To the Very End...
Crackle.
"Guhhh."
Liam felt his rock-attribute mana crumbling helplessly before the black lightning. The power he'd honed over a lifetime—enough to earn him the moniker Rock Wall Knight—felt utterly powerless against it. The demonic energy, which polluted the world simply by existing, carried an eerie killing intent and overwhelming might, leaving him with no choice but to sense his life slipping away.
'Is this the lantern show...?'
Faded memories from long ago flickered through his hazy mind in an instant.
"Are you my guard? I look forward to working with you."
The day he'd first met his lord as a new royal knight and the first prince's escort.
"Congratulations on your achievement, Liam. This is a small gift from me."
The day he'd sworn unwavering loyalty, moved by his lord's benevolent care for a mere knight like himself.
"Now you're the captain of the royal knights. Protect not just me, but the royal family—and this entire kingdom. You can do it, right, Liam?"
The day he'd reached the pinnacle of Carun's knighthood and received a title far beyond his worth.
'A good life... No, that's not right.'
But there was one fatal blemish on his life.
He hadn't lived up to the expectations of becoming Carun Kingdom's first Aura User in over a century. He felt sorry toward his lord, but some things just couldn't be forced. He'd thought he'd even shed his lingering regrets as retirement loomed, but now, facing his final moments, a fierce pang of regret hit him.
'I should have tried just a little harder.'
'Why wasn't I more desperate?'
'Why didn't I push myself more desperately?'
The 7th stage, the realm of Aura Users, had felt like an insurmountable wall. In his later years, he'd glimpsed a faint path forward, but it demanded staking his life—a desperate, perilous road with slim odds given his talents.
And he had too much to lose to step onto it lightly. That's why he'd cleanly given up and chosen retirement.
But in this moment, that choice burned with regret.
'I should have risked my life for it.'
The realistic thought that he'd likely have died didn't even cross his mind. If he'd mastered aura, he wouldn't be fading so pathetically now. That single idea swirled endlessly, fueling boundless regret.
Then.
Crackle.
As if mocking that it was too late, the black lightning surged more fiercely, devouring his body. His thoughts had raced long, but real time had barely passed. As searing pain engulfed him, the lantern show in his fading consciousness scattered, and harsh reality snapped back.
"Grrrk."
He keenly felt his distant limit.
'So I really wasn't cut out for it after all.'
'Why must I endure this much pain from the start?'
'...It's all over.'
Despair deepened with the agony.
'Yeah, it's meaningless...'
The instant he tried to release his last ounce of strength.
Plip.
A drop of blood fell before his eyes. Blood trickling slowly from high above—the enemy's blood, sustaining this intense spell. It jolted his mind awake.
'...No, that's not it!'
Crunch.
Crackle.
He wasn't the only one straining with all his might. That blood proved the enemy had taken heavy damage too. Steel resolve hardened in that moment, and the black lightning began to recede bit by bit.
And then.
"...The power of demons preys on the weak corners of the mind, Liam. Don't give up."
A soft, familiar voice came with warm mana flowing into his back. Feeble compared to his own, but in this instant, it meant everything—like a sip of water after thirst, urging his body to rise again.
Yet it also stirred unease in his heart.
"Y-Your Highness! If you push yourself like this...!"
"I'm fine. This much is...!"
Whirling in shock, he saw his king there, wearing that steadfast smile of unwavering trust. A smile much like it crept onto Liam's lips. Forty years of bond. That faith wove their hearts together, granting the strength to endure.
"Thanks to you, Your Highness, I have some breathing room..."
As trusting gazes met, a flushed face wedged between them.
"Shut... that mouth of yours, old man! It's... because of me."
A voice thick with fury that chilled them both. Jenas, draped between them, had regained consciousness.
"H-Helping someone... and using them as a... shield...? Where's your conscience, you... damn...!"
Crackle.
Brown eyes rare with rage glared from Jenas, awakened by the shock of black lightning beyond his control. Casual speech laced with curses—anyone who knew him would be stunned. Liam didn't know his true nature but, pricked by conscience, averted his eyes.
Before he could defend himself.
"Endure? You call this enduring!? How dare you!!? Kyaaak!"
A hoarse roar echoed from the ceiling, black flames erupting beside him. The dripping blood confirmed he was squeezing out his last dregs too.
"Th-This debt... y-you must repay it fully... Sir Liam."
Thankfully, Jenas knew when to rage and when to hold back.
"Of course."
"Just one moment... I'll shatter his spell... Then..."
Crackle.
His trembling voice carried clear intent despite the lightning. As Liam nodded.
"Die!"
A vulgar bellow erupted, black flames layering atop the lightning to engulf them. Jenas moved too.
