"Ah..."
I let out a sigh of relief.
I confirmed that the sniper shot had successfully hit its mark at the collapsed castle wall, and that the two airships had entered the darkness that the bullet had pierced through.
"That's not the real problem."
At that moment, Crown clicked his tongue and spoke.
"The real problem is here."
"...!"
When I turned my gaze forward, I saw the figures of two mythical beasts entangled in a thick, fog-like darkness.
Crunch, crunch...
Jörmungandr's massive jaws and sharp teeth were tightly biting into Night Bringer's neck.And,
"Ugh...!"
The gigantic snake's body was severed in the middle.
If it were a human, it would be around the waist. The torn cross-section of the body had enormous bones sticking out, broken, with muscles and flesh hanging in shreds.
Blood and entrails poured out endlessly from the cross-section.
Even in that state, Jörmungandr was trying to strangle Night Bringer by biting his neck and wrapping him with its remaining body.
"In your previous life, didn't that Red Dragon stop your last journey?"
Night Bringer grabbed Jörmungandr's upper and lower jaws with both hands and slowly pulled them away from his neck... lifting him into the air.
"This time, I'll stop you."
Darkness gleamed in Night Bringer's hands, and then-
Crunch, crack...!
He began tearing Jörmungandr's jaws apart, pulling them wide open as if to split them in two.
The snake's long mouth started to rip apart. It was clear that in a few more seconds, it wouldn't be able to hold out and would be split up and down.
"I won't let that happen...!"
He's a valuable ally brought here with great effort. I couldn't just let him fall in vain like this!
I raised my right hand.
Ssshhh!
Then, the chain coat armor I was wearing—[Lord of the High Tower]—dissolved and was stripped off, reforming above my right hand in a new shape.
Into a greatsword, favored by Dusk Bringar!
Just as Dusk Bringar did, I gathered the Red Dragon's magic power within me, imbuing the greatsword with a crimson aura, and then thrust my fist forward with all my might.
Thwack-!
The chain greatsword shot out like a missile, spiraling forward, and in the next moment, it pierced Night Bringer's forearm, causing blood to spray everywhere.
Night Bringer seemed indifferent to such wounds and didn't even glance at it... but immediately had to turn his eyes to his forearm.
Because,
Flash-!
The chain greatsword shattered into pieces and scattered, with each fragment...
Clink! Clink! Clink!
My ashen shadows were summoned, grasping each chain fragment and climbing onto Night Bringer's forearm.
Night Bringer gasped.
"What is this...?!"
I smirked.
The Shadow Army.
My summoned doppelgangers. The true memories of Ash's battles.
These shadows drew their weapons simultaneously.
Each weapon contained a piece of the chain that made up [Lord of the High Tower], and within these chain fragments burned the Red Dragon's magic power I had infused earlier.
In other words,
The Shadow Army I summoned now was armed with single-use grenades imbued with the Red Dragon's power.
Needless to say, the Red Dragon and Black Dragon were natural enemies.
Thud! Thud! Thud-!
As the shadows struck down with their weapons, the Red Dragon's magic power exploded from the chain fragments, dealing damage to the Black Dragon's forearm.
Boom! Boom boom boom!
The Black Dragon's forearm couldn't withstand it for long and exploded, releasing Jörmungandr.
The chain greatsword lodged in that arm also turned to powder and scattered, and my doppelgangers exploded as well.
Ssshhh!
Shortly after, the chain fragments that had flown in all directions gathered and reattached to my body in the form of a coat.
"Wow..."
Watching the series of events, Scalian, Violet, and Crown, even Parekian, who had no eyes to see clearly, were all startled.
Scalian widened his eyes and looked up at me on his body.
"How did you come up with such a method?"
"..."
I decided to remain silent instead of saying I took it from the real Ash's memory. My background setting was a bit complicated...
"Never mind, we need to check if Jörmungandr is safe. Let's go, Crown!"
"Giving orders feels natural to you now..."
I leapt down from Scalian's back, and Crown, grumbling, followed me.
" ... "
Jörmungandr, having slipped from Night Bringer's grasp, lay on the ground with eyes closed and tongue extended, motionless.
Crown and I ran up to the snake.
"Hey Jörmungandr, are you dead?"
As I slapped the snake's cheek and asked, Crown snorted.
"If it died that easily, it wouldn't be the World Serpent."
Right after examining Jörmungandr's torn body, Crown quietly stroked his chin.
"... No, it looks like it's about to die."
"Don't change your words so easily..."
"The injuries are too severe. No matter how powerful the World Serpent is, this is too much."
I summoned additional Shadow Army.
Shadow Ashes like wizards and priests were summoned in a row.
After entrusting these clones with the immediate treatment of Jörmungandr, I turned around. There was no time to treat him leisurely.
Boom... Boom... Boom...
Angry golden eyes gleamed closer from the darkness.
Night Bringer approached me with long strides. The arm that had exploded just a moment ago was already fully regenerated without a scratch.
"Dear party members."
Staring at the night that didn't budge despite stabbing and slashing, I bit my dry lips.
"Now we have to fight with the resolve to die until our special forces complete their mission... any last words?"
"Ash."
Scalian laid Parekian and Violet on the ground, then whispered cautiously to me.
"That 'one last shot' we talked about on the way... I hope you'll use it well."
