Final Strike
Final Strike
The Soul Devourer.
This grotesque creature with its painfully literal name was one of the Moonlight Church's ultimate weapons, appearing in the final arc of Part 2 of the Original Work. In other words, it wasn't supposed to show up yet.
"...So why the hell is it here already?"
The sky had suddenly gone dark.
Standing on a rooftop, I listened to the ghostly wails rising from below and sank into thought.
This is strange... This bastard isn't supposed to appear around now...
I'd been too busy rushing here to think, but now that I stopped and considered it, this was strange. Why had the Moonlight Church brought that thing out so much earlier than in the Original Work?
After thinking it through—
I reached a conclusion.
"...Is this because of me?"
Stealing Eun-wol, the Moonlight Priestess, from them halfway through the attack—basically NTR-ing her right under their noses—must have had a pretty big impact.
In the Original Work, the Moonlight Cult Leader had the Moonlight Priestess launch that attack to make the world fear the Moonlight Church. So, considering that...
Hm. Did my interference just piss him off enough to pull another stunt?
Honestly, I'd assumed the Moonlight Cult Leader wouldn't care much, but apparently it had gotten under his skin. Seriously, why was an old man so petty? He could've just let it go like a magnanimous adult.
Anyway, I clicked my tongue as I watched the violet Soul Devourer still roaring and rampaging below.
Judging by the fact that they sent only one, they probably hadn't even assembled their full forces yet. Why rush things this badly?
"Ugh... that old codger."
You scared the hell out of me for nothing.
For a Soul Devourer to be truly dangerous, one of three conditions had to be met: there needed to be several of them, it had to have evolved by consuming enough souls, or its opponent had to be ignorant of its weakness to silver.
But right now, there's only one. Its color is still violet, meaning it hasn't evolved. And on top of that, I brought a whole load of silver because I thought there'd be multiple of them.
So, yeah. Game over, basically.
"...Now what do I do."
Standing there on the rooftop—
with the cold night air against my skin, I muttered to myself.
I mean, honestly, one big silver round would finish it. In the Original Work, they only got thrashed before discovering its weakness to silver. Once they knew, they counterattacked and killed every last one. There was a much bigger problem than this thing in the final arc anyway.
Anyway, just as the whole thing started to feel anticlimactic, I changed my perspective.
Yeah. This was actually good.
"...She's losing, after all."
I looked down and saw Stardus being pushed back in the one-on-one fight. It made sense. An ultimate weapon was still an ultimate weapon, and she was clearly struggling.
And look at that bastard, lifting people into the air around itself again and sucking out their souls. It kept recovering its stamina like that, so no wonder Stardus was being pushed back.
Still...
"...Yeah. This is good."
The fact that the Soul Devourer was overwhelmingly stronger than Stardus right now meant she had that much more room to grow.
She grew stronger with every ordeal, so if she could grow again through this one, that wouldn't be a bad thing.
And on top of that...
I ran a hand over the barrel.
...Everyone was too distracted to notice anything right now anyway.
So if I secretly fired this from behind at the exact moment Stardus delivered the decisive blow—
wouldn't everyone think she'd defeated it and shower her with praise?
My identity stays hidden, too. Two birds with one stone.
Yeah. That's the plan.
Having reached that conclusion, I aimed the rifle and settled in to wait for the perfect moment.
...All while watching Stardus get absolutely thrashed.
Ngh, I almost teared up, but I held it in. I couldn't risk a misfire.
Still, watching Stardus fight so hard... Even in a hopeless situation, she kept fighting with hope. Yeah. For her sake, I had to choose the perfect moment.
Below me, now that I'd finished lining up the shot—
a gruesome, desperate battle was unfolding.
***
'This is hopeless.'
That was the conclusion Stardus had reached.
-Kieeeeeeee!
She narrowly dodged the monster's swinging arm again, feeling her limits approaching.
Boom—boom. Buildings collapsed. People screamed.
"Haa..."
Boom.
She barely avoided another strike and briefly pulled back to gain some distance.
Just as she was barely catching her breath, the creature howled again.
SKRIIIIIIE!!!
A chilling sound pierced her ears.
Against the backdrop of the ruined, darkened city, with only the bright moon overhead casting light below—
the violet monster shrieked, and pale figures were dragged through the air to circle around it.
Their screams. Souls torn from their bodies. People losing all strength and collapsing like dolls. Its eyes burning red.
Beneath the bright moon in the dark sky—
the sight of it stealing people's souls while unleashing that hideous shriek was utterly surreal.
And then it—
lunged at Stardus again.
"Ngh..."
BOOM.
The two collided again with a tremendous roar.
As before, Stardus could do little more than defend.
Boom. Boom.
Stardus occasionally struck back, but it meant nothing.
The creature kept charging without so much as flinching, and Stardus gradually wore down.
"Haa... haa..."
SKREEEEEEEE!!!
BOOM.
"Hurk..."
Then one of its swings caught Stardus head-on.
The tremendous impact sent her flying, and she slammed into a nearby building.
Before she could even recover, a pink laser shot toward her.
