Chapter 216

The brilliant figure floating leisurely in the night sky emitted explosive mana while extending beams of light in eight directions. As a result, the thick clouds that had gathered around him retreated in all directions, forming a circle centered on him.

Scattered light touched the cross-section of the clouds, drawing curved shadows here and there. Because of this, if one focused on the unusually bright spot even from afar, they could see the majestic and strange sight spread across the sky.

"...General!"

The Parren general, who had been captivated by the sight of the mystical being, was awakened from his daze by the voice of his aide who had come close to his side. Then, the sound of horse hooves sinking into the fine sand beach reached his ears again. That was his current position - at the head of dozens of war horses galloping along the southern coastline.

The general, regaining his senses, turned to look at his aide with a questioning face. The aide appealed to the supreme commander, who was once again gripping the reins of his horse, in an urgent voice.

"General, it's dangerous to advance any further! We must halt the march and quickly retreat!"

The Parren cavalry was currently moving in three divisions: Partanis, which protected the main camp; Parzan, stationed in the northern plains; and Parandor, led directly by the general.

In front of Parandor, a swarm of monsters teemed inside the coastline. The cavalry was engaged in a battle of nerves with them while checking the status of barrier stones embedded at regular intervals on the ground.

Unlike the northern plains where barrier stones were densely placed, the southern coastline had a defense line with only the minimum number of barrier stones due to lack of time and manpower.

If monsters whose retreat was blocked in the plains escaped to the coast, the Fidele Territory and Parren attached to the southern part of the continent could once again become targets for surviving monsters. Therefore, at Cordelia's request, the general himself was inspecting the defense line to decisively eliminate them this time.

However, for some reason, the monsters clinging to the coastline occasionally rammed their bodies hard against the barrier stones while avoiding Parandor's pursuit. This behavior was mostly exhibited by Dermocas, and since intelligent creatures were showing strange movements, they couldn't relax their vigilance for even a moment, lest the barrier stones be damaged when they looked away.

But there was a reason for the aide's advice to retreat. News that the volcano would soon erupt had just been disseminated to all Parren forces within the peninsula.

To suddenly decide to blow up a volcano without the consent of a neighboring country was a serious matter that could lead to international conflict. Even the commanders of the Parren army, who had been quietly cooperating with the Empire, strongly opposed, saying this matter shouldn't be taken lightly.

However, having come this far, they couldn't insist on canceling the operation either. In the peninsula where the situation could change in the blink of an eye, they couldn't suddenly engage in armchair theories. The general thought that even if they were held responsible for problems that might arise later, it was best to fulfill their assigned duties according to the Empire's intention to minimize damage for now.

"If we withdraw from here, it's no different from encouraging the monsters to escape. Keeping them in check until the very last moment and protecting the edge of the continent. That's what we need to do now."

"..."

"With the safety of our homeland in our hands, how could I give the order to retreat?"

Seeing the general's gentle smile even in this situation, the aide's lower lip trembled slightly as he looked at him, realizing he had no intention of backing down. There was much he wanted to say, but knowing how stubborn the general was, he felt the outcome wouldn't change even if he added more words.

"And."

The general, who had uttered this short word, spurred his horse even faster and shifted his gaze once again to the swirling sky. Following his gaze, the aide also looked up at the sky where ominous currents were sweeping.

Their pupils, too, were brightly dyed, reflecting the golden light embroidering the night sky. Towards the single being illuminating the darkness like the sun, the Parren general, his expression hardening, muttered softly.

"I believe in 'him'."

In the upper air, small explosions occurred in succession due to the collision of sharp gusts and gravity that had lost its way. Leonardo, floating leisurely at the center, barely maintained the form of the sacred spear that was trying to scatter by surrounding it with his mana.

The sacred spear, which had disappeared long ago, had the characteristic of trying to return to 'nothingness' because it had not belonged to this world for a long time. If his concentration wavered even slightly, not only the sacred spear and himself, but everything nearby might return to the primordial 'nothingness' from before the world came into being.

Every time the holy relic struggled violently in his grasp, generating fierce resistance, golden smoke swirled precariously around the spear body.

Because of this, Leonardo, looking down at the mother body from above, felt that the sensation in his right arm holding the spear had almost died. Along with this, due to continuously emitting mana to avoid being defeated, the taste of blood that rose with each breath lingered in his throat and mouth.

The blood flow in his carotid artery rapidly accelerated, and with the beating of his heart, his pupils lost focus and went astray.

At the same time, the pulse spreading throughout his body began to move the hand of the clock towards the final moment.

10.

The vast flow of the atmosphere and the fierce aura of mana swirled violently around him. A destructive current penetrating the entire southern sky of the peninsula pierced through the distorted space-time.

In his throbbing head, as if it had been beaten, a rupturing sound that he couldn't tell was real or an auditory hallucination swept through. Like a grand requiem for the dead, that noise heightened the intense energy enveloping his body to the brink of destruction.

Everything to eradicate evil was waiting for just one gesture from Leonardo. However, there was one problem, small yet big, right before his eyes. The position of the mother body fixed below had shifted considerably to the side from what was expected, due to the struggle of the Council commanders just now.

