363. Variable
363. Variable
***
A wolf-shaped demonic beast with thousands of eyes radiating bloodlight. Zervallua streaked through space like a beam of light.
The surrounding buildings, already wrecked beyond saving, collapsed and scattered brilliantly under the beast's power, and the creature leaped endlessly, hurling its body forward to kill its target.
The two women fending off the beast's onslaught looked precarious beyond words.
Each of them barely managed to defend, endlessly producing moonlight and darkness, but the situation could not have been more dangerous.
It was obvious to anyone that they could not hold out much longer.
...
Swish!
Arianne clenched his hand until it felt like it would shatter, yet he kept enduring, kept suppressing himself.
Belua's appearance in his view was now so ruined it could only be called wretched, and Serin's condition was worsening as well, as if blood was gradually spreading through her.
He had to throw himself forward to help them right now. As if an alarm were ringing in his head, he tried to move his body, but he couldn't.
"You must absolutely... not move."
As if speaking to himself. Arianne opened his mouth in a suppressed voice and once more conveyed his intent to the two women beside him. The two women, who had been about to hurl themselves forward, hesitated.
"...If Rin and that woman Belua can't hold on, then what meaning is there in us being here at all?"
"That's right. No matter how dangerous it is... if we don't help now...!"
As Sua and Yujeong shouted, Arianne, his eyes trembling, fired a heavily condensed blue aura.
The blue light surged savagely toward the demonic beast.
Watching it, Arianne kept wavering. What they said was certainly reasonable.
If those two women couldn't hold on, then support from here would be meaningless.
But still, he couldn't help hesitating.
—Gluttony.
He was now extremely wary of the Gluttony Serin had mentioned, so the thought of having to protect Sua and Yujeong weighed heavily on him.
The Gluttony he had heard about just moments ago. If even one person fell victim to it, whatever happened afterward would be beyond bearing. Serin had clearly told him so.
Arianne was more conscious of Serin's voice, spoken like an earnest plea, than of anything else, and it was like the words keeping his reason intact right now.
However. Two of the Empire's Three Stars were over there.
If those two fell... the Empire's fortunes would be badly shaken.
KWA-BOOM!
The intensely condensed blue aura struck the beast's leg directly and erupted in a massive explosion, making the beast stagger for a moment.
He could clearly deal damage. If he moved to support them now... wouldn't they be able to hold against the beast more easily?
Just as Arianne was seized by that repeated temptation.
The two women's cold words reached his ears.
"...I can't do this. I'm going."
"Arianne. If you have to support from that far away, then keep doing it."
As the two women each hurled themselves toward that wretched battlefield, Arianne could not bring himself to stop them.
He, too, was standing at a fork in the road.
Immediately after. Arianne also kicked off the building and headed for the battlefield, steadying his eyes.
'......I'll protect them no matter what.'
Even knowing how perilous it was, he had no choice but to choose.
And he could not foresee what consequences that choice would later bring.
***
Even as she moved without rest between buildings, Serin felt her breath gradually being choked off.
She felt no pain right now. But in Another World, a thing called a "limit value" undeniably existed.
A system that restricted characters from displaying movement beyond their own strength.
By making users feel strain like a real body, it prevented them from acting beyond that.
It was like a kind of hidden restriction.
Most users were set so they never even felt that hidden restriction. But right now, Serin was vividly experiencing that system's limit and feeling an immense strain.
Even so, she didn't let it show outwardly.
"..."
I exhaled briefly and immediately saw Belua keeping pace beside me.
Belua's form in my view looked as if it had forgotten its original color—her water-toned hair and clothes... not a single place was unstained by blood.
Soon after, as Zervallua's demonic energy embroidered the space and surged toward us, I urgently deployed a skill.
—Full Moon Dance.
As the Crescent-Moon Weight rapidly embroidered the space according to my will, a great full moon was drawn out, and then, as if wrapping around the front, I urgently completed the moonlight.
Since it was a skill containing countless variations, I thought it was the best option...
BOOM!!
Even though I clearly blocked it, as if unable to withstand Zervallua's power, my body floated through the air along with a massive shockwave.
A huge roar struck my ears a beat late, and my vision lurched.
As we continued to block Zervallua's attacks in alternating turns, I felt the aftershock of the force Belua had endured and an overwhelming helplessness.
