The Harvester

Chapter 253: “Can you overcome a star?”

Rakna let go of the string and the arrow flew off at incredible speed. It traced a line of vibrant blue on its path and met with the distant red dot. What followed could only be described by the sound of waves striking against a cliff. The only difference was that it was amplified beyond imagination and caused the sky to be momentarily taken over by a tsunami.

Lilith and the citizens of the Lunar Capital gawked at the sight. Rakna nonchalantly lowered his bow and watched as the tide he had conjured turned into a massive whirlpool before scattering as if nothing had been there a few seconds ago.

Soon after, his eyes caught several figures falling from the sky. Most of them were unconscious as the spell he had used was more like a massive blunt attack. Water could be both destructive and soft but Varunastra focused on sheer impact. Anyone caught inside its currents would experience the pressure of swimming thousands and thousands of miles underwater in one single instant.

Even for magically enhanced beings, the shock could easily incapacitate. Obviously, it could also infiltrate someone’s body and flood their lungs. But most importantly, it was good against flames.

Rakna unfurled his three pairs of wings and poured mana into them. “Yamul, go tell Claudius to send soldiers to coordinate the masses. No need to panic. I should be able to avoid damages… to the city at least…”

“Wait! Are you going to fight them alone?”

The werewolf snorted. “What? Do you think you can help me in your state? You’d need at least a few years before even hoping to return to a decent fighting capability after your stunt.”

“But–!”

“Shut up and follow my orders. Based on what I’m sensing right now…” Rakna frowned. “Someone is coming that only I can keep at bay until the ritual is finalized.”

“What do you…!” Lilith swallowed her words and almost fell to the ground as a suffocating aura blanked the entire city. No, it was even worse than an aura. It was a force of nature. The flames in her soul, representing her magic and her very existence, broke down. As if something other than herself was demanding their absolute obedience.

Rakna merely grunted at the pressure and his eyes zoomed in on the group of airborne humanoids that hadn’t fallen yet. They all were dazzlingly beautiful and similarly to the Moon Dwellers, who shared the same silver hair color, they sported a deep shade of red as theirs.

But most importantly, they possessed a pair of crimson feathered wings. And amongst them, there was one figure that stood out. A stunning woman with six wings, not unlike Rakna, who gave off a feeling of oppression that no regular mortal could withstand.

“This amount of divinity… the sheer intensity is almost sickening,” he muttered.

“Divinity…?! Then that is the Sun God?!” Lilith exclaimed. “She was a woman?!”

“Just do what I said,” the werewolf instructed and disappeared. Barely a second later, a sonic boom resounded throughout the city and a new aura emerged, countering the divinity.

The Sentinel reappeared in front of the group of Sun Dwellers, his wings releasing a silver mist while they were busy evaporating the water soaking them. Rakna’s eyes squinted as he beheld the woman. She responded in kind, though her reaction seemed to be a mix of reluctance, fondness, and betrayal.

“You…” She spoke.

“Me,” Rakna smiled. “How nice it is to see you… Mother,” he said sarcastically. This was one thing he had gotten from using Clairvoyance. In this Scenario, his existence, as well as his uniqueness, was set to be explained by the fact he was created from a joint effort between the Moon and Sun Gods in hope that he would be the perfect counter to demons.

“You’re alive…” The goddess said with some amount of shakiness in her voice. She stared at him for a while before hardening her expression. “Son… do you understand what you are doing?”

“I perfectly know what I’m doing,” Rakna retorted and Sonata floated next to him, switching to its Guandao form for him to catch it. He pointed the blade at his ‘mother’ and it started oscillating menacingly.

“I’m not much of a reformist, mind you. But I’m not stupid enough to not notice how bad this has gotten, mother. It’s war if nothing is attempted. To be honest, I hesitated between two courses of action. The first one was to help them revive the Gods.”

She raised an eyebrow. “That is what you are currently doing,” she uttered whilst glimpsing at the glowing shrine. “Before I personally interrupt it…” She narrowed her eyes. “I will give you a chance to say your other plan.”

Rakna snorted in amusement. “The second option… was to kill them for good.”

The goddess paused for a moment due to the shock. “What…?”

“I wondered if I should have just destroyed the Shrine altogether; the last remnants of the Moon God’s divinity and soul along with it so that no one could ever bring him back. The only downside to this plan is that it will cause an immediate war but prevent future ones due to a lack of cause.”

