Chapter 128: Ouroboros (2) |
TL/Editor: Rungir
Schedule: none
Illustrations: none
Join the discord! Here
In the northernmost part of the continent, the climate was perpetually cold, with snowfall throughout all seasons. Half of the area was comprised of snowy mountains, yet equally vast plains also existed.
These plains were home to a massive community of giants.
Perhaps due to the harsh environment, where the climate made survival difficult for ordinary humans and crops barely grew, the giants of the community were predominantly aggressive, enjoying hunting and reveling in combat.
Thus, even after becoming part of the empire through the Eternal Treaty, skirmishes and larger conflicts between the giant communities occurred annually.
"Lately, not having fought feels like an itch I can't scratch."
"That's what I'm saying. I thought we'd be included in the battle against the 'Blue Claw,' but they went with the same ones again."
The giant with the long black beard responded, eliciting agreement from his bushy-browed companion.
"Ha, I should protest and demand they take us next time. Guard duty is important, sure, but standing around like this is going to rot my body."
"I agree. Feeding this guy some blood from time to time keeps it from getting dull," the bushy-browed giant said, pulling out his axe and swinging it lightly.
That moment,
"......Huh?"
The bearded giant, watching the axe, noticed something odd reflected on its perfectly polished side, like a mirror.
The reflection showed a steep snowy mountain on the right side, an area that should have been desolately empty except for snowstorms, but now, something numerous was moving.
"Look, over there...!"
The bearded giant pointed towards the sight with wide eyes, turning the bushy-browed giant's head in that direction.
"What's got you all...!"
His eyes began to fill with horror at the sight.
-------------!
An army.
It was an army made up solely of monsters.
A horde of countless monsters filled the snowy mountain vista, descending at a frenzied pace.
It was a scene that could truly be described as a tidal wave of monsters, without any exaggeration.
"We must alert the tribe!"
The bushy-browed giant, having stared dumbfounded for a moment, turned pale and started running in the opposite direction.
Though he greatly enjoyed combat, he had no desire for a one-sided slaughter.
"Come on, follow me!!"
The bearded giant quickly followed suit, chasing after the bushy-browed giant.
Following that, a monstrous roar echoed!
The horde of monsters swiftly approached, shattering the outpost where they were and began to invade the land of the 'White Mane' tribe in earnest.
The central branch of Ouroboros.
The term 'central' was apt for this enormous place, home to a multitude of combatants on a regular basis.
Each one possessed military prowess on par with knights serving in the imperial palace.
Their strength was so formidable that, if known to the world, it could cause a major upheaval, but,
"Hold them back! Hold them baaaack!!!!"
"We, we can't... Aaargh!"
They were displaying a pitifully powerless scene at the moment.
Slash, slash, slash!
Attackers wearing bizarre masks relentlessly advanced, cutting down every Ouroboros member they encountered.
Their swordsmanship was so superior that most of their victims didn't even realize how they had been decapitated before falling dead.
"Exactly, how did they find this place and... huh?"
One of the members, looking pale as he watched the scene, suddenly had his eyes clouded with doubt.
Step, step.
What he saw was a man, walking slowly from behind the swiftly approaching masked swordsmen, drawing closer with terrifying speed.
Merely walking, yet one couldn't tear their eyes away from the man, as if enchanted.
At the same time, the member noticed the man's hair color.
It was a distinct silver.
"C-could it be...?"
There was only one family with such hair color in the world.
"Ag, Agnes...!"
Before the member could fully voice his realization, his throat was sliced by the nearby masked swordsmen.
'Surely fast, but...'
Passing by his corpse, Zion glanced down the straight, long corridor of the building.
The corridor stretched out, seemingly endless, with floors continuing upwards.
Eliminating all the members in this vast building while moving up would undoubtedly take a significant amount of time.
'That could introduce variables.'
Sharin May, a leader of Ouroboros, was hot-tempered but also quick-witted and intuitive.
If she felt disadvantaged, she might abandon the branch altogether.
Then...
"Lucas."
A low voice came from Zion after concluding his thoughts.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Despite the surrounding noise of battle, Lucas promptly moved to Zion's side upon hearing his voice.
"Start from the bottom and work your way up."
"And what will Your Highness do?"
"I'm going straight for the head."
With that, Zion raised his head to look at the ceiling.
As Zion's eyes darkened, he began to meticulously scan the entire building.
After a moment,
Zion's eyes slightly curved as he spotted something.
With a booming sound, dark energy burst from beneath his feet, beginning to envelop his entire body.
As this dark energy completely covered his face, illuminating his eyes with a pale light,
"Go ahead."
With an emotionless voice, darkness surged upwards in a straight line.
With a clean slicing sound, Liushina's head fell from her body and rolled across the floor.
It was Sharin May who had quickly decapitated her, sensing the ominousness from Liushina's laughter and the blood-soaked surroundings.
Such a strike was possible only for her, possessing the finest swordsmanship within Ouroboros.
"What's this?"
Thunk!
Sharin kicked the rolling head of Liushina, muttering to herself.
Though she had never seen this woman before, the sight of her smiling made Sharin's whole body instinctively bristle, leading her to reflexively swing her sword.
It resulted in Liushina's death without extracting any information, but what was done couldn't be undone.
Now, her attention shifted to the explosion heard from outside.
Just as Sharin was about to turn around and speak,
"It's not over yet!"
Diral, with wide eyes, exclaimed urgently from behind.
"…What?"
Feeling the oddness in the demon's appearance, which lacked its usual leisure, Sharin turned her head back.
