Hi guys! Emperor93 here!
This chapter ends the 3rd Volume! Enjoy the reading and thank you for the support shown so far for this story! See you in the 4th Volume.

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***(Sarity's POV)***

Smeared with blood and wedged in the column where he had been thrown, Graeval was in the guise of Guardian.

“Kyaa~♥! Lord Guardian~! What are you doing here~?"

Ishgat exclaimed happily like a girl who saw her idol come out of nowhere... no, in fact, one could say that it happened.

"I came to attend a party that I was hoping was long over." Graeval began sighing heavily "However, I hadn't expected a private one for myself."

Nonchalantly he detached himself from the column but when he hit the ground he collapsed on the spot as if his legs could not hold him anymore: I noticed that he had an open fracture that came out of the calf, while his left arm was facing in another direction.

"Gah! Not again!"

""Guardian!"" Ishgat and I exclaimed in concern "[Grand Heal]!"

Casting that spell, the familiar white light enveloped Graeval and slowly began to put him back together. When it dissolved, he was able to stand up, but he was limping forward and if his face wasn’t covered by the mask, I’m sure he would be gritting his teeth to bear the pain.

"GRAUUUUUR!"

We heard in the distance forcing us to turn in the direction from which that roar was coming. That chilling, sinister roar made my blood freeze as it was so terribly... familiar.

"Although I have some questions..." Queen Shael began "I would start with, who are you?"

"At the moment it doesn't matter." Graeval stated as he headed for the mutant's corpse behind us

"He is Guardian!" proudly said Ishgat, "The one who managed to beat me and cure Princess Bassilla!"

"Hou~!" Shael said intrigued "So it's you... the mysterious healer."

"As I have already told you, it is not relevant who I am at the moment"

"What's all this rush?"

"...... You seem to be unaware of the danger of the situation you’re in."

As soon as he made that statement, the wall behind the throne was smashed again and from the dust appeared an enormous creature that had a skeletal structure and on the body developed a bone structure similar to armor. The legs were clawed and the back was covered with tentacle-like fur that constantly writhed as if they had a life of their own. The face resembled that of a grotesque wolf surmounted by two huge antlers resembling those of deer and a huge left arm, almost as big as his entire body.

"What's a Mornfiend doing here?!" I exclaimed

I trembled at the sight of that monster.

The Mornfiend is a creature that recalls old and bad memories: it is one of the beasts we had to face when the war between demons and humans was still raging. Its dangerousness is such that not even the allied army could keep it at bay and alone it was able to wipe out the equivalent of two companies of Templars, famous for being superbly trained and equipped. The few who managed to return were seriously injured and some died as soon as they reached the field hospitals in the rear. When my husband was given the task of killing it, we all worked hard to take it down due to the monster's incredible regenerative ability, Jack and Emilyn almost lost limbs or were maimed. The price of taking one down was huge and I was hoping I’d never see another one.

"The idiot behind this whole mess brought it from home." Graeval began turning to us. "You-know-who is taking care of the guilty idiot."

“GRAW?! GRAAAWR!!"

noticing us, the Mornfiend launched itself at us. I and the others prepared to receive it when suddenly Graeval gave a terrifying howl. Raging winds and fierce storms began to rage around us in a vortex of ice and snow that prevented us from seeing.

"What the hell?"

"GRYAAAAA!"

The Mornfiend on the other side howled in pain and a point of that storm ran red. All of a sudden, the storm seemed to come to life and gathered in a wolf form that snuffed its fangs made of ice and snapped at the monster, dragging it several meters away from us.

"*Sigh* Not even this is enough?" Graeval sighed "That regeneration is annoying."

“'Not even this'?! Since when have you been facing it?" Ridel asked surprised

"Hmm... will it be about forty minutes?"

His expression was certainly questioning under that mask... and knowing that, I took the forehead exasperated, while the Mornfiend was still facing that ice wolf. How can you be so calm and carefree?! I wondered as the others looked at him in surprise

"To treat a Mornfiend with such nonchalance... as expected of my beloved Guardian~♪." Ishgat said excitedly, clinging to him

"FUCK OFF!" shouted Graeval shaking off Ishgat "However, I see that you too have had your problems."

"...... He too is a victim of what's going on." my husband said regretfully

"Victim or not..." he began raising his right arm "when you start something, get it done."

Finished that sentence, which we could not understand, Graeval's arm penetrated one of the wide-open eyes and at that moment, the headless body began to tremble and various black tentacles began to appear from all over the body which immediately headed towards Graeval.

