Chapter 417: The Last Stand (1)
— Western Front of the Ultras Continent —
The final battle had reached its peak, taking an unexpected turn when Sansa awakened once more .. but this time, as a demon carrying immense power.
Now, Sansa was able to contend with the warriors who stood at the very peak of Earth’s hierarchy.
Wielding her overwhelming shadow abilities, Sansa relentlessly pursued Beatrice, killing her again and again with savage brutality.
Although Beatrice continued to mysteriously vanish every time, Sansa’s new aggressive fighting style was truly terrifying.
Spreading her shadow across the battlefield, she could now appear anywhere she pleased, using a strange form of shadow teleportation.
Laughing maniacally, the princess had transformed into something else entirely, while the Elite Class could only stand as spectators, unable to process what they were witnessing.
"Is that really the princess?"
Staring at those ominous horns and the pair of dark wings sprouting from her back...
Sansa looked completely different in Ghost Umbra’s eyes. But Frey confirmed it with a grim expression.
"That’s Sansa, no doubt about it... but somehow, she’s become a demon."
Frey’s enhanced senses clearly felt the aura radiating from her body, instantly reminding him of that day when she lost control.
That power had now been fully harnessed by her, making her a force to be reckoned with.
Even so, the feelings of the remaining members of the Elite Class were mixed as they looked at a girl who was once one of them—flesh and blood—now transformed into a terrifying demon no different from their enemies.
But here on the battlefield, that didn’t matter much.
"Maybe this is for the best. She’s strong enough now to overwhelm even the strongest of them. She might actually win at this rate."
Ghost spoke with certainty, watching the way Sansa fought.
In the blink of an eye, she slaughtered countless Ultras soldiers and dominated both Gavid Lindman and Beatrice, taking complete control of the battle.
But Frey didn’t share Ghost’s optimism.
Gripping his swords, he stepped forward, his body still trembling after reaching its limit.
"Do you really think she’s winning?"
Frey asked with a grim look, prompting Ghost to stare at him, silently asking for an explanation. And Frey gave it.
"She’s experienced an explosive surge in power, yes. But her enemies are anything but simple."
And right on cue ..
Gavid Lindman broke free from the prison of dark blades, using strange whirlpools that resembled black holes. He waited quietly near Sansa and Beatrice, biding his time to strike.
On the other hand, though Sansa continued to tear Beatrice’s body apart over and over, the witch reappeared each time, spreading her magic throughout the area.
"Sansa’s the tyrant of the battlefield right now, but that doesn’t mean she’s won. Her enemies simply aren’t attacking... yet."
That was the fighting style of both Gavid Lindman and Beatrice.
"They’re that type of monster .. patient and calculating. They’ll let her play all her cards, then strike back when the time is right."
Frey was sure of it. After all...
From the start of the battle, he could feel Beatrice’s gaze on him.
Ever since he defeated her once using Anti-Magic, she had been wary of him throughout the battle, never letting him get close.
Even now, as Sansa cornered her, the witch was still watching him.
That alone showed how cautious she was .. and that she wasn’t in any real danger yet.
The same applied to Gavid Lindman.
He had enough power to cut down demons like Astaroth. Doing the same to Sansa wouldn’t be difficult for him.
It was just that Sansa’s abilities were overwhelmingly strong for now, giving her a temporary advantage.
"We’ll have to intervene. It’s our only choice."
Frey spoke with a trembling body, barely able to stand from exhaustion.
But he had no choice but to keep going.
"That old man managed to drive away Dragoth and Mergo for now... but that won’t last long."
The most dangerous Ultras would return at any moment, and if that happened, they’d be wiped out instantly.
Glancing first at Sansa, then at the glowing portal in the distance ..
Frey realized that was their only way out.
The magic portal was unique, working one way only, meaning no reinforcements would be coming from the Empire.
Otherwise, Sir Alon would have already returned.
So, they had no choice but to rely on themselves.
"But what can we do to intervene in a battle like that?"