Slip...
Then warm darkness wrapped around my body floating in the air, and Belua, holding me, kicked off a building precariously as if to soften the impact. I urgently steadied myself.
"...Grand Duke."
Just as we were quickly widening the distance from Zervallua, I heard Belua's sunken voice.
It sounded like resignation—no, like a voice that had completely hardened into resolve—and my heart sank heavily without my realizing it.
Even without her saying more, the meaning within it reached me.
Her voice was asking permission to use the skill. I firmly shook my head.
"No."
Belua's intent to sacrifice herself to create an opening had already been conveyed several times, but I absolutely couldn't let that happen.
A little longer.
Just a little longer, and an opportunity would surely come.
No matter how much it felt like falling from a cliff right now. No matter how precariously we swayed. If we endured. If we somehow endured... the opportunity would come.
Even knowing how dangerous each moment was, I could only wait for that opportunity.
Far in the distance, Zervallua's massive form was already carved with countless wounds.
As I stared into Belua's eyes like that, for no reason at all, my eyes suddenly flew wide open.
"...!"
As if tearing through space. Zervallua, appearing from nowhere, was moving through space at unbelievable speed.
Belua also turned her gaze late, as if sensing it only then. I tried to swing the Crescent-Moon Weight once more, but at the sight of the beast with thousands of eyes rushing toward me, expanding rapidly in my vision, my blood ran cold.
'Too late!'
Before I could even extend the Crescent-Moon Weight, Zervallua had already reached right in front of us.
Just as its massive leg was about to completely crush Belua and me—
———!
Brilliant golden light blazed as if severing space, and a storm of fresh blood raged.
KWA-BOOM!
Immediately after, the burst of light exploded and faded as if fiercely repelling Zervallua's form, and then a massive blue aura slammed into Zervallua's body, sending the beast reeling back as if bounced away.
Just as we narrowly escaped that desperate moment, voices reached me.
"Serin!"
"Rin. Are you okay?"
At the sight of Sua and Yujeong arriving beside me, a laugh slipped out before I knew it.
"I'm okay."
And as I looked at Arianne, who had descended with them, he opened his mouth with a grave expression.
"Grand Duke... there was no other way."
I shook my head.
I wasn't in a position to say anything about them breaking from the plan and joining like this.
If not for their support, I would have been finished just now.
As I caught my breath for a moment, far in the distance, Zervallua, having widened the gap, began emitting demonic energy from where it stood, unlike before. I swept my hair back and assessed the situation.
The opportunity that had been approaching was now completely gone.
I could no longer use the skill I had prepared in anticipation of Zervallua clearly targeting me with Gluttony. But for now, I thought just being safe like this was fortunate.
As if that moment of relief had been a lie...
My gaze went blank.
At the sudden strange energy I felt... I turned my head.
I saw something unbelievable. The anomaly of Belua's and Arianne's heads snapping up at once, the sight of the two of them frozen as if their movements were restricted—for a moment, I wanted to deny it.
"Belua, Arianne!"
As I hurled myself toward Belua and urgently looked at Sua and Yujeong, they also quickly threw themselves toward Arianne.
Watching the massive undulation approaching Belua, I urgently swung my hand, but I fell into a strange sensation as if the world were flowing slowly.
'Why?'
Zervallua should have been targeting me.
I had blocked Gluttony, and it should have attacked only me for interfering, and Zervallua had clearly been acting that way.
And the target of Gluttony should have been me as well.
But this situation right now... what on earth.
As Gluttony manifested on the two people I had never expected, I couldn't understand any of it.
Even so, my body reacted unconsciously.
—Swift - Bloodstained Step.
I released Moon Princess and used the skill with the greatest speed.
The moment she used Moonlight Flight again, she knew the Moon Princess state would be released, so Serin acted purely on instinct.
Barely reaching Belua's front before the undulation, Serin deployed a skill.
—Heavy Spike.
From her hand, quickly gripping the blade of the Crescent-Moon Weight, a massive bloodlight erupted and tore the strange undulation apart.
CRUNCH...!
With the sound of something being crushed, the undulation burst apart, scattering bright red blood.
Immediately after, without a moment to breathe, Serin turned her head toward Arianne...
"...Ah."
She could only let out a blank sound.