Anyone calling Orwell Mehest’s injury a light either fell inside categories of snake-oil merchant of highest caliber, or socially awkward friends whose attempts at feeling preservation were downright insulting.

[Jewel Sword: Salvation] annihilated Orwell. It ripped his flesh, sundered his muscle, roasted his innards. Even S-ranker like Scathach would shed their cavalier attitude when facing multi kilotons worth energy beam designed to roast an army. Orwell chewed the almighty devastation face first. Commonsense dictated Mehest should be atomized on the spot.

But through combinations of obscene Mana supply and sinister of surgeries on himself, Mehest hung to life from the 4 kilometers dynamic journey to hell and into the wall of his Spiritium tower.

CRASH!

In testimonial feat of eldritch material, the Water-quarter’s Spiritium tower held the impact.

Orwell should have kicked the can there — printed biology textbooks in all education facilities screamed so. His heart collapsed. His internal organ roasted. Arteries carrying precious oxygen and salt burst, turning the obsidian stone red with blood.

But Orwell remained alive, reflecting.

His opponent was ridiculous. That elf and demoness rivaled the 33 Stars — if not exceed them — in threat-level. Hal Jordan… Who was he? To think he possessed such allies aside from resolve and wisdom. Someone with such charisma and ingenuity should be world famous.

Perhaps that was the substance composing Jordan’s tapestry of obscurity. That mysterious entity exploited being unknown. No need to sound an alarm! Harmless guest, with a penchant for roast and tactic just passing into the party.

What a lair… The hero of justice lied by feigning being mortal.

Orwell picked himself from the floor. Ghostly purple substance began patching his wound.

Forget information control. Jordan won’t be defeated unless he poured in all his trump-card and effort. Orwell must tackle every risk if hoped to match Hal Jordan.

Purple wings of translucent energy grew from Orwell’s back, and he shot to the sky.

…

Cytortia sat alone in her imaginary realm of glass.

“How many days is it?” the former goddess complained. WORLD left her inner world ages ago, leaving her alone. Cytortia hated being alone. She already experienced enough loneliness as Nu Wa’s student. Originally, it wasn’t so bad. Then Chuang developed bitch syndrome, LinLey backstabed her, and Tai Hua went tyrannical. 

“4 hours,” Rem answered. His unwarranted appearance nearly sent the goddess’s heart into shock.

“Whoa!” Cytortia stumbled. “How are you here, Rem?”

“[Mentalism]” Rem replied. His body flickered dangerously. “It took effort, but I mailed a psychic link into your comatose mind. Here is an update.”

Rem relayed the current circumstance.

“Wait! Orwell is coming to fight us?” Cytortia absorbed the information slack-jawed.

“Yes, the Melody’s deduction and the length we cornered him give me the context to understand the vision my CCC predicted on Orwell’s modification. If we hope to win, we need you out of the discard pile.”

“But I am maintaining the [Tir Na Soal]!”

Rem stifled a smug grin.

“Cy, that is the point. We are going to aim [Tir Na Soal] at Orwell.”

…

Luxinna’s knee hit the floor.

[Salvation]

A grand finisher meant to one-shot World Enemy and the most powerful weapon in Luxinna’s arsenal. It required at least ten [Assault Flora] to fire. A hard-cast would take a solid three minutes of standing still for energy gathering and burnt her remaining strength immediately after cast. The insane downside forced Luxinna to innovate [Assault Flora] to remedy the energy demand and burnt out.

Although minimized, that attack wrung her stamina. Luxinna wheezed, catching her breath.

In the distance, flames pillar burst from the glacial as a demoness dug herself out of the ice coffin. Hikma floated on standby. The trio wanted to celebrate, but a purple figured streak across the sky.

The purple meteor ground to a halt in the air above. Its gargoyles’s wings spanned out, revealing Orwell Mehest. His flesh was a mismatch combination of purple material and charred skin. These purple solid filled Orwell’s heavily burnt chest like a filler. Line of purple tattoo stretched from his eyes and decorated his body in circuits of power. Veins and arteries were visible, glowing in a shade of lilac.

