Ch.116Chapter 116. The Final Battle Against the Demon Army

I couldn’t even scream.

In the early stages of the infinite regression, I used to mock the demon folk who were dragged around helplessly until the hero party unleashed their massive attacks, thinking them weak and stupid.

But when it happened to me, Denarua felt pathetic.

I hadn’t let my guard down.

If it had been normal circumstances, if it had been the usual hero party, this wouldn’t have happened.

The only difference was Lin’s participation in the battle.

These bastards, if they had listened to Lin from the beginning, their previous journey might have been much easier.

“Ugh…!”

But now all I could do was barely block this insanely powerful red-gold slash.

My teeth ground together so hard my molars creaked.

“Uaaaaaaah!”

I was pushed back little by little.

I tried to hold my ground by stepping back and putting strength into my legs and waist, but it was only a matter of time.

My wrists bent backward, and Denarua’s defense was broken.

“Ack…!”

KWAAAAAAAA-!

In the end, Lucy’s slash swallowed Denarua whole.

The overwhelming power cut off even the dual swordsman’s death cry.

“Haa… haa… haa…”

It was a slash delivered with every ounce of strength I could muster.

The attack didn’t just finish off Denarua but continued flying, incinerating the gathered monster horde.

Seeing her attack succeed, Lucy fell to her knees, bracing herself against the ground.

Her arms trembled, and her sweat had soaked through to her underwear.

“Lin…”

Nevertheless, Lucy stood up again and approached the porter.

Though unconscious, his chest was rising and falling, showing he was safe.

It was fortunate that Denarua had tried to avoid hurting Lin somehow.

“Ar…”

Lucy started to call for Arsil but stopped.

The saint, having barely treated herself, was sweating profusely while healing Ravin.

For some reason, the healing seemed slower than usual.

“Hurry up!”

“I’m using all my holy power, but it’s not easy! The dual swordsman’s ultimate skill is making recovery too slow!”

When Lucy grew impatient and nagged, Arsil answered with uncharacteristic calmness.

But soon both the hero and the saint’s faces hardened.

The dual swordsman’s ultimate skill still hadn’t been dispelled?

“No way…!”

As the hero urgently scanned her surroundings, a small beast rushed at her from behind.

Before she could react, a black fox bit into Lucy’s nape.

“Kugh! You…!”

“It’s not over until it’s over, hero?”

The fox began taking human form.

Denarua, his body in tatters, sucked Lucy’s blood and magic through the fangs embedded in her.

“Let go! Let me go!”

Despite struggling to remove the vampire, the long fangs only dug deeper, tearing at her neck.

Like a lion or tiger with prey in its jaws, Denarua dragged Lucy backward while biting her.

Lucy struggled as her blood was mercilessly drained, but she went limp in a very short time, and by then the dual swordsman had already recovered some strength and healed some wounds.

“How absurd. The hero’s magic is most similar to ours.”

And her blood tastes good too.

Feeling disgusted by that fact itself, Denarua raised his sword toward Arsil.

Despite what happened to Lucy, the saint hadn’t stopped healing.

Glancing at Lin lying quietly, Denarua smiled leisurely.

“It’s about time I kill all of you and take Lin.”

“All of us?”

But Arsil raised her middle finger toward the dual swordsman.

“We’re not all down yet.”

At the same moment, a voice came from behind where Lucy had been.

“Ultimate skill.”

“What?!”

A familiar voice.

This hateful voice I couldn’t forget even if I tried.

But in the midst of battle, I had completely forgotten she was there.

Busy fending off the persistent hero party and distracted by Lucy’s big attack, I’d forgotten her existence entirely.

Before engaging Denarua, Lin had given instructions in a secret language.

Raising an index finger. Use bait.

Pointing at Lucy. The hero is the bait.

Showing two fingers. The second strongest force after the hero is the real deal.

And making a fist. This will finish everything.

“Magic: Kaleidoscope!”

Countless magic circles formed in the sky like fireworks.

They multiplied exponentially, forming a band that could be called a galaxy.

When Tigria flicked her finger over the scroll of knowledge, all kinds of magic shot toward the monsters.

Boom after boom followed as the monsters advancing toward Rowellina’s main force from the rear were swept away in an instant.

Rowellina’s main force, facing off against the monsters led by Biscon, cheered as the monsters exploded before their eyes.

“You think I’ll just let you!”

Denarua immediately drew her sword and leaped.

Or at least, she tried to.

Until a hand suddenly grabbed her ankle.

“Lin?!”

“You think I’ll just let you?”

Lin, who had regained consciousness, blocked her.

The dual swordsman, who had fallen forward ungracefully, immediately had to dodge a fierce kick.

‘This will just waste more time!’

The longer Denarua delayed, the more monsters and lower demons were being destroyed.

Moreover, Adora waiting in the rear was also in danger.

But with the full-power release effect still active, Denarua couldn’t act despite knowing the enemy’s intentions.

And then, something clearly different from magic shook the ground.

Dududududududu-!

A blue spearman in black armor was charging forward on a massive black horse.

Tigria recognized this and launched countless spells, but the black horse skillfully changed direction and avoided them all.

“Yiaaaaaaaa-!!!”

