I, the final BOSS of the beta test server!

"Would you like to try to join me and become a member of the Gravekeepers?"

"Just like back in Frozen Water Town, you were saved by me and developed a longing for the Shore Guardians, eventually becoming one of them."

"And now, it's just a repeat of what happened back then. Since I've betrayed the Shore Keepers, all you need to do is follow in my footsteps."

"By then——"

"We will be able to continue the sweet and beautiful daily moments you long for in a new place, in eternal life."

When he said this, the boy's voice changed from its original coldness and indifference to its former gentle tone.

This was the tone that Luster had always used during the six months of training at the Watchtower, during the daily time that Grey cherished so much.

If it were a few days ago, hearing such a straightforward invitation and knowing that she would have the opportunity to continue her sweet daily life with Brother Last... Gray would probably have blushed and her heart would have been beating with joy.

And if it were ten years ago, that little girl who was as ignorant as a baby animal, who had no idea what ideals and beliefs were, and who just wandered aimlessly, putting her own interests first, would probably have accepted Last's invitation without hesitation.

but--

At this moment, Gray simply closed her eyes.

Two lines of clear tears slid down her fair cheeks, but when she opened her eyes again, there was no more confusion in Gray's eyes.

"Brother Rast... I'm still used to calling you that... But actually, in my heart, the real Brother Rast is already dead."

"You now only make me feel disgust and hatred."

"You are not my brother Luster, but merely a hideous beast that has replaced his body and soul, willing to do anything to achieve so-called strength and eternal life."

"You took the perseverance of generations of shore guardians and the sacrifice of Sister Shadow Servant..."

He endured the pain of his neck being tightened and suffocated to the point of death.

She spoke decisive words to Rast.

"What do you think of life?"

Gray declined Rust's invitation.

She had been looking forward to it so much before, and just thinking about it made her feel like it was a sweet and beautiful invitation.

"Brother Rust and I have nothing more to say to each other."

"Since I have chosen to betray, I do not need such hypocritical kindness from my enemies."

Gray spoke in a hoarse voice, just as she had asked Luster in Frozen Water Town many years ago:

"Kill...me."

However, faced with the words of wishing to die, the young man in front of Gray just shook his head slightly.

As if sensing the determination in Gray's words, Luster also put away his gentle and bewitching tone and returned to his previous indifference.

"Kill you?"

"You don't think I'll do as you wish so easily, do you?"

“Sometimes, death is a luxurious relief.”

"As the one favored by fate, the sole holder of this long step in the sequence... your very existence is as valuable as the Death Star Cup."

"I believe the gravekeeper will like my gift very much."

He snapped his fingers lightly.

The next moment, light gathered at his fingertips.

A pair of shackles radiating the color of dusk solidified around Gray's soft and delicate body.

The moment the dusk shackles fell on Gray's body, she felt her whole body stiffen.

She lost control of her body and couldn't even move a little finger, let alone try to commit suicide.

"This is the difference between the strong and the weak."

"As long as you have power, you can freely control the fate of others according to your own will."

"And the weak can only become lambs, allowing others to slaughter them—"

"Even in death, one must beg for the grace and charity of the enemy."

One after another, the irony came from the overlooking boy again, landing on Gray's heart, leaving one scratch after another.

But at this moment, Last's movements suddenly stopped.

The next moment, he suddenly let go of Gray, who had completely become a lamb to be slaughtered, and quickly retreated backwards.

boom--

The rays of the scorching sun penetrated the sky.

In the pitch-black sky, in the deepest part of the darkest night, a burning corona suddenly rose.

It illuminated half of the sky, just like a real sun, spreading unparalleled light and heat to the whole world, as if real daylight had arrived.

strong wind.

Thunder.

rainstorm.

Even the long, dark night disappeared silently and became invisible in the blazing, bright, and pure light.

This is a powerful force unique to legends. Every word and action can be transformed into the laws that modify the world, and even rewrite the celestial phenomena in a certain area.

Cecil's figure walked out from the blazing corona.

He looked at Lust, his eyes calm.

"Betraying the shore guards, leaking mission plans, and killing your companions... Kill without mercy."

There isn't any superfluous dialogue.

They were once superiors and subordinates who fought side by side, but at this moment, Cecil just used such a simple sentence to sentence Last's end.

The brilliant corona expanded in an instant.

The brilliant glow, carrying endless light and heat that seemed to be able to evaporate the entire ocean, crushed towards Last.

pat-

pat-

Countless sounds of things breaking rang out at the same time.

A pale and dim light, the remaining power of the Death God's remains, and the original text equipped by Lust himself...

Everything was shattered in the sunlight and then turned into nothingness dust.

After all, Rast's own rank in the "Tower" sequence was only level three.

Of course, as the holder of Night Blade's "Fool's Library", he also houses the Star Grail of the God of Death and stands on the remains of the God of Death, Paradise. His true combat power naturally cannot be measured by that of an ordinary third-level transcendent.

