Chapter 36
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: The Red Mountains Defensive Battle (4)
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“The enemy you must learn about today are the beings known as Demons. They reside at the very peak of the six demon races.”
An old memory surfaced through the volcanic ash that drifted down, landed on his forehead, and melted into soot.
A memory from the lecture hall of <Wiyonggeomjeon>, where the presence of the gods descended as peace, not the stench of sulfur.
The memory of sitting there, taking a lesson from Rahel Dune Jerayeh.
“The formal name for a Demon is Mauna Loa, meaning ‘Incarnation of Kings.’ They first appeared in recorded history in the twelfth century, during the first Age of Turmoil.”
The word ‘demon’ itself signified absolute evil, and from their very first appearance, they earned a name spoken in the language of fear.
This was because an absolute gap in power existed between demons and humanity.
Humanity, living in a prosperous era known as the Golden Age, suffered one defeat after another in their first encounter with the Demons.
“The one who rose to prominence in that era was none other than Rista Alter Scherpang. Alongside Prideh, the Fire Dragon's Priestess, and Kies, the Archery Saint, she built upon the sacrifice of the Great Mage Lin to quell the turmoil.”
Rahel paused and looked at the cadets, at which point Kaisen had raised his hand to ask a question.
“Instructor, then why are they still running rampant?”
“A perfect question. As I said, Demons are the incarnations of the Kings—beings that take independent form when the Kings' power escapes their seals. It was discovered that they will continue to be born as long as the Kings are not vanquished.”
“You mean…?”
“That is why this cannot be a war of attrition. It means humanity is out of time.”
The cycle of rebirth was originally several hundred years.
But now, the demons of the Lizard Lord, which appeared twenty-one years ago during the ‘Black Summer,’ had reappeared. The cycle was accelerating at an unrealistic rate.
This pointed to one clear and desperate fact.
“That the [Forgotten Kings] are awakening.”
Faced with that cruelly clear despair, these children had no choice but to take up their swords and protect the world.
“The Mauna Loa, much like the Uruks, have a hierarchy. It's easiest to understand by comparing them to the dragon clans.”
The dragon clans are divided into three tiers based on power and authority.
The three Divine Dragons.
Under each of them, five True Dragons.
And the drakes, which form the bulk of the dragon legions—though now, all but the Gold Dragon Legion have vanished.
“Each Lord commands one Divine Dragon-class being—a true ‘Incarnation of the King.’ These are called Incarnation-class Demons.”
The ‘Incarnation of the King’ splits its power to command three High Demons, and each of those High Demons, in turn, creates three Low Demons.
“The battle on the central front—the clash between the Lizard Lord's forces and humanity's main army—has been the most intense, with eleven demons already subjugated.”
Rahel pointed a finger at the handout she had distributed earlier. Kaisen looked over its contents.
- High Demon Subjugations:
ㆍCamilla Alter Aradamanthel: 1.
ㆍSharon Alter Tassalpo: 1.
- Low Demon Subjugations:
ㆍRoveris Alter Scherpang: 3.
ㆍEltire Alter Pladimarte: 2.
ㆍGorgotia Alter Zierda: 2.
ㆍAresia Alter Solang & Ryunel Alter Gaumris: 1.
And while Kaisen was attending this very lecture at <Wiyonggeomjeon>, Roveris's Iron Cross had subjugated one more High Demon.
“You must not relax just because only one Low Demon remains. The most powerful Mauna Loa is still out there.”
He could still clearly remember the weight of the silence that fell over the cadets.
And the signpost of fate that had rung out, piercing through that silence of hesitation and fear.
“And that task will fall to none other than you.”
Prologue to an All-Out War,
The Red Mountains Defensive Battle (4)
Shhhnnngk!
The Supreme Holy Sword Verumpeira flew through the air, tearing through demonic flesh, severing tendons, and carving through muscle.
“FakeWarrior, another one's coming!”
Ophelia Alter Verumpeira immediately changed the trajectory of her sword, which writhed through the air like a serpent.
She directed it toward the unidentified enemy approaching within a storm of volcanic ash.
But something felt wrong. So wrong that a primal chill shot down her spine.
‘My Supreme Holy Sword can slice through steel as if it were flesh...’
The moment that realization struck her.
The instant she was unable to confirm the enemy's status from the floating castle, blinded by the ash.
Something shot out from within the storm, crushing the rookie FakeWarrior's body into a bloody pulp.
She was only sixteen.
