Chapter 175

"They're coming."

A short warning.

The blue curtain had already surrounded the entire sky island.

The sight rang like an omen of the apocalypse, covering the once-beautiful sky in a horrifying color.

"Uh...? What is that?"

"Something weird just covered the sky!"

People nearby began to murmur.

Guards stationed throughout the area panicked, exchanging messages with headquarters through crystal balls.

Amid the brief confusion, black shapes began pouring down from the sky like hail.

"Kikikikikikiki!"

"Kyaaaaah!"

"Kyakkyakkyakkyak!"

They were hideously mutated Chimeras.

Many gaunt Ghouls were mixed in among them as well.

The New Kingdom-Cultist Allied Forces filled the sky in an instant.

Once the crowd realized what was happening, they scattered in terror.

The peaceful summer breeze died, and a chilling gale swept through as though it meant to kill everyone's season.

"Wh-what is that...?!"

"Run! Everyone, run! It's a terrorist attack! A terrorist attack is happening!"

"Headquarters! Headquarters! Can you hear me?! Send reinforcements to the plaza right now...!"

Rumble!

The monsters crashed into the plaza and howled in unnatural voices.

Starving for slaughter, they all kicked off the ground at once.

People fled in panic.

The guards hurriedly drew their spears and swords and readied their magic.

"Rurururururuk!"

"Kheeeek!"

"Kirik, kiririt!"

The stage had become hell.

There seemed to be thousands of enemy troops in the central plaza alone.

Reports of attacks came in from all across Lusilion as well.

Judging from that, nearly fifty thousand troops appeared to have been dropped onto the sky island.

"The Slayers."

I murmured into the crystal ball.

Beyond the thin orb, my companions waited at their assigned positions.

"The defense of Lusilion begins now."

Beep, beep.

One by one, OK symbols appeared on the display.

As I quietly took a deep breath, Carmilla stepped a few paces ahead of me.

"Princess."

"Yes, there are disgustingly many of them."

The mutants began rushing toward us one after another.

The princess casually unleashed her Bloodcraft.

A crimson storm swept through the area.

Slash!

Their wicked bodies were mercilessly torn apart.

Beyond her mask, Carmilla's red eyes were fixed on the sky.

"That's it."

At the heart of Lusilion, a blue figure stood high in the distant sky.

'The Blue Knight.'

Its presence seemed to swallow the entire sky island.

Its curtain had become a barrier, isolating Lusilion from the outside world.

"It isn't moving. It's frozen like a statue."

"We need to keep it frozen. If that thing starts moving, it's all over."

The Blue Knight.

Among the apostles, it was said to possess one of the greatest destructive powers.

In the original story, it had been a calamity capable of destroying a fifth of the continent alone.

It would not have been wrong to call it the Cult's ultimate weapon.

"We have no chance against the Blue Knight at full strength."

We could never allow the Blue Knight to activate.

The one fortunate part was that its power required an equally absurd amount of energy.

"The Blue Knight needs a power source to activate. Demonic energy, mana, curse energy... it doesn't matter what kind. It just needs to absorb an enormous amount of energy."

"So even those people can't control it as they please."

"That's right. It's also connected to why the Allied Forces attacked Lusilion."

"Don't tell me..."

"The Allied Forces intend to use the sky island as a sacrifice. They plan to make the Blue Knight absorb the sky island's mana and awaken it from its dormant state."

Slash!

I spoke while cutting down the charging Ghouls.

As we defended the plaza, we steadily kept the nearby civilians safe.

"Lusilion's vast energy. Once it absorbs all of it, the Blue Knight will become an unprecedented apocalypse. The worst calamity in continental history will be born. And as a bonus, the sky island will lose its buoyancy and plummet to the ground."

"That's horrible even to imagine."

Lusilion falling was not the only problem.

If anything, it was almost an afterthought.

The Blue Knight's awakening was the true danger.

Once it absorbed one hundred percent of the sky island's mana, there would be no way to stop it.

"Once the absorption rate exceeds thirty percent, the Blue Knight will begin activating. From forty percent onward, Lusilion will slowly start sinking. Once it reaches fifty percent, you can consider it over."

"How much has it absorbed so far?"

"At least three percent."

"My goodness. It has that kind of presence after absorbing only three percent..."

"We don't have time."

Slash!

The blood-red gale chopped the Chimeras apart.

Rotten flesh splattered everywhere, and bundles of repulsive tentacles sprawled across the ground.

