506. The Plan

“They… they did it!”

Daniel’s eyes grew wide as he stared up into the sky. The [Hellabomination]’s corpse fell from the sky for a moment. But not for long as its body turned to flakes of dust. Clayton’s Grand Skill had struck it, boring a hole straight through its chest. And from there, the wild Primeval Demon’s body was entirely disintegrated.

Nothing of it remained. Not even ash. The [Hero] stared on, standing still even amidst the clash of battle. There was a moment where the fighting seemed to stop. The world froze around him. He wasn’t the only one gaping at the sight of the falling [Hellabomination].

Heads turned. Eyes shot up. The United Coalition of the Human Lands watched as Clayton Skyshredder, Ze-jai, and Salvos overwhelmed the [Hellabomination], defeating it in battle. The second Primeval Demon had finally fallen, and they cheered.

A clamor of triumphant shouts roared out as Daniel felt his lips curling up. He looked on as Salvos descended victoriously with the highest-leveled [Mage] and highest-leveled [Druid] in the Human lands. She waved down below as the greatest armies of Humankind rallied beneath her. And a terrible screech drew the young man’s attention.

He spun around just in time to see a crimson glow. The [Archarachnes] were locked in combat. One of them— the one that was still being controlled by the Demons— had the other pinned to the ground. The wild [Archarachne] head was pressed into the earth as it clicked its mandibles, a red aura coalescing around its mouth.

All at once, the wild [Archarachne] unleashed the beam of crimson energy out. But the other [Archarachne] diverted its attacks towards the Human army. Daniel’s eyes grew wide as he saw the blast streaking his way. It ripped across thousands of soldiers and adventurers, shearing through magical barriers like they were nothing.

Daniel wasn’t even sure if he could stop its attack with a [Hero]’s Skill. He backed away, pursing his lips. But if the attack was allowed to continue, it would kill thousands more. So he stepped forward. The [Hero] faced down the wild [Archarachne]’s Skill, raising the Sword of Alexander.

He couldn’t back down. Not in the face of this Primeval Demon. He raised his sword as the crimson beam tore his way—

And a figure leapt before him.

A man dressed in a knight’s armor brought a large shield down as he threw himself before the crimson beam. It was a large tower shield. One that was even larger than a person. It absorbed the attack as the man raised a spear towards Daniel.

“What are you doing? Kacey said you were a fool, but this is outright suicidal!”

Blinking, Daniel saw the man standing before him. He was Thraust Steelwall. A Level 158 [Crusader].

His tower shield glinted as a blue barrier overcame it. Thrust stood there like an immovable rock as the crimson beam was absorbed into the barrier. And finally, the attack faded away. The wild [Archarachne] pushed the other [Archarachne] off it and leapt to the side.

Daniel just stared at as Thraust lowered his shield, shaking his head.

“That was a foolish maneuver. If you had gotten yourself killed, you would have done more damage to the army than letting a few thousand die. Do you not understand that morale is just as important to victory as numbers?”

“That’s…”

The young man from Earth gritted his teeth. He looked on as the Elite [Crusader] raised his spear. Thraust thrust his spear forward, and it was overcome by a crimson glow. The spear shot out like a ballista bolt and struck the wild [Archarachne]’s side.

It hissed as its carapace exploded, spilling out black blood. It turned its attention towards the [Crusader] as Daniel watched Thraust charged forward. The [Hero] stood there as the Elite [Crusader] rallied the nearby soldiers and adventurers, glancing back at Daniel once.

“I suggest you take a backseat, [Hero]. Lest you will get yourself and many more killed.”

Daniel didn’t reply. He just looked on as Thraust led the charge. And the wild [Archarachne] loomed over them. It raised its mandibles as the world around the Elite [Crusader] and the soldiers rippled.

“Shit—”

The young man’s eyes grew wide as he watched a crimson dome encapsulate them. He tried to move, but he was too slow. The wild [Archarachne] had trapped Thraust and thousands of others in its Grand Skill.