The 2nd Front was the unit assigned to defend the heart of the mountain range, the central pass that cut across the continent.
The terrain was the most treacherous, so the deployed force was the smallest, with only a single FakeWarrior assigned to it.
Ophelia Alter Verumpeira, leader of the Snake Shadow Corps.
A rookie FakeWarrior, newly commissioned just this year.
Considering the 1st and 3rd Fronts were defended by the top and second-ranked FakeWarriors, respectively, one could guess the geographical advantage the 2nd Front held.
“The Snake Shadow Corps... is annihilated.”
“A Demon broke through the inner barrier of the stone fortifications! The 2nd Front's defensive line has collapsed, and they are in full retreat!”
“Your Eminence, Blue Star, we must deploy the 1st and 3rd Fronts immediately! At this rate, the mountain defensive line will be breached!”
The dark elves cried out, their urgent tones underscoring the desperate news.
Just then, Mirngadia of the Blue Star's body was so still that a bird was chirping upon him.
Inside his mind, however, swirled insight, judgment, and grief for the future that had now become reality.
‘Out of a hundred futures, only twenty-seven showed Ophelia Alter Verumpeira dying to the Mauna Loa... Do not forgive me, Ophelia.’
Setsunen of Thunderous Fragrance watched her younger brother's silence, her hands pressed together in prayer. Finally, the silence broke.
[We cannot have the 1st and 3rd Fronts confront the Demon without properly formed ranks. Hasty decisions bring only ruin. Send the coordinates for a saturation strike to the Magic Artillery Division.]
“Mir…?”
[To face a Mauna Loa, we must first prepare accordingly. Our only option is to blow away the mountain pass to buy time.]
The Magic Artillery Division was the core of the anti-demon combat doctrine Mirngadia had devised.
Mages and witches who could stride across a battlefield and indiscriminately fire high-level magic or curses were extremely rare.
Because the following qualities were required to calculate magic or chant curses amidst the bloody stench of the battlefield.
First, the mathematical and arcane understanding to use the right spell or curse for the situation.
Second, the physical prowess to protect oneself in the storm of battle.
Third, the mental fortitude to remain sane amid the horror of a battlefield where death is layered upon death.
Beings equipped with all these qualities usually left their names in history as Great Mages or Priestesses.
The Empire's 17th Great Mage, Zabal Ludwick, and 18th Great Mage, Johan Wolf Frost, were caught up in the turmoil of the Empire's religious reformation.
Thus, the solution Mirngadia devised was the Magic Artillery Division.
‘Mages are always the enemy's top priority target…’
‘In that case, we just have to not send mages to the battlefield…’
‘And if one person can't use high-level magic alone, then several people can combine their power…’
On the magic formation of the artillery division Mirngadia had created, fifteen special-duty mages were on standby.
The formation was layered fivefold.
Spells cast upon this formation, amplified by the draconic tongue, were precisely seventeen times more powerful.
It was the perfect platform for casting the highest-level spells in the Empire's seven-star magic system—magic wielded by Archizards (5-Star, Great Mages).
This was Mirngadia's solution. The explosive force of that power could obliterate the entire area.
“But what about those who are still there? They'll be swept away and killed!”
Setsunen pleaded frantically, defending the lives of the dying, the not-yet-dead, and those barely clinging to life.
[In the face of the greater good, all death is a form of loyalty. Coordinates 47.32167. Thunder Burial. Have all seven rounds strike the same coordinates.]
Mirngadia glossed over it with a command.
In this pitiful world, sustained only by countless deaths, by measureless blood, by endless tears, someone had to decide where that death, blood, and tears would fall.
And that someone was him.
It was always him.
Mirngadia considered it a blessing that he could take on this harsh role in his sisters' stead.
Their gentle, delicate natures would have made it difficult for them to bear such a burden.
“…”
Setsunen's eyes trembled.
She understood the unspoken meaning behind her brother's words.
Instead of voicing the words boiling inside her, she too conveyed her true feelings with an indirect reply.
“...Father wouldn't have done this. I'm sure of it.”
At her words, Mirngadia's dormant body flinched.
To the Three Great Dragons, their father was a trace of light left upon their souls. The warmth of happiness.
A titmouse perched on the branch-like horns sprouting from his head took flight in surprise.
“And He wouldn't be pleased with this decision, either.”
Setsunen unclasped her hands and, assuming the form of a dragon, departed the floating castle and flew toward the world below.
[Nen…]
The strands of light that had been gathered as one poured down and scattered.
