After that, Winnie smiled softly, turned around again, and took step after step toward the front.

  A faint light appeared ahead of her.

  Familiar figures emerged within the light, as if waiting for her. When Winnie caught up, they walked forward together.

  The light gradually expanded, dispelling all darkness.

  Hulim finally saw clearly.

  The source of the light was the person she knew best.

  Fairy Queen Semiris.

  With her back to everyone, she slowly advanced toward the unknown.

  Just as the Seven Sages were about to catch up to her, the light completely flooded the world......

  The acceleration of memories stopped.

  Hulim arrived at the final memory node.

  But this time, she was no longer Winnie, nor anyone else—she was truly just an observer.

  ......

  The earth withered, and the sky was covered by ominous black clouds.

  A colossal magic circle centered on the World Tree covered the land, its dark red glow dyeing the world in the colors of purgatory.

  At the center of the circle, the trunk of the World Tree was wrapped in countless black vine-like veins. Fairy Queen Semiris was also sealed to the trunk by a magic circle.

  As if stripped of all her power, she hung her head weakly. Her six luminous wings behind her had lost their former radiance, dull and lifeless......

  Crack.

  A dead branch fell from the World Tree, plummeting toward the earth below.

  Many such dead branches already lay scattered on the ground beneath the tree.

  Himmler’s lifeblood—the World Tree—was withering......

  Boom! Boom......

  Violent battle auras echoed across the land.

  Attacks powerful enough to destroy a city with a single strike were continuously unleashed by seven figures.

  Surrounding these seven figures,

  an endless tide of Calamity Beasts surged toward them madly, like an unending flood.

  Among them were even beings exuding the powerful aura of Rank S.

  They showed no fear of death, only charging forward under orders.

  "Merkphis——!!!"

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  Amidst the beast tide, Sylph roared.

  Meanwhile, beneath the World Tree, a single figure stood.

  He slowly turned around, looking at the seven people fighting desperately on the battlefield.

  He smiled and said:

  "Why so angry?"

  Sylph ground her teeth in fury.

  "Merkphis, you bastard——!!!"

  "Ha...... Hahaha~!"

  Merkphis laughed, holding his forehead.

  "I suppose I can’t blame you for being angry, considering what I’ve done~. But——"

  Merkphis’s gaze peeked through his fingers.

  "You’re so foolish~!"

  "Look around you~!"

  He spread his hands.

  "See? Facing a situation like this, you still dared to rush in—truly,"

  "admirable courage!"

  "Fitting of our heroes, the Seven Sages~!"

  "Merkphis, why are you doing this? Weren’t we partners......"

  Aurora said, her voice filled with sorrow.

  "Partners?"

  "Hmph!"

  Merkphis snorted coldly, his tone icy.

  "A meaningless title!"

  Whoosh——!!!

  At that moment,

  countless high-speed water columns curved in zigzag trajectories through the air, bypassing the beast tide and slamming toward Merkphis.

  Boom!

  Just as the attack was about to hit him,

  a shield suddenly rose in front of Merkphis, blocking all the strikes.

  "Water Sage Winnie, please cease these futile attacks."

  Merkphis looked coldly at Winnie.

  "Surely you haven’t forgotten that I, Merkphis, am also a Sixth-Rank Mage?"

  A massive wave of magic aura emanated from Merkphis.

  "Of course I haven’t forgotten that......"

  Winnie raised her hands. Countless water orbs appeared around her in the air.

  "But I will never allow anyone to harm Semiris! Merkphis——"

  "Release Semiris at once!"

  Whoosh——!!!

  The sky full of water orbs transformed into rays of light again, flying toward Merkphis. Along the way, they pierced through the bodies of countless Calamity Beasts.

  "Truly——"

  Merkphis shook his head and raised his right hand.

  Hum~!

  A shield even larger than before expanded.

  "——a futile attempt!"

  All of Winnie’s attacks landed on the shield, failing to harm Merkphis.

  Boom! Boom! Boom......

  But Winnie showed no sign of stopping her assault.

  "How persistent. But it’s impossible. Fairy Queen Semiris is the core of my plan—I can’t return her to you~!"

  "Merkphis, you bastard——!"

  Sylph cursed. She raised her right hand to the sky, summoning countless Storm Lances.

  "What exactly are you trying to do! Are you the true culprit behind all these Calamity Beasts?! Have you been deceiving us this entire time?!!!"

  Sylph swung her right hand downward violently. The sky full of wind lances rained down on Merkphis.

  "Roar——!"

  But a Rank S Calamity Beast exuding an ominous black aura stood in the way, blocking all of Sylph’s attacks.

  At the same time, the Calamity Beasts on the other side intensified their assault on Winnie, preventing her from attacking Merkphis again.

  "I suppose I should tell you,"

  Merkphis said slowly.

  "You must be curious why I’m doing this, aren’t you?"

  "......"

  "After all, we have plenty of time—there’s no harm in telling you......"

  "Everything I’ve done is to gain eternal life!"

  "Eternal life...... for such a trivial reason?" Galamand’s face filled with rage. A huge magic circle unfolded behind him. "You bastard!!! Did you do all this for that?!!!"

  Boom——!

  A massive crimson light beam blasted toward Merkphis.

  "Roar——!!!"

  But it was blocked by the breath of a Rank S Calamity Beast.

  "Trivial?"

  Merkphis looked at Galamand as if he couldn’t understand, his eyes filled with disappointment.

  "Galamand, I thought you were the only one among them who could understand me......"

  "Look at your companions——! Look at them! They are all divine beings born of heaven and earth! Born powerful! With eternal lifespans——!"

  "And you, as a dragon, have an extremely long life, but compared to theirs, it is ultimately limited!"

  "Have you never thought that one day, you will leave them behind?"

  "So, it’s not too late~!"

  Merkphis smiled and held out his right hand to Galamand.

  "I can forgive your rudeness just now. Come, join me. I will grant you eternal life as well~!"

  "What kind of...... nonsense!!!?"

  Galamand roared.

  "This lord would rather die than collude with a monster like you!!! "

  "So what if my lifespan is limited?! This lord has never cared about life or death! This lord only cares about every day right now!!! And you—you bastard—have hurt my companions and destroyed my present!"

  "This lord will never forgive you——!!! Roar——!!!"

  The crimson light beam swept across the land again, creating a river of lava that split the earth in two. All Calamity Beasts in its path were incinerated by the flames.