And there was no way for Daniel to break them out.

Scarlet’s eyes flickered as she saw the crimson dome fall over the other side of the front lines. There were thousands that had been caught in the wild [Archarachne]’s Grand Skill. A domain that only could be pierced by an equal or superior Grand Skill.

The Red Rose stared in shock for a moment, but no one else around her stopped to look. Thousands of adventurers streamed around her, charging straight ahead, following in Mori’s footsteps.

The Champion of the Human Lands didn’t falter. He pressed on, spearheading an assault that dug deep into the army of Demons. They ignored the wild Demons completely, instead making their way towards the site of the grand ritual.

Scarlet narrowed her eyes as she stared into Mori’s back. He was a faker. She knew he wasn’t the real Champion of the Human Lands. But still, she felt the need to ask for his aid. After all, he was the only one who could break a Grand Skill— he was the only one here who had the power to shatter that dome.

So she ran up to him, and grabbed him by the arm.

“Mori! You have to help them!”

She exclaimed, but he just eyed her with a frown. Mori looked past her, towards where the crimson dome was located. He shook his head and shrugged her off.

“Headmaster Skyshredder will deal with it. Our main goal should be to put a halt to the grand ritual. That is why we are here. There is no point in this battle if we fail to stop the merger.”

“But that’s—”

Scarlet opened her mouth, only for a horrible shriek to interrupt her. She glanced up to see the other [Archarachne]— the one still in control by the Demons— landing near the Remembered Order Company. It unleashed a crimson beam down to the adventurers and swiped one of its scythe-like legs down into a mass of soldiers.

Mori raised his spear, and there was a flash of light. The crimson beam redirected through the air, almost like it was being sucked into his weapon. A volley of arrows struck the Primeval Demon from the side before it could continue ripping into the army of adventurers.

Tyrian the Brightsbane Archer led a group of Diamonds and assailed the [Archarachne] as Mori shook his head.

“This is our main priority, Scarlet. We need to stop the grand ritual before it is too late.”

Scarlet tried to protest, but he was off in an instant. Mori Gladius continued on, ignoring any Demons that weren’t in his path, heading straight for the ruined city of Inor. The Red Rose bit her lower lip as she stood there, indecision gripping her every movement.

She wasn’t sure whether to give chas to Mori or to aid Tyrian or to aid the soldiers trapped by the crimson dome. And before she could make a decision, she heard a scream.

Her gaze snapped to the side as she saw Tyrian floating in the air, caught by what seemed to be strings. An Archdemon hovered over him, cackling as he struggled to break free from the bindings. But there was a flicker. A scything limb sliced through the air, striking the Brightsbane Archer across his chest.

He yelped in pain as Scarlet’s eyes grew wide.

“Tyrian!”

The Red Rose was with him in an instant. She leapt through the air, slicing down the Archdemon before it could fly away. She landed next to Tyrian as the [Archarachne] towered over him. Scarlet struck out with her dagger, keeping it back before grabbing his body and leaping behind the front lines.

“S-Scarlet…”

Tyrian gasped as he looked up at her. She fumbled for a Bag of Holding at her side, producing an Elixir of Healing.

“It’s not as potent as a Potion of Regeneration, but you’ll be fine—”

She started, but Tyrian stopped her. He shook his head and smiled weakly.

“S-save it for yourself. I-I cannot…”

The Brightsbane Archer trailed off. And Scarlet blinked. She waited for his response, but none came. Her eyes went round. She grabbed him by the shoulders.

“Tyrian?”

But he was dead. An Elite Ranked adventurer, gone, just like that. Scarlet couldn’t comprehend it for a moment. But then her gaze was drawn towards a man at the front lines, tearing through the Demon army without care for what happened to those behind him.

Mori Gladius. Or, rather, the faker.

She gritted her teeth and raised her daggers. Rage and anger overcame her entire being as her vision was filled with only red.

