Chapter 661

While a fierce battle raged in Diane, another equally intense fight was unfolding beneath the magic department of the Temple University. The only difference was that no one would remember this underground struggle.

It was an undeniably brutal clash.

Yet, Sabioleen Tana was not the one being brutalized.

“...”

Sabioleen Tana stood calmly, watching as the Immortal swordsman who charged at her was impaled by an aura spear and exploded just inches from her face.

She hadn’t moved a step since the battle began. Every Immortal that approached her had been swiftly intercepted.

“This...monster...” Cristina muttered through tightly-clenched teeth, her voice a mix of awe and disbelief.

Sabioleen Tana was undeniably human. She wasn’t an Immortal who had gained strength after being resurrected; she was simply a human, in a human body. Yet, she stood firm, in the same stance as when the battle began, effortlessly countering every attack the Immortals hurled at her.

Remarkably, she hadn’t even unsheathed her sword. Even the elite among the Immortals, those who had attained the rank of Grandmaster, couldn’t compel Sabioleen Tana to draw her weapon. They too were pierced by her aura spears and vanished, indistinguishable from any other Immortal. The only difference lay in whether they disappeared instantly, or only after enduring dozens of strikes.

The battlefield conditions were certainly unfavorable for the Immortals. But still, it was a battle of thousands against one. Even if the confined space prevented all of them from attacking at once, could she truly hold all of them off?

Ellen Artorius wielded the power of two holy relics. But Sabioleen Tana was holding back the Immortals’ relentless assault without any such aid. Wasn’t she considered more astonishing?

Despite being dubbed the continent’s strongest, Sabioleen Tana’s reputation didn’t quite match the grandeur of that title. Her mentor before the Great War had been Larken Simmerstait, the former commander of Shanapell. Just before the outbreak of the Great War, and during the war itself, the hero Ragan Artorius took the spotlight. And now that the Great War was over, Ellen Artorius was the name on everyone’s lips.

There was always someone else in front of her. She was only acknowledged as the continent’s strongest during the brief periods when those figures were absent. During those times, some even claimed her title as the world’s strongest was only temporary, until the next champion emerged.

Public opinion was one thing, but it didn’t tell the whole story. Sabioleen Tana was always mentioned second, yet whether she truly ranked second was anyone’s guess. Strength could not be measured through public opinion. Strength was simply strength. Only those who had witnessed and felt it firsthand could truly understand its power.

Ellen Artorius was undeniably strong, but Sabioleen Tana, who had reached such heights without even a holy relic, was the true Great Being. She had steadily honed her strength over the years, earning her title as the Great Being.

And now, that Great Being stood in their way.

Trying to push past her was like a spear shattering against an unyielding shield. If the fight escalated, the laboratory would be destroyed, and without it, the Immortals couldn’t regenerate. That would only play into their opponent’s hands.

Launching a massive all-out assault to kill Sabioleen Tana would result in the entire laboratory being destroyed. That was what Sabioleen Tana wanted.

‘Wait a minute...’

Something strange occurred to Cristina as her thoughts wandered to this point.

Cristina had predicted that the Allied Forces would self-destruct after the withdrawal of the Immortals unless the Demon King’s army intervened, and Sabioleen Tana would surely have made the same deduction. But if she wanted Cristina to give the order for an all-out assault to break this unbreakable shield, causing the entire laboratory to collapse...

‘No... that’s not it either.’

Cristina realized Sabioleen Tana wouldn’t make such a choice. After all, Cristina had no reason to destroy the entire laboratory just to eliminate Sabioleen Tana.

Sabioleen Tana hadn’t budged since the battle began. Cristina saw it as a display of leisure. It felt like a show of strength, as if Sabioleen could fend off all the Immortals’ attacks without lifting a finger.

But it wasn’t just a display. She truly had no intention of actively attacking the Immortals. While Sabioleen Tana continued to neutralize the Immortals, she left Cristina and those who kept their distance untouched.

