Can't a Person Just Peacefully Grind Quests?

"Embrace me... become us... cleanse this world..."

"Merge with me, and wage an endless vengeance upon the enemies who mock us!"

Chapter 048: Power of Preservation, Come Forth!

Cleo Jackal's grand ambition?

Now, it no longer mattered.

Gripping the strange lifeform that had begun transmitting power into her, Cleo could feel every inch of her skin being flooded with imaginary energy.

Without needing the intervention of a Path's power, that bizarre lifeform seemed to act as a converter of sorts—

Her body began to swell with vast imaginary energy. Before this moment, she had sought the opening of that door countless times, But for over twenty years, there had been no response.

Without the power of a Path, one bore an inherent weakness in any clash with a stronger foe.

Thus, in her past career, she had carefully bided her time, never probing the monsters whose life energy surpassed her own.

In the records of her family, the power of the City Builders originated from an Aeon of "Preservation." She had seen it all in some ancient text passed down from an unknown era, and she had fantasized countless times about one day obtaining that power like her ancestors before her.

But...

Reality seemed to have played a joke on her.

Once, that power had been so distant from her, And now...

In the depths of despair, two powers had chosen her at once.

One, the power that had cursed her life.

One, the power that had cursed Belobog.

But...

None of it mattered anymore. She walked out of the long corridor of the Technical Development Department, once again gazing upon the towering Kliperburg, as well as the Silvermane Guards and their captain arrayed in formation.

She fixed her eyes on this scion of the Landau family, a strange smile creeping across her lips. A torrent of bizarre knowledge flooded into her mind, and when she spoke, her words became incoherent, raving...

"Landau? When did you arrive? Yes, I was waiting for you too."

"Cleo Jackal, I am hereby issuing an arrest warrant for severe public endangerment, illegal intrusion into critical government functions, and illegal organization of armed violent groups. You have the right to remain silent, but anything you say can and will—"

"Arrest? How tedious! Why all this fuss? I am right here—come and kill me if you can."

"Your crimes must be made known to the public."

"...Dull! Rigid! Ridiculous... So this is what I, Cleo, spent all those sleepless nights yearning for—this pathetic, decaying thing..."

Like a madwoman, yet also like a sage who had seen through all worldly affairs, a twisted, morbid grin suddenly spread across her face.

"If that's the case, then let it all be destroyed! What reason is there to keep such a boring existence?"

"Stellaron's Power! Come forth!!"

In an instant, imaginary energy surged wildly. The entire space began to fill with a terrifying chill, and silvery-white armor like scales started to cover the woman's body. Accompanied by her manic, frenzied laughter, the cancer of all worlds, bound for seven hundred years, was finally unleashed completely.

"Void 'beasts,' I stand here—gather to me!"

As the source of the Abyss's birth, the Stellaron naturally possessed the ability to command the Void creatures. When Cleo's voice rang out, the entire sky seemed to echo with her delirious laughter and roars—sounds laced with joy, pain, anger, humiliation, resentment... a thousand, a hundred emotions, like the collective cries of countless lives.

They were cursing, cheering, snarling in fury, praising the sublime...

The predecessors of the Void creatures were once living beings of the material realm—beings that had once possessed intellect.

Even if they had lost that intellect after transforming into Void creatures, every existence in this universe retained a "record" of "memory." It could be called a lingering obsession.

After these countless emotions gathered, they converged within the Stellaron, and the Stellaron filtered out the "sounds" it deemed suitable for its Chosen One to hear—

Praises, curses, shouts, shrieks...

As if all things in the world, countless lives, were calling for the one and only savior, the executor who would wash away the world's sins.

Our lord! Most noble, sublime Lord of the Heavens!

Inflict a heavy destruction upon this world full of sin!

"Great Ruin! Great Destruction! Great End!... I shall swing down the hammer named Utter Annihilation upon you all!"

Cheers and hymns resounded across the skies of Belobog; curses and howls rang without end. Countless twisted, chaotic soundwaves swept through every corner of this fortress of doom.

Maddening whispers, like the murmurs of the departed, drew countless Belobogians in. They gradually lost their wits and began to walk slowly toward the nearest Abyss rift.

"Icy Judgment—!"

After summoning all the Void creatures, Cleo, now one with the Stellaron and transformed into the Illusionary Annihilator, lowered her gaze. Thousands of ice crystals manifested behind her, and in an instant, they shot forth like a storm of arrows toward the Silvermane Guards not far away.

"This is the end—!"

The silver-blue instrument case began to radiate the power of Preservation. As it struck the ground, the deep blue Power of Preservation manifested it into a shield vast enough to block the overwhelming hail of ice.

"Will of Preservation—!"

Like a torrential downpour, the ice crystals rained endlessly upon the power of Preservation. Decades of unbroken, grueling training bore fruit in this moment. His resilient, powerful muscles, bones, and sinew allowed him to withstand the colossal force of the incoming ice while standing firm, unmoving.

Moved by his resolute stance, the Silvermane Guards behind him let out a unified roar and began frantically pulling their triggers, unleashing a continuous barrage of fire at Clio suspended in midair.

"The Stellaron has permitted our vengeance!"

Raising her arm, Clio coldly looked down at the nearly hundred Silvermane Guards, her gaze icy as if regarding dead things. The surrounding Imaginary energy gathered in her hand. She possessed no exceptional skill in manipulating Imaginary energy, but with a magnitude so vast it defied calculation, there was no need to consider such finesse—only simple aggregation and release...

"This is the Echo of World Destruction!"

"I will accompany you to the end!"

Watching the Imaginary Sphere taking shape, Gepard suddenly let out a low roar, then abandoned his position and charged like a high-speed train at full throttle toward the Illusionary Annihilator's location.

