Salvos (A Monster Evolution LitRPG)
Chapter 741: 'Edithe'

741. 'Edithe'

[??? - Lvl. ???]

“Is that… Edithe?”

Clayton blinked a few times as he stared at the figure that was standing right before the army of Centinels. She certainly looked like Edithe. She had long, flowing crimson hair, and she wore the same white robe she did when she left.

However, there was a lot about her that was different from when the Headmaster of Mavos Academy last saw her. First of all, she was carrying an ornate scythe— almost translucent, but radiating a luminescence of iridescence that seemed to give it form.

And more than that, a pair of feathered wings wisped off her bag. White wings— like that of doves. But the tips of the feathers seemed to shine with a golden glow. Her skin seemed to burn with the same golden light, giving her body a fiery texture like she was made of molten lava.

But that was not the most striking change that had overcome Edithe. It was the strange markings that now overcame her face that made it clear that something had happened to her— white lines protruded from the edge of her face, forming a strange striped irregular pattern that almost looked like veins. They were most dense in gathering around her eyes.

And her eyes— they were completely white.

She had no pupils. It was like she wore a blank canvas behind her eyelids.

Clayton narrowed his eyes as he took in Edithe’s brand new form. He saw— or he couldn’t see her levels. Which was impossible. Unless she had somehow acquired some sort of obfuscation artifact or learned an obfuscation spell while she was in the Spirit Plane.

But the Headmaster of Mavos Academy didn’t focus on that fact. He simply took in her form. And he wondered… what exactly happened during her search for the Archangel?

Because based on the features that had overcome her body, it was almost like…

However, before Clayton could finish his train of thought, the Matriarch Centinel let out a screech. It was an ear piercing screech— one that made the Headmaster of Mavos Academy recoil from the sound alone.

All the gathered students of Mavos Academy who had just been staring at this scene covered their ears and braced themselves. The swarm of Centinels surrounding the Matriarch from behind all let out a cacophony of shrieks too. It was an overwhelming chittering that drowned out almost all noise.

Willy, Centina, and the [Ancient Yaksha] that was accompanying ‘Edithe’ backed away nervously. But ‘Edithe’ stepped forward, holding up a hand at the Matriarch Centinel. Instantly, the Progenitor stopped screeching and backed away from her.

“Relax, will you? I haven’t even done anything yet, and you’re already screaming at me.”

‘Edithe’... or the entity that took Edithe’s form, just waved a hand dismissively.

Clayton’s brows snapped together when he heard her speak. He couldn’t discern the gender of the voice— it was androgynous. Although, he could still hear a little bit of Edithe in her.

‘Edithe’ continued as she yawned.

“So this is the so-called apocalyptic disaster that you want me to deal with, huh? If I’m being honest with you, this doesn’t seem like much of an ‘apocalypse’.”

Who is she talking to? Clayton frowned as he caught the tail end of her words. He heard nobody else speaking. Was she somehow communicating with the Matriarch Centinel?

Clayton’s gaze darted between the Matriarch Centinel floating in the air. The giant monster looked uncertain— hesitant. Too scared to even attack. It evidently was not having a conversation with ‘Edithe’.

She came to a halt after a few more steps, before glancing back at her companions.

“What? They’ll be fine watching from here— hey, don’t boss me around! Only the Arcraem gets to give me orders like that!”

Clayton blinked a few times, watching as ‘Edithe’ seemed to argue with the air. Until, finally, she relented as she shook her head.

“Ugh, fine. But only so you’d stop complaining.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

And with that, ‘Edithe’ waved a hand at her three companions, before they’re swallowed up by a portal. Clayton’s eyes grew wide as he watched the three of them fly out of another portal that appeared at the other side of the barrier— inside of Mavos Academy.

“How is that possible? With all the layers active, not even opening a hole through space should be possible. Unless…”

Clayton’s eyes flickered as he focused on the dense and complex network of mana strands that formed the barrier. And he saw a hole in the barrier— where the portal had been opened.

The Headmaster of Mavos Academy could only gape in disbelief at that. Did she really just breach through the barrier just like that?

He couldn’t believe what he saw. It didn’t matter that she was in Clayton’s [Antimagic Field]. It didn’t matter that this was the most powerful barrier ever created by Humankind that even Regnorex and his army could not breach. ‘Edithe’ didn’t seem to consider just how significant of a feat she had just carried out with the wave of a hand. Instead, she took in a deep breath and strode forward, looking back towards the Matriarch Centinel.

