Chapter 440
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 440
Chapter Title: Cheat Key Abstinence
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"Great Explosive Arrow Rain Formation, deploy."
Unlike Yuna Kyung, who was lost for words...
Kana didn't panic in the slightest against the shadow monsters that had burst out of nowhere.
Just like when they had pressured the Demon God, she simply commanded the Silver Dragon Clan warriors to unleash a rain of arrows from all directions.
Kwaaang, kwarung!
The explosive arrows detonated ferociously, sweeping away thousands, even tens of thousands of shadow monsters in a single breath.
The sheer power blended with their ray-of-light speed clearly demonstrated why the Silver Dragon Clan warriors were called the Terror of the Steppes and had conquered the continent.
Only one problem.
For every thousand they burned away, ten thousand more appeared.
For every few hundred thousand they blasted, millions surged forth.
More shadow monsters than the Silver Dragon Clan could clear kept pouring out endlessly.
Yuna Kyung stared blankly at the scene before snapping back to her senses and turning to Cir.
[Um... hey, Witch Sis? Shouldn't we help them out?]
"It's still too early."
[Too early? If this keeps up, they're gonna get overrun!]
Yuna Kyung was anxious.
The wave of shadow monsters was steadily closing the distance to the Silver Dragon Clan, relying on their infinite numbers.
And arrows had their limits, of course.
Anyone could see that once the explosive arrows ran out, the encirclement would collapse in an instant.
But Cir didn't budge.
She just sat there with her legs crossed, gazing down at the spectacle and opening her mouth languidly.
"They're holding out, aren't they?"
[Well, yeah, but...]
"Don't forget—this battle has only just begun."
Magic was a power that demanded a price.
Thus, it couldn't be abused, but if used appropriately at the right moment, it could turn the tide in any situation.
That was why a proper witch had to know when to cast her spells.
After explaining in her drowsy voice...
Cir added one more thing.
"Above all, don't underestimate the Seven Dragon Society."
The Silver Dragon Clan warriors kept silently firing their arrows even as the shadow monsters drew closer.
Not a single one budged from their posts. Watching them, Cir wore a subtle smile.
"The Dragon Clans aren't so weak that they can't handle something like that."
[That's easy for you to say when there are so many of them... Ah!]
Yuna Kyung, who'd started to argue absentmindedly, widened her eyes.
The shadow monsters swarming from all sides suddenly changed direction, concentrating on one spot.
Their numbers swelled several times over in an instant.
Shadow monsters charging forward, tanking the explosive arrows with their bodies.
The wave that broke through the fiery downpour was just about to crash into the Silver Dragon Clan's encirclement when...
Snap!
The warriors forming the encirclement vanished.
In their place appeared ticking time bombs and piles of countless landmines.
The shadow monsters had no choice but to take the bomb piles head-on in that instantaneous swap.
The result was a massive explosion.
Kwaaang!
Flames shooting up to the heavens.
The earth shaking like there was an earthquake.
The tremendous power worthy of Bahamut Corporation's special bombs reversed the shadow monsters' momentum, causing their wave to crumble and flow backward.
And atop that, arrows rained down once more.
Kwang, kwaang, kwarung!
The Silver Dragon Clan warriors never skimped on their explosive arrows.
Of course, that meant their quivers eventually ran dry...
Snap.
But only for a moment.
A few warriors left afterimages as they vanished and reappeared, and their empty quivers were once again stuffed full of arrows.
[...Yeah, they definitely don't need any help.]
Yuna Kyung made a face like she'd been defeated.
Time manipulation for instant teleportation? Fine.
But using explosive arrows—each worth more than a decent rocket launcher—and special bombs like water? That was insane.
It was only possible because the Silver Dragon Clan had Bahamut Corporation, humanity's pinnacle of technology, and the Russian Khanate, the world's factory.
Thanks to that, the shadow monsters' momentum had been greatly blunted.
At this rate, the Silver Dragon Clan might hold out on their own until the right moment came.
...If only shadow monsters were all that emerged from the black gate.
Taang! Tatatang!
[Kyaho!]
[Uahaha! All you menfolk drop dead, and the women strip naked to welcome us!]
[Huh?]
Yuna Kyung panicked.
The moment the gunfire erupted deafeningly...
The black gate swelled to twice its size, and something bizarre mixed in with the shadow monsters pouring out.
Hundreds, thousands of armed thugs riding jeeps and motorcycles, spraying bullets wildly as they attacked the Silver Dragon Clan.
[What the heck are those? Why are people coming out too?]
"No need to be surprised. They're not real."
[Not real...? Illusions? All the monsters and people?]
"Closer to clones, really."
[Clones?]
"Think of them as recreations the Demon God made by gathering negative emotions from across the world and reconstructing their sources."
[...Is that even possible?]
Yuna Kyung's beak gaped open unwittingly.
If you analyzed it in principle, it was like scanning wounds on a corpse and 3D-printing the murder weapon.
The problem was the materials weren't wounds—they were emotions like fear and despair—and it wasn't just the weapon but the entire perpetrator cloned like a full copy.
How absurd was that?
Having drunk a bit of the magic kool-aid by now, Yuna Kyung could roughly grasp it, and it blew her mind.
"That's why it's the Demon God, isn't it?"
A god's miracle interfered with providence itself.
For the Demon God, an omnipotent wish-granter linked to the world's entire providence, unleashing unlimited miracles, something like that was a piece of cake.
