Salvos (A Monster Evolution LitRPG)
Chapter 736: Fragments

736. Fragments

The light faded away. The ringing in Edithe’s ears quietened. But even as she blinked, taking in her surroundings, the whiteness that enveloped her remained.

Because it was the world which she now found herself in. A blank canvas that spread out far and white— that stretched beyond the horizon, if there even was one. It almost looked like a pure white blanket of snow, but the uniformity of it all was almost… jarring.

It was an incomprehensible sight to Edithe. She had never seen a landscape that was anything like this before. She had to rub her eyes to make sure she was not hallucinating, only for her attention to be drawn to a voice echoing right in front of her.

“Hello, Human.”

A familiar voice boomed around her, practically shaking the white world.

And Edithe’s gaze snapped up to face a golden ball of flame floating in the air right before her. At first, she thought it was Willy— or at least, another [Will O’ Wisp]. But as she took a closer look at the golden ball of flames, there was something different about it.

Perhaps it was in the way the ball of flames didn’t flicker with embers that blew with the wind— because there was no wind. Or maybe it was in the way the flames seemed to swirl around in a sphere, like it was being forcefully contained into the shape of a ball by an iridescent barrier, rather than blazing brightly like an actual fire.

Edithe couldn’t exactly place her finger on it, but she just knew this was no [Will O’ Wisp]. And when she heard the voice once again, she knew it was the Archangel.

“You did well, recovering the fragments of my soul.”

The voice said simply.

“The fragments of your…?”

Edithe paused, before looking down at the palm of her hand. She stared at the broken metallic sphere she had picked up from the crater.

“If these are pieces of your soul, then what are you?”

“I am what remains of Iudex’s essence.”

The voice explained as it flitted before the redhead.

“His divinity and his magic given creation. If Soli had destroyed me, I— or rather, Iudex— would have perished for good. However, whether it be by chance or by the blessings of the Arcraem, that was not the case.”

Edithe’s eyes widened as she listened to the floating ball of golden flames.

“Wait, are you saying you— the Archangel— can be brought back to life?”

“Indeed.”

The voice replied as Edithe’s heart began to race at the prospect of saving her friends back at Mavos Academy.

“But it will only be possible if two conditions are met.”

“What is it? I’ll do anything!”

Edithe exclaimed, taking a step forward.

This was the reason why she came here to the Spirit Plane in the first place— to find the Archangel, so that she could defeat the Centinels threatening to eradicate many of her closest friends.

“The first is simple…”

The ball of golden flames said, floating down to meet Edithe’s gaze.

“Return the fragments of Iudex’s soul to me.”

Edithe paused, before looked down at the broken metal sphere. That sounded easy enough. She began to raise her hand to hand it over to the ball of golden flames.

But then it continued.

“And secondly, you will have to offer your body as a vessel.”

That immediately made Edithe pause as she blinked a few times.

“What…?”

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“No…”

Oriur whispered as he watched the explosions erupt from afar.

Rachel had failed. It was obvious that she had failed. A sizable portion of the nearby forest had exploded, before dozens of [Ancient Centinels] exploded from the ground. Half a dozen or so flaming figures blinked into appearance in the sky, distracting the giant monsters.

But heading in the opposite direction of them was a figure wreathed in iridescent light, chased by the Matriarch Centinel.

Sally was distracting the Progenitor of the Centinels of Secely, while her clones were trying to bring Rachel to safety— back to Mavos Academy.

Clayton Skyshredder clenched his jaw as he watched this scene unfold. He knew this would happen. Rachel was too naive. And now, she was going to pay the consequences for her actions.

Next to him, a voice cried out.

“No, no, no! Rachel— mama!”

The juvenile Wyvern screamed as he banged on the barrier protecting Mavos Academy.

“They can’t— please! Somebody save them!”

But nobody would hear his pleas. In fact, nobody even paid attention to the fact that he was not a Human. Because there was no one here who was strong enough to defeat the Matriarch Centinel. Oh, Clayton Skyshredder wished he could do something. But he was far too weak.

He had seen the Progenitor’s level— it was more powerful than anything he could have possibly imagined. That was why he had thought that even the barrier that protected Mavos Academy would not survive for long.

