Ch.343343. Destiny (9)

“Huff, huff…!”

“Ugh. Bleurgh!”

“Fuck… Fuuuuuck!!”

This was the result of forcibly cutting ties with familiar faces, with the threads of deep connections they couldn’t shake off.

They had avoided the worst outcome of attacking allies with corrupted bodies, but when emotions—one of humanity’s softest points—were targeted, their fighting spirit crumbled despite defeating the demonic beasts.

Even though their bodies weren’t tired, their minds were severely worn down, and they couldn’t be forced to stand up.

“…Lumia, if you had appeared there… I would…”

“Don’t say anything. Cain, okay? I’m, I’m fine!”

“I’m sorry. Your father, I also…”

“I said don’t say anything!”

Swoooosh—

The heavy rain that had soaked the ground until recently began pouring down again.

The brief pause in the rain had merely been the calm eye of the storm, a stepping stone for this aftershock to pour down once more.

Unlike the memories in Pimpert’s distortion, this was reality, forcing them to directly endure their trauma. That’s why this aftershock was all the more painful.

As the rainwater began to feel sticky rather than just damp, those who had faced their traumas had to pick up their weapons again.

“The 6th unit has been hit…! Corrupted humans are coming this way…”

While some had overcome themselves, others had succumbed to their mental anguish.

Though barely holding on, a mind once broken is more easily shattered again. One by one, they slumped to the ground.

“What are you doing! Get up! Everyone, get up!”

Renias shouted, but it was useless.

“With our own hands… we have to kill more? No, I can’t do that…”

“It was hard enough the first time! And now we have to do such a thing, such an act, over and over again?”

“Rather than suffering like this, I’d rather, rather just die…”

How could they kill those people with their own hands?

Before the war, they had known each other as seniors, juniors, or classmates, and during the war, they had been comrades supporting each other, determined to survive together.

Moreover, these were people who had been their companions until just moments ago. They didn’t even want to hear what voices would come from their mouths.

‘This is wrong…’

Shuddering at the horror, they refused to fight. As if facing the terrible reality of having to kill living people with their own hands.

Even knowing it wasn’t reality but an illusion, even though their mana circuits hadn’t been corrupted, they put down their weapons and dispersed their mana, giving up the fight.

Even when told directly that their inaction would make things harder for others, they wouldn’t move.

Eventually, the humanoid demonic beasts at the boundary between life and death began to creep into view.

-You’re alive… Please save me. Please…

-We promised to survive together, didn’t we? You’re not planning to return alone, are you?

-We can survive if we become one. So come with us.

Groans of suffering spread everywhere as people clutched their heads and shook them, trying to deny the reality before their eyes. Some turned their backs.

Their fighting spirit had completely vanished.

“I’ll help you, Lady Renias.”

“If you need a buffer position… I can do it too.”

“You two…”

“Let’s try with just the three of us. I… don’t want to appear like that to Cain.”

“I don’t want to show Lumia such a side of myself either.”

“I’ll leave the vanguard to you two.”

“Yes!”

With the sole determination that they couldn’t stop here, Renias ignited her mana. With overwhelming white light, the liquid forms quickly melted away, and the human shapes disappeared.

The formless, splashing remains on the ground twitched momentarily, trying to recover, but Cain, who had barely mastered Anti-Cast, finished them off, successfully eliminating the corrupted ones from the 6th unit.

“Blue flames… That must be Senior Michelle.”

“From the 2nd unit, it’s Senior Aris… and from the 5th unit, it seems Charlotte took charge.”

This situation likely wasn’t limited to just one unit.

Anywhere within reach of Peltibourgos’s corrupting energy was part of the frontline. In other areas, blue flames erupted, lotus flowers bloomed with loud explosions, or places were frozen over with intense cold.

“We should prioritize regrouping for now.”

“Yes!”

Each unit that had eliminated their corrupted allies sent signals to regroup. Whether to formulate a strategy against them or to prevent further losses and identify the cause, they needed the commander’s instructions.

But when all personnel gathered in one place.

“Weren’t you with Renias?”

“What? No. I didn’t receive orders like the officers did…”

“Wait, then where is Junon?”

The most important person, the commander, was nowhere to be seen.

At that moment, Renias turned her head at the completely stopped tremors in the ground.

“If the tremors have stopped… No way!”

In one place untouched by the Imperial forces, a continuous carpet bombing of magic was taking place.

***

While the main body itself is large and heavy, it can’t take other actions and only gathers mana to spread the corrupting energy. The main body itself is certainly weaker than Shanbereshu, who was strong, and Pimpert, who targeted human society’s greatest weakness. It can’t even be compared to Ashpern.

However, it possesses aspects of all three mentioned before.

The corruption that spreads like a plague devours the flesh of all living beings, and unlike Pimpert’s distortion waves that stimulated human weakness, corrupted humans devour the minds of uncorrupted humans in reality.

And unlike Ashpern, who couldn’t fully control the demonic beast army, these are entities moving to become one. In terms of threat, it is indeed humanity’s most vicious enemy.