Though it was easy to say, Ghost voiced the harsh reality.
Sansa was like a natural disaster, annihilating everything in her path with dark tendrils and razor-sharp blades.
Her destructive power was immense.
Getting close to her was incredibly dangerous.
"There’s no other option. Sansa is our only hope for survival right now."
Determined to survive, Frey put away the Nameless Mask, which he was moments away from wearing .. changing his mind at the last second and clinging to another hope.
’I won’t lose myself... I’ll cling to life.’
Refusing to surrender his life to that entity, Frey resolved to rely on what he already had.
"Go to Professor Phoenix now, Ghost. Tell him to prepare to unleash everything he’s got."
Pointing to his friend, Frey laid out his final and only plan under this crushing pressure, surrounded by enemies.
Even though Sansa had slaughtered an overwhelming number of them, they were still surrounded from all sides.
It was only a matter of time before the members of the Elite Class fell one by one. They had to act quickly.
"What about you?"
Ghost asked, staring at Frey.
The latter could barely stand straight, let alone survive alone amid the enemy hordes still pressing in.
But Frey insisted that he go.
"I’ll manage somehow, so don’t worry about me... it doesn’t suit you anyway."
Placing a hand on Ghost’s shoulder, Frey stepped forward, heading toward the battlefield where Sansa clashed with her enemies.
"I’ll draw her attention. That power of hers... it’s our only chance if we want to survive."
Only a few minutes remained before this bitter conflict reached its end.
Ghost didn’t argue much .. he knew he had no other choice.
So, without another word, he sank into his shadow, heading straight toward Phoenix Sunlight.
But even as he left, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Frey, wondering how he planned to attract the attention of the demonic Sansa.
Cutting down soldiers with his swords, Frey advanced one slow step at a time. His strikes were far slower than at his peak.
But he could still cleave through the enemies surrounding him.
And when he advanced a little farther, standing there ..
Frey was able to observe the battle in the sky more clearly.
Beatrice had begun unleashing powerful spells on Sansa, bombarding her with a terrifying barrage of large-scale destructive attacks.
Though the black tendrils wrapped around Sansa shielded her from the assault, the princess was clearly being pushed back—just as Frey had predicted.
Especially when Gavid Lindman ambushed her with sharp, devastating strikes from his blade, now wrapped in some strange dark energy born from the whirlpools he had summoned earlier.
Despite the siege closing in on her, the smile never faded from Sansa’s face as she continued drawing out the potential of her new body.
Now a demon, she was losing herself to her monstrous instincts, driven by an overwhelming desire for slaughter and bloodshed.
Absorbing Aura from the air in terrifying amounts, the princess sought to unleash stronger and stronger attacks, enough to annihilate her enemies with brutal force.
Unbothered by the wounds piling up across her body, her black blood dripping onto the earth ..
The princess was slowly transforming into a complete demon, no longer resembling a human at all, just like Beatrice and the other beings of the highest ranks.
And in that moment, as the battle raged on ..
Frey raised his swords high, forcing his exhausted body to release the maximum amount of dark Aura within him.
Targeting both Gavid Lindman and Beatrice, who continued their assault on Sansa ..
He breathed heavily, struggling to hold himself together, before blasting the ground beneath him.
"Ten Thousand Steps of Shadow: Infinite Darkness!"
With a single slash of his swords ..
Frey unleashed a colossal beam of darkness that swept across the sky, swallowing it whole, aiming for both Beatrice and Gavid Lindman at once.
The dark Aura burst across the heavens, consuming everything in its path—including Sansa.
But the attack was far weaker than usual, allowing both Gavid and Beatrice to block it with ease.
As for Sansa, she didn’t need to do anything. Her hardened body simply withstood the blow without issue.
Even so, Frey’s goal wasn’t to harm them but to catch their attention ..and that’s exactly what happened.
Still gasping for breath, he shouted with all his strength, calling out to Sansa, who hovered far above in the sky.
The princess noticed him at that moment, and in mere seconds, their eyes met.