Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Episode 15.
Every member of the special task force except Aiden and Deril froze in place.
It was fear. The demons inhabiting the demonic realm stimulated humanity's primal emotions—in Martikoras' case, it was terror.
Its grotesque, twisted visage sent shivers down their spines. The massive wings spanning the ceiling eclipsed even Aiden's halo.
The deafening roar Martikoras unleashed numbed their eardrums and left their ears ringing.
Yuron covered his ears. The priest dropped his scripture, Sistina let her sword hang limply, and Sein's pupils trembled violently.
The surviving demons cackled, praising Martikoras' manifestation.
The demonic beast howled as it shot into the air. Aiden firmly planted his iron sword between its brows.
With a force that seemed to tear through the atmosphere, he reached the ceiling in an instant. As the beast collided with the wall, the ancient tomb shook as if about to collapse.
From atop the beast's head, Aiden detonated his halo, then looked down at his paralyzed subordinates.
"Yuron—!"
The booming shout from the dizzying heights above startled Yuron.
"Y-yes!"
"Have you forgotten your duty?!"
"N-no, sir!"
"Then grip your sword!"
The task force flinched at Aiden's halo and voice. It seemed their senses were returning.
"Do what you must!"
The holy warrior wages war against evil. The knight protects the weak, the priest leads with hope.
Demons filled their vision. Children remained trapped in iron cages as misfortune gnawed at the tomb.
The task force remembered their duty.
Sistina bit her lip as if chastising herself. Immediately circulating her aura, a low resonant hum filled the air.
Yuron began constructing a barrier with shimmering divine energy. The priest resumed his holy chants while Sein incanted spells.
"Deril!"
Deril nodded quickly before hurling his chains at the demonic beast.
Screeeeech! The electrified chains sliced through the air, coiling around Martikoras' leg.
The beast thrashed violently as if shaking off pests. Kwaaaaang! Walls crumbled as cracks spiderwebbed across the ceiling.
The beast's twin pupils converged between its brows to glare at Aiden.
Martikoras' eye sockets were larger than Aiden's entire body.
Gripping his sword with his left hand, Aiden drove his right into the beast's eye.
Kreeeeaaaak! It shrieked in horrific agony.
Tearing through the retina and relentlessly gouging the pupil, black blood gushed in all directions.
Deril, dangling from the thrashing chains, crossed trajectories multiple times in mere moments. He had to climb quickly.
Meanwhile, Aiden had no luxury to consider Deril's predicament. The beast had to die before casualties mounted. 'Flame Lance isn't responding.' Aiden grimaced as he withdrew his hand from the eye socket, trailing optic nerves and blood vessels.
The beast roared savagely, slamming into the ceiling. Craaack! Fractures radiated across the outer walls.
Dust and debris rained onto Aiden. The ceiling's stonework shattered, plummeting downward.
"Sistina! Evacuate the children from the tomb!"
At this rate, the entire structure might collapse.
With so many imprisoned children, using the previous scrolls was impossible.
Escaping the tomb immediately was the only way to minimize casualties.
"Understood!"
After confirming the task force's movements, Aiden turned his attention back to the beast.
Now was the time to focus solely on it. Entrusting the ground team, he gripped the sword embedded between its brows with both hands and wrenched it free.
Black blood splattered across Aiden's face as he simultaneously drove the blade into the beast's remaining eye. 'Done.' Its vision was completely sealed. Even Martikoras' regeneration couldn't easily purge Aiden's divine energy.
The beast screamed and charged the ceiling again. The already weakened section shattered instantly.
The ceiling gave way.
Deril scrambled upward, dodging falling debris.
Kwaaaaaang! Martikoras didn't stop. Propelled by the same force that shattered the ceiling, it burst through into the underground second level. Aiden never ceased his assault, rending its face and aggravating wounds to enrage it further.
Deril barely managed to land on the beast's leg.
Looking up at Aiden, he was seized by an eerie sensation. He'd seen that expression before—when Aiden had gripped his throat.
The same ruthless gaze.
Shaking off the thought, Deril retrieved a vial of poison from his coat. Coating his dagger thoroughly, he stabbed it into the beast's leg.
As the blackened skin swelled bluish-purple, Deril moved again. Scaling the beast's body with chain-scythe strikes, periodically injecting more poison.
Martikoras, its body ravaged, writhed in agony as it surged toward the final ceiling.
The two pests clinging to it no longer registered. The monstrosity slammed into the wall at full force, sending the sand covering the tomb cascading downward.
The grains felt devoid of warmth. '...Has the sun already set?' Daylight would've been advantageous, but there was no choice.
Then, the vast sky was revealed. A deep night with radiant moonlight, stars scattered densely across.
Though magnificent, the circumstances left no room for admiration.
Aiden ceased hacking at the beast's face—now shredded beyond any human resemblance—having failed to deliver a lethal blow.
He had to settle for crippling one of its five senses.
