Once the forces of Dawn and Clinton retreated, Dusk led the others straight to the Cult of the End's cathedral. Ladi the priest and the portly deacon were already waiting there with the rest of the clergy.
The moment Dusk appeared, none of them wasted a single word. They immediately dropped to their knees, their voices rising in unison with reverence:
"We pay homage to Your Majesty!"
Dusk had no interest in wasting time with ceremony. He gave a dismissive wave of his hand.
"Get up. Take me to the Church. I want a look."
"At once, Your Majesty." Ladi rose to his feet without delay and led Dusk up the famed Black Crow Mountain, known far and wide across the Godforsaken Continent.
The path was littered with blood and corpses, staining the trail crimson. Every step stuck to the ground with a sickening squelch.
They climbed in silence. Before long, they arrived at the summit.
There, perched atop the peak, stood the grand and ancient cathedral—dark crimson, opulent, and majestic. On either side, withered trees stretched their barren branches toward the sky.
The blood-red doors were flung open. A golden carpet rolled straight from the entrance, stretching out like an invitation.
Inside, the grand hall glittered with gold and darkness. At the far end, a massive banner embroidered with the Cult of the End's sigil hung proudly.
Beneath it stood a towering Divine Idol—more than ten meters tall.
Its features were obscured, but the oppressive weight it exuded was impossible to ignore.
Dusk raised a brow. He hadn't expected this thing to actually be a Tiered Sealing Relic.
Without pausing, he stepped onto the golden carpet and strode directly into the heart of the Cult of the End's cathedral.
He pointed straight at the Divine Idol and ordered the group behind him,
"You. Smash it."
"…Huh?"
Fursa and the others froze in place.
"Your Majesty… that's… that's your Divine Idol," Nara said cautiously, unsure if she'd misheard.
The rest of them looked just as confused. No one could understand why he'd want to destroy something so sacred.
"If I tell you to smash it, just do it," Dusk said coldly. He couldn't be bothered to explain.
According to the Parchment's instructions, the class scroll was hidden inside that Divine Idol. There was no other way to retrieve it.
Still puzzled, Fursa and the others obeyed. They stepped forward and surrounded the base of the statue.
Boom!
In the blink of an eye, the towering Divine Idol of the End crumbled into rubble. And from the debris, something emerged, drawing every gaze in the hall.
"What is that…" gasps echoed from every corner.
A scroll, glowing with a deep crimson light, hovered above the shattered ruins. Waves of pure destruction and raging force swept through the air.
It was the presence of the Lord of the End.
Fursa and the others trembled from head to toe. Some nearly dropped to their knees by instinct.
Nara stared in shock, her mouth falling open.
"Could this be… the inheritance left by our Lord?!"
"Inheritance?!"
The word sent shockwaves through the room.
No one could remember the last time a god's inheritance had appeared—it was the stuff of ancient legends, whispered in half-forgotten myths.
But when they remembered who Dusk was… the shock made more sense.
This must have been his own inheritance. That was the only explanation for how easily he found it.
Dusk ignored the stares around him. His eyes were fixed on the scroll suspended in the air. He strode to the front of the altar and reached out, grasping it in his hand.
Almost simultaneously, the scroll shattered in midair, dissolving into a streak of light that surged into his body. Along with it came a flood of information that exploded into Dusk's mind.
[Class]: The End
[Rank]: God-Level
[Requirements]: Angel of the End, Demigod-Level
[Elixirs]: Fragment of the Laws of the End, Fragment of the Divinity of the End, Divine Substance...
...
Countless data streams swirled violently in his head—requirements, progression paths, all the way from initiation to God-Level mastery. Every last detail of The End class was pouring into him, so fast and so dense that it felt like his skull was about to split open.
And yet, a smile tugged at Dusk's lips.
It had been a long road, but it was worth it. He'd finally acquired the class.
One thing was immediately clear—every tier of The End required rare, often unheard-of materials. Even the initial transformation stage called for items like Blood Fiend Fruit and Spirit-Sealing Flower, which were already incredibly hard to find.
On his own, Dusk would've struggled to gather these things.
But with the backing of the Cult of the End, it became a far more realistic goal.
He turned to Nara and said,
"Bring me paper and a pen."
Nara didn't ask questions. She simply nodded and went to retrieve the items.
When she returned, she handed him a feathered quill and a blank parchment scroll.
Dusk took them and began scribbling down every material he could recall from the information storm still raging in his mind. Once the list was complete, he turned to Fursa and ordered,
"Send someone to find these things. I want them gathered as fast as possible. No delays."
Fursa gave a sharp nod.
"Understood, Your Majesty."
Without wasting another second, he spun on his heel and left to personally oversee the search.
But it wasn't long before Fursa came running back.
"Where is it?" Dusk's brow furrowed as he met his gaze.