"Help me one more time, sister."

The "guitar case" his sister had given him when he joined the Silvermane Guards in his youth was his "strongest support" through countless hardships. With it by his side, it felt as if his sister—no, as if his entire family—stood behind him, backing him up.

So...

Not a single step back.

Behind him lay his family, Belobog, and...

The lights of ten thousand homes!

"In the name of Landau! Never fall!"

Power of Preservation!!

Come forth!!

[PS: The novel is set to go on the shelves tomorrow, brothers. Please support with a first order. I'm not asking for much in this period—at least 400 first orders so I can keep writing. If it exceeds 400, I'll add extra chapters, with a minimum of five and a maximum of ten.]

Chapter 049: The City Builder's Inferior Stone, Worthless. (First Order Request, 1/10)

Upon arriving at Belobog, the entire city had already fallen into chaos.

On the streets, massive crowds pressed and jostled together without any logic.

The moment they arrived, everyone's ears seemed to be filled with countless chaotic whispers. Cocolia gazed at the city's scene, slowly closed her eyes, and then spoke with certainty.

"It's the Stellaron."

"The Stellaron has been unsealed."

In the past, although the Land Clan could hear the Stellaron's voice, it was because of the First Land Alisa. But now... with everyone able to hear the Stellaron's voice, it was clear that the Stellaron had lost its restraints, completely freed from the seal that had bound it for seven or eight hundred years.

"As expected, one link after another."

Sparkle's designs had no precise purpose in essence. She had merely seen through some of the undercurrents hidden within Belobog's upper echelons, laid everything out plainly, and given it a gentle push, causing all the contradictions to erupt fully.

"The Stellaron's location is near Kliperburg."

Because she had once been chosen by the Stellaron, Cocolia still retained some ability to sense it. She looked toward the west side of Kliperburg, where the Technical Development Department was located.

"I'll find a way to wake the people and evacuate them."

Among the crowd, the Intelligence Officer volunteered for the most troublesome task. March 7th hesitated for a moment, then raised her hand.

"I'll help too. I want to go with you to cause trouble for the bad guys, but... there are some elderly folks at the Grand Goethe Hotel I'm worried about."

"Bronya, you stay."

Cocolia glanced at the situation on the streets, then calmly began assigning work to those she could still influence.

"The Stellaron's eruption in Belobog will rapidly expand the Fragmentum. Do your best to gather the Silvermane Guards and protect the civilians to safety."

"Lynx, you go with Bronya. If there are injured, give them emergency treatment first."

"I understand, Mother."

"I'll help, Guardian."

"Serval..."

"Don't order me around."

"Come with me."

When Cocolia said this, Serval's expression showed a moment of shock. Mr. Emiya once again received a response from the Emotion Value System—these two blonde ladies seemed to have low defense...

"Fine."

Muttering something indistinct, Serval's face clearly showed more fighting spirit. Cocolia smiled. Having lost the Stellaron, looking back at the crimes she had committed, she knew her sins were unforgivable. But beyond those heavy sins, there seemed to be something left from an earlier time...

Thinking about it now, it was a pity. She had once had so many people by her side—Serval, Nagamitsu—so many who had shared the same ideals and worked alongside her. And she had betrayed all of that, seduced by the Stellaron, abandoning her stance. This might be her final dance, but with someone still willing to go to battle with her, her heart now held no regrets.

"...Let's go."

Cocolia wore a relieved, open smile as she took firm steps toward the final battlefield.

"Star, which side do you want to go to?"

Emiya's gaze fell on Little Grey Hair. According to the normal script, Star was supposed to obtain the lance in a duel with Cocolia, thereby gaining the remnants of Belobog's Preservation will and receiving a glimpse from Qlipoth.

But now, that script couldn't be replicated. The one to decide the new path was Star alone.

Hearing Emiya's question, Little Grey Hair seemed to understand something. After a moment's thought, she unhesitatingly chose to follow her heart.

"I'll go with March. Like her, I'm a bit worried about the elderly and children there. And... I want to see the Lower City too."

"Good."

He reached out, his hand landing on Little Grey Hair's head. Shirou Emiya spoke softly, "When you have the chance to make a choice, never let yourself regret it."

Little Grey Hair's eyes froze for a moment. In her mind surfaced the words that woman named Kafka had spoken to her when she first awoke. Her lips parted, as if she wanted to ask whether Shirou's words carried some other meaning, but Shirou seemed to see through her and smiled gently, "There's no need to dwell on any deeper significance. We're simply looking forward to your growth, nothing more."

He raised his hand again, constructing that lance of Alisa's, infusing a portion of the Supreme Guardian's spirit into it. If Little Grey Hair could truly awaken the will of Preservation, the lance and the spirits of past guardians would be enough to guide her to the crossroads of that possibility.

"Go."

He pushed Little Grey Hair toward March 7th and Pela, watching that group of young people walk into the crowd. Cocolia, Serval, and Shirou all showed faint smiles on their faces. Perhaps they were somewhat in sync, for they suddenly glanced at each other, then laughed together again without prearrangement. Amidst this laughter, Shirou gained a bit more goodwill toward the two beside him.

Then, without another word, the three of them calmly walked against the flow of the crowd, quickly heading toward the direction of the true battlefield.

"Pointless struggle."

For the fourteenth time, she sent Gepard, who had tried to approach her position, flying back. The Illusionary Annihilator's voice now carried a hint of mockery, "Inferior stones of the City Builder, not worth mentioning."

"Those majestic beings have never cared about the fate of insignificant ants like us."

"I prayed to The One countless times, but what greeted me was still the cold reality."