"It's you! The Prophet!"
The old man no longer suppressed the Holy Bell, which was vibrating with the frantic energy of a restless child.
As if an angel were unfolding its wings, a brilliant radiance expanded from his back, manifesting into the shape of a massive, glowing clock face.
"Look at it! It's ecstatic! After one thousand, four hundred and ninety-three years... you have finally appeared!"
The old man's words were incomprehensible. Wayland didn't understand a single syllable of the logic.
Staring at the face of the old man,distorted with a fanaticism akin to a mad zealot,Wayland instinctively took a step back. As his heel grazed the dirt, a subtle rune began to take shape beneath the soil.
"Wayland?"
Accompanied by the roar of an engine, Pascal leaned out of the car window, his eyes widening as he took in the scene.
'This is bad!'
Wayland lunged backward, shouting at the top of his lungs. "Go! Run! Get the captain!"
The raw power erupting from that Mystic Code alone was enough to dwarf anything at the Fes rank.
While the old man's words were bizarre, the underlying message was clear: in their organization's eyes, Wayland was someone special.
'I can't catch a break!'
'Why does this always happen to me?!'
In this situation, winning a direct confrontation was impossible. But based on the old man's obsession with him, Pascal had a chance to escape.
If Wayland was captured, the Clock Tower's influence might still give him a chance to survive. But if both of them were taken and the news never reached the Association, they were truly finished.
The Rune he'd buried earlier detonated, a wall of jagged ice pillars erupting from the ground.
As Wayland had feared, it was useless.
Before the ice could even touch the old man, it was annihilated by the shimmering, incandescent light.
Wayland's speed reached a new peak as he sprinted in the opposite direction, moving like a dark meteor across the yard.
Pascal, seeing the desperation in the move, didn't hesitate. He slammed the car into gear and tore away. He knew Wayland well enough to know when to run.
"A futile struggle," the old man murmured.
Just as Wayland had predicted, he ignored Pascal entirely. The Seven Holy Paladins had remained hidden for a thousand years; they didn't fear the Clock Tower. He didn't believe the Association would mobilize its entire force for a mere 'Count-rank' magus.
He watched Wayland run, making no move to pursue.
Raising his right hand, he flicked the crystal hour hand of the bell to the six o'clock position.
A massive magical circle expanded behind the Holy Bell. "Since you are the one destined to bring destruction in the prophecy," the old man whispered, "then die here."
A pillar of pure white light condensed into a sword, erupting with the speed of light itself.
Wayland, still mid-sprint, didn't even register the attack. It was only when he looked down that he realized a massive hole had replaced his heart.
A few seconds passed. Then, the blood came.
It erupted in a violent spray, and all the strength left his body. He collapsed onto the damp earth.
The blood soaked into the soil and stained his clothes, blooming into a large, grisly flower across his chest.
Wayland's expression was one of pure disbelief and confusion.
'Am I dying?'
Darkness began to bleed into his vision. He heard the rhythmic thump-thump of his own blood hitting the ground, and then, he slipped into the abyss.
"That was too easy for you!"
Jax Eaton walked up to Wayland's body and delivered a savage kick. He stared at the hollowed-out chest, checked for a pulse, and then nodded to the old man. "He's dead."
"Just like that?"
The old man looked dazed. The Supreme Scripture of the Seven Holy Paladins,the second-ranked Age of Gods relic in the world,contained a prophecy on its very first page.
[When the Bringer of Destruction descends with the Divine Fire, the radiance shall fall into eternal silence.]
The greatest ambition of the Seven Holy Paladins, a goal pursued for over a thousand years... had it really been achieved so simply?
He felt a profound sense of unreality.
Meanwhile, deep within Wayland's consciousness, the system's interface flared with a blood-red warning.
[WARNING! WARNING! Master has entered a near-death state! Life countdown initiated!]
[Due to Master's loss of consciousness, the System will now take control of the body. Initiating emergency salvage measures!]
[Emergency Measure 1: According to the 'Sea of Stars Covenant' crisis clause, in the event of Master's death, the System may reveal its existence to request aid from local Grand-rank entities. Potential contacts: , , Touko Aozaki, , , , ******...]
[Calculating... Calculation success. Optimal target: Touko Aozaki. Proposal: Create a perfect puppet vessel to replace the body. Transferring soul...]
[WARNING! WARNING! Master's soul is locked! Decryption attempt... FAILED. Unable to transfer soul!]
[Emergency Measure 2: Initiating Reverse Spiritron Transfer. Confirming spatial-temporal coordinates.]
[WARNING! WARNING! Spacetime is locked! Decryption attempt... FAILED. Unable to initiate Reverse Spiritron Transfer!]
[Emergency Measure 3...]
[WARNING! WARNING! Unknown Grand-rank entity approaching. To prevent the detection of this System, entering Self-Protection Mode...]
"Wait... wait a second! Maanna, I think you flew too far!"
"Hey, don't be so grumpy. I paid that woman a fortune in gems just for the right to use you."
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]