"Sir, get out of here." Rafael murmured, collapsed on the ground with a massive sword piercing his chest.
Alexander, witnessing this, stood up, followed by Jay, and both positioned themselves in front of Anton, who was still recovering.
"We'll buy you time, sir," Jay shouted while reloading his weapons. Despite their advanced technology, they were no match for this battle.
Alexander glanced at Anton and asked, "How long will it take you to activate the bomb?"
"I'll take care of it," Anton responded with a slight smile, adding, "May God be with you; our effort will be rewarded with eternal glory."
"Amen…" Jay cried, unwilling to die, but his sense of duty overpowered his fear. Without hesitation, he began fighting the demons emerging from the underworld.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Die, you bastards!"
Anton watched as his loyal followers, recruited along the way, fell at the hands of the demons. Yet they died with smiles, knowing they had fulfilled their duty to the end.
Surely, they would all have a place in eternal glory; Anton was certain of that. "Our sacrifice will be worth it. The world is watching us now, and they will remember."
[Mortality rate: 99%] Mission status: Incomplete Plan in Progress: End of Chaos.
Anton was kneeling on the ground. His right wing was shattered, and he had lost his left leg and arm. Blood was pouring uncontrollably, his healing factor unable to cope with the extensive damage caused by the last attack.
"Akira… Can you hear me? This is the end, do you understand?" Anton gazed at a photograph of his family and smiled. As guardian, he knew what was coming next.
"Do what you have to do. We'll meet again soon."
"That's my wife." Anton grinned as he heard her voice one last time. She understood his duty better than anyone and supported him wholeheartedly.
Roaaaarrr!
The ground trembled as the mouth of hell expanded, causing destruction around it. From the depths of the flames, hundreds of thousands of demons twisted, trying to escape through the portal.
At that moment, Anton poured all his divine points into the bomb inside him.
"Lord, in blood and glory, I surrender to your holy hands, your deadliest warrior, who has fought over a thousand battles. Let my blood cleanse the world of evil so that mankind may write its own destiny, and may my death mark a new beginning filled with glory for others. The warriors who died today should have a beautiful reincarnation, a reward in your holy glory. Let the blood of the righteous be rewarded with heaven, and let the end of my journey serve to fulfill my divine penance."
Anton watched as the god stood up. Smiling faintly in the face of sudden disaster, he murmured, "The whole world listens to me, believers and non-believers, atheists and people like me who believe in a perfect being we don't know. I implore you to kneel before God and raise your hands."
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
"Everyone, follow my words." Anton coughed up blood, looking skyward as he whispered, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit... God, my Lord, I surrender to your holy grace and ask forgiveness for being a poor son."
Anton's words echoed through the heavens, and darkness across the world felt the divine grace descending upon all, creating a barrier in their hearts.
When Anton finished blessing everyone, he pressed the button on his wrist. Everything ended for him as the explosion completely erased his existence and that of the demons escaping from the underworld.
Boom!
The ground cracked across the world. Those who believed in God survived, while those who lacked faith died of natural causes.
This was the bitter end of the Night War.
...
Once again, I died, but this time there was no darkness.
Everything was illuminated...
What did you expect from a story of forgiveness? I'm sorry, but in the end, I was human, someone who, in his final moments, valued life and gave his breath so that others could feel what he felt at that moment—the grace of being alive.
I lived longer than I expected. I regret not being able to hug my son again...
I regret not being stronger to protect my warriors. I ask forgiveness for those I couldn't save, and I deeply feel the pain of those who lost their loved ones.
My dear wife knows I did what had to be done. Someone strong had to do it, and there were no other alternatives. As a guardian angel, one of the last to descend to earth to stop the dark entities before the world perished, I fulfilled my duties before dying.
Don't cry…
Don't feel joy.
You, who are alive, reading my words—if you have someone to hug, do it right now.
There are things we can't control: time, destiny, the future. You don't know when you'll lose that loved one or when you yourself will leave this world. It's time to seize the moment—smile and forgive those who need to be forgiven.
The heart must be clean to let in the light. You are better than anyone else, and you know it.
I'm sorry, but these are my final teachings. Believing in God or not lies in the heart of each person. My advice is to believe in something divine, not man-made but something longed for by oneself, and give it your faith.
"Oh, God, Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of life, who vivifies, unites, and moves as the soul acts in the human body. And in the credible testimony of the Gospel of Life, may human life, beloved and redeemed by God, be regarded as sacred from its beginning to its end. Amen."
...
"Look here; we have the statue of the first Pope of the Association of Light, recognized worldwide for his sacrifice. Many secretly consider him a figure on par with gods of various religions because of his holy sacrifice," a woman in a black suit showed a group of children the statue of a man with his hands behind his back, a cold gaze, and a large cross on his chest.
[Anton ShadowBane 2000-2035]
"Just as God sent His Son, who sacrificed Himself for us to give us a second chance, Anton ShadowBane sacrificed himself to eliminate all evil from the earth."
"So, thanks to him, the countries united into a single association?" a child asked loudly, eager for an answer.
"That's right. Humans have stopped fighting among themselves and now focus on evolution. We give life, not take it, and our only interests are evolution, expression, and the protection of our world."
A girl with pigtails in the crowd smiled faintly. She looked at the massive statue and whispered, "You're amazing, Daddy. You're immortal because no one in the world will forget your name or face. Mommy always says so."
"Miss Zoe, please stick with the group."
Zoe glanced at her classmates, but before running after them, she walked over to her father's statue and placed a few sakura flowers at its base. "Goodbye, Daddy, I have to go with my friends. I'll visit you later to tell you how my day went."
As Zoe ran, Anton ShadowBane's statue shimmered imperceptibly to humans. But Zoe, while running, stopped in her tracks. She felt a large hand gently stroke her head, and when she looked up, she saw the faint, indistinct face of a man.
"Daddy?"
"You've grown so much. Do you want me to join you?" The man's voice was deep, but to Zoe, it was like a melody.
"Yes, Daddy, let's go, hurry. They're talking about you; look at that place."
"Don't run too fast. You haven't yet inherited all your father's qualities," said the man, briefly revealing his face. It was none other than Anton, visiting to accompany his daughter.
A visit, perhaps...
Unexpectedly, he hadn't fully died—he was slowly becoming what many consider a deity.