368. Fury
368. Fury
- 1 -
Beneath a makeshift canopy on the peak of an uninhabited island.
A tranquil teatime.
The familiar aroma of espresso tickled the tip of my nose.
As I set the teacup down on its saucer, a voice spoke beside me.
- Is the aroma to your liking, Master?
The careful demeanor of a ghostly woman.
Her voice was steeped not merely in reverence, but in something approaching worship.
I nodded slowly.
"Yes. It's quite good."
- Shall I pour another?
"Leave it."
The wraith handmaidens, their forms translucent or pitch-black, bowed their heads.
I turned my gaze from them and looked down below the peak.
Kurrung...!!
The battlefield of the deserted island glimpsed through the thick mist and lightning strikes was, quite literally, a crucible of chaos.
- Die — !!
- Kyaaaah — !!!
The energies of war engulfed sky, sea, and land alike.
Within them, the troops commanded by my two swords were piercing through the storm.
Fiercely clashing with the demon beasts of the sea.
Sssss — !
Saya's unit was centered around warriors in black attire like shadow figures.
But what shone brightest among them were two beings once entangled in love and hate with Saya.
A Dullahan in splendid golden armor, Manwol, and a white fox yokai, Seolhwa, flying through the sky.
Beings reforged, one as a familiar and the other as a wraith.
- For — His Excellency the Grand Duke of Paradox!!
Manwol, a head clutched in hand whose eyes streamed golden rays, wore gleaming Western-style armor as he wielded the power of the wind he had held at his death.
With each swing of his blade, the rising azure currents sliced through dozens of the demon beasts surging forward like waves.
- Fufufufu...!
Above him, a white fox with a bewitching laugh coiled its four tails around itself and scattered snow-blossoms.
A spiritual power that outwardly seemed to hold chill, yet upon touch yielded only boundless venom.
Meanwhile, Yuran's formation was even more dazzling.
- Kihihihihi—
- Kyahahaha — !
Hyakki Yagyō.
The yokai and wraiths she had created, mingled with the remnant forces of Nix, formed a procession of wraiths in every hue.
If the battlefield was a stage where nightmares unfolded, they were the actors of the nightmare.
- Let us dream...
- Huhihihi!
As long as they ran rampant, the demon beasts could never become the aggressors.
「Mansimhwanhee (Rapture of a Joyful Heart) - Yangjunmanyeol (Spring's Overflowing Delight)」
"「Cheongnyongso (Azure Dragon Summoning) - Cheongangbu (Celestial Descent Charm) - Manbeoptong (Mastery of Ten Thousand Laws)」."
Of course, the most conspicuous beings were the commanders of those units, the two of them.
- 2 -
Chwaaaak — !!!
The sea's surface split. Seven colossal pillars of water shot into the sky.
Revealed beyond them.
'A hydra.'
Not seven demon beasts, but a single being with seven heads.
A colossal sea-serpent demon beast, bearing venom more than sufficient to dominate this entire sea region.
- Kyaaaah — !!!
The seven heads opened their jaws to the sky, spewing venom and acidic breath simultaneously.
Yet Saya didn't so much as blink an eye.
She merely recited a single phrase.
"「Mansimhwanhee (Rapture of a Joyful Heart)」 — "
Saya's voice cleaved the wind.
「Yangjunmanyeol (Spring's Overflowing Delight)」
In that instant, the mask hanging at her shoulder blazed gold.
Pazuzuzt — !!
The wings that had fluttered at her back straightened downward, and her long, thin blade became wreathed in a keen and swift energy.
Pa — at!!
A single bolt of lightning burst from the tip of the blade, splitting the void.
Chwaaaak — !!
What followed was not merely a stream of platinum light.
Two fountains of crimson blood shot upward.
Black blood rained down onto the sea, and beneath it the water began to boil.
- Kyaaaak — !!
While the hydra shrieked in agony, the yellow mask became dyed in another shade.
A red light like a blaze of fire.
The same colored light kindled within Saya's eyes and upon her sword.
"「Jeokwonsimno (Accumulated Resentment Deep Anger)...!!」"
「Yeolhwabyeokryeok (Fierce Fire Thunderbolt)」
Thunder and lightning roared, burning the power that filled her entire body even more savagely.
Kwaarurung — !!!
A single strike, steeped in the lightning of fury, pierced through the hydra's remaining five necks at once.
Kurrrraaak——!!!
The monster vomited a death-throes scream as it collapsed into the sea.
Within the vortex, the black blood boiled the water and then gradually subsided.
Meanwhile, another spectacle was unfolding in the sky on the opposite side.
"「Heukryongnyeong (Black Dragon Decree) - Jaeaekso (Disaster Blaze) - Gwisin-eom (Ghost God's Severity)」"
As Yuran raised both hands, dozens of flames swirled around her.
The foxfire, blending violet and gold, danced as if alive, beating like wings.
- Kuuuuu — !!!
Looming across from her was a cephalopod demon beast I was almost becoming accustomed to, a kraken.
Dozens of thick tentacles surged forward, kicking up spray.
The tips gleamed with sharp spines.
But Yuran merely wore a bewitching smile.
"Burn."
As the low, clear voice flowed out, the foxfires flew in unison toward the kraken.
The kraken churned the water, trying to extinguish the flames, but...
Fwoosh —
It was useless.
A violet flame that burned mana, and a golden flame that burned the spirit.
The monster writhed in agony, and soon succumbed to the flames, crumbling away.
The power of a high-grade Dungeon Lord, the Seven Tails.
And in that moment, Yuran stretched out her hand again.