Even though all the Immortals in the laboratory were within range of her aura spears, she only attacked those who ventured within about thirty meters of her. It seemed she was focused on defense, gauging the distance, deliberately choosing not to attack the Immortals.

Her plan was straightforward. If she started attacking everything in sight, the Immortals would retaliate with a full-scale assault. She understood that facing all the Immortals alone was impossible. So, she held her ground, only engaging with those who approached her.

There was only a single possible reason for her restraint.

“Is it... to buy time?”

She knew what Cristina’s plan had been when she recalled the Immortals. It was to stop them from being used to hunt down the Demon King and his forces. That was why Sabioleen Tana was not launching an all-out attack. She was maintaining the standoff, keeping the Immortals occupied, and preventing Cristina from making any moves.

Sabioleen Tana hadn’t come to destroy the Immortals. She hadn’t come to kill Cristina. Her mission was simply to keep the Immortals bound to this place, to stop them from returning to Diane.

“Haha... haha... is that... all you could think of...?”

“...”

“You’re no different from me, are you?”

If the Immortals did not return, the Allied Forces would suffer more casualties.

If the Immortals returned, the Demon King would surely perish. Yet, both Sabioleen Tana and the Emperor were willing to sacrifice others to prevent that outcome.

“That’s how it is,” Sabioleen Tana responded quietly to Cristina’s mocking words.

“What?”

Sabioleen Tana gazed at the alchemist who had been driven to madness and despair by the war, her expression full of resolve.

“Killing the people of the Empire while claiming to protect it. Slaying those who merely look different, all in the name of safeguarding others. In the end, all actions taken under the guise of protection and defense amount to nothing but killing and destruction.

“Claiming to protect everyone, yet ultimately failing to protect anyone. Forgetting your original purpose and intent, and continuing to walk down the same path despite knowing it’s no longer the right path, out of regret for the choices that were already made.

“That’s how it is.”

That was the path that Sabioleen Tana had walked. For years, she had served as the Empire’s sword, taking more lives than anyone else. She had slain more humans than demons, and she still did not know whether her actions had truly safeguarded anything. Perhaps she’d had to kill, or perhaps it had never been necessary, and she had simply carried out countless acts of slaughter.

“The Gate Incident, at least, was a straightforward war, albeit a challenging one,” she reflected. “The monsters were undeniably evil. There was no room for dialogue. And so killing them was the only righteous choice.”

In a battle against an unyielding foe, there was no reason to hesitate.

Despite the immense challenge that the Gate Incident provided, it was a conflict where hesitation over slaughter was unnecessary. At this point, though, Sabioleen Tana found herself on a different kind of battlefield—one not defined by monsters, but by people.

Here, the lines between right and wrong blurred. She couldn’t be sure if she were protecting something through her actions, or destroying something. Her purpose was just to follow orders.

“Yes, that’s how it is,” she continued. “In the end, protecting something might mean losing even the illusion that you’re protecting something.”

This was the reality at the end of all orders and commands. In the end, Sabioleen Tana wasn’t standing there to protect the Empire. She merely stood as the last sword of a crumbling Empire.

“Just like you, who, in trying to save a dead friend, ended up leading others to their deaths.”

“...”

Cristina bit her lip and glared at Sabioleen Tana in response.

She had wanted to save a lost friend. But the truth she’d uncovered along the way showed her that her anger was misplaced, and that it was only right to be aimed at everyone.

She had dreamed of revenge. Yet, by withdrawing the Immortals, Cristina had plunged her remaining friends in the Allied Forces into a dire crisis. Because of her actions, countless people would die, and her friends might die too.

Of course, Cristina knew that. Sabioleen Tana had simply voiced what Cristina was already aware of.

“Cristina.”

“...”

“Do you still want to save your dead friend?”

Cristina had once believed there was a way to bring him back to life. After all, the Immortals were only a partial form of resurrection. If she could discover a more complete, more perfect method, she thought she could achieve true resurrection. Had that belief changed?

“I can do it,” Cristina replied.

