The eyes of the Outer Gods glaring at me all flickered ominously.
And those gazes shining like stars, in waves-
Blinked.
Closed, then opened.
The next moment.
Whoosh-!
Tearing through the atmosphere of the spirit realm, an immense spiritual pressure rushed in.
It was that instant-death technique used by the Outer God contracted with the Grand Magician White Night before. The existences of this world, mere toys to the Outer Gods, lost their lives with just that single blink.
But the situation now is different from then.
The Outer Gods looking this way now don’t have an intermediary contractor like White Night back then. There’s no mediator to fully connect that power to this world.No matter how tremendous the power shot from a star-like distance, its potency is diminished by the time it reaches here.
Moreover, a dedicated defender to receive this attack has already been selected.
Saa-aa-aa…!
As the Demon King stepped forward and lightly waved both hands in front, a massive curtain of darkness was created in the sky — ‘covering’ the gazes of the Outer Gods.
Boom boom boom-!
The shattered curtain of darkness scattered across the sky like fireworks.
Skillfully spreading and repairing the darkness, while sweeping away the gazes pouring down like rain. The Demon King nodded to me.
“I’ll block all the ‘blinks’ for you.”
“How reliable?”
“But you’ll have to sweep away the touches yourself.”
The fingers of the Outer Gods filling and pouring down from the entire sky.
These too are not the actual bodies of the Outer Gods, but the materialization of their will (意念).
The very will that the Outer Gods have shot into this world to interfere in concrete ways beyond simple slaughter.
Because they take the form of fingers, they can interfere with this world in various ways, but…
Therefore, their simple power is actually weaker compared to those ‘blinks’.
“Whew!”
Taking a deep breath, I drew out all the power I possessed.
As the flames of the red dragon and black dragon nestled in my chest blazed simultaneously, dragon wings made of magic power spread wide on my back. I flapped those wings and soared into the sky.
Whoosh!
The magic fortress I had deployed in advance rose up tall, following the flag in my hand.
For a moment, I took on a form similar to a dragon made of fortress.
If I’m the dragon’s head, the following walls would be like the dragon’s body, I suppose.
“I don’t know what sinister intentions you have. But in my world…”
Looking up at the fingers falling to fill my vision, I prepared the dragon’s authority.
A sphere of red magic power and a sphere of black magic power floated up above my head, rotating in a circle around each other, and…
“Don’t lay your filthy hands.”
Merged into one.
Whoosh-!
From the merged magic sphere, a torrent of pure magic power — Dragon Breath — was fired.
Red and black flames swirled, piercing through the sky, and burning the heavens. The Outer Gods’ fingers swept up in the breath all turned to ash and vanished.
Then I swung the flag of light in my hand once, grandly.
The magic fortress floating around me broke into small pieces and surged up, forming a long band of walls in the air.
The intertwined rings of walls overlapped, deploying a dome-shaped defensive field in the air. The remaining fingers of the Outer Gods fell on top of it, but…
Boom boom boom!
They couldn’t break through.
My walls completely dominated the sky and were reborn as an aerial fortress.
“Good, we’ve blocked the first wave!”
Just as I clenched my fist in joy.
Rumble-!
Far more hands and fingers than before tore through the sky and rushed towards the ground.
“Ugh?!”
Drawing up magic power again, I gritted my teeth.
“This isn’t easy, really…!”
There’s a limit to blocking the Outer Gods. They are infinite, but I am finite.
In the end, we need to close the spirit realm while holding out… but Everblack was still stubbornly enduring without perishing.
“Father!”
I shouted to La Mancha, which was struggling while flying around Everblack.
“We need to evict Everblack! Isn’t there any way?!”
The Emperor was uncharacteristically flustered.
Among all living humans, he had been in contact with Everblack the longest and handled it most skillfully, but now he wasn’t able to control it properly.
“Why, thornbush.”
Everblack was still stubbornly enduring even with its entire surface engulfed in flames, and the Emperor slowly reached out his hand while keeping La Mancha close to the thornbush.
“You are a being created for humanity. A magical lighthouse functioning for humanity. You have never disobeyed our guardians’ orders even once until now. So why…”
The Emperor placed his hand directly on the surface of the burning tree and breathed his will into it.
While the Emperor struggled to handle the tree, I endured, receiving the onslaught of the Outer Gods’ fingers that kept pouring down.
Second wave, third wave, fourth wave, fifth wave…
“Ugh…!”
I gritted my teeth and blocked the fingertips of the Outer Gods, their will, now pouring down almost like a downpour.
“Somehow, it feels like I’m playing Tetris modified to the hardest mode…!”
And, I am a master of classic games.
That means I’m an expert at Tetris too…!
I spread ancient magic, shot feathers from my wings, chanted verbal commands, and loaded breath.
I kept swinging the flag emitting dazzling light grandly, controlling the aerial fortress without rest.
I utilized all the means I had at the right place and time, making brilliant moves every moment to nullify the Outer Gods’ offensive.
And, perhaps my efforts to buy time weren’t in vain.
“…!”
I saw the Emperor, who had been communicating with the tree with his hand on the burning Everblack, suddenly open his eyes. I asked urgently.
“Father! Did you figure something out?!”
“Ah, yes.”
The Emperor smiled with an inscrutable meaning.
“So that’s what it was… Haha. Indeed.”
“No, don’t just smile silently! Explain what’s going on-“
It was at that moment when I was about to press the Emperor while catching my breath roughly.
Crack…!
A finger that had crushed through the aerial fortress like an ambush fell down.
Right above La Mancha.
It felt like all the blood in my body had dried up. I shouted urgently and extended my flag.
“Father!”
Immediately new walls intertwined to repair the collapsed fortress — but I couldn’t block the finger that had already invaded.