When the spearman pulled the reins, the black horse neighed loudly and kicked off the ground, soaring into the sky.

But the spearman wasn’t the only one who took flight.

“Estel-style Secret Technique: Sky Strike!”

Despite having her blood drained, Lucy leaped up with her trembling body and bisected the black horse from the front.

The spearman jumped from the splitting horse, which let out a monstrous cry, and threw his spear directly at Tigria.

[Ultimate Skill]

“Javelin: Dart D’End!”

Though his posture was imperfect, the spear imbued with blue magic that he had been gathering since his charge broke through dozens of layers of defensive magic.

She needed to move.

She needed to dodge.

But while casting so many spells, it was difficult to move her body on her own.

Just barely, just slightly twisting her body, the javelin that tore through the defensive magic blew away Tigria’s right shoulder.

“Aack!”

The mage fell limply to the ground.

Seeing this, the hero party and Rowellina’s main force despaired.

“This can’t be…”

Even Lin’s voice was trembling.

The plan had worked perfectly.

They used Lucy to draw attention and make Denarua focus, erasing Tigria’s presence.

And she, having stored up magic for that time, would eliminate everything with her ultimate skill when the moment came.

It was executed exactly as planned.

The enemy played along according to plan.

But it was useless against overwhelming power.

Though they had reduced the number of monsters by more than half, the dragon knights remained intact.

Conversely, the entire hero party was in critical condition.

At best, Arsil had barely managed to heal Ravin and Naidrian.

Salamei, who had been twirling her spear, spoke slowly.

Denarua also shook the blood from her sword and declared to the hero party in front:

“Checkmate.”

Neither Lin, Lucy, Tigria, nor anyone else could deny this arrogant declaration.

However, Lin took a stance.

“You never know the result until the very end.”

At those words, Lucy also drew Abyss beside Lin.

“I don’t know about others, but I’m going all the way.”

Ravin appeared on Lin’s right.

One hand was fidgeting with a potion in his pocket.

“Let’s see this through, shall we?”

Naidrian aimed his arrow, and Arsil was running to treat Tigria’s arm.

“Salamei.”

“I know, let’s take Lin alive.”

“You take Lin. I’ll quickly deal with the other small fry and join you.”

“Difficult mission~.”

Everyone prepares for the second round.

Hearts pounding, eyes strained, looking for any opening in the enemy.

As the tense situation weighed heavily,

“Hear me. Hear the words of I, Airan Dekarrun.”

A deep voice resonated across the entire central front.

“We are weak.”

This speech, unforgettable to anyone who had participated in battles on the demon army front.

“But we have precious people we must protect.”

The faces of Biscon and Rowellina’s main force troops brightened.

“That is why we have gathered here and come to the battlefield to protect them.”

The dragon knights were confused.

They couldn’t tell which direction the voice was coming from.

“But the enemies are mightier than us.”

This was Airan Dekarrun’s skill.

“Fear not. Haven’t you exalted me for times like these?”

The effect of this skill, which merely made a voice resound across the battlefield, was just one thing:

“When it’s time to protect, time to fight! I shall become the sacrifice to fulfill your wishes!”

Boosting the morale of the soldiers.

“I will protect you from the very front, and I will kill the enemies from the very front! Yes! I! This very I! Airan Dekarrun!”

The ground trembled.

But Rowellina’s main force’s cheers alone were not enough to make the earth shake.

Something else was running across this land.

Dududududududududu-!

Certainly, compared to Salamei’s black horse, it was far inferior, but that was only because of that particular black horse.

Thousands of cavalry appeared behind the gathered monsters.

And of course, at the forefront stood—no, led—Duke Airan Dekarrun in white armor.

The cavalry charged without stopping once.

“We must retreat, Denarua! Adora is right there!”

“D-damn it all!!!!!”

Salamei was shocked, and Denarua quickly sheathed her sword.

Dududududududududu-!

They didn’t stop.

The cavalry led by the Duke himself accelerated even more.

Airan charged at a terrifying speed.

“Behold! The duty of nobility!!!!!”

The hooves of her white horse crushed a monster.

Starting with that heavy, eerie sound of flesh being trampled, both the hero party and Rowellina’s main force rushed toward the enemy lines.

They collided with their bodies, slashed, stabbed, and shot to kill.

Even when injured, they felt no pain.

Even Lin continued fighting with a battle cry.

Only after the last monster fell did the cavalry’s charge stop.

Unfortunately, the dragon knights had left the battlefield shortly after Airan’s surprise attack on the rear.

Lin sat down.

The soldiers who had witnessed the desperate struggle of a mere porter patted his shoulder one by one as they passed by.

“Well, the Duke was right. I was wrong.”

Even Biscon placed his hand on his shoulder and disappeared, leaving Airan standing before him last.

“I express my gratitude.”

Airan bowed to Lin.

“Your valiant efforts saved us.”

“I didn’t do it alone. And I didn’t do anything particularly outstanding.”

“That’s true.”

Airan gave him an apologetic look.

“But you’re the only one who hasn’t received proper thanks until this moment.”

Unable to describe the feeling that welled up, Lin turned his gaze to the distance.

Night was ending, and dawn was breaking.