THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 696: The True Star Descends

"You claim your King is the sole salvation against Agaroth... yet did he not suffer defeat?"

Snow posed the question with a calm, analytical tone.

"Nameless fell to Agaroth, and that loss occurred in the distant past. Based on my knowledge of the Demon King... his most formidable trait, the Devourer that consumes all, grants him limitless growth."

In his past as the Pure Vessel, Snow had once crossed blades with Agaroth...

And he had been crushed completely.

During that encounter, a horrifying reality had become clear to him:

Agaroth wielded a power capable of shattering worlds...

The terrifying strength of a Devouring beast.

A monster that evolves by feasting on others and stealing their inherent techniques.

"I am certain that the Demon King has surpassed the level he held during his fight with Nameless... even a marginal increase would be decisive."

Snow spoke with absolute conviction.

Adyr offered no rebuttal... for he could not.

While Nameless had imprisoned Agaroth within Helmund...

He had only bound his physical presence, not his inherent power.

In the intervening years, Agaroth had engaged in numerous skirmishes with the First Upper One... Crimson.

This meant Agaroth had never been truly dormant; he had continued to refine himself.

Simply put, the Agaroth of the present was far more formidable than the one Nameless had once battled.

"How then do you plan to achieve victory using only the power of Nameless?"

Snow’s inquiry was sharp... he was particularly unsettled by the suggestion that his friend was merely a shell to be inhabited by another soul.

The weight of the dialogue left the bystanders in stunned silence.

Until this moment, they hadn't grasped even a fraction of the gravity of the situation.

In response, Adyr shifted his gaze toward Frey.

"Frey Starlight... is a different case entirely."

"Explain yourself," Snow demanded, his brow furrowing.

Adyr paused briefly before clarifying:

"What I am stating is merely my own deduction... as I am not fully privy to the designs of my Lord or Gehrman. However, I am certain of one thing... Frey Starlight is not the individual he once was."

"When Nameless returns in this era, he will not be in the same state as when he fell to Agaroth. He shall return with even greater might."

Adyr spoke with a fierce, unwavering certainty.

It was faith.

Pure and absolute.

"Following his defeat by the Demon King, my Lord crafted a labyrinthine and long-term strategy... a plan known only to him and Gehrman. If a path to triumph exists... it is through him, and him alone."

Snow lapsed into silence.

Was Frey truly Nameless reincarnated?

Or was he a separate entity altogether?

What did Adyr imply by calling him "different"?

What exactly was the nature of Frey Starlight?

"...Discussing the Demon King feels premature when we are currently unable to overcome the Fourth Seat and his subordinates," Snow eventually muttered, letting out a weary breath.

He found the talk regarding "Nameless" distasteful.

Nevertheless, he chose to remain patient...

Waiting to see where Frey stood once he awoke.

For now, he would concentrate on the immediate conflict.

"You claim to be our ally... is your Shadow Sect truly prepared to stand with humanity in this struggle?"

Adyr gave a firm nod.

"As long as my Lord remains among your ranks... we shall fight by your side until the very end."

"Very well," Snow acknowledged.

"I doubt your current condition will be of much use... but if your comrades possess the strength you previously displayed, that will suffice for me."

He then addressed the members of the elite class.

"Listen, everyone. I realize these revelations are overwhelming, but you must adjust quickly. The trials ahead will be far more brutal than anything we have faced."

The era of training was finished.

The impending conflicts would be at the SSS-rank level and beyond.

Snow established his primary objective:

He had to reach the SSS-rank.

Only then could he hope to reclaim the portion of the Light Soul that Agaroth had plundered.

That fragment was currently held by Nito... who sat at the ninth rank among the Upper Demons despite not being a true demon.

While Agaroth could replicate powers and bestow them upon his servants...

Snow was convinced the Light Soul had not been truly bestowed.

Simply because its nature was antithetical to a demon's existence.

If Geppetto had indeed handed the Light Spirit to Nito, then that was the genuine Light Spirit Snow had spent his life seeking.

The myths surrounding Nameless were indeed incredible, but Snow had no desire to depend on him, nor on the secret schemes of the Shadow Sect.

Snow had already determined his own destiny, and he would follow it to its conclusion.

Many mysteries remained unsolved.

But the knowledge he possessed was enough for the present.

It was enough to fuel his drive for greater strength.

Such was the iron will of the White Knight of Earth.

Meanwhile, Frey Starlight remained in a deep slumber... awaiting the moment his consciousness would return so he could rejoin the fray.

...

...

...

Far from the hidden base of the Shadow Sect...

The Empire was descending into total turmoil.

Geppetto had launched an assault on the human territories with a legion of the undead, supported by several elite High Demons.

The onslaught was so swift and savage that thousands of humans were slaughtered within the initial hour.

However, the tide began to turn as ancient protectors of the Empire emerged to halt the invasion... obliterating vast numbers of Geppetto’s puppet soldiers in response.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Geppetto snarled, feeling the mental backlash as scores of his controlled corpses were destroyed—the feedback stinging him like frozen needles.

This was the power of the resurrected heroes.

From the Starlight Family, a formidable swordsman had appeared... a master whose Star-Dust Style had reached a transcendent, divine level.

He tore through the battlefield like a shooting star... radiant and swift, wiping out entire legions of the dead single-handedly.

Simultaneously, another figure emerged from the Sunlight Family... one even more savage in his methods.

A combatant who summoned the Flames of Elyos against the demonic host... a fire more intense than the sun itself, vaporizing entire ranks instantly.

His fighting style was chaotic and explosive... a localized sun that left nothing but scorched craters in its wake.

The devastation wrought by these two was unlike anything witnessed since the first Great War.

As for the Moonlight Family...

The massive doors of the Grand Library were flung open.

Thousands of refugees found sanctuary within its hallowed halls.

Inside, the sightless librarian Rem stood guard alongside a young girl... a child who, by herself, repelled waves of demons.

Few could have guessed that the young Azura possessed a Cultivation and power rivaling Semiramis, the legendary first Matriarch of the Moonlight lineage.

The combined might of these three was enough to severely wound the demon army... and it sent Geppetto into a fit of rage.

"So, after lurking in the shadows for so long, they finally decide to show their faces?

Excellent. Truly excellent."

Geppetto let out a dark chuckle... and then addressed the figure standing in his shadow.

"The one to bring about the end of humanity this time shall be one of their own!

Go. Grant them the gift of despair.

Wipe them out until not a single soul remains!"

A masked individual stepped into the light.

Slowly, he pulled away the fabric hiding his features.

He appeared to be a man in his early forties, sporting a light beard and flowing black hair.

His eyes glowed with a piercing white light... yet they were marred by a deep, swirling darkness.

"The True Star... Abraham Starlight.

The time has come for your return to the stage."

Geppetto laughed with manic glee, signaling for Abraham to go forth and eliminate the leaders of the great families.

"This corpse is the finest prize I have ever claimed...

It shall be the key to my ascension into the Top Ten High Demons!"

Geppetto’s face twisted into a grin of pure ambition and insanity.

The Rank Thirteen demon intended to rise... and he would use this war as his ladder.

The humans were still unaware...

That the most brilliant star they had once worshipped...

Had come back not to save them...

But to act as their final judge.