Valentia swordsmanship, Jenas-style ultimate technique, Form 2.
Mad Wind's Song.
Whoosh.
Jenas's sword seemed to split into dozens, hundreds, then morphed into a silver gale, shoving all demonic energy aside wholesale.
"Impossible...!"
Then.
Carun royal swordsmanship, Liam-style killing blow.
Rock Thunderbolt.
Liam's greatsword, swollen with gray-white energy, spun like lightning toward the airborne foe.
Boom.
"...No!"
The greatsword swallowed even the black mage's hoarse cry, punching through the throne room ceiling.
Kaboom.
Rumble.
Crash.
As debris rained from the shattered ceiling.
Liam spat blood, staring blankly at the sky revealed above and murmuring.
"Is it... over?"
"G-Good... Liam..."
The king sighed in relief, eyes slowly closing.
"Your Highness?"
A foreboding chill hit Liam as he widened his eyes. With a thud, a pale arm wrapped in black cloth dropped before him. Realizing whose it was twisted his face.
'...Just one arm?'
A frustrated gnashing came from another who'd seen it.
"...H-He's escaping! Damn it. We have to catch him..."
Pale-faced Jenas spat curses, trying to rise, but collapsed with a faint groan, losing consciousness again.
As if on cue, the wrecked throne room erupted in chaos.
"Wh-What happened?"
"What's this? Why do I have a sword?"
"Blood? What the hell...?"
"You mad bastards! This is what you did under black magic's sway!"
"What're you talking about!?"
"Weak-willed fools calling yourselves nobles!"
"How dare you insult me...!"
The knights, freed from enchantment, bickered amid the mess. Liam could at least breathe easier watching it. Unlike the young genius regretting his fall.
He saw the enemy's escape as a mercy.
* * *
"...Damn it, damn it! Damn you, Valentia!!!"
Fleeing Carun's inner castle, the black mage clutched his severed left shoulder, gushing blood, and bellowed in rage while flying.
Everything had gone wrong. He'd committed nearly a third of the organization's forces to this. And his grievous wound was an irreplaceable loss.
'No choice now...!'
His gaze burned crimson-black toward the distant, halted Kraken.
Everything had failed, but that sight stoked his fury most.
"Why, why!!"
His shouts went unanswered. But a way to achieve his goal remained: that monster, the Kraken.
He didn't know why it had stopped, but...
'Stimulate it again, and it'll move for sure.'
Then Ortus would be smashed. He couldn't guarantee the royal family's total annihilation, but that could wait.
Fueled by surging rage, he flew toward the Kraken—then spotted odd 'things' approaching from ahead.
'A wolf and... a kid?'
A familiar combo, but his rage-clouded mind couldn't place it. Everything unraveling had dulled his thoughts.
And then.
"Found you!"
The bizarre sight of them charging through the sky toward him was utterly unreal.
But as they closed distance.
Crackle.
A filthy sensation squeezed his body and soul, shaking his mind.
"Relic barrier?! I threw it into the sea for Husel!"
'What the hell is happening!?'
Even his minimal success shattered. Amid extreme stress, he finally recalled their identities.
The freakish figure topping recent worst reports.
'Morse family descendant, elf half-blood!'
The culprit ruining this shitshow. And he had the relic I'd smuggled? Ghostfire ignited in his eyes.
"I'll tear you apart!!!"
Valentia dogsbody, the prime culprit who'd screwed him. He'd wrecked even minimal gains. Murderous hate for his archenemy—defined in his mind—vaporized his last reason, drawing forth final demonic power.
Hummm.
He ignored that no fear showed in his foes' eyes amid the demonic storm.
'One arm gone, major damage confirmed.'
Tiny's eyes gleamed at the enemy's state. Securing the Kraken's promise and charging madly had gone well. But joining battle exhausted would've hindered more than helped. So he'd landed on the beach to rapidly recover mana—then coincidentally sensed incoming demonic energy.
Tiny spurred Wolrang skyward again. Mana not fully restored, but he trusted something.
And it panned out.
'Relic barrier works.'
Humm.
The relic core in his bosom vibrated softly, as if seeking praise.
Sure, the foe was a 7th Circle black mage despite wounds; Tiny, Expert at best, not even fully recovered.
Still.
'Gotta take this risk.'
He didn't know the castle's status. Worst case, if the mage had achieved his goal at arm's cost and was retreating?
'Can't let him go!'
Grinding his teeth, Tiny accelerated with full force again. Best play here: the technique(?) that'd one-shotted Husel.
'Faster, faster!'
Cough.
Squeezing like a dry rag, limits loomed again, but no choice.