Faced with his master's confusion, Fursa hesitated, looking more than a little embarrassed.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty… the Church doesn't have those materials."
Dusk didn't respond.
But the expression on his face made it clear—he was very close to telling someone off.
For a church of this size to be lacking even basic low-tier ingredients? Embarrassing didn't begin to cover it.
Sensing his frustration, Fursa offered an awkward smile.
"It's not our fault. The Church's treasury was raided by the Cult of the Dawn. They took nearly everything."
At that, the expressions on Isaac, Quito, and the others darkened with fury.
"Those self-righteous bastards from the Cult of the Dawn…" Quito growled. "I swear, I'll make them pay for this."
Dusk let out a slow breath. Clearly, relying on the Cult of the End wasn't going to cut it.
"Fine," he said. "Send people out to purchase what we need. I don't care how you get it—just get it."
Fursa could tell how critical this was to Dusk.
He didn't dare drag his feet. With a low bow, he accepted the order and left again.
Just then, the Parchment reappeared before Dusk's eyes.
He hadn't intended to keep trading with Raymond.
But the new lines of text scrolling across the parchment made him pause.
After a moment's thought, he turned to Nara.
"Go gather everyone in the Church. I've got something to say."
…
At the same time, following the disastrous failure of the expedition against the Cult of the End, Wells led his people back to Dawn City—the Cult of the Dawn's central stronghold—at full speed.
Golden holy light poured down from the sky. The immense Divine Idol of the Dawn goddess stood at the city's center, surrounded by countless people clad in white robes kneeling in prayer.
Beneath the Divine Idol stood a graceful woman wearing a white dress, her face partially veiled by a thin veil. A shower of starlight spilled from her hands, falling like rain upon the worshipers around her.
Wells adjusted his ceremonial robe and approached the woman. Dropping to one knee, he said respectfully, "Holy Maiden."
The woman responded only with a faint hum, offering no words.
Though Slington was officially the pope of the Cult of the Dawn, everyone knew the real power behind the scenes was Holy Maiden Ares. Even the pope showed her deep respect.
Wells hesitated briefly before forcing himself to say, "Forgive me, I have failed to meet your expectations. Our expedition against the Cult of the End… it failed."
Ares showed no surprise.
She raised her delicate hand, scattering endless light, and calmly said, "Tell me what happened."
Seeing no anger in her tone, Wells recounted everything that had occurred on Black Crow Mountain in detail.
When he came to the cause of the failure, he said quietly, "The Lord of the End descended."
"The Lord of the End descended?" Ares paused, slowly turning her head to look at him. Her brows furrowed as she asked, "Are you sure you didn't mistake what you saw?"
Others might not have known, but she was well aware that divine descent in this era was nearly impossible.
If it happened at all, it was likely a trick or someone pretending to be a god.
Wells admitted he couldn't be certain if the figure truly was the Lord of the End. Instead, he described Dusk's actions in the battle one by one.
Ares stood silent for a long time, then said, "For now, ignore them. Keep a close watch on the Cult of the End's movements. Also, send people to the capital. The Clinton Royal Family won't hold out much longer—the king is old."
Wells bowed and left. Only Ares remained beneath the Divine Idol.
Gazing at the distant blue horizon, she furrowed her brows and murmured, "Lord of the End…"
Deep down, Ares didn't believe the Lord of the End would truly descend. No matter how formidable Wells said that figure was, she remained skeptical. Even the Dawn couldn't manifest in this world—why would the End be any different?
"It seems I must see for myself," she whispered.
With that, Ares stepped forward, vanishing from sight. Only a shower of golden light remained, falling like a rain of gold.
———
Meanwhile, at the foot of Black Crow Mountain in the northern Clinton territory—
Dusk and Nara climbed into a carriage, surrounded by Bishops and Cultists standing watch outside.
"Your Majesty, are you sure you don't want me to accompany you?" Fursa asked, brow furrowed.
The others looked equally worried, as if fearing Dusk might never return.
If their Your Majesty were at full strength, they wouldn't be so anxious. But recent events had made it clear—Dusk hadn't fully recovered his power yet.
If anything happened out there, they feared it would be a tragedy.
Dusk sighed in resignation. "Why do you need to follow me? Your focus should be on the Cult. Just take care of the Cult. You don't need to worry about me. Besides, with Nara and Quito around, that's more than enough to keep me safe."
With that, Dusk shut the carriage window firmly. Then he turned to Quito at the front and said, "Let's go. Head to Fallen Dragon City."
If he had a choice, he honestly wouldn't want to go out at all.
Staying inside the Cult of the End meant having people to serve him and a certain level of safety. Going out risked being ambushed or killed if he slipped up.
But Raymond's next mission was clear—it required Dusk to travel to the Clinton capital to retrieve something.
Though dangerous, the reward was simply irresistible.
Because it involved news of a fragment of the Lord of the End's divine essence.