Chapter 177

Chapter 178. Sephira’s Big Shot (3)

The power of the “Silent Dark Document” unleashed by Ayrus enveloped the arena in darkness.

Even though humans with Aura or Mana have superior vision compared to ordinary humans, at this moment, they were just as blind as anyone else.

“What’s going on! S-save me!”

“Who’s there! Don’t grab my clothes!”

With not even an inch of visibility, the chaos among the spectators was indescribable.

Click, click!

Those with matches tried to light them, but it was futile. Every single one was swallowed by the darkness and extinguished.

The only place where light existed was around the square ring. The faint glow from the Mana Stone pillars surrounding the ring provided a dim illumination.

But that light only served to deepen the despair of the people.

“W-what are those things!”

“Undead!”

The “Deep Dark Fantasy” unleashed by Ayrus created a dark space that isolated the present world.

This alone was an incredible ability, but it had no inherent killing power. So, Ayrus immediately unleashed a second Dark Document.

“Boiling Dark Document, release.”

Of course, Lord Eslow didn’t just stand still. Darkness was no obstacle to him. He swung his twin black axes directly at Ayrus.

Crack!

Unlike the intangible sword that couldn’t cut through the dark barrier, the black axe pierced through and descended toward Ayrus’s head.

Clang!

The black axe was blocked.

By two thin swords.

Eslow looked at the “things” that had blocked his axe with an intrigued expression.

“I heard the method of creating Fallen Angels was lost during the Draccara Extermination War. So, you succeeded in that research after all.”

What had blocked Eslow’s axe were two High Elves. But they were not the noble, pure High Elves.

Red eyes, dark skin, purple veins. Despite wielding the delicate weapon known as a Rapier, their entire bodies radiated murderous intent.

“So, you recognize Fallen Angels. That saves me the trouble of explaining. As you know, they’re quite precious… Please savor them slowly.”

Thud!

Two more Fallen Angels appeared behind Eslow.

With four Fallen Angels present, their presence alone overwhelmed Eslow.

Fallen Angels, created by torturing High Elves for hundreds of years to break their minds, could easily overpower a 6-Star Grandmaster. With four such beings, it was undoubtedly a catastrophic situation.

But Ayrus knew.

Even this wouldn’t be enough to defeat Eslow.

‘Still… they should hold out for ten minutes.’

The Boiling Dark Document didn’t just summon Fallen Angels. Hundreds of Undead crawled out from the darkness.

Skeleton Soldiers armed with dark weapons, various zombies emitting foul odors from rotting flesh, and Evil Spirits floating in the air, sucking the fear from people and exhaling cold air.

The darkness was their home; as long as darkness existed, they were immortal.

Resistance was futile. Escaping the Deep Dark Fantasy was also impossible.

Even if you died, you couldn’t escape. Your soul would be trapped, becoming another Undead. This reality would soon become apparent without anyone needing to explain it.

Ayrus glanced around. Darkness was no obstacle to him. The current situation was clear as day.

‘That monster Norman is holding out better than I expected.’

The transparent slime Norman was cutting down everything that approached. Many of them were Undead minions he had summoned, but since Undead were immortal, it didn’t matter if they were sliced or cut.

Ayrus had a different concern.

‘If I can somehow capture him and make him my subordinate, he’d be a great asset…’

Ayrus shook his head.

‘Unless I can subdue him in one go, it would take me at least five minutes.’

The sounds of clashing weapons and screams began to echo from all directions. The Undead’s full-scale slaughter had begun.

But Ayrus’s expression remained unchanged. He simply didn’t care.

‘Where is Keter?’

More precisely, he was looking for Sephira’s brothers who should be with Keter. Time was tight, but he had something important to tell them.

‘There they are.’

He couldn’t find Keter, but Sephira’s Triad, shooting arrows in the darkness, stood out clearly.

‘To accurately hit only the Undead in this darkness… They’re not just shooting randomly.’

Of course, even if they hit every Undead with perfect accuracy, it was meaningless. At best, it would only momentarily halt their movements.

Even if they were physically destroyed, as long as they were in the darkness, the Undead would infinitely resurrect.

“It’s a shame Keter isn’t here, but… that’ll only make it more despairing for them.”

Ayrus slowly approached the struggling Triad.

* * *

Nobles who practice more than they fight are often called “flowers in a greenhouse.”

Anis agreed with that statement. He admitted that he, too, was a flower in a greenhouse. But he didn’t believe that plants grown in the wild were inherently superior to those in a greenhouse.

The greenhouse had its own hardships and trials. And sometimes, the trials were even harsher than those in the wild. Therefore, Anis firmly believed that one should never be intimidated or give up, no matter the situation.

But now—

Anis had fallen into a bottomless pit of despair.

Thud, thud—

Unconsciously, he shot arrows at the Undead, but the situation didn’t improve.

Even when an arrow blew off an Undead’s head, it only twitched momentarily before regenerating.

Screams and cries for help echoed from all directions. Most were pleas for salvation, mixed with desperate sobs begging for assistance.

It was utterly powerless and miserable.

‘…I should have informed the Lord.’

For a moment, Anis felt that way. He had thought it would be best to inform the Lord.

But Keter and Mail had insisted that the Lord shouldn’t be told, so he had no choice but to follow their lead.

So…

‘This isn’t my fault.’

The thick darkness and screams quickly gnawed at Anis’s mind.

‘If I had been the decision-maker, I would have informed the Lord, and this situation wouldn’t have happened.’

Even though it was clearly an excuse for himself, Anis’s heart found no solace.

Instead, he sank deeper into the abyss. Unable to accept the horrific reality, he pushed his own neck onto the guillotine.

Then, Ayrus appeared before Anis. More precisely, he revealed his presence before Sephira’s Triad.

