape.
A second figure emerged—a radiant man, clearly wounded. Blood stained his robes, seeping from a wound in his chest. He winced, clutching the injury as he stepped forward.
"$@%#@$, this is between you and me. Don't let others get involved," he said firmly. "Archangels—stand down."
"My Lord, we—"
"Silence!"
His voice thundered across the field, silencing the divine host.
The dark-winged man chuckled, his voice low and taunting. "Hey now. Let's save the family drama for later."
He began walking slowly… toward Lumine.
Von stepped in front of her, eyes locked. "Don't move another step. I swear—"
But before he could finish, the dark-winged man vanished from his place—reappearing directly behind Lumine, his hand resting on her shoulder.
Von's breath caught in his throat.
"Interesting…" the man murmured, gazing at Lumine. "You aren't supposed to be with them. You know that, don't you?"
Lumine trembled under his touch.
"Well then, let me fix this."
A dark circle appeared above her head, and in a surge of black mist, energy began pouring into her.
In that moment—just a split second—time stopped. Everyone was frozen. Everyone… except Von.
He felt it. The distortion. The silence between seconds.
His affinity—time—let him see it but he didn't know why the time stopped for a split second.
And Lumine...
"Von… I… I was the…" Lumine's voice cracked as she struggled, the dark energy flooding her.
"Lumine!" Von shouted and charged forward.
A shockwave exploded outward, blasting everyone off their feet.
The dark-winged man grinned.
"Welcome back," he said. "The original antagonist. The Inevitable."
Von staggered to his feet, eyes wide with disbelief.
"No… no..."
The one who understood him.
The one who stayed by his side.
The one he fell in love with—for the first time in 99 lives—
She was the one who had killed him.
Again and again.
"Lu… Lumine?"