Melody glanced at Orwell with [Heavenly Eye]. Her jaw dropped.

“No. Fucking. Way.”

Her vision confirmed the threat’s gravity. Orwell grew beyond humanity by implanting a sophisticate Amalgam in his flesh. No, Melody sensed a worse reality afoot. She switched into a draconic-form and peered again. Holy. Shit. Those Amalgams were extraordinary. Did they mix with Orwell’s DNA and slowly mutating his body into a bio-Amalgam composite? The complexity was unimaginable. Melody refused to believe Orwell created a marvel of such sophistry. Melody’s pride in her lineage hang at the stratosphere, and even she accepted the supreme quality of Orwell’s enhancement. It was a sacrilege such ingenuity was unveil under this circumstance.

Orwell noticed her gaze.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Orwell narrated, gesturing at his wing. “It is my grandfather Magnum opus. A special Amalgam that removed the restriction of humanity. A successful implantation of these Amalgams will make anyone surpass even king of gods, by benignly augmenting the organ with material and modification created by combination of the user DNA and Soul Imprint. My great-grandfather created this Amalgam. My grandfather spent his life making it safe for general uses, hoping that its creation might allow the weak to gain strength to carve a living for themselves. His greatest wish is that his legacy can save countless lives against the assault from World Enemies.”

No one attack during such solemn speech. Melody was too awestruck by the sheer complexity of Orwell’s creation. Hikma respectfully listened. The nobles thinking about ordering the attack met Luxinna’s eyes — glaring at anyone daring to move a muscle—and they decided caving was better than getting kebab.

“And over 40 years ago, you degenerate gutted him and his wife. A mere week before he revealed this to the world. My father and mother fled for dear life, protecting his legacy from you savages. The strongest nation in the Aurora Continent? The member of Seven Continental Alliance? More like greatest of barbarians. Warmonger who foolishly believes in their immature immortality and power. Gluttonous butcherer of countless good men and women to satisfy your bottomless bloodlust and ambition. I will let you witness the might of the progress you stifle.”

“Mr. Mehest,” Hikma tried to reason. “We understand your stance, but violence already creates more violence. We can settle this peacefully. Wholesale slaughter won't mend those wounds.”

“That is where you are wrong,” Orwell noticed the man. “You must be Mr. Chronicler. My Amalgam told me many things. Your group put an admirable effort — fighting life and limb to defend others. You protected the Wind-quarter till you fainted where you stood. Your demoness comrade saved Kruger’s worthless life, while Ace there rescued more than hundreds in Earth-quarter. Even Jordan collapsed on the street to evacuate the powerless. All of you are heroes of the purest calibers. Which make it sadder because you are protecting the sinners who don’t deserve it.”

“What do you mean worthless, bastard!” Kruger yelled.

Orwell looked at him with disdain.

“A Vice-Captain who turns coward in a coin-flip. Another whose arrogance blinds him to everything. Nobility-class that refuses to give an iota of reflection. Civilians whose disinterest let the Empire run amok. A Captain whose tunnel-vision delivered his man and this city’s hope to burn in a pointless mission. The entire court of yes-man who gave general’s position to a door-mat, a battle maniac, an overwork clerk, and a walking scandal. Do I need to mention the Grandy Royal Family?”

“The Princess!” One noblewoman retorted.

“Fine, the Princess is alright,” Orwell conceded. “But aren’t you embarrass? Your most competent officials who aren’t so old he will probably drop-dead next year is an infiltrator and an 8-year-old!”

The noblewomen turned silent

Orwell growled. 

“My grandfather who dedicated his being to help the world were gutted like fish and burnt alive. Meanwhile, the Andries' little cliques gossiped about fashion made in child-slaves’s sweatshop in Elypt. And to prove my point on worthiness, Ace is writing that down.”