"Woof!"
At least the foe showed no intent to dodge.
"Pathetic worm, you think borrowing a relic's power lets you touch me!? Die!"
The mage could gauge realms at a glance, confident in the gap.
'That's the opening... Going in!'
Crunch.
Tiny didn't slow amid the black lightning and flames filling his vision.
"Taaah!"
Blue mana cloaked him like armor.
Whoom.
Stamp swung fiercely, mana-laden, whipping up shield-like winds. Thus armored, Tiny plowed through the black magic barrage.
Kaboom kaboom kaboom.
"Haaap!"
Boom!
"What is th—?!"
'Got him...!'
Seeing the foe's shock brought a triumphant grin. Tiny maximized gravity just before impact, slamming ferociously.
Kabooooom!
The enemy rebounded from the heavy blow. But Tiny's face twisted slightly.
'Slower than before. Less power...'
Partly his fatigue, but breaching the magic storm had bled speed. Giving the mage a split-second breather, forcing Tiny to smash his barrier instead of pulverizing him outright.
Still, a critical hit for sure.
So.
"Going again!"
Gritting anew for another charge—space warped, foe distancing. Despite relic barrier, darkness shoved it aside momentarily. The barrier screamed in retreat.
At center, lower face visible, the mage grimaced demonically, vomiting blood; his right leg engulfed in black flames, vanishing.
"Heh heh heh, forcing me this far... Valentia, I'll never forgive you!"
Pathetic state aside, his demonic power exploded.
"...Self-immolation!?"
Tiny's face naturally contorted, recognizing it. Ultimate black magic, usable once in life: sacrificing body parts or whole as offering.
'Wasn't that arm already self-immolation?!'
Superhuman black mage—an unheard combo—perhaps used it to temporarily reach that realm. Seeing the severed arm, Tiny had guessed so.
Guess busted. No retreat now; he charged straight.
No thought of losing. Even recovered via self-immolation, foe was heavily damaged.
'Half limbs left, reason devoured by rage. Not normal. Exploit that!'
Any possibility, focus solely on it. That'd kept the mighty knight surviving crises.
Plus now.
'Got the relic.'
Hummm.
Wide barrier useless if can't pressure? Then...
As Tiny willed, relic barrier contracted extremely, compressing around him and Wolrang. Variant use Humani tas taught via waves: compressed barrier. Shrink vast area to maximize power.
Normally needed superhuman realm, but.
'My soul is...!!'
Tiny drew relic potential via soul alone.
Of course.
Screee.
"Guhhh."
Soul-crushing pressure and overload taxed body.
'Aftereffects'll suck.'
But no better option.
"Vanish without a trace!"
Mad cry unleashed black energy engulfing space. Amid wave-like force to pulverize, relic barrier held light.
Moreover.
"H-How—!?"
Foe's panic revealed a faint gap amid black energy. Tiny gap from rage-clouded mind, two limbs lost.
'Now!'
Enduring throbbing headache, squeezing full power, Tiny's strike smashed the gap.
Kabooooom!
Deafening roar sucked his body into the tiny rift.
Boom!
Tiny faced dark, clear night sky again.
Gamble won. He'd survived.
Relief hit—
Splat.
Dark red blood burst from nose and mouth.
"Kuhk, cough!"
"Woof."
Fading relic barrier. Exhausted beyond sustaining summons, Wolrang reverted to spirit form. Surviving such magic was miracle enough.
But the enemy.
"...You pull off the impossible, huh. I'll use you as research material!"
Self-immolation mana let him glide naturally despite missing arm and leg. Black power lashed at Tiny.
'Damn.'
Tiny strained remaining strength, but trembling hands wouldn't budge. Even gravity-lightened Stamp grew burdensome.
Then...
'Gotta drop the weapon.'
Stamp fell; hand felt empty.
Humm.
But final blow's power remained. Mana Body breathed frantically, fueling clenched fist.
"Think that'll work? Heh heh."
Voice mocked his intent. But Tiny held firm.
'Never give up till the absolute last.'
That was his life. And unexpected chances arose—like now.
Grin.
"Wh-What!?"
Murderous intent seized all space; foe sensed it a beat slower than Tiny. As shocked eyes turned skyward.
'Kraken!'
A massive leg, cleaving night sky, loomed beside him.
"No way—!"
Mage tried fleeing the leg's path mid-air.
"Where do you think... you're going!"
Crack.
Ferally grinning Tiny seized his remaining ankle. All strength to grip muscles, max gravity amplification—binding foe with weight multiples of his bulk.
"You mad bastard...!"
Hoarse panic rang sweetly.
Kabooooom!
Impact too vast for senses rocked their space.