Book 21 Chapter 16
Episode 207
To the Land of Decisive Battle!
The City of Beginning and End, The Decisive Battle of Raptas (11)
[Are you okay?]
Freide grumbled irritably as she pulled herself out of the rubble with Kiese's help.
“That bastard…… What immortal goes on a suicide charge like that…… Damn it, it's a good thing I didn't bring Pipi. She might have gotten seriously hurt just now…….”
Shuan was safe thanks to Link embracing her, and Simian also seemed unharmed thanks to Riven, but nearly 30% of the Sasa Corps seemed to have been killed in action.
“Lin! Lin, where are you!”
“Roar (Where are you)!”
“Roar (Are you safe)?”
Leonia and her lionesses were also safe, and Lyuminique was just seen getting up from the rubble.
“Naval Artillery Fleet, do you read? This is Chief Tinkerer Nils Blantz! We have currently entered the Yellow City <Raptas>!”
Nils was sending communications through Captilt-II's artifact radio communication system.
“Reptilians and demons are swarming the city like a plague of insects!”
Nils's heavy cannons were also supplied to the navy, and the Ein navy, which had united the three kingdoms and converted to a wartime system, quickly completed their heavy cannon armament.
“I will activate the artifact beacon, so command naval cover to that location!”
The fleet's naval advance had also been ordered before infiltrating the Anti-Dragon Barrier, so by now they should have entered coastal bombardment range.
“Ni, Ni, Nils, Da, Danger!”
There was no time to even catch their breath. Link threw himself forward, blocking Nils.
Suddenly, a roar erupted from the other side, and lava flows and pyroclastic materials rained down.
It wasn't a volcanic eruption.
A demon merely struck a bell tower with its tail, causing it to collapse, and the fragments began to wield such power imbued with the authority of lava.
Its size was clearly smaller than the three demons seen so far; if classified, it would be a low-rank demon.
But even so…….
Even the word "low-rank" could not mitigate the primal despair directed at it. For a demon's very existence is a calamity.
“Damn it…… won't you give us a break!”
Freide hastily unrolled the scroll of the New Book of Psalms, and during the interval until its casting, Simian brought his hands together to generate a crimson wave.
“Don't worry!”
The crimson sun, Shurigan's miracle.
“I am the wandering Sasa!”
Where ripples, like tears falling on a lake, reach, life sprouts, and those creatures on the ripples are granted the protection of dawn.
“It's coming again!”
It was then that the demon shattered a second structure and began to unleash the same calamity.
Link, who had run forward to directly block the calamity, crashed into the demon with all his might and then grabbed its arms.
No one there thought it was a reckless act of trying to break a rock with an egg. They simply ran together.
「Va fi a Ku dea ku ras!」
Kiese's arrows, which had dynamically dodged the pyroclastic materials, struck the demon's feet.
By firmly extending roots into the impact points, it deprived the demon of the ability to move its weight.
So that Rista, who approached the demon by repeatedly kicking off the city walls, could unfold a realm of records (誌界) for altering providence along her slash trajectory.
“Providence Engraving────!”
The providence engraved in the realm of records, Yanabatsu.
Its meaning is penetration (貫通).
Providence adjusts the world order, allowing the sword strikes of Surpaing, running with brilliant light, to pierce through the chest of the demon, which is a volcano itself, and expose the core beyond…
“─────Lin!”
Lin thinks. Earlier, brain hemorrhage couldn't even scratch a high-ranking demon.
In that case……!
She shifts direction to primarily use ice magic, which allows her to exert power not just by herself, but with Sval.
“Osarius-style Hand Seal, 5-star…… Ice Lotus Celestial Flower (氷連川界華).”
With the aid of lightning magic.
Adding 4-star lightning magic, Thunder Magnetic Steel Strike (雷磁鋼擊), of the Yorhen type.
‘Protecting the moisture from easily reaching its boiling point through freezing.’
Using the infinitely radiating repulsive force, she designs the water to instantly spread throughout the demon's body from the point of penetration.
