406. Daybreak (3)
406. Daybreak (3)
- 1 -
Yuran and Serica, who had led reinforcements for Adriana, crossed the Previlia region and arrived near the Holy Kingdom.
They looked up at the sky in a daze.
Kwareureureung —— !!
Angels with white wings—not just dozens, but close to a hundred—filled the sky.
The divine energy they radiated, palpable even from afar, and their sheer power shook the very atmosphere.
- Kuaaak —— !!!
On the opposite side was a demon dragon.
An ancient monster that poured all manner of demonic power from five heads and swung two pairs of wings and two tails as it killed those angels one by one.
Because the two angels dominated the sky, everyone on the ground could do nothing but gaze up in awe.
『You cannot oppose me with this much. Undying servants of God!! I'll chew you up and devour you —— !!』
Tiamat's howl tore through heaven and earth as it reverberated.
It was a cry whose meaning was impossible to understand.
The battle was at a stalemate, because Tiamat—who had initially been alone—was now accompanied by winged monsters at her side.
- Kyaaak —— !!!
Scales that fell from the ancient demon dragon's body instantly transformed into monsters and soared into the sky.
Each was a monster the size of a grown man. Their numbers showed no end in sight.
"That... is it really going to be okay?"
It was a spectacle that would make any onlooker's heart sink with dread.
Serica murmured, her lips slightly parted.
Ran spoke quietly beside Serica.
"It's difficult to guarantee, my lady. Whichever side wins, it won't be particularly favorable for us."
"Right?"
Nodding, Yuran looked down from the gorge's exit onto the plains of the Holy See's basin.
They had come to protect the Holy Kingdom's people from Tiamat, but the actual battle was being fought by other angels.
Though bringing an army had become less meaningful, that didn't mean there was nothing to do.
"Over there, people have gathered, my lady."
"Ugh, I told you to stop with that 'my lady' business."
When Ran pointed, Serica's brow furrowed.
"I was rude, Lady Serica."
"Just Serica is fine. We're not strangers, you know."
Serica shot Ran a glare, then turned to follow her pointing finger.
Spotting a crowd all dressed in white, her eyes grew sharp and her lips jutted out slightly.
"I really don't like this."
Her expression revealed clear hostility.
Ran smiled gently.
She could smile. In the past it might have been different, but the Serica of now was not someone who would ruin things over mere emotions.
The reason dungeon lords on the continent were forced into seclusion and demons and monsters were hunted down wherever they were found was ultimately because of the Holy Kingdom.
Adventurers may have done the work directly, but as Serica, it was only natural to dislike the members who provided the fundamental cause.
"Hoho. I understand that feeling, but this is our master's request."
"I know. I also know that if those people have any sin, it's merely that they are the people of one who stands against me."
Serica lifted her chin and spoke somewhat haughtily.
She had to be aristocratic. She had to be honorable. And yet, she must not forget practicality.
To become a woman worthy of Libertas.
She raised her hand elegantly.
At that single gesture, the army following behind straightened their posture like blades and awaited orders.
"All forces! We march to save those in distress!"
"Waa —— !!!"
The army's battle cry filled the gorge.
Responding to that sound, Elena, who had finished preparing to depart first, bowed her head and spoke.
"We shall go on ahead, Lady Serica."
"Yeah. It looks urgent."
Serica nodded.
The shouts of the holy knights rode the wind and reached them.
"Do not fall back!!"
"We must hold them off!!"
The Holy Kingdom's forces and the faithful gathered together were under attack.
The culprits were monsters either drawn by Tiamat's demonic power or born from her scales.
It was a moment that demanded swift response.
"Brave warriors of the allied forces! Follow me!"
"We shall punish those willless creatures!!"
Elena's shout as she raised her spear cut through the air, and Kamaya's battle cry shook the heavens.
"Ha!!"
Doong! Doong! Doong!
Dugudugudugu —— !!
Peolleok —
Leophere's Steel Wings, and the Red Harpy Queen who scorched the sky.
