The Black Duskroot 5

Light shone from Doyun’s sword.

As that brilliant radiance illuminated the dark battlefield, the Black Duskroot’s massive frame flinched.

Though it had briefly failed to recognize him, this was indeed the same Vanguard Commander who had fought fiercely against Enoch a hundred years ago.

Like the other surviving Vanguard Commanders, the terror of that light and the resulting death were vividly etched into its deepest memories.

[Th, This one…!]

Its golden, blazing eyes stared directly at the Black Duskroot’s stunned form.

The branches and roots densely obstructing its view, the elemental knights aiming for its neck.

Doyun lightly leapt, brilliant sword in hand, as the cold raindrops scattered around him.

His sword was raised vertically, as if to illuminate the world.

Facing the encroaching demonic presence before him, he swung the blade down in a distinct arc of light.

[Războlnic’s Style Swordsmanship Quintessence – Visible Sword]

The moment the sword’s tip touched the ground, the light blossomed forth.

[Hundred Demon Slayer]

Over a hundred radiant sword strikes, a pure ‘Venda’ phenomenon, bloomed outward like the unfurling of a flower’s petals.

The crescent-shaped slashes brightly illuminated the dark battlefield, silently cutting down the enemies before him.

Like deftly slicing tofu with a sharp blade, the sturdy branches and elemental knights were cleaved apart. Only the aftermath of being ‘cut’ remained where the petals of light had passed.

[Kwaaaaaaaaaah!!]

The Black Duskroot convulsed its massive trunk violently. It shrieked in the same excruciating agony it had experienced a hundred years prior.

Oz blinked away to evade the attack. Unlike the Black Duskroot, a single graze from that lethal radiance would not be so easily survived.

The roots and branches it had summoned from a wide area were all severed. As a result, the Black Duskroot briefly faltered in its response.

Finally, no obstructions remained between Doyun and the massive tree trunk.

Doyun did not squander this hard-earned opportunity.

He bent his body and legs, concentrating his mana into his legs – especially the soles of his feet.

Boom—!

Powerfully kicking off the ground with swelling thighs, he unleashed his Conquering Leg Aura, scattering raindrops around him.

[You bastaaaaaard—!!]

Though writhing in agony, the Black Duskroot did not remain idle. Exerting its full control, it thrust a thick branch at blinding speed towards Doyun.

Doyun frowned at the vicious skewering attack but calmly drew back his sword in midair before thrusting it forward.

[Buske’s Style Swordsmanship – Halberd Parry]

Clang!

The unwavering sword’s tip clashed against the piercing branch, shattering it from the force of the charge’s impact. However, Doyun was significantly repelled by the shockwave, having no footing in the air.

As a result, his leap was interrupted.

‘Not enough height.’

He grit his teeth. Though success was now uncertain, he had no choice but to attempt it from here…

“Lord Enoch—!”

Watching from the sidelines, Heineken threw his full might into launching a single spear.

The distance was too far. Yet the moment he released the spear shaft, he felt a familiar tingling recoil in his palm – a throw more perfect than ever before.

A message appeared before his eyes:

Ding!

[The Spearmanship skill ‘Thrown Spear’ has leveled up. Current Level: 7]

Doyun’s perfect thrown spear demonstration, coupled with Heineken’s all-out throw, had elevated his own skill by a rank.

Though his level was lower than Doyun’s, his Thrown Spear had reached the high level of 7. The furiously launched spear pierced the battlefield in an instant before reaching Doyun.

After sharing a glance with Heineken, Doyun wordlessly planted his foot on the spear he had thrown. His thighs swelled once more.

Boom—!

Using his junior warrior’s aid as a foothold, Doyun’s body soared even higher. The fierce winds whistled loudly past his ears.

As his speed decreased, his body momentarily paused at the apex, overlooking the entire battlefield below.

Feeling the stillness in his ears, he looked down.

Regardless of Alliance or Demon Lord’s forces, all had ceased fighting to gaze upwards at him.

Doyun steeled his resolve, acknowledging their hopes.

Puffing out his chest, he opened his mouth wide.

“Haaaah—”

His second heart blazed furiously, drawing forth most of his remaining power.

Dense golden mana gathered in his open maw – the pure, destructive power granted solely to dragonkin, the very embodiment of might itself.

[Wh, What are you trying to do?!]

Sensing the immensity of that power, the Black Duskroot flinched and roared in protest.

The power concentrated into a marble-sized sphere within his mouth, smaller than his fist. Through frenzied mana control, Doyun suppressed and maintained its form. Then—

Gulp—

He swallowed it whole.

Once more, Doyun raised his sword vertically.

The overwhelming might suffusing his entire body flowed along his arm into the blade.

As that immense power was released, a pillar of light rose above Doyun’s head, piercing through the canopy.

