The wave radiating from the Sun’s Shield stopped.
The people who had been struggling to breathe finally managed to let out ragged breaths.
Had it been even slightly later, some of them would not have endured and would have died.
An extremely faint instant that appeared during the moment of regeneration.
Suruna had targeted that gap and landed a proper attack.
“You...!”
Salesin’s eyes widened as he glared at Suruna.
At «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the sight of Suruna smiling as if saying that this was enough, Salesin raised his hand and struck her temple.
Suruna’s body flew away limp as a rag.
Salesin moved to chase after her and snap her neck, but his body staggered.
“What is this...?”
Salesin looked down at his own chest.
Centered on the sword embedded in his loosened top, cracks like shattered glass spread out.
The problem was that the fractured wound was not regenerating.
Even when he tried to close the wound using divine power, it did not work easily.
‘It’s not regenerating.’
It was not just a wound. Like a spatial rift forming, the wound itself had fractured.
Salesin realized the cause.
‘The next Saintess!’
His blood-red eyes turned toward Rine, who was catching her breath.
A wound inflicted by the space magic she controlled.
And then Suruna had poured oil on it.
A sword jammed into the split-second gap created when his body broke and regenerated.
Though lacking, Suruna also had the power to handle space, allowing her to worsen the wound Rine had carved.
Gurgle.
From Salesin's shattered chest, black liquid streamed down.
It was different in nature from the blood he had been shedding earlier—dark, filthy, unpleasant.
The vessel he believed to be perfect had cracked, and the contents inside were slowly beginning to spill out.
While everyone stared at that scene in horrified silence, Ludger spoke toward Salesin.
“How does it feel right now? I’m sure you’re more than a little shocked.”
“You...!”
“Realizing that the invincible self you believed in was actually in a precarious state—how must that feel?”
“Shut up...!”
Salesin glared as if he would tear Ludger apart, but when he saw the shadow rippling around Ludger’s body, he flinched.
Salesin was not stupid. He knew Ludger used shadows as a medium to handle the power of space.
The power that had left the irreversible wound in his chest.
Salesin knew exactly when things were possible and when they were not.
And when he needed to retreat.
He also knew how to flee without hesitation.
Just like now.
–Bang!
Salesin cloaked himself in light and shot upward toward the broken sky as if fleeing.
But Ludger, who read his intention, did not let him.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
The shadow beneath Salesin's feet shot up like tentacles and bound his body.
The halo behind Salesin's back blazed brighter. The shadows could not withstand the light and snapped apart with sharp cracks.
“He’s running!”
“Stop him!”
Everyone gathered there could feel it instinctively.
The opportunity to kill Salesin existed only right now.
Salesin knew it too—hence his desperate attempt to escape.
Rippp!
Tearing apart all the shadowy restraints, Salesin spread wide the wings on his back.
Immediately afterward, both wings were severed by Alex and Phantos.
“You worthless insects!”
His wings made of light exploded, scattering feathers everywhere.
Each feather held terrifying power. Even master-class knights were pushed back when they swung their Aura Blades at them.
As if the wings had only ever been a trick, Salesin shot high into the air.
Kwaaaang!
Hans, who had leapt to a great height, smashed down on Salesin with his huge body.
Awooooooo!!
The monster of the Information Guild howled.
Acting on pure beast instinct, he had already predicted where and how Salesin would try to escape and had moved accordingly.
Pressing Salesin down with both hands and slamming him into the ground, he did not stop there, unleashing that peculiar wail to weaken Salesin's body.
“You filthy beast! Who do you think you’re barking at!”
With Salesin's rage, an explosion erupted.
Hans’s two arms were blown apart, leaving only bare bones.
Hans screamed in pain, but he did not retreat.
With the bony remains of his hands, he gripped Salesin even more tightly.
Salesin felt a chill.
No matter how monstrous Hans was, with injuries like these, the natural reaction should have been to recoil from the pain.
But as if ready to die, Hans did not let go, and Salesin's reactions slowed—Clinton did not miss the opening.
His magic activated, and a massive magic circle appeared, large enough to cover the sky.
The magic circle slowly descended and sealed the ceiling with fierce energy.
As if to ensure Salesin could not escape even if he tried to fly.
It did not end there.
Crackkkkk!
Enormous pillars of ice sprouted from all directions and formed a dome that covered the gaping sky.
Its intent was obvious.
Salesin could not endure the rising fury at these insects daring to imprison him.
If he still had composure earlier, that was one thing—but now, pressed for time, even such small interference felt enormous.
“Get lost!”
Salesin's power exploded again.
Even Hans was blown away this time.
Just as Salesin was about to break free, the knights who had dodged or deflected the feathers had already closed in.
They aimed for the spot on his chest where that black sludge still oozed.
Salesin raised his arm and blocked or parried the knights’ swords one by one.
That sight planted hope and certainty in the people.
—Salesin is weakened!
Everyone knew it, and despite their ruined bodies, they charged in with clenched teeth.
Blood sprayed from open wounds, and fractured bones made strange sounds.
Muscles already worn to shreds tore further.
But not a single one stopped their blade.
They were all people who had spilled blood and sweat—through training and real battles—to reach this place.
This pain? Compared to the path they had walked, it wasn’t even itchy.
“Kraaaagh! You damned insects!”
Salesin swung his arm wide.
Some knights withdrew, some instead slipped deeper into his range.
The halo above Salesin's head shone fiercely.
The halo elongated, and blades shot out, targeting the bodies of the knights close to him.
At that moment, darkness wavered in front of them.
It was Selina, fused with the spirit Esmeralda.
Using the power of darkness, she swallowed the light Salesin emitted and reduced its influence as much as she could.
