episode_0134

“Over here!”

Bang-!

Flames struck his face.

It was an outstanding performance.

The fox was pushing herself to new heights, surpassing even most professors. Growth, after all, tends to amplify in proportion to the crisis faced.

Irene swiftly swept through the battlefield.

Of course.

A guttural roar-!!

That was merely a trick or two.

It couldn’t evade the eyes of a superior species.

Ultimately, the fox’s movements were seen through. The dragon’s swinging tail struck her slender body.

The girl was sent flying without a chance to resist.

Thud-!!

She barely managed to block with the flat of her sword, but it wasn’t enough to maintain her stance.

The fox lay sprawled on the ground, a considerable distance away.

She groaned in pain, as if every bone in her body was shattering.

“Gah···!”

Her lips trembled.

Her stamina had long since bottomed out, and the blade of the sword she held was broken.

The shadow of death was approaching before her eyes.

For a moment, she was overwhelmed by helplessness.

Teeth that looked ready to chew her up and swallow her whole at any moment.

Irene struggled to raise her battered body.

“Ugh, urgh···.”

Her breathing was ragged.

Each breath was dangerously shallow.

The reason she couldn’t collapse in such a situation was due to a single wish deeply embedded in her heart.

A dedication with the blind meaning of sacrificing her entire life.

She recited that prayer.

‘I want to be helpful.’

The girl gripped her broken sword.

Her gaze was still clear.

She gathered her strength, intending to sacrifice everything for this last effort.

Flames surged with a few sparks.

The light, which even stole the heat from the underground, gradually compressed into a single line.

Pressed, pressed, and pressed, the flame achieved perfect balance at its end, reborn as an infinitely sharp straight line.

It was a sword forged from crimson flame.

Woosh-!

A broken hilt.

Above it, only a brilliant blade gleamed.

The fox swung the flame as it was.

“Hup···!”

Swish-!

A crimson afterimage grazed the dragon’s face.

A clean line was drawn.

For the first time, a scratch appeared on its tough hide.

Although it was a shallow wound, far from fatal, the mark fully crossed its left eye.

She had exploited a weak point where the skin was relatively less tough.

Irene collapsed on the spot.

Thump-.

The crimson flame that enveloped her entire body dissipated.

Accordingly, her crimson-dyed hair slowly returned to its original orange.

Before her eyes, the shadow of death still approached.

Demonic energy oozed and spread.

Growl-.

The dragon opened its mouth, revealing rotten flesh.

It seemed to be mocking her, as if asking if this was all she had.

The fox merely snorted.

“Ha··· After all that, you just played around with me.”

Casually, she raised her middle finger.

Before death could even question it, Irene shouted.

“Now!”

The next moment.

Her left vision, temporarily blocked by the previous attack.

Someone burrowed into the blind spot thus created.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Golden hair fluttered.

The snake, who had somehow appeared right in front of the dragon’s nose, exuded an intense presence.

A brilliant light, including jet black, shimmered.

Even its closed eyelids were now fully open.

“I make my invocation.”

The boy moved his tongue.

Jet black gathered at his fingertips.

-Ding!

[Current Output Remaining: 61.7%]

A blue screen flickered in his vision.

He felt it was slightly insufficient, but he had no choice but to manage with that output.

The snake unfolded a lie.

‘Monster.’

What stood before him was literally a monster.

A power and strength comparable to a star.

It couldn’t be touched by ordinary attacks.

Because it was a being that transcended natural law.

In that case.

The boy simply had to transcend natural law as well.

Because authority is often unreasonable.

“Oh, stars.”

The snake imitated a star.

Consuming all his output, stamina, mental power··· and eventually even life force, he transcended his own rank.

Recalling the stars he had encountered so far, he sought a complete origin.

This was not merely a process of becoming equal.

It was about grasping the structure of power, reconstructing it, and donning a rank higher than the stars in the night sky.

The power, interpreted in real-time, distorted even the surrounding dimension.

Rumble rumble rumble-!

The temple and underground shook violently.

Light swirled around the boy.

It was an afterimage of utmost enchantment that people had never seen before.

Before he knew it, a pure white banner fluttered behind his back.

The shimmering haze, fluttering like a cape, revealed the [rank] of his existence.

Likewise, the sword in his hand also emitted a pure white light.

It was Omnipotence.

“Devour it.”

For a moment.

The boy took a step closer to the star-filled night sky, the very source of authority.

A lightly swung sword strike caused cracks in the air.

Shatter-!

Cracks formed as if a mirror had shattered.

The world shattered into pieces.

Beyond the scattered cracks, only nothingness shimmered.

It was an error that occurred during the distortion of dimensions.

Thwack-!

The boy plunged the pure white sword into the dragon’s heart.

A surprise attack that gave no time to react.

He whispered a greeting that was barely audible.

“Then, farewell.”

Immediately after.

The body, composed of death, split into countless fragments.

It shattered, shattered, and shattered··· until it disintegrated to a point where it was no longer visible to the eye.

It was erased without a trace.

The concept of nothingness devoured existence, leaving behind only a pure white void.

As if graphite had been erased from a notebook with an eraser.

Whoosh-.

Soon, as the output ran out, the underground scenery returned to its original state.

Aside from the devoured dragon, there were no other abnormalities.

The snake muttered.

“It’s··· over.”

His legs gave out immediately.

He knelt on the ground.