The morale of the mounted and aerial cavalry forces, with those two at the vanguard, was piercing the heavens.
The sight of the black-armored cavalry charging with their spear tips glinting in the sunlight was a magnificent spectacle.
Watching their retreating figures, Yuran looked up at the sky once more.
Kkwarrreureung —— !!
Puhwaaak!!
Right at that moment, the angel Seth, struck by the flames and lightning breath unleashed from two of Tiamat's heads, was falling from the sky.
His white wings melted and turned black; his pure white form defiled, becoming a handful of bloody liquid upon hitting the ground.
"... Heh."
Ran let out a small laugh.
Ironically, that horrific spectacle was beautiful, as if flower petals were falling.
Aesthetically, and also because for her, it was a welcome sight.
- 2 -
Kwajijik —— !!
- Kuaaak —— !!
A scream burst from Tiamat's maw as it was pierced by a crimson long spear.
One of her five heads was temporarily neutralized.
Though it was literally only 'temporary.'
Kwajik —— !!
Immediately after, the consciousness of the angel who held the spear blacked out.
It was because Tiamat's attack aimed at his throat had landed with precision.
Hwaak!
『Fuck!』
But he did not die.
Several strangely glimmering feathers attached to his wings vanished, and his broken neck restored itself to its original state as he rose again.
It was the authority of 'Restart' that the Goddess had granted him.
Kkudeudeudeuk ——
『Is that all! You hound of the Goddess!!』
Morr'is gritted his teeth and glared at Tiamat's neck, which was filling back with flesh and regenerating.
'Goddamn it.'
He had descended without a word of complaint since it was a task given by God, but Tiamat was never an easy opponent.
A barrier constantly surrounding her that easily blocked even divine power.
Tough scales that most attacks could not even scratch.
Vast knowledge of magic, most of which she could use, though it was limited to ancient times.
Those disgusting 'spawn' she endlessly spewed from all over her body without even having a mate.
Tremendous regenerative ability and nearly infinite demonic power.
She was a monster in the literal sense.
Even for him, who had earned the rank of Archangel through sheer force alone, she was not an opponent to be taken lightly.
In fact, two of Morr'is's lives had just been snuffed out moments ago.
『Is that the end for you then? You monster lizard! You can't catch me with just this!』
But even so, he was composed.
Because he had the experience of having hunted Tiamat once before, and also...
Sarak —
Because he was not alone.
'She's here.'
Morr'is pressed even closer toward Tiamat.
He had to create an opening while this monster lizard still hadn't noticed.
『Hahaha! Come, come! What's wrong? Your strength is waning!』
Kwang!!
『You goddamn... Huh?!』
『Tch.』
But those efforts were in vain, as Tiamat had already noticed the approach of yet another angel.
Morr'is rushed toward Tiamat, who twisted her body to escape that spot.
『You cannot escape!!』
The white short spear held a light that glimmered like starlight.
Tuhwak ——
With a sound like a cannonball being fired, the short spear vanished from his right hand.
Where it reappeared was right at the center of Tiamat's heads.
- Kyaaak!!
Kwak!!
Tiamat forcibly twisted her neck and caught it in her mouth.
Her teeth were completely shattered and broken, but it was a worthwhile action.
Because at the cost of one head, she had managed to evade that spot.
Sarak —
In that moment, a single flower petal that had flown in from somewhere settled onto Tiamat's shoulder.
Aside from the location, it was an utterly ordinary sight.
But what followed was a calamity beyond all comparison.
Jureuk —
『Keheok!』
Tiamat's body staggered.
It was because the base of her right forewing had melted away in an instant.
『When did...! It's acidic, no, is this poison...!』
If she hadn't quickly twisted her body in the sky to shake it off, she would have lost the use of one wing for even a brief moment.
Tiamat glared as the poison that had fallen to the ground contaminated the river, only to be purified back to white in an instant.
