The final chance for a counterattack has arrived.
In this brief moment when Junior’s [Elemental Disassembler] and Torkel’s [Man is not Made for Defeat] are taking effect.
In this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, everyone in the Monster Front launched perfectly coordinated attacks.
Just as they had trained and mastered over the past three years…!
“Ivory Tower!”
“Senior Mage!”
The two flame mages representing the Monster Front’s firepower stretched out their hands simultaneously.
“This is our final flame-!”
Dearmudin’s massive pillar of fire was enveloped by Lilly’s flames, swirling like waves.
As they merged into one, the whirling flames exploded.The ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ was engulfed in tremendous flames.
Her body, which should have been impervious to any attack, burned pitch black. Her fingertips and toes turned to ash and scattered, only to ripple and regenerate moments later.
It’s working-
Following the two flame mages’ inferno, all the mages formed a joint aerial magic circle and unleashed their spells to the limit. Mages from every school of magic in the world unleashed their ultimate spells without holding back.
The mana in the air became scarce, forcing everyone to overload their staves to complete their spells. The staves of the mages standing on the wall exploded one after another, scattering multicolored lights.
Knowing this would be the last magical display to go down in history.
The tearful magical baptism of the mages who had accepted their farewell poured down on the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’.
Fire and water, wind and lightning, earth and ice, light and darkness…
Even in the face of this all-out concentrated fire, the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ endured. Her body broke apart and regenerated endlessly, persisting like a nightmare lurking in the deepest night.
But she had to retreat.
After the magical bombardment ended, on the ground sizzling with magical heat, the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ staggered for the first time.
Crackle, crackle…
The gaze of the Outer Gods connected to her, those pitch-black puppet strings, wavered as if filled with static.
When the momentarily sluggish ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ finally looked ahead again-
“…!”
A fist shrouded in red energy was flying towards her face.
It was the fist of Kuilan, the Beast King with his red braids fluttering.
Kuilan, who had lost both the wolf’s curse and the beast-kin’s blessing, was now a much smaller human than before. His fist could no longer deliver the same power as before.
He knew this.
That’s why he changed his approach.
Ta-at!
Behind him, the members of the Penal Squad followed suit, assuming the same stance as Kuilan.
By the time of the battle with the Black Dragon, the Maple Fist had already been refined. It had been reborn as a martial art of the new era that anyone could learn, regardless of whether they were beast-kin or relied on curses.
The new grandmaster acknowledged by Lunared.
Kuilan had passed on the secret techniques of the Maple Fist to all members of his direct subordinates in the Penal Squad, and now in this final battle-
“Unite.”
He saw the fruits of his labor.
“Heart-Severing Wind Wolf-!”
Five-person Heart-Severing Wind Wolf.
Five fists flew simultaneously, scattering red energy.
Even with her body in tatters from the earlier magical barrage, the Lake Princess tried to defend against this attack. However, Torkel, who had stubbornly clung to the enemy commander’s body, interfered with her movements.
The time Torkel bought was not even a second, perhaps not even 0.1 seconds.
But that gap was enough.
Bwooosh-!
The unprecedented simultaneous five-person secret technique strike pierced through the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’.
Feeling the definite impact, Kuilan grinned.
The power of one is certainly weak. However-
The power of unity is far stronger.
Tsukaaaaak!
Even as she was pushed back, the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ violently swung her hand. A wave of darkness rose up, savagely clawing at Kuilan and the Penal Squad members.
The holy power armor that the priests had cast on Kuilan and the Penal Squad members burst apart. The golden aura that had enveloped their bodies faded away like a candle in the wind.
But the golden aura spread like wildfire to the bodies of others who leapt in next.
Kellibey, who jumped in with daggers and a hammer, placed a dagger on the body of the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ and swung the hammer imbued with the power of the tribal god, forcibly driving it in.
The ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ lashed out at Kellibey with darkness. However, the dagger stuck in her body was no ordinary dagger.
[Flash Knife] — it was a blink dagger.
Flash-!
Verdandi, who teleported with the dagger, didn’t hesitate for a moment and slashed the wound made by the blink dagger with [Isakeum].
The forcibly overloaded Dragon Slayer — [Isakeum] — exploded inside the wound, spewing out its breath.
Darkness splattered like blood. The ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ once again swung darkness to throw Verdandi away.
But she was pushed back.
The dwarf warriors who had been piloting the autonomous golem [Iron Fist] against ordinary monsters until now switched to manual control and jumped into the battlefield. The elves of the Holy Grail Seekers, riding on the shoulders of these golems, fired magic-imbued arrows without rest.
Mikhail and his wives descended to the ground on their griffins. The Rompeller siblings, seated behind them, aimed the ship cannons they had detached from their vessel.
All the weapons built into the golems, the arrows of the elf assassins, the crimson throwing spears, and the blue magic bullets simultaneously battered the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’.
She’s being pushed back.
Violet deployed [Illusion Field] across the entire battlefield. It didn’t matter whether this worked on the enemy or not. They were just hoping to create even the smallest opening.