“The only down…! Do you realize what you are saying?!” She lashed out, indiscriminately releasing her aura, and even forcing her own people to move back. “You would be willing to destroy the last vestiges of your creator?!”

“Yes,” Rakna’s voice abruptly turned apathetic and she froze on the spot. “And this should have been done from the start. You reap what you sow. Now, kindly retreat or I will have to force you to.”

The Sun Goddess bit her lip and her wings were set ablaze with orange fire. “You are not the one in a position to demand that. Let me pass… Sentinel…. you cannot defeat me.”

“Is that so?” Rakna said smilingly. “I may not be able to harm you… Ramsa… but are you sure you can fend me off? You may be the Sun Goddess, but can you win against the sun?” He asked and his smile widened into a grin. “Can you overcome a star?” He added and crimson energy shrouded his body like a cascade of magma.

Red dyed his fur, his wings, and even Sonata itself gained a red tint. Ramsa’s eyes widened as she sensed a stockpile of raw power that surpassed even her Domain. “How did you–?!” She had never known the Sentinel possessed an ability like this. She had always thought that he hadn’t inherited anything from her when she helped in his creation.

“Hahaha!” Rakna laughed and his aura, despite not increasing in intensity, became far more deadly in nature. There was no doubt in the origin of this difference; unadulterated bloodlust. “It will be the first time I use this one…” He grinned and exhaled smoke, volcanic energy rolling off his skin in waves. “[Volcanic Star Manifestation…]”

Ramsa shuddered and waved her hand at the Sun Dwellers behind her. Miniature suns encased them all and sent them away to safety right before Rakna finished naming his spell.

“[Internal Release.]”

⠀

* * *

⠀

A few minutes earlier, when the divinity erupted around the Moon Shrine. “Damn it! I didn’t expect this!” Norio grumbled as he remotely controlled the pattern of the seals. Hundreds of magic circles of all sizes were floating around the room; most of them around the divine pillar.

“Well, it seems it is a failsafe. Or perhaps the Moon God is starting to awaken on his own,” Astraea commented as she focused on the flow of divinity inside the Shrine. Since she herself was an avatar of a goddess, she was the best help in this situation.

“No shit!” Norio snarked and waved his hand, superimposing a dozen circles and then making them disappear like glass shattering. “But at least, we will be able to reform the divinity into a body very soon now. As long as there isn’t any interrupt–!” His sentence was cut off by the weight of a suffocating presence. He almost lost control of his mana. “Oh, come on!”

Astraea giggled as she glanced upward for a second. “You jinxed yourself, demon boy.”

“What is ‘jinxed’ even supposed to mean?!” He barked back and clicked his tongue. He turned his head toward a large cube floating in the middle of the room. It had countless grooves on its surface and it was composed of many different detachable sections that were currently spinning more or less fast as it sucked in the divinity.

This was the artifact made by the demons specifically to revive the Gods. In fact, at the same time, a facility on Earth was also being invaded by divinity; albeit a much darker one.

“Is that the Sun God?” Norio grumbled. “Shit! Of course, they’d try to stop us! You guys should have never contacted the Sun Dwellers! It was an obvious possibility!”

“Well, yes and no,” Astraea said with a hum. “Lord Monarch did it because it was the most effective compromise. Regardless of their intentions, it is better to have them close in case something goes wrong. But the truth is we didn’t tell them anything about the resurrection. They must have found out about this from investigating on their own.”

“Yeah, well, what do you plan to do about the god right outside, huh?!”

The Goddess of Innocence flashed a smile worthy of her title. She pointed at the ceiling and waited three seconds for something. “This,” she uttered, and as if on cue, an aura fought back against the divine force, relieving some of the pressure on the artifact that had been forced to slow down.

Norio’s eyes widened in shock at the familiar aura. “Seriously? Does he really think he can contend against a God head-on? Even if he is the Sentinel…”

“Wait for it,” Astraea stopped him amusingly, and soon enough, the aura grew in intensity and the mage started sweating buckets.

“Oh, shit…” That’s the only thing he could say.

Astraea snorted in amusement and opened a telepathic channel with her summoner. “{How much time can you hold out, Lord Monarch?}”

“{Three minutes…}” The answer was immediate; as if he was waiting for her. “{Perhaps a minute or two more if I push it. Be done by then or we’re dead,}” he said and ended the communication.

She laughed wryly. “Slave-driver, I tell you…” She said to herself. “Come on, demon boy! Redouble efforts! We need to have the Moon God revived within three minutes!”

“You don’t need to tell me! And stop calling me demon boy!”