Although we were momentarily taken aback by the unexpected action, Jack started to move but those black tentacles collided with a golden barrier surrounding Graeval. Suddenly, I saw the blood of that abomination rise up along the arm of my childhood friend, and from little streams that were, they did nothing but widen until the gigantic body that had pierced with the arm began to shrivel more and more and the tentacles began slowly to wither until they fell lifeless. Behind Graeval, gigantic and majestic red eagle wings formed.

"Better if you get away from here."

With that statement, the blood of the corpses of the palace guards gathered in his hand to form what looked like a huge ax. The ice wolf disappeared after the Mornfiend broke it in half, turning again towards Graeval.

"So... ready for the sixth round?"

***(Shael's POV)***

I had come to Thirus intrigued by the person who had succeeded where I hadn't. I, Shael Qilana Leomyar u'Yedal, reputed to be the strongest spirit mage and healer, outclassed by someone wearing an iron mask... I admit I was wounded in pride, but my desire to understand how he succeeded was strong.

Assuming he would be attending the banquet prepared by king Edward Calsay Belmont of Thirus, I decided to attend as the invitation was originally addressed to my husband and me. However, I was wrong. That man wasn't there. It was somewhat strange; with such a success, he would gain much fame, attention, and possible support from the nobles of Thirus. In short, a ticket to the good life.

After the last toast, the situation worsened and Robert Patterver died, subsequently transforming into a monstrosity never seen before. The Hero and his wives immediately activated and faced the abomination. Not wanting to miss the opportunity to see how the party that was able to kill the Demon Lord fights, I stood on the sidelines watching despite Torkian's insistence on taking me to a safe place. Eventually, he gave in and I was able to stay and watch them... I was slightly disappointed.

Now, don’t get me wrong, they’re a tight-knit group and their coordination is excellent, but the Hero was very hesitant to kill the monster that used to be Robert Patterver, but in the end, he was convinced by his wives and the latest arrival, his mentor Lady Isghat Diaraiz Rember, beating the deadly sword.

We thought it ended there, but we were wrong. After the wall behind the throne exploded, a human figure crashed into one of the columns nearby. And who is him?! Most importantly, why don't I feel any mana coming from him?

When he broke away from the column, he engaged in a simple conversation with the Hero, his wives, and his teacher. Most likely, they know each other.

"Although I have some questions... I would start with, who are you?" I asked as I approached the newcomer

"At the moment it doesn't matter." the being stated in a metallic voice

He is certainly arrogant. That thought came naturally to me when I noticed the way he answered me... as if it were a nuisance just to answer me.

“He is Guardian! The one who managed to beat me and cure Princess Bassilla!"

"Hou~!" I stated intrigued "So it's you... the mysterious healer."

I did not expect this. The person I was curious about is right in front of me. He didn't impress me when he replied that way, but since he succeeded where I failed, I can forgive him for that attitude.

But there is another thing that made me curious. When I was going to ask him about his relationship with Lady Ishgat, and most importantly why I don't feel even a drop of mana inside his body, he anticipated me.

"As I have already told you, it is not relevant who I am at the moment"

"What's all this rush?"

"...... You seem to be unaware of the danger of the situation you’re in."

His tone sounded exasperated... which bothered me, but the reason why he said it was not long in coming.

Breaking through the same wall he had emerged from, a Mornfiend came forward. A dangerous creature to put it mildly. Its presence alone is synonymous with death and even the spirits, although they cannot be affected by that monstrosity, keep their distance from it.

Noticing us, it got ready to charge us

"Your Majesty! We have to leave immediately."

"Yes. I agr- "

"AuuuuuuuUUUUU!"

I heard Guardian howl, subconsciously giving me goosebumps. Suddenly, raging winds and fierce storms began to rage around us in a vortex of ice and snow whose visibility was practically nil.

Probably unconcerned of the phenomenon, the Mornfiend must have charged the same because I felt his roar of pain and a part of that wall that howling impetuously turned red. That barrier of wind and snow slowly changed, turning into a proud wolf made of ice and wind the size of the Mornfiend. I immediately thought it was a spirit, but I was wrong... there was no type of mana coming from that beast and above all, spirits would never do what they didn't like to do even if it is a request from the contractor.

That wolf pounced on the magical beast, dragging it away from us and inflicting terrible wounds on it, but nothing that the monster's rapid regeneration could not heal.

