Ending Maker Chapter 103
Ending Maker Chapter 103
Chapter 36 - Karaval #3
The warriors of the Blade Song tribe, who carried the blood of the Hyjal orcs, were physically superior.
Judged purely by simple physical abilities such as strength and agility, they were closer to beasts than humans.
Sun Song was one of the most exceptional among the warriors of the Blade Song tribe.
If they competed head-on in raw strength, Red Wind would not last even a few seconds. No, it was clear that her body would be shattered long before it came to merely “not lasting.”
'I’ll be honest. If you take a clean hit, you probably won’t survive even one.'
The difference in body weight alone was more than threefold.
The difference in strength could be called more than sixfold.
If she took a direct hit, that would be the end.
If she was struck in the chest or stomach, she would not even be able to breathe properly.
'So I can't take even a single hit.'
It was an unreasonable demand.
But if she could not accomplish it, there was no chance of victory.
And one more thing added on top of that.
A single remark Cordelia made while quietly watching Yuder teach.
'It's fine, don't think about it too hard. Just watch well and dodge well. I always do that too.'
She had said it with such a bright smile that Red Wind could not even offer a retort.
"RAAAH!"
A shout shook her eardrums.
Sun Song kicked hard off the ground and charged with terrifying momentum.
Red Wind focused.
She even held her breath and watched.
Naturally, Yuder's words came to mind.
'Well, this beast's words aren't wrong either.'
'Beast? BEEAST? Woof! Woof! Grrr!'
No, not that.
The words he said after that.
'Watch well, dodge well. It's entirely possible. I'll make it so—we'll make it so.'
Time stopped.
She could see grains of sand leaping up before her eyes.
She could see the droplets of saliva spraying from Sun Song's large mouth.
Red Wind, who carried the blood of the winter elves, had naturally good eyes to begin with. On top of that, Yuder's scroll had cast an auxiliary spell on her.
Eye of the Tiger.
A spell that maximized dynamic visual acuity.
And as if that were not enough, he had trained her.
'This is Sun Song's movement.'
"GRAAH!"
Sun Song swung his guandao.
Red Wind had seen Sun Song for the first time today, and it was also the first time she had seen him swing his guandao with full force.
But it felt familiar.
That attack.
Sun Song's speed.
'I can see it.'
It was not simply about the movement of the moment.
How that attack would continue.
What trajectory the guandao would draw and how far it would reach.
Yuder had taught her.
Yuder had made her eyes familiar with it.
'Watch well, dodge well.'
Cordelia's words.
And one more added remark.
'As you keep doing that, a feeling will come. Not just seeing it—at some point, you'll feel it with your whole body.'
She had not understood what that meant at the time.
Feeling an attack with her whole body—what in the world did that even mean?
She really, really adored Cordelia, but thought she was terrible at explaining things.
But that was not the case.
Cordelia had simply told her exactly how it was.
'I can feel it.'
It was not only sight.
Her hearing responded.
Her sense of touch responded.
A sixth sense transcending the five senses perceived it.
The sound, the trembling of the air, the momentum Sun Song emitted.
'I think I understand.'
What it meant to feel with her whole body.
What she had to do now.
'There are two options.'
Within the slowed flow of time, the guandao crept toward her.
Between Sun Song's roars, Cordelia's voice whispered once more.
'Once you can feel it, there are two choices you can make.'
The blade drew near.
It seemed as though it would cut her in two at any moment.
Red Wind looked at Sun Song.
Sun Song’s face was terrifying as he let out a battle roar befitting someone who carried the blood of the Hyjal orcs.
The fangs protruding between his lips evoked a wild beast rather than a person.
And his eyes.
Bloodshot eyes fixed on Red Wind herself.
A person's face was reflected on the black of his pupils.
It was Red Wind's own face.
But from that face, Red Wind recalled Cordelia.
She, who was beautiful enough to captivate even another woman, had spoken while flashing her fangs.
'Step back, or instead step forward.'
Normally, one steps back.
Stepping back is normal.
But if she did that, she would only end up fleeing.
There were times when she had to step forward.
'How will you know which one? Hehe. When the moment comes, you’ll know.'
'She talks like there's some deep meaning, but actually this one doesn't think at all. Because she's a beast.'
'Wanna die?'
She had recalled even unnecessary things, but it was not bad.
A smile spread across Red Wind's face. She smiled so brightly that even she herself was surprised, and took a step forward.
WHOOSH!
The guandao sliced through empty air.
The guandao passed just above Red Wind’s head as she bent backward to evade it.
