Miledi’s meteor storm felt simultaneously endless and instantaneous. Regardless, once the barrage ended, there wasn’t a knight to be seen. Even Darrion and the two apostles had been sent spiraling to the ground.
Miledi let out a long breath, enjoying the cool breeze on her face.
Slowly, the dust cloud around the Divine Cathedral began to fade.
“Miledi, look at that,” Oscar said.
“Hm?” Miledi mumbled as she looked in the direction Oscar was pointing and saw a single moving figure among the rubble. Then, she swiftly flew over to it.
“N-Ngh. Ha ha...”
It was Lucifer. He was broken and battered, but he was still crawling his way out from under the rubble.
“Y-Y-Y-You dare look down at me...you heretic?”
The majesty he normally exuded was nowhere to be found.
“Lord Ehit i-i-is absolute. Y-You’ll learn that soon enough,” he cackled madly.
Miledi waited quietly for him to finish, then asked, “Do you really believe all people are nothing more than Ehit’s toys? That it’s a sin to live as we please?”
“O-Of course it is! It’s the greatest sin there is! Pawns like us c-c-can only find happiness by...moving...as our god...wills...”
Ehit was absolute. People were nothing more than his possessions. Therefore, he was free to do whatever he wished with them. Their prosperity, their downfall, their tragedies, they were all nothing more than entertainment to appease his boredom. Mortals did not have the right to free will. The pope of the Holy Church breathed his last believing that to the very end.
“I see. Well, that’s why we’re tolling the bells of revolution,” Miledi muttered, then looked up at the sky. Her comrades had already gathered at the entrance to the cathedral’s inner sanctum, as the multicolored barrier surrounding it remained completely intact. Naiz had already tried using spatial magic to break through, but he’d been unsuccessful.
“Lyu, you’re better at appraising than anyone. What are you getting from this barrier?”
“I’m not sure. It doesn’t fall under any category of ancient magic. All I’m picking up is this strong will that says, ‘nothing shall despoil this sanctuary,’” Lyutillis replied, shaking her head in confusion.
“It’s fine!” Miledi replied with a grin as she held out a hand toward the barrier. Mana swirled around her. There was more of it than anyone had ever seen before, and she was controlling it with perfect precision.
Oscar and the others placed their hands on Miledi’s shoulders and back, then started transferring their mana to her, praying fervently for her success.
“Let’s do this—Heavencrush!”
A huge black sphere swallowed the inner sanctum whole. Black sparks shot out of it, causing the air around it to crackle, and it sucked in all of the nearby rubble, as well as a good chunk of the mountain itself.
Miledi wasn’t able to fully control a spell of this magnitude, so Naiz was forced to put up a spatial barrier to protect everyone. And yet, the multicolored barrier refused to break. It was clearly made from something beyond mortal understanding.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Miledi shouted, her cries echoing through the sky above the Divine Mountain.
If this didn’t work, nothing would. However, no one present even considered the possibility of failure. They all believed in Miledi...and they all wished for revolution from the bottom of their hearts. And so, they shouted together with her, hoping that their determination had the power to change the world. They fervently prayed for a future where everyone could live as they pleased, a future where everyone would be free to live in harmony if they so chose, a future free from Ehit’s shackles.
“It’s time to liberate this world!” all seven of them shouted at once. And in that instant, they felt linked to each other in a way that had never happened before. They were so perfectly in sync that their wills melded into one. And they could feel that singular will give birth to something new.
At that moment, they all grew keenly aware that they would succeed.
“Breaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!”
Cracks started to show along the multicolored barrier. Whatever will was sustaining it seemed to be losing against that of Miledi and her friends.
Eventually, there was a fierce gust of wind and Miledi’s Heavencrush shrunk. The inner sanctum, along with the rest of the cathedral, got sucked into it and was ground into dust.
After the Heavencrush vanished, all that remained was a caldera on the surface of the mountain.
......
......
......
For a few minutes, no one said a word. Miledi and the others’ heavy panting was the only sound that could be heard. They all felt like they’d lost more than just their mana and stamina. Every form of energy that powered their body had been depleted, leaving them more exhausted than they’d ever felt before.
Miledi looked quietly up at the sky. The marble pillar that connected Ehit to the world had been destroyed. Thus, his control of their world had been severed.
So, what’re you gonna do now? Miledi thought. Come down and fight us directly? Well, we’re not gonna run, so do your worst! Or what, can you not do anything anymore now that your pillar’s gone?
It was possible the pillar really had been that significant, considering how heavily it had been guarded. Though if that wasn’t the case, Miledi was still ready to fight.
Oscar and the others stood beside Miledi, their wills just as strong as hers. Enough time passed that everyone caught their breath...but nothing happened.
“Does that mean...it’s over?” Laus asked, looking unsure.
After a few more seconds, Miledi finally turned back to face her comrades.