Peaceful Life System: I only need to live peacefully-Chapter 142: Endgame (9)

Seraphina looked at the scene below, trouble showing in her eyes. She had to think of something fast.

She made a decision. "All units!" she commanded, her voice ringing across the battlefield. "Tactical retreat! Lure it west, towards the old stone quarry! Draw it away from the city center!"

It was a risky gambit, but the soldiers obeyed. They fell back in a disciplined retreat, peppering the giant with arrows and spells, pulling its mindless rage away from the populated districts and towards the open, desolate quarry on the city’s edge.

The new strategy was surprisingly effective. In the open space, the faster, more agile soldiers could kite the clumsy giant, taking turns to draw its attention while others attacked its legs and joints.

For a moment, it seemed like they could hold out indefinitely. A glimmer of hope sparked in Seraphina’s heart.

Riku. We’re buying you the time you need. Please, hurry.

"My Dear Seraphina,"

Suddenly, a raspy voice came from above her head, calling her gently as if calling someone very near and dear to them.

One she very well recognized.

It was then that a new figure appeared on the quarry’s edge, walking calmly on the air. It was the fugitive, the traitor—Albus, the former Grand Luminar.

"Albus!" Seraphina snarled, her voice dripping with contempt.

Albus simply smiled, a cold, pitying expression that sent a chill down Seraphina’s spine. "Such hostility, my dear Seraphina. Is that any way to greet your former mentor? I merely came to observe the dawn of my new era."

Seraphina sneered. "Your new era? This... this madness... You call this a new era? What happened to all the vows you had taken to protect and fight for the light?"

"Tell me, Seraphina," Albus said, ignoring her question as he looked at the destruction with an almost serene gaze. "Do you truly believe I have abandoned the Light?"

"Abandoned it?" Seraphina snarled, her expression showing pure, righteous fury. "You have defiled it! You have twisted its teachings and allied yourself with darkness! You are a traitor to everything we stand for!"

The Grand Luminar chuckled softly. He raised a hand, and a sphere of brilliant, pure golden light—untainted by any shadow—formed in his palm. It was holy magic of an intensity that rivaled Seraphina’s own.

"Look closely, my dear," he said calmly. "Does this look like the power of darkness? Like the power of the creep?"

Seraphina’s eyes squinted.

"Have you ever stopped to wonder," The Grand Luminar continued, "Why am I the only one in the Society who does not bear the mark of the Creep? Why am I the only one who can still wield the purest form of holy magic?"

Seraphina stared, confused. He was right. Vyon, the giant, the lesser minions—they were all powered by the Creep’s red energy. But Albus... he was still a master of the Light.

"Why?" she whispered, the question forced from her lips against her will.

"Because I never abandoned it in the first place," Albus spoke with a smile.

"What?" Seraphina’s mind was reaching its limits. Nothing made sense to her. "Then why are you doing this?"

The Grand Luminar’s smile widened, taking on a fanatical zeal. "Because true power, true faith, can only be forged in the crucible of absolute despair. The Light of this kingdom has grown complacent. Fat. Weak. It offers comfort, not strength."

"I am merely purging the world of this weakness."

He gestured to the rampaging giant. "This chaos will burn away the rot. It will create a generation so desperate, so hopeless, that when a new Light emerges from the ashes, they will cling to it with a devotion this world has not seen in centuries. A true, new era that will belong to the light."

"I have not abandoned the Light, Seraphina. I am its only true devotee, its purifier."

Seraphina stared at him, horrified.

It wasn’t just treason. It was a holy crusade of madness. "You’re insane," she breathed. "You would sacrifice millions for your twisted philosophy? That is not devotion. It is blasphemy of the highest order!"

"This chaos is merely a tool, my dear," Albus replied coolly, his voice filled with chilling conviction as he took a fighting stance. "A necessary fire to burn away the rot of this weak generation. And you, with your sentimental notions of compassion, are merely kindling in the way."

"Come, let us see whose faith is stronger."

The duel began. It was a terrifying spectacle of light against corrupted light. Seraphina, empowered by Riku’s pure blessing, fought with blazing, white-gold holy magic. Beams of pure sunlight and swords of divine fire clashed against the Grand Luminar’s profane arts. He conjured chains of light that burned with fire and hurled bolts of holy energy that sizzled and decayed whatever they touched.

Albus, expecting to easily overpower his former student, was shocked. The sheer potency of Seraphina’s light—it was purer, brighter, and stronger than he remembered. He was forced to erect a barrier of void-like energy to block a searing beam of sunlight that would have gravely wounded him.

"This power!" Albus snarled, his calm facade cracking. "It is not your own! Where did you get this strength?"

Seraphina parried a lash of a light whip, her golden aura flaring. A small, wry smile touched her lips as an image of a certain infuriating man flashed through her mind.

"You’re right, Albus," she called out, her voice clear and defiant. "This strength isn’t just mine. You believe power comes from destruction and despair. You are wrong. True power comes from trust. From friendship."

"Oh? I would like to see more, then." Albus smiled, and kept up his offensive.

The fight continued to be a stalemate.

Even with Riku’s blessing, Seraphina was only able to match the might and prowess of the Grand Luminar. He was a fallen master, but a master nonetheless, and he knew every orthodox technique of the Church, twisting them into cruel, blasphemous versions.

For every beam of light she fired, he countered with a shield of corrupted energy. For every divine sword she conjured, he met it with a blade of decayed twilight.

Seraphina realized she could not win a prolonged battle. Though Albus was showing signs of weakness as well, his twisted magic still belonged to himself.

"I have to end it now."

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