Amber Sword

"Moros, you’re completely insane."

"I’m not the one who’s insane, Mephisto. You think you can ruin all of this? You’re mistaken; you can’t accomplish anything." The robe on Great Priest Moros billowed with the hot wind, and a sinister smile gradually appeared on his cold face. "Don’t compare me to those who fear death. What you and they pursue means nothing to me. Haha, my goal is infinitely noble."

"Moros," the Gray Sword Saint slung the giant sword over his shoulder, his gray eyes burning with even more madness. Golden lava gushed from the ground, but he seemed oblivious—showing a grin with white, chilling teeth, staring at the Great Priest like a beast ready to devour him. "You’re mistaken about one thing."

"I don’t care about your goal at all. I’ve just come to kill you."

"No killer can escape punishment, I’m no exception, and neither are you, including the Emperor of the Cruz Empire."

"Thus," the black-clad, gray-haired man raised the sword in his hand, the tip pointing toward the startled Moros: "Descend into hell."

A gray ripple spread from his sword tip, and in an instant, Lockshebi Palace vanished, Ande Fulei Grand Temple disappeared, leaving only a vast gray-white plain between the two.

The flame beneath them seemed to lose its last binding and surged, a sea of fire rising from under the feet of Moros and Mephisto—

The Ten Ring Magic was finally fully developed at this moment, unleashing its greatest power, as if a flaming golden sword blade pierced out from the earth. This sword blade extended hundreds of feet, thrusting into the sky, and the column of light could be seen miles away in the murky sky.

A golden-red cross shone in mid-air.

The horrifying power burnt away the Gray Sword Saint’s robe, revealing the inner armor beneath. The black armor gradually turned golden-red, gray law threads flickering, each shining brightly, even his eyebrows and hair caught fire, resembling a man aflame.

But Mephisto seemed oblivious, step by step emerging from the flames, the fire burning around him yet feeling cold and without warmth. His eyes reflected the golden-red flames as he approached Moros, like a beast emerging from a hellish lava pool.

The Gray Sword Saint raised the sword, now completely golden-red, transformed into a giant flaming sword.

"No, the flames can’t harm you... It’s that you’re protected by the powers of this world... What place is this...?" Moros shrieked.

"Moros, use your strongest attack spell, along with your Elemental Power. You have a chance to fight; but you chose this wide-range spell, you were too greedy." Mephisto approached him step by step, shaking his head in response.

"Final Plain, Gray-white Wilderness... I see now..." Moros’s eyes suddenly showed understanding. "I see, this is the Fourth Stage—!"

He suddenly screamed as the Gray Sword Saint plunged the sword into his chest. The Great Priest channeling the spell couldn’t move, and the terrifying backlash surged into his body, in an instant, burning away his limbs.

"Ah—!" Moros suddenly laughed sharply. "Haha, you think I’m greedy! You’re wrong, cough cough... Mephisto, why don’t you save them... They’re doomed..."

The Gray Sword Saint looked at him with a sympathetic gaze.

Moros suddenly halted, his face revealing a confused expression: "What does that gaze mean?"

"Moros."

"You’ve underestimated him."

"Him?"

The Gray Sword Saint nodded.

Moros coughed violently, the light in his eyes quickly fading, and in the final moments of life, he seemed to see that massive loop again— All Things Return to the Cycle, Unity of All Things.

The Flame Temple’s eyes widened, almost groaning: "Futile... futile, you all... will never... understand... the essence of the world..."

...

"Brand!"

Brand, having traveled with the Princess and her group from the ruins of the Ande Fulei Grand Temple, heard a familiar voice calling his name; he turned and saw figures amidst the sea of flames, and the knight at the forefront turned to see their group.

Brand smiled: "Breson, we meet again."

The young man on horseback, his cold face slightly smiled too: "Indeed, it’s been a while, unexpected to find ourselves in the same trench this time."

"Erueins should be in the same trench," Brand replied.