A few strands of her fluttering white hair were split by the guandao. Sun Song, unable to control the force of his swing, continued forward, and Red Wind vanished from his sight.
For just a moment.
A truly fleeting instant.
"Hoo."
Red Wind let out a breath. Straightening her bent waist, she saw Sun Song's fully exposed back.
Instead of looking at his face as he hurriedly turned his head to find her, she swung her sword. She stirred the wind.
SWISH—!
The sword sliced through empty air.
But that was intentional.
A phoenix surging up through the trajectory drawn by the sword beat its wings and charged.
It, extending like sword aura, struck Sun Song, and Sun Song's massive body was hurled far backward.
BOOM!
A thunderous sound burst out.
No one heard it, but a small, light footstep rang out along with it.
Tap.
After spinning her body once and resetting her stance, Red Wind swallowed her breath.
Once again, she felt Sun Song with her whole body.
She sensed him fly far away, roll across the ground, and groan in pain.
"Haa."
A breath escaped on its own.
And Red Wind thought.
'Is this... the world Cordelia lives in?'
She was wrong.
Cordelia's world was a bit more special.
There was no way the current Red Wind could reach the world seen by a combat genius so monstrous that even Yuder, who had encountered every kind of prodigy, could only describe him as a beast.
But for now, this was enough. If she could feel Sun Song, if she could read Sun Song, it was sufficient.
BANG!
This time, Red Wind kicked off the ground first. She charged toward Sun Song instead.
It was a splendid fight.
Amid scattering flames, Red Wind moved quickly and widely.
Sun Song, like the veteran warrior he was, fought his own fight without being shaken.
He knew.
Just one hit.
That if he landed even a single blow, he could win.
Therefore, he endured.
He bore the pain and swung his sword again and again. He did not give up on Red Wind, who danced atop his sword aura like a willow leaf blowing in the wind.
SWISH! SWISH!
Red Wind's attacks poured out in succession.
Sun Song took the attacks with his body and unleashed a flurry of blows at Red Wind.
CLANG-CLANG!
Sparks flew.
That made it all the more spectacular.
Different flames clashed and bloomed new flowers.
"Just as planned."
Yuder, who had been watching, spoke.
Cordelia nodded.
Thanks to Yuder, who had memorized every one of Sun Song’s combat patterns, Red Wind had learned to sense his movements.
It was only possible thanks to all kinds of support magic, but she could sense him nonetheless.
"Red Wind will win."
Yuder agreed with Cordelia's conviction as well.
Cordelia’s almost prophetic intuition and Yuder’s calculations pointed to the same conclusion.
Red Wind would win.
It would take some time, but she would ultimately reach victory.
Therefore, Yuder could divert his gaze.
While everyone gathered here focused on the fight between Red Wind and Sun Song, he alone took a step back, watched, and thought.
'Is it just needless worry?'
Many chieftains had gathered at Karaval.
No matter who won, the eastern alliance would be established with the end of this Karaval.
So if they were going to move, now was the time.
If they were going to interfere with something, it had to be now.
But the Angry Rhino Tribe had not come.
Was it because they had not yet completely finished their western expedition?
Were they trying to avoid a situation where they themselves became endangered by rashly moving the forces left at their stronghold?
It was possible.
But he could not simply sit back and watch.
Yuder thought about the land of Gentle Snow Breeze, where Karaval was taking place.
Because it was a plain open on all sides, it was a place where they would know early if someone invaded.
'A small force would be impossible.'
The number of warriors gathered here alone easily exceeded a hundred.
With several powerful chieftains involved, even a force chosen from elite troops would have to number in the dozens.
'At that scale, they would inevitably be spotted.'
Moreover, Gentle Snow Breeze was here right now.
Unlike Rough Avalanche, she had her authority fully intact and had surveyed the surrounding area, but she had not detected any particular movement of troops.
The enemy would not come.
The west had given up on obstructing the east's formation of an alliance.
So everyone focused only on Karaval.
Everyone gathered here concentrated all their attention on the fight between Red Wind and Sun Song.
Yuder had been doing the same until just now.
That was why he deliberately doubted once more.
Was there anything he had missed?
Was there something he had not thought of?
'The sky.'
It was still clear and blue.
The sunset would come soon, but for now it was a blue sky.
'The west.'
Yuder turned his head and looked west.
There was still nothing to see. Only a plain covered in white snow stretched on.
'Is it really just needless worry after all?'
That would be the best outcome, but.
Yuder smiled bitterly and tried to watch Red Wind's fight again.
But before that, someone pulled on Yuder's arm.
"Yuder."
Cordelia.