Suddenly the blood that had been spilled near the corpses of the royal guards began to flow towards us... no, towards Guardian. Majestic blood-red wings had formed on his back and in his hand, he held a huge double-headed ax also red as... no, made of blood.

"Better if you get away from here." he stated and then turned to the Mornfiend who had just defeated that wolf "So... are you ready for the sixth round?"

I shuddered when he said it and I'm sure that if he didn't have a mask on his face, I have a feeling that he would be smiling.

"GROAAA-!"

"Shut up once and for all!"

He disappeared. It took only a blink of an eye that was already in front of the Mornfiend. With a blow he separated the pelvis from the trunk of the beast and with a fluid movement, he struck a blow that fell on the head of the beast, splitting the skull in two.

A normal living thing would have died, but the Mornfiend's arm moved and struck Guardian in the flank who protected himself with one of his wings as he was followed by the blood he had just shed, further increasing the size of the weapon he held in his hand. The beast was close to full recovery and Guardian threw the double ax over the opponent's head, snapped his fingers and it turned into twenty spears of blood. As he pointed down with his index finger, the spears pierced the bone armor on his back and buried themselves almost completely into the creature. As if he didn't seem satisfied, he clapped his hands and two slabs of rock on the floor of the palace were close like a book crushing the Mornfiend. But it didn't help.

"I'm seriously starting to lose my patience," he said pointing his index finger up and causing, with that simple gesture, the impalement of the magical beast.

What... what am I looking at?! What is this monster?! These were the questions I kept repeating in my head when I watched that one-sided confrontation petrified. Every gesture he made, every body movement, every word he uttered... Guardian was pouring assaults on assaults against the Mornfiend, attacks of a nature that seems magical like it's nothing. No spells... no manipulation of the mana... no request for assistance to the spirits... it was as if every single organic and inorganic element were his servant and moved according to his wishes. His every word brought untold pain and suffering to the Mornfiend.

The magical beast did nothing but suffer, howl in pain, regenerate... suffer, howl, regenerate... suffer, howl, regenerate. Occasionally he managed to reach him and strike a few blows, but he was always intercepted by a golden barrier or one of the blood wings, and then suffered a violent counterattack that often and willingly caused horrible wounds to the creature.

If someone told me that he is a God of destruction... I would be the first to believe it and affirm it.

I don't know how many times that monster would have died. If it weren't for his incredible regenerative ability, he would have died a thousand different deaths right now... burned... electrified... from beating... from stabbing... and many more. But the really scary thing is Guardian and his ruthlessness.

"... Seeing how Guardian is taking care of the Mornfiend makes me feel sorry for it." Jack said

"...... I, on the other hand, feel relieved if I think I'm still alive despite having faced him."

When lady Ridel made that comment, I instinctively turned to her, noticing that besides her, the others were also nodding nervously... and at the same time relieved.

"What? Have you faced him?"

"Yes... it's a... delicate matter, so to speak." Lady Sarity said, "In the past, we went to investigate a strange phenomenon, and there we ran into Guardian, against whom we fought and suffered a resounding defeat."

"You're joking I hope!" Torkian exclaimed worriedly

"Can you say such a thing despite what's happening in front of you?!" said lady Emilyn, disconcerted. “Even we had enormous difficulties in taking down a Mornfiend, to the point that we were ready to give up the mission.
Look at him! He's not even sweating and yet he's towering over it. But the scariest thing is that he isn't even serious. Indeed, by his admission, he has never been serious in his entire life. How can you ask us if we're kidding?!"

He isn't serious?! Seriously?!! Now I'm even more afraid... no it directly turned into terror.

Either way, I find it odd. A Mornfiend, even if it possesses an incredible regenerative ability, after a while it can no longer activate it since it has a limited amount of mana... but this is completely different. The fight has been going on for much longer than when Guardian ended up in the throne room. The mana of the creature should have run out for a very long time if these have suffered similar attacks since the beginning of the clash. So... how is that possible?

"It's pretty simple, your Majesty," Guardian spoke whit his metallic voice "The master of this beast has somehow merged it with a spirit of darkness driven mad by pain and suffering."

"What?!"

When I drew my attention back to Guardian, I saw that over his head a huge spear of blood had been created that pierced the Mornfiend from side to side, blocking it to the ground.

"Now, don’t ask me how it was possible because it’s something I’m completely unfamiliar with, but by fighting it, I perceived it as a second presence within its body."

I can't see how that's possible. As I said before, spirits keep their distance from Mornfiends and above all, it is impossible to force them to do something they do not want... but... a mad spirit? There is no precedent and it could be pure theory, but I decided to check it anyway.