But this paradoxically proves that the main body itself has no power.

Simply put, compared to other named demonic beasts, it only delegates all tasks to its minions, meaning Peltibourgos itself isn’t that strong.

That’s why he had rushed here.

Splash!

-Become… one…

-Become one… with us…

Thwack!

The humanoid demonic beasts attacking with basic magic spells crumble one by one.

Broken mana circuits, shattered cores. Among those returning to the earth without even becoming liquid, none were a match for Junon.

“…”

“Huff.”

Thud.

The last person, or rather corpse, returned to the earth due to Anti-Cast.

Junon, still maintaining his silence, turned his gaze to the being staring at him.

The dragonkin he had been certain he’d defeated, whose weakness he had successfully exploited to the end, stood before his eyes with an intact body.

But he knew it wasn’t a living body.

“To think you’d use sacrificial ritual magic to make yourself a core to awaken Peltibourgos.”

“…”

Tzzt—

Sparks fly from Ashpern’s hand.

Based on the knowledge from their encounter at the Ripol River, he plans to amplify the power of the rain weather with lightning magic.

“Not so fast!”

But as always, Junon wouldn’t allow it. Along with numerous spells deployed simultaneously, the lightning magic is canceled.

Clang!

And once again, the battle of spear and shield begins.

With a clashing sound that drowns out even the heavy rain soaking the ground, Junon and Ashpern clash again.

The direction of the match remained the same as before.

Whether Ashpern would exhaust his mana first, or Junon would collapse from exhaustion first.

After several exchanges in this battle of attrition, it was Ashpern who first withdrew and created distance.

‘He’s weakened.’

He was definitely weaker. If it were the usual Ashpern, he wouldn’t retreat but would charge in again.

Having learned the pattern once, Ashpern would try not to give any openings, and to gain an advantage in this war of attrition, he would fire rapid weak magic circles and mix in close combat.

Another question was also answered.

Unlike other entities, Ashpern maintains his rationality. He not only speaks but freely uses magic. As evident from his fighting style, he retains his previous self, as if he hadn’t been corrupted by Peltibourgos.

But the fact that he didn’t do what he clearly knew he should means he couldn’t.

Now all questions were answered.

“The power of corruption… So even that wasn’t an insurmountable power after all?”

“…What?”

“After fighting you a few times, I understand. Other demonic beasts and the magic humans use. It’s all about corruption, isn’t it? You must have summoned Peltibourgos here yourself.”

As evident from how the demonic beasts are controlled, Peltibourgos’s corrupting power attempts to corrupt the mana circuits of not just humans but all living beings.

That rule didn’t apply to Ashpern for some reason?

Then the best method would be to use Peltibourgos’s corruption to create allies from strong entities. Ashpern couldn’t have failed to devise this.

“If you could create allies through corruption, you would have summoned powerful demonic beasts or revived humans you had to defeat directly. But why don’t we see any of them?”

Because Peltibourgos’s power cannot revive the dead.

“Professor Muniher or Professor Jake, even reviving Shanbereshu or Defornice III would leave the Imperial Army with no chance of victory. But why don’t we see them either?”

Because those Ashpern had already defeated with the power of distortion cannot have their mana circuits corrupted.

“The magic used by those who became humanoid demonic beasts has become noticeably monotonous. The reason the demonic beast army’s power is weaker than before is the same. Just like how you’re weaker now. Why is that?”

Because the risk inherent in the power of corruption prevents them from exerting their true strength.

And finally.

“The fact that you’re standing guard over Peltibourgos, which must enter a rest period each time… is because the main body cannot use any magic.”

The reason Ashpern was here.

Junon had completely deciphered Peltibourgos’s abilities.

All that remained was to defeat Ashpern and then eliminate Peltibourgos, which had no power of its own.

To finish this, Junon took his stance against the dragonkin.

“This is checkmate again, Ashpern.”

“…”

At Junon’s declaration of checkmate, the dragonkin was momentarily silent.

Then his fists began to tremble slightly, and he smashed the ground with his spear, eyes glaring.

“Checkmate…? Don’t make me laugh.”

The intelligent demonic beast had experienced it directly. That this opponent was formidable. That he had to create distance, unable to withstand.

That solid close combat and magic-nullifying fighting style would undoubtedly lead to an inevitable defeat in a war of attrition.

“I’ll admit it. Even though I survived using sacrificial ritual magic to borrow my brother’s power, I cannot defeat you. But!”

Zing—!

A red light began to envelop Ashpern’s body.

“I just need to be reborn with a stronger body, one that can kill you!!!”

“Ugh?!”

————!!

Rumble—

The red light disappears with a bizarre howl.

Simultaneously, the ground begins to shake. Just by Peltibourgos rising from where it had been standing still, a typhoon-like wind swept through the area.

When Junon opened his eyes after being caught in the wind, the dragonkin was nowhere to be seen.

Instead.

“What…!”

Magic circles unfold in the sky, covering his vision as far as he could see.

And… a massive dragon that seemed to have deployed the magic circles was flying in the sky.