'The position is ambiguous. At this rate, will it go according to plan...'

9.

He had thought it wouldn't be easy to capture the creature right above the crater, but now he wasn't sure if he could properly eliminate not only the mother body but also all the numerous monsters below, even if he aimed correctly.

But time is fair to all things. Even at this moment, it was flowing without rest. He had to make a decision as quickly as possible.

Leonardo, who had been pondering for a short time while biting his lip, furrowed his brow and let out a deep sigh.

'In the end, is that the only way?'

He had tried his best not to use it, but now there seemed to be no other option.

8.

As he extended his left hand slightly forward, with a small wave, the red ruby ring on his index finger slipped off. Floating in the air, it was the concealment-type artifact that Leonardo had briefly deactivated when he had infiltrated the mining team's den earlier.

At that time, he had removed more than half of the Quamare mana stone inside and refilled it halfway with etaide.

The water attribute of the Quamare mana stone, when combined with etaide in a heated state, could maximize the expansion effect.

"I didn't intend to use this here."

Leonardo, with a bitter smile, stretched out his left arm and firmly grasped the ring.

At that moment, as the ring crumpled, an intense red light flashed. The blue mana stones and minerals inside were pushed out through the cracks in the distorted space.

7.

"Blaine, thrust it now!"

At the same time, Isabella, holding on with all her might from below, shouted towards Leonardo, who had stopped. Following her desperate voice, the magnetic force lines flickered ominously, making an unsettling sound as if they might break at any moment.

6.

From the sky where the red light had flashed, something faintly glittering was falling like snowflakes.

Meterion's eyes, watching the sky, suddenly widened. With his expression hardened, his gaze couldn't leave the falling blue light.

5.

"Captain, hurry!"

Nero, also holding onto the end of the red thread, closed the boundary of the dimension and shouted urgently.

Each time he swung his blazing dagger, the turbid flow that had been writhing like lingering attachment was sucked completely into the closing space-time. Nero's earnest cry was also swallowed into it, unable to reach the other.

4.

Around Leonardo, who was grasping the spear body, mad heat and flames burst forth. His clear golden eyes, revealed between his fluttering hair, fiercely glared at the mother body beyond the falling minerals.

Eventually, he grasped the sacred spear, which he had been holding with one hand, firmly with both hands. He immediately charged forward at tremendous speed, beginning to rush towards the mother body. Cutting through the swirling dust and wind resistance, he aimed the tip of the spear solely for that one target.

3.

The mythical sacred spear, imbued with all the wishes of this land, stretched out in a straight line, drawing a dazzling trajectory. A destructive noise, as if tearing the air, resonated majestically in the wake of the golden avatar.

Nature trembled, and all things holding their breath took in the sight of the hero's manifestation. It was the speed of light that no one could dare to catch up with, but perhaps because desperation was projected, this moment felt frustratingly slow.

2.

Hugo fiercely gazed at the movement of the clear sun approaching from the opposite side, without missing a single moment. From him, bringing raging flames and rough waves, Hugo had an illusion of a nostalgic shadow overlapping for a moment.

An intangible shadow covering Leonardo's hand. It was grasping the sacred spear together with him.

Hugo wasn't the only one who saw this sight. In the distortion of space-time created in the gravity swamp, the mother body, trapped for eons, was seeing the exact same scene as a thousand years ago.

"How dare a mere human try to kill me? How dare you, how dare you!"

The mother body, struggling in the infinite cycle, roared with its teeth bared as its fear reached its peak. Then, it felt the sacred golden eyes that had flickered in the broken helmet a thousand years ago approaching right before it.

Under the burning sky of that day, he was like the only ray of light remaining on the land of destruction.

The golden shadow trying to pierce its neck once again. That mystical form made it feel as if it had returned to that day. Perhaps that's why in its mind, it recalled his voice heard just before being sealed by the hand of the Sun King.

"That petty hypocrisy of yours, abhorring yet fearing human weakness, is your downfall."

Leonardo's body, gritting his teeth and muttering, passed through the boundary of the Pentagon in an instant. He too should have slowed down, caught in the gravity swamp, but for some reason, he didn't stop in everyone's gaze.

At a similar moment, the etaide and Quamare mana stones that had fallen emitted a sharp light in response to Leonardo's mana.

Then, the tip of the spear touched the demon's neck, and a pure white light dyed everything around.

The mother body's pupils contracted endlessly. Only then, in the moment before death, did it realize.

"That bastard, playing tricks again..."

1.

The leader of evil, sensing danger, crawled out of the ground, slaughtered and devoured the soldiers. As big as a great mountain and hideous in appearance, it had been eating human flesh since ancient times and could speak human language.

Its sinister power controlled minions, plunging allies into a quagmire and destroying bases. Refusing to retreat and surrounding it with a grand circular formation, even the leader could not move easily.

The dazzling sun exerted its spirit, piercing the creature's neck and sealing it in a deep abyss,

Cheers like thunder spread, and there was no one under the sky who was not rejoicing.

"Farewell, Elder Millie."