The Protagonists of Romance Fantasy Novels Have Escaped - Chapter 173



173 – 173. The End of an Era (5)

I want to protect the world.

When did I begin to harbor such a will?

– Though it is merely a vanity of a world within a work, it is a space where countless beings with their own selves live.

I realized it.

Through the journey with the saintly party.

I must protect my country.

I want to safeguard my family and loved ones.

I move forward to realize my precious dreams and beliefs.

Over months, I traversed the continent, witnessing and experiencing a myriad of diverse figures. As experiences accumulated and memories grew, I came to understand that the world I was immersed in was not a mere vanity.

There were great heroes who recorded shining achievements.

There were ordinary citizens who sacrificed themselves to protect their families.

They are not mere characters in a work.

To define them as such is an insult to all the people of the continent.

I want to protect.

The world.

The future that rightfully belongs to them.

* * *

The thermobaric bomb exploded, unleashing a merciless wave of pressure.

Flames flickered.

Simultaneously, the hot storm born from the explosion’s expansion spread outwards.

The abandoned house burned away.

The hot gas inhaled through the respiratory system scorched the organs.

And then, a shockwave hit like a hammer, sweeping through the entire body.

I cannot open my eyes.

A pain surged, as if I had been thrown alive into a furnace.

The explosive power of the thermobaric bomb was infinitely weaker compared to high explosives, yet it boasted a brutal lethality. The pressure of the dust explosion incinerated the humans in the city while leaving the buildings intact, enveloping the one true god.

“……!!”

I tried to scream.

But no voice came out.

Had my vocal cords burned away after my respiratory system? Gael, whose entire body had turned to blackened charcoal from the detonation of the thermobaric bomb, struggled to raise his hands in a final act of defiance.

Paaah-.

The power of the aurora burst forth.

Somehow, having withstood the storm of the thermobaric bomb, Gael opened his eyes, preparing to counterattack.

– It’s over now… so give up.

A thick, smoky cloud loomed in the kaleidoscopic sky.

Despite being reduced to a tattered rag, a monster stood firm.

It had sustained fatal wounds.

It wouldn’t be strange to die at any moment.

Yet, Edanant raised his right arm, from which most of the flesh had been torn away by the explosion, summoning a crimson vortex. He was likely preparing to unleash the ultimate weapon to completely annihilate the one true god.

Madness.

Only the madness born from strong will and conviction remained.

There is no opponent that cannot be defeated by firepower.

If one cannot win, it is due to a lack of firepower.

Firepower.

A greater firepower is needed.

It was time to wield the wedge of disaster created by humanity.

– How long do you intend to bear this alone? How foolish you are, my pitiful deity.

A girl with flowing red hair appeared.

Edanant extended his right hand.

Then the girl grasped his hand, which was left with only bare bones after the flesh had fallen away.

War.

A calamity born from humanity’s long-standing greed.

The crimson torrent surged, embodying the original sin of humanity wrought by the horrors of war. The original sin, shaped in the form of a bomb, was destined to bring an end to the singular deity that had reigned for eternity.

– With this strike, I herald the end of an era.

The superhigh pressure and superhigh heat of uranium ignited hydrogen, triggering nuclear fusion.

A hydrogen bomb.

Also known as a thermonuclear weapon.

Now I am death, the destroyer of worlds.

With a blinding flash, the atomic bomb exploded, initiating fission and fusion reactions. Following this, hydrogen further ignited fusion, enveloping the city of creation in plasma rivaling that of the sun.

* * *

The circular, crimson plasma engulfed the city of creation.

The temple vanished without a trace.

All the buildings of the city evaporated amidst the debris.

The destroyer had descended.

The detonation of the hydrogen bomb left no trace whatsoever. The high-temperature plasma, incinerating even the finest dust and stones, was akin to the divine punishment of a destroyer that denies life and despises creation.

────────!!!

A flash fell.

And the aftershock, accompanied by intense heat, struck the epicenter, igniting the surrounding space.

Light and heat.

Explosive thermal rays struck, creating disasters following the plasma explosion.

Guuung.

The oxygen at the epicenter ignited due to the overwhelming thermal energy. Then, a storm accompanied the aftershock, sweeping away all gases in the vicinity, creating a temporary vacuum.

Air rushed in rapidly.

