The Dark Cloud at the Core

You had to go and look exactly the same.

“Fration has activated the Frozen Hourglass — an item that suspends skill activation for a short time.”

“That's right. Among the hidden pieces Fration carries, it's a legendary item that borders on mythic.”

Caster Kim Yong-woo spoke, and analyst Rakl nodded along.

“At this rate, the self-destruct gambit both of Lily's team players prepared has gone up in smoke. They threw nearly their entire offensive power at the enemy base, which left their defense dangerously thin.”

“A high-risk strategy to match how vulnerable they left themselves! I suppose that's how we have to read it?”

“Exactly. The plan was to detonate everything at once with Redberry's Crimson Flame Burst and Devil's Black Flame Rampage, but…”

Fration's hourglass had frozen their activation in place.

All that remained now was to resist against an absolutely monstrous army and die.

Lily and Blac were being held at bay by Leo and Dinosaurs Are Alive, and the defenders on the home side were on the verge of collapse.

The power Lily had displayed far exceeded what Leo's team or the viewers had imagined — but unfortunately, the Mock Siege Battle was a team event.

No matter how strong a single player was, they could not hold out against many.

“It looks like it's simply not enough.”

“And the moment I say that — Devil is out! He's lost all his lives and is eliminated! Redberry continues her fight against Fration, but her chances are looking slim.”

Crackle-boom!

Redberry dodged eight mana orbs crawling with current, teleporting in the same instant and raising twenty crimson mana barriers around herself.

Barriers that looked, to the eye, absolutely solid.

But it meant nothing.

'Ruin.'

The Blessing of the Extreme Dragon granted to Leo's team flowed into Fration's skill.

A buff that could justly be called the absolute pinnacle of destruction.

The barriers shattered like panes of thin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠glass — power enough to make their defense look like a joke.

Fweeeng.

A razor-sharp current of lightning came screaming in behind it and punched straight through Redberry.

“Yeah. It's not enough.”

“All four players on the field are of comparable skill. The winner and loser can flip at any moment depending on circumstance — but right now, the situation has tipped in Leo team's favor.”

Both of the players holding the castle had fallen.

There was no 'player' left to stop this army.

Rakl turned to Luna with a beaming smile.

“A shame, really. Even with all the misfortunes piling up on Lily's team, like you said, Luna, they had every chance to win this.”

“…The match isn't over yet. Both Cores are still standing.”

“Be that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as it may — looking at the situation now, unlike Leo's team, who still has defenders, Lily's team has no one left to stop them. Even for Lily's team, this is a bridge too far.”

He was right.

There was, unmistakably, no move remaining for Lily's team.

Everyone watching the broadcast had to be wanting to ask them one thing.

Why did you march nearly half your force — no, close to ninety percent of it — into the enemy base while in a losing position?

Luna desperately wanted to ask the same question, but the only person who could answer it was, at that very moment, taking Leo's last life.

Lily was absurdly, maddeningly strong — but honestly, this whole situation made no sense either.

Kim Yong-woo opened his mouth at maximum tension, ready to fire off the closing lines the instant the game ended.

“Oh! Fration and Iron have closed right up to the Core's doorstep! Do they end it here?!”

“And the winner of Round 1 of this Mock Siege Battle is…!”

Fration's spell bloomed, and Iron's fist came down upon the Core—

“Leo…”

BOOOOM!

“…!”

“What — something just blocked the attack!”

Iron's fist had been batted away, and Fration's magic was swallowed whole by something.

A thick darkness spread slowly across the ground around them.

—Tsk.

From between the Core's shadows, a cloud of profoundly annoyed darkness surged upward and planted itself before them.

A vaguely human-shaped blob.

In that instant, everyone at the castle froze, unable to move.

An overwhelming presence — one that, 'mere' as they were, stood utterly beyond them.

The appearance of someone on the level of a 'Grand General' like Leo or Lily sent Fration scrambling to rein in his army as he fell back.

'I've never heard of anything like this. Is it one of Blac's abilities?'

Darkness naturally brought Blac to mind.

Blac's powers were built upon shadow, and darkness infused everything he used.