Cristina hadn’t discovered the right method, but she believed it was possible. There had to be a way. She refused to think it was impossible. Even so, she understood what Sabioleen Tana was saying. It wasn’t about whether she could save them; it was about whether she wanted to.

“But I probably don’t have the right to do that anymore.”

Even if such a means existed, and even if she found it, she felt she no longer had the right to bring Ashir back. The moment she sacrificed not only her friends but countless others in the name of revenge, she had forfeited any reason or right to seek a way to resurrect her lost friend.

Throwing even those who still remained alive into the fire in a desperate attempt to reclaim what was lost felt almost laughable.

It was exactly as Sabioleen Tana had said—the original intent, the initial thought, the things that once triggered the events, eventually became meaningless.

Ashir’s body still lay in a pod somewhere in the laboratory, but at some point, Cristina had stopped visiting it. There were simply too many things to do. She thought she would return once everything was over. But eventually, it slipped from her mind entirely. In the end, the dreams and plans she’d once held dear had slipped away, leaving her without the right or reason to pursue them.

“But did you really think I wouldn’t realize I’d become this kind of person?” said Cristina. Sabioleen Tana’s words merely echoed what she already understood deep down.

Cristina had never been oblivious. She had always known it would come to this—that the hope of resurrecting Ashir would eventually fade from her mind. When she’d chosen the path of revenge, aware that her adversary was the entire world, she had known that everything would unfold in this way.

Cristina commanded the most formidable army the world had ever seen, yet she faced the greatest foes imaginable.

The Empire.

The Demon King.

The Hero.

In some ways, they were even more dangerous and powerful adversaries than the Gate Incident itself.

Seeking revenge against the entire world was no simple task. Extreme measures were required, and the enemy was responding in kind.

Once the Gate Incident was brought to an end, the Empire would vanish, and the Demon King would take control of the world. That was the conspiracy the world was orchestrating. Those who had attempted to bury the truth of the Gate Incident with lies and deceit were now trying to shroud the world in falsehoods once more.

There was no need for complexity. Cristina was determined to eliminate everyone who had woven this web of lies and deceit. But not for someone else. Doing it for someone else, for a friend, had lost its meaning. In the end, it came down to the smallest unit.

She was doing it for herself.

She sought revenge, and wished for destruction upon everyone.

“You want to buy time.”

The space was cramped, making it hard to attack, so Sabioleen Tana could hold her ground.

Eventually, she would tire and fall, but her role was to stop the Immortals from returning to the battlefield.

However, Sabioleen Tana’s actions had a critical flaw.

“But what if I do this...?”

At Cristina’s signal, the Immortals surrounding Sabioleen Tana began to withdraw, one by one, opening up a path.

“...”

Sabioleen Tana faced this new development with a grim expression. She sharpened the aura spears around her, ready to react to any sudden change.

But the Immortals neither charged nor attacked.

Flash!

Instead, they vanished, one by one. In a series of flashes, the Immortal forces retreated rather than advancing.

Sabioleen Tana looked around with a stern expression as Cristina began to laugh. In a flash, all the Immortals vanished, likely returning to the battlefield. There, they would hunt the monsters, and if the Demon King’s forces appeared, they would hunt them too. Sabioleen could only stand there, powerless to stop their swift movements.

“Why should I face you?” Cristina wondered aloud.

With the Immortal forces gone, the laboratory was once again a desolate place. If Sabioleen chose to charge at her, Cristina would be defenseless. Yet, there seemed to be no need for anyone to protect Cristina in the first place.

“See, even without the Immortals, you can’t kill me, can you?”

If Cristina were to die, the Immortals would go into a frenzy. They wouldn’t just target the Demon King and his monsters; they’d turn on the Allied Forces as well.

Sabioleen Tana knew she couldn’t kill Cristina, even if she had no one around to protect her. She was there in the laboratory to buy time, but in truth, there was no need for it. Whether she confronted Sabioleen Tana or not, Cristina was untouchable.

