"Is it time yet?"
A putrid wind brought with it a foul stench. The demon army, which was synonymous with destruction, had already spread out in full force. Their overwhelming military presence gave us endless pressure. Here, demons from many dimensions were gathered together. Here, even a small soldier had surpassed the definition of a so-called brave and strong individual by any mortal's definition.
Meanwhile, their opponents were the endless, silent night. There was no need for any adjectives to describe the warriors of the night as brave and loyal. I knew that no matter where or when it was, wherever my sword pointed, that would be the target of their charge.
Who would their opponents be? How strong would they be? What were our chances of victory? They never asked. When the horn to charge sounded, the silent sound of horse hooves would be the Knight's choice.
As for me, in order to respond to their loyalty and expectations, I would do everything in my power to lead them to victory.
"It's time!"
The silver book on my arm opened up, and countless secrets transformed into actual mysterious runes that flew in the sky. Pure Order received a new interpretation, and the light of my God Equipment illuminated the entire world.
"Original Codex! Give judgment to the sinners before you! Forbidden spell: Great Judgment! "
There wasn't even a need for judgment. Every demon and magical creature from another dimension was an uncountable number of villains. Dimensional invasion and destruction were judged, and the illusory silver light transformed into actual restraints on their bodies. However, for these top-level dimensional destroyers, such large-scale restraints were rather weak. The restraints only lasted for a few seconds before they were able to break free.
However, I had already achieved my goal. Within the range of the forbidden spell: Great Judgment, as a Law job class member, my power level was forcefully increased by one rank, from Legend to Saint rank.
For ordinary powerful individuals, the increase from Legend to Saint rank wouldn't be that great. However, for me and my army, whether or not I could reach Saint rank was a completely different concept.
I closed my eyes, and the familiar icy plains appeared in front of me again. When I opened my eyes again, the entire world had changed. The burning ruined city was right in front of me, a place that I could see but could never reach. Even if the enemies were even stronger than before, our warriors still didn't stop fighting.
War drums resounded, and battle flags fluttered in the wind. The Knight who was bathed in fresh blood still hadn't given up hope.
The icy plains extended outwards, and snow began to fall from the sky. The scene from that day reappeared.
"The Infallible Diffindor …"
The charging Skeleton Knight crossed this land of ice and snow, but he once again possessed a living body. That Valkyrie body allowed him to recover to the peak state of his life. No, he was even stronger than when he was at his peak.
I extended my hand and let the snowflake melt on my palm. The familiar cold air lifted my spirits. However, I didn't have the time to reminisce. I clenched my fist and let the snowflake fly with the wind.
"… It's not enough."
Yes, against the endless demon army of Main God-level demons, even the Valkyrie army of Legendary-level demons wouldn't be enough.
He opened the book again, but this time, it was not the Divine Artifact Grimoire. It was a somewhat old notebook, and on it, there were steps and preparations for such a plan.
On the page that I flipped to, there was a row of golden sub-bodies that were emitting radiance.
"Allow my personal power level to reach Legendary-level. With the Divine Artifact Grimoire's support, I'll reach Saint-rank. This is all for … a new Soul World!"
Yes, from the very start, I didn't have Aichy's unreasonable divine power and strength. She was capable of casually distorting the four elements and having them create a new world according to her will. And if I wanted to create a new world, even if I had the theoretical and technical knowledge, it would be like using a shovel and bricks to create an entire world. It would be basically impossible.
"Even if I could do it, I wouldn't have the time."
Fortunately, there was still a method in this world that could create a new world with one's will. Yes, that was the special ability of Saint-rank and above — a Soul World!
A Soul World was the ultimate creation of mortals' thoughts and stubbornness. A Soul World was the creator's most desired ideal and obsession. A Soul World was a land of dreams that had been distorted in the real world. A Soul World … was the only way to save the world.
In front of me, the snow-white land of falling snow began to distort. The familiar castle began to collapse, and the heroic Knight transformed back into bones.
"Diffindor still fell in the end …"
The charging Knight stared blankly at the scene before them. They didn't know what had happened. Some even dropped their weapons and battle flags in astonishment.
The devil army naturally launched a counterattack at this moment.
I also realized that the world before me was collapsing. I felt a mysterious pain in my heart that made me forget to breathe. But when I saw the confused Knight before me, all of this transformed into an angry roar that echoed throughout the battlefield.
"… Diffindor has indeed fallen! But, my Knight, our battle has yet to end! We admit that we lost, but so what if we lost? We've long since been defeated. We've already lost the people that we longed to protect … "
I knew that the reason why we were undefeatable in this Soul World was because all the Knight Souls, including myself, were watching the eternally burning city. It was as if our families and homes were still behind us, giving us endless power to protect them. But …
"It's time to wake up from this dream! The country and people that we swore to protect have already died a long time ago! "
The collapsing Diffindor's old city was the most painful annotation. The collapsing bricks stole their will to fight. My angry roar caused me great pain, and hurting my loyal Knight Souls made my heart bleed. But …
"But even if we've lost, we still haven't lost a place to return to! Think about the Northlands. Think about why the descendants of us bastards would go to such a messy wasteland. Why would they be willing to do anything to clean up the mess for us useless things? "
The silent Knight Souls saw the People of the Mist who had traveled thousands of kilometers to return to their homes. They saw the Holy City of Diffindor, which was glowing brightly once more. They saw the people of the Mist reconstructing their lives in the Frigidwinter Lands. They saw themselves and their adopted children creating a new family, and … their children who desired a better future.
They clenched their fists, picked up the weapons that had fallen to the ground, and waved their battle flags in the sky once more. The skeleton Knight Souls would never fear a powerful opponent. They were only afraid that they had no family to protect. All they needed was a goal to protect.
"Yes, we've lost in the past. But this time, we definitely won't lose."
Soul Imprints were able to surpass the limit of one Soul Imprint per person. That was because Soul Imprints were a summary of everyone's life's experiences and paths. I had many lives, so of course I had many paths.
However, a Soul World would be a person's most stubborn fantasy world. In fact, they would be stubborn to the point that they would be dragged back to reality from their dreams. That was why, in order to not lose in the future, the dreams of the past …
"There won't be a future if we only wallow in the past. Now that the battle to win the future is right before us, it's time to wake up from our dreams."
"And this time, we definitely won't lose!"
"We have nowhere to retreat to. We definitely won't lose!"
"Our families are behind us. We definitely won't lose!"
"We carry hope on our shoulders. We definitely won't lose!"
"We will fight against the Gods for the sake of all living beings. We definitely won't lose!"
The iron will of the defeated army resonated with me. Their stubborn desire to create a new future broke through reality once again. I knew that those brave and loyal Knight Souls would forever trust in me. They had entrusted everything to me.
And what was unfolding before me was a new world, a world of dreams that was determined to break through the future.
"This is the country of the dead. Those loyal and sincere Knight Souls are Valkyrie's protectors. They should have true eternal life, even if it's only a dream made of ice and snow."
The snow that had stopped falling began once more. The ground began to freeze over. Behind me, a white tower that represented ice and snow slowly rose up.
In this incomplete world, after death became the foundation of the soul, a new elemental foundation was created — the ice and snow of life.
"In this country of the dead, the dead should also have physical bodies and a life limited to this world. Bodies of ice and snow shall give their souls physical bodies."
Ice and snow fell on the skeletons, forming new physical bodies. Unlike Valkyrie's bodies, which were made of energy that wouldn't tire, this time, although their bodies were made of ice and snow, they still had their skin, muscles, and organs intact. They could feel true pain and happiness that they hadn't felt in a long time. They had obtained descendants and could feel the feeling of life. In fact, they could even improve and evolve!
That's right, this was life. This wasn't some mystical illusion or temporary modification. The boundary between life and death had been broken.
In this country of the dead, souls would be placed in bodies of ice and snow. Sinners would be punished in Hell. How could they not have physical bodies? Bodies made of ice and snow would give them new life, a life that could only exist in Hell.
And right now, these bodies of ice and snow were the first to give my Knight Souls new life.
Did they seem familiar? Of course, my interaction with the Frigid Nightmares allowed me to learn the secrets of ice and snow creatures. Their very existence was the best template. The Frigid Nightmares, the soul creatures native to the Northlands, would be able to obtain countless of their own kind in Hell. No, considering the Frigid Nightmares' outstanding ability to evolve, they should be the evolved form of the Frigid Nightmares.
Right now, bodies made of ice and snow would make the revived Knight Souls even stronger. However, this wasn't the only thing that made the demons afraid.
"Why won't they die? Impossible! Their bodies and souls have already been destroyed, so how can they be revived? "
The beheaded Knight Souls would still be able to fight after their heads were retrieved. Even if their souls and physical bodies were sliced into pieces, they would be able to instantly recover.
The reason? In Hell, how could the dead who hadn't been judged and punished by Hell be able to die? This was the reason why this world existed. It was the foundational rule that surpassed everything else!
But here, at this moment, this foundational rule was the strongest undying property in the entire universe!
A new life gave them the possibility of growth and improvement. Defeat in one battle? Two defeats? That didn't matter. These Knight Souls were already used to defeat. They would grow and evolve through defeat. They would eventually become the nightmares of any enemy, even if that would take several hundred, several thousand, or even several tens of thousands of years!
"We protect the future and hope. We absolutely cannot be defeated!"
That's right, at the very least, we definitely wouldn't be defeated this time!
"… You are far too dangerous."
This sudden declaration came from the Chaos War God Donatis. Donatis had been silent all this time as he represented the will of Chaos. However, he had been secretly evaluating how dangerous I was. But now, he made his own judgment.
"Although you aren't strong, your thoughts and will are far too dangerous. I, Donatis, believe that you are the most dangerous existence in the world. So, die. "
Donatis was the most loyal warrior of the will of Chaos. He was a man of few words. Everyone he was determined to kill had already died.
However, I didn't intend to respond to his declaration that I would kill him at all costs. I simply lightly touched the crystal skeleton in my hand and repeated a single sentence.
"Aillé, do you see it? It's time. "
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