Chapter Ninety-Five: The Baton in Yang Qiu’s Hands

Everything had been prepared. The hands of the watch kept running backward, and soon the scene reached the moment when Casillas attempted to assassinate the Ancient One.

Under everyone’s gaze, the Casillas of the past raised his sword and thrust it straight at the Ancient One, who was busy at work. But just as the tip of the blade was about to touch her, the sword suddenly twisted and swept toward them instead.

Artoria said nothing. She stepped forward at once and brought up the Sword of Promised Victory, blocking the long blade in Casillas’s hand.

Wind King’s Barrier, shatter!

A gale burst forth from the Sword of Promised Victory, slicing toward Casillas together with Artoria’s motion.

A strange smile spread across Casillas’s face as he turned into a dense mass of black fog. The storm vanished into it like a stone sinking into the sea, raising not the slightest ripple.

Boom!

A tremendous explosion rang out from Casillas’s body. The power of infernal law spread from him as an individual to the entire room, instantly turning the whole place into his domain.

“Mephisto! Die!”

Morey yanked with both hands and summoned his weapon, then charged straight in.

Casillas swung his sword backhanded and shattered Morey’s weapon in a single stroke. The next move went straight for his throat. Just when Morey’s life hung by a thread, Lin Zhengying extended the soul-hook chain in his hand and yanked Morey back at once.

“Stop causing trouble!” Lin Zhengying barked, then flung Morey backward, tossing him into the group of people under Blaze’s protection.

Mechanical Domain, unfold!

As Heimerdinger unleashed his domain, he set down dozens of miniature turrets. The fluctuations of the mechanical domain washed over every turret.

Turret upgrade!

A barrage of powerful shots fired toward Casillas, raising layer upon layer of ripples.

“Heh heh heh!”

Casillas flashed through the cramped space again and again. His sword stabbed from every conceivable angle. Taking the softest target first, his attacks were aimed directly at Lin Zhengying, who stood between Heimerdinger and Artoria.

Lin Zhengying held the soul-hook chain in his hand and ignored Casillas’s attacks completely. Calmly, he searched for an opening, knowing Artoria was at his side and would never allow such ordinary strikes to land on him.

Hex-tech rapid missiles!

Miniature missiles burst from Heimerdinger’s body like rain, blanketing the entire room.

Heimerdinger’s method of attack was brutally simple: in one sentence, overwhelming firepower.

Amid the relentless bombardment, Casillas was like a small boat in a violent storm, lurching in every direction. Yet no matter how he swayed, he never capsized.

Once Casillas had been driven to the side, Artoria’s eyes lit up. She swept her left hand, and the crown of the empire where the sun never sets above her head began to blaze.

The crown, symbolizing the power of the strongest empire in one era of the Earth, struck Casillas with overwhelming force, pinning him in place.

Avalon’s domain also contracted at the right moment, enveloping Casillas.

Lin Zhengying seized this hard-won chance. He thrust out the shortened soul-hook chain in his hand and drove it directly into Casillas’s soul.

Just as the chain was about to retract, the statue hanging against Casillas’s chest suddenly flared with a dark crimson light.

That light seemed to embody the darkest part of the human heart, and energy surged upward along the chain.

Lin Zhengying let go at once and took two steps back.

Artoria swung her sword with her reverse hand, blocking the energy that was still spreading.

In that instant, the statue’s eyes lit up, and a terrifying force slammed directly into the stopwatch floating in the air.

With a sharp crack, the watch’s hands snapped back to their proper point in time, and Casillas’s figure vanished together with the statue.

“The matter is clear now. Blaze, you will remain here on behalf of the Clock Tower to guard the place, in case Casillas attempts a sudden return attack!”

Once everything had settled, Heimerdinger spoke first. “We’ll return at once and report this in greater detail. In the meantime, no mage is permitted to leave the monastery!”

“No problem.”

As Blaze nodded in agreement, the elemental pool in his courtyard surged to full efficiency. Layer upon layer of magical defense nets covered the entire monastery, guarding against outside attacks while also restricting the movement of every mage within.

The next moment, a spherical pendant at Heimerdinger’s waist began to spin, carrying the three of them away from that place.

At that time, the entire sky of Earth was hidden beneath an eerie cloud cover. With sunlight unable to reach the ground, the whole world had fallen into utter darkness.

“Gentlemen, I have to return to Britain. If there’s anything else you need me to cooperate with, contact me then.”

Seeing such a scene, Artoria said farewell to the other two without delay. The Heavenly Court’s main base was in China, and the Clock Tower’s was in the United States. The mortals in those two places were far stronger than Britain’s, so she had to hurry back and protect her people.

After Artoria left, Lin Zhengying and Heimerdinger also parted ways. With events having developed to this point, it was no longer something they could handle on their own. They had to contact their superiors.

Earth’s existing defensive strength was far from sufficient. If Hell launched a large-scale assault now, the losses would be unimaginable.

Above those clouds stood Yang Qiu together with the spirit form of the Ancient One.

“I never imagined that the opportunity you spoke of would be your suicide,” Yang Qiu said with a sigh.

“It doesn’t matter,” the Ancient One replied. In her current state, she seemed remarkably at ease, almost as though she had been freed from all duties at last. “There is one thing I need to remind you of: make sure you use all of the energy I left you. I no longer have a body, so the dissipation of that power is unavoidable.”

“I understand. When do you plan to truly clock out?” Yang Qiu asked.

“Not yet. I’ll work one last overtime shift and clear up the loose ends. I can hardly leave you with a mess to clean up.” The Ancient One stretched lazily and looked up at the sky, sweeping her gaze across the planet she had protected for five hundred years.

Yang Qiu stood quietly at her side. This was a relay of guardianship, and no matter what tribute the predecessor received upon leaving, it could never be considered too much.

“Don’t disappoint me. From this point on, this planet is yours.”

The Ancient One held out her hand to Yang Qiu.

“Rest assured. With me here, I guarantee that even Thanos won’t be able to come to our planet and run wild.”

Yang Qiu took her hand and spoke with great seriousness.

“That’s good. That’s very good.” The Ancient One smiled. “When you finish this script of yours, I still have something to tell you. Once I do, I can truly punch out for good.”

“You could actually tell me now,” Yang Qiu said, a little tense at the Ancient One’s expression. If there was something to say at the very end, no matter how he thought about it, it felt heavy.

“The time isn’t ripe yet. Don’t let me down, and don’t let anyone else look down on Earth!”

When she spoke the last sentence, the Ancient One withdrew her hand. Yang Qiu looked down and saw an Eye of Agamotto resting in his palm. When he looked up again, the Ancient One was already gone.