Chapter 708 - The Twilight Of The World Is At Hand
"Um, Sixth Master, aren"t you going back to Hestia Academy?" William asked the fairy-like familiar who was sitting on his right shoulder with Elliot.
"Celeste told me that I should accompany you when you go to Hestia Academy," Chloee replied as she licked a chocolate lollipop. "Why? Are you not happy that I"m here?"
"Of course I am happy!"
"Then, why do you have that constipated look on your face? It"s not good to hold it in, you know?"
The smile on William"s face stiffened as he walked towards the flying carriage that would take him back to the Kraetor Empire. In truth, he was very afraid of Chloee because she had the tendency to go ballistic and smash things around her.
If not for Elliot being there to distract her, William would have definitely had a hard time keeping his cool with a little, ticking, time bomb on his shoulder.
James and Vlad would be staying in the Misty Sect for a week before returning to the Tower of Babylon. His Grandpa had already informed him that his uncle, Morgan, was the one in charge of the Floor of Asgard while James was away.
William didn"t have any recollection of this elusive uncle of his. After he was delivered in Lont, he had never had the chance to meet his uncle since he"d opened his eyes in the World of Hestia.
"They say that uncle Morgan is my father"s twin and they looked exactly like each other," William thought. "Since I saw my father when I inherited his profession, I will also be able to recognize Uncle Morgan when I see him."
William then glanced at Zhu and Sha that was walking by his sides. Their purpose for coming to Hestia was to repay his kindness, so they intended to stick with him for the time being. The Half-Elf had no complaints with this arrangement.
In fact, William was very happy because, for him, Zhu and Sha were like his sworn brothers whom he could count on with his life.
Sun Wukong, on the other hand, bid him goodbye because he had to return to the Celestial World. The Monkey King had already broken several rules when he forcefully broke through Hestia and smuggled Zhu and Sha through with him.
In order to not bring more trouble to himself, he decided to return and lie low for a while, so that the Jade Emperor, and the stuck-up law enforcers, wouldn"t make things too difficult for him.
Princess Sidonie, Ian, Chiffon, Kenneth, and Pearl were all standing in front of the flying carriage and waiting for him to arrive.
Charmaine"s sister looked at William with a serious expression on her face. After she lost consciousness during their battle, she had been in bed for three days and was bereft of strength.
Pearl felt that her lethargic state was caused by William. The only evidence she had that the Half-Elf had done something to her when she was out of commission were the two puncture marks on her neck.
"Are you guys ready to go?" William asked.
Everyone nodded. They had already prepared everything for their departure, and all that they were waiting for was Emperor Leonidas" signal to return to the Kraetor Empire.
As William was about to board the flying carriage, he felt something move inside his consciousness.
His expression immediately became serious, as he looked at his lovers with a complicated expression on his face.
"Hold this to me for safe keeping," William said as he pa.s.sed Soleil to Ian. "There is something urgent that I need to attend to. I will all see you in the Kraetor Empire."
William didn"t even wait for Princess Sidonie"s reply before he flew towards the sky. Zhu and Sha flew behind him, while riding a cloud made up of sand. They had noticed the look of concern on William"s face, so they decided to follow him and see what was troubling him.
The Half-Elf didn"t ask them to leave him alone, because he didn"t plan on keeping any secrets from the two of them. When they arrived at a location without any people, William took his two friends inside the Thousand Beast Domain, and headed straight towards the Undying Lands.
—--
The sounds of chains breaking echoed within the hidden sanctuary of Avalon.
Malacai could feel his strength growing by the minute, as he waited for the shackles that bound him to shatter.
He had been trapped inside Avalon for thousands of years, and the seal had finally lost its power.
"Finally. I am free!" Malacai rejoiced after his last shackle was destroyed.
Powerful magical fluctuations surrounded Malacai, and his body started to shrink. In his Dracolich form, he was over twenty meters tall, but now, his height was only a little over two meters.
Nuckelavee, as well as the other five generals of the undead army, stood in antic.i.p.ation. They had stayed inside Avalon for thousands of years in order to wait for this day to arrive.
This was the scene that William saw when he arrived in the Undying Lands. Millions of Undead were kneeling as they showed their obedience to the being that floated over Avalon.
"You"re here, William," Malacai said. "I was about to ask you to come, but it is good that you came here voluntarily. There is something that I need to tell you."
William looked at the Dracolich who had mostly regained his powers. Although he was still not at his peak condition, the power that William felt was no joke. This was a power that transcended a DemiG.o.d and, for a brief moment, the Half-Elf thought that he was looking at a G.o.d.
"What can I do for you, Your Excellency?" William asked.
Malacai and him had already come into an agreement. Even though the Dracolich seemed scary and formidable, he had a feeling that Malacai would abide by the oath he had made to William, several years ago.
"I will take the Undying Lands with me," Malacai replied. His words were firm and would not take no for an answer. "I will be leaving your domain today."
William nodded in understanding. However, he was still curious about one thing, so he decided to ask the question that had been in his mind ever since he had met Malacai.
"Your Excellency, can I ask you a question?"
"Okay. But, I"ll only answer one question."
Zhu and Sha listened at the side and didn"t dare to interject in the conversation. They had already seen many powerful beings, including G.o.ds, but meeting Malacai made them feel weak. They had no doubt in their minds that if the Dracolich decided to end their lives, all that Malacai needed to do was stare at them.
"Avalon is the last Bastion of Humanity, and you have been trapped inside it for thousands of years," William said. "Your Excellency, are you on the side of humanity, or against it?"
Malacai chuckled because this question was indeed laughable. Almost everyone that knew him had long ceased to exist. Some of them had died on the battlefield, while others died of old age. Even so, he still remained because he still had some unfinished business to attend to.
"My allegiance belongs to Hestia," Malacai said. "As long as she needs me, I will remain for her sake."
William frowned because Malacai"s answer was vague. He didn"t state if he was on the side of Humans or not. The Dracolich"s answer hinted that his allegiance belonged to the World in its entirety.
He was not bound by any race, law, and other restrictions built by those who lived in the world.
"It"s fortunate that the two of us are not enemies," William sighed in his heart. "Even if I held the power of the Dungeon Conqueror, I don"t have the confidence to emerge victorious against him."
On that same day, an island that was thousands of meters long, appeared in the sky near the Savadeen Mountains. Those who saw it felt their bodies s.h.i.+ver because of the Unholy Presence that it radiated.
However, this feeling didn"t last long because just as fast as the island appeared, it disappeared just as quickly.
No one knew if what they saw was only an illusion or not. However, one thing was certain. All the guests that still hadn"t departed from the Misty Sect saw it.
They felt the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end when they saw the island.
Among the guests, only one was able to recognize it and a grim expression appeared on his face.
"So, the time has finally come," Vlad muttered. "Malacai is finally free and, with his appearance, this world will face an unprecedented calamity."
Vlad felt his blood turn cold because he knew that no one would be safe from what was about to transpire.
"I need to visit a few of my acquaintances," Vlad thought.. "They have to know that the twilight of this world is at hand."