Chapter 2077: Chapter 2077

"It is a formidable foe from the shadows."

A speck of black light fell into the shadow at the woman's feet. The shadow swelled, in an instant towering over the roaring demon. The demon's skin was black, yet its flesh glowed with a brilliant red light like magma, a light insufficient to dispel the colossal darkness.

"The fourth is the one building the stage. I am the guide of destiny."

A black speck of light shot from the book and directly into the woman's forehead. Jenkins, along with Saint Grev of the Church of Creation and Machinery and Saint Carrot of the War Church, had already returned to the rooftop. Jenkins swung his sword once more, Grev hurled two dark objects forward, and Carrot spun like a whirlwind, brandishing his long-handled axe, approaching the trio even faster than the sword's light and the thrown projectiles.

The two men, one holding a bell and the other singing, retreated, while the woman, preparing to continue her chant, stepped forward. She extended a hand and, with her bare palm, caught Carrot's gifted battle-axe.

Divine runes flashed across the axe, conjuring a golden, holy light. A savage expression flickered across the woman's face as her speech suddenly quickened:

"The fifth is a guest from a foreign land, from a distant world."

A black speck of light shot from the book and into the hands of the man holding the bell. He had been severely wounded from taking Jenkins's sword head-on, but with this new power, he lunged forward again, crossing his arms to block the light from Jenkins's blade. The force of the blow, however, shredded his long robe, revealing his face.

Jenkins actually recognized him. During his first business trip to Shire City last fall, Jenkins had been trapped in a train-themed Mysterious Realm. Two others had also escaped alive: the female spy who used Mr. Prankster's Toy Ticket, whom he had seen again not long ago in the Abomination's Mysterious Realm caused by Mr. White Cat, and this man, who knew the train's routes, but who had never appeared again.

After blocking Jenkins's sword, he also managed to catch the projectiles thrown by Grev. The two bombs immediately exploded, but after the smoke cleared, not even a single roof tile was damaged.

"The sixth is a hero of this age, a living legend."

A black speck of light entered the old gentleman's body, causing him to grow a full three feet taller. At the same time, his once frail frame swelled with muscle. He was the one who had caught the bombs. While continuing to sing along with the woman's chant, he offered the three of them a slight smile.

"Damn," Jenkins heard Saint Grev mutter beside him. "It seems to be an ability that nullifies explosives."

"The seventh, the eighth, one is the Tree, one is the King. They are legends walking out of myth, visitors to this era."

Two black specks of light appeared simultaneously, landing on the ground. One transformed into a small black tree, the other into a man with an indistinct face.

The woman's voice rose to a crescendo. She and her two companions ascended high into the air, positioning themselves directly above the square. The Church's attacks flew up at them from the ground, but even without the invisible barrier, the book in the woman's hands continued to protect them.

"The ninth is destiny itself! From one to nine, from nine to one! This is the cycle of fate. When destiny gathers here, it is the birth of an ineffable enemy."

The black light within the book surged, and the immense spirit it contained vibrated through the air, stirring the clouds. The demon, the corpse, the shadow, the man, the woman, the old man, the tree, and the faceless one—though they stood in different places, at this moment, they all overlapped into one.

The book vibrated, then exploded. An abyssal light enveloped the sky above the square. This wondrous ritual, which had gathered the fates of Saviors, summoned a terrifying power that sent the light swirling.

At the center of the swirl, the barrier of space shattered, and a massive void connected to a distant, unknown realm.

Warm ash still drifted through the sky, but the air suddenly turned cold. Ripples appeared in the air as a unique spiritual fluctuation warped the space of the material world.

"This power... another Beast of Calamity?"

Alexia and Jenkins both looked up at the black hole. She was holding him, keeping him afloat in the air.

"The power of a Savior at the end of an epoch is a great power permitted by the world. So, by using the fates of Saviors, sacrificing oneself along with eight symbolic objects, one can open a hole to the outside with the world's permission... What a fascinating idea. If the Difference Engine is performing the Reverser of Fate ritual, then this one could be called the 'Conformer of Fate' ritual."