‘And make it bloom!’
The next moment…… blades of ice pierced through the demon's body from within, gushing out in a vibrant blue, looking exactly like flowers blooming on a volcano.
“Good…… Hmm?”
There was no time to bask in victory.
Because from the southern part of the city, where it was transforming into a city of pillars, an ancient malevolence (悖惡) emerged, accompanied by a tsunami of lava.
「Bel ro Neigalras…… I am…… the voice of Neigalras……!」
To articulate that world-altering, no, earth-altering. No, cosmic crystallization of malevolence is an impossible task.
No language in this world.
No term in the entire universe.
It is impossible to verbally describe the aggregation of madness that imbues all matter, energy, and order belonging to space-time with malevolence.
“Argh, Arghhhhhhhhhh…!”
Dozens of the younger or inexperienced fairy soldiers had their brains and skulls explode at that moment of chilling enlightenment, dying instantly.
“Mauna Loa…….”
Someone barely uttered that name with a groan close to a scream.
Mauna Loa, avatar of kings.
An avatar (化身), created by a ruler from before creation, seated on the throne of the abyss, to personally convey his will to those below, had descended.
「……!」
In that great chaos that instantly swallowed body, mind, and soul into the darkness of malevolence, they might have been annihilated in an instant.
At that moment, that very moment……!
If the dragon speech of the blue true dragons, flying in, dyeing the northern sky with the light of fresh greenery, had not manifested like a miracle (異蹟).
“It's life-water. It's water!”
An ideal super-high heat that could not be endured for a single moment without protective magic, miracles, or spells.
A welcome rain scattered within it.
That water was life and a miracle, and encouragement (激勵) that pushed the back of a hero with their mission's beacon before their eyes.
「Ro un has! Protect those who walk the path of courage!」
The blue true dragon Tajirmum commanded.
White dragons are the least combat-capable among the three dragon races, and due to that limitation, they had originally only performed tasks related to life protection.
However, they did not retreat in the face of such limitations, desperately spewing life-water to slow down Mauna Loa and the advancing lava.
「Do ro Hbakus…… Is that petty recklessness born of foolishness? Immature beings who know only fragments of eternity (永遠).」
However, their limitations were also clear, and under the saturation of lava scattered across the sky by Mauna Loa…… they screamed wildly and fell one by one.
“Shuan, Shuan!”
Freide urgently sought Shuan in the midst of that pandemonium.
Shuan was blankly staring at the artifact on her wrist.
Through the satellite map, red coordinates were shown approaching, which meant the Red Dragon Legion, or the Red Squadron.
“For the Red Squadron to come all the way here, how long…….”
Despite Freide's countless shouts, Shuan continued to mumble with a dazed expression.
It was natural.
Unlike her <Ones Who Came> parents, Shuan had no experience with such chaotic battlefields, or the madness that unfolds when facing the true kings of the abyss.
“Shuan, you idiot! Snap out of it!”
Freide slapped Shuan hard across the cheek.
Shuan was able to regain her senses from that momentary pain.
Shuan's eyes, wide open as she looked back at Freide, had lost their hazy look.
“Are you awake?”
“Lady Freide? When did you get here?”
“There's a way, right? If we change this entire city back to normal, just like last time, the transfer will also be blocked! Right?”
“Ah…… Yes, that's right! It should!”
“The core? Zernix? You said you could feel the core's presence, right? Even if you don't know the location, can you feel where it is now?”
Shuan was about to give an immediate answer, but paused to adjust the artifact and check the connection circuit between the core and the artifact.
“No, it's gone.”
“Then it's safe to assume Zernix was eaten by the Lizard Lord! For now! Mauna Loa must have absorbed his power, keeping its authority intact.”
Freide frowned.
Even as she said it, she couldn't believe it…….
‘I don't think that bastard Zelly would have died this easily, but let's try to think simply for now.’
Otherwise, there's no solution to this situation at all.
“If we can just stop this phenomenon right now…… since Zernix isn't here, that transfer phenomenon won't be able to recover.”
