The "Anima" had finally ended.
The magical energy and magical creatures from the world of "Edolas" had been completely drained and transported to "Earth Land."
"Finally, it's over."
Watching the gradually restored azure sky, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
They no longer had to worry about the "Anima," and no one would lose their lives because of it again.
"The ethernano in this Eastern Forest is too abundant. It will likely attract many magical creatures, and there might even be animals undergoing mutations."
Sensing the surrounding magical energy, Makarov frowned and reminded Marco.
"It's fine. I'll imprison all these magical creatures here. Their presence will consume a large amount of the nearby magical energy. Besides, having many magical creatures gather here is a good thing—they come to us on their own, saving us the trouble of hunting them down."
Marco didn't seem concerned.
This area was originally a forbidden zone, and the people of "Magnolia" were prohibited from approaching the depths of this forest.
Ordinary people naturally avoided the Eastern Forest because the deeper parts had always been frequented by various magical beasts.
Nearby residents, when gathering firewood or performing other tasks, only operated on the outskirts of the forest.
The Fiore Kingdom was vast and sparsely populated, and the area around "Magnolia" wasn't limited to just the Eastern Forest.
People with needs would go to safer logging sites.
"As long as you know what you're doing." Makarov nodded.
Marco was the lord of "Magnolia," and these matters were for the lord to consider.
However, Makarov didn't understand city or territory management, so he merely reminded Marco to keep it in mind.
Marco nodded, signaling to Makarov that he had taken note.
At that moment, his attention was entirely captured by the system.
[Ding! Mission completed.]
Mission Name: "Expedition Across Worlds!"
Mission Progress:
Mission 1: Completely destroy the super-dimensional space magic "Anima" (Completed)
Mission 2: Resolve the issue of magical energy depletion in the world of Edolas (Completed)
Mission 1 Reward: Random Saint skill.
Mission 2 Reward: God's Blood.
[Claim mission rewards?]
With the end of "Anima," the affairs of "Edolas" were temporarily settled, and this long-triggered mission had finally concluded.
What surprised Marco was that both missions were considered completed.
He had assumed the second mission would be marked as a failure.
After agreeing to Mystogan's approach of "draining Edolas of its magical energy," Marco had already accepted the mission's failure.
Although losing "God's Blood" was regrettable, his companion's wishes were clearly more important.
Marco wouldn't forcibly alter Mystogan's plans for the future of "Edolas" just for "God's Blood."
"Could it be that making Edolas completely devoid of magical energy actually counts as resolving the issue of magical energy depletion?"
Marco's expression turned peculiar.
This outcome was something he hadn't anticipated, but upon reflection, it seemed... somewhat logical?
The reason mana depletion was considered a problem was that the world of "Edolas" still required mana, and magical creatures needed mana to survive.
But now that the world of "Edolas" no longer had magical creatures, there was no longer such a rigid demand.
Naturally, mana depletion ceased to be an issue.
"Forget it, whatever the reason, it's a good thing—I got the God's Blood for free."
Marco pondered for a while but couldn't figure it out. However, since he couldn't understand it, he decided not to dwell on it.
In any case, he was determined to get his hands on this "God's Blood."
Even if it was a system error, he would keep it.
"Claim!"
Without hesitation, Marco immediately chose to claim the reward.
[Congratulations! The Holy Sword skill has been unlocked!]
A system pop-up appeared—this was the reward for the first task.
Seeing the name of the skill, Marco was momentarily stunned.
"Holy Sword?!"
After a brief moment of surprise, Marco quickly realized what this ability was.
He had already unlocked the [Capricorn Gold Cloth] and, of course, knew what the "Holy Sword" ability entailed.
[Holy Sword Excalibur: A hand chop trained to its extreme. Those who train in the Holy Sword have limbs as indestructible as the sacred blade itself. With a mere flick of the hand, they can slice planets and split the heavens and earth. It is the ultimate unarmed attack, with even the pressure from a fist possessing immense power.]
Looking at the description of the [Holy Sword Excalibur] skill, Marco was left speechless.
This was a purely physical cultivation technique.
When mastered to perfection, one could forge the Holy Sword, relying not on mana but purely on physical strength to unleash earth-shattering power.
[Holy Sword Excalibur] represented the purest form of strength.
The Gold Saint of Capricorn could unleash terrifying slashes without burning their Cosmo, and similarly, Marco could use it without relying on mana.
"It's just not easy to train."
Marco carefully contemplated it.
Mastering this [Holy Sword Excalibur] was not something that could be achieved overnight, and the process was excruciatingly painful.
After all, it was a secret technique that transformed one's limbs into blades, and mastering it was akin to being reborn.
In contrast, using [Holy Sword Excalibur] through the [Capricorn Gold Cloth] was much simpler—it could be activated as long as one had mana.
That version of [Holy Sword Excalibur] was ultimately a power derived from the Gold Cloth, whereas this [Holy Sword Excalibur] skill had to be cultivated entirely through one's own efforts.
"What luck! A random Saint skill, and it actually turned out to be a Gold Saint's skill—and such a special ability like the Holy Sword. What a pity I didn't unlock this ability earlier. If I had, I might have mastered it by now."
Marco sighed inwardly, feeling a tinge of regret.
If he had started training in this [Holy Sword Excalibur] since childhood, he would surely have mastered it by now.
Starting only at this point, he had no idea how long it would take to achieve full mastery of this divine technique.
[Congratulations! God's Blood has been unlocked!]
The settlement pop-up for the second task also appeared, and the portion of [God's Blood] was directly placed into the System Space.
This single portion of [God's Blood] could only upgrade one Cloth.
"How stingy." Marco muttered a complaint, though it was understandable.
The [God's Blood] didn't specify the quantity, so being able to upgrade one Cloth was already fortunate.
If this amount wasn't enough for an upgrade, that would truly be stingy.
"The current problem is, how should this God's Blood be used? And on which Cloth?"
Marco pondered internally.
This was a "happy problem" others couldn't possibly have—ordinary Saints only possessed one Cloth, but he was different.
He had too many Cloths, even owning three Gold Cloths, which ironically made the choice difficult.
"This is the prerequisite for the manifestation of God Cloth."
God Cloth—a form that only appears when a Cloth is stained with [God's Blood] and combined with a Cosmos burning at the peak of the Eighth Sense—is second only to the Miracle Cloth in rarity.
Even if Marco used this portion of [God's Blood] now, he might not be able to trigger the God Cloth transformation.
However, the [God's Blood] could still strengthen the Cloth and grant it the potential to evolve into God Cloth.
This wasn't a one-time consumable—the enhancement effects of [God's Blood] would never fade.