However, Rast is not a true elder of the "Death God" sequence after all. It is just an illusion forcibly forged using the "Fool's Library".

Unlike Helen, he did not take in the Death Star Cup the moment he was born, but instead used an extremely simple and brutal method to forcibly integrate it.

Naturally, she couldn't truly grasp the power of Death and make it a part of herself like the Queen of the Underworld...but could only control it in a very crude way.

It is certainly enough to ravage Gray, a raw stone who is equally immature and has not truly grown up.

However, when facing the leader of the Shore Guardians, Cecil... those powers that were forcibly elevated by relying on external things were like a mayfly seeing the blue sky, and everything became meaningless.

Only legends can fight against legends. This is the iron law of the world of extraordinary people.

Every legend is the protagonist of an entire era, and their birth is a unique and unrepeatable miracle in the world.

Even Rust and Gray have only just obtained the key to legend and glimpsed a corner of their own unique legendary road...but whether they can truly ascend to the throne of legend in the end is still unknown.

And Cecil is a strong man even in the realm of legends.

This is an insurmountable abyss.

Rays of light flashed around Rast, but then these skills were shattered one after another, without even the slightest hindrance.

He could only watch the brilliant corona approaching with its scorching light.

Once the solar corona completely engulfs Last, both the power of the Reaper's remains and Professor Barbarossa's "Silent Disqualification: Withering Stone" Night Blade will be completely ineffective.

The sunlight approached his body little by little.

Extremely slowly, yet unstoppable and irreversible, it led to the end where Rast was annihilated into ashes.

As if he had foreseen the devastating ending, Rast was struggling hard.

But for some reason, his gaze remained as calm as water. Silently, Rast exchanged glances with Cecil in the distance.

Then he nodded imperceptibly.

A strange light flashed in Cecil's eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

next moment.

The expansion of that brilliant solar corona actually accelerated a bit, directly swallowing up half of Last's body.

Without a single pause.

In the brilliant corona, half of Last's body was instantly burned by the high temperature of the sun.

It turned into ashes, leaving only the broken half of its body.

……

"do not want!"

Everything happened too suddenly.

Witnessing the solar corona engulfing half of Last's body, leaving only the other half incomplete, before Gray had time to think about what was happening, she found that a cry had already come out of her throat.

Even she herself didn't know what kind of emotions and thoughts made her cry out.

Along with Gray's hoarse cry, there was an old man's laughter.

"Oh, Cecil, it seems that I can't let you have your wish."

"Although he is a traitor to you, the shore guardians—but, Lust is our chosen target, the host of the Heart of God, the Death Star Cup."

A peaceful voice echoed on the cliff, and a vibrant green area full of abundance quietly spread across the cliff.

It also prevented the brilliant solar corona from further eroding Last's body.

Rast was burned by the scorching sun's rays, with burnt ashes still remaining on the broken parts. The broken body, which was already dying due to the severe damage, fell silently into the green area.

Then, in that rich and vibrant light, flesh and blood began to surge rapidly in his mutilated half body.

The cells were breathing at an overloaded rate, quickly completing the healing process...or rather, it was not healing, but mending.

Some kind of supernatural power was acting on him, causing his body, which was already like a broken rag doll, to begin to reassemble.

Within a few breaths, except for the clothes that had been burned, Rast's body was completely restored to its original state.

"Below the level of legend, everyone is an ant. This is the iron rule of this world."

"However, don't be afraid. When you truly contain the Death God's Star Grail one day... you will also be able to reach such a realm."

Wearing a white robe with tombstone patterns painted on it, an old man with a calm and elegant temperament, like a gardener, appeared beside Last.

And the old and gentle words also sounded peacefully in his ears.

"There's no need to obsess over competing with a legend like Cecil."

"People like Cecil and the Shore Watcher are nothing more than moths to the flame, burning meteors."

"It seems to shine with incomparable brilliance, blazing with brilliance, and with boundless momentum... but it is fleeting. For that fleeting, illusory brilliance, we give up the long life we ​​could have embraced."

"When the flames fade, the meteorites fall to the earth and lie buried in the dust, but the stars in the night sky continue to shine eternally... Just like us, the gravekeepers, they witness the passing of eras, the rise and fall of civilizations, and exist from eternity."

"In this way, we can get closer to the natural order of this world."

"And Cecil and the shore-guards are nothing but pathetic firewood destined to burn themselves to ashes and be crushed into dust."

As soon as he finished speaking, the gardener-like figure of the old man disappeared, leaving only an illusory door made of emerald green light and carrying the meaning of abundance.

Rast walked towards the illusory door of abundance.

However, just before his figure was about to disappear completely, Last's movements suddenly paused.

He turned slightly to the side and looked down at Gray who was sitting on the ground, her pretty white face covered with dried tears.