World's Last Hope-Chapter 75: Return to Civilization

Exiting the cathedral, as expected, the three of them found themselves in the cave where the cathedral was located.

But the cocoons and eggs were nowhere to be found, as well as the acidic blood of the colossal spiders that had dropped here through the hole before.

Without saying much, Aria grabbed Eric and threw him upward. A second later, she jumped, and Olivia followed not far behind.

As the three landed near the edge of the hole, they observed their surroundings.

The colossal trees were still there, but the atmosphere around them seemed to have changed somehow.

"This is... peaceful," Eric remarked as he glanced around in awe.

"Yes, once the monsters feel that the cathedral has been liberated, they won’t want to stay close to the holy structure. As a result, they’ll flee far away," Aria explained.

"But if they’re scared of it, how does a cathedral get corrupted then?" he asked.

"The only way is if it’s under the constant attack of a powerful creature like a guardian. But nothing in this forest is strong enough to attempt to corrupt the cathedral. As a result, they’ve all fled," Olivia explained.

A second later, she added, "It takes a long time for a powerful entity with the ability to corrupt a cathedral to appear. Because of that, we can leave mine and Aria’s cathedrals alone for some time without worrying that something will try to taint them."

Eric nodded, showing that he understood the information.

He shifted his gaze toward where the entity that was supposed to hunt him was located somewhere in the distance.

"It looks like it’s still far away. I guess it’s true—if it’s too far, it moves much slower," Eric remarked as he glanced at the girls.

With a grin, he asked, "So, how do we get back?"

*****

It took some time, but finally, Aria managed to catch a flying creature, so now the three of them were flying in the sky, resting upon the monster’s comfortable fur.

Eric observed the land below.

It was strange—they had once spent so much time traversing this vast distance on foot. But now, with his two companions having evolved into Grandmasters, their journey through the death zone felt... almost peaceful.

There wasn’t anything foolish enough to try and attack two Grandmasters at the same time, so they flew through the air undisturbed.

’So much has happened,’ Eric thought as he glanced at his two companions.

Aria was silent, holding the reins with which she controlled the monster. Her golden hair danced in the wind as her mesmerizing blue eyes scanned the road ahead.

Olivia, on the other hand, was like deadly beauty. Her black hair and aura made her seem like she was part of the night, while her purple eyes shone like a hunter’s—ready to kill its prey at a moment’s notice.

And now, the two of them, having evolved, were even more deadly and beautiful.

And all of this happened because of him... 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Eric himself wasn’t anything to scoff at, either. He had somehow managed to become a Master—something he never thought he was capable of. Not only that, but he possessed incredibly rare and useful traits that probably rivaled the ones the other Grandmasters had.

’Once we reached the city, how would everyone react?’ He wondered.

They no doubt thought that he was one of the countless chosen ones who had failed, and that Olivia and Aria had died alongside him.

And yet, here they were, rapidly approaching the last city. They had been scarred, hurt, and tired.

But they were alive. And stronger than ever.

"We... really did the impossible, didn’t we?" he asked as he shifted his gaze to the sky.

In response, the girls smiled faintly but didn’t reply. This silence... this peace was something they had not felt for a long time, so the three of them silently agreed to stay quiet for the rest of the trip back.

But at that moment, Eric couldn’t hold back his thoughts as he spoke aloud, "Thank you... if it weren’t for the two of you, I would have either been killed by a monster in the death zone or run out of essence and died."

"No, I should thank you. You are the reason I was finally able to become a Grandmaster," Aria countered.

"No, I should thank you two. I shouldn’t have even come along, and now I am returning like a Grandmaster," Olivia interjected.

"I guess we all helped each other in a way," Eric said, his lips curving upward.

The trip was a bit longer than expected, so they had to stop for two nights to rest.

When they did, the stillness around them was almost uncanny. It seemed that even in their sleep, nothing dared to attack them.

Of course, the three of them knew this sense of peace was a false reality. There were always stronger beings lying somewhere, waiting to attack at the perfect time.

But at the moment, they were so exhausted that they didn’t care about that possibility. All of them had a feeling that their return to the city would not go without a problem.

And so it did.

*****

On the third day, Eric glanced down. The ground below was starting to look familiar—they were almost there. He could have opened the map using the gem he had been gifted at the start of the expedition, but he didn’t want to ruin the surprise for himself.

He wanted the moment his gaze fell upon the city walls to be a true surprise.

"We’re here," Aria muttered.

Hearing her voice, both Eric and Olivia shifted their gazes forward.

In front of them were the towering walls, made of what appeared to be silver, stretching 60 meters into the air. Though now, being so high up and remembering how tall the colossal trees were, the city walls paled in comparison.

Eric let out a long sigh of relief.

He had returned to civilization.

The last one of this world.

The one he had been sent here to protect.

He couldn’t help but clench his fist in excitement. All of this was just the beginning.

Now, with the support of two Grandmasters and no longer needing to worry about his essence running out—since he had a large reserve for the moment—he could finally bring change to the city.

His first journey was over, ending in incredible success.