Chapter 518

Our combat power had significantly weakened.

Even if the wounds of the flesh could be healed, they wouldn’t be completely cured in an instant. The mental exhaustion from pain and fatigue, as well as the depleted strength, wouldn’t return.

Moreover, Agnes alone couldn’t perfectly replace Lacey’s absence, and Seilon, though holding on through faith and determination, was so drained that he couldn’t even manifest “Judgment Day” again.

I was no different.

Rana’s miracle healed the wounds, Agnes’s blessing purified the dark energy, and Durandal’s Authority revitalized my exhausted body… but the shattered armor and depleted feats didn’t return.

Yet, we continued to fight. Wounded and exhausted, we refused to retreat.

—

**[Gro҉̨͖̜̃͐͡o҈̢̛͍̜͓͛o҈̨͇̄͗͒͞o҈̨̘̲̾̕o҉̧̛̞̝͛̽!҈̙̙̋͂̈́͜͝]**

A deep wound carved into the back of the neck, the demon, having even lost the black lake, raged more fiercely than ever before.

Not just with arms and beams, but with its entire body as a weapon.

– Whoosh!

A massive neck, thick and strong like a dragon’s tail, swung like a giant wielding a train.

Dodging the neck that swept the ground, the demon’s ribs, spread like a Venus flytrap, loomed over us.

“Evade!”

– Crash!

The ribs collided with the ground, scooping up the earth and shoving it into the hole in its chest. A massive boulder disappeared into the void.

I severed one of its ribs with Durandal’s blade, only to be struck by a whip-like intestine, spitting blood as I fell.

“Princess Ha-shal-leur!”

Seilon swung his longsword, cutting the intestinal whip in half. Golden divine light clung to the blade, sizzling the severed surface.

Following that, a master’s spear. Nigel’s spinning spear tip pierced and exploded the remaining half.

One of the demon’s intestinal whips was torn off, spewing foul liquid. But the demon had already unleashed several more.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

I spat blood but stood up, severing one whip with Durandal and grabbing another with my left arm, leaving the rest to my allies.

“This much…!”

Nigel jumped high, dodging the tentacles, and kicked a throwing spear. Her spear, imbued with her strength, pinned the demon’s intestines to the ground.

“Astraea, grant me the strength to endure just a little longer…!”

Seilon stood protectively beside Agnes, manifesting a Barrier of Divine Light to block the intestinal whips.

Agnes, too, swung the Moonlight Blade with her right hand and expanded the Barrier of Divine Light with her left to aid in defense.

– Crash!

The two-layered barrier shattered upon impact, and the intestines struck by Agnes’s blade split, spewing fluid.

Yet, the intestinal whips didn’t stop. Seilon pushed Agnes away and swung his golden sword at the approaching whip.

– Thud!

The golden divine light, which had held for a moment, was overwhelmed, and Seilon was flung away.

“Cough…!”

Seilon rolled across the ruins, leaving a trail of blood.

“Sir Seilon…! Menes, grant us your twilight blessing!”

Agnes, protected by Seilon, shielded him with a lunar veil and healed his wounds with a dusky miracle.

Meanwhile, Nigel, who had leaped into the air, was ensnared by another intestinal tentacle and hurled headfirst toward the ground.

At that speed, her skull and upper body would shatter upon impact.

“Nigel!”

I stomped on the main tentacle I was holding, leaped, severed the one ensnaring Nigel, and caught her as we landed.

“Ugh…! I’m ashamed, Princess Ha-shal-leur!”

Nigel’s face twisted in pain and self-reproach. Her left arm was broken, bent the wrong way, and her chest armor was badly dented, likely with broken ribs.

“You’re alive, that’s what matters!”

I answered shortly and leaped again.

There was no time for chatter. The demon, increasingly wounