“Jaffran, this is urgent! Come with me!” the Saintess exclaimed, abruptly rising and heading toward the exit, ignoring the panicked shouts from the high-ranking priests. The urgency in her voice prompted several guards in the meeting room to follow her. A short-haired blonde man among them quickened his pace to catch up with her.

“Saintess, what is going on?”

“There’s no time to explain, Jaffran! We must go to the sealing chamber!”

Jaffran furrowed his brows, ensuring he heard her correctly. “The sealing chamber? The one that holds the corpse of the last Demon Lord?”

“Yes!”

They passed numerous doors, and as they continued, the security became stricter and the guards were heavily equipped. After approximately ten minutes, they reached the door to the artifact room, which was manned by no-nonsense guards. Their demeanor indicated they were highly trained and ready for battle.

“Saintess,” one of the guards saluted.

She nodded in acknowledgment, then reached out toward the door.

As her fingertips brushed on the surface, a soft hum echoed through the air, resonating with ancient magic. Intricate lines of light danced to life, forming an elaborate pattern that shimmered in bright hues, recognizing her unparalleled power and authority as the Saintess. The door responded to her command with a subtle flick of her wrist. A brilliant flash illuminated the space, momentarily blinding them in its radiance before the humming slowly disappeared. As the echoes of magic faded, the door creaked open to reveal a grand hallway lined with columns.

Fueled by urgency and fear, she quickened her pace, ignoring the numerous numbered doors in the hallway as she descended the stairs to the very end of the area. She barely glanced at anything else, her focus locked on reaching the end of the stone staircase, feeling the cool, weighty stone beneath her feet with each hurried step.

As she descended, the air grew thick with the overpowering stench of foul mana. The nauseating feeling crept into her consciousness, prickling her skin and weighing heavily in the pit of her stomach. The sensation was almost tangible, a vile reminder of the ancient evil lurking close by. Despite the gnawing horror urging her to turn back and flee from the unseen horrors, she pressed on, determined to see this through.

At last, they had arrived in the utmost depth, the most restricted place beneath the temple. The long, dimly-lit hallway was a grim reminder of the untold horror sealed beyond.

“…what is happening inside…?” she breathlessly murmured as tremors assaulted their surroundings, sending vibrations rippling through the thick stone walls.

As her heart raced, the guards formed a protective wall around her, with Jaffran standing at the forefront of the formation. His strong presence gave her reassurance amidst the chaos.

“Prepare yourself!” he shouted, placing both hands on the reinforced doors. Cautiously he pushed the thick slab of metal, bracing himself for anything beyond.

With a haunting creak, the doors opened. His breath quickened as he scanned the room for…

…nothing at all?

“Uh…” speechless, Jaffran pushed them even wider, allowing the guards and the Saintess to see the interior.

The sealing chamber remained the same just like the last time they had left it. The protective spells inscribed on the ground and walls hummed softly with power, undisturbed. The Demon Lord’s corpse, ensnared within a magical crystal, lay still and preserved, its malevolent aura contained and dormant. The shackles that bound him also untouched and intact.

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“Saintess, there seems to be no problem here,” Jaffran informed, though his voice had a hint of uncertainty.

“But that doesn’t make sense. Then what was the foul aura we felt outside?”

“…that I’m not sure either.”

The Saintess approached the right-side wall and placed her hand on the cold surface. Closing her eyes, she examined the integrity of the spells and magical engraving placed there, yet her finding was unsatisfactory. There was no sign of tampering.

She turned on her heels to see Jaffran examining the ceiling, “Jaffran, are there signs of unknown entry on your end?”

“Looking at the condition of the structure, I don’t think anyone ever stepped into this room, Saintess. Certainly not by force and certainly not by normal entry just like we did. The gate earlier only responded to your mana and His Holiness’.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, worry plastered across her face, dragging her deep in her thoughts. A deep line formed across her forehead as she frowned.

“I’m giving you two weeks to conduct an investigation, Jaffran. I’m afraid something powerful managed to infiltrate this chamber and disappear under our noses. Please find them at all cost since this is a matter of life and death for our people.”

“Leave it to me, Saintess,” Jaffran bowed respectfully.

She reached for the pendant on her neck, anxious beyond belief. She needed to commune with the Goddess of Light for protection and guidance.

===

“…what is the meaning of this, system?” Zalstrahvi, who was currently sitting atop the highest building in the megapolis, pointed at a quest window in front of him with a hand carrying a bag full of coins. The window read,

[[Quest: Stay alive

Reward: 10 gold coins

Status: Completed]]

“To be honest with you, I’m not in the mood for jokes so you’d better give me your best reason to not turn these people to dust,” he threw the bag of coins inside his subspace carelessly.

The system went quiet for a moment, then slowly words began to appear on the display.

[Don’t do it, Host. Don’t kill yourself.]

Without skipping a beat, Zalstrahvi produced a tiny sphere of brilliant light, crackling with raw power at the tip of his outstretched finger. With a deliberate flick of his wrist, he sent the orb soaring beyond the perimeter of the holy city. As it reached its destination, the sphere detonated in a blinding flash, unleashing a cataclysmic explosion that resonated like a nuclear explosion.

The resulting shockwave rippled through the air, sending clouds of dust and debris spiraling upward, while the ground trembled beneath the force of the eruption. The once serene skyline of the quaint commoner town was momentarily engulfed in a red glow and the vibrant part of town now morphed into a crater of debris, flesh, and blood; the impact was so strong that no barrier managed to block it.

“…go on. I still have more parts to obliterate.”

The window shook quietly as if it was afraid. There were no words displayed on the screen as it watched the catastrophic explosion of a similar proportion to a nuclear blast.

Ignoring the chaotic mess beneath them, he repeated, “…I did tell you to explain, no?”

[Host, this is wrong! Did you feel nothing from killing them?]

“I thought you have understood my temper and habit since we’ve been together for a long time, but I suppose not.”

Another nuclear bomb erupted in the other distant perimeter of the city. What was once a thriving farming town now became a wasteland of nothingness.

Zalstrahvi silently observed the chaotic populace outside the perimeter walls as they fought amongst themselves to safety. Parents calling out their lost children, adults fighting over the rights of protection, and children getting overpowered by adults trapped beneath, now completely at the mercy of the masses.

And crushed.

He had heard so many cries and helpless pleas from the war prisoners they dulled his emotions. Now, their wails were merely a distant memory he could easily forget or merely a pebble he could crush underneath his might.

Nothing mattered to him anymore.

“Let me tell you something fun.”

He paused for several seconds to gaze at the unsettling horror he had unleashed upon the world. The flock of refugees kept pouring inside the city like unstoppable torrent of waterfall, most of which were badly injured from the explosion. Makeshift camps popped up near the perimeter walls were bombarded by the unending stream of the injured, the staff were overwhelmed by the tension.

“Life is simply a wait for death,” his words coming out as a matter-of-factly and there was no emotion seen in his eyes, “then why would another death matter? I merely wiped a speck of dust off this world just like I did with them.”

He finished his sentence with a smile. A glint of madness flashed in his eyes, and a low chuckle escaped his lips.

The system had grown silent, ceasing its flow of words as it listened to the host it was bound to. Time stretched on and an uncomfortable silence befell them. Neither of them uttered a single word, as both seemed to have retreated to their own world and thoughts.

The system, with its complex calculation, hummed quietly, contemplating its original purpose and its host. It did not understand what had made him act that way, but it was determined to aid him. After a long consideration, it materialized beside him, breaking the thick silence between them with a suggestion,

[How about trying something fun, Host?]