『What would you do if the Lord were to be disappointed, Morr'is? That you can't even handle one such lizard.』
『Cut me some slack, Edenish. Back in those days, this was a monster that took hundreds of guys like me gathered together just to barely hunt down.』
Morr'is shrugged his shoulders upon hearing the new angel's gentle voice.
But cold sweat was running down his back.
'Of all people, it had to be that gloomy bitch...!'
The new angel who had appeared behind Tiamat possessed five pairs of wings formed from flower petals and tree stems.
An appearance as if life itself was in full bloom. In truth, the power she possessed was close to that.
Though she also wielded the opposite power, which was the issue.
『Still, to dodge my attack. There is a reason the Lord keeps watch over you.』
The female angel called Edenish turned her head and looked down at Tiamat.
An extremely serene face.
But Morr'is could read a chilling killing intent from that expression.
She seemed deeply displeased that Tiamat had evaded her power.
'I'm an angel myself, but angels are all nothing but unpleasant bastards, I swear.'
Having swallowed such words inwardly, Morr'is lifted his head briefly and stared to the west.
He was curious about Behemoth's situation.
If Tiamat was this strong, just how much stronger was the monster even more ancient than Tiamat?
'That's why you shouldn't have incurred God's wrath.'
Sending his condolences to the master of the 'Black Space,' who was probably in the thick of hardship by now, Morr'is turned his eyes back to Tiamat.
- 3 -
Kung!!
- Kuwaaak!!
The giant monster's body staggered greatly once more.
It was Shue's attack.
But even so, Behemoth was unscathed.
Her power was so immense that yet another massive crater formed beneath the foot she had clumsily planted.
Esther spoke quietly.
"Her size seems to have grown smaller compared to earlier."
"Yeah. You're right."
It was just as she had said.
As the battle continued, Behemoth's size was decreasing ever so slightly.
"Is she perhaps expending her power?"
"...I don't think that's it."
I felt a puzzled gaze prickling my cheek, but I did not open my mouth further.
It was because this was something even I couldn't be certain about.
'...Strange.'
The effective hits had certainly been numerous.
Evangeline's fierce attacks, Shue's bombardment, Saya's slashes.
Esther's protection, my magic, and even the artillery fire from the troops.
Every attack had chipped away at her armor, shattered her demonic power, and inflicted wounds, little by little.
But Behemoth's condition had not changed all that much from the beginning.
What was outwardly visible was merely the armor being chipped away and her size growing slightly smaller, and I could not be confident that she had taken real damage from this.
Because...
'Her demonic power is still the same.'
Behemoth's mana reserves remained not much different from the start.
Her size had shrunk, but the density of her demonic power had actually risen.
Kwakwang!!
"Kgh...!"
On top of that, the force pushing back Evangeline's sword seemed to have grown even stronger than at first.
'She's adapting.'
The subject of that adaptation could be the battle itself, or Behemoth's own body, or her demonic power.
Had she never properly used her power before? Or was an adaptation period necessary because she hadn't used it in a long time?
Either way, it was equally dangerous.
That level of might and power was the strength of one who had 'not adapted'?
If so, just how much stronger would she become going forward?
'Should I use it now?'
I agonized over whether to deploy now a move that had a possibility of working on her.
'No.'
And I shook my head.
Behemoth was flustered, but she had not decisively collapsed.
It was often said that the physical body was easily led by the mind, but in Behemoth's case it was rather the opposite.
An overwhelmingly powerful body was forcibly propping up an immature mind, so to speak.
'Just how immense is the power she possesses.'
In this situation, shaking her mind further would produce no great effect.
In that case.
'That colossal physical body...'
I took one step forward.
'... must be completely shattered, at least once.'
Pachut!
I coiled demonic power around my hand and assembled it by bending my fingertips.
I stimulated the 'Essence' that the 'Mother' dwelling within my soul had loosened for me.
From a system 'higher' or 'deeper' than magic, and deeper than holy arts.
Kwajik —— !
Before my eyes, the boundary of the 'world' began to crumble.