I shouted desperately.
“Dodge-“
But it was too late.
The Glory Knights immediately swung their swords to unleash slashes, and La Mancha also urgently spewed flames from its thrusters to try an evasive maneuver.
But the giant finger of the Outer God, even as it was breaking apart, did not yield and thrust its fingertip towards La Mancha.
“…”
The Emperor’s face was peaceful even with death imminent above his head.
The Emperor opened his mouth slightly, looking at me. As if trying to convey something one last time.
But he couldn’t utter the words.
Crash!
Because suddenly, a huge flying object appeared, tearing through the sky, and inserted itself between the Outer God’s finger and La Mancha to protect it.
The surprised Emperor and Glory Knights looked up at that flying object. I let out a sigh of relief while clutching my chest.
“Whew, that was really close…”
The flying object that protected La Mancha had a familiar form that I recognized.
A massive ark made of black thornbushes.
I screamed at the identification name ‘Final Ark’.
“Why are you so late! I’ve been waving this flag so hard for you to come quickly!”
The next moment, the thornbushes forming the outer wall of the Final Ark opened, revealing the space inside.
And two people walked out side by side from inside the ark.
“How vast this spirit realm actually is, how twisted time and space are, how hard it is to endure while drifting in the swirling flow of spirits…”
The man with a monocle, his dark red long hair tied in a long braid at the back of his neck –
Fernandez ‘Ember Keeper’ Everblack smirked.
“What’s the point of explaining. Nevermind, you rogue son. I’m glad to see you after so long too.”
Then the man with dark blue long hair standing next to him –
Lark ‘Avalanche’ Everblack burst into his characteristic hearty laughter.
“We came to help after seeing your flag. Little brother!”
Humanity’s greatest magician.
Humanity’s strongest knight.
My two brothers who had left for eternal confinement in the spirit realm had joined as my allies for this final battle.
I sneered smugly.
“Did you enjoy your exile life?”
“We brothers got along better than expected. It wouldn’t have been bad to be exiled forever from now on, but…”
Lark grinned and raised the longsword in his hand.
“If our little brother asks us to close this purgatory, of course your big brother! Should help with all his might, right?”
He had lost both arms and legs in reality, but here in the spirit realm, they were all restored.
And Lark displayed his transcendent martial prowess without holding back.
Slash!
As Lark swung his sword powerfully, a deep blue trajectory was carved in the sky along the sword’s path, followed by a sword wind that swirled like a storm.
The fingers that had been approaching closely were all torn to shreds and pushed back to the far side of the sky. With just one swing…!
“While confined in this spirit realm, the flow of time is different from reality. We had to spend quite a long time… What else could we do here? We just trained with our swords. According to the laws of the spirit realm.”
As I gaped at this ridiculous power, Lark touched his lengthened hair awkwardly.
Then Fernandez, who had been watching with his hands behind his back, stepped forward raising his staff.
“By the way, I watched you fight a little, Ash.”
“Huh?”
“Even after gaining such power and rank, your battle sense still needs to grow a lot more…”
“What did you say?!”
“You need to use it efficiently, efficiently.”
Fernandez raised his staff high.
“Like this.”
Then Fernandez’s magic power intertwined like thornbushes with my aerial fortress, starting to reinforce my walls at will.
The reinforced walls automatically shot thornbush stems towards the approaching fingers, and the fingers pierced by the thornbushes were shot down powerlessly.
Not stopping there, Fernandez’s thornbush-like magic power endlessly intertwined with itself, continuing to expand like a net.
“Now it’s a bit sturdier.”
After arbitrarily reinforcing my fortress to the fullest, Fernandez gave a hateful eye-smile.
I trembled my fist. If it weren’t for the final battle, I would’ve really…!
Like this, after pushing back the fingers once with the help of my two joined brothers.
Lark and Fernandez stepped down onto the deck of La Mancha. Tension that wasn’t there until just before was clearly etched on the faces of the two brothers.
“…”
The Emperor waiting on the deck gazed at his two sons.
Lark and Fernandez slowly knelt on one knee before him and bowed their heads.
“Long live His Majesty the great Emperor.”
“Two unfilial sons greet Father’s noble countenance.”
“…”
After a brief, but aeon-like silence.
“My Avalanche. My Ember Keeper.”
The Emperor slowly opened his mouth.
“Due to this father’s lack of virtue, you had to turn your backs on the mortal world and live in eternal exile here.”
“…!”
“But what’s past is past. We must look to the future, not the past.”
The Emperor’s voice was unprecedentedly aged, and also affectionate.
“Will you forget our grudges, forgive each other’s lack of virtue, and lend your strength to this final battle?”
Lark and Fernandez bowed their heads deeply.
“It is our infinite honor, Father!”
“We will fight together until our spirits and bodies turn to dust.”
The Emperor approached with a faint smile and grasped the shoulders of his two sons to raise them.
“The day has finally come for us four guardians fighting against the fate of destruction to form a united front.”
The Racial God Front.
The Dragon Blood Front.
The Shadow Front.
The Monster Front.
The four fronts that once took charge of each direction of the empire, and once faced external enemies only to protect the empire.
That front has already crumbled.
Now we seek to protect not the empire, but humanity.
Not just humanity, but all people regardless of race.
Not just people, but everything that makes up the world-
“Commander of the World Guardian Front!”
The three people who were once commanders and guardians of each divided front looked at me simultaneously.
“For the sake of protecting the world, give the order.”
And, they bowed their heads at the same time.
“Raise your flag. We will follow that will to the end.”
A smile formed on my lips without me realizing.
Because it was the moment when the four fronts that had been torn apart and antagonistic, and…
Our family, finally became one.
–TL Notes–
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