Chapter 17: The Final Confrontation

Saga returns from the Abyss as the dark forces commence their final assault on the world. Large swathes of the land have been laid to waste by the armies of demons, goblins, and orcs, with human, elven, and dwarven forces scattered and disorganized. Saga, more powerful than ever before but deeply scarred by his journey, is the first to take up the mantle of leadership.

This is the final battle of gigantic size-thousands of warriors clashed on the field. Saga uses all the abilities he had received with the help of the System to turn the tide of this battle, calling upon both light and shadow magic, martial skills, and his mastery of the artifact. Descriptions of this battle are vivid and chaotic, Saga cutting through enemy ranks while at the same time considering ways of how to stop the dark forces at their source.

As the battle rages on, Saga realizes that the true enemy is not the armies of monsters but the demon general commanding them. It is finally revealed that this general was the very same demon to ambush him and manipulate events from behind the scenes for centuries in his pursuit of the ultimate power contained within the artifact.

And so, the final confrontation between Saga and the general demon is nothing but epic. The almost-unstoppable demon, powered by the dark side, is put in an inferior position facing Saga's new balance between light and darkness. The fight is very brutal; the two combatants give it their all, holding nothing back. After this long combat, Saga manages to defeat the demon, but not before the demon reveals one final plot twist: the power of the artifact is not taken-it was just passed over to Saga.

Now that the war was finally over, the world lay in ruin. While the battle was finally won, the cost had been infinitely great for Saga. A lot of his allies fell, and now the races of humanity, elves, and dwarves needed to rebuild a shattered world.

This chapter focuses more on the post-war aftermath and Saga's reflectiveness on everything he has learned. The reverence he receives now is that of the Immortal Martial Emperor, but he is also burdened with the understanding that the power of the artifact still resides within him. Saga realizes such power shall always attract individuals who seek to misuse that power and decides to stash it away where no one can find it.

The final act of Saga is to dissolve the System, realizing that it's now time for people to learn how to grow by themselves, without the need for an external source of power. He also worked with the other races toward a new order, based upon cooperation and mutual respect, and not on dominance and fear.

Sitting alone, Saga considered his journey as portrayed in the novel's last scene. He had his revenge, but more importantly, he found peace in his own heart. The world is finally at peace-for the time being, he thought-but he knew new challenges would always arise. As he stared out toward the horizon, he decided to continue his journey-not as a conqueror, but as a guardian of balance.