"Rise."
Her long fingers traced an elegant shape, blooming upward like a flower.
Following it, the dying kraken's body likewise bloomed anew as a different being.
"Clear away the riffraff."
- Kuoo — !!
Answering the summons, the corpse kraken hurled itself into the deep sea.
Puhwak — !
The current split as the monster's hunt began.
Not only in the sea, but also in the sky.
- Kuraaaah — !!
The undead bone dragon, Keltarion.
He was now locked in a mortal struggle with two serpents.
- Kyaaaah — !!
- Kiaaak — !!
The two serpents unleashed their breath simultaneously.
One was a purple venom that melted anything on contact, the other a high-pressure breath compressed into a single line that pierced like an awl.
Keltarion folded his skeletal wings once, then spread them wide again, evading the attacks.
- Diiie —— !!
And then came the counter.
What poured from his jaws was a breath mixed with freezing chill and ghastly death energy.
Jjeojeojik!!
The sea froze in an instant, and one serpent was trapped within the ice.
Kwadeuk!!
Keltarion's blade-like jaws chewed through the creature's head, ice and all, crushing it.
The shattered ice and the serpent's remains rained down onto the sea like hail.
The blue blood mingled with the ocean, making the bloodstains invisible.
- Kyaaak — !!
The other serpent lunged, targeting Keltarion's flank, but the bone dragon instantly twisted around and swung its tail.
Peok!!
A white spike piercing the neck in a single blow.
The serpent, its body momentarily rigid from the shock, collapsed immediately and vanished beneath the water.
A massive pillar of water decorated its death like a tombstone.
- Kwauuuu — !!!
Keltarion let out a roar of triumph.
- 3 -
The last sip passed down my throat.
I was satisfied.
The battle below had already been decided. Our overwhelming victory.
The dozens of demon beasts that had risen from the sea were all dealt with, and those that survived fled into the ocean depths, terrified.
'It was just a large number. They were nothing special.'
From the start, they were merely beings Gaph had simply 'chased away.'
There was no way my subordinates would be defeated by wild demon beasts with no affiliation.
"Ah, Young Mistress..."
Genki's deeply moved voice was heard.
The bald old man's eyes reflected Saya's form soaring into the sky on wings wreathed in lightning.
The heir of the main family seen again after hundreds of years. And in such a powerful and beautiful form at that.
It was understandable he was moved.
"Finish it."
I rose from my seat and sent a signal to both of my swords.
The sight of Saya and Yuran beginning to return toward me while organizing their respective forces was exceedingly splendid.
The first to return, casting a vast shadow over the peak, was the bone dragon Keltarion.
I tapped the bridge of his nose.
"You've done well."
- Kuuu...!
I climbed atop the creature's head as it let out a satisfied low rumble.
The wraith maids followed, immediately setting up a magic formula there.
It was a formula to block wind and presence.
"I have returned."
"Master. I have returned having completed the mission."
"You've both done well. Come aboard."
No other demon beasts were visible beside Saya and Yuran.
They had already been withdrawn into the shadows.
- We will see you shortly.
"Rest."
As even the maids who had been attending me were withdrawn, now only I, Saya, Ran, Keltarion, and the rescued followers remained on the island.
I directed my gaze at Keltarion.
"Burn the island."
Kwhaaaa — !!
What poured from the bone dragon's maw this time was a flame mingled with death energy.
The entire island was instantly plunged into pitch-black darkness.
I raised my hand and let my mana seep into the island.
The otherworldly mana mingled with the flames and enveloped the island.
Now this place became an island of death that no living creature could approach.
A bluff to pretend I had fallen for the trap that person had laid.
And at the same time...
'I must show them clearly what the price is for daring to touch what is mine.'
It was a message containing a warning.
"Now then, let us return."
Keltarion spread his massive wings and soared into the sky.
Below, an island submerged in death, and ahead, the journey toward the Eastern Continent awaited.
- 4 -
At the same time. The Kingdom of Haisen, Hylash Royal Palace.
Libertas' niece, Yurena, was staring into a crystal ball.
Below her, the Chief Chamberlain and various ministers stood arrayed, and between them, the agents of Daniel and Esther, along with other close confidants, were also visible.
In truth, most of the key figures gathered here had long since become demonic beings loyal to Libertas.
"A proclamation from the Holy Kingdom..."
Yurena bit her lower lip and murmured.
Though it was a fact already known because she had received the warning from Libertas, she couldn't help the tension as the time approached.
"It has begun."
The voice of one of the ministers echoed through the chamber.
An image rose from the crystal ball.
The central great plaza of the Holy Kingdom. Tens of thousands of people were gathered, and before them, a high dais had been erected.
"Central Archbishop Anselm...?"
Yurena murmured with a question in her voice.
A frail yet intellectual-looking middle-aged man stood upon the dais.
Anselm Mel Heidelberg. The Central Archbishop of the Holy Kingdom.
'Why hasn't Clemens IV appeared at the event?'
The current Pope, Clemens Benedict Heimerin IV, was, of course, an elderly man of 112 years.
But considering the ages at which past Pontiffs had died, he could still be considered in his prime.
It was strange that he would not personally appear at a proclamation being broadcast across all nations.
"Do you happen to know?"
"How could I possibly."
Looking beside her, the Chief Chamberlain and the other ministers seemed equally perplexed.
But her questions were not about to be answered, and Anselm simply continued with his words.
「Beloved people who receive the glory of Heaven, spreading wide its meaning and love.」
The man in his fifties opened his mouth solemnly.
The proclamation had begun.