Two explosions that shook the land took place at the same time.
The Supremes, who were spectating the battle and had no intention of joining, raised several barriers to protect themselves and their people from the aftermath of Lux's weapon of mass destruction.
A scream of anger escaped the Oracle's lips when she saw that the Half-Elf had destroyed the Divine Temple, which served as her primary residence in the Divine Empire.
That place contained their organization's valuable tomes that preserved the history of Elysium, Martial Techniques, and Ancient Spells, as well as some of the artifacts that were in their possession.
"I'll kill you!" the Saintess shouted at Lux. "I won't let you leave this place alive!"
The Half-Elf glanced in the Oracle's direction and casually threw a bomb in her direction.
The Saints, who had survived Lux's first strike, all scattered because they thought that the Hypersonic Blast Bomb that he just unleashed had the same firepower as the one that destroyed the Divine Temple and the Divine Barracks.
No matter how furious she was, the Oracle was still able to think properly and hurriedly flew away in order to evade the explosion that would follow afterward.
However, instead of a powerful explosion that could destroy cities, only a small explosion occurred.
Lux had thrown another regular Blast Bomb to scare off the annoying Oracle and the Saints who were eyeing him.
When they realized that the Half-Elf had tricked them for the second time, these Saints, who stood above all the Rankers in the world, felt humiliated by Lux's casual disregard for their dignity.
What they didn't know was that Lux had a limited number of Nuclear-Level Blast Bombs, which meant that he couldn't just use them freely.
Also, the red-headed teenager succeeded in his goal of making the Saints hesitant to attack him. After all, they wouldn't know if the bomb he was about to use against them could potentially kill them.
However, before the Saints could even glare in the Half-Elf's direction, they found out that he was no longer there.
Hana had used her Spatial Ability to take the red-headed teenager closer to the plaza.
Their goal was to rescue Gaap, and that still hadn't changed. Although their enemies were now wary of him, they were still deep in enemy territory.
If he and his Master, Gaap, could overwhelm the entire Divine Army of Light with just the two of them, then the Abyss would have long invaded Elysium if they were really that incompetent.
Truth be told, if the Divine Sovereign, as well as the Five Supremes that were helping him went all out, Gaap would have long perished.
However, they didn't do that.
The reason?
It was because of Antero.
The Golem of Destruction had this one uncanny ability to reflect any kind of attack instantly to anywhere he wanted on the battlefield.
Of course, this ability couldn't be used consecutively, and it had a cooldown of a few minutes before it could be used again.
But here was the catch—Antero knew if an attack was truly powerful.
If one of the Supremes were to really use their full power and it was reflected by the Golem of Destruction to one of them, they would suffer from serious and even near-death injuries.
For a Supreme, this was not an ideal scenario.
They were the strongest people that stood at the Apex of the world. This meant that if they were injured, even the rarest of Elixirs and most powerful of Healing Potions had very little effect on them.
This was also why the Sovereign of the Divine Army took decades to recover from the injury he received in the past.
None of the Supremes dared to take this risk, so they were only attacking with Saint-Level attacks.
This was the sole reason why Gaap was still able to resist despite the fact that he was up against Six Supremes.
Suddenly, Lux appeared in front of his Master who had considerably aged after summoning Antero.
"Master, let's escape!" Lux said as he held onto Gaap's arm. "We need to leave here before it's too late."
"No, Lux." Gaap shook his head. "You are the one who should leave this place. It's already too late for me."
The Halfling looked at his Disciple with a smile, and his gaze looked at the Half-Elf with pride.
"Leave this place, and don't think about avenging me," Gaap stated. "All the hate and suffering will end here with me."
"Master, I don't understand," Lux said with a solemn expression on his face. "Please, come with me."
Gaap patted Lux's hand who was holding onto his shoulder.
"No, Lux," Gaap replied. "I'm sure that you understand. You must have already felt it, right?"
The Half-Elf didn't release his grip on his Master's arm, making the Halfling sigh.
"I allowed them to capture me on purpose so that they would bring me inside the Divine Empire," Gaap said. "It is simply impossible for me to infiltrate the heart of their organization on my own. That's why I decided to create a ruckus and wipe out Mondo's entire Kingdom while I was at it.
"Fortunately, these fools thought that they had captured me with their own strength and brought me here to the place where I wanted to go. I am very happy that all of them are incredibly stupid. Heck, even a baboon is smarter than them."
Gaap didn't bother to lower his voice. On the contrary, he even asked one of his Covenant members, the Gothic Lolita, Carol, to amplify his voice, enough to be heard by the entirety of the Divine Empire.
The Sovereign who heard this confession couldn't help but redden due to anger and shame, for he allowed the sneaky rat to enter his Divine City.
The Oracle and the other Saints of the Divine Empire also felt their cheeks burning out of embarrassment. Gaap didn't hold back, insulting them right in front of their guests and people under their wing.
