Throughout history, there has been hardly anything less dangerous than having an active volcano explode beneath someone’s backside.

Such an unfortunate disaster was the true nature of the legendary Red spell infamous in the family of destroyers. It was a magic that could immediately extinguish life on a massive scale with such back-breaking control difficulty that Apolline didn’t dare to use it recklessly.

Originally, Eruption wasn’t in the plan. No one—not even Apolline—wanted to use an unpracticed, mythical-grade nuke in an active battle. Neither Ciel nor Apolline could promise Sharley they wouldn't murder the huge chunk of mermaids aiding them by accident.

Yet, this highly destructive spell still made it into the final draft of the plan as a redundancy against unforeseen circumstances. After all that happened, from the interference of a cult that shouldn’t be here to a sudden mutation of the Pirate Lord, nothing was off Ciel’s table anymore.

The earth shook, and fiery light accompanied the bubbling of the sea. The water erupted as a spear of molten earth pierced the heavens from beneath the gigantic monsters. The final copy of the mutated Witch Pirates was engulfed in lava. The swelling of the underwater seabed created tsunamis and landforms that swept away both the surviving monsters and the mermaid army engaging with them. 

Meanwhile, the Princess of White took this massive land-shaping spell as her signal.

“Great job, Apolline,” Xia said, lifting her sword up high. “Now, I have a clear shot.”

[Deific Wing] equipped with its newest module shined, activating the ultimate attack.

…

CODE:  CALIBURN

Rank: Unique

• Gravity Propulsion

• Exile Cutter System

• Vibrational Analyzer

Awakening: CODE BREAK__EXECUTION ROOM

…

CODE: CALIBURN was far from simple equipment for a simple reason. It was an attachment equipped to the ASCALON MATRIX clad Xia’s [Deific Wing] as a heavy weaponry attachment. The combination of Xia’s personal artifact, the specially designed MATRIX and the CODE modules created a superweapon—a holy claymore the size of a mountain—the complete CODE: CALIBURN.

The deadliness of this weapon lay in the fact that it was designed to work with Exile—a legendary White spell that banished targets from this dimension itself. Aside from enchanting the spell into the sword’s edge to craft an invincible sword, the gravity propulsion system supported the sword's ease of movement.

But Ciel’s Battle Suit 2.0 was famous for its ultimate attack, and CALIBURN didn’t disappoint.

White Magic Rank 7: Exile

CODE BREAK_Execution room

A separate space formed in the monster, burning amidst the fiery blaze that was scorching it. It was a delicate but powerful membrane that was vulnerable to interruptive magic for the creation of alternate dimensions existing inside reality. In a swing of her sword, Xia erased reality from existence, disregarding the toughness of the crust that had effortlessly survived every beating of spells being slugged at the monster. The vital attack opened up an enormous tunnel leading to the inside of Ambius=Neptunus.

Blood flowed from the wound that could destroy even the Lords. The massive monster might lack the capacity to feel pain, but it was still cognizant of the threat to its existence. Aminus=Neptunus immediately responded to heal the damage.

The monster’s effort was futile. Xia opened fire with a massive Smite, which widened the hole, allowing Ciel to easily borrow into the monster's gaping wounds and reach the core of the undead.

Every necromancer understands the process involved in creating the undead. The substantial amount of grudge a corpse produces can be concentrated into a core, an orb of flesh. Necromancers possess a method to intervene in this process, encouraging the core's formation and directing the nature of grudges embedded within it.

The naturally occurring undead, on the other hand, are not bound by such limitations and were slaves to the unbridled, crystallized curse that rose from the core. Therefore, the most reliable method to deal with the undead, regardless of size, is simple—penetrate the flesh and destroy the core, the sole organ that powers the undead creature.

All Ciel needed to do now was kill the core and bring this entire war to an end.

That is precisely why it was never going to be that simple.

Sensing that it wouldn’t be able to stop the Unity Lord from reaching the interior where it resided, the core containing the vengeful spirit of Ambius and Neptunus made the decision to vacate its vessel.

In a pain-inducing few feet away from piercing the glowing indigo pulp of flesh with CODE: DUALITY, the muscle around the core contracted, sucking the core away from Rem’s sight. It was an insult spitting out the journey it took to get him, and various tentacles he evaded and dove to reach this place.

“What?” Ciel cried in confusion but quickly regathered himself a breath later. Yes, the target had evaded him, but the blast from CODE: DUALITY would be more than enough to open the path to resume his chase.