“Yes, that's it! So you go to the center of the city.”
“The center of the city?”
“Yes, there's a watchtower there overlooking the entire city! You'll use the miracle of 'embodiment of the painting' there!”
“Then what about you, Lady Freide!”
It was around this time that Rista, Lin, Kiese, and Link, who had dealt with the demon, joined them.
“Shuan, head to the watchtower with Simian-nim like this. Don't worry. We will stop Mauna Loa.”
Rista said.
Pointing at that global catastrophe with the tip of her holy sword, as if it were nothing.
“Therefore, Princess Leonia, I ask you to take care of Shuan-nim.”
Leonia flinched in surprise, then retorted with an exasperated tone.
“What are you talking about? I'm going to fight here with Lin too—”
“—You know this isn't the time for games!”
At Rista's sudden shout, Leonia was startled and fell silent.
She had always fought playfully, but this was the first time she had seen Rista genuinely angry.
Against the startled Leonia, Rista passionately declared.
“The situation is that <Larien> has already devoured nearly half of the city of <Raptas>. Princess Leonia, you are also a hero. You, who came all the way here with us, deserve respect as a hero.”
“……!”
“That's why I humbly ask you. To take Shuan-nim there using your lionesses.”
Wanting to be by Lin's side wasn't a joke, but sincere…….
But it was clear who would be a fighting force in this situation.
Leonia, who had been powerlessly biting her lip, stopped crying and bravely gave Lin a thumbs-up.
“Lin, when this war is over, you're coming to our kingdom, right? Then, instead of talking coolly and chicly…… can I just be myself?”
Hosen Kingdom?
Lin hummed and stroked his chin.
Does she mean I should come to return what I borrowed? Giving hints even at such a critical moment, ah, I said I'd return it, didn't I?
“Well, okay. I can stop by on the way back.”
Lyuminique was also assigned to the group guarding Shuan. Lyuminique grimaced in pain before finally opening his mouth.
“You guys…… don't die. I'll give you free enrollment tickets to Lyuminique's exclusive classroom. Understand?”
The six confronting Mauna Loa, the hero party and Nils & Link, responded with smiles.
“Sorry. Not interested.”
“Yeah. I wouldn't do that even if you gave it to me, you bald bastard.”
[Yes, you manooki bastard. Who has time for that? I'm the chief tinkerer, a busy man.]
[ㅗ(ㅡㅅㅡ)ㅗ]
“I'm a little interested.”
Lin said.
He felt the need to grow taller and build muscle to match Rista.
Lyuminique let out a hearty laugh amidst this despair.
“It's a promise, Lin! You must come to take the lessons!”
In the meantime, Leonia put Shuan on the back of the youngest lioness, Senru, and she herself mounted the eldest, Horu.
“First descendants! The time has come to embrace your great mission!”
Over 200 fairy soldiers, acting on Sasa Simian's command, instantly surrounded Shuan and Leonia.
“Sasa Corps, bravest fairy soldiers! I command you to escort the shepherd to the watchtower and then defend the area until the miracle unfolds!”
Paladin Riven drew his holy spear and led the fairy soldiers.
“Many reptilians in the direction of advance! Holtrakks, charge formation! Surround the shepherd and the lionesses! Run! We will protect you!”
Shuan, riding on the back of a lioness, through the gaps between the fairy soldiers galloping on either side…….
To the very end, at their backs…….
There was nothing she could do but watch the backs of the hero and his party, who were pointing the blade of their holy sword against that global malevolence…….
“Alright, this is the final battle!”
More dazzling than the holy sword's gleam, which shrieked brilliantly before their nemesis, the hero smiled.
In the face of that global despair.
In the face of that worldwide malevolence.
In the face of that cosmic nightmare.
With that smile, he looked at each of his comrades, his friends who had accompanied him to the very end of their mission, and joyfully, powerfully, and somewhat wistfully shouted.
“Let's go strong and joyfully until the very end! Engagement initiated!”