The moment their eyes met, he could tell.
Cordelia's expression, with her brow furrowed and her body squirming as if she needed to go, was telling him.
Ominousness.
She could not properly explain what was ominous, but Cordelia had definitely felt something.
Therefore, Yuder focused.
He tried to find something he had missed.
And then Cordelia pulled Yuder's arm again.
"Vibration."
Cordelia spoke with her eyes wide and jerked her chin toward their feet. Thanks to that, Yuder noticed it too.
The instant he heard Cordelia, Yuder focused and barely managed to notice it.
A vibration could be felt.
A very small vibration.
One that would be hard to feel unless one was as sensitive as Cordelia.
It was growing larger. It was getting closer.
"Below."
Yuder and Cordelia looked down at their feet at the same time, then snapped their heads up and shouted as one.
"Watch out!"
"It's coming from below!"
Immediately after their warning—
As if an earthquake were occurring, the vibration suddenly intensified, and the ground split apart!
CRACK!
Giant thorns burst up through the ground.
Whether it was aimed or a strange coincidence, it was precisely beneath the feet of Red Wind and Sun Song.
RUMBLE—!
At the moment the thorns surged up like blades, Red Wind saw Sun Song and the rising thorns at the same time.
She sensed that the thorns would soon pierce Sun Song's body.
So Red Wind moved.
Her body moved on instinct before thought could catch up.
Because Sun Song was not an enemy.
Because he was a comrade of the east who would join forces against the west!
WHAM!
Red Wind slammed her body into Sun Song. She threw her whole body and pushed him away.
And then blood.
A tearing scream.
"Red Wind!"
SLASH!
A large thorn grazed Red Wind’s slender waist. Red Wind, who had collapsed on top of the fallen Sun Song, groaned and curled up as blood spurted from the gash at her waist.
"Dodge!"
Cordelia's shout was erased.
A giant monster burst through the ground. One after another, grotesque creatures that looked like fusions of humans and monsters rose from the hole connected to the underground.
Sun Song, who had reflexively caught Red Wind in his arms, hurriedly got back to his feet.
"Fight back!"
"Save Sun Song!"
"Red Wind!"
Voices burst out all at once.
The warriors gathered for Karaval drew their swords.
They were not the only ones. Gentle Snow Breeze also let out a roar and spread her wings wide.
And that was the very moment.
"Aaaah!"
The monster that had burst up through the ground let out a bellow.
It was a giant mole at least five meters tall. Several horns jutted from its head; its eyes glowed red, and violet energy coiled around its body like a curse.
"G-Good heavens! Eoduksini!"
Rough Avalanche cried out as if screaming, and Gentle Snow Breeze's eyes flew open wide.
Eoduksini.
It was a name Yuder and Cordelia were hearing for the first time as well. But they could tell from the two wild gods' reactions.
The monster before their eyes was a corrupted wild god.
No, it was not even a proper corruption.
From the Devil’s Eye’s perspective, Eoduksini was a failed specimen that had never fully corrupted and did nothing but rampage madly.
"Aaaah!"
Eoduksini let out an agonized scream.
The eastern warriors reeled from the cry imbued with a Wild God’s power, and dozens of monsters poured into the opening it created.
'Failures!'
The fusion of humans and monsters was one of the attempts to mass-produce Demonic Humans.
If it succeeded, a lowest-grade Demonic Human with human intelligence and a monster’s power was created, but if it failed, it simply became a monster.
"GRAAAH!"
The malformed monsters burrowed in among the warriors.
And Gale drew his sword. Having first secured Adelia's safety, he unleashed his condensed energy in a lion's roar.
"Hah!"
The cursed scream Eoduksini had spat was momentarily canceled out by that shout, which carried tremendous force.
The warriors regained their composure, and Gale kicked off the ground just as he was.
"I'm saving Red Wind!"
Gale charged straight into the enemy ranks. Adelia raised both hands and cast spells in rapid succession, and battle erupted between the barely recovered warriors and the monsters.
"Eoduksini!"
"Eoduksini, brother!"
Rough Avalanche and Gentle Snow Breeze shouted, and Gentle Snow Breeze tried to run straight toward Eoduksini.
"No! He's not the Eoduksini we knew!"
Rough Avalanche grabbed Gentle Snow Breeze's leg and hung on.
He tried to calm Gentle Snow Breeze, who had burst into tears at Eoduksini's changed appearance, and somehow break through the current situation.
"Damn it all! How in the world—!"
Rough Avalanche himself had lost nearly all his power, but Gentle Snow Breeze had not.