A chuckle escaped the Dragon King's lips because he found this whole situation funny. He had also concluded that Gaap had intended for this to happen, so he wasn't too surprised when he heard the news that the Halfling had been captured by the Divine Army.
He even thought that "it was about time" for Gaap to do this because he didn't have much time to live.
The Halfling must've known that this was going to be his last hurrah, so he destroyed and took as many people as he could with him to the afterlife.
The King of the High Elves looked at the Halfling with his arms crossed over his chest.
He had initially wanted to rescue Gaap, but after hearing his confession, he knew that the Halfling had already resolved to make the Divine Empire his grave.
"I'm sorry for leaving the guild and not telling you anything," Gaap sighed as he patted Lux's waist. "But this is as far as I go. I have nothing more to teach you. I'm sure that in time, you will surpass me, and make your mark in history.
"No, scratch that. You have already made your mark in history by being here. Everyone now knows who you are, which will give you a lot of trouble in the future."
The Halfling smiled as a few more wrinkles appeared on his face.
"Master, I meant to tell you this as a surprise," Lux said as he did his best to prevent his voice from breaking. "But since things have already progressed this far, I want you to know that…"
Gaap held up a hand in order to stop Lux from continuing what he was about to say.
"I know that she is safe inside Blackfire." Gaap looked at his disciple with a grateful gaze. "This is also why I have resolved myself to do this. This will be my final gift to her."
Lux was surprised because he didn't know how Gaap found out that his Master's soul was recovering inside Blackfire.
Seeing the surprise on his disciple's face, Gaap wasn't able to stop himself from chuckling.
"I am not stupid, Lux," Gaap said in a teasing tone. "After everything that happened in the Necromancer's Ancestral Lands, it was very easy to connect the dots. Since you are a kind and caring person, I would have been very disappointed if you hadn't even tried to save her from her current condition.
"I often tell Asmodeus that you are not suited to be a Necromancer. But lo and behold, even the Heavens proved me wrong. My one and only Disciple in the world has become a Necromancer of Heaven. The first of its kind.
"And yet, these snot-nosed puss*es branded you as a heretic so that you would not have the time to grow and become who you are truly meant to be."
Gaap smiled and looked at the Supremes and Saints who had stopped their attacks and encircled him and his Disciple, preventing them from leaving this place alive.
The Halfling then glanced at Hana, whose tears were already falling down her beautiful face.
"Lux, take care of Hana," Gaap said softly. "She might have thought that she was the last member of my Covenant. But truth be told, she is the first and only member of my Covenant. Baal and the rest belonged to my Master, and they have protected me all these years in memory of her."
Hana, who never knew that she was Gaap's one and only Covenant member, knelt and hugged the Halfling before breaking down into sobs.
"Silly girl, why are you crying?" Gaap asked as she patted the beautiful Fox Lady's head. "We are in the middle of the battlefield, and you are crying like this? You are making me lose face."
Although Gaap was complaining, his gaze was filled with affection and gentleness.
Lux, who suddenly felt that the Supremes and the Saints were about to make their move, raised his head to look at them.
"Master, I know that you have already resolved yourself, but this place is simply too filthy to become your tomb," Lux stated. "A pigsty is a hundred times better than this."
Gaap laughed heartily as more wrinkles appeared on his face. Even though he now looked old and decrepit, his laughter sounded so young and filled with mirth.
"You're probably right," Gaap stated. "But I have already decided. Also…"
The Halfling's gaze landed on the Oracle who was at the center of the Saints that she commanded.
"There is one more b*tch that I have to kill," Gaap declared. "Lux, this is my last order as your Master. Take Hana and leave this place."
The Half-Elf didn't say anything as he followed his Master's gaze, locking his sight on the Oracle in the sky.
"Master, I will not let you die here," Lux said firmly. "Since we are short on time, let's go all out."
Lux then shifted his attention to the Dragon King and the Steward of the Crystal Palace.
He had seen Valerie, Ali, and Ari beside the Dragon King, and he smiled in their direction.
The Half-Elf then shifted his gaze to Aur and gave the Dragon Prince a brief nod.
"All who don't want to be dragged into this battle should leave," Lux declared. "I am not confident that you will not get hurt in the aftermath."
The Dragon King smirked, before waving his hand. A moment later a transparent golden dome appeared around him and his entourage.
This dome then flew a few miles away from the Divine Empire, but those inside it could still see what was happening inside the city.
The Steward of the Crystal Palace opened her fan, and a Crystal Dome appeared around her people. Like the Dragon King's golden dome, this crystal dome flew away in a safe distance from the city.
The other Supremes and the Saints did something similar and left the city.
Victor dragged his son, Tristan, who still couldn't believe that his sister's fiance was the Necromancer of Heaven, whom everyone had started talking about several months ago.
Soon, only the Divine Army and their allies were left inside the city.
Five Supremes and hundreds of Saints.
All facing a Halfling and a Half-Elf, whom they had branded as heretics.
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