Chapter 2093: Chapter 2093

"Even Calamity Beasts must abide by the rules of a Mysterious Realm. So, the trigger was the bonfire going out... Had the Difference Engine anticipated this?"

Engulfed in flames, Jenkins quickened his pace, racing toward the gate that radiated white light, but the plummeting sky was undeniably faster. As the heavens descended, the metal skeleton that had just risen to its feet materialized directly behind him and seized him in its grasp.

"I haven't violated the rules."

Jenkins stated. The skeleton's fingers twitched, and a line of text materialized before his eyes:

[You did not violate the rules. I did. Stay here, Savior.]

Despite Jenkins being ablaze, the metal skeleton showed no sign of catching fire. Its strength was immense. In his normal state, Jenkins might have broken free, but with both his body and soul being consumed by flames, escape was clearly impossible.

"If I can't break free, then I'll just have to sacrifice you!"

he growled, gritting his teeth against the agony.

This creature wasn't made of simple bone, so to avoid the [White Bone Offering] spell from failing, Jenkins directly unleashed a chain ability: [Embrace of Death (Red Martial)] combined with [White Bone Offering (Yellow Spell)] resulted in [Contacting Death's Emissary]!

As it dissolved into black ash, the particles scattered, then swirled back together. With a soft pop, Mr. Augustus appeared before him.

"Jenkins, what's happened to you..."

Before he could finish expressing his shock at Jenkins's flaming state, his head snapped up.

"To think it's *this* thing!"

Mr. Augustus instantly gripped his scythe with both hands and swung it fiercely upward in a wide arc. A colossal phantom scythe materialized against the sky, only to be shattered an instant later by the crushing heavens.

"I'm alright, Mr. Augustus! You need to leave! This isn't something you can handle."

Jenkins urged, trying to move toward the door himself. But the delay caused by the metal skeleton had taken its toll; the burns ravaging his body were now far more severe. He managed only two staggering steps before collapsing.

His body regenerated rapidly, but the flames licked at his new flesh even faster. For the moment, he was trapped.

"Jenkins, what are you talking about?" Mr. Augustus retorted. "I consider you a friend. Do you really think I'm the sort of person who abandons his friends?"

Mr. Augustus raised his scythe high. Arcs of black lightning surged upward, striking against the descending abyss, but it all seemed futile.

It was the power of the Calamity Beast known as the Undying Abyss.

"Of course I know," Augustus declared. "Anyone who wields the power of death must consider this monster an enemy. Mortals are meant to die—that is the law of the world. Immortality is the sin of the greedy."

He leaped high into the air, his entire body transforming into a streak of black light that shot toward the falling sky. But against the vastness of the abyss, Mr. Augustus was no more than an ant.

Jenkins reached out to stop him, but it was too late. He pushed against the ground, trying to stand, but his Spirit was finally exhausted. In the constant battle between life and death raging within him, life had held the upper hand—but it was a tangled, ceaseless struggle. In that instant, he finally reached the limits of the [Undying Man].

And with that, a brilliant white light enveloped the blue flames.

Although Jenkins had acquired the [Undying Man] ability last year, it had only ever activated once before. That time, he'd been shot in a vital organ, and his return from death had been unremarkable.

But now, he was a single step away from godhood, his body a true World Tree Seedling. As a [White Basic] ability, [Undying Man] was now influenced by these new factors, and upon its second activation, it underwent a strange transformation.

Within the white radiance, his body recovered at an astonishing rate, and the ethereal blue flames were extinguished. As the life force of the World Tree Seedling surged back into him, the immense death energy from the very ground beneath his feet was also drawn into his body.

This "rebirth" infused Jenkins with power, restoring him to his peak condition. But this was merely the surface. More importantly, the God of Lies experienced what it felt like to return from death. This was no longer a mortal's sensation. His soul had reached a far higher plane than it had six months ago; in that moment, he saw more, and therefore, he felt more.

He leaped up within the white light of his revival, a white speck of light streaking into the sky, just in time to pull Mr. Augustus back from the brink of being consumed by the abyss.

But no amount of newfound insight could instantly grant the mortal Jenkins the power to defeat the Undying Abyss. The sky had now descended almost to the ground. The immense pressure forced both Jenkins and Mr. Augustus back down, and it was now too late to escape through the gate.

"Do you truly believe this is the extent of my power?"

It was Mr. Augustus who spoke. He pointed a hand toward the sky. A bolt of pitch-black lightning tore through space, striking down from a world beyond even Jenkins's perception, and hit Augustus squarely.