So how had they deceived Gentle Snow Breeze's senses? No matter how deep underground they were, she could not have failed to notice them approaching this close.
Did they have some method of concealing their energy?
And corruption.
A wild god who had fallen along with the corruption of the Dragon Vein and the sanctuary.
Rough Avalanche felt chills at the fact that he himself could have ended up like that. His heart felt as though it were being torn apart at the fact that Eoduksini had fallen so low.
And that was the very moment.
A voice rang in Yuder and Cordelia's heads.
It stopped the two of them once more as they were about to help Gale and rescue Red Wind.
[K-kill...... me! Kill...... me!]
It was Eoduksini's cry.
Because Yuder and Cordelia had been acknowledged by the Golden Dragon King as guardians of the Wild Lands, they could hear his pain-filled scream.
[N-no. No. Hurt everyone— Rough Avalanche— Gentle Snow...... Breeze. No. Kill...... me.......]
Eoduksini's wailing grew louder, and the curse's power strengthened again as well.
Gentle Snow Breeze exerted her power and canceled out the curse, but that was all. She could do no more than that.
"Yuder!"
Rough Avalanche shouted.
Because he too had heard Eoduksini's scream.
And he could tell.
That the reason Eoduksini was telling them to kill him was not simply because of the pain!
"Bomb."
Cordelia said with a pained expression.
Eoduksini was a bomb.
The Devil's Eye's plan was to cause a massive explosion in the middle of the place where Karaval was unfolding and wipe out the eastern chieftains.
'Expendables.'
They were failures anyway.
Expending them like this was an efficient tactic.
Even if it failed, they could at least inflict minimal damage.
They could dispose of the defective products.
"Sons of bitches!"
Cordelia burst out in rage. She was furious at the Devil's Eye's actions.
Yuder steadied his breathing. Watching Gale withdraw with Sun Song and Red Wind, he focused on Eoduksini's voice.
[Run...... away!]
Originally, Eoduksini should have self-destructed the moment he burst up through the ground.
The fact that he was rampaging without exploding was thanks to Eoduksini's will, which had not yet fully corrupted and still remained in part.
But it would not last long.
There was not much time.
"GRAAAH!"
Eoduksini spat out another cursed scream.
In that instant, Gentle Snow Breeze burst into tears.
Because she could tell.
Eoduksini's will had faded.
There was nothing left anymore. What stood before their eyes was nothing more than a rampaging monster.
"There's no time! Everyone has to run!"
Rough Avalanche stamped his feet and shouted. Since Eoduksini's will had faded, the monster before them was a bomb that could go off at any moment, in any way.
But it was impossible.
The battle between the warriors and the monsters had already begun. Turning their backs to flee now would only end in annihilation.
"Hoo, hoo."
Yuder let out his breath again. He searched for a way.
What should he do? What was he supposed to do?
Fleeing was impossible because of the monsters.
But if they left things as they were, everyone would simply be swept up in Eoduksini's self-destruction.
'I have to find a way.'
Something different—not simply fleeing from the blast radius, but something else.
"Yuder!"
Yuder's eyes flew open wide. Cordelia was right in front of him. Her blue eyes gleaming, she shouted.
"Let's blow it up!"
"What?"
"Let's set it off before it self-destructs!"
What did that mean?
What difference was there between self-destruction and an explosion?
Was she saying they should at least kill it since it was going to die anyway?
"Nooo! Not that!"
Cordelia shouted as if frustrated.
Unable to explain properly in words, she spoke with her eyes, and Yuder finally understood. He spoke without realizing it.
"You're a genius."
"Obviously!"
Cordelia laughed. Yuder impulsively pulled that Cordelia into a tight embrace, and Cordelia flailed.
"Hey! Hey?!"
"Let's go."
Yuder immediately released Cordelia. Suppressing the urge to kiss her on the cheek, he charged toward Eoduksini.
"Let's gooo!"
Cordelia, transformed into a witch, chased after Yuder.
Adelia shouted something from behind, but for now they did not listen. They had to reach Eoduksini as quickly as possible.
"Sis! Open a path!"
At Cordelia's shout, Adelia spat out a curse.
She suddenly clenched both fists, brought them together in front of her chest, then swung them wide to the sides.
"Fire Wall—!"
Double casting.
Magical power exploded outward from Adelia's small body, and a tremendous miracle occurred.
WHOOOOM—!
A wall of fire stretched out with a roar.
Flames nearly three meters high surged up and carved a path, burning every monster caught between them. No one dared approach Yuder and Cordelia.
"Wow."
"Sis, you're the best!"