Every noble paid attention at Luxinna, who jotted a memo.

“What?” Luxinna stopped noting. “Slave children in sweatshop seems like an enormous problem.”

“See!” Orwell’s point was triumphant. “A comparison between an out-of-touch buffoons and a hero worth a damn. The entire empire, saves 2 people, are beyond redemption. I am doing the world a favor. Tell Jordan to back-off.”

“We can’t do that,” Hikma answered. “They can change. You don’t have to lower yourself to their level, Orwell.”

“Chronicler, I already murdered millions,” Orwell replied, undeterred. “Few millions more won't make a difference.”

[Mehest’s Original: Ice Hell Founding]

Orwell’s wing shined, the surrounding air swirled, and 450 cubes of ice weighing a ton each appeared in the air. Each cube glowed with an early shade of purple. The spectator stood in horror.

“No fucking way,” Lord Uther muttered. “He conjured hundred Ice-attack in an instant without magic circles. Forget power! The amount of control and mastery needs must be absurd!”

“H-How is that things a human!” Another noble named Melissa said.

“Don’t get frighten,” Eliza the fearful yelled. “It is still less than what he uses against Ms. Empress!”

“Girls,” Luxinna called. Her sparring experience against Rem told her quantity come second next to the unknown. “That is not the problem. Those ice are special.”

“Eh?”

“It Amalgam Ice?” Melody’s [Heavenly Eye] confirmed Luxinna's hunched, and she dictated a warning. “No one dare get outside the spark-head’s lotus!”

“Too Late,” Orwell declared. “Fallen down.”

He launched the 450 cubes and 1-ton ices at them.

[Assault Flora]

10 Jasmine sculptures materialized round Luxinna and started blasting.

Melody seized this opportunity to attack Orwell, but a purple skeleton a size of a house emerged and punched her to the earth. Melody affected the ground hard enough to create a crater, filling the air with more dust.

Orwell didn’t miss a beat, conjuring a giant energy skull at Hikma, forcing the archeologist into a defensive.

[Assault Flora] shot down all 450 ice before they fell to the ground, reducing 450 tons’ worth of frozen water into shards. but Mehest was counting on that. In one flick, Orwell turned the frozen shard into countless blades of Ice surrounding Luxinna.

The elf responded with her defense.

[Guard Flora: Multi-corner Storm Guard]

Lotus sculpture surrounded the crowd, swirling lightning storm acting as a buffer. Orwell gestured the blade to fell. Thousand blades bombarded the ground and flowers of storm defending the elf and the spectator.

In the middle of those tugs of violence, a simple fact finally dawn on the nobles, particularly one Andries Sellovett. Ace’s weapon was a sword. Shouldn’t she be rushing at Orwell and cornered him? Why did someone powerful as the elf hung back here?

Even the most stupid noble arrived to the truth.

Sol Grandy and Orwell Mehest. No doubt they would have died five-times total if the elf didn’t defend them against the two humongous threats. How much weight did their very presence burdened the heroes?

Orwell turned the ground surrounding the crowd inside a field of frost. Luxinna heaved a deep breath. Then her augmented sense felt a tremor.

“Motherfucker.”

[Serene Glass: Overdrive I (Nerve)]

The elf reacted before a series of spike shooting from beneath even took off. She coated the ground in a layer of glass, stopping most of the spike from turning the group into kebab. But despite her speed, many high-speed shards managed to successfully launched, forcing the elf to intercept them directly.

Luxinna flashed out of sight, knocking two high-speed ice with her sword, back-handed another, kicked few from its destination and blocked a majority with [Guard Flora]. But she won’t make it to the last one.

Luxinna gritted her teeth, and pushed electromagnetically launched herself at Andries, knocking her out of the firing-line.

The nobles collectively blinked — surprise at the golden shield protecting them. Some scampered away from the shattering projectiles that barely grazed their face.

