Chapter 94 |
[EP.94] The Only Way to Defeat
At the moment Kraush clashed with Agares, a figure appeared from a Sephira-exclusive magic circle in the Demonic Realm.
Her hair fluttering, she sighed lightly upon her arrival.
‘I wonder if I’ll be disciplined.’
Her name was Mirsys, a third-tier officer of Sephira.
Her presence here today was at the behest of her mistress, Crimson Garden.
To her, Crimson Garden was a benefactor, having saved her from being sold into slavery in the slums and taken care of her.
Thus, if her benefactor asked, she would do anything, even if it likely meant facing disciplinary action.
Or worse, if suspicion arose, she might have to pack up and leave Sephira due to how most magic is misconstrued in the Demonic Realm.
There was no way around it.
She had prepared as much as she could to deflect.
‘Crimson Garden asked me to hurry.’
Normally, it would have been okay to disclose this information when the Blue Sea Knight Order arrived.
But Crimson Garden, feeling sorry, had asked her to hurry.
As her benefactor’s request was of utmost priority, even over Sephira matters, Mirsys did not hesitate to set out.
She headed to the tent where Serang Sephira, the princess of Sephira, resided.
Upon her arrival, someone sensing her presence peeked out.
“What’s the matter?”
It was Blavi, the Heavenly Dog Star.
Born under the Heavenly Slaughter Star, he was Serang Sephira’s guardian.
Until recently, Mirsys thought of him merely as Sephira’s new guardian.
She wouldn’t have known anything about the supposedly retired Heavenly Dog Star without Crimson Garden.
“I have an urgent message for Lady Serang.”
Upon hearing her message, Blavi glanced at the Sephira insignia on her chest and stepped aside.
He judged that someone of her rank wouldn’t be here without serious cause.
Inside the tent, Serang sat reading a book, as relaxed as ever.
Could she really read with a veil covering her face?
After flipping a page with her long fingers, Serang looked up and smiled upon seeing Mirsys.
“Welcome, Mirsys. It seems you have business with me.”
Hearing the summons, Mirsys’s face tensed.
In Sephira’s long history, only one lineage could become first-tier officers.
The lineage of astrologers who could divine the future, the bloodline of Sephira.
Until now, Sephira had forecasted world erosions and responded accordingly through these astrologers.
And to make these responses more efficient, they gathered talents from different nations.
Thus, Sephira became a specialized institution for investigating world erosions.
Serang Sephira was the direct descendant of this lineage, hence rightfully called the princess of Sephira.
“Did you already know I would come?”
“The stars don’t tell everything. However, if it concerns Sephira, I inevitably learn of it.”
Her laughter from behind the veil made Mirsys tense up again.
Before her, the mysterious and enigmatic aura of Serang made her finally speak up.
“If you knew I would come, I’ll get straight to the point. There’s trouble with the Balheim family in the Demonic Realm.”
“Oh, trouble for the Balheims, you say?”
“Yes, the 8-star erosion species, Agares, has appeared.”
Serang fell silent upon hearing this.
Perhaps she had already foreseen this through divination.
Waiting for a response, Serang tapped the desk with her finger. Mirsys was tense, but Serang’s eyelashes fluttered.
She had been divining for the Balheim Knight Order since their arrival in the Demonic Realm.
‘I can’t see anything, no matter how hard I try.’
This puzzled her.
Sephira’s astrologers had always been divining for forbidden areas to check the stability of world erosions.
But recently, the divinations for the Demonic Realm became unclear.
Knowing this, she left Sephira to find out what was happening.
Then, conflict arose in the Demonic Realm, prompting her to request support for Balheim.
Was the conflict the reason for the obscure divinations?
Now Agares had appeared.
Had they not noticed in time, Agares might have reached the walls, an unprecedented crisis.
‘Yet, it’s strange that the appearance of an 8-star erosion species would obscure the divinations.’
While Agares’s emergence was a definite emergency, it raised questions.