Salesin, choosing to wield a weapon directly, grabbed one of the blades emerging from the halo with his right hand.
He raised his arm to swing it. But the arm did not move.
Crack!
Thick roots shot up from the ground and seized his right arm.
Salesin infused the sword he held with divine fire.
Flames burned the wood—and even dealt damage to Sedina, its true owner.
“Khhh!”
Even as her skin burned in agony, Sedina did not stop.
Biting her lip through the pain, she desperately held on to Salesin.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Cannons fired from the Monarch struck Salesin's body.
Salesin glared toward the Monarch, forming rings of light in his eyes.
Flash!
A white beam blasted from Salesin's eyes, piercing the side of the Monarch.
Boom!
The opposite side of the Monarch erupted in red flames.
“Aaagh! We’re falling!”
“Grab onto something! Anything!”
The tilting Monarch plummeted amid thick black smoke.
Catching it were Caroline and Elisa.
The two used mana to keep the falling Monarch from crashing, guiding it slowly down onto the open ground.
“Captain! We knew you’d save us!”
“Shut up, you idiots! I told you to run!”
“How can we abandon the Captain! If we die, we die together!”
“You never listen! Fine! Anyone who can still fight?”
“Everyone can!”
“Good. See that bastard over there? Blast him from a distance! Do NOT go near him! Understood?”
“Got it!”
The Monarch Mercenary Corps opened the ship’s armory and began pulling out every weapon they had.
The Dream-Scholar mages stepped up, and the elf druids and warriors prepared as well.
“Push him back!”
Meanwhile, Salesin turned his head and used the same beam to sweep the area.
Kukwakwakwakwang!
Where his gaze passed, marble melted like wax and erupted in flames.
“Whoa! This is insane!”
Ssshhh!
A sudden flood of water doused the flames. Casey had to focus on putting out the fires erupting everywhere.
The knights also had to keep their distance so they wouldn’t be caught by that deadly beam.
Only one person ignored that danger.
Phantos.
With the anchor chain broken, now holding only his harpoon, Phantos dropped from the sky and drove the harpoon into Salesin's back.
Puck!
With his body wrapped in Spirit-fusion, united with the surroundings, the ambush was devastating.
A fully intact Salesin would have sensed it long before—but that only proved how weakened he was now.
Phantos’s harpoon pierced deep into Salesin's back, black mud bursting out of the cavity.
“Grk!”
Salesin spat a handful of black sludge from his mouth and wildly swung his arm.
Light-infused force blasted Phantos away.
Salesin staggered, grabbed the embedded harpoon blade, and yanked it out.
Even with his broken body, he grimaced from the pain.
But with this—
He had shaken off the most troublesome ones.
Salesin once again unfurled new wings of light behind him along with his halo.
With a single flap, Salesin's body shot upward like a vertical beam of light.
His plan was to smash through the ice dome and Clinton’s magic circle.
“Kh, cough! Block him!”
Terrina shouted, coughing blood.
Cravat moved. The ancient curse he released grabbed Salesin's ankle.
A mere touch would burn divine power, rot flesh, and induce rapid aging.
Salesin cut off his own shin without hesitation.
Flowers sprouted from the ground and fired seeds like machine-gun rounds toward Salesin.
Sedina’s magic.
Most seeds burned away before touching him, but some struck his skin.
Those that touched sprouted instantly, transforming into huge coils of vine that constricted his body.
Salesin scoffed and tore them apart with a single flap of his wings.
Then he hurled the golden sword he held toward Sedina.
Sedina hastily raised tree roots to defend.
Though inferior to a blade of light, the golden sword was still plenty dangerous.
When the pests were finally cleared out of his way, Salesin charged for the ceiling.
No matter how thick the barrier was, he believed he could break through it.
“You think I’ll let you?”
Ludger spread raven’s wings behind him and followed almost simultaneously.
The moment Salesin spotted Ludger, he twisted direction midair and lunged straight at him.
Ludger and Salesin collided in the air.
“I’ll kill you!”
“I expected you to ignore me and flee, but you came for me instead? Still confident, are we?”
“Taking your life before I leave is nothing.”
“Is it possible? With that body?”
“Don’t bluff. You’re the one bluffing. Your body is far more damaged than it looks.”
Salesin was right.
Though Ludger appeared intact, his body was in terrible shape after the continuous battles.
Knowing this, Salesin had chosen to kill Ludger here—even in such a rushed situation.
If he killed Ludger, no one else in this cage would be able to stop him.
“Die. I alone am enough to wield God’s power in this world.”
Their forms crossed in midair as black and white flashes exploded in rapid succession.
‘N-No...’
Rine watched them and bit her lip.
Her trembling pupils captured their battle—and the future beyond it.
She could not see Salesin's future.
But she could see Ludger’s.
In her sight was Ludger, his heart pierced by a golden blade.
And now, Ludger’s retreat exposed an opening, and Salesin was thrusting the golden sword at him.
“No!”
Contrary to Rine’s cry, Salesin was certain of his victory.
“Goodbye.”
With a cruel smile, the golden sword pierced Ludger’s heart.
Unlike him, who had multiple vessels, Ludger was a normal human.
If his heart was pierced, even he had no means of surviving.
“......!”
Seeing Ludger’s widened eyes, Salesin felt all the irritation he had endured melt away.
Ah, finally.
It’s done. He had finally dealt with the most bothersome one!
“You arrogant fool. If only you had accepted my initial offer.”
Salesin mocked Ludger to his heart’s content and moved to pull out the golden sword.
Chime.
A bell rang from somewhere—where no bell could possibly exist.