Thud!

The Triad simultaneously shot Aura Arrows at Ayrus. Without anyone giving a signal, they knew that killing Ayrus was the only way to end this.

But Ayrus didn’t make a single “move.” He didn’t even twitch a finger.

As the master of the dark world, “Deep Dark Fantasy,” Ayrus was equivalent to a 7-Star Prime as long as he stood in this world. In other words, he could interfere with the world through will alone, without any “action.”

So, no action was necessary. All he needed was the will to “block.”

Ting!

The fiercely shot Aura Arrows were deflected by the dark barrier without any effort.

“It’s futile. Attacking me, or attacking the Undead.”

But the Triad’s attacks didn’t stop. Ayrus continued indifferently.

“Originally, I don’t touch Keter’s toys, but you’ve crossed the line. How dare you interfere with my plans? Even Keter chose to stand by and watch?”

“…?!”

Only then did the Triad’s attacks cease.

They had no choice.

Instead of actively countering Ayrus’s terror plans, the Triad had only informed a few trusted nobles and sought their cooperation.

But how did Ayrus know about that?

The answer was obvious.

‘There was a traitor.’

‘Ah, why didn’t I think of that?’

‘We didn’t have the time to identify the traitor.’

Despair bloomed on the Triad’s faces.

Meanwhile, a smile spread across Ayrus’s face.

“Originally, my plan was only to tie down Eslow’s feet. The others? I didn’t care. But look. Now the Undead are killing civilians. Ah, can’t see because of the darkness? Anyway, they’re dying as we speak.”

“What are you trying to say…!”

Mail, one of Sephira’s brothers, stepped forward and shouted. He could see his brothers’ spirits breaking.

Ayrus spread his arms.

“It’s because of you. All these people are suffering and dying. At least ten thousand will die? It’s all because of you. Remember that. Heh heh heh!”

Ayrus drove the nail in.

The Triad’s faces turned pale, almost blue. Mail, furious, shot arrows at Ayrus, knowing it was futile.

“Lies! Do you think we’d believe someone like you? You’re just making up lies to torment us!”

“Do I look so idle that I’d lie to insignificant beings like you? Know your place.”

Clicking his tongue, Ayrus turned his back. Seeing the Triad suffer was satisfying enough. Engaging in a meaningless argument was only a loss for him.

“Well, try hard to survive. If you can, that is.”

Thud!

Ayrus flicked his finger. A group of Undead charged at the Triad.

They were the high-ranking Undead, Skeleton Knights, that Henya and Rajis had been dealing with.

“…!”

Faced with the threat of being attacked by dozens of Skeleton Knights, the Triad was in chaos.

Even Henya and Rajis, who were among the top 5-Star Masters, couldn’t handle more than ten Skeleton Knights at once.

How could Sephira’s brothers, who had just barely reached 4-Star, possibly deal with dozens of Skeleton Knights?

The Triad squeezed out every last bit of Aura, shooting Aura Arrows again and again. Running away wasn’t an option. Where could they run in this place? It was more honorable to die fighting. At least it would be a small help to others.

But the situation was absurdly hopeless.

The Triad’s Aura Arrows, already drained of strength and will, didn’t even scratch the Skeleton Knights. They couldn’t even pierce the dark armor the Skeleton Knights wore.

It wasn’t a lack of power. It was because their fighting spirit was broken, and their arrows lacked force.

“Ugh, aaaaaah!”

Anis couldn’t hold back his frustration and screamed.

It was anger at himself.

For a moment, he had blamed his brothers for this situation—his own weakness. And anger at why his younger brother, who always handled situations with ease, hadn’t appeared.

“Keter!”

“You don’t have to shout so loud. I can hear you just fine.”

“…!”

Ayrus, who was about to leave, turned around. The voice that responded to Anis’s shout was unmistakably Keter’s.

“Keter…!”

And there he was.

Standing before Sephira’s Triad, facing dozens of Skeleton Knights head-on. Even in this space of darkness and terror, Keter was smiling.

Taragon, seeing Keter suddenly appear, was both relieved and horrified.

“Keter, be careful! Those Skeleton Knights… Aura Arrows don’t work on them at all!”

“Even if you manage to damage them, they recover instantly. They’re immortal.”

In response to his brothers’ words, Keter wagged his index finger left and right.

“Brothers. Remember. In front of me, never despair, never falter, never give up.”

Whoosh!

On Keter’s Amaranth, an arrow glowing with radiant light even in the darkness, Milky Way, was nocked.

Ayrus sneered at Keter, who was preparing to fight.

“Keter! I didn’t expect this from you. Even if you can protect your brothers, that’s all. Everyone else will die! That’s all you can do alone!”

“Thanks for your concern. I’ve already decided to stop fighting wars alone.”

“…What?”

Ayrus suddenly felt something strange.

‘The screams… why have they suddenly stopped?’

The groans of pain and screams of terror were gone. Only the shouts of those fighting fiercely and the sounds of intense combat filled the surroundings.

Of course, that wasn’t strange. There were hundreds of knights in this arena. They wouldn’t just keep getting beaten.

But no matter what, they couldn’t gain the upper hand. In this darkness, the Undead were invincible.

So, what was this?

This unpleasant feeling, like something was digging into his ears…

-…Hail.

“Huh?!”

Ayrus’s pupils trembled. Amidst the countless noises, he heard a sound that should never have been heard.

Turning his head toward the sound, he saw it clearly even in the darkness. A silhouette with both arms spread wide above its head.

That pose unmistakably symbolized a certain church.

“Sun— Hail!”

With that shout, light exploded in the darkness. The Undead, merely touched by that light, cowered and shrank.

The eternal nemesis and natural enemy of Dark Mages—

The Sun Church had arrived.