The earth trembled. Although Jenkins had absorbed a third of the death energy in the Mysterious Realm during his revival, a torrential amount of Spirit, seemingly drawn from the Underworld itself, now erupted from the ground like a geyser.

Struck by the black lightning, Mr. Augustus found himself draped in a different black robe—one more ancient and tattered. He raised his black scythe, and a howling wind whipped around him as a terrifying number of undead clawed their way from the graveyard soil, forming a legion at his back.

Suddenly, the sky's descent slowed, even showing signs of receding. A pitch-black mist billowed up from the earth, and within it, terrifying undead creatures from an unknown source tore through space, breaking the rules to enter this Mysterious Realm.

They streamed past Mr. Augustus, charging toward the heavens. This black torrent of the dead actually managed to clash and entangle with the abyss. These were all high-level undead—sentient spirits.

They could only have come from one place: the world commanded by Mr. Augustus's ancestors. The Augustus family were descendants of a Sovereign. They were a noble house, and theirs was a noble death.

"Jenkins, you should go. Leave this to me."

Mr. Augustus declared. He had now become a colossal, black-robed shadow, and Jenkins could feel the immense power radiating from him.

"Alright. Thank you, I'm truly grateful."

Jenkins wasted no time on pleasantries. He grabbed his backpack and the two metal cocoons and turned to leave. Mr. Augustus's laughter echoed through the strange realm:

"Don't thank me, Jenkins. Without the Sovereign's permission, I couldn't have summoned so many high-level undead. My ancestor is the one helping you. As I've said, you are destined to be a child of death's favor. If you truly wish to thank me, then once this is all over, remember to summon me to the material world and treat me to a drink at a tavern."

He continued to grow, until his feet stood upon the earth and his head touched the abyss. The tide of the undead shrieked as it surged from the ground. Jenkins was truly no longer needed here.

"Until next time, then."

"Good luck, Jenkins. For the sake of the world we know and love, you must make it to the very end."

That was the last thing Jenkins heard before he leaped through the increasingly unstable white gate of light.

(Chocolate running...)

On the steps before the entrance to the Sage's Church, Hathaway stood with Chocolate perched on her head. She watched as a carriage, its entourage, and Fini drove away, disappearing under a sky as dark as midnight, filled with drifting ash.

The red-haired young woman didn't sigh until the carriage had completely vanished around the corner, her expression momentarily mirroring the one on Chocolate's furry face. But she quickly rallied her spirits. She reached up to stroke the cat—something he'd never allowed before—and only pulled her hand away when she felt his tiny paws pushing against her fingers.

"I've just seen Jenkins's friend off. Now, I just have to wait for Alexia to get back. Briny is with that fairy and the silver dragon... so I suppose I'll go find Jessica."

She mused, "I can't go back to being Miss Bailing right now. If Jenkins returns, I wouldn't even be able to approach him, let alone figure out what to do with this cat."

Brushing the white ash from her shoulders as she turned (no need to dust her head, thanks to Chocolate), she saw Miss Bevanna and an elderly Keeper of Secrets named Alia waiting for her at the church entrance.

"Miss Hersha, do you have a moment? We have something we would like to discuss with you."

Miss Bevanna asked, her smile a little strained.

"So, it's finally happened," Hathaway thought. "Honestly, did Alexia run off underground just to dump this on me?" Fresh chapters posted on novel·fire.net

Hathaway grumbled silently. With a cat on her head, nodding was awkward, so she spoke instead:

"Of course. Where shall we talk?"

"To my office, if you please."

Miss Bevanna replied.

The three of them headed for Miss Bevanna's office. Hathaway had expected to be flanked by Miss Bevanna and Alia, but she simply walked alongside Bevanna. Neither of them seemed concerned about her trying to escape.

As they approached the office, Hathaway revised her theory: the room would be filled with church demigods. But when the door opened, she saw only Miss Bennett, the Saint of the Church of All Things and Nature, and Miss Maso, a demigod from the Church of Creation and Machinery.

This was likely a gesture to put Hathaway at ease; since they were all women, the conversation might flow more naturally.

"Perhaps there are more people standing behind this wall," Hathaway thought. "A one-way mirror."

She had this thought as she entered the room with Miss Bevanna. But then Chocolate let out a listless "Meow," and for some reason, Hathaway understood. The cat was telling her she was overthinking things.