Yuder and Cordelia ran down the literal path of fire.
The monsters between them lunged, but it was futile.
"Grease!"
Attack magic would have been a waste. She made them slip with grease, and the fallen monsters slid into the wall of fire on their own.
WHOOSH!
Even as the flames blazed, Yuder and Cordelia did not stop.
Trampling those that had not slipped or had luckily avoided the wall of fire, they charged toward Eoduksini.
"GRAAAH!"
Eoduksini screamed.
Gale, who had rushed ahead, scooped Red Wind into his arms and withdrew with her, while Sun Song used a battle roar to blunt Eoduksini’s scream even a little.
"Ooooh!"
Eoduksini rampaged, swinging both hands.
He tore through the air with blade-like claws, and the force was truly terrifying.
But Yuder and Cordelia did not stop this time either. Rather, they increased their speed and shouted.
"I'm the anvil!"
"I'm the hammer!"
Their coordination was complete. Yuder soared up with a golden whirlwind, and Cordelia stretched both hands forward and unleashed her telekinesis.
She poured out every bit of power she had and locked down Eoduksini's movements.
"AAAAAAH!"
She did not simply bind him. She applied force in a fixed direction. At the same time, she opened both eyes wide and activated the Evil Eye.
"Ghk!"
Eoduksini made a sound as if the breath was being knocked out of him and could not move at all. Bloody tears streamed from Cordelia's eyes.
"Yudeeeer!"
"Cordelia!"
Yuder pulled back his fist in midair. Shouting Cordelia's name, he drove his fist down onto the head of Eoduksini, whose movements were sealed.
"Black Dragon Cross Strike!"
He shouted loudly.
A pitch-black cross rose from Yuder's fist and surged forward, pressing down on Eoduksini's body. It pushed him in a fixed direction.
"Oooooh!"
Yuder put more force into the thrust. He mobilized every bit of energy in his dantian, and Cordelia supported him. Rough Avalanche, who had belatedly realized their plan, shouted to Gentle Snow Breeze.
"Help them! We have to push him into the hole!"
Gentle Snow Breeze did not understand right away. But she did understand that she had to help Yuder. So for now, she unleashed her power in the same direction as Yuder.
BOOM!
Eoduksini was driven back and toppled into the hole he himself had blasted open.
"Get in thereee!"
Cordelia squeezed her eyes shut and exerted her last strength. The black cross Yuder had unleashed pressed Eoduksini down completely, and Gentle Snow Breeze’s power drove him deep into the hole.
Cordelia's plan.
It was simple.
Set it off before it self-destructed.
Underground.
Inside the hole they had dug!
"Explosiooon!"
She could not finish the word. She had used too much power, and her head ached. Her legs trembled, and her breath caught.
But Cordelia did not collapse. Yuder, who had run over, wrapped his arm around Cordelia's waist and supported her, breathing raggedly. He said it for her.
"That was art."
Yuder poured a potion into Cordelia's mouth.
Cordelia threw her arms around Yuder and activated Mana Drain.
"Nngh......."
The two let out pained groans at the same time. But thanks to that, Cordelia's magical power recovered, and without delay, she used the recovered power to create a new spell.
"Black Blade."
A witch's spell that could be controlled.
Cordelia, resting her head against Yuder's chest, moved her fingers. As if firing a real gun, she flicked her index finger and sent the black blade flying.
WHOOSH!
The black blade shot like a bullet into the hole, pierced the point where Gentle Snow Breeze’s power clashed with Eoduksini’s, and struck its target.
The power that had been suppressed by Eoduksini.
The black blade stimulated it.
It lit the fuse once more.
"Boom."
Cordelia spoke, and Yuder pulled her into a tight embrace. The moment he turned his back to shield her, a tremendous explosion erupted from underground.
BOOOOOOM—!
The ground heaved.
It shook as if an earthquake had struck.
The remaining monsters were caught in the blast.
That level of vibration.
An explosion powerful enough to shake the ground itself.
But it was deep underground.
A violet pillar surged up through the hole, but that was all. The aftermath of the explosion never reached the surface.
RUMBLE—
Aftershock.
A second rumble.
But it was small. It soon subsided.
"Hah."
Yuder let out a breath.
Yuder had lain back with Cordelia atop his chest to shield her from any possible aftermath, so his chest felt heavy.
"Haa."
Cordelia sprawled over Yuder’s chest and exhaled in relief. She was drenched in cold sweat, but soon broke into a broad smile and said,
"We’re aliiive."
Yuder laughed at her babyish slur. Within the ring of light rising around them, he pulled Cordelia into his arms once more.