Even so, Cristina couldn’t shake the feeling of unease as she watched Sabioleen Tana. There was no panic or surprise in her expression. Calmly, Sabioleen Tana began to walk toward her.

Cristina found herself alone, with no one to protect her.

Step by step, slowly but surely, Sabioleen Tana drew closer, and Cristina’s eyes widened in fear.

Sabioleen moved silently, not uttering a single word.

“Surely, surely...” Cristina muttered, her voice trembling as she awkwardly retreated.

She could not decipher any intention from Sabioleen Tana’s expression.

“You know what happens if you kill me, right?” Cristina said, her voice wavering, unable to mask her terror.

She had been certain of her opponent’s intentions, and therefore knew what choices they would make. She believed they wouldn’t kill her because their goal was to protect people. But as Tana continued to approach her with a determined look, countless possibilities raced through Cristina’s mind.

People had gone mad before. Who was to say Sabioleen Tana couldn’t do the same? Driven by exhaustion, hatred, and malice, Tana might just try to snap Cristina’s neck.

Cristina slowly backed away, and finally collapsed on the spot.

She didn’t know how to fight. She had no training as a battlemage, and she had already sent all the Immortals away. She had never even been slapped before. Yet there she was, speaking her mind in front of a figure as imposing as a Grandmaster.

“D-don’t come any closer...”

Cristina, who had never experienced even the slightest hint of violence, was terrified. Her voice trembled.

Sabioleen Tana, who had closed the distance, looked down at her with eyes not of ridicule or contempt, but of deep sadness.

“How could... how could someone like you... a kid like you... be forced into this...” Tana said.

“...”

Cristina, who had spoken so confidently from a distance, now sat frozen in fear, confronted by a presence that could easily end her life. After confidently declaring that they couldn’t kill her, she began to tremble at the thought of possibly dying. In the face of death, she seemed so small and pitiful.

This same girl had once dreamed of a grand act of revenge.

Sabioleen Tana couldn’t help but feel a deep sadness for Cristina, who looked up at her with fear in her eyes.

She wasn’t some villain of the century, nor an immortal being. She was just someone with a bit of intelligence. An alchemist.

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Suppressing her sadness, Sabioleen Tana reached for Cristina’s collar. But before she could grasp it, Cristina reached into her pocket.

“I told you not to come!” Cristina shouted, her voice tinged with urgency. In her hand, she clutched a teleportation scroll she had pulled from her pocket.

With a sudden flash, Cristina, along with Anna and Louis Ankton, vanished.

Cristina might have seemed small and insignificant, but her life was anything but. She understood better than anyone the consequences of her death. Though she often acted as if she was ready to face it, when the moment was finally upon her, she had chosen to escape.

Tana stood there quietly, surveying the now-empty laboratory. Cristina had fled, leaving her alone. Yet she couldn’t help but feel a spark of curiosity.

Had Cristina run because she was afraid of dying, or was it the fear of what might follow her death that had driven her away? Was it the terror of what might happen if Sabioleen Tana lost control and ended her life? Or was it simply the fear of death itself?

Whatever the reason, it was all in the past.

Tana had never considered that at all. Her aim had never been to kill Cristina. In fact, her true purpose had been to protect her. But Cristina had misunderstood, and fled on her own.

A blue veil materialized around Sabioleen Tana’s body. She reached into her pocket and pulled something out.

With determination blazing in her eyes, Sabioleen Tana activated the signal-type artifact.

She hadn’t been trying to stall for time; she had anticipated this moment. She knew that pretending to delay would prompt Cristina to send the Immortals back to the battlefield.

She had not acted to protect the Demon King. The clash between the Immortals and the Demon King was their battle to fight. Sabioleen’s mission was to ensure the Immortals returned to the fray.

Once she confirmed their return, she would execute her true plan: to destroy the entire laboratory responsible for regenerating the Immortals.

That was Sabioleen Tana’s true purpose.

Click.

Sabioleen Tana pressed the button, and an explosion followed.