After casually saying that and leaving Yuna Kyung dumbfounded...
Cir muttered thoughtfully.
"Looks like those are made from fears gathered from South America."
[South America?]
"Don't they have some seriously nasty gangs over there?"
Just as ample ingredients made cooking easier...
Simple fear, loathing, or rage toward gangs—plenty of people harbored such negative emotions, so recreating them must have been simple.
Hearing Cir's nonchalant explanation...
Yuna Kyung turned green with nausea.
It jogged a memory.
[Wait a sec. Doesn't that mean it's easier to clone whatever more people fear?]
"I'm so proud of my disciple—you figured out two truths from one hint."
[This isn't the time to be proud! If those are from South America—Brazil, no less...!]
Kwaduduk!
Yuna Kyung couldn't finish her sentence.
Right after the ground rumbled violently...
The black gate shook, crushing the shadow monsters and gang clones spilling from it as a massive pillar burst forth.
And as the pillar's tip split open top and bottom...
Revealing a gigantic maw...
Chiiik!
Venomous bile sprayed from the pillar like rain.
Fortunately, the time-manipulating Silver Dragon Clan nimbly retreated, dodging the poison.
But that was just the beginning.
The black gate ballooned even larger, and right after the first pillar, another emerged in quick succession.
Two, three, four, five, six.
Along those long pillars, a massive body covered in sharp spines revealed itself.
And only after four enormous legs fully appeared did the Silver Dragon Clan realize two things.
That the pillar attacking them was merely one of six heads.
And the monster's true identity.
Since the dawn of human civilization in the Golden Age up to now, such a hideous and bizarre beast had appeared only once.
[That's... a clone?]
"Exactly."
[...This is insane.]
And not only had the Bluebird witnessed it firsthand...
She'd even kicked it before, so she recognized it faster than anyone and groaned.
[Even for the Demon God, cloning the boss is straight-up cheating...]
The colossal monster that had terrorized Brazil, only to meet its end at the hands of the Green Dragon Clan and Li Chingwei.
Monster Lord Gula.
Yuna Kyung had thought she'd never see it again—and rightly so, since it was dead. Staring at its revival, she could only grimace.
Kwang, kwakwang! Kwarung!
Meanwhile, the Silver Dragon Clan didn't just stand there shocked.
Zombie of an absolute being or clone—it didn't matter.
They unleashed arrows relentlessly, as if killing it would end things.
That onslaught, tantamount to pouring out national budgets like water, even shook the mountain-sized clone Gula's massive frame.
[Argh, it has super regeneration too!]
The problem was that even that fierce barrage wasn't enough to fell the clone Gula.
Just like the real one...
The clone boasted terrifying durability and regenerative powers, tanking the Silver Dragon Clan's attacks bare-handed and striking back.
And the enemies weren't just the clone Gula.
Shadow monsters surging like waves again.
Gang clones mixed in, firing guns, launching rocket launchers, and charging.
Against the Demon God's endlessly spawning army, even the Silver Dragon Clan warriors were outnumbered.
[Witch Sis! This is really getting dangerous now!]
"Hmm."
Maybe it was time to step in.
As Yuna Kyung asked anxiously and Cir pondered, stroking her chin...
"Demon-Slaying Dragon-Killer Sword Great Law"
"斬魔龍殺劍 大法"
"The lion's roar splits heaven and earth"
"獅子一吼叫時天地兩斷"
Kwarurung!
The black gate spewing monsters and gangs shattered.
And from the midst, a single figure shot out like lightning, plunging his sword into clone Gula's belly.
The colossal beast's body—which had endured over tens of thousands of explosive arrows—split vertically like a watermelon in one stroke.
[Team Leader! What took you so lo—...]
Half relief at Rimon's perfectly timed arrival after all her anxiety...
Half grumbling at how late he was... Yuna Kyung started to complain but froze.
[...Team Leader?]
"Everyone, brace yourselves."
Disheveled hair.
Clothes scorched in places.
Eyes sharp as blades.
No trace of his usual leisure. Emanating an icy aura like frostbite, Rimon said coldly.
"Buying time against these guys won't be easy."
[Huh? What do you...]
[『Great Elemental Break (Advanced Elemental Decomposition)』.]
Kwaaang!
The beam of destructive light flew in with that voice, scattering futilely against Rimon's gentle sword swing.
Yet Yuna Kyung couldn't relax.
Her eyes bulged wide.
It wasn't just because of the old sorcerer who emerged where the black gate had shattered—the one despised by all for crumbling London's barrier.
Pang!
After ambushing Rimon with a kick...
The old man in insect-like mechanical armor—the one who had plunged countless into despair with Ambrosia—retreated at terrifying speed, dodging his sword.
And...
The colossal beast rising again intact, as if time had rewound, despite being clearly bisected.
Red-headed warriors revered as death gods in Africa, and the disaster beasts that left scars of catastrophe.
All etched in memory.
Or heard in tales.
Some even fought before.
Staring at the Demon God's clone legion assembled from the world's fears and despairs, Yuna Kyung muttered blankly.
[...Please, no cheat keys.]
Why the Demon God was feared as an object of terror.
Why, after the Demon God War, Rimon and the Seven Dragon Society had set aside their rivalry with world governments to eradicate black mages.
The Bluebird, learning it all too late, could only lose her wits.
...And so.
The Second Demon God War, staking the fate of Russia—and the world—had begun.