All around him, other [Mages] from all across Mavos Academy gathered, taking notice of what was going on outside of the barrier. He recognized many of them. Whether they were his closest advisors or his students or others. Valda, Marie Schofen, and even Faith El the Fallen Queen of Elutra were some of the faces that Clayton spotted.

“What’s going on?”

“Is that the Salvos clone?”

“She’s fighting the Matriarch Centinel—”

A susurration of their voices broke out. But there was not a semblance of hope in their voices. Instead, it was of worry and concern. Fear of what reproach was going to be brought down upon Mavos Academy once the Matriarch Centinel came out victorious.

And make no mistake, Clayton knew that it was a matter of time before the Salvos clone perished.

Clayton’s eyes flickered as he spotted a pair of the flaming figures exploding amongst the swarm of [Ancient Centinel]. And emerging from the blast, another one of Sally’s clones flew straight for the barrier protecting Mavos Academy, carrying a tiny but bleeding figure in her arms.

“That’s—”

Oriur’s eyes bulged from his eyes as he saw who it was.

“Rachel!”

He called out as he pointed at the approaching figure. Valda perked up when she heard that, and the juvenile Wyvern looked hopelessly towards the Headmaster of Mavos Academy.

“They’re trying to escape back into the barrier! We need to let them in!”

Oriur pleaded with Clayton, but another voice spoke up from the side, instantly rebuking him.

“Headmaster Skyshredder, we can’t allow that to happen all for the sake of one foolish girl.”

It was Marie Schofen. Clayton’s own [Secretary]. She shook her head as she stared at the Sally clone landed right before the barrier, being swarmed by thousands of Centinels.

And from the fading explosion behind the Salvos clone and Rachel, even more [Ancient Centinels] shot forward, giving chase to both of them.

“It’s too much of a risk.”

Marie Schofen said simply, but Oriur tightly tugged at Clayton’s robes.

“Please, you can’t let them die!”

And the Headmaster of Mavos Academy glanced between both Marie and Oriur, uncertain what to do. Slowly, his gaze swept up towards the Sally clone as she blasted apart the Centinels swarming at her feet, before sending projectiles back towards the approaching [Ancient Centinels].

It was clear that the Sally clone was trying to teleport back into Mavos Academy. But she didn’t have enough time to focus or concentrate and get the spell off, constantly being interrupted by the chasing swarm monsters.

Marie Schofen spoke up as Clayton stared at the Sally clone.

“We should be doing the exact opposite of weakening our barrier even further— we should be preparing to reinforce the barrier with all seven layers active. Otherwise, once the Matriarch Centinel disposes of that Demon’s clone, it will tear its way in and slaughter us all.”

Oriur stared desperately up towards the Headmaster of Mavos Academy.

“Mama has done so much for us— you can’t just let her die! And Rachel’s your student too! Aren’t you obligated to protect every single student of Mavos Academy?”

Clayton pursed his lips as he heard the two voices arguing around him. His gaze darkened, and he turned away from the scene of the fighting. His eyes closed shut as he tuned out all the panicked voices around him.

And he remembered his duty.

He recalled his obligation.

Above all else, he had to protect Mavos Academy— he had to ensure the safety of all his students. It didn’t matter how he personally felt about anybody. His duty mattered most of all.

That was why he made his decision.

“Open the barrier.”

Clayton’s eyes snapped open as he raised his head. Both Oriur and Valda looked up in surprise, while Marie Schofen and the Headmaster’s other advisors stared at him in horror.

“Headmaster, you can’t be serious—”

Marie started, but Clayton shook his head as he strode forward, equipping the Breastplate of Alexander with a flash of light. He raised his ornate sword as he strode towards the edge of Mavos Academy, speaking simply.

“Two of my students are out there, fighting for their lives. I cannot sit idly by and let them die without trying to save them when I know I can do something to save them.”

Clayton came to a halt right before the barrier as he glanced back towards Marie Schofen.

“Now, prepare the artifacts we have been given to fight off this horde, and open the barrier.”

The Headmaster of Mavos Academy said simpy. And Marie Schofen opened her mouth to protest, before pausing. She lowered her head, before begrudgingly nodding.

“Yes, Headmaster.”

And with that, the invincible barrier that protected Mavos Academy for thousands of years… finally opened up. But even if it was only a small crack to save two individuals, it left the impregnable school vulnerable to the swarm of millions— maybe even billions— of Centinels.