That would definitely be the case if the massive cavern of biological mass hadn't collapsed on top of the Unity Lord and began self-destructing.

"Dammit!" Ciel shouted in panic, gathering the coursing White Mana and casting the spell to soften the damage. “Why can’t this be easy?”

White Magic Rank 2: Strengthen

The entire world in front of him went blindingly white.

…

The island-size undead blew up with such force that it obliterated the newly created landform caused by Eruption and parted the cloud. Mermaids and monsters went flying from sheer shockwaves. In addition to being bruised by the impact, several unfortunate soldiers received ruptured eardrums.

While being more durable, the leaders weren’t much luckier.

Apolline quickly cast Haste to outrun the explosion, but the incredible speed didn’t save her from being knocked across the ocean like a volleyball. As for Nuan, there was no question about her ability to evade something that Apolline couldn’t. With the explosion hitting her full force, the Martial Queen was propelled skyward, unable to tell the difference between the sea and the sky.

In the distance, the Five Oceans faced the rising sea and immediately capsized with Betty’s screech to mark the occasion.

Out of the entire army, only Xia managed to withstand the suicidal attack. She even spotted the flesh seed escaping the carnage and chased after it.

The battle immediately resumed without waiting until the devastating explosion died down.

Barely escaping the self-destruction of its vessel, the core conjured several curse arrows to halt Xia. But it accomplished next to nothing against the sword coated in light. In a slash of her blades, Xia split the area made of curses and brought her sword upon the escaping fleshy core.

The blade bit into the flesh, causing the function of ASCALON MATRIX. The anti-atrocity awakening coursed through the sword in Xia’s hand, which revolved with great power. The daunting prospect of a worldwide cataclysm fueled the sword's penetration into the core of the malevolent forces that afflicted the planet. Light exploded against the shell, crushing it with the vice grip of force.

Knowing it was an inch away from annihilation, the fusion product created from the souls of two Lords attempted to flee from the jaws of certain death.

But that wasn’t meant to be.

Rocketed from the devastating result of the previous explosion was Ciel. His armor was caked in cracks and misery but was still functioning. It was functioning too well at hiding away the dismal state of its owner.

Yes, the EXOS: DURANDAL’s indestructible did cover the external damage. Even an island-sized explosion couldn’t permanently scar the silvery weapon beyond its internal recovery. The Ciel inside the armor was saved from the worst of the damage, but he was still shoved into a wringer. Being pushed into an out-of-control pub filled with football hooligans was the only comparable description of the physical abuse he went through. As for the thermal abuse, that was in the range of an overcooked chicken.

It was only thanks to the combination of Heal, Strengthen, sheer grit, and the protection of DURANDAL armor that Ciel successfully survived being caught dead in a self-destructing Ambius=Neptunus.

To vent the grievance of the brutal beating he survived by the skin of his teeth, Rem smashed his lance—CODE: DUALITY—on to the other side of the core.

Even when crushed from both sides, the final pieces of the two Lords’ legacy hung on to life, concentrating their curse-laden energy to shore the external shell and resisting the weapon created to destroy it.

Seeing this, both Xia and Ciel developed a slither of respect for the unthinking disaster. Whatever should be said about it, Ambius=Neptunus didn’t give up fighting for its right to exist to the very end.

Not that it helped change the final outcome.

Xia’s and Ciel’s eyes met, and they coordinated their next moves in unison.

White Magic Rank 4: Smite

The two pillars of light crushed the core like a vice. Even the resilient core of Ambius=Neptunus, even with the three hundred years of accumulated grudge, couldn’t handle being dragged out of its protective shell and blasted from both sides by the destructive column of white Mana.

A sharp grating noise echoed as the orb of flesh was reduced to paste. Explosive force and blinding flashes erupted, blinding the world in white.

In one instance, the oppressive atmosphere covering the air seemed to fade away, and the ocean seemingly sparkled with light.

Everywhere in the sea, the surviving mermaids, who had been waging a war for their existence, poked their heads out of the water and felt the massive weight being lifted from their shoulders.

A distance away, Betty dragged her soaked body to the hull of the leaning Five Oceans. She punched at the air triumph.

“We win!”

The unamused Santino and Gordon joined her, dragging the half-drowned Marjorie with them. Despite suffering the hit from the surprise tidal wave, they both decided to clamp down on any complaint they had in mind and enjoyed the victory.

“Yeah,” Gordon said. “This is a beautiful sky. How about champagne after this, Santino?”

Santino looked at Gordon for an incredulous second.

“Sure,” the normally sour man said, cracking a smile. “Why not?”