Vanity's Death

Sand surged in, coming from the desert outside the tower, seeping in through the cracks in the walls, and emerging from between the stone slabs on the ground.

Golden sand grains condensed in the hall, forming a massive sand wall that blocked the dragon god's flames.

The blue flames crashed against the sand wall, emitting a piercing hiss.

The sand was burned into glass, the glass was burned into liquid, and the liquid dripped onto the ground, making a sizzling sound.

But the sand wall did not collapse because new sand kept pouring in, filling the burned sections.

"Sand... you can even do magic?"

Pandora stood at a distance, her crimson eyes fixed on the ever-regenerating, ever-collapsed sand wall.

"They hid it very well."

Higashino Makoto did not answer.

He was dealing with two enemies at the same time. Reid attacked on the ground with astonishing speed, each strike carrying a deadly threat.

The dragon god is in the air, and may spew flames at any moment.

He possessed only a long spear, a wall of sand, and a purple-gold light that was gathering in his hand.

He was searching for Pandora's true form.

To Vanity Authority, distort perceptions, and misrepresent reality.

She can create clones, causing people to missee, mishear, and misperceive.

The Pandora before us may be real, or it may be fake.

But if we can't confirm their true identity, we shouldn't waste our energy.

The Garden... narrow down the scope and refine the operation.

A purple-gold light surged from his palm and spread in all directions.

The area of the domain continues to shrink, but Higashino Makoto's perception of it becomes more refined, which he uses to detect Pandora's location.

Authority and protection became transparent to him.

There are three anomalies in the lobby.

Reid, the Dragon God.

As for Pandora--

He saw one in the corner, one on the dome, and one behind the dragon god.

Each one has fluctuating Authority, each one seems real.

But there is one in the deepest shadow of the hall, where the Authority fluctuations are weakest and least noticeable.

Found it!

Higashino Makoto's lips curled up slightly.

The outcome is decided!

Once we find her true identity, the rest will no longer be a problem.

The Sand Scepter is activated...

A sand cage! Space Lockdown!

Golden sand poured in from all directions, forming a huge, enclosed cage in the hall.

The sand coalesced into a hard Wall of Stone, more than ten meters thick.

Inside the cage, there were only him, Reid, the Dragon God, and Pandora's clones.

The cage had only one opening, and he stood before it, spear in hand, like a gatekeeper.

Pandora.

His voice wasn't loud, but it echoed in the enclosed space.

You can't escape now.

He gave himself another buff.

"Greater Full Potential."

"Magic Caster's Blessing"

"Angel's Blessing."

"Holy Shield."

"Dragon Power."

"Fortune."

"Hero."

"Free."

"Indomitability."

Golden, silver, pale blue, and emerald green light shimmered alternately on his body.

Layer upon layer, and layer upon layer.

His body grew even taller and more invincible in the light.

The Sword Saint and the Dragon tried to intervene, but were blocked by a large amount of sand.

Higashino Makoto knew he probably couldn't hold out for long, but just buying a little time was enough!

"Pandora, the game of house is over."

He raised his hand, and a golden spear materialized in his palm. Then—

"Great Catastrophe."

A torrent of crimson-black energy surged from his palm, like an enraged dragon, rushing towards everyone inside the cage.

The sand giant disintegrated in the torrent, turning into golden grains of sand and disappearing.

Reid's body was swallowed by the torrent, his red kimono burned in the energy, and his blue eyes remained empty.

The dragon god's body was swallowed by the torrent, its deep blue scales shattering in the energy, emitting a piercing hiss.

But that's not enough.

"The Wrath of the Salt King."

The sky turned the color of sulfur.

A blinding, unsettling, hellfire-like yellow-green light poured down from the dome, enveloping the entire cage.

White flames fell in the hall, on Reid, and on the Dragon God.

They began to melt.

Reid's body liquefied in the white flames, then evaporated, and then disappeared.

The dragon god's body incinerated in the white flames, and its massive skeleton collapsed in the fire.

But Pandora is still here.

Higashino Makoto could sense the fluctuations in her Authority; the weakest, least noticeable clone was still in the deepest shadow of the hall.

Let's do one more!

"Great Catastrophe."

A torrent of crimson-black energy surged forth once more, this time even more violently and wildly than before.

The sand giants inside the cage have all collapsed, Reid has disappeared, and the Dragon God has fallen.

Only Pandora's clones struggled, twisted, and dissipated in the torrent.

One, two, three... one by one, the clones disappeared.

But that weakest, least noticeable clone is still there.

That's really hard to kill!

"The final shot."

"Great Catastrophe."

A torrent of crimson and black energy surged from Higashino Makoto's palm.

This time, he held nothing back.

All the magic, all the power, all the anger poured out.

A torrent of energy raged within the cage, scorching the Wall of Stone into magma and turning the ground into glass.

The corner where Pandora was located was swallowed up by the red and black torrent.

The perceived fluctuations in Authority have disappeared.

Pandora disappeared.

Higashino Makoto withdrew his hand, panting heavily; his magic power was almost completely depleted.

He had never used the Great Catastrophe so repeatedly before; after all, his former enemies were almost powerless against the torrent of calamities.

The Wall of Stone had completely melted, turning into lava flowing on the ground.

The ground is no longer made of stone slabs, but of glass.

Black and transparent, covered with cracks.

The air was thick with the smell of sulfur and burnt matter, mixed with an indescribable odor that seemed to be both ozone and blood.

The Pleiades Watchtower vanished, burned to ashes.

The tower's outer walls evaporated in the Wrath of the Salt King, and its interior was destroyed in Great Catastrophe.

All that remained was a huge, circular crater.

Higashino Makoto stood at the edge of the deep pit, his golden eyes gazing at the land that had been burned into glass.

Pandora.

He said in a low voice.

Can you still speak?

No one answered.

Only the wind blowing across the vitreous sand made a sound like a sigh.

He closed his eyes, sensed the surroundings, and found the illusory Witch Factor within the ruins.

The Judgment of the Small World has not yet been used; his trump card has not been used; Pandora has not forced him to unleash his full power.

"Looks like he's dead. That's good."

Following this, the cleanup work began.

First, Pandora's soul was captured by Higashino Makoto, put into a box, and prepared to be brought back to Novas Etier.

Echidna will probably love this gift.

The first Sword Saint was already just a soul, Higashino Makoto didn't care.

As for Shenlong and Shaula...

Higashino Makoto didn't care much; if someone died, they died.

Although she was merely a pawn used by Pandora, she was still an enemy.

But maybe it will be useful later?

"Let's collect the souls first, and then see how things go."