Chapter 215

An illogical sight unfolded in the night sky as the curtain lifted. A red line embroidering the darkness split into two, gaping wide open.

If the sky were to split in two, it would look just like that, and all sorts of smoke and dust were being sucked into the strange space revealed through that gap. At the same time, a bizarre form slowly crawled out from within that space, going against the flow.

Though its visible movement was slow, it was not actually slow due to its extraordinary size. Like some monstrous life form, it wriggled as it tried to come out, gradually increasing in scale while rotating in a spiral.

A massive purple turbid flow covering the entire vast sky. It was slowly swallowing up the darkness-dyed upper air. Like a feast of ominous clouds reminiscent of ill omens, the thickly cast shadow fueled an unidentifiable fear.

The majesty of this thing, large enough to be visible from tens of kilometers away, bore a striking resemblance to something familiar in human minds.

'An eye?'

To Flynn's gaze, staring at the southern sky from afar, it looked like the 'eye' of a huge living being with its eyes wide open. This was because light was glowing in the center of the oval vortex that hadn't quite become a perfect circle, as if a golden pupil had been dotted there.

The brilliant beam of light stretched down clearly towards the humans through the gaps in the writhing purple currents. At its center, golden diagonal lines swept incessantly along with fierce gusts. High-energy occasionally caused discharge phenomena, completely burning away dust floating in the air upon contact.

This sight made all humans looking up feel an unknown fear and an overwhelming sense of powerlessness.

In the apex of this perilous scene, within the beams of light, there was a human figure.

Pajijijik-

Leonardo, wrapped in mystical energy all over his body, was pulling something out from the center of the giant eyeball. Each time he pulled with all his might, the formless energy grasped in his hand was slowly dragged out.

Savage sparks flew from the friction surface, and sharp sounds fiercely stimulated the eardrums. Strong waves spreading out, pushing away clouds, hinted at the ominous energy lurking in the area.

The back of his hands, forearms, neck, and jaw. Muscles and blood vessels bulged all over his body as he exerted force. The more violently his golden hair shook in the wind, the more Leonardo's breathing became unbearably rapid.

To avoid being absorbed into the different dimension opening before his eyes, he continued to pull something, using the undulating purple form as a foothold.

That strange space opened in collaboration with Nero was a place where gravity was so strong that even light bent. It was the very space where objects would disappear forever if they deviated from the set path when passing through a portal, or when putting items into an unrefined artifact.

There were even rumors that this eerie other-dimensional world was a place where transcendent beings, not creatures of this earth, lived. For instance, places like the realm of gods unreachable by humans, or the netherworld said to be accessible only when faced with death.

But regardless of which was true, no one really knew the true nature of that place. Not a single person had been sucked in and come out in their right mind. Therefore, deliberately opening an entrance to that unknown space, which instinctively evoked revulsion, was a forbidden act and sheer madness.

And Leonardo, who had committed this madness, was now trying to pull something out from within it. The great holy relic of the past, said to have disappeared forever from this world.

The Holy Lance. This mysterious weapon, also called the Sacred Spear, appeared quite frequently in myths with an ambivalent image, but no one had actually seen its true form.

There were only abundant rumors that it had vanished for some reason hundreds, no, thousands of years ago, so for those living in the present world, it was just a symbolic object passed down orally.

However, coincidentally, among the Empire's Armsilver, the location of this sacred spear was occasionally mentioned secretly.

And today, with the crisis of the end times approaching right before us. The mythical sacred spear was about to reveal itself to the world once again.

It would defeat evil and lead humans to victory, saving all things and writing a new history.

'Because I will make it so.'

"Leonardo!"

Just then, a familiar voice stretching straight up towards the sky pierced Leonardo's ears. Although the sharply honed sparks violently fluctuated, deafening his ears, only that one voice was heard very clearly.

Leonardo, recognizing who it was without needing to turn around, gritted his teeth and poured out all his strength amidst the violently flying sparks. Grasping the forbidden holy relic that the dimension was trying not to allow, he drew out mana until his heart screamed its limit.

In that moment when he concentrated all the energy he possessed into his two hands, a strange energy leaked out from the gap in the purple turbid flow. If his eyes weren't deceiving him, a meaningful crack was forming along with the refraction of light.

Leonardo's eyes flashed for an instant as he seized the opportunity. His low voice uttered the name of the holy relic.