And a massive cloud of smoke and dust soared into the sky, forming a mushroom-shaped cloud that filled the kaleidoscopic heavens.

A gigantic mushroom-shaped dust cloud.

And the dozens of rings forming around it.

The era of the one true god, which had flourished for centuries, has finally been declared at an end.

Crash.

Crack, crash—!!!

The city of creation is collapsing.

The sanctuary of invulnerability, a symbol of the one true god’s arrogance, is meeting its demise.

The golden clouds that had enveloped the vibrant world in a plasma explosion have been completely incinerated. The destroyer of this world, born from the madness of war, was more than enough to obliterate the mysterious place where the traces of the divine age were recorded.

Boom.

Thud.

Kugugugung-.

The collapse led to a new collapse.

The city of creation faced annihilation due to a hydrogen bomb. As the pillars supporting the city and the mountain peaks crumbled in succession, it resulted in a large-scale burial that was beyond any daring prediction.

“…….”

The one true god.

No,

The woman who had been the one true god fell, her charred wings trailing behind her.

She vanished into the abyss, shrouded in pitch darkness, alongside the countless debris falling around her. Swept away by the detonation of the hydrogen bomb, she had lost the power of the aurora rate, and there was no way she could return by her own strength.

– Ethan! Edanant!!

– Quickly, reach out, Ethan!

The half-dragon of tyranny and the fallen angel’s saint approached Edanant, who was precariously hanging from the crumbling cliff, extending their hands.

Grab—.

They clasped his left arm.

They tried to grasp his right arm as well, but only the severed stump up to his shoulder remained visible. He had lost his right arm due to the aftermath of the hydrogen bomb, following the electromagnetic cannon and the thermal pressure bomb.

– The collapse is starting again! Evacuation is the priority!

– Yes!

A deafening roar echoed.

The precarious remnants of the city, hanging above ground, were about to fall.

They had to escape as quickly as possible.

If the heavy debris fell all at once, they would experience being buried alive.

– Ha ha ha, ha ha ha!! The one true god has fallen!

– Finally, the long, long era of the hypocrite has come to an end.

Rudmila and Jeblinne furrowed their brows simultaneously. The Triumvirate of Tyranny and the Archangel of Famine disrupted their focus, unleashing their agitated emotions.

Shut up.

Right now, Ethan’s rescue is the top priority.

The severed shoulder told of a precarious injury. It was a state that required immediate treatment, prompting Rudmila and Jeblinne to escape the abyss.

Crash—.

With a thunderous roar, debris cascaded down.

The abyss created by the detonation of the hydrogen bomb devoured every trace of the primordial city, as if it were a singularity in space-time. All structures, including the temple that had worshipped the One True God, surrounded by golden clouds, were swept away along with the dust.

—Ethan! Get a grip!

—I’ll get back as quickly as I can… Just hold on a little longer!

The deathly calamity that had possessed Elizabeta came after they had taken refuge in a safe zone.

In a hurry to regroup, Rudmila and Jeblinne flapped their wings, hastening their speed.

* * *

The light went out.

At last, the radiance of hypocrisy faded.

The era of the One True God came to an end.

Soon, the throngs who had worshipped the false deity would learn of it.

The Daughter of War, like the other calamities, unleashed her agitated emotions. The exhilaration and elation of having toppled the arrogant One True God reached the faint consciousness of Edanant, who had slipped into a state of unconsciousness.

—Edanant, my beloved disciple! I always believed you would succeed! If anyone could extinguish the light of the hypocrite, it would be you, the outsider!

When a god perishes, the disciples lose their divine power.

It was a natural consequence.

From noble mtl dot com

Divine power is a grace bestowed by the god upon the disciples.

By now, all the priests and paladins of the Holy Kingdom would be in disarray. A catastrophe would have unfolded, as they lost the divine power they had blindly believed in for so long in an instant. Soon, the disciples would realize that the One True God, who had reigned as an absolute being, had completely departed.

—You must be very tired. After all that relentless toil.

Rest easy.

When you wake up, a beautiful girl will greet you.

As she brushes your forehead,

As she tickles your cheeks,

I will bestow a kiss of blessing upon the great disciple who has opened the new era.

‘…….’

With that final plea, Edanant’s consciousness sank into slumber.