Scalian nodded deeply, and Parekian followed. Lastly, Violet, after checking their expressions, hurriedly nodded.
I chuckled and nodded back, then looked straight ahead again. Now Night Bringer was looking down at me from right in front.
"I'm tired of watching your tantrums, Ash... This time, let's end it."
I drew the ceremonial longsword from my waist and transformed it into a banner pole.
"Really? It's new to me every time. Every moment fighting you is exciting and varied. I'd be happy to fight seven hundred and forty-three more times, not just three. Shall we burn this night together?"
Night Bringer smirked and shook his head slightly.
"Your wretched appearance is no different from that empty banner pole you're holding."
"..."
"The flag has already burned, and the walls you had to protect have collapsed. As a standard-bearer without a flag, as a lord without walls... what are you still fighting for?"
"Can't you see? The flag is right here."
The [Great Commander's Flag] that I painstakingly pieced together had already burned and disappeared.
But the memory of that conquest still remained within me.
The trajectory of that life... was engraved in my soul.
"I am the flag."
"...!"
"The process of all those shattered pieces is the proof of my life."
Thud-!
I planted the empty banner pole into the ground.
"Even without a flag, if there are intentions left, the standard-bearer can march at the front. Even without walls, if there are people left, the lord can fight at the front."
I smiled.
"The fight isn't over yet."
Flash-!
Gray magic power surged from the empty banner pole, spilling in all directions. At the same time, [Lord of the High Tower], which had been enveloping my body, scattered into pieces.
Behind me, the Shadow Army was summoned once again, and the chain fragments flew into each of my clones.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
Countless clones simultaneously grasped their weapons and all lifted their heads to glare at Night Bringer.
The helmet of [Lord of the High Tower] on my head, the control core of all these chain fragments, shone white and rotated the halo.
My consciousness penetrated into the clones' interiors, allowing me to control them more perfectly than before.
As a transcendent, my rank rose, and all the abilities I possessed were also enhanced by several levels.
It might be impossible to defeat Night Bringer in his current state.
But stalling for time was more than possible.
"Really, you never tire of spouting the same old nonsense."
Night Bringer clicked his tongue briefly.
"Fine. Then... this time, I'll properly appreciate it."
The dragon, having already grown to its maximum size, inflated its body even further and loaded all its available attack methods.
"The end of your antiquated hero play. This time, after all hope is destroyed, you'll taste the tears you'll shed."
Gooooo...!
The night began to boil.
Night Bringer, lightly loading the Extinction Skill 'Forged Night' as if breathing, suddenly changed his tone.
"Player. You dispatched a special force to destroy the darkness I scattered in the sky, didn't you?"
"...!"
"That was your last hope."
The corners of the dragon's long mouth twisted beneath the flickering golden eyes.
"Even though I knew your shallow trick, do you know why I didn't bother to stop it?"
And in the next moment,
Bang, crash...!
An explosion echoed from the far southern sky, and a flash burst through the darkened sky as if something had erupted.
It was unmistakably the explosion of an airship.
"What I scattered in the sky is not a mere Veil of Darkness. From ancient times to now, from the creation to this moment on the brink of destruction, it is a swamp of despair that no mortal has ever crossed."
The blood drained from my face.
"Truly a pitiful, sand-like hope that seems like it would crumble in your hands."
Looking down at me, Night Bringer whispered as if enjoying himself.
"Good. I'll crush it. Over and over, until you kneel and cry and beg...!"
In the next moment, the wave of night unleashed by the dragon poured down onto my army of clones.
***
La Mancha was surging upward.
Relying on the [Steadfast Superstition] attached to the bow, it repeatedly rammed through the Veil of Darkness.
The Veil of Darkness was layered, covering the sky.
But the light shot by Nameless, followed by Damien's sniper shots, pierced holes in each layer. La Mancha advanced, flying along the trajectory of that light.
And the deeper they went.
The more they penetrated through the veils beyond the veils, the darker the visibility became. At some point, La Mancha lost its direction. The whereabouts of Alcatraz, which had been accompanying them, were unknown.
"What the..."
Kellibey, who was holding the helm, groaned.
The compass spun wildly without finding a direction, and the scanner and various magical artifacts had long since ceased functioning.
The light from Nameless's shots and Damien's enchanted bullets, which had guided the way like constellations, could no longer be seen.
Complete darkness.
Everyone was panicked. Kellibey gritted his teeth and raised the energy of the species god, scanning the surroundings, but still, nothing could be seen.
"Damn it, where the hell should we go?!"
"..."
With blue eyes scanning the surroundings, Lucas was also desperately trying to find a direction.
Screeeech!
Tentacles poured out from all directions.
The pitch-black darkness exuded a sticky, sinister aura and attacked from every direction.
Kellibey, relying on animal instincts, maneuvered the helm to evade the airship from those attacks, but the attacks kept coming, and the paths to evade were gradually decreasing.
"Damn it, at this rate-"
Kellibey couldn't finish his sentence.
A giant hand-like claw flew straight at La Mancha's bridge. Evasion was impossible.
And then.
Thunk-!
Alcatraz, piercing through the darkness, took the hit instead.
In front of everyone, the dark claw grasped the skeletal imperial flagship, crushed it easily, and-
Boom! Crash, crash, crash!
Alcatraz was engulfed in a dazzling explosion.
--TL Notes--
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at /MattReading