Aidan’s and Mandelina’s anti-magic resonated with one another, and its power multiplied tens of times over.
Anti-magic was a force that nullified magic regardless of its power.
If anti-magic became stronger, would anything change besides its range widening?
Surprisingly, yes.
When anti-magic resonated and intensified, it could affect things beyond magic—things akin to miracles or divine authorities.
Even the mind-dominating authority Salesin had just used.
Salesin did not look surprised in the slightest at his authority being nullified.
Rather, his expression remained plain, as if he had already foreseen such a possibility.
“So these were the rats nibbling away at my domination one piece at a time—you two!”
If anything, he looked pleased to have identified them.
From the beginning, Salesin had not placed much reliance on his mind-domination authority in this battle.
Those gathered here each held unshakable convictions; they were not easily swayed. They had all prepared countermeasures.
In this situation, brute strength was more reliable.
And Salesin was overwhelmingly strong even without his authority.
“Fine. So all the worms have crawled out now? Did you think gathering like this would change anything? Hardly. No matter how many of you gather, the result is the same. The only thing that changes is the number of corpses piling up beneath it.”
A halo shimmered behind Salesin’s back.
The glowing ring above his head brightened the surroundings and pressed down with immense weight.
Breathing became difficult, as though a thousand-weight iron slab pinned their shoulders.
Yet not a single person present backed away.
They glared at Salesin with a resolve sharpened to the point of death.
Salesin disliked those eyes.
Eyes that refused to yield no matter how much he trampled them.
Weeds that would sprout again no matter how many times he pulled them out.
“Everyone, charge together!”
The moment Lutus shouted, those who handled close combat moved.
As they sprinted forward, leaving afterimages behind, Salesin’s eyes glinted coldly.
A pure white ring formed within his red pupils.
At the same time, a belt-like ring appeared around his body and expanded outward in concentric circles.
It looked like nothing more than a thin ring, but crouching or leaping could not avoid it.
Just the simmering heat contained inside the ring would burn anything that drew near.
Indeed, the ground around Salesin melted into orange sludge, and the air combusted from sheer heat.
Everywhere the ring passed, fragments of debris liquefied with a sticky hiss.
Before the heat wave could reach the knights, the ones who helped were Casey and Marias Selmore.
A vast deluge of water poured out like a dam releasing its flood, and above it a wind colder than arctic frost swept down.
The ring of light did not vanish from this alone, but its power faltered significantly.
“Keep going!”
From behind, Loina cast strengthening spells one after another.
Among 6th-Circle mages, she was one especially specialized in support.
Strength enhancement, stamina reinforcement, wind-step—she used them consecutively, bolstering the knights gripping their swords.
As the knights moved with even more bewildering agility—
A massive shadow loomed behind Salesin as Hans launched a silent ambush.
For a creature of that size to move so quietly was unbelievable.
Like a predator pouncing without warning, the wolf’s fangs aimed for Salesin’s small torso.
But Salesin, as if he had known, neither turned nor flinched. He simply plucked a sword of light from the halo above his head and tossed it lightly upward.
The blade of light shot into the sky, then instantly split into numerous copies.
Each split blade grew to the size of a building column and fell toward Hans.
Hans felt the instinctive danger and leapt back.
Where the beast moved, the enormous pillars of light struck the ground in a booming sequence.
The pillars did not end there.
Above the top third of each pillar, a white ring formed—then the pillars sank deeper into the ground—
KWA-AAAAAAAANG!
—and /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ erupted in consecutive hemispherical detonations of white light.
Hans was caught in the explosion and could not evade.
His left arm and leg were hit. In the blasted area, only white bone remained.
Grrrrrrr.
But the Beast of Jévaudan was not so easily defeated.
When he tensed the skeletal left arm, muscle sprouted, hide formed, and black fur swept over it once again.
It was unbelievable regeneration even to witness.
“A truly repulsive beast.”
