Koo-woong…
Countless arrows shot down, and the sounds that filled the battlefield begin to fade.
Tears flowing from Leo’s eyes.
This is my limit.
“Hooaa… I did it!”
Leo slumped down.
She, who fired a powerful ultimate attack strong enough to bring Laguiel down with just one shot, fired a staggering 17 arrows, wiping the sweat off her brow with the spirit’s wind as she looked around.
It seems there are some casualties, but there’s no message indicating that the core was destroyed or that someone was captured.
Surely, it seems there are casualties…
“The storm seems to have disappeared as well. Maybe it was exhausted earlier?”
“That would be a relief…”
Although Lily had been continuously absorbing the arrows of the mountain, the storm calmed after the twelfth shot.
It’s unclear whether they’ve reached their limit or if there’s some other trick at play, but it indicates they’ve taken a hit.
“We need to go now.”
A weary-eyed Chuka Chip approached from behind her.
The arrows were shot by Leo and Laguiel, yet they appeared even more exhausted.
Laguiel, dragging his tired body, asked.
“…Are you okay?”
“I’m not okay.”
Chuka Chip, tiredly gripping his spear.
Yet, perhaps aware that this was a broadcast, he seemed to maintain at least a modicum of etiquette, though he didn’t look particularly courteous.
“Sigh.”
It was evident just by speaking that he was extraordinarily on edge.
“If we don’t leave now, we’ll recover. Then we’ll lose again.”
“Uugh! I’m really going to die!”
Whoosh! Behind Leo, who rose with the help of the spirit, the wings of the Nymph spread wide.
Chuka Chip got ready to fly along.
“I’ll stay here. I can’t do close combat.”
“I’ll help.”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
Bang-!
Leaving Laguiel and Freytion behind, they flew towards Lily’s team castle.
As soon as they arrived, Leo could see the catastrophe he had created with his own eyes.
“Wow.”
The devastated forest and the castle walls.
The castle looked like it had been hit by a bomb and was completely ruined, and in front of the only intact core stood the professor, bleeding.
Though it seemed he was in a precarious condition, Leo knew.
That kind of injury was just a ‘bruise’ to Lily.
Surely, she would recover without much trouble.
Seeing us, the professor smiled and shook his head.
“You’re amazing. Truly.”
“……”
“Seventeen shots with that kind of destructive power. That’s incredible. Honestly, I’m a bit envious.”
“Professor. I mean, Lady Lily?”
“Yes.”
Lily nodded.
It wasn’t a matter of being envious because she lacked strength or because she coveted Leo’s power.
‘If only there were more people like this.’
“If there had been more of them.”
“If there were many talented ones, with their own principles of action, who wouldn’t die—immortals.”
“Perhaps I could have had companions.”
“I was envious.”
“But even if I had them, it wouldn’t matter.”
“Since that day, I decided to face the end alone.”
“To avoid losing anything again.”
“Becoming a monster to catch monsters.”
“But.”
“I caught both of them. Should I break the core now?”
“Now seems fine.”
“Lady Lily?”
“Black’s signal.”
“Indeed, it’s worth having taught them at least a little.”
“I’ll let you know. Much more than now. Beyond that.”
“Uh. That’s scary.”
“You don’t have to refuse.”
“This is also about sharing the cost with ‘him.'”
“The debt I couldn’t repay.”
“‘Since I took it without permission, I guess it’s fine to use it as I wish.'”
“Lily!”
“A spear flies.”
“Snapped back to attention by Choco’s attack, Leo also musters his last strength to draw a massive sword of light.”
“I turned my head with the signal.”
“Aim completed.”
“Annihilation pierced the core.”
.
.
.
[The Red Team has been destroyed.]
[The Purple Team has been destroyed.]
[Destroyer – Devil.]
[Destroyer – Lily Elbrite.]
[The final winning team is Blue – Lily’s team.]
[Congratulations.]
■
“…So what is this?”
“A day in the past.”
“I turned my head to look into the distance.”
“A pierced tree and a small bear behind it.”
“The bear suddenly startled, fleeing quickly from the pierced tree.”
“Piercing a tree is easier than bending fingers for a celestial, but the distance was the problem.”
“What is it? Your ultimate technique, which you were making such a fuss about.”
“A distance several countries away from here.”
“Even had to cross tall mountain ranges to reach it, piercing the tree without a margin of error.”
“‘He’ who retrieved the spear glanced back at me, the spear, Lupein, in his hand.”
“Annihilation. The spear that destroys everything.”
“However, the spear he showed couldn’t accurately pierce an enemy at such a far distance.”
“When I looked at him suspiciously, he cleared his throat and said.”
“No, well. To be precise, it’s not exactly my technique, it’s from Rusalha…”
“I see. I thought so.”
“What? Are you saying you told me about the spear’s eye last time?”
