"Ligal, your betrayal of Radiant Shuttle is unforgivable. I hope you’ve come to terms with that," Orson said coldly as he turned to the archangel.
"Even if you’ve seen through our plan, I’ll say it again—you can’t win," Ligal replied with a sigh, raising her head proudly.
Then, without warning, she dropped to her knees before Orson.
The death of her son Misius had already drained her of the will to fight.
And the moment she saw the new head of Radiant Shuttle appear in the Abyss, she already knew how this would end.
"Spare me... Sovereign from Earth, I beg you, spare me!"
"Ligal was just following orders! This can still be resolved!"
The four Saint Lord-class adventurers panicked, pleading desperately on her behalf.
Orson could see that these people respected her deeply, but not because of divine reverence.
It was her charisma—the natural authority of a true leader.
He looked down at her, expression flat. He shifted his weapon into Doomsday Sword form and said calmly,
"It’s time you paid your debt."
Ligal bowed her head. In her mind, she saw the image of BlazeKing—the man whose grand vision once captivated her.
Though she’d loved him with all her heart, her feelings never swayed his unshakable resolve.
"Why keep struggling?"
"Why fight a battle that can’t be won?"
"Why does your thousand-year-old soul still haunt me...?"
She whispered to herself,
"Because you once said... we are people, not tools for the gods."
For the first time in eons, doubt pierced her faith.
A thousand years of betrayal—finally to be repaid with death.
The Supreme Arcane Blade sliced through the air.
Blood sprayed three feet across the ground.
The Queen of Babylon—was dead.
The adventurers of the Ninth City wailed in agony, eyes red with fury, but the four Saint Lords held them back by force.
They knew the price of revenge.
And it wasn’t what Ligal would’ve wanted.
She had been a proud queen. She would never allow her followers to throw away their lives in a battle with no chance of victory.
With all nine cities of the Abyss fallen, it meant only one thing—
Their mission to unleash Heaven Demons into various Infinite Dimensions had failed.
Their value was gone. Their path, cut off.
All that was left was to surrender... or die.
"I’m willing to follow the head of Radiant Shuttle!"
"We may be weak adventurers, but we want to live. Let us serve you!"
The four Saint Lords bowed deeply before Orson.
All the other adventurers dropped their weapons and followed suit.
At that moment, three radiant Soul Seals floated from Ligal’s corpse.
Orson raised a hand, and they flew into his grasp.
"You have acquired: [Radiant Angel Ligal’s Finger Bone] - GodHuman Soul Seal x1"
"You have acquired: [Radiant Angel Ligal’s Left Eye] - GodDivine Soul Seal x1"
"You have acquired: [Radiant Angel Misius’s Achilles Tendon] - God Soul Seal x1"
This full set of divine Soul Seals was clearly made for mages.
Its effects included increased spell range, reduced Divine Item skill cooldowns, max HP boosts, and powerful fire-element enhancements.
Orson immediately thought of Dynasty Old Yin, who’d been yelling for years that he’d stop at nothing to get a full divine Soul Seal set.
The cooldown reduction was especially useful to someone like Old Yin, who specialized in high-firepower Divine Item operations at Celestial Fortress.
"Take them in. You guys head back first," Orson said.
The adventurers of the Ninth City let out long breaths of relief.
Even though Ligal had fallen, they’d lived to see another day.
And nothing tasted better than survival.
"Remember—when in doubt, run first," Madman reminded him with a smirk.
Orson nodded in amusement.
"I assume you’ve seen the board clearly now," Wedge said softly, her voice full of implication. "Someone predicted your next move. This is an open trap."
He had access to God’s Domain now.
In that kind of divine state, having others assist him in combat would only hold him back.
The enemy clearly knew this. If he wanted to secure the final Node Device, he’d have to go alone.
This was a trap made just for him.
And only someone who understood Orson’s behavior inside and out could lay it so perfectly—Snow Dream.
She was the thorn in his side.
Her very existence left him constantly uneasy.
If he moved too soon without fully grasping her motives, he’d be playing right into her hands.
But now that she had made her move, it was time to act.
A trap, once triggered, had to expose a weakness.
And when it did, he would strike.
"It’s time to clean house," Orson thought to himself.
He summoned Aeloria and soared into the sky, watching as the massive adventurer army marched toward Celestial Fortress.
"You’re not coming?" Orson asked, surprised.
A massive black dragon took off behind him.
Usher stood tall in the saddle, voice cold.
"You don’t like being betrayed. You think I enjoy it?"
Orson let out a rare laugh.
Usher glanced away. "Her coordinates are changing constantly. Without me, you won’t keep up."
"You’ve changed," Orson said with a knowing smile.
Usher’s pupils contracted sharply.
A strange sensation surged within him—like Orson was staring straight into his soul.
He’d felt that same chill the first time they met, though he’d brushed it off.
Now, the feeling came flooding back.
As if Orson had known him for a long, long time.
Usher had never understood the strange hostility Orson had shown him early on.
He’d once dismissed it as jealousy.
But now... maybe it wasn’t so simple.
He buried the thought, his tone proud as ever.
"Don’t think you’ve figured me out. And don’t think we’ll ever be friends. One day, Orgod, I’ll defeat you. Fair and square."
Orson raised a hand and pointed at him, laughing.
"I believe you can do it."
"Don’t mistake me for the rest of the trash!" Usher snapped, veins bulging in his forehead.
That smug look, like a master waiting for his student to catch up, drove him nuts.
Fate really was a twisted thing.
His sworn enemy in a past life... was now flying beside him.
Thanks to Usher’s coordinates, the two dragons flew side by side through the Abyss.
The darkness began to thin.
The dense abyssal walls became translucent like glass, revealing glittering stars beyond.
The view stunned both of them.
The scale of the universe dwarfed all things.
Even the so-called omnipotent gods were just rulers of tiny corners of space.
The Milky Way itself was vast beyond imagination—but out there, countless star systems lay waiting.
Based on what they’d learned so far, the Heaven Demons weren’t native to the Milky Way.
They came from far beyond, from an unknown, alien realm.
Orson couldn’t even fathom what the "Heaven Demon Emperor" might be like—someone capable of leading an invasion across galaxies to challenge divine rule.
Then again, maybe... in the deepest parts of space, in civilizations that had existed for eons, the Heaven Demon Emperor was nothing more than a bug crawling in the void.
The Abyss corridor was narrowing. Orson felt uneasy.
He pushed Aeloria to fly faster.
If they didn’t move quickly, the two dragons might collide.
They flew in tandem, light streaking past as the Galaxy Sea blurred into flowing streams of energy.
"Wait—something’s wrong!" Orson called out suddenly.
Usher’s face tensed. He yanked the reins tight.
Both dragons came to a halt midair—
but the Galaxy Sea around them kept rushing past.
They weren’t flying fast.
At an insane speed, spiraling downward into the Abyss tunnel.
"Her coordinates vanished!" Usher exclaimed, panic in his voice.
"She’s out! She made it past the Abyss... into an unknown world!"
"Turn back. We need to get out of this zone and regroup."
But as Orson spoke, Aeloria’s massive wings started twitching uncontrollably.
Despite pouring in all her strength, she couldn’t resist the pull.
She was being dragged downward at breakneck speed.
Usher’s dragon was in the same state.
Their bodies clung close, wings unable to spread.
Then Usher’s eyes went wide as a realization struck him.
"There’s only one explanation for this," he said.
"No anti-flight barriers, no attacks, but still losing control—"
Orson’s heart sank. He met Usher’s gaze and finished the sentence:
"We’re being forcefully teleported by a transfer array!"