Ascension of the last Celestial

Deep inside the Voidwoods, the endless forest bordering the orphanage, ancient and powerful beasts lived. Mostly, these ancient calamities kept to themselves, spending their eons in deep hibernation.

One of these monsters was a giant abomination with a long, deep-red serpentine body, two powerful arms that ended in razor-sharp claws, jagged spikes running along its spine, and a long, menacing snout. The monster was currently curled up, resting inside a massive cave, when suddenly its eyes snapped open, revealing deep orange irises with a vertical slit. A massive mana disturbance had caused its very mana core to tremble.

Unfurling its fifty-meter-long body from its age-long slumber, the beast began to move. Shifting its massive bulk through the caverns, it headed directly toward the source of the mana disturbance it felt. Nearby, smaller monsters also began to make their move, though they always made sure to stay far out of the way of the larger, supreme predator.

Back at the orphanage, Valerian’s sentence was abruptly cut off by a primal, bestial roar.

Aurelia’s head snapped instantly in the direction of the sound. She rushed to the window of Valerian’s room to look outside, and what she saw made her blood run cold. Advancing rapidly toward the orphanage was the giant serpentine monster, closely followed by a massive swarm of smaller, weaker beasts. But just because they were weaker than the titan didn’t mean they were weak; the lowest among them were F-rank, while the strongest of the swarm reached B-rank.

And the massive serpentine monster? It was an SS-rank calamity. A walking natural disaster capable of leveling an entire city with a single strike. Feeling the crushing pressure of the monster’s strength, a deep terror for the safety of the children crept into Aurelia’s heart, to say nothing of the entire horde accompanying it.

"Val! Go tell all the other children to run to the basement! There is a protection rune I created years ago!"

Startled by the sudden appearance of the monsters, Valerian tank a quick second to process Aurelia’s frantic words. "Okay, I will!" With that, he bolted out of his room to gather the others.

Aurelia stepped up to the window, threw it open, and leaped out. But before gravity could pull her down, she floated gracefully into the air. Flying high above the grounds, she stared down at the approaching horde with a hardened, grim gaze.

’I don’t know if I can stop all of them...’

’Status.’

[Status Window]

[Name: Aurelia Thorn]

[Age: 285]

[Titles: Headmaster of Wayford, Baroness Thorn]

[Race: Human]

[Bloodline: -]

[Core: Rank S+]

[Affinities: Water, Ice]

[Attributes]

[Vitality: S]

[Strength: S-]

[Agility: S+]

[Dexterity: S+]

[Intelligence: S+]

[Mana: S]

[Charm: B]

[Unique Skill]

[-]

Looking at her status screen, her dread only deepened. Glancing at the empty title of Baroness-a title she had received for her bloody performance in the war-she could only let out a bitter scoff. But whatever emotions she held for her noble past were quickly pushed aside to focus on the terrifying reality right in front of her.

The Serpentine Monster. ’It’s stronger than me...’

As the heavy truth of the situation settled in, she stole one last glance back at the orphanage she had built. Sadness and regret swelled in her heart. ’Even if I die, I won’t let these children get hurt. Never.’

With her resolve forged, she began to churn her mana, gathering a massive amount of energy in front of her outstretched hands. ’First, the small ones.’

A brilliant, bluish ball of mana formed between her palms, expanding rapidly until it reached two meters in diameter. Aurelia exhaled a sharp breath and released the spell. A torrential flood of high-pressure water shot violently from the sphere. The crushing force of the stream tore down entire trees in its path, instantly crushing and drowning dozens of the smaller monsters.

As the water spread across the battlefield, a frost-white hue coated her hands. She brought them together with a resounding clap. The moment her hands met, the water on the ground began to freeze at a terrifying pace. All the monsters sprinting across the wet earth were frozen solid in an instant, their legs fused to the ice. But she wasn’t done. From the clear, icy surface, massive jagged spikes erupted upward, impaling the trapped beasts entirely.

Aurelia heaved a heavy breath and looked up at the serpentine titan. To her horror, the monster hadn’t slowed down for even a fraction of a second, continuing its relentless march toward the building.

’Of course it wouldn’t slow down for that.’

Preparing to cast another spell, she raised her hands again. But before she could channel her mana, a high-pitched scream tore through the air.

"AAAHHH!"

Her head snapped toward the sound. Some of the smaller monsters had managed to bypass her, reaching the orphanage walls. Caught in a brutal split-second decision, Aurelia spread her senses to feel the strength and number of the beasts inside the building.

’Seven F-ranks and one B-rank... I hope the older children can protect the little ones.’

Confirming that the intruders inside weren’t overwhelmingly powerful, she decided that her priority had to remain outside. The best way to save the children was to somehow stall or defeat the strongest threat. Letting out a heavy breath, she turned back to the advancing SS-rank calamity, her face set with grim determination to finish this as fast as possible.

Back inside the orphanage, Valerian was sprinting through the hallways to guide everyone to the basement. He threw open doors, gathering every child he could find. Almost all of them were already awake, shaken from their sleep by the earth-shattering roars outside. When Valerian burst into their rooms, they were sitting on their beds, trembling in terror.

Seeing Valerian’s drastic physical transformation, his horns and fangs, they immediately began shouting questions, but he couldn’t afford to waste time.

"Not now! Just go!"

As he navigated the corridors, the loud, crashing sound of waves echoed from outside, but he pushed forward, determined to fulfill Aurelia’s request. When he reached the quarters of the older teenagers, they were less frantic than the young children, though they still shook with fear. Surprisingly, they didn’t cause a fuss when Valerian ordered them to the basement, though their eyes lingered heavily on his new horns.

