A dark haze enveloped the vicinity around the corpse as the darkness thickened with malevolent mist. The Aclarian kingdom was being shrouded with the mantle growing even thicker as it continuously and progressively bordered the skies.
Siegren ran to the large chains, his greatsword rigidly held by his right hand as his grey eyes fixated on the purple light shining amid the black mist of sheer malevolent energy.
"Finally," he said, reaching to the purple light.
But then, a deafening scream echoed in the entirety of the nation. The chains rattled, making him almost lose his balance.
The dark haze slowly cleared as a more purple hue encompassed the vicinity.
Up close, he met the corpse's hollow eyes gleaming with a mauve glow.
The corpse's mouth gaped open, as it let out another raucous scream.
Siegren held his greatsword firmly, seizing the corpse's neck as he positions his sword to strike.
But then…
The corpse's free hand then set its arm on Siegren's side, amassing the befouled mana in the air. Siegren glanced sidewards, seeing thunderous mana being invoked from the dark mana that was accumulating in the corpse's bony and rotten palm.
It all happened quickly.
The unstable power generated an attack ushered closely to Siegren.
Too late to use the soulless to block the spell, Siegren was thrown into the air by the force.
"Ngh!"
His back slammed into an edifice, initiating a crack that flared in the building as a portion of it broke from the impact.
Siegren rose, his grip on the soulless tight.
As he solidified his stance, he began to dash forward.
The Aclarian kingdom was now beset by hellfire, black smoke, and purple mist.
However, amid the darkness, a platform made of divine power manifested.
Though he couldn't find her due to the thick mist, Siegren knew that Lumi was helping him get back to the saintess.
He then advanced to the bridge created by the priestess, tightening the grip on his greatsword as he once more leaped to the thick and large chains that extended to the skies.
**
As the numen of the fallen god began to wring into the corpse, destorting its insides as it gave immense power to its decaying body.
"The chains in the sky act as the seal of the saintess," said the Archmage of Estela as she peers to the distant sky. "But one of the chains already broke. The numen of the fallen god is already making the corpse go rampant from madness."
"Archmage, isn't that… bad news?" Said one of the Supreme mages. "If the last chain holding the corpse broke, then there will be no seal left to both the Depths and the corrupted saintess. It won't be the north's problem alone!"
"Hmm, but I don't think I need to interfere," the archmage exclaimed as she stares at the scene from her magical orb located in her celestial tower.
In that projection, a mysterious man is seen battling the saintess with his greatsword capable of nullifying the power that the saintess has.
"The archmage of Aclaria has been trying to contact us… shouldn't we at least heed to their call?"
"Why should we?" The archmage said, arching her brow as she crossed her arms against her chest.
"This is the problem they created. Besides…"
A smile curved on the red lips of the Estelan Archmage as her eyes narrowed, watching the fight occurring in the orb.
"I don't think we need to interfere anymore."
**
The soulless created loud clangors as the blade's surface continuously precluded the unstable, erratic power conjured by the corpse.
Each attack was steadily growing stronger as the numen continued to extend across the saintess' rotten corpse.
Siegren huffed as he held the grip of his claymore with two of his hands. He then advanced to the saintess, then resumed to give lightning strikes.
However; similar to before, the corrupted saint was only able to parry his attacks using the power of the numen.
Before Siegren could even think of striking once more, the last chain holding the saintess rattled. Another upheaval occurred down below, shaking Aclaria as the corpse screeched like a banshee.
Then, a flash of purple light gleamed.
C R A C K
Siegren's eyes squinted from the sudden illumination; as the last chain clanged, he backed away, landing on one of the rooves of the towers in Aclaria.
The light then gradually diffused, and silence prevailed.
Nonetheless, the silence wasn't a sign of the battle being over.
Rather, it was a sign of imminent doom.
With the chains dangling without a corpse in its grasp—the seal that made the corrupted saint entrapped to a single area has been destroyed.
Siegren lifted his gaze—and there, he saw it.
No.
He saw her.
The blackened corpse's rotten skin fractured, then snapped to expand into the entirety of its body. Bright, mauve light then erupted, stripping away the rot of the corpse; slowly, the befouled saintess transitioned from a corpse to her unblemished appearance.
Siegren watched as the corpse entered a metamorphosis.
Floating on top of the sky with a hollow aperture opening behind her was the saintess whose hair now grew thicker; its grime now gone. Her dress then changed into a black version of her once beautiful robe.
As she slowly opened her eyes, Siegren saw that there were no pupils but only a glowing purple gap, signifying that it was only malevolent power that was in control of the body.
The entire northern realm watched as they saw the saintess in flesh, but instead of holiness and benevolence felt—they felt fear. The saintess then clasped her hands, as if to pray.
"Oh, goddess…" The saintess then peered at the sky.
"May the seal be undone."
The aperture behind the saintess then extended to the entirety of the northern realm, encompassing the three countries.
Monsters began descending as the Depths completely came unsealed.
The saintess' sweet smile grew broader and irregularly wider until she was no longer looking human.
"The power of the fallen god…" Siegren felt his body pulsate as his gaze locked with that of the saintess who slowly extended her hand to him.
Then, her lips moved, talking to him from the far distance.
With hand extended, her smile grew wider as she spoke one word.
"Come."