Ch.210210. Time of Distortion (8)

About 5 minutes after the Sovereign was thrown into the lake by Junon.

Though two people had fallen in, the battle was still proceeding intensely.

“Kuk! Of all places, it had to be where my wound opened…!”

“Are you alright?”

“Huff, huff… My apologies. I’m afraid I had some injuries.”

The humans and Lakan tribe, united by common interests, joined forces to fight against the Lycans.

How reassuring they were.

They were the perfect reinforcements, deliberately exposing themselves to Pimpert’s periodic waves and then shaking them off with their own power to prevent confusion among the Imperial troops.

Moreover, they filled the shortage of soldiers, making the situation seem perfect.

However.

Even with these additional troops, they still couldn’t overcome their numerical disadvantage.

Furthermore, being unfamiliar with the battle dynamics, there were awkward moments where coordination failed.

Both sides had already fought one battle, and since they didn’t fully trust each other yet, they were still struggling in combat.

“Are they actually decreasing? Why are there so many…?”

The Lycans kept filling the gaps no matter how many were defeated.

As all the brainwashed Lycans finally revealed themselves, Aris clicked her tongue.

“But we can keep reducing their numbers. It’s much better than before.”

“I’m not saying that because I don’t know, you rigid human!”

Despite their bickering, the two women coordinated well.

Senia swung her sword relentlessly, detecting weaknesses with her mana sight.

Aris filled the enemy lines with explosive flower petals, beautifully harmonizing her unique lotus magic with her mana specialized in pinpoint explosions.

The two women, chosen as well-honed weapons for the current Imperial army, were steadily reducing the enemy numbers.

“Kain and Goden, are you two okay?”

“We’re fine. Elder Brother Goden’s unique magic is incredibly sturdy.”

“I’m fine too. Kain is fighting well.”

Meanwhile, the Lycans faced a formidable obstacle.

A man with incredible defense that could even break enemy blades.

Goden, the leader of the Tembris party, known as “Mountain” or “Great Mountain,” firmly held the front line with an imposing presence.

Then another figure with an overwhelming presence arrived.

“Everyone, be careful-!”

As the girl’s voice reached them, dozens of formations unfolded in the sky.

White light generated from each activating formation struck the Lycans’ heads mercilessly.

The battlefield was cleared with such tremendous power that it took several tens of seconds for the next Lycan unit to charge in.

And that familiar girl’s voice warning everyone to be careful.

This refreshing alert instantly revitalized the struggling Imperial troops and boosted their morale.

“Light… falling from the sky?”

“Looking closely, I can see moon shapes!”

“There’s a silver-haired girl standing alone in the back!”

The two men at the vanguard turned their heads at the soldiers’ voices.

“Senior Goden!”

“I heard it too. A series of flashes with such power arranged in the sky… must be Lenias.”

“I think we should pull back our formation a bit.”

“Yes, we need to join up with her!”

The approaching girl seemed to emit a white halo, as the surrounding Lycans couldn’t attack her and made way for her instead.

She had opened a path in an instant.

‘A battlefield, even in a place like this?’

She had come looking for Junon but was greeted by a sudden battle.

Though she might have been confused about why such a battle was taking place here, this girl was known as the Goddess of Victory.

As always, she didn’t panic but actively participated in the battle.

After repelling a wave of Lycans, during a brief moment of respite, the silver-haired girl finally began to assess the situation.

“What’s happening? Lycans invaded Lebrant too.”

“Well… we were about to subjugate the Sovereign when the Lycans swarmed in.”

“What? Are you saying the subjugation target summoned the Lycans?”

“Probably.”

Shocking as it might be, that was the truth.

“Sigh. Lenias. Do you see that strange-eyed creature over there?”

“What is that…? It doesn’t seem like a magical beast…”

“It’s a Kalix. Probably summoned by the Sovereign.”

Senia approached Lenias to correct the formation and reveal what only she knew.

“Ka…lix?”

“It has runes engraved on it. You might not have seen it clearly, but the same pattern was engraved on the Sovereign’s right arm, under his sleeve, where he held his staff.”

“So… are you saying that’s a Beholder?”

“Smart, aren’t you? It looks different because it has more eyes, but yes, it’s a Beholder.”

Not a seven-eyed magical beast, but a creature summoned from another world.

If that deformed creature was indeed a Kalix, then the boy’s actions made sense—rushing headlong into battle.

Negative comments had circulated among the Imperial soldiers: he was too focused on charging ahead, running wild like an unbridled colt, recklessly rushing in.

None of their opinions captured Junon’s true intentions.

“But… isn’t Senior Junon here? I don’t see him anywhere…”

Just as the anxious girl asked about Junon’s whereabouts, the two others immediately spoke up.

“Junon jumped into the lake down there with the Sovereign.”

“Jumped in? But our allies are all here. Why didn’t he fight together with us…?”

“I’m guessing he wanted to separate them. The Kalix and its summoner.”

“I think so too. He probably knew before us. That it’s a Beholder, and that the creature called Pimpert is the Sovereign’s Kalix.”

“Ah…”

A Beholder-type Kalix follows its summoner’s commands but has poorly developed auditory organs, requiring it to stay close by.

Also, Beholders are generally recorded to have the power to cause confusion or discord using their unique wavelengths.

The summoner must always be nearby to specify the targets of the effect, and due to the wide range of the wavelengths, this type of familiar isn’t particularly suitable for combat where only designated targets need to be attacked.

He had deliberately exploited this weakness.

“Sigh. Then we need to deal with that thing as well as the Sovereign. That Beholder must be the one using mental interference magic.”

This meant they had to break through the Lycan forces even more urgently.