Andries found herself in Luxinna’s arm, but the ice javelin impaling the elf’s shoulder was the center of her attention.

Luxinna just take a hit for her.

“Miss Ace,” Andries looked horrified at the bleeding injury. “W-Why…”

“It is nothing,” Luxinna tried to keep a level voice from the stabbing pain. “I survive… arrgh.”

Spikes of ice erupted from the elf’s shoulder, turning the clean wound into a grisly mess of blood, forcing the elf to cradle in pain.

Speck of blood sprayed on Andries’ face—a grim reminder of the price exchanged for her life.

Orwell lowered his hand after triggering the ice-shards.

“Isn’t this enough to prove my point?” Orwell accused the noble. “High-society waste of finest quality, worthy of Venistalis’s pedigree. You can’t fight to protect your life, surviving by dumb luck that superior men and women suffer in your stead. If you know shame, kill yourself and give that girl an easier time.”

Orwell’s words hit like a truck. Disastrous mix of realization, comprehension and shame struck Andries. Her hand—dirtied with Luxinna’s blood—shook uncontrollably as she realized the price of her survival. For the first occurrence of her life, she understood the true meaning of self-loathing. If she died, Luxinna would…

Bonk!

Luxinna hit the young girl with her healthy arm.

“Oww!” Andries clutched her head. No one ever hit her before.

“He is psyching into your head,” Luxinna told her. “My friend love doing that. Just ignoreed him and solider on.”

“It's the truth,” Orwell batted Shyme’s surprise artillery shell out the sky then blocked a column of Melody’s sun-fire with his gargoyle wing. Luxinna grimaced. Orwell saw past Melody’s attempt to sneak attack him using fire as distraction and smacked her back to earth at terminal velocity. For safety measure, Orwell dumped an avalanche on Solarmaria to keep her company.

Orwell continued his mini-games.

“The girl knows, so those garbages hiding behind you,” Orwell spoke. “What do you think is your reward for saving them?”

Luxinna recited Rem’s prophecy.

“Getting sell out, I suppose,” Luxinna replied. “The Grand Empire needs scapegoat to blame for their capital devastation. Dream predicted the noble behind me will toss us to the wolves with no hesitation. Can’t blame them for self-preservation.”

Half of the noble snorted indignantly, but some realized the elf possessed a solid angle. Andries froze in disbelief.

She came despite knowing we will betray her.

“What makes you go that far for these waste of space?”

Yes. Why? Why do you bother saving us?

Luxinna consumed the barbed spike sticking inside her shoulder with the raw force of lightning.

“If one life improves for the better, isn’t my effort worth it?”

It was Dream’s quote — the sentence elevating Horizon Dawn’s endeavor taller than any Phantasian organization. Stun was the noble. Speechless was Kruger. That light was so blinding Chamomile want to escape underground for sake of avoiding comparison.

“I see,” Orwell started, weaving his hand in specific patterns. “Why do good people be this stubborn?”

[Orwell’s Original: Arctic Circle Familiar Summoning]

Luxinna noticed Orwell’s secret in an instant. The frost he sprayed with his [Ice Hell Founding] was moving. The elf cursed. The ice was an Amalgam. Orwell covered the field with Amalgam and used it to summon something right beneath them.

Before the spell fully resolved, Hikma landed in the crowd’s midst and cast a counter.

[Surtr: Burn the Witch]

Hikma’s [Surtr] expanded into sizes of humongous dome enveloping the ice circle and melted it. Orwell cursed. His plan to counter the elf speed by engulfing her inside a bonfire of Mana leeching Amalgam failed, but he still controlled the fight.

[Orwell’s Original: Frost Skull]

An Amalgam ice-skull engulfed Orwell as an absolute defense. Its eyes shone, amassing a power to bombard the area. 

Then Orwell noticed a fluctuation coming from the Wind-quarter. But even Hal Jordan won’t interfere in time to save them.