Twinkle! The starlight drapes down the sky.
Plop! The fallen starlight seeps into the blood-stained ground, spreading far and wide.
Whoosh! The wind whips, whoosh! flames soar, zap! lightning sparks, splash! water sprays, and boom! the earth erupts.
Each time, dozens, if not hundreds, of monsters tumble down the hills and crash.
“Whew… With this many, gulp… where on earth did they come from?”
Gasping for breath, Ser glares at Vishur.
“How are you managing things, ugh… how could such beasts mix with the city… huff that’s what I’m saying.”
However, Vishur couldn’t respond.
He was too focused on cleaving the monsters rushing down the hill.
The monsters’ squish sounds answered instead.
With such responses, Ser clicked his tongue and looked around.
The scene below, viewed from atop the hill, was no different from hell.
Under the pitch-black sky, a river of blood flowed, with torn pieces of flesh floating atop.
From finger-sized chunks to head-sized pieces, they all squirmed, searching for pairs in the river of blood.
Where the flow halted…
[That is no longer human…]
Large and small flesh pieces gathered together, forming a new human shape.
An appearance like a child’s creation.
A human with feet on its shoulders and arms on its hips.
A human with a butt where its head should be.
A human with branches stuck in place of fingers.
Just things that squirmed and moved if they got stuck.
The ones crawling up the hill were no different.
Their eye sockets were empty, their mouths quivered with lungs, and their insides spilled out from their navels.
It wasn’t just the sight.
The smell and feel were repulsive too.
The rotten smell of corpses was so foul it could hardly be called fragrant.
Skin that would rip apart as soon as it touched.
“Look at that. I’ve told you countless times to shatter the core stuck in the center.”
Ser exclaimed in a sharp tone, sending an icy spear from his fingertips into the monster’s core.
Gulp… Hic- Cough… Huff…
“It should just be a quick poke with that thin sword. Is that too hard?”
Then fire, wind, lightning, earth, darkness, and light swirled, stirring the battlefield.
Wheeze… Cough, cough… Gahh…
Behind Ser…
The light spirit hovering in the air slipped through Vishur’s gaping belly.
Drip! At the same time, blood bubbles started oozing from Vishur’s tightly closed mouth, and his eyes rolled back as if he might faint any moment.
Ser wrapped his arms around Vishur’s waist and shook him back and forth.
“Hey, it’s too early to be sleeping. The sun is right up there. Get up and fight!”
Moments later, sparkling particles of light wafted up, healing Vishur’s wounds.
Ugh… Hrk… Hic… “The sun… has been up for fifty hours… sniff…”
“Why are you crying?”
“…I miss the gentle healing.”
Vishur, freed from Ser’s embrace, wiped what was on his face and bowed his head.
“Whew… Thanks. Thanks to you, Ser, I can fight more.”
Then he picked up the rapier lying on the ground and looked up at the sky.
“Really… The sun is right above us.”
Indeed, as Vishur said, a black sun loomed majestically in the high sky, spitting dark light.
“It looks like there’s no intention to hide anymore… perhaps everything is ready…”
“Stop talking nonsense and go kill at least one more. Enjoying the view can wait until the war is over.”
Ahem…
However, even Ser, who said that, had his mind elsewhere.
The red curtain seen far away.
Noah standing alone behind it.
“It seems impossible to kill them all, so we need to buy time as much as we can.”
That said, he didn’t look like he would retreat.
He had to protect the Temple of Memory until they arrived.
Vishur nodded with a determined expression, and his new form vanished. Then came the rip sound of flesh being torn.
Booom! The slender rapier infused with red magical power moved across the ocean of monsters, beginning to slice off their limbs.
And then came Ser’s finishing blow.
As time passed and the rapier began to have blood clots on its blade,
Gasp! An overwhelming energy appeared that took away his breath.
The Master.
Neither a failed experiment nor a completed master.
A true Master.
The moment Vishur recognized that presence, he dashed to Ser’s side.
“Whew… Huf, whew… Ser!”
“Yes.”
“The Master-”
“Vishur, you should retreat with the remaining ones.”
Ser responded as if he already knew, gesturing toward where Cartia’s forces were gathered.
“Now there’s nothing we can do except die like dogs, so don’t hesitate and leave quickly.”
“But…”
“You might not know, but those people do. So hurry up and go.”
Turning his back, Ser gathered all the spirits scattered across the battlefield and moved toward the Master.
“Please attract the monsters’ attention while you’re at it. Their smell is distracting me.”
Watching Ser’s back, Vishur bit his lip.
Whack!
After slapping his own face, he pulled out the communication crystal and followed after Ser.
“This is Vishur. The Master has appeared. The third Master Roy, the fifth Master Karok. So-”
Swallow! Vishur said in a clear voice.
“Let’s die together.”
“…What are you doing?”
“I’m giving orders.”
Hearing the cheers from a distance, Vishur smiled with satisfaction, putting the crystal back in his pocket.
“It seems there’s no opposition.”
“If you want to die, I can kill you right now.”
“No thanks. I desire a heroic death.”
Chuckle! Vishur looked toward the far-off red curtain.
“And I also need to beg for forgiveness.”
“I hate that kind of pretentious drama.”