Junon was buying them time by delaying the reunion of the summoner and his Kalix.

“…I’ll do my best to handle this as quickly as possible.”

“Good.”

“I’ll return to the front too. Aris, take a break! Now I’ll…”

“No, it’s fine, Senia. Just call Aris back.”

“What?”

“Look who’s beside us.”

The ground trembled. The sky fell silent.

A massive mana movement capable of shaking heaven and earth occurred right there.

It might have been unfamiliar to the Tembris party members except for Goden.

“What kind of mana…”

“Impossible…”

“…That guy.”

An unexpected yet supreme force.

With one person’s participation, the battlefield dynamics changed once again.

“Kenick Formation 6!”

At Goden’s command, the Imperial troops swiftly changed positions.

While formation changes were common in battle, Kenick Formation 6 was special to them.

Was there anything as familiar and welcome to them as this formation?

Moreover, implementing Kenick Formation 6 with Lenias present meant precisely that.

“It’s time to end this battle!!”

A step toward victory. The beginning of the counterattack. The final chapter announcing the end of this subjugation.

It could be seen as all of these things.

***

Lenias’s appearance firmly secured the course of this battle, heralding complete annihilation of the enemy.

Unlike the active combat above, the massive mana resonance definitely reached the somewhat tense area below.

“This is troublesome. It seems they’ll finish up there before I can defeat you.”

The Sovereign frowned in frustration.

With Junon consecutively demonstrating techniques of extreme difficulty and countering the Sovereign’s magic, time was no longer on the Sovereign’s side.

However, that wasn’t the reason for the Sovereign’s anger.

“You, why on earth…! Even at a glance, you’re insignificant, so why were you chosen by the gods!!”

Divine language.

Only a limited number of humans could read it.

Those who couldn’t handle divine power—those who couldn’t convert mana into sacred energy—couldn’t even touch divine language.

The starting point was different. Divine power was qualitatively different from mana; it couldn’t be learned forcibly.

What people commonly called “talent” was a dimension higher—it required being “chosen.”

Only the chosen could approach it, and among them, only a select few could understand the language of the noble existence called divine oracle.

But. That existence called god had chosen him?

“How on earth are you Alkaid!!!”

He had read the language of the gods more precisely than anyone.

Acting as the greatest priest, cleric, and bishop in history, he had finally risen to the highest position in the empire—the Sovereign.

But that didn’t matter.

He alone could understand the divine oracle given by the noble existence, the god.

He alone could access a future that no one else could see.

The fate that would come to humans was inevitably extinction by some powerful enemy.

That was the wrath of the gods and the future that awaited dirty, vile humans.

Only one person in the world knew this fact. Only himself.

Believing this was surely the gods’ wrath toward humans, he had meticulously prepared from that day on.

Creating a sacrificial ritual to appease the gods’ anger. Meanwhile, he prayed ceaselessly, waiting for the gods’ next will.

And after various complications, upon arriving at the empire.

A divine oracle descended, and reading it, he rejoiced again.

The gods said they would wait for the appearance of one who would eliminate the powerful enemy.

To prevent the same thing from happening in the second world, they foretold the appearance of Alkaid.

So who in this Kempryton continent would rise to the position of Alkaid?

Wouldn’t the only human who could interpret this divine oracle be able to reach Alkaid?

That should have been the case.

“I cannot accept it…! The likes of you… there’s no way someone like you could be Alkaid!!”

The depleted mana instantly returned to the Sovereign’s body.

Unlike Demian, he had reached the extreme point regarding sacrifices. If he severed the lives of the Lycans connected by mana link en masse, he could crush the human before him like an insect.

Because of this, Junon, who had been charging in thinking the Sovereign could no longer attack, stepped back again and entered a cautious mode.

“Damn, where is he getting that kind of power source…!”

“I cannot accept it─!!”

The Big Dipper. The Southern Cross.

Among the gods that included these two, the most noble and highest, those in the position called constellations.

The two constellations in the most significant positions, Ursa Major and Sagittarius, had designated that boy.

Using a Kalix summoned from another world. Using the same method as the legendary figure known as Lord Alkaid.

The Sovereign simply couldn’t accept that the one to save the world wasn’t himself but someone so clumsy.

“I’ll tear you to shreds! I’ll rip you apart and absorb you too!!!”

“Kuk…!”

A power as massive as the mana Lenias was creating covered the lakeshore.

Black, pitch-black. It was a slimy, unpleasant mana.

But there was no backing down.

“I told you. I prophesy. I won’t let any of your plans come to fruition.”

After regression, he had not only taken steps to avoid following the same path but had also cut off all memories with his former comrades. Would all of that be in vain here?

The moment he gave up, that hellish past would unfold before his eyes again. For Junon, that fate had to be twisted.

Break it, shatter it.

If he couldn’t destroy it directly, he would make it collapse.

Create a small crack, then widen and widen that gap.

The different future gradually achieved by eating away at the old one had to be distinctly different from before.

Like that time.

Again, like that time.

He would bring it about this time too.

The old man’s dark mana, obtained by extinguishing numerous lives, formed a giant maw of a demon.

The moment one was sucked into that abyss-like place, they would disappear without a trace from within.

In contrast, to avoid such a fate, the boy held a spear.

The brilliantly shining mana once again took the form of a spear in his arm.

As the boy’s spear shot toward the approaching demon’s maw.

Finally, they clashed.

Two mana forces at opposite extremes.

Two mana forces standing at diametrically opposed points in method, process, and meaning.

The result of this clash was… a thunderous roar.

The massive mana pulse that shook the entire lakeshore was the sound of the boy’s spear—containing what he had abandoned and what he would protect—tearing and killing the demon.