The power of the Thunderous Fragrance, which had fiercely yet smoothly linked the entire mountain range, vanished.
But the coordinates had already been transmitted to the Magic Artillery Division before the connection was severed.
“Commander, the bombardment order has come down.”
The magic formation was a pentagon—a formation for lightning magic, which possessed superior destructive power and the greatest speed of the eight elements.
“Yes, I heard it too.”
The squad leader sat cross-legged in the central circle.
The fourteen other members sat in pairs within the four outer circles.
As the mages began forming hand seals in unison, arcs of electricity leaped from the magic formation.
Crackle, crackle, fizz…
The various runes and mathematical equations inscribed on the formation flared into brilliant light.
As the commander completed the final calculation, blood poured from his nose.
To think that the creator of this spell, the Great Mage Lin, was said to have wielded this power freely on her own...
“Your Eminence! Lady Thunderous Fragrance is on the battlefield. Order the artillery to hold its fire!”
[It doesn't matter. Fire.]
“But, Your Eminence…!”
[Fire. The Thunderous Fragrance is a Gold Dragon, a creature of lightning. She will not be harmed by lightning created by humans.]
At last, the final hand seal was formed.
The light of the formation lifted into the air, then shot skyward, trailing a long, golden tail.
The next moment, brilliant flashes tore through the ash-choked sky. Bolts of lightning burned through the darkness as they plummeted to the earth.
‘Mir…’
At that moment, Setsunen was gliding through a blinding storm of volcanic ash.
Everywhere she looked, soldiers clutching their rifles were dying—buried in ash, crushed by maces, or cleaved by axes.
The bodies of the living, and of those already dead and melting like gruel, were enveloped in light.
The light severed their mortal forms from the bonds of the earth, transporting them elsewhere.
That was all she could do.
Seven bolts of lightning slammed into the mountain peak.
A flash of light so bright it threatened to sear the eyes.
A roar so deafening it seemed to split the very skull.
BOOM…!
…KRA-KOOM…!
……BOOM…!
…………KRA-KOOM…!
…BOOM……!
The mountain peak shattered, its very foundations obliterated.
A vortex of light raged, wiping away the mountain path and carving a sheer cliff in its place.
The indiscriminate force didn't land a significant blow on the Demon, but the goal had been to collapse the terrain and block its path.
“Direct hit! The Demon is falling down the slope!”
The dark elf's words were urgent, but they were followed by a clear sigh of relief.
The Demon's silhouette vanished from the image reflected in the scrying pool. But the vortex of volcanic ash remained.
The battle had only just begun.
[We've only pushed it back for a moment.]
The reality of this world was always this stark, this unyielding. There was no room for false hope.
[Reconstruct the barrier and summon the griffin riders of the 2nd Combat Air Wing. I will deliver the orders verbally.]
* * *
At that time, in the eastern mountains managed by the 3rd Front and the plains held by the 1st Front, the signs of the front line's collapse were also clearly visible.
The volcanic ash, the nightmare that had blackened the heart of the mountains…
The loss of communications…
The seven lightning strikes, the collapse of the terrain…
The series of chaotic events more than hinted that something had gone terribly wrong.
The details of the battle beyond the mountains were unclear, but the columns of black smoke rising into the sky were all too vivid.
Tval narrowed his eyes.
“What in the world happened?”
“We lost contact through the Thunderous Fragrance's Heart Resonance Formation. Did an enemy infiltrate the floating castle?”
“Doesn't seem like it. Look at the sky, the floating castle is fine.”
Just as Alidona was pointing at the sky with her pipe, a griffin spread its wings and urgently descended.
“2nd Front in retreat! Crimson Flame special alert issued! Order for the 1st Front to gather by unit and head to Hill 118! The Iron Fortress Corps and thirteen regiments will remain here!”
The rider's voice was frantic.
The cold sweat pouring down his face spoke volumes about the situation.
Tval and Merne couldn't believe their ears.
“The 2nd Front... retreated?”
“What? What the hell happened? The Snake Shadow Corps was defending that place! No way it was breached so easily.”
“A Demon! An Incarnation-class Demon has appeared!”
The cheers of victory sank into silence.
Roveris could sense the stirrings of despair writhing beneath the silence.
She feared the ominous wave of plummeting morale that could erupt from the depths of that silence.
“A Demon, what demon? Did another Lord awaken or something?”
“I don't know. But the Blue Star said it was a Mauna Loa… that old one has awakened again…”
“Mauna Loa? You said Mauna Loa?”