"Alexia, this is no time to be excited," Jenkins warned. "This isn't just the power of a Beast of Calamity—they've summoned an entire one into our world."

The gale was so strong that people could barely stand. The demigods who had been flying high in the sky were forced back to the ground by the terrifying power emanating from the void. Jenkins could barely hold his own, but Alexia could not. They landed with the others on the long street east of the square, where Pops came running over, hunched against the wind.

The people were terrified. While only a few understood what lay beyond the void, the oppressive power was undeniable.

In the center of the swirling, abyssal light, the channel connecting to the world beyond was now fully open within the void. That terrifying thing was approaching, approaching the material world, approaching the people near the city square.

"But how is that possible? The Tree House only had three demigods left. They sacrificed themselves just to bring a Beast of Calamity into the material world?"

Jenkins heard Miss Strass exclaim behind him. She had a point; the Tree House wouldn't act so self-destructively. And summoning a Beast of Calamity seemed to benefit no one. Except, perhaps, the Difference Engine, for whom it would serve as the perfect obstacle to stop Jenkins.

"Those people might not have been entirely sane to begin with... How long until it appears?"

No giant claw suddenly jutted out from the void, but everyone could feel an immense, indescribable thing gradually approaching the opening.

By now, people could no longer look directly at the void shrouded in abyssal light. The mental corruption of the Beast of Calamity was spreading faster than anyone had imagined.

"Thirty seconds at the earliest, a minute at the latest," Alexia answered. Her right hand held the rapidly spinning, translucent blue cube, while her left hand reached up to hold Chocolate steady, preventing Jenkins's pet from being blown away by the wind.

"Can we stop this ritual, or close this void within thirty seconds?" Jenkins shouted to Pops over the wind.

"It's too late, Jenkins."

Pops's voice was calm, a look of grim resolve on his face.

"Brace yourself. The Church is preparing to face it head-on. Don't engage. Go to the base of the tower immediately. You have five minutes. As soon as the entrance appears, go inside. Don't worry about us!"

Pops took out a key and prepared to plunge his hand into his chest, his gaze fixed on Jenkins with grim determination.

"Don't concern yourself with what happens out here. Your mission is to reach the ninth floor of the tower and face this epoch's calamity. Don't worry about us; we should be the ones worrying about you. You have to face nine... ten of them. We only have to face one."

Pops drew the key from his spirit. In the open air, the people around them instinctively backed away. The key itself radiated an oppressive power and a potent mental corruption.

Pops gripped the key tightly, but before his hand could touch his chest, Jenkins grabbed his wrist.

"What are you doing?"

The howling wind made it hard for Pops to keep his eyes open, and the immense pressure from the void above forced him to stoop. But he noticed that, at this very moment, Jenkins was standing perfectly straight, looking at him. Jenkins seemed completely unaffected.

No, that wasn't quite right. He wasn't unaffected. Jenkins was glowing. A golden light surrounded his body, and the shimmering motes it cast off were so warm that Pops could feel them.

He didn't know what it meant yet, but it was surely related to those 'little secrets' Jenkins had mentioned so many times.

"Pops, you should rest now. Your work is done. Allow me to take it from here." The source of this content ɪs novel_fіre.net

Jenkins's hand slid from Pops's wrist to his palm, and he forcibly took the sizable key. Pops tried to resist, but for the first time, he felt just how powerful his apprentice had become.

A blinding, yet exceptionally warm, golden light erupted from Jenkins's clenched fist. In an instant, Pops felt his connection to the evolution key sever completely. The key that had been with him for centuries, the source of his curse and his power, was gone—so simply, so passively.

A great sense of emptiness filled Pops's heart. Bathed in golden radiance, Jenkins looked at him, then slowly opened his hand. The key lay quietly in his glowing palm before melting into his body under Pops's watchful gaze.

Pops clutched the fabric over his chest.

"Have you really decided to do it now?"

Alexia asked softly, tugging on Jenkins's arm. She and the cat on her head both stared at him. Bathed in holy light, he seemed like a god. Though his appearance hadn't changed beyond the glow, to look at him was to feel as if you were looking up.