But Fration, Blac's closest friend for years, had neither heard of nor witnessed any ability like this.

And this creature was using summoning, of all things — something Blac most certainly could not do.

The darkness's eyes shifted.

A gaze like one regarding something lowly and beneath contempt.

Until she reclaims her power, there is nothing to do but follow her.

The darkness surged.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Haah… haah… when is this going to end…"

Leo panted for breath as she scanned the battlefield.

Her Three Days had been destroyed one and all, and thanks to the aftershock of Spirit Descent, her near-bottomless stamina and mana had hit rock bottom.

The sword of light had long since shattered, its power consumed as fuel.

She had tried to create openings through multi-element Spirit Descent and a ceaseless rotation of weapons and techniques, but landing a crippling blow had proven nearly impossible.

"This is fun. Like I said — you really do live up to every expectation."

Had Lily come through unscathed, then?

Not remotely.

Leo had landed three or four deep wounds on Lily's arms and legs.

She had sheared off a piece of the hammer and even dodged one of the spear's explosive launches by slipping into the Spirit Realm.

The greatest damage she'd dealt was cutting off Lily's left hand.

It sounded trivial — but by any standard, it was a tremendous achievement.

Except.

"You really are something, Leo."

Faaaah…

"No — seriously, that's not fair."

The moment Lily took a wound, she just kept healing it.

For the one facing her, it was enough to make a person scream.

It didn't even look difficult — some sacred-looking light ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would simply wash over Lily and her body would be fully restored.

'And I don't have the strength left to finish it in one blow, either.'

If she hadn't genuinely had three lives, this would have been over ages ago.

'I just have to hold out.'

In a little while, Fration and Iron would smash the Core.

Blac was pinned down here too, so she just had to last a bit longer…

"Nervous, aren't you? You've already spent every single life, and the end still won't come."

"…I'm not, actually? Not nervous at all."

"Really, now?"

She was nervous.

It had been ages since Fration and Iron broke through — so why hadn't they smashed the Core yet?

By every measure of their strength, they absolutely should not have been stalled.

Lily smiled, faint.

"I'll explain all that later, nice and slow."

Along with everything else she needed to learn, of course.

"It kind of feels like the gates of hell opened up…"

"Gates of hell? There's nowhere better than my class."

Sitting through my lectures was never an easy thing.

Back at the academy, the course registration for my classes would overflow with students the instant it opened — I remember the seats filling within a single second.

Whether any of them regretted it afterward, I couldn't say, but the vast majority were satisfied.

'Probably?'

"Well then — that's all for now."

The hammer came crashing down toward Leo.

She dragged out every last ounce of strength in a final act of defiance.

But the hammer was only a feint.

The gleaming white spear that had already launched forward drove straight through Leo's heart.

Neiiiigh~

"Looks like that side's wrapping up too."

With Leo gone, the Unicorn collapsed almost instantly.

A black moon rose into the sky, and a colossal blade of force sheared through the Unicorn's neck.

Dinosaurs Are Alive retired alongside his beast.

Blac, having burned through far too much power, had nothing left and simply crumpled where he stood.

Facing an opponent like that in a body that wasn't even a Grand General's — it must have been beyond him.

But what concerned Lily more than Blac or Leo was their own team's castle.

'So it did come out after all.'

She'd been a little worried, but it seemed to have showed up somehow.

Frankly, she still had no idea why it was helping her.

The Void Space was where the consciousnesses of ancient monsters had gathered — a place that had only come into being more than twenty years after her possession began.

She had reclaimed her divinity, but that didn't mean she could simply step inside without any medium at all.

Even having entered, they'd only been trapped there through a kind of loophole, so she would have to physically subdue them first — and that, too, was no simple task.

'I don't know why the connection opened. The fact that they obey me at all is strange too.'

Whether through a medium or by growing stronger, she would have to make her way back to that place.

"…She really is strong."

The golden-haired woman, long since eliminated and watching nothing but the broadcast, folded down one finger at a time as she took in the overwhelming display of dominance.

One finger. And then a second.

"It might… just be possible."

It was possible.

It had to be possible.

In the next match, without fail—