CHAPTER 245: AWAKE

Atlas took a deep breath, unable to believe what had just happened. He could still see Michael continuing to kill countless demons around him. He could see Lucifer looking at him with a smile, and Beelzebub’s head lying on the ground.

"Master Lucifer..." Atlas muttered calmly.

Lucifer had thrown Beelzebub’s body aside and then came up to Atlas, kneeling beside him. He then grabbed Atlas’s shoulder and said, "You can’t even imagine how much we owe you, young man."

"Anytime..." Atlas said, his eyes beginning to darken.

Neither Michael nor Lucifer could understand what was happening when Atlas fainted.

What happened next was that Lucifer was holding Beelzebub’s head and body, while Michael was carrying Atlas.

The two advanced toward the demon gate and then exited at the same time.

The moment they stepped outside, Aveline attacked the pair. Neither Lucifer nor Michael had expected such a thing. Aveline was acting like a wild beast. The fury of a mother could not be underestimated. The look on the Ancient Dragon’s face, the anger in her eyes, was incomprehensible.

Michael stopped Aveline with a single finger movement and then said, "We forgot this young lady’s father," and then snapped his fingers.

The moment Michael snapped his fingers, Cosmo was beamed out of the demon gate and fell next to the Sages. Aveline was also sent to the same area by Michael in the same way.

Meanwhile, Lucifer spoke, holding Beelzebub’s head and body aloft:

"My name is Lucifer! I am the ruler of Hell. Atlas Shorekeeper has freed me and my brother Michael, the ruler of Heaven! In doing so, he tortured and killed the Ancient Demon Beelzebub and cut off his head himself!"

When Lucifer said this, without exaggeration or any falsehood, the tens of thousands of soldiers present in the area, each of the Seven Sages, the aura masters, Aether and Aelia, the Epsilon Nobles, the nobles of foreign countries, and especially Eva, began to weep.

All at once, without a moment’s delay.

Michael, however, gently held Atlas by the arms and shouted as if the sun itself were pointing at him:

"Greetings to the hero!"

Of course, this story was a bit exaggerated, but it was an agreement. An agreement between Michael and Hermes.

Atlas didn’t know this, and it never occurred to him that such a thing was possible, but when Hermes saved Michael, he created a rule that every possible success in the future war should be given to Atlas.

In short, Hermes had once again used his lies and trickery and chosen to play with probabilities.

Of course, there was no way that Michael and Lucifer, two brothers spiritually connected, could be unaware of what was happening.

The two had decided to play a game on humans and the remaining races, but this time, unlike the treacherous demons and angels of the past, the game did no harm to anyone, but rather served to highlight Atlas, who had saved them instead of himself.

Thus, the agreement between Michael and Hermes was complete.

Atlas was unconscious. The young man had been gently handed over to his sister by Michael. Eva was crying hysterically and hadn’t let go of Atlas for a second.

Atlas, the younger brother she had sworn to protect at all costs, was in terrible condition. Even from the blood on his clothes, it was clear he had endured horrific experiences.

Even the armour named Flow, which had been blessed by Hephaestus, had been torn apart by Beelzebub’s claw and had dragged Atlas to the brink of death.

If anyone, other than Michael and Lucifer, had known the truth, no one could have forgiven themselves...

While all this was happening, Lucifer approached the demonic gateway and then extended his hand toward it, turning it clockwise as if locking a door.

With that, a deep locking sound was heard, and the demonic passageway vanished. The passageway was locked.

Neither the gods nor the goddesses had seen what was inside the demonic passageway. The false hell, like the false heaven, had obstructed their vision. Therefore, only three people truly knew the truth: Atlas, Lucifer, and Michael.

However, the army had disbanded in a short time. Lucifer and Michael had apologised to the entire world. They had been expelled from their thrones because of the mistakes they had made millions of years ago, and because of this, mortals on Earth had suffered.

They had clearly stated that they would carry each of the deaths in their hearts until the end of the universe.

Were they forgiven?

No.

Was it a good thing that they tried?

Absolutely yes.

The two had not returned to their own realms.

There were no demons left in the fake Hell, and in the fake Heaven, three Archangels were able to handle matters directly in Michael’s place.

Of course, this also allowed the two to finally experience the joy of freedom and the pleasure of returning to the world they had once frequently visited.

And to be honest, they didn’t want to leave Atlas alone.

When their eyes met and everything began to proceed normally, the summer months had ended, and the rainy autumn months had begun.

Atlas had not awakened.

It was raining so heavily that it seemed as if the gods and goddesses were punishing the world because each burden had been placed on Atlas.

It rained nonstop for weeks.

Until Nyx herself, the goddess who was the true cause of this rain, the true cause of this sorrow, saw that Atlas had awakened.

In his room at Shadowfall Palace, Atlas opened his eyes after two and a half months lying on the bed.

Her eyes were blinded by the sudden light, and the young man managed to get to his feet. He looked around and immediately realised he was in his own room.

His head ached terribly.

It felt as though someone had struck him repeatedly with a stone club.

[Atlas... How wonderful to see you awake again...]

A sudden message window appeared in front of Atlas. This message was from Nyx herself.

Atlas ignored the message for a few seconds and looked directly out of his room’s balcony, watching the rain falling from the pitch-black clouds.

"My lady... Aren’t you exaggerating a little?" Atlas asked calmly.

As soon as he said this, the pitch-black rain clouds in the sky began to slowly dissipate. Until there was nothing left... until they were replaced by a clear sky.

Even if Atlas hadn’t noticed, this event had set everyone in Shadowfall Palace into motion.

Each Sage had teleported to the door of Atlas and Cassandra’s room within seconds.

Eva had started running from the training ground where she was training with Emma to clear her head, and within just a minute, she had managed to climb from the massive basement training ground to one of the palace’s upper floors.

The door to the room opened instantly, and everyone saw Atlas standing at the balcony window, looking out.

Cassandra and Eva suddenly rushed forward and hugged Atlas tightly.

Atlas smiled and said, "Alright, please calm down," but none of his words changed anything.

The two women refused to let go of him.

Atlas saw the six Sages standing at the door, stunned but filled with incredible joy, and nodded his head respectfully. Seeing tears welling up in each of their eyes happened very quickly.

Shortly thereafter, the sound of wings flapping began to rise from the north of Shorkeeper City. Within just five minutes, Aveline and Cosmo appeared on the balcony of the room in human form.

Aveline began to sob uncontrollably within seconds.

Cosmo looked sad and, to put it bluntly, disappointed in himself. He was one of the dozen or so people who had learned from Lucifer and Michael that Atlas might have died.

If Cosmo and Cordelia had been able to withstand Lucifer’s power for a while, it might, just might, have been possible to kill Beelzebub.

Instead, Atlas, who was like a newborn baby in his own eyes, had been drawn into the devil’s passage and fought to the death.

Yet Cosmo had always promised to support him.

Cosmo had not turned into anything more than a trapped insect in Atlas’s worst moment.

When Atlas saw this expression, he smiled and said, "You’re overthinking it as usual. Let it go, it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that we’re all here."

Cosmo nodded as if he understood, but he needed some time to forgive himself.

When everyone had left and the room was empty, with only Cassandra and Atlas remaining, Atlas lay back down on the bed and said, "Strange... I was in a coma for so long, I was sleeping, but I’m more tired than I’ve ever been."

Cassandra lay down beside him and said, "Maybe it’s because every burden on your shoulders has been lifted, my love..."

"Huh... Every burden... Is that so?" Atlas muttered.

There were no words to describe how right Cassandra was.