From within the portal where light refracted and rippled, Delua ran out, looking in only one direction. It took quite a while to reach the exit, as if there were some problem with the designated coordinates.
Usually, this happened when the terrain at the corresponding coordinates had changed, making it impossible to specify the exact location.
Because of this, Delua hurriedly stepped out of the portal, carrying all sorts of worries and pain with her. She hoped that the ominous feeling in her chest was nothing more than needless concern.
Tadak-
The moment she came out, her forcibly extended step faltered. This was because a pungent smell brushed her nose first.
A chilling stench wafted—nothing like the scent of her own blood she’d just been covered in.
As she stared ahead with a dazed expression, her focus, scattered by dizziness, sharpened. The dazzling sunset washed over the wide plains, and the black-dyed flag of the 6th Battalion fluttered in tatters.
Broken swords and bent spears. Collapsed tents and scattered protective gear. Small flames burning on dry grass occasionally spat sparks, slowly spreading sideways.
This place, which had clearly been flat ground, was now pocked with sunken pits and raised mounds, and on the gentle slopes lay scorched earth and navy blue figures strewn about haphazardly.
The color gradually drained from Delua’s face.
Her eyes, unable to accept reality, darted busily in all directions. Her hands, trembling with irregular breaths, slowly rose to grasp her head.
Soon, what tore out from between her twisted lips was a terrible, desperate scream.
“Uwaaaaa-!”
Her legs, having lost their destination and unable to find their bearings, suddenly bolted. Roughly pulling at members half-buried in the dirt, Delua checked their faces one by one.
Her legs had given out at the cruel sights four or five times already, but still, to find survivors, she grabbed the shoulders of every figure she saw and turned them over without hesitation. But each time, what she faced were the clouded eyes of corpses, and after passing dead comrades again and again, she found herself heading for the top of the hill.
Swallowing the metallic taste that had risen to her throat, Delua took her last step toward the summit.
And when she finally reached the peak, what she saw looking down was by no means the sight she had hoped for.
“...”
The navy blue shadows that had been sparsely visible were now piled in layers, sprawled across the ground.
Groans wrestling with death mumbled pitifully, begging to be saved.
Blood hadn’t just seeped into the ground—it had pooled, forming gory puddles. However, Delua couldn’t look at that miserable scene for long.
This was because a huge, hideous shadow slowly fell over her head from behind.
A monster with a massive body, flapping its heavy wings. It approached leisurely, stirring hot winds as if to announce its presence.
The sunlight that had been shining down vanished, and Delua’s body was left in the middle of a dark shadow.
Meanwhile, it felt as if the hot blood running down the back of her neck was rushing to her head. Her eyes shone fiercely. As a magic circle spread at her feet, a huge golem rose from the ground.
“Uwaaaa!”
Clenching her fists, she leaped onto the golem’s shoulder in one bound. Then, turning around, she thrust her fist without hesitation toward the monster behind her.
Following her movement and furious shout, the golem’s arm rotated 180 degrees and flew toward the mother body’s head. There was no fear in that gesture at all. It held only the desire to tear the monster apart.
But suddenly, monsters that had gathered at some point clustered in front of the queen, forming a solid shield. The golem’s fist landed dully in the middle of the instantly entangled bodies. The creatures stacked like a tower burst under the pressure, but even as acidic liquid splattered in all directions, the enraged Delua did not stop.
Kiaaak-
Amid the monsters’ screams as they scattered, Delua sublimated the pain that felt like a knife stabbing into her into a shout. At the same time, she mercilessly swept aside and kicked away the foolish monsters rushing her.
“Die, you monsters!”
Each time the solid mass of rock cut through the air with a “bwoong-” sound, the small fry blocking her view fell away in droves. The heavy footsteps of the golem, echoing “kung, kung,” advanced nimbly, breaking through indiscriminate attacks.
And so, as she struck down the last creature rushing her, just before the golem’s fist could reach the mother body—
An ominous beam flashed between the creature’s wings, shriveled like a demon’s hands.
“...”
Delua, sensing the hot energy, instinctively threw herself sideways. But the ultra-high-speed destructive beam that had already been fired instantly punched through the golem’s core.
Kwaaang-!
Her ears went numb at the sudden impact. Delua’s body lifted and was thrown back, tumbling over the hill with a short scream.
Rolling down the slope along with scattered rock fragments, she ended up half-buried among the groaning members.
“Ughk-”
Pain like her flesh was being torn spread from her abdomen throughout her entire body. Heavy breaths spilled from her mouth, and blood vessels stood out from her neck across her face.
Delua struggled with all her might, wriggling to turn so her stomach wouldn’t be pressed. Covering the blood that occasionally gushed out with both hands, she clutched her abdomen, trying desperately not to fall into shock.
At that moment, a familiar figure entered Delua’s eyes as she crawled.
“...Battalion Commander.”
A pale face looking this way with half-closed eyes, head buried in the dirt. It was Marlen.
“...Marlen!”
The instant she recognized her, Delua called her name in a voice that seemed about to break and crawled over. Then, embracing Marlen—covered in blood and barely moving—she examined her condition with trembling eyes.
“Marlen, where are you hurt? ...What’s wrong?”