Given our affinity for spirit magic, we Elves can sense them when they are in our vicinity. I concentrated... and I was forced to agree with the masked warrior: I sensed the presence of a strange spirit inside the body of the Mornfiend.

I called it 'strange' because usually, spirits in some ways emanate certain feelings typical of their elemental traits. For example, a water spirit can be both calm and impetuous, one of fire can be passionate or gluttonous, one of wind can be lively or fickle, and so on. However, the spirit within the magical beast, whose element is dark, should be at the very least gloomy but this exudes madness and pain.

"Tell me, your Majesty..." Guardian began turning towards me "is a spirit closer to an astral being or is it closer to an earthly being?"

"Huh? What’s that got to do with it?"

"Just answer."

"...... It's more of an astral existence."

"I see."

Guardian pointed with the index finger of his right hand the Morfiend who tried in every way to free himself from that scarlet spear and on the tip of his finger, a white flame appeared. It was small but compelled me instinctively from how beautiful I found it... almost like a jewel created by a master craftsman. Idly, that flame moved over the magical beast still stuck to the ground by the huge spear of blood.

"Be happy tormented spirit... I will finally grant you peace."

As soon as he said it, Guardian snapped his fingers and that flame exploded in a white nova that hit the monster.

"GRYAAAA!!!" "KYAAAAA!!!"

Within that glowing white sphere came out not only the roars of pain of the Mornfiend but also the cries of pain and despair of a child. That scream made my blood froze. When that white sphere dissipated it had only remained the magic beast burned throughout the body, which was regenerating. While the spirit...

"Did he kill... a spirit?!" Torkian said incredulously

That white nova... what I once called a jewel turned out to be something more terrible and frightening than I thought. Even though I didn’t feel it on my skin and I have no desire to try it, I felt my soul scream out of fear... a power that can hurt and destroy even the soul itself.

Suddenly, Guardian held out his right hand towards us and suddenly I felt my body... levitate

“Hey! What are you doing?!" Lady Sarity asked suddenly taken aback

"I told you to leave before, didn’t I? Now you’re going away in my way, and if you don’t like it, I don’t care less."

That said, the whole wall of the hall that overlooked the garden exploded and we were thrown out of the hall, ending up in free fall towards the walls.

"Shi-! Spirit of the air listen to my request and welcome us into your arms!"

When I recited that plea, a hot wind slowed our fall and made us swerve on the boundary wall making us land on it without taking damage.

"What's wrong with him?!" Lady Sarity asked angrily

No one had time to speak that the earth shook violently and our eyes turned to the castle. The whole building was breaking and compressing. Every single part of it was focusing on the room we were in until recently. I could see a dark sphere glittering eerily as it sucked the entire building in and expanded further and further until it stopped expanding and imploded, generating such a powerful shock wave that I closed my eyes instinctively and was thrown against the battlements. Even the thick and resistant castle walls seemed close to collapse due to the power of the blow.

When I opened my eyes again, the majestic Cuding's Castle, a symbol of the power and stability of the Belmont royal family, was three-quarters destroyed, and the splendid gardens surrounding it were reduced to dead and burnt fields, the trees bent and completely deprived of their leaves and some stones that had landed in all directions look like gravestones. That castle, in one night, became a ruin.

In my heart, I prayed that our nation will never attract the attention and the fury of such being.

***(?????'s POV)***

On the same day the castle celebrated the speedy recovery of the second princess Bassilla Calsay Belmont from her mysterious illness, the evening turned into a tragedy.

The death of the son of an influential noble and the near-successful kidnapping of three members of the royal family were severe blows to the Thirus's nobility. In addition, the almost destruction of the royal castle, which has always been a symbol of the inviolability and security of Cuding, and the focal point of Thirus's power, has caused panic in the streets of the lower town.

Every commoner remembered that night: the earth trembled as if dragons were running nearby and the black sphere that engulfed the castle looked like the gate of the underworld opened to reclaim the souls of those who fled from their fate.

That night was called "The Night of the End".

But that name didn't last long. Subsequently, that night will be renamed "The Night of the Phoenix".

Why?

A few days later the royal family and the church announced that the phenomena that occurred during that night and in the following days were the work of the new Saint loved by the Goddess Aphy and appointed by herself as protector of the Thirus Kingdom: Guardian.

According to historians, it was with the "Night of the Phoenix" that the golden age of Thirus began.

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