She saw the beam slicing through the dark sky and barely threw herself aside in time.
BOOOOOOM.
The spot where Stardus had just been was completely obliterated.
By the time she staggered back into the air, the monster was already using telekinesis to drag fleeing people from far away, pulling them close to feast on their souls.
"Huff... huff...."
Stardus rubbed her blurred eyes with one hand, fighting to regain her senses.
She couldn't fall here. If she did...
The violet creature charged at her again.
She gritted her teeth, clenched her fist, and once more began to fight it.
But once again, she was completely outmatched.
Unable to inflict any real damage and taking a one-sided beating, she found herself thinking.
...Yeah.
She watched the creature charge at her again.
Behind it lay the ruined city beneath the dark sky.
That hideous violet thing getting closer.
They said life could end in an instant.
So the end really could come this suddenly.
"Ngh."
She blocked another punch, but once again, it was too much.
Staggering from the impact that rattled her skull, she exhaled raggedly.
...She had no idea where something like this had suddenly come from.
Until today, every day had been much like the last.
She had thought those ordinary days would simply continue.
And now it was all ending in a single moment.
Against the dark night sky, she barely dodged its attacks, moving far more slowly than before.
Stardus thought.
'...How long has it been since the fight started?'
Probably a while.
She managed a quick glance to the side during the fight.
Shadow Walker was probably still evacuating people somewhere over there.
While he did, she had to hold this thing back somehow. If it left the city and went elsewhere, the disaster would only grow worse.
But—
'......I can't win.'
She knew it instinctively.
She could never defeat that thing here.
Her body was exhausted from the endless exchange, and even her eyes had begun to tremble.
While she was already on the verge of death, it was still as vigorous as ever.
If she kept fighting like this, she would die.
She understood that.
But what could she do with that knowledge? Run away alone?
.....
Leave all those fallen people here?
Could she call herself a hero after that?
No.
Even if she fell here, she'd fight to the end—
and save even one more person.
That was what it meant to be a hero.
She steeled her resolve again, but...
"Ngh..."
The unending attacks were finally becoming too much, and she was on the verge of losing consciousness.
Her strength kept draining away while its assault only intensified—the worst possible situation.
Even so, she—
kept fighting back somehow, gasping for breath.
"Huff... huff..."
"Urk."
Somehow.
"Haa... haa... damn it... haa..."
She kept fighting back.
"Urrgh... ngh!"
Blocking, blocking, and fighting on—
until a long time had passed.
And then, at last, she felt it instinctively.
'This... is my limit.'
She could barely move her body anymore.
It felt like... this was as far as she could go.
The monster was still screeching as it charged, and she no longer seemed able to move out of the way.
Just as she felt the end drawing near—
old memories suddenly flashed before Stardus's eyes, like her life passing before her.
Losing her parents as a child. Meeting Lee Seol-ah for the first time. Being recognized as a hero at the Hero Association for the first time. Defeating a villain for the first time. Receiving thanks from citizens she'd saved. The moments she'd gotten back up after falling.
And then.
'Hello, Stardus. My name is Egostic.'
...Ha.
She let out a laugh before she realized it.
Of all things, Egostic was what came to mind at the end.
SKREEE!
"Guh..."
Another massive impact sent her flying.
She barely forced her staggering body back into the air.
Shin Ha-ru found herself replaying the memories that continued to surface.
Egostic trying to blow up a ship.
Egostic encouraging her to save an airplane.
Egostic bringing down a bridge.
Egostic taking an attack in her place.
Egostic holding hostages and threatening her.
Egostic stroking her hair after she collapsed, then heading into the storm.
"Ha..."
She sighed before she realized it.
Dodging the violet monster as it charged at her again—
she quietly reflected.
Come to think of it, whenever she had despaired or been driven into a corner, Egostic had always been there beside her somehow.
If only... he were here this time too...
Ha. What was she thinking? She knew perfectly well that was impossible.
...More than that—
she was going to die without ever uncovering Egostic's secrets.
Even as she thought that, resigned to everything—
a surge of anger suddenly rose within her.
...Because of one worthless monster, she was going to die without learning anything about him.
......
...No.
It was unfair.
It made no sense.
No. She couldn't let it end like that.
The massive violet monster charged at her again.
Watching it, she gritted her teeth.
Her body had long since been battered beyond recognition, and she was on the verge of collapse.
'...Even if I'm going to die, I'll take you down first!'
She forced her failing body upright.
Flying toward it at the greatest speed she could manage—
she wrung out every last bit of strength, clenched her fist, and drew it back to strike.
Even if this became her final blow—
she would land this one hit on the bastard before she died.
SKREEEYAAAAAAGH!!!
"Haaah...!"
Her fist shot forward as she gritted her teeth—
and began to emit a brilliant light that illuminated the dark night sky.
It glowed yellow.
***
A yellow light, shining out from Stardus's fist.
...Now.
I'd been watching the battle with a hardened expression, and the instant I saw that light—
I pulled the trigger.
-Bang.
A massive, blinding flash burst across the night sky.
Only the faint gunshot sounded, too quiet for anyone to hear.