"Lance of Longinus."

At that moment, as if answering the call, sacred light burst forth from the gap in the distorted space-time. Following his gesture, a long golden spear body was pulled out, revealing half of the four-pronged spearhead forming its tip.

Leonardo squeezed out the last of his extreme energy and completely pulled out the sacred spear, three times the length of his body. Then he quickly fell from the boundary of the dimension, widening the distance to avoid being sucked into the other side.

Pyung-

Suddenly, a discharge sound like a fuse breaking covered the southern land of the peninsula. At the same time, the strange entrance that had opened towards the ground spread an enormous shockwave centered on the point where the sacred spear had been pulled out.

At the same moment, the red line that had split into two slowly sealed itself as if returning to its original form. The massive form that had poked its head through the gap also gradually returned to where it should have been. The ominous purple shadow that had loomed in the upper air was being swallowed into the center of the vortex in an instant.

The figure floating leisurely in the sky against the backdrop of this bizarre scene radiated dazzling light from its entire body, grasping the holy relic in one hand.

Two lights flashed in the sky as if the moon and sun had risen simultaneously, and they became one, looking down upon the captured source of evil.

Hugo's eyelids trembled for a moment as he looked beyond the shadow of the mother body. His dark pupils, crossing with various emotions, contracted endlessly as they tried to take in just one person.

All that could be heard was the eerie sound of wind and the occasional resonating rupture of the atmosphere. However, the music of nature, intertwined with the beating of hearts, added grandeur to the amazing sight before their eyes.

"...The Lance of Longinus?"

"Why is that sacred spear there..."

Hugo was not the only one feeling these emotions. All the battalion commanders watching the moment of descent were unable to take their eyes off it, as if in a trance.

The goosebumps that brushed past their skin flowed down their spines, causing them to shudder. In the various pairs of eyes dyed with overflowing gold, a sacred and unapproachable being was reflected.

At that moment, Hugo felt a subtle wave at his fingertips. His blue eyes, sensing something ominous, naturally shifted to the mother body placed at the center of the Pentagon.

There was no notable movement from the creature, but the magnetic force lines shook again due to the commanders' decreased concentration. Sensing the crisis, Hugo shouted orders to his subordinates above.

"Everyone, focus on your role! Don't waver!"

As the Commander's shout cut through the air, those who had been blankly staring at the sky turned their eyes back to the mother body. As Isabella glanced down, her view caught a bizarre form that had already approached within arm's reach.

"Commander, below-!"

She shouted, looking at Hugo below, her voice suddenly tinged with shock. Hugo's gaze, hearing the shout, immediately turned to his feet.

There, a horde of monsters that had been crawling up to reach their queen was swarming, gathered silently. They were climbing up each other's bodies at a rapid pace, crushing each other's heads. Like a surging whirlpool, they were building a sharp tower, raising the water level in the blink of an eye.

Hugo, grasping the situation, alternately glanced up and down. With an anxious expression, he had no choice but to unwind the mana threads wrapped around both arms.

Then, after rewrapping the threads tightly around his left arm only, he stretched his freed right hand towards the monsters below. The creatures' speed was faster than expected, and at this rate, it seemed the monsters would reach the queen first.

Hoping that it wouldn't affect the sealing magic connected to him, he instantly drew out a frost-like chill from his entire body. His pupils, containing light like blue flashes, flickered ominously in the darkness.

"Ice Age."

Dung-

A heavy rupturing sound rang out along with Hugo's voice. Simultaneously, a transparent sphere was fired from his hand.

It crushed and collapsed the vanguard of the ascending monster horde with a single blow. Ear-splitting cries echoed throughout the area, and the creatures climbing up the tower of their own kind fell helplessly to the bottom like leaves.

The sphere, expanding its area following the falling speed of the monsters, instantly froze the surrounding ground solid. As if an ice age had come to the volcanic zone, the temperature of the entire area reversed, and white frost settled everywhere. The frost completely froze everything within a 3km radius, as if stopping time itself, including the climbing monsters.

However, due to the aftermath of the powerful mana suddenly erupted, that shock was fully transmitted to the connected commanders as well. As a tingling sensation flowed through their arms, painful groans burst out here and there, even as they tried not to show it.

And at that moment, on the eve of the final act of this long battle. The countdown for the final showdown began.