“This is…”

She started. And paused. A prickling feeling ran down her spine as her hair stood on end. The Red Rose froze. She blinked as an unsettling sensation gurgled in her stomach. Everyone in the battlefield slowed, including the Demons.

They all glanced towards the site of the grand ritual. And the Red Rose frowned.

“What is going on?”

And she got her answer as the crimson pillar vanished. The red sky faded away. ANd the ground shone a dark black.

All across the battlefield, figures slowed. Whether it was Clayton Skyshredder himself or Helena Warshade. Even Salvos was taken aback by the sudden disappearance of the grand ritual. She glanced up, having failed to break through the crimson dome created by the wild [Archarachne]. Levithus simply swept his gaze through the battlefield with a scrying spell, seeing all the shocked Human reactions.

He watched as Tyrian the Brightsbane Archer fell in battle. He looked on as Thraust Steelwall impaled the wild [Archarachne] even while being shredded apart by the crimson threads. Elite Ranked Humans and Primeval Demons fell all the same. Soldiers and adventurers. Wild Demons and Archdemons.

None of it mattered to him. He saw their deaths— he had seen the [Hellabomination] disintegrate. He had looked on as the [Chthonic Agaros] was ripped apart.

He even had watched as Ira died. He had seen the sub-rituals fall, meagerly defended and lost. Hundreds of thousands of Humans had died across the thirteen sub-ritual locations. And an equal amount of wild Demons and Archdemons had fallen too.

But that had all been according to the plan. All the deaths— all the fading mana— it had all dissipated back into the sub-rituals. Because the sub-rituals were not just a summoning site, but a gathering site as well.

Ira was never meant to live or survive. He had known that from the moment he had crossed over to the Mortal Realm. Perhaps the other Dukes and Duchesses didn’t know it, but Ira understood this fact very well.

Every single one of the Demons that had been summoned thus far was merely a sacrifice. And this included Levithus himself.

He smiled as he raised his head, whispering softly.

“The life of a single Level 100 is worth the life of ten thousand Level 10s. And the life of a single Elite is worth more than ten times that.”

Levithus’ eyes flickered as he watched Thraust fall along with the wild [Archarachne]. The crimson dome dissipated, but it didn’t matter. The grand ritual faded away. And the true ritual took its place. The entire battlefield shone as the red glow in the sky vanished.

A dark aura overcame the earth, drawing from the dead Humans and Demons gathered here. It wasn’t just from them either. All across the Inoria Empire and the Elutra Kingdom, the sub-rituals shone with the black luminescent light. And they drew from all the dead throughout the last month of fighting, powering this final ritual circle.

“Even if we had sacrificed ten million lives, it never would have been enough. Not to merge the entirety of the planes, and not to achieve my King’s goal.”

Levithus whispered. It would have been too inefficient to slay all those weak Humans to bring over Regnorex’s domain. Not that that had ever been the intention.

Instead, they had slain ten million Humans, and used them as sacrifices to summon an army of Demons. And using the Demons as fodder, they were able to double the amount of magic harvested from the battle through killing hundreds of thousands of high-leveled Humans as well.

Now, it was the equivalent of sacrificing twenty-million lives. But not to merge the planes. The goal was only ever one thing— to bring the Demon King and his greatest soldiers across to the Mortal Realm.

Levithus grinned wide as he saw the first visage of a black spire breaking through the earth. There was no crimson column. No merger. It was a summoning ritual. And the ground reflected it. It was like a glass window to the Netherworld. To the Demon King’s castle.

And Regnorex stood there at the other side. The towering crimson figure waited with his arms crossed, a line of Primeval Demons kneeling behind him. Only a single figure remained standing. An Archdemon at his right side. The Demon King smiled and spoke through the portal with a warped voice.

“Good work, Levithus.”

Levithus could only bow in response, watching as the Demon King’s castle slowly broke its way into the Mortal Realm.

“Praise be my King. I live to serve.”

And, finally, the true ritual began.