Golden flames flickering in his eyes, he roared valiantly:

“Black Duskroot—!”

[Uwaaaaaah!! Do, Don’t do it, you bastard—!!]

The tree trunk convulsed madly, shrieking as if deranged.

Doyun swung his sword down vertically. Following its arc, the pillar of light cleaved through the sky and canopy, cutting into the massive tree trunk.

[Brandish]

The quintessential dragonkin technique that nullifies all defenses through a pure release of power. Yet this was a miracle manifested by human hands.

[Kwaaaaaaaaah—!!!]

The Alliance and Demon Lord’s forces could only gape in awe at this miraculous spectacle.

As the heavens and earth split apart, the towering Black Duskroot bridging them was similarly cleft asunder.

Beyond its grotesquely contorted face, even its thick roots were bisected by the pillar of light.

Eventually, the pillar of light dissipated.

Before Doyun remained the split canopy, earth, and a single cleaved Black Duskroot.

Arching backwards in free fall, Doyun squinted at the bright light spilling through the severed canopy, bathing the battlefield in brilliant sunshine.

His role was complete.

‘Whew…’

Closing his eyes, Doyun basked in the warmth of the sunlight caressing his eyelids.

He could finally escape the foul, curse-laden rain drenching his body, replacing it with soothing warmth.

But that reprieve was short-lived.

[Razvolniiiiiic—!!]

An enraged voice thundered across the battlefield.

“Uwaaaah! My, my ears!”

“Wh, What the?! It’s not dead yet?!”

Without changing expression, Doyun opened his eyes. The bisected, furious face glared at him with murderous intent.

[How dare you fail to recognize me, Razvolnic!! I, the Great Earth Mother, do not die so easily!!]

It spoke the truth.

The Black Duskroot Yggdrassil – it possessed tenacity and vitality befitting its infamous reputation.

Its roots spread densely enough to cover an entire nation, relentlessly absorbing the earth’s energies to provide it with immense power. The endlessly regenerating branches and roots, its domination of the battlefield, all stemmed from this.

There were two ways to defeat the Black Duskroot – either sever its roots through special means or outright annihilate the gargantuan main body in one strike.

Even Enoch’s output could not accomplish this. Hence, a hundred years ago, it had taken the combined might of archmages from every nation to finally put it down. Enoch’s role had been to singlehandedly engage it while clearing a path.

[Has a hundred years driven you senile?! Kuhahahahahahah!!]

The once gentle, Santa-like laughter was gone, replaced only by maddened howls reverberating across the battlefield.

It did not even spare its main body, expending all its energy on regenerating branches and roots. The grotesquely grown vines now densely surrounded Doyun.

[This is your downfall! I’ll end that cursed cockroach life of yours myself!!]

An immense volley of branches and vines converged on Doyun.

Yet Doyun remained calmly arched in free fall, showing no signs of worry.

He could not help but let a wry smile tug at the corner of his lips.

“I remember, how could I forget.”

The cycle when he had first succeeded in subduing it. Back then, he had felt such despair watching it brazenly laugh off his efforts.

Each defeat had shaped the current Enoch. He had never forgotten the past.

He raised his gaze towards the narrow opening in the canopy, sunlight streaming down between the still pouring rain.

The perfect environment for a rainbow to form.

‘Beautiful.’

Unsurprisingly, the most vibrant rainbow he had ever witnessed now graced the battlefield.

He was not alone. Just as he embodied the Alliance, the Alliance in turn became his embodiment. Without his comrades, the dream of vanquishing the Demon Lord would never have been realized.

The same applied now.

Whoosh—

[…!!]

Two figures appeared within the bisected Black Duskroot’s main body.

[You, you are…!]

Undoubtedly the flame mage who had demonstrated formidable firepower from the rear lines earlier.

“Hmm!”

The warrior Lion King, and Sophia, who had teleported him here.

The Lion King extended his limbs, drawing forth his power without restraint. The Black Duskroot, sensing this, despaired.

[No, nooooooo!]

“Do you not recognize me, Black Duskroot?”

Clearly, a hundred years ago, I was the one who killed you like this.

The unspoken implications were conveyed through the brief, disdainful smirk on his face.

[No, Inooooom…! Razvolniiiiiiic—!!!]

Its final death knell rang out across the battlefield.

Doyun reclined comfortably in midair, witnessing the familiar scene’s re-enactment as he produced a cigarette from his pocket and placed it between his lips.

[Quintessential Elemental Pyromancy: Elemental Unity]

The Lion King’s eyes, his Level 10 Mana, blazed with furious intensity. The world’s hottest flames engulfed him and the Black Duskroot’s massive frame.

[Sun]

A massive sun manifested on the battlefield.

Doyun lit the cigarette’s end as he exhaled a sweet stream of smoke.

It was the fourth demise of the Black Duskroot Yggdrassil, the Vanguard Commander.