"You're quite impatient, aren't you?"
From the rolling head of the witch, a chilling voice emerged.
Along with it, crack!
As if rewinding time, Liushina's head traveled back along its trajectory, slowly reattaching to her body.
Bones at the severed surface rejoined, covered vessels reconnected, and the skin healed without a trace.
Not mere regeneration but a spell akin to a divine ability.
This was Liushina's unique magic, Sangria Requiem.
"What...!"
Shocked by the scene that defied all reason, Sharin reflexively swung her sword vertically towards Liushina once more.
Her sword, burning fiercely with condensed mana, could easily slice through a mansion, but it did not reach the witch.
Before it could, with a chilling noise, thousands of bloodlines burst from Liushina's body, engulfing everything around them.
Immediately following, a tremendous explosion!
The entire room couldn't withstand the wave of bloodlines and burst apart in a massive explosion.
And as if that wasn't enough, the remnants of the shattered walls spread the wave of bloodlines throughout the entire floor.
Everything touched by this wave began to corrode and vanish without a trace.
"What, what the hell... Aaargh!"
"Screams of agony and rapidly dwindling lives filled the air, creating a scene of absolute chaos.
"What in the world is that..."
"We need to join forces to stand against that monster!"
Diral, having barely escaped the onslaught, called out to Sharin, who stood nearby with a pale expression.
By then, Jansen had already been obliterated without leaving a trace in the first explosion.
"I don't know what that thing is, but when I faced it before, its power was comparable to the 'Seven Heavens'. Don't think about taking it on alone."
Diral's form had long since transcended anything human.
Facing the witch with any semblance of complacency was folly, prompting him to reveal his true demonic form, ready to unleash his magic.
The space around the demon tore apart as thousands of claws burst forth, indicating his readiness to go all out from the start.
"Yeah, I got what you're saying."
Sharin also began to muster all her power as she stared down the red witch, emerging from what could no longer be called a room due to the extensive destruction.
Sharin was proud, but not foolishly so. Otherwise, she wouldn't have risen to be a key leader within Ouroboros.
Indeed, could this be the power of one of the worst organizations in the world?
The space around her cracked and crumbled as she summoned her strength.
"This is going to be really fun, isn't it?"
Sensing the strength of both opponents, Liushina, with a blood-red smile, once again drenched the surroundings in a bloody hue.
---------------!
And so, the clash began.
"Kyahahahaha!"
A chilling laughter filled the air as thousands of demonic eyes and beastly mouths began to obliterate everything they touched, spreading destruction.
Diral's numerous black claws, filled with vile magic, tore through the witch's dominated space, invading it in retaliation.
With every microscopic gap they created, Sharin May unleashed dozens of rapid strikes in less than a second, each attack booming like thunder, shattering the already torn space and even shaking the very core of its existence.
*****TURN 12*****
With a deafening crash, the building shook as if hit by an earthquake, and entire floors began to collapse from the colossal clash.
"Kyahahaha! Yes! I love it!!!"
Unlike the grim-faced duo, the witch of annihilation radiated sheer ecstasy, ramping up her intensity.
For Liushina, the situation was exceedingly joyous.
'I came here for a simple massacre, and now I've snagged two big fish.'
One of them was even a catch she regretfully missed before.
Certainly, if she could absorb their lives, it would greatly advance her Sangria Requiem.
But, could it be that these formidable foes were too much even for her?
The battle remained fiercely balanced, with no side gaining the upper hand, which was astonishing.
After all, this was to be expected.
Diral, in his true form, possessed a force to rival the Oma spirits, and Sharin's power, though not as immense, was not to be underestimated.
Then, with a massive tearing sound,
Diral's claws, breaking through the crimson tide, impaled Liushina's entire body.
Following that, the demonic energy bursting from the claws took on the form of evil spirits, beginning to freeze the witch's body in space itself.
The Chains of the Demon God.
A unique transcendental spell that only Diral could wield.
"Now, now is the time!"
The demon, grimacing as if the effort was taxing, shouted towards Sharin.
Diral knew.
Even if the battle seemed evenly matched for now, eventually, the tide would turn in favor of the red-eyed monster.
Thus, he had poured every bit of his demonic energy and power into this spell.
With a piercing shriek,
Instinctively sensing this was their final chance, Sharin was already hurtling towards the bound Liushina at a terrifying speed before Diral even finished speaking.
From her sword began to burn a clear, fiery aura, the intensity of which surpassed all her previous displays of swordsmanship.
'To cut and burn away the very essence, preventing regeneration.'
Sharin's eyes gleamed with a deadly resolve, brimming with the intent to kill.
'This could be dangerous.'
For the first time, a hint of trouble flickered in the eyes of the witch, completely frozen in space, as she watched Sharin approach.
Thump!
A vibration emanated from the ground.
It was so subtle that it would be imperceptible unless one was paying close attention.
But, thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
The rhythm of the vibrations grew steadily louder and closer, rapidly approaching their location.
"......?"
A moment of doubt crossed Sharin's eyes as she charged forward, then a massive explosion!
As if dozens of bombs exploded simultaneously beneath her feet, the ground where she stood burst open.
From within, a sinister darkness shot straight up to the ceiling, writhing as if alive, stretching from the first floor to the very top of the building.
"......!"
Overwhelmed by the unimaginable ferocity emanating from it, Sharin's eyes widened, and before she could even react,
"It's been a while."
A languid voice accompanied a pale hand shooting out from the darkness, seizing her head and then, with a crushing force,
Slammed her straight into the ground.
---