Her body was so soaked in blood it was impossible to tell exactly where she was injured, and it looked terribly heavy. Unable to properly control her arms, legs, and neck, she lay limp, barely moving her lips.
‘...I’m... sorry.’
In between, a metallic sound—almost inhuman—cracked and intermittent, slipped out.
“I... shouldn’t... have... talked... about... the dream.”
At those words, laden with too much, Delua’s face twisted as she looked down at Marlen. Finally, barely lifting her upper body halfway, she cradled the other’s ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ head with trembling arms. Her shoulders, sunk in despair, shook with small sobs.
Marlen, held in Delua’s arms, tried to open her eyes, clinging to a consciousness that felt ready to fade. However, contrary to her will, her eyelids grew heavier, as if sleep were overtaking her.
She wanted to raise her arm to comfort the crying Battalion Commander, but her body didn’t move as her heart wished. Until a black shadow fell over her head, she couldn’t give any sign other than lightly gripping the collar.
Feeling her elbow being tugged, Delua, who had buried her face near Marlen’s neck, jerked her head up.
When she reflexively turned around, the mother body, leading the monsters, had already approached within arm’s reach.
They looked down at the two of them quietly, as if watching human emotions pushed to the extreme. Under those terrible, cruel gazes, Delua felt her strength draining, despite her boiling fighting spirit.
Barely exhaling anxious breaths, she poured all her strength into her arms with the sole intention of protecting the body she held. She bent her legs to kneel, and though swaying, she tried her best to keep her balance.
And at that moment, a sudden chill swept across Delua’s flushed face. At the same time, a man’s voice—both kind and cold—flowed into her ears.
“Delua, stand up.”
The cold air stung her sensitive eyes, and Delua reflexively blinked. Then she saw three figures that had appeared in the blink of an eye, blocking her front and aiming their weapons forward.
The dark blue hair that was always neatly arranged was now disheveled, swaying in the wind.
With the Commander at the center, Meterion stood to the left and Isabella to the right.
Their appearances, battered by fierce battles and explosions, were torn and cut without a single intact spot. But even at the risk of death, to fulfill their duty, they held on to their fading consciousness and stood before the monster once more.
Meterion, glaring at the mother body with a face that looked ready to collapse, glanced back at Delua behind him. Then he sharply rebuked her—still sitting—as if snapping her back to her senses.
“Stand up-!”
Delua’s shoulders jerked at that voice. But only for a moment. She gently laid down Marlen’s head that she had been holding. Then, bracing trembling arms and legs against the ground, she staggered up at last.
As the four, in their miserable state, tried to confront it with nothing but sheer tenacity keeping them upright, destructive beams boiled along the mother body’s wings, as if appreciating their admirable will.
“Foolish ones.”
Though knowing better than anyone how terrifying that power was, Hugo, standing in the center, merely turned the broad side of his greatsword outward to spread a barrier, not avoiding it.
For a moment, strangely regretful memories drifted through his exhausted mind, but he shook the negativity off with a slow blink. Then, oddly enough, among the scattered thoughts, Leonardo’s face—smiling brightly at him—came to mind.
It was strange that it surfaced so suddenly, pushing aside comrades he had spent so long with, and Hugo, finding himself ridiculous, carefully held that face in his heart.
Eventually, a thought that didn’t fit the situation—wanting to eliminate the creature as soon as possible and go check on his condition—kept circling in his mind.
And at that moment.
As if answering Hugo’s heart, a chilling thrill ran through his skin and bones.
His blue eyes, reflexively wide, snapped to a single point far to the southwest.
Kwaaang-!
Pajijijik-
A huge pillar of light that rose over the ridge pierced the sky, bursting with golden sparks. The thick diagonal line that stretched from ground to sky like a thunderbolt radiated a threatening presence, scattering savage sparks and wind pressure.
The powerful shockwave spreading from that point instantly engulfed the southern part of the peninsula. The destructive gale, carrying vast clouds of dust, collapsed weak ground and overturned even the plains.
In an instant, not only the monsters but even the standing humans were helplessly shoved back. Even Hugo, feet planted, staggered and took two steps back.
At the intense, familiar energy within it, Hugo lowered the arm shielding his eyes and looked into the distance again. His lips, slightly parted as if in disbelief, moved to form the name he couldn’t quite speak.
‘Leonardo?’
Pushing back the hair tickling his eyebrows, Hugo faced the world being dyed gold. Lightning flashed fiercely at the center of clouds retreating in a circle, expanding its influence.
Rising higher than even the majestic mountains, it emitted a different dimension of energy—something never felt before.
‘No, this is...’
Meterion, Isabella, and Delua, who had raised barriers and hunched down, also lifted their heads involuntarily at the overwhelming mana that made their skin tingle. The thunderous rupturing sound, intertwined with the pounding of their hearts, tore through the air at a speed that seemed to pierce their stifling chests.
The body of that mana, bursting with sharp sparks, soon revealed itself in the dazzling light of the scattering sunset.
A mystical shadow wrapped in blazing golden flames.
Recognizing that strange yet familiar existence, Hugo, staring up at him in the sky, unconsciously muttered.
“The Sun.”