It had been touch-and-go halfway through, but he had ultimately succeeded in preventing the disaster.

It was news well worth celebrating and rejoicing over.

A wave of relief washed over him.

Such lingering sensation of victory, he couldn’t enjoy for long.

Because he had to pay the price for overusing his abilities.

As he briefly massaged his aching limbs, blood suddenly gushed from his throat.

A crimson stain spread.

“Cough···!”

That wasn’t all.

Perhaps from an overload, blood was flowing from both his eyes.

Pain, as if his bones were being crushed, circulated throughout his body.

It was the cost of excessively using his life force.

A familiar mechanical sound flickered in his ears.

-Ding!

[Excessive life force consumption detected.]

[Further consumption of life force may affect your remaining lifespan.]

It was a natural consequence.

That one strike had far surpassed natural law··· it was a sword that dared to challenge a god’s place.

Should he at least feel relieved that his lifespan wasn’t shortened?

Since life force could be recovered with sufficient rest, it didn’t mean that a fundamental flaw remained in his body.

The snake wiped the blood from his mouth and muttered.

“I haven’t overheated this much··· except during the Usurpation War.”

He calmed the pain with a deep breath.

As he briefly stabilized himself, the girls who had rushed over urgently supported him.

Seeing him spew blood, they reacted with concern.

“Are you okay? You seem to have overexerted yourself···.”

“I am fine.”

Perhaps because it was a scene they had experienced a few times before.

Irene expressed her concern and worry, yet she did not ask questions or take actions that would tire the boy.

She merely embraced the snake with sad eyes.

“Yu-Yuda··· you mustn’t die.”

On the other hand.

The princess, shedding tears.

Though Charlotte’s emotions were usually subdued compared to the other children, she seemed shaken by the possibility of her benefactor dying.

The boy stroked her platinum-blonde hair as if to reassure her.

He whispered in her ear.

“I won’t die. Injuries of this extent heal quickly.”

“······Really?”

“How could I lie to Your Highness? Please believe me.”

“Sniffle··· Yes. I’ll believe you. Because it’s Yuda’s word.”

“That’s excellent.”

The intense atmosphere gradually settled.

The three exhaled sighs of relief.

“It’s all over.”

“You worked hard.”

“The two of you did the hard work. I merely laid my hands on the table.”

“Let’s just say we all worked hard together.”

“That’s good too.”

The return of tranquility.

The boy traversed the underground temple with the support of the two.

Just as they were about to head back to the surface.

“That’s far enough.”

A voice was heard from behind.

What came into view as they turned was··· a group of mysterious figures cloaked in dark red robes.

Villains who had appeared without a shred of presence.

The children froze on the spot.

‘No way.’

He had clearly seen them melt away without a trace.

Where did these forces spring from?

The same thought flashed through everyone’s minds.

‘Reinforcements···?’

As if to prove that assumption, the mysterious figures spoke.

They had somehow formed an encirclement, with over a hundred individuals surrounding them.

“The Puppeteer’s signal was cut off, so we rushed here as reinforcements··· but we’ve witnessed a scene we simply can’t overlook.”

The situation was dire.

The snake, the fox, the princess··· every single one of them was exhausted.

And in that state, they had encountered enemy reinforcements.

It was a unit comprising numerous chimeras, sorcerers, executives, and even Catastrophes like the Puppeteer.

It was impossible for the children, pushed to the brink of collapse, to respond.

Cold sweat trickled.

“To think you’d subjugate a calamity alone.”

There was no way out.

In a normal situation, the snake would have stepped forward, but now, he didn’t even have the strength to walk on his own.

Moreover, pushing himself further here would risk consuming his lifespan.

“······.”

The boy remained silent.

The enemies were closing in.

“It’s regrettable that the plan went awry, but there was a certain harvest. Leaving such a force in the academy would be a significant obstacle.”

The girls standing by his side also darkened their expressions.

Even amidst this, as if to protect the snake, they hid the boy behind their backs.

Though it would be a meaningless struggle.

The mysterious figure snorted and declared their execution.

“We can’t miss this opportunity.”

The cultists prepared to attack in unison.

Around them, only waves of thick demonic energy surged.

“Eliminate them here.”

Immediately after.

Shadows rushed towards the children.

But did the mysterious figures know?

That this entire situation.

Was also within the snake’s palm.

“Pfft.”

The boy was sneering, his head bowed.

As if greatly amused.

The next moment.

“······?!”

Crack-!

A sound like something flickering rang out.

At the same time, a shadow blocked the mysterious figures’ path.

Its empty right sleeve fluttered, as if to prove its presence.

Standing with faint light at its back was···.

“Hmm.”

None other than a white-haired elder.

“It seems those cultists still bring a foul stench. Utterly unpleasant.”

With an elegant gesture, he covered his nose with a handkerchief.

An atmosphere filled with overwhelming killing intent.

The elder calmly surveyed his surroundings, then spotted the boy and smiled.

It was an eminently mature smile, no matter how many times one saw it.

“Well, now, did you miss this old man?”

“Hah.”

The elder’s name was Monarch.

A figure known as the King of Shadows.

The snake lightly returned the greeting.

“You’re late.”

“Tsk tsk··· Indeed.”

Dismay appeared on the faces of the mysterious figures who had formed the encirclement.

The boy merely smiled cunningly.

“Since you called for reinforcements, it’s only fair if we call for ours too, isn’t it?”

The dynamic had instantly reversed.