“Alright, now let’s just deal with this already…”

‘Edithe’ sighed as she flapped her wings, flying up to meet the Matriarch Centinel. She came to a halt right before the shimmering and distorted figure of a giant centipede, then she placed her hands on her hips.

“Now, I don’t know if you can understand me, but I’m going to give you two options.”

The Matriarch Centinel backed away hesitantly, before forcing itself to meet ‘Edithe’s’ gaze.

“The first option— you leave and take your children with you. Then there won’t be a problem, and I can go back to dealing with actual problems like the end of not just the Nexeus but the Arcraem itself. We’ll both be happy.”

The Matriarch Centinel didn’t respond. Although, it almost seemed like she understood what ‘Edithe’ had said. Clayton could just tell.

And then ‘Edithe’ continued.

“The second option is far less appealing for you. I kill you, and I slaughter your children, then I’ll go back to the Spirit Plane. This time around, only I’ll be happy, but slightly less so because I have to waste my time dealing with your shit.”

The Matriarch Centinel considered what ‘Edithe’ had to say. For a moment, there was a long silence. Clayton wondered if this ploy would work. He held his breath in silence, the world all around him almost melting away in anticipation.

But then he noticed the Matriarch Centinel’s gaze drifting past ‘Edithe’. It looked towards Centina, who was now standing at the other side of the barrier. And Clayton knew that the Progenitor had made its decision.

It looked back towards ‘Edithe’ who tapped a finger impatiently on her crossed arms.

“Well, have you made your—”

‘Edithe’ started, only for the Matriarch Centinel to snap its gaze back at her and unleash a beam of iridescent light. It happened instantaneously. Clayton barely even processed what had happened.

All he knew was that the same blast that had nearly destroyed the barrier had now completely engulfed ‘Edithe’, and it should have been more than enough to vaporize her. Or so Clayton thought.

But he heard her echoing voice cut through the screeching of the Matriarch Centinel, before he caught a glimpse of her figure casually floating forward through the iridescent beam of light.

“So you’ve made your choice, huh? That is…”

‘Edithe’ held up her scythe— the weapon was absorbing the brunt of the blast. She just shook her head as she emerged from the iridescent beam of light. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she took in a deep breath.

Then she grinned.

“Unfortunate.”

And Clayton watched as ‘Edithe’ shot forward, slashing down with her staff. It happened so fast, the Matriarch Centinel was already flying across the sky by the time the Headmaster of Mavos Academy realized what was happening.

‘Edithe’ cackled wildly as she spread her arms wide.

“IT FEELS SO GOOD TO BE ALIVE AGAIN!”

All around her, the army of Centinels moved. They screeched and rushed to swarm her. The [Ancient Centinels] were the first to reach her. A dozen of them, surrounding her from all sides. But she just laughed and threw her scythe at them.

Before they could even reach her, they all fell, sliced into dozens of pieces by the scythe as it returned to her arms.

“How is she doing this?”

Clayton asked as he stared at ‘Edithe’s’ power, aghast. She just flew down, cleaving through the sea of Centinels as her voice reverberated all throughout Mavos Academy.

“I HAVE KILLED BILLIONS AND I WILL KILL BILLIONS MORE IF I HAVE TO TO FULFILL MY ROLE! SO DIE, YOU INSECTS!”

The students of Mavos Academy— the [Mages] that were watching— looked on in sheer disbelief at what they were seeing. Even Clayton had to question whether he had actually already been killed by the Matriarch Centinel, and he was now just deluding himself and imagining a situation that could not possibly exist.

But a figure flitted up next to where the Headmaster of Mavos Academy was standing atop his nimbus cloud. Willy, the [Will O’ Wisp], spoke simply as he came to a halt.

“This is not Edithe’s power. This is the power of the Archangel.”

“The Archangel?”

Clayton blinked, before looking towards ‘Edithe’ as she flew straight for the Matriarch Centinel. In response, the Matriarch Centinel unleashed another beam at her. But the attack failed once again, deflected by the scythe.

“We succeeded in our quest. But bringing the Archangel here came at a cost.”

Willy stated matter-of-factly as Clayton’s head whirled. He looked towards ‘Edithe’ as she crashed into the Matriarch Centinel, sending the monster flying further away from Mavos Academy.

“Edithe, what have you done?”

Clayton asked as he stared at her— as he took in her new form. And Willy’s flames flickered, before turning blue. The [Will O’ Wisp] answered morosely as the battle raged on in the distance— as the slaughtered continued.

“She sacrificed everything— to save us all.”