Immediately leaping down, Aiden landed on its shoulder blade.
Severing the spine was most efficient.
The beast thrashed wildly midair. Aiden lowered his stance, driving his sword into its trapezius muscle to anchor himself.
A gale-force wind engulfed him, making it impossible to keep his eyes open.
Deril narrowly avoided the beast's grasping hands.
"My lord!"
Higher up, the beast's arm mobility would decrease. No escape then. Deril hurled his chain toward Aiden.
Aiden instantly caught it, yanking Deril toward him.
Whooosh! Deril's body arced through the air, landing precisely on the beast's shoulder.
Despite countless demon battles, this combat was beyond his experience.
His mind grew faintly distant.
"Focus!"
Aiden's voice pierced the whirlwind.
"Y-yes!"
"Bind yourself to me!"
Deril understood immediately.
After driving a spike into Martikoras' dense musculature, he secured the connected chain around Aiden's waist.
Then used his weight to reinforce the anchor.
"Secure!"
Aiden rose slowly, inching forward as Deril fed out chain links one by one.
Enduring the tempest, Aiden forcefully repelled the beast's swiping arms.
His shoulder muscles screamed in protest. Without summoning weakened, he couldn't imagine the outcome.
Step by step, he advanced while channeling every ounce of divine energy.
A radiance brighter than moonlight flooded the night sky.
The iron sword flashed white as a holy blade. Nearly reaching the beast's neck, Aiden shouted:
"Release!"
As Deril let go, Aiden lunged at its nape.
Driving the reverse-gripped sword into its spine, he carved downward while falling.
The blade shredded through back muscles before clashing dully against vertebrae. Aiden poured all his strength into both arms.
Schiiing! A straight slash from shoulders to buttocks split the beast open.
Aiden dangled precariously from the chain.
Martikoras shrieked, whipping its massive tail.
Thwack! It struck Aiden square in the face, blood bursting from his nose.
His nasal bone might be shattered. 'Failure.' The spine wasn't fully severed. A holy sword could've finished it, but the iron blade lacked cutting power.
He regretted not retrieving the holy sword at all costs.
The impact sent Aiden airborne. Before reaching the apex, the tail lashed again—direct hit to his abdomen.
Guhak! Blood sprayed from his mouth. Several ribs were likely broken, but he could still fight if his lungs remained intact.
Aiden soared through the night sky, propelled higher than the beast's head by the recoil.
Deril hauled on the chain, maneuvering Aiden back onto its shoulder.
He looked at Aiden with urgent alarm.
"My lord! Look there—isn't that Serengal?"
Aiden turned to see the city of Serengal.
The beast had caught the scent of humans and changed course.
Martikoras restored itself by devouring humans.
That couldn't be allowed.
"We must sever its wings."
"Understood."
The beast rolled sideways, accelerating toward Serengal at high speed.
Refusing to be manipulated further, it ceased struggling and went all out.
Aiden and Deril crawled toward its left wing joint.
Glancing back, Serengal was already approaching.
Aiden's face twisted.
"We won't make it in time."
"Then—"
"You cut the wings. At minimum, reduce its momentum. Pierce holes if nothing else."
Even if they severed the wings, Serengal would be the crash site. They had to slow it down.
Aiden looked down. The city's features were becoming distinct.
He crawled toward its face to brace for impact.
*At Serengal's fountain plaza, a sizable crowd had gathered.
They came to wish upon the shooting stars glittering at the night's edge.
People believed these were trails of divine messengers—that earnest wishes would reach the gods.
But no divine messenger passed by. One approached, burning white-hot across the sky.
Someone screamed:
"A-ascension...!"
The crowd murmured. Some clasped hands in prayer, others knelt outright.
But another's scream shattered the illusion.
Kyaaaaaaah!
A house-sized monstrosity descended violently, jaws gaping wide.
Ironically, the light from its maw shone pure white.
A bizarre contrast. From the distant sky, a voice boomed:
"Clear the fountain—!"
The beast spun uncontrollably in its descent.
Witnessing disaster, people fled frantically. Screams echoed through the chaotic frenzy.
As the monster neared, realization dawned.
The light they'd mistaken for shooting stars emanated from a man.
A man bracing his sword within the beast's maw—the vision flashed past.
Kwaaaaaaang! Fountain water geysered skyward. The colossal impact shook the earth, splitting the ground.
Dust and spray merged, obscuring everything.
Horror twisted every face. Shock left them speechless.
Silence settled heavily. When visibility returned, the monstrosity howled.
The man was nowhere to be seen. Only the beast's belly skin quivered strangely.
Sounds of tearing and bursting followed. The beast shrieked louder.
Then its belly split open, a massive hand thrusting through.
Rrrriiiip! The hide tore sideways, unleashing blinding white radiance.
There stood the man. Drenched in black blood, he strode forth with oddly refreshed expression.
He burned more brilliantly than the moonlight itself.