“He had first shared a technique from the Eight Seats – not his own – just a few days ago.”
“He claimed it wasn’t as good as his own, but having used both, this one seemed more useful.”
“Even though it’s supposed to be a dragon technique, I said it’s not as good as mine, but after using both, this one felt a bit more useful.”
“It’s quite usable, you know? Unlike whose technique, it doesn’t produce any backlash.”
“Hah! The destructive power of this one is superior. Rusalha’s techniques are easy thanks to her powers…”
“Isn’t your power more impressive?”
Isn’t that why it turned out like this?
He didn’t continue, but sometimes words get conveyed without being spoken.
For a moment, we had an unspoken tug-of-war.
He was the first to give in.
“Fine. What’s the point of arguing with a brash little kid?”
“That young kid just saved my life.”
“Yeah, so I’m repaying the debt. Of course, as I’ve always said, if you ever want to kill me, you can go ahead.”
If that satisfies you, then fine.
“…Celestial Race bastard.”
“Do you realize that’s like spitting in my face?”
“I’m not a Celestial, so it doesn’t concern me.”
“Little Saintess, you’re a Celestial. So you’re learning techniques as a Celestial and being taught by the ultimate Celestial.”
“Aren’t you a bit too pathetic to be called the ultimate? There are seven more at your level.”
This is ridiculous.
He lowered the spearhead and gently tapped my head.
I shoved it away.
“Yeah. You handle everything, and make me into the ultimate, huh?”
“If that’s the price of handing over Lupein, then so be it.”
“You can’t even use it.”
“That’s for me to decide.”
The back-and-forth continued.
But he still never got Lupein.
He never could.
■
“……”
“What are you thinking about?”
As the match ended and we were briefly waiting for the results in the waiting room, Redberry approached.
The mock siege war resulted in an undefeated three wins for Lily’s team.
Though the two teams united to put me in a crisis, they ultimately couldn’t defeat us.
“Just idle thoughts.”
“Huh?”
Just idle thoughts.
Leaving behind a lifetime of talking about debts without ever collecting on one.
“That troublesome human.”
“Just lingering feelings, I guess. I wasn’t thinking about much.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Yeah.”
“You looked serious for a moment.”
Redberry tilted her head and asked.
“But what about the Devil?”
“Looks like he used too much power and got hurt. He went off complaining.”
“But we’re supposed to get our rewards, right?”
“Yep.”
Using the power of the Black Dragon Seriphed in a body that isn’t even a dragon, there’s no way I could be in normal condition.
It was possible, albeit clumsily, due to the potential that the Devil possessed, but that was more of a risky gamble close to a technique.
Chuka Chip, who had used the ‘Roar of the Spear,’ must have already logged out.
“Lord Black, you did a great job too.”
“Ah, yes. There will be a lot to talk about concerning this mock Siege War. Should I start with a clarification broadcast…”
“A clarification broadcast?”
Did we have anything to clarify?
Black waved his hand.
“Honestly, Lady Lily is strong, but I didn’t expect the difference to be this much. Especially against Lord Leo or Choco…”
Indeed, Leo and Choco demonstrated overwhelming skills compared to other rankers, but Lily was beyond that.
Especially that ‘Spear’ she showed at the end…
“Annihilation was a bit too much, wasn’t it?”
“…A bit much?”
Hmm. It was excessive.
Breaking the Demon Race with a spear that was just a chunk of gemstone, after all.
“Still, it shouldn’t be a big problem. Lady Lily didn’t destroy everything; if we break down the situation, everyone had their moments of glory.”
The Leo team and the Choco team too.
They might not have secured a victory, but they created many iconic moments.
Especially Leo, who showed incredible prowess and skill that could have turned the mock Siege War on his own if I hadn’t been there.
“And besides, the fact that the Unicorn didn’t attack Lady Lily is also a variable…”
“Ah. Yes.”
“Yes?”
“Never mind.”
Suddenly, the anxiety I’d been pushing aside came rushing back.
I checked my chat room, where only the official broadcast was being streamed, momentarily turning off the camera and microphone.
Of all moments, the scene where the Unicorn and I first encountered each other was playing.
[Lily! Lily! Lily! Lily!]
[Oh, my lol]
[Is this Lily? Ah lol]
[lolololololololololololol]
[One-shot cut of the Core, is it crazy? lol]
[Saint Lily!]
[Is this where the virgin is the host?]
[It’s only the third round, but there are so many iconic moments lololololol]
[lolololol]
[Yes, that’s right~]
[Even the Unicorn cried, so pure! ddddd]
[Saintess Lily ddddd]
[Unicorn legend lolololol]
[But is that real?]
[It’s an obvious result, ooo]
[Guardian of Purity Lily ;;]
[Great Lily]
Shit.
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