As Salesin muttered so—
The master-class knights who had slipped close swung their blades toward his neck at the same moment.
Kagagagak!
Aura blades of many colors clashed against Salesin’s white neck, scattering sparks.
Salesin’s red gaze searched for something else.
‘These ones will never sever my head. The real threat is elsewhere.’
He found it. He sensed movement in his blind spot—Alex.
“Of course.”
It was obvious.
Alex’s swordsmanship evolved within battle itself, sharpening until it became a flawless blade.
Not quite the destructive force of 8th-Circle magic, yet a swordsmanship that transcended technique and sliced through divine barriers with ease.
If given a bit more time, he would surpass even Lutus and be called the next swordmaster of the continent.
A promising talent—but right now, the most troublesome.
Yet Salesin could not focus solely on Alex.
Behind the knights, Ludger and the other mages were weaving a large-scale spell.
It was not the dizzying sensory magic from before—but something that required preparation.
‘Are you attempting that again?’
Clinton was assisting at his side this time.
And Rine, shielded by those around her, appeared to be preparing another spatial spell toward him.
‘So that is your plan. Distract me so I cannot react, then drive several killing blows at once.’
Salesin lifted his left arm—
But felt nothing.
He looked down.
Below his elbow, his left arm was swallowed by darkness.
‘Ah, that woman.’
When his gaze met hers, Selina flinched but did not retreat, staring daggers at him.
When the darkness receded, nothing remained—not even the portion of Salesin’s arm that had been swallowed.
His arm regenerated instantly, but the speed was slower than before.
‘Because of the darkness?’
How absurd.
He had inherited all knowledge, history, and soul succession—he was supposed to be an absolute being who could not lose to anyone on this continent.
The Last Pureblood Vampire remained, yes, but her soul was severely damaged.
In terms of raw power output, Salesin was unquestionably the strongest creature in this cage.
But strength did not guarantee victory.
Nature worked the same way.
Some insects possessed venom lethal even to apex predators—one sting, and the mightiest beast collapsed.
Salesin was the predator.
But this place was filled with insects harboring fatal poison.
Each one capable of cracking his vessel and threatening his life.
“In that case.”
Salesin raised his right arm.
“I will wipe all of you out in one strike.”
A shield of light formed above his hand.
“Come. Shield of the Sun.”
Those who saw it felt danger instinctively.
The Shield of the Sun—together with the sword of light, Salesin’s signature weapon.
Its specialty was wide-area devastation.
Tuuuuuum!
A massive shockwave erupted from the shield.
The white wave carried immense physical force.
Debris vibrated violently and crumbled under its vibration.
Just one sweep of the wave made everyone around falter for a moment.
But the waves did not stop at one.
Tuum! Tuum! Tuum!
Like a massive drum being struck rhythmically, shockwaves burst from the Shield of the Sun again and again, sweeping across the area.
Boulders shattered into gravel.
Gravel into sand.
The sand vanished without leaving a trace.
“Grrrk...!”
Even Berom, protected by Living Armor, and Phyron, with his hardened muscles, were slowly being pushed back.
The mages also tried desperately to erect defensive spells to block the shockwaves, but the faint pressure riding on the air gnawed away at their bodies bit by bit.
Kuguguguguung!
The strongest elites of the continent were pinned in place, unable to move.
And as time passed, the overlapping shockwaves grew stronger still.
‘How is that even possible?’
Ludger stared at Salesin holding the shield.
Salesin’s body, gripping and raising the shield, cracked like thin glass—and the next shockwave erased him completely.
His fragmented body then flowed backward in time and returned to its original form.
‘Destruction and regeneration. So he’s using it like this here?’
Salesin was not immune to his own shockwaves.
But possessing the reserve lives—the vessels—he could afford such reckless choices.
He could simply restore what he destroyed.
Even if he used up most of his vessels here, Salesin had chosen to wipe out every “insect” in this place.
