Chapter 209: Breaking News

​​High above the mortal realms, in a dimension forged from pure, crystallized spirit energy, the Silver Castle stood as a monument to divine vanity. The goddess sitting on the throne, draped in silks woven from starlight, narrowed her eyes. A cosmic ripple had just violently disturbed the celestial tapestry, a resonance so profoundly dark and powerful that it shook the very foundations of her server. And the next moment, she stood up in shock.

​"It can’t be!!" She exclaimed in disbelief, her voice shattering the serene silence of her divine hall.

​The spatial fabric before the throne warped, and Angra Mainyu and her other subordinates appeared before her, and dropped to one knee. Their dark auras, usually overwhelming in the lower worlds, were entirely eclipsed by the chaotic fluctuation of their master’s divine energy.

​"What’s the issue, Great Queen?!" They asked in unison, sensing the unprecedented panic radiating from the entity who had orchestrated the apocalypse of Earth.

​"The Great King... He... He..." The lady stammered, her flawless, immortal face instantly turning paled. The absolute, unshakeable confidence that defined a goddess crumbled into ash.

​"He actually didn’t choose me but someone else as his Great Queen!" She trembled, as tears rolled down her cheeks, the liquid energy scorching the celestial floor where it fell.

​The subordinates simply bowed their heads, not saying anything. The politics of the higher servers were a lethal minefield. Their Master and countless goddesses in the galaxy have aimed for the title of Great Queen, spending millennia consolidating power and wiping out rivals. Some powerful ones like her even bestowed the title of Great Queen on themselves, ruling their sectors with an iron fist, waiting for the sovereign of the dark to awaken and legitimize their claim. But now, the cosmic hierarchy had shifted. Someone else was just acknowledged, and given the title, which broke her heart.

​"Why! Why Julian Aethelgard!! I have been beside you for eons!! I have done everything for you, and you actually picked someone else!! Why!!" She screamed, not even bothered about the group before her. Her fury sent shockwaves through the Silver Castle, cracking the crystalline pillars.

​"My Queen!! Please calm your anger, it must all be false... If I remember correctly, the unfathomable great King said anyone who can free him will be his Great Queen!! He isn’t yet freed." The Lady before her quickly explained, desperately trying to apply logic to the goddess’s heartbreak before her wrath destroyed them all.

​The goddess froze, her ragged breathing slowly steadying as she processed the loophole.

​"Wait, you have a point... But only the Sun family can free him! Wait... Is this lady from the Sun family?" She was stunned, her tears filled eyes widened in shock. The ancient lore surrounding the Sun family’s bloodline and the primordial seal was an absolute law of the universe.

​’Don’t tell me the prophecy is true.’ She thought, a chilling dread replacing her jealousy.

​Far away from the celestial drama, deeply buried within one of the most perilous zones in existence. Deep in the red tower, where the ambient heat could melt epic-tier armor in seconds, Esmeralda slowly opened her eyes, a small smile appearing on her face. Her senses, finely tuned to the darkest currents of the abyss, tasted the shift in reality.

​"It seems the Great King finally found his bride, even going as far as to mark her... But." Her eyes narrowed, the smile fading into a look of profound, calculating concern.

​"Who is this bride? What if those goddesses locate her and descend just to vent their anger? After all the Great King is still sealed." She muttered, and closed her eyes, analyzing the perilous situation this unknown girl was now in. To hold the title of the Great King’s Bride while possessing mortal vulnerability was a death sentence waiting to be executed by a jealous pantheon.

​"I can only know if she uses the mark."

​’Bride... Bride... Bride...’

​The word keep echoing in Mirabella’s head, drowning out the ambient hum of the cave. It was a cosmic prank, a terrifying violation of her regressor autonomy. And all of a sudden she screamed at the system, projecting her absolute fury into her mental link:

​’Are you mad Master System?!!! Do I tell you I am in need of a Groom!! And you even picked this unknown Great King who is related to my worst enemy!!!’

​The System, usually prompt with its cold, mechanical data, offered nothing but a profound, digital silence.

​’Does Master mean she will accept anyone as long he isn’t the Great King?’ Cupcake’s voice sounded in her mind, the little spirit companion’s innocent logic entirely missing the severity of the situation, while Mirabella completely ignored her.

​’System!!!’

​{Host merged with the blood, I am powerless to stop it.}

​Mirabella blinked, and turned her head to her team, who were staring at her in confusion. They had just watched her casually disarm a legendary trap and freeze in place, completely oblivious to the catastrophic cosmic marriage she had just been forced into.

​’I merged with the blood?! Are you now blind, didn’t you see the blood appeared out of thin air and merged itself with me?!!’ She yelled internally, berating the supposedly omnipotent system, but her expression remained flat, her stoic mask refusing to slip in front of the students.

​’Even my ten guardians couldn’t stop it, or maybe they didn’t detect any killing intent from it... Nevertheless, this thing increased my powers beyond my current level. Even a Lv500 can’t win me now, even without my multiplier.’ She thought, forcing her mind away from the panic and back to the cold, hard numbers of her new stat sheet. Five million base stats was a realm of power that shouldn’t exist in this stage of the game.

​’Correct Master, whoever your groom is, he must be very powerful... I think it’s a perfect match.’

​’Cupcake!! If you utter another word, I will come over there and cut off your wings!!!’ Mirabella snapped at Cupcake, glaring at the invisible spiritual link, staring at the system’s screen before her.

​’This isn’t the right time and place to ponder about this... We have another thing to worry about.’ She thought, raising her head to the angel statue. Without the ten legendary swords to anchor the ancient Sun family seal, the suppression holding the entity back was unraveling. The cavern trembled as creaks started appearing on its surface, a terrifying, suffocating aura bleeding out from the stone.

​"Everyone!! Moved back!!" Mirabella yelled, and leaped backward, her newly enhanced agility allowing her to clear the distance instantly, landing on the trap zone.

​The other four followed, fueled by raw panic, and landed on the traps.

​Everyone froze, bracing for the inevitable, lethal counterattack of the hidden swords, expecting a sword, but nothing happened. The air remained still. They blinked, and all turned to Mirabella, who was also standing on the trap zone. Her lineage, title, or perhaps the sheer density of her new stats, was completely nullifying the array’s targeting system.

​"What are you all staring at?!! Move towards the tunnel I pointed!!" Mirabella snapped at them, taking command of the chaotic situation.

​"That isn’t a wise idea." Casey said, pointing at the surrounding tunnels. The dungeon’s environment was rapidly shifting. As red unknown energy froze all over the place, it formed an impenetrable, crystalline barrier, sealing all the Tunnels, and trapping them in the cave with the awakening boss.

​Mirabella moved her gaze around, calculating the density of the barrier, and turned to the Angel.

​"It seems someone is very arrogant." She muttered coldly, watching as the Angel’s neck finally moved. The stone cracked and fell away, revealing divine, corrupted flesh. And the moment its red eyes met Mirabella, two dark beans shot out from it, heading towards her with the speed of light, carrying enough destructive force to vaporize a mountain.

​She didn’t flinch. With five million in all stats and absolute immunity to fire and mental attacks, she was no longer a student fighting a boss. She was an apex predator.

​"You overestimate yourself!!"

​BOOOOM!!!