Merne demanded, his voice rising to a shout.
But the rider seemed to be suffocating in the heat of the volcanic ash, foaming at the mouth and on the verge of his eyes rolling back.
“Don't push yourself. Alidona, give this griffin emergency treatment.”
“The Abyss has seeped in too deep... The Neigalas Abyss destroys the body from the inside out, like lava.”
“Is it surprising that a Demon appeared again? Can't we just smash it again like last time?”
Tval asked, shrugging with his dragon-bone spear, but Merne shook his head.
“Are you kidding? The Incarnation-class Mauna Loa is the one that Lady Raminea Alter Aradamanthel subjugated during the 'Black Summer.' This means it came back to life.”
“Before that, Rista Alter Scherpang took care of it. It's not strange for it to appear again.”
“Commander, but the cycle is strange. How can it be only twenty years...”
“Enough, Merne. You ride out and spread the order to the nearby units as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
Kaisen, hanging as if dead on Bloodwind's back, couldn't grasp the meaning of this news.
‘Damn it, the backlash…’
Because the patterns of the Divine and True Dragons' power had yet to fully assimilate into his body, it was always like this after he used the Dragon Spirit's power.
His insides burned like fire.
His skin was cold enough to shatter.
At times like this, the most he could do was struggle to not lose consciousness. His blood vessels were burning with a golden light.
‘If the 2nd Front retreated, if the Snake Shadow Corps was annihilated…’
Seira Alter Solang, holding Bloodwind's reins, added a dreadful conclusion to his thoughts.
“If the 2nd Front was annihilated, then Ophelia must be dead too. I wonder if the Verumpeira was lost with her.”
Seira's tone, speaking of the death of a classmate from <Wiyonggeomjeon>, was almost business-like.
It wasn't because she had ill feelings, or because their connection was shallow. It was always like this in this world.
Death was strewn about everywhere like trash, so most deaths were not considered special.
Ah, how wonderful would it be…
If he could live in a world where a single death is considered infinitely precious and solemn.
“I-it's my fault. I went to pick wild vegetables, and a-a wild boar came out, and trying to protect me, it…”
In his youth, there was a hunting dog named Sam that they raised in the yard.
He was a fluffy dog who loved people, his tongue always hanging out, his bark clear and bright.
To protect his sister, Sam had fought a wild boar, killing it before succumbing to his own wounds.
He remembered crying all night, hugging his sister in front of the tattered corpse as their father buried it.
Now, he couldn't cry like that.
“Ratel, it's not your fault. Yes, it's not your fault. It's no one's fault.”
Was it because he was living in this lonely world, with no father to bury the dead, no mother to wipe his tears, and no sister to cry with?
Now, such a world just felt like a delusion from a fairy tale.
The only reality was the sight of Roveris giving orders to Seira.
“Seira, you gather your corps and establish a new defensive line in the plains. Hurry. From now on, you have to defend it alone.”
“Yes, senior. I wish you the fortunes of war.”
Seira tapped Kaisen's head with her characteristic smile that only moved the corners of her mouth.
Her long braided hair was stickily matted with blood and bits of flesh.
Seira called it a spoil of war. A trophy for having broken through a fierce battlefield and survived.
“Well, I'm off. Don't be too sad about missing your chance to be nursed by your beautiful classmate. There'll be other chances.”
Kaisen didn't even have the leeway to listen to her banter.
If the 2nd Front was annihilated this easily, the 3rd Front must also be in danger...
Senior Gorgotia and Isla are on the 3rd Front...
Then Isla is now… that kid who stuffed her mouth full of boiled eggs like a child...
Roveris forcibly cut off his cold-sweat-drenched train of thought.
“Focus on recovering for now. Don't entertain useless worries.”
“...Senior.”
“Who is the supreme commander right now? It is His Eminence, the Blue Star. He is someone who sees what we cannot and makes decisions. The best measures must have already been taken.”
“...!”
“His judgment has always been right. Countless victories support that. So you think too. What you should prioritize right now. You don't intend to stay as baggage like this, do you?”
Suddenly, he recalled the pure white light that had shone upon the shores of despair.
That light, which swept away all the darkness of the world and the darkness of the heart, looked holy and pure.
The light that Yonghyeon Rain Ludwick left on this land is still guiding humanity forward…
‘Then, what I must prioritize now is…’
Kaisen hesitated and hesitated, and in the end, let go of the thread of his consciousness.
Power…
I have to recover my power, quickly…