Moving further down the hallway, he finally reached the last room he needed to check. Written on the door was the name: Tristan.

Valerian froze in front of the door for ten seconds, contemplating his choices. Tristan was still bedridden from when Valerian had essentially beaten him into a pulp.

’Should I just leave him?’ ’But the Headmistress told me to gather everyone.’ ’Does he even deserve saving?’

Caught in a spiral of conflicting thoughts, Valerian was suddenly snapped out of it by another high-pitched scream echoing from downstairs.

"AAAHHH!"

’Ah, hells.’

Kicking the door open, he marched over to Tristan’s bed. The older boy was still completely passed out; his face looked slightly better than before, but it was far from fully healed. Valerian ripped the blankets away and yanked him from the bed. Tristan’s body hit the wooden floor with a heavy thud, but he remained unconscious.

’Oops,’ Valerian thought with a brief grin.

The amusement quickly vanished as he realized he needed a way to transport the heavy teenager. ’Wait, I’m awakened now. I can use more mana. But I probably shouldn’t use my affinities... they don’t exactly sound safe.’

Instead, he focused his raw mana, shaping a solid translucent platform beneath Tristan’s body, lifting him softly into the air.

’That was actually incredibly easy... Is it because I’m the [Child of Mana]?’

Wasting no more time, he hurried out of the room with Tristan hovering closely behind him on the platform, heading straight for the basement. But as he drew closer to the stairs, the metallic stench of blood flooded his nose.

’Don’t tell me they’re already inside?!’

Turning a corner, he was met with a sickening sight. Standing there was a monster that looked like an overgrown dog, its fur was obsidian black, covered in jagged scars, and its maw was drenched in fresh blood. Something wet was hanging from its jaws. As Valerian’s gaze dropped, his breath hitched. Lying on the floor was a little girl, no older than eight. Her eyes were completely blank, and a massive chunk of her neck was entirely missing, blood pouring out to stain the wooden floor a deep crimson.

When the beast turned toward the sound of his footsteps, its crimson eyes locked onto Valerian’s newly awakened, slitted purple ones. The monster took a hesitant step back. It looked... confused. It paced back and forth for a brief moment, its gaze darting between Valerian and the fresh prey on the floor. Finally, it let out a vicious growl, seemingly deciding that its food was worth ignoring whatever primordial instinct was screaming at it to run.

As the beast lunged into a sprint toward him, Valerian froze. And who could blame him? Just meters away lay a girl he had seen every single day of his life, sitting across from him at meals, playing in the halls. But as the monster closed the distance, coming within two meters, his survival instinct snapped him out of it. He scrambled backward, but his footing failed him, and he began to fall onto his back.

Seeing its opening, the beast pounced through the air, jaws aimed at the vulnerable boy.

’Please, no!’

In a flash of pure panic, Valerian instinctively thrust his hands forward, screaming for his mana to answer. Without a moment’s delay, a deep, violet flame ignited across his palms.

’Please, just burn!’

As if it had been eagerly waiting for that exact command, the small violet flame exploded outward, transforming into a roaring inferno that completely engulfed the leaping beast. The monster didn’t even last a second. Its body turned to ash instantly, and a moment later, even the ash ceased to exist, vaporized into nothingness.

But the cosmic fire didn’t stop there. It roared down the hallway, violently igniting the walls and the ceiling. Finally landing hard on his behind, Valerian stared with wide, trembling eyes at the empty space where the beast had been. Breathing heavily, a violent shudder ran through his small frame.

’That was way too close...’

Seeing that the corridor was quickly becoming a raging death trap, he tried to call upon his affinity again to douse the flames, but nothing answered besides his basic mana control.

’Come on, you just worked!’

Trying again and failing, he realized he couldn’t waste another second. Ignoring the ever-growing fire, he pushed forward, desperately navigating the smoke to reach the basement. Along the way, he passed multiple corpses of the other children. All of them had been brutally slaughtered by savage claw and bite marks.

’There are definitely more of them inside.’

When he finally reached the entrance to the basement, a heavy wooden hatch reinforced with iron bands and etched with glowing protective runes, the stench of blood and iron became almost unbearable. Pulling the heavy hatch open, he looked down, and his stomach instantly churned.

Blood. So much blood.

The lifeless bodies of the children were scattered across the floor. Feasting upon them were six more of the black, dog-like beasts. But there was another monster standing among them that was entirely different. It was currently leaning over the body of a boy around Tristan’s age, its back turned to the entrance. Between its wet, tearing bites, Valerian could catch a glimpse of the victim’s face. It was Ethan, Tristan’s best friend, the one who had carried him inside earlier.

Hearing the heavy iron hatch slam open, the creature slowly stood up.

Unlike the other beasts that ran on all fours, this one was bipedal. It stood extraordinarily tall, somewhere between 2.0 and 2.3 meters, and its entire hairless hide was a pristine, ghostly white, marred only by the fresh blood of the children. Its knees bent forward like a beast’s, and its arms were freakishly long, reaching all the way down to its joints and ending in claws that resembled long, sharpened human nails.

As it turned its hairless head to face the entrance, Valerian was met with a sight that caused a deep, paralyzing horror to grip his soul. Its face consisted of absolutely nothing but a mouth. No eyes, no nose, no ears. Just a cavernous maw filled with rows of razor-sharp, blood-stained teeth.

And as it locked its sightless gaze onto Valerian standing frozen at the entrance, something even more disturbing happened.

The monster smiled.