“Oh, really? So do I. We’re on the same page.”
Clatter! The day had become dull, and the rapier with half its guard gone was raised valiantly.
“I should have brought a better weapon. I saved it and now it’s useless.”
“With a toothpick like that, you won’t be able to take even one of their hits.”
“The rapier is not meant for blocking attacks. It’s for dodging and slipping away.”
Upon hearing that, Ser looked at Vishur incredulously, as if he couldn’t believe it.
With his whole body covered in wounds, he talks about dodging and slipping.
“Do as you please.”
With a snort, Ser immediately changed his pace and spread the spirits he’d gathered again.
Seeing the spirits flying toward the areas where Cartia’s forces were gathered, Vishur lowered his head.
“…Thank you.”
“Tell them to come quickly. Unless you want to die like a dog.”
After seeing Ser hastily grab a crystal, he immediately bit his finger.
The blood that dripped down rose before it hit the ground, drawing a small line.
[Are you trying to save them?]
“I think I can use them as meat shields.”
[Are you sure you can manage it?]
“If there are two masters, I’ll give it a shot, but with all those completed bastards, I’m not so sure.”
Tsk! With a click of his tongue, Ser reached for the red line drawn in the air.
[The cost-]
“Oh, we can settle that with your pinky finger. I’ve suffered for ten years, so I think that’s a fair deal.”
Simultaneously, the red line transformed into a brilliant silver-white, beginning to emit dazzling light.
[…You wretched girl.]
“I forgot your kid when I called you that.”
With a smirk, Ser turned to Vishur and opened his mouth.
“Their goal is to destroy the Temple of Memory.”
“I know, I k… know!”
Vishur, who had been slicing away the monsters rushing from all directions, wiped the blood from his lips and nodded.
“So we must also prioritize protecting the Temple of Memory.”
“Yes.”
“Two masters. Seventy-nine completed masters.”
And the number of monsters.
Roughly ten thousand.
“Even if you die, die when Rubia and Noah arrive.”
With those last words, the shining silver-white line became…
Rumble!
A colossal gate connecting this world to the spirit realm, beginning to draw all the spirits in the spirit realm.
“If you do that, I’ll include your name in the historical records to be passed down.”
The moment Ser’s voice finished,
Thousands of failed experiments swiftly closed the distance and reached in front of Ser.
Ser didn’t panic but waved his hand elegantly through the air.
Following that motion, dozens of high-tier spirits engulfed their bodies.
Vishur, seeing that overwhelming scene, threw himself into the ocean of experiments.
The overwhelming disaster radiating from the slender female body began to shine brightly, illuminating their dark paths.
Once again, the passionate cheers echoed.
The squish of death.
The sound of monsters.
And, the sound of the Master.
[They are coming.]
“I know.”
I gathered some of the spirits stirring the battlefield next to me. Simultaneously, a towering figure emerged from the colossal gate unfurling behind Ser.
Two out of three.
‘Ablon’ and ‘Lin’.
[The recovery for Karma is insufficient.]
While sufficient to face the completed ones, it was woefully inadequate to take on the true Master.
Still, Ser faced them without hesitation.
The formless energy blossoming from Lin’s hand reached for the sky, beginning to create a massive meteor shower.
In front of Lin stood Ablon, flipping the ground over to obstruct the monsters’ paths and took all the attacks.
Not backing down, the high-tier and superior spirits began to sweep away the lesser creatures in the air.
The intermediate spirits protected Ser.
The smaller low-tier spirits and mindless spirit bodies sought out the Cartia forces, eager to assist.
Then, a moment later.
Seeing the meteor shower that sounded like it would break the sky beginning to fall, the Masters finally reacted.
Grasping his gigantic greatsword, Karok looked to the sky, ready to strike.
Swish! With a single blow, dozens of meteors were cleaved.
Whoosh! A swirl of blue flame burst forth from Roy’s raised staff, erasing all debris in its path.
“What the hell, are you really human?”
[You also don’t seem human yourself.]
Tsk.
Leaving behind the next set ready to attack Lin, he placed his palm on Ablon’s back.
Simultaneously, a destructive energy began to surge from the Masters.
Manifestation of concepts.
The black sun started to emit an even darker light. The thick smell of blood stuck even more heavily.
A greater despair loomed on the battlefield, filling it with an even larger sense of hopelessness. The cheers high on aspiration began to die away, while the monsters’ presence loomed even larger.
Karok’s massive sword returned to its sheath.
Roy’s staff began to crunch down on his arm, absorbing the blood flowing on the ground.
The target was the Temple of Memory.
Gathering all spirits to defend? Impossible to hold.
To decipher that magic circle and bring down the core?
But who would block Karok’s attack?
I needed to think.
I had to discover a solution just a little faster.
To defend against attacks that broke through such principles, I too must break through those principles.
Right now, to find a way to change the situation.
Amidst the chaotic thoughts, the clank! sound of disaster resounded.
Thud! Suddenly charging forward, with murky blond hair and deep crimson eyes, she appeared.
Hermila.
Suddenly appearing without a sound.
Wham! She kicked Karok’s arm away.
Thump! Punched Roy in the face, smirking.
“Seriously, that’s why mages are so unreliable!”
