“Those who wish to withdraw, please speak now. We’ll create a separate escape team for you.”
The heavy voice of Hermila weighed down in the ruins engulfed in the energy of chaos.
“What we are about to face is a grand war unlike any of the battles we’ve fought before. Moreover, a grand war with overwhelmingly high chances of defeat.”
Cold eyes scanned the opposing force of Erden, the Liberation Army, standing in orderly formation.
“The reason we are holding this place, despite the high probability of defeat, is to protect one person who is undergoing a trial.”
Thud- Thud- Thud- Thud-
The most intense reaction erupted from the gathered troops from Ursphere.
Seeing that, Hermila small laughed and spoke in a lighter voice than before.
“It seems there are no objections.”
And just as she was about to unleash an even denser wave of destruction, Ser stepped in front of Hermila.
Hermila tilted her head in confusion, but Ser continued unbothered.
“We will win.”
“Se, Ser?”
Thud-! With Ser’s rough footfalls, countless starlights rose into the air, enveloping the ruins.
“Are you afraid of death? Are you afraid of Erden? Do you still think they can intimidate us, break us, and kill us?”
Crackle- The space around her began to split apart.
“Why do you think that way? You, we, have survived until now. We have survived amidst the relentless power struggles and the impending death.”
Boom- As the torn space widened, the highest-ranking spirits stepped out.
Karma, Lin, Ablon.
“You didn’t survive by sheer luck; you survived through your own strength. It wasn’t that they couldn’t kill you, but rather you survived through your own power. The enemies could not kill us.”
A massive magic circle materialized around Lin, enacting large-scale magic that could never be completed by a human body.
Following Ablon’s movements, a towering barrier rose behind the walls of Cartia.
“As I mentioned before, I will say it once more.”
From Karma’s hand, mysterious, colorful lights shot toward the sky.
Following those mysteries, the sun began to set.
The dimming sky turned into a deep blue, casting a dark shadow over the silent ruins.
“Forget about that lofty idea of world peace. Don’t fight for peace. Don’t fight for the world’s safety. Don’t fight for something intangible and unimaginable.”
But their vision was not dark.
Ser’s spirits, billions of spirits lit up the sky.
“Fight for your families. Fight for your loved ones. For your children. For those shared mealtime moments. For a happy and blissful sleep. For that one cigarette you light during your free time. For the drink you have after work. For the stories you share with friends once it’s all over. For you.”
Hearing Ser’s words, Hermila smiled slightly, unleashing the wave of destruction toward the wide-open night sky.
And with Bong- Bong- Bong-
The chime signaling the enemy’s advance rang out.
“Fight.”
Woosh- The mysteries of all spirits were set free.
The flames of the empire began to blaze fiercely.
The second challenger, ‘Alex’, swung his hammer, and steel spikes shot up, covering the city walls.
The third challenger, ‘Mia’, shot her arrows, multiplying into billions as they fell upon the enemy in conjunction with the spirits’ mysteries.
The fourth challenger, ‘Delia’, cast her magic, combining with the highest-ranking spirits’ magic, creating a massive disaster.
The fifth challenger, ‘Yuria’, summoned plants from beneath her feet, opening a path for the Liberation Army, while several mystical beasts summoned around her howled.
At the same time,
“Uaaaaaahhh!!!”
Leading the charge with a roar that drowned out the sounds of the battlefield was Heinzel, as all the Liberation Army surged forward.
*
“Though we’re managing to hold out now, it won’t be long until we break. It’s time for a grand performance.”
Ser, calmly analyzing the entire battlefield based on the information relayed by the spirits, gazed at the warzone with a steady expression.
Unlike the initial momentum, the situation appeared grim.
It was only natural. Recognizing the sheer tenfold numbers surrounding them, it was a miracle for thirty thousand troops to barely hold their ground.
“It’s a shame there are no video projection artifacts this time.”
“We can make it flashy enough for everyone to see, wherever they are.”
Following Ser’s voice, the three highest-ranking spirits gathered.
“Is there still no news of Sirin?”
“Yes, she hasn’t returned since she left last time. What on earth is she doing? Tsk.”
Stars from the night sky descended upon Ser’s body.
Then, Flop- Rising gracefully, Ser looked over the battlefield with confident eyes.
Not where it was most stressed.
Not where the greatest number gathered.
But where the battlefield suited him best.
“I’ll head north; you’d better go east, Hermila. There’s a savage over there flailing his fists about.”
Having found a spot that suited him, Ser flashed a light smile at Hermila and headed towards that location.
It didn’t take long.
After reaching the desired place in just about ten seconds, Ser shrugged off the murderous intent of the gathering enemies with a chuckle.
At that moment, as if the night sky was writhing, it began to crumble at Ser’s touch.
Following Ablon’s movements, the ground trembled.