Elize, who was running at the forefront, thrust her sword coffin into the ground and opened it wide. Hannibal and the spirit mages who stopped beside her enchanted the weapons inside the coffin with spirits as fast as they could.
Heroes and soldiers rushed forward, each grasping one of these weapons. The priests cast holy power armor on these soldiers’ bodies.
And at the end of this procession, Rosetta and Zenis also grabbed their weapons and charged forward, followed by Hannibal who had summoned the Spirit King.
The ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ was pushed back.
She lashed out with darkness, tearing apart those who attacked her. But the next person appeared. When she struck them down, yet another person appeared.
Pushed back, pushed back, pushed back.
“…”
Watching this battlefield, Damien prepared for his final shot atop the castle wall.
“…Hah.”
The power of [Far-Sight] was already fading.
His vision, which once could pierce through everything beyond the horizon, had shrunk to that of an ordinary human. All the incredibly clear scenery had faded like old memories in his mind.
But the eyes of the boy — no, now a full-fledged young man — still held a gleam.
Because he could face himself with a clear conscience.
Because even though he had been bent and dirtied while desperately enduring in this hell, he had never abandoned his beliefs in the end.
Because he had survived, weak but righteous.
For such a noble master, [Far-Sight] performed its last miracle.
Without hesitation, Damien began to pick up and fire the magic guns laid out before him-
And the bullets did not miss.
[Hunter’s Retribution], [Venom Fang], [Guillotine], [Plague], [Famine], [War], [Death]-
And finally, [Black Queen].
Every magic bullet Damien fired pierced the most vulnerable parts of the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’, pushing her back.
As if Far-Sight was still there. It was an unbelievable display of marksmanship.
…Or perhaps this wasn’t a miracle at all.
It might have been the natural blossoming of the young man’s efforts over the past three years, never letting go of his bow and gun even until the moment he fell asleep.
Crack, crackle…
Boom-!
After firing the final railgun shot with [Black Queen] loaded with [Annihilation Bullet] in ‘Nightmare Slayer’ mode.
Falling backward from the recoil amidst fragments of the broken magic gun, pressing his burnt palm against the floor, feeling the dried blood taste in his mouth along with his depleted mana…
“…”
Damien silently took out a mana potion and poured it into his mouth, then loaded magic bullets with thread-thin power into the magic guns he could still use.
They were [Healing Bullets].
And once again, he ran to the edge of the wall and began providing supporting fire for his allies.
Bang! Bububububang!
Kwagwagwagwang-!
As the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ was pushed far enough away from the castle walls, the soldiers on the walls began their bombardment as if they had been waiting for this moment.
Emitting a golden aura, all the soldiers unleashed cross-fire with practiced movements.
Cannons and ballistas, arrows and bullets, artifacts and magic…
The ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’, who had been continuously pushed back by the relentless barrage, suddenly had the strings connected to her body become clear again.
The gaze of the Outer Gods had been restored.
“…!”
Darkness swirled out from the nightmare’s master, swallowing up all the cross-fire that had been pushing her back.
And as the darkness receded, the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ regained her original, intact form. As if all the damage until now had been a lie, she was still the undulating master of nightmares.
Junior’s [Elemental Disassembler] had already ended, and Torkel, who had been clinging to the Lake Princess until the very end, had long since lost consciousness and been thrown far away.
Does that mean all this resistance was futile?
“…”
No.
At least, everyone in the Monster Front believed it wasn’t.
From the beginning, they hadn’t fought to win.
They had endured for the past three years to protect the world behind them.
And today was just another day they faced during this journey.
A little more harsh, a little more painful, a little longer. That kind of day.
Lucas, who had finished recovering while his allies bought time, stepped forward. His two hands grasped the greatsword of light.
“Once more.”
He had promised the man who raised the flag on this front.
That he would protect the world until he returned.
So, once more…
Behind Lucas, bloodied people formed ranks and shouted in unison.
“Once more-!”
The Spirit Realm.
Beneath the roots of the Black Tree Everblack.
“…”
The burning woman — the Goddess — was watching.
The desperate struggle unfolding here in the Spirit Realm. And the desperate struggle unfolding in the mortal world.
As the battle in the mortal world intensified, the situation in the Spirit Realm was also deteriorating moment by moment.
The rebel army led by Ash was gradually being pushed back in the face of the Outer Gods’ offensive. Although they had put up a good fight for a while, the difference in power was simply too great from the start.
“…”
The Goddess’s eyes were filled with conflict, regret, and a sense of powerlessness as she watched.
That’s when it happened.
“Aren’t you going to help?”
A voice came from above the Goddess’s head.
It was a familiar voice. The Goddess answered bitterly as she looked up.
“What exactly can I do… other than burn while tied up here.”
And she called out the name of the one descending along the roots of Everblack above her head.
“…Dustia.”
The distant descendant of the Goddess and Ash’s birth mother.
Dustia smiled back haggardly.
–TL Notes–
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