"The longer we drag this fight out, the worse it gets. Even giving us plenty of time, our limit is two hours. We have to defeat the Blue Knight before then."

"After breaking through that swarming army."

"I asked the others to hold the key locations. That means only the princess and I will be handling the Blue Knight."

"So there won't be any reinforcements. Then do you have a way to bring that thing down from so high up?"

"I'll figure that part out. For now, let's deal with the Ghouls and Chimeras pouring in."

"All right. Let's go."

Tap!

Carmilla and I kicked off the ground at the same time.

Beyond the sky blanketed in blue, only black and crimson storms swept through the battlefield.

* * *

The sky island stood beneath the shadow of the end.

Only a few hours ago, its streets had been peaceful. Now they were soaked in blue and red, battered beyond recognition.

"Kyakkyakkyakkyak!"

"Krrruk!"

The cries of things neither alive nor dead echoed through the air.

Their squelching steps roamed every corner of the island.

People ran, cried, and screamed.

It was a scene that suited the word pandemonium perfectly.

Even in that chaos, though, there were people helping others.

"Fuck, move!"

The kids had split up and were holding back the incoming army.

Bright yellow currents tore violently through the Chimeras.

Using her speed, Caitlin rescued people stranded among the monsters.

"Got you!"

Caitlin snatched up a child just before the Ghouls could pounce.

Flashing light seared the Ghouls' flesh crisp.

Raising her output, she carried the people she had grabbed to safety.

"Sniff, sob..."

"Quit bawling! You're loud! Here, stay somewhere safe with the others!"

"S-s-sis... I got separated from my mom... I can't see her..."

"What? Damn it, was it back there? That place is completely blocked off, so I can't go back right now."

"Waaah...!"

"Stop crying! I'll go, okay? I'll bring your mom back, so stay here quietly with the other adults!"

Crackle!

Sweat soaked her bronze skin.

Perhaps she was overloading, because her entire body burned with heat.

"Haa, haa... this is fucking exhausting..."

She gritted out a curse, but she had no time to rest.

Caitlin headed into an alley crawling with monsters.

The other companions were just as busy.

"There are a lot. So many."

Rin blinked her emotionless eyes.

With a sword in hand, she summoned a blizzard of extreme cold.

"...Still, Viktor asked me to."

Slash!

Her snow-white sword strike cut down dozens of Ghouls.

As snowflakes fluttered through the air, the nearby civilians were able to escape safely.

"All forces! Stop the enemy army! Help anyone in danger!"

Alice commanded her soldiers.

Wearing her black crown, she deployed troops born from dreams.

An eagle as large as a dinosaur flew overhead, while soldiers resembling chess pieces and playing cards poured forth.

"----!!!"

The soldiers charged with cheers as if praising their queen.

The sheer number of troops she deployed helped on every front.

The dream soldiers spread throughout the island.

"Please gather here! You'll be safe inside the barrier!"

Ranne made use of her defensive abilities.

She formed a barrier from Starlight, creating a safe zone that wicked things could not enter.

At the same time, she worked with Lusilion's guards to bring civilians inside the barrier.

It was a fierce defensive battle. The kids did their best on their respective fronts.

Just as the precarious situation continued, an elderly figure appeared at the front line.

"Well, well. Who is this?"

The elderly figure appeared in the center of the plaza.

Vivid silver hair and blood-red eyes gave them a chilling impression.

Facing Carmilla, the old vampire quietly lowered their head amid the Ghouls.

"Princess, it's been a long time."

The old vampire's greeting.

At the same time, Carmilla's eyes trembled as though an earthquake had struck.

"...Master?"

"I'm glad to see you've grown so much since I last saw you."

Carmilla's former teacher had come to find her.

Carmilla was not the only one who came face-to-face with someone from her past.

At the point where the monsters had gathered most densely, Javert was holding the approach.

"Oh my, who do we have here? It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Someone appeared before her as well.

Dark crimson demonic energy swarmed around the young woman.

Javert forgot how to breathe for a moment.

The woman smiled softly, brushed back her brown hair, and spoke.

"Javert. Our stupid little brat."

"You are..."

A face she had never forgotten, not once in her life.

Javert's green eyes blankly took in that hateful smile.

A quiet murmur escaped her lips.

"...Killian?"

"Pfft."

Killian, the Deceiver of Form.

Ten years ago, she was the culprit who had trapped Javert and murdered Javert's adoptive mother.

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