‘We cannot let this continue.’
Ludger forced strength into his legs to keep himself from collapsing.
The moment he tried to take a step forward, another shockwave slammed into him.
“Kh.”
This was a technique defensive magic could never fully block.
And the pain it inflicted was not ordinary pain.
It felt as though it vibrated the soul itself.
That was undoubtedly the power of the Shield of the Sun.
Taking one step forward felt harder than walking to the edge of the horizon.
But he could not give up.
‘I need to find an opening. If this continues, we’ll be annihilated.’
Clenching his teeth, Ludger glared at Salesin.
Bloodshot eyes, pupils trembling from the impact, but he did not look away.
Find it. His opening.
Nothing in the world is perfect. There must be a flaw somewhere.
Tuum! Tuum! Tuum!
The shockwaves continued blasting outward, pulverizing the ground around Salesin into powder.
The area closest to him, where the shockwaves struck the hardest, turned into a wasteland of nothingness.
And that range was widening.
However—
‘I found it.’
Because the destruction grew more intense, Ludger noticed it.
Salesin’s regeneration had slowed—just slightly, but noticeably.
And that was not the only sign.
At the start, Salesin’s body endured twenty shockwaves before collapsing. Then only fifteen.
Then nine. Then five.
‘Salesin’s body is breaking down faster.’
Was it because the shockwaves had grown stronger? No.
The shockwaves maintained a constant power and rhythm.
‘Salesin’s body is simply weakening.’
Whether it was from using the shield, or because he’d consumed too many vessels—this was their chance.
And Ludger was not the only one who realized it.
“Hey! Heathcliff!”
Nearby, Suruna called out to Ludger.
He was protecting both Catherine and Arkenis behind him, sword embedded in the ground to anchor himself.
Half of Suruna's face had been smashed by the shockwaves, leaking black smoke-like mist.
Yet he looked at Ludger and nodded with a smile.
Ludger understood what that smile and those eyes meant.
One chance.
They would take it.
—Crack!
With the next shockwave, Salesin’s body shattered again.
He regenerated, but in that minuscule instant the power of the shockwaves lessened.
Only for the briefest fraction of time.
A moment so short it barely existed.
Yet it was likely the first and the last opportunity they would ever get.
Suruna immediately dispelled his protective barrier and adjusted his grip on his sword.
“Suruna.”
Arkenis’s voice rang from behind him.
A heavy voice that spoke only his name—but he knew what she was trying to say.
—Do not go.
“This is... the ending I have chosen.”
There was no hesitation.
Suruna stepped forward.
Crack!
His leg shattered like glass, sending his body lurching forward.
Grinding his teeth, Suruna forced his destroyed ankle to hold his weight.
“Ready!”
At the same time, Ludger activated his magic.
Like Suruna, he aimed for the same fleeting instant—mustering every last thread of his consciousness into one spell.
[Source Code]
Coordinate design ritual activated.
A shadow rose before Suruna, forming a circular full-body-mirror-like doorway.
Suruna hurled himself toward the shadow door.
Crossing space—
—Suruna appeared right in front of Salesin, who had just finished regenerating.
“You...!”
Salesin’s eyes widened; he had not imagined anyone could reach him here.
And then—
Tuum!
A fresh shockwave burst outward.
Suruna was right beside the shield—he should have taken the full brunt.
His remaining leg shattered and vanished. One arm disappeared from the shoulder down.
But—
The hand gripping his sword remained intact.
That alone was enough.
“Goodbye.”
Salesin did not understand who Suruna was bidding farewell to.
He would never know.
The final moment of a man who had lived only for one woman—Salesin would not understand it even if someone explained it to him.
From within his collapsing body, Suruna thrust his sword.
In a world washed completely white—
The cleanest, most beautiful trajectory split that world and pierced Salesin’s heart.
Crack!
The shockwaves emanating from the Shield of the Sun finally ceased.
