Chapter 70: I Will Find My Lady, No Matter What
SWOOOOOSH!
The stellar beams unleashed by Roger were no mere projectiles of ordinary energy; they were a wild, aggressive electromagnetic torrent of cosmic power, its very shape defying logic. The torrent began to ricochet through the air like luminous serpents, darting left and right, frantically tearing through the shroud of clouds and vaporizing what remained of the Algerian planet’s atmospheric moisture suspended in the air.
"Activate: Gray Temporal Wall!"
Linda, the ancient witch, screeched hysterically, pumping every ounce of her mana in a desperate bid to freeze the oncoming projectiles in their tracks. She actually succeeded in slowing down a single beam for two seconds, but the other ricocheting current facing Holmes abandoned him in a sudden maneuver, whipping around from the flank like a stray bullet to blindside her from where she least expected.
SHLAAAAACK!
"Screaming the name of your skill won’t make it any stronger, you fool!"
The stellar beam pierced Linda’s chest with fatal precision, exiting through the other side while her expression froze for mere seconds. Not a single drop of blood spilled from her body; instead, her heart and magic core were charred to ash in a fraction of a second by the cosmic heat. She plummeted from the heavens like a lump of burning coal, shattering into fragments that scattered in the wind before ever touching the ground.
"Linda! Damn it!" Admiral Holmes roared, watching his comrade wiped from existence in the blink of an eye. He tried to raise his jagged scythe to form a pressurized water shield, but Roger had already materialized before him like a phantom of annihilation. Roger’s face—mutated with black cosmic flesh and glittering with starlight—was terrifyingly close, completely obstructing his vision.
With a bare fist, and at speeds several times the speed of sound, Roger struck Holmes’ legendary scythe.
CRAAAAAAAAACK!
The scythe, forged from the rarest of magical materials, shattered into thousands of scattering metallic shards. Roger’s fist didn’t stop; it drove onward, tearing through Holmes’ armor to imbed itself dead center in his chest. With chilling detachment, Roger detonated the energy of a collapsing star directly inside the Admiral’s body. Blinding lines of sweeping silver light erupted from Holmes’ eyes and mouth before his entire body exploded, turning into flying debris and blood that vaporized instantly into the atmosphere!
In that critical moment preceding Holmes’ demise, Sylvia, the Valkyrie Commander, had already managed to send a distress signal through the organization’s amulet, which she crushed with her own hand to guarantee activation.
However, the stellar energy beam was fatally close to her, leaving no room for escape... when suddenly, a blue dimensional portal ripped open out of nowhere, swallowing the destructive beam into its depths.
Then... the sky above the capital split open in a terrifying manner, leaving even the wisest bewildered. It was no ordinary magic portal; it was a colossal black rift that nearly swallowed the city’s atmosphere, resembling a giant fracture in the wall of the universe.
From the heart of the rift, a single figure descended... yet his sheer majesty made the earth tremble violently beneath his feet. He was one of the "High Stars" of the Transmigrators’ Organization, known as the "Celestial King, Cyrillus"—a man possessing legendary power of the Royal Level.
"Roger... I know not what your goal is in doing this... but you have overstepped your bounds, and the time for your annihilation has come!" Cyrillus spoke in a calm voice, yet it was enough to instill pure dread into the hearts of those present.
With a slight wave of Cyrillus’s hand, hundreds of massive golden swords materialized behind him, radiating a destructive divine energy. They shot forward all at once like an overwhelming torrent to crush Roger and destroy everything surrounding him within a one-kilometer radius!
Roger, whose magic core was burning out and drawing its final breaths, did not retreat a single inch. His completely stark-white eyes flared with a terrifying, suicidal brilliance. He resolved to pump all that remained of his essence and soul into one final strike to clear this threat from his master’s path.
[Forbidden Star Magic: Absolute Galactic Devastation]!
The cosmic aura exploded from Roger’s body with indescribable might. The space surrounding Cyrillus’s golden swords warped into microscopic black holes, completely swallowing the divine assault. The cosmic explosion then expanded to strike Cyrillus himself, along with the terrified Sylvia, who stood frozen in place.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A legendary explosion illuminated the capital’s night as if it were high noon for a brief instant, causing a sonic shockwave that shook the foundations—yet it seemed as though the capital itself remained unharmed. Sylvia was completely vaporized, leaving no trace behind, while the Celestial King Cyrillus retreated back into his portal, bleeding profusely having lost the entire left half of his body. He closed the portal behind him in utter terror and panic after witnessing the sheer madness of this suicidal minister.
The smoke dissipated... and a dreadful silence descended upon the ruins. The sky was entirely cleared of enemies, but the price paid was staggering.
Roger, his human body mangled and dripping crimson blood from every angle, began to drift slowly toward the earth like a broken-winged bird. His magic core was completely extinguished, his legendary power vanished, and his body screamed in excruciating pain and fatal exhaustion; he had survived this certain death by sheer luck and miracle.
He had been foolish... anger had completely driven him to destroy so much around him, pushing his absolute limits to reach that level of destruction. He didn’t know how Duke "Cain" hadn’t noticed this sweeping devastation... True, the capital of the Starry Empire was larger than the entire Holy Kingdom, but the explosion had been monumental.
But right now, he cared for nothing... He only wanted to search for his lady... Everything around him had collapsed.
Would he collapse too? Wasn’t he betraying her by doing this? He had burned most of his magic core and unleashed forbidden magic, having no idea where the concept had even come from, nor how he had become this powerful and daring when, in reality, he was a cowardly fool.
He felt as though things were not as simple as they appeared. In that critical moment... he noticed something strange: a hidden concealing barrier had been masterfully erected around the battlefield, which was precisely what had prevented the destruction and absorbed the noise from reaching the capital!
He was profoundly astonished... Who could deploy such a legendary barrier capable of isolating this epic battle without him ever noticing?
But he wouldn’t think about that now... Even if he felt a fatal fatigue, even if he had burned his magic core... he would find his lady no matter what... no matter what... even if he had to search the entire capital, inch by inch.