World erosions are unpredictable, and it wasn’t unheard of for 8-star species to cause havoc.
Each time, Sephira made divinations and requested support from families accordingly.
But this time, no divinations made sense.
Then, Serang thought of a boy among the Balheim knights who had three skills.
The bold boy who wanted to receive the Heavenly Slaughter Star from Blavi.
‘Maybe.’
She raised her hand slightly.
The boy had been on her mind.
Though she avoided divining individual fates, she felt a strong need to know more about him now.
In her hand appeared a sphere invisible to others, swirling like the Milky Way.
And soon, Serang stiffened.
‘I can’t see.’
Divinations related to the boy were invisible.
It dawned on her that the reason for the obscured divinations in the Demonic Realm was his planned arrival.
‘What on earth…’
She looked perplexed.
The boy, who had made prophetic statements, had baffled her.
And now, she realized divinations concerning him were invisible.
It left her feeling dazed.
What was it about this boy that even divinations couldn’t reveal?
‘This has only happened once before.’
Serang’s eyes drifted beyond the tent’s ceiling to the sky.
A divination aimed at deciphering the thoughts of gods – an audacious act she had once performed.
That time, she saw nothing.
Her interest in the boy stemmed from that reason.
Gods have an unwritten rule: one skill per person, except for saints.
The boy who broke this rule intrigued her.
She sensed something suspicious about him, a significant current swirling around him.
Realizing she hadn’t responded to Mirsys yet, she decided to prioritize this matter.
“Alright. I’ll immediately seek help, not just for Balheim but from everywhere I can.”
It’s a noble’s duty to assist in world erosions.
If they could muster rescue teams within a day by sending out messages quickly, it would be ideal.
The response was swift.
However, Serang sensed Mirsys had more to say, as her expression remained tense.
“Mirsys, is there something else?”
Her question, laden with meaning, seemed to know the answer already.
The unique position of an astrologer endowed her words with a mysterious allure, a speech style Serang often enjoyed.
“Yes, I believe you already know, but I also request support from Blavi.”
That Mirsys knew about Blavi surprised her.
Though she had suspected Mirsys’s connection to the boy, it now seemed the entire world knew Blavi’s identity.
“Blavi is my guardian,”
She spoke, maintaining her composure, unaccustomed to being so frequently flustered.
“Yes, it’s a request from Kraush. He offered a trade.”
Indeed, Mirsys was related to the boy.
And another trade.
She dreaded what might come next.
But nodding for her to continue, Mirsys approached.
“May I have a moment of your ear?”
“Of course.”
Serang presented her ear, and Mirsys whispered something.
After a moment of shock, Serang fell silent, her face flushed red behind the veil.
“Blavi!”
She called him urgently.
“Yes, miss?”
“Can you go to the Demonic Realm right now and support Balheim?”
Blavi blinked at the question, then cast a sly glance at Mirsys.
Facing his gaze, Mirsys felt like a mouse caught by a predator.
For someone steeped in academia like her, Blavi’s presence was like staring death in the face.
Then, Serang’s hand shot up, instantly easing Blavi’s pressure.
“Blavi, this is my personal request. Can you help?”
“I am your guardian, miss. I cannot leave my duty to act on my own.”
“It’s alright. This is more important than that duty.”
Serang stood and approached Blavi, speaking softly so Mirsys couldn’t hear.
“Find the Blue Sea Knight Order member Kraush, and bring him back. He might be another darkness lying in wait for my future.”
Hearing this, Blavi bowed.
“Yes, I will go.”
Then he immediately exited the tent.
Watching his departure, Serang exhaled briefly.
“Mirsys, is there anything else?”
“No, that’s all.”
“Then head to Sephira’s tent to rest. It’s best you stay until this matter is resolved.”
Grateful for the consideration, Mirsys left the tent.
Outside, contemplating the setting sun, she wondered what could be in the third drawer of her room that elicited such a reaction from Serang.
＊ ＊ ＊
Boom!
With the mantle now escaped, Agares’s bony arm, completely transformed, slammed into the ground.
Its power was immense, enough to tear the earth apart and cause seismic shocks.
But considering its original strength, this was negligible.
Agares’s attacks, when armored in darkness, knew no bounds.
Any area covered in darkness was its domain, filled with all manner of curses.
Touching it meant being consumed by curses immediately.
Moreover, the more erosion species overwhelmed by darkness, the stronger Agares’s sovereign command made it.
This command infinitely amplified Agares’s power.
However, Agares couldn’t fully utilize the sovereign command’s effect now.
The basic premise of the command is to corrupt erosion species with darkness.
After Kraush targeted its true eye, Agares lost its ability to wield darkness.
Meaning, it could no longer corrupt erosion species with darkness.
As the Green Wave Knight Order continued to reduce the erosion species,
The sovereign command’s effect dwindled without replenishment.
And naturally, this meant Agares was weakening.
Despite this,
Agares remained an 8-star erosion species.
Its body, minus the head, now fully emerged, stood on two legs, imposing enough to sink observers into despair.
Its upper body, hidden by the Demonic Realm’s dark clouds, remained unseen.
Whoosh-
The pouring black rain drenched the Sky-Piercing knights.
At that moment, an arm stretched towards the ground, aiming for Kraush.
Agares, having suffered at Kraush’s hands, harbored deep malice against him.
“Kraush!”
“I’m aware!”
Responding to Lilish’s warning, Kraush sprinted with all his might.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Agares’s arms filled the spot Kraush had just vacated.
Had he delayed even slightly, he would have been crushed.
Then, the arm that touched the ground split open.
Out poured human-sized bony arms, nearly thousands, all aimed at Kraush.
Each carried a lethally corrosive aura.
Sparks flew from Kraush’s forehead.
His instincts, combined with Lioner, maximized his reflexive wall, allowing him to evade the bone tide.
Boom!
The explosion from behind signified another of Agares’s arms collapsing under Lilish’s Crushing Slash Sword.
This gave Agares’s assault a moment’s pause.
“Hoo!”
Taking a quick breath, Kraush clenched his left hand.
It contained darkness stolen from Agares, including the sovereign command’s curse.
But to use it, he needed to reach Agares’s neck, wrapped in its mantle high above.
Naturally, reaching that height was challenging, and Agares wouldn’t stand by.
Thus, he needed someone else’s strength.
“Lilish, can you cut off Agares’s leg?”
“His leg?”
Catching her breath, Lilish heard Kraush’s shout.
“Do you have a plan to defeat it?”
“Yes, if I can reach its neck.”
Lilish looked up at Agares.
Its upper body, obscured by clouds, was barely visible.
The Sky-Piercing knights were visibly slowing down, their energy nearly depleted.
Even thinking about stalling until the Blue Sea Knight Order arrived seemed overly ambitious.
Given the timing, they were probably still far from the walls.
In such a situation, waiting for their arrival was practically impossible.
Perhaps it was better to gamble while they still had the energy to do so.
“Understood.”
Kraush had already taken a significant risk to create this opportunity.
If not trusting him, then who?
“Sky-Piercing Knight Order! Focus on Agares’s left leg!”
And she would take the right.
“Kraush, do everything you can!”
Shouting this, Lilish dashed forward, aiming for Agares’s leg.
The leg was much thicker than its arms, constantly moving as Kraush pursued it.
Agares, being a living creature rather than a stationary turret, moved accordingly.
Moreover, true to its nature as an erosion species, it had regenerative abilities.
Lilish had shattered arms starting to heal again.
Whether she could bring down such a leg while evading Agares’s attacks was uncertain for Lilish.
‘But.’
Seeing her much younger brother struggle so hard,
Was she, the strongest among them, to whine and complain?
‘I will break it.’
The idea of buying time had long vanished.
To repay her brother’s effort, she would defeat Agares here.
Lilish Balheim.
Her eyes shone a brilliant blue at that moment.