Lin’s magic tore apart the limbs of the enemy.
Karma’s mysteries caused those who were endlessly regenerating to vanish without a trace.
At the end of the created path stood an ancient man in a dignified stance.
Once a pinnacle of wizards, the embodiment of creation that Ser had aimed for.
The third Master, Helen.
Ser scoffed at the broken remnants of his once-great goal.
“Don’t you feel any shame?”
“To us, who are advancing towards the ultimate magic, the process is unimportant.”
“Look at all those who have never even glimpsed that ‘end’. Have you even seen a shadow of it? Smelled it? I have witnessed it. I have reached it. I have felt it.”
Helen twitched her eyebrows, ignoring Ser’s words, raising her staff high.
“That staff of yours is no exception. Its power grows, but the preparation time increases too, so why insist on it? Use a wand instead. With the way magic has progressed, can’t you feel it? The casting speed has improved – it’s neither excessive nor too little in effectiveness. The current Mage Tower’s owner seems to be a remarkable individual. Overhauling the pathetic magics of the ancestors and devising a better magic system.”
Ser’s hand grasped the air.
Then, from her delicate hand, a brief root of the World Tree blossomed.
Simultaneously, the space around Helen began to distort.
“Well now, are you casting enormous magic right in front of the enemy? Let’s see it. I’ll prove to you that you’re wrong.”
And soon after.
From the distorted space, the Gate of Void was summoned.
Helen’s unique magic, gathering all lives she had killed to create a new existence.
“Pantheon.”
The gate of hell twisted and began to open.
At that moment, Ser’s hand began to swirl through the air like a dance.
“Whether it’s Pantheon or whatever, to call such trash a unique magic makes me cringe as the owner of the Mage Tower. You seem quite cocky… Do you think I haven’t killed you because I couldn’t?”
What unfolded was ancient magic lost to the concept of termination, never seen before.
Breath of the Dragon.
Swish- A massive magic circle, sharp as a dragon’s maw, began to gather an indescribable amount of energy.
“You’re nothing but an old man who I can kill anytime, which is why I left you alive.”
Soon, from beyond the Pantheon, countless homunculi poured forth, and the dragon’s breath, revived with ancient magic, stained the battlefield in white.
*
———-!!
The horrifying sound created by Ser resounded through the battlefield, threatening to burst eardrums.
“Khahaha! Good!!”
Among that chaos, a sweat-soaked bald head moved fervently.
Boom- Compared to the earlier explosion, the noise was trivial. However, its impact could not be dismissed.
With massive gravity harnessed, the halberd swung, annihilating the ground in a single strike and shattering all enemy bodies within its reach.
However, the situation remained unfavorable.
With the Masters rampaging and the undying experiment bodies advancing, the Liberation Army, mere humans, could only be overwhelmed.
Yet Heinzel made that unfairness his weapon, ceaselessly eliminating enemies.
Swinging his halberd.
Throwing punches.
Kicking out.
Tearing and biting through necks, leading forth.
All comprised of bald-headed forces slowly advanced.
Then,
Swish- An attack flew in, one that could not even be sensed by the average person on the blood-soaked ground.
Confirming that the tip of his shoe had been sliced, Heinzel stomped violently, scattering his senses in all directions.
Zing- Amidst the rising pain that felt as if his head would burst, the silhouette of a shadow sprang forth from the ground.
At that moment, gravity erupted, pushing his troops out of the danger zone.
“Uaaaaahhh!!”
With a beast-like roar, the halberd swung wide.
A thick shadow entwined at its tip.
That entwined shadow reached out in all directions, becoming thousands of thorns that pierced the ground.
Through the thorny path that erased even the forms of dead bodies rolling on the floor.
Only the gleaming bald head remained.
And then, Patter- Patter-
A man made entirely of shadows approached Heinzel.
Boom- Heinzel, having blown away the surrounding thorns with his gravity, wiped the blood flowing from his nose and stared at the man.
The Black Knight who manipulates shadows.
The one who had died once at Noah’s hands.
Master Kalt.
The disaster resurrected by the Goddess’s blessing approached Heinzel.
“Khahaha!”
Even as death approached, Heinzel felt an overwhelming joy.
Reminiscent of his daughter, who had died long ago.
Even seeming like a child left at the edge of the waters, she felt the strongest and toughest of all.
That girl, the one Noah had defeated once, stood before him, making him feel alive.
One day, the promise to meet again and have an arm wrestling match.
To keep that promise, he withstood hellish times, and endured experiments beyond human limits to obtain prosthetic limbs.
To keep that promise, he had survived until now.
So now, to honor that promise.
To win that arm wrestling match against Noah.
“Come!!!”
Sweeping away fear with laughter.
Gripping his trembling body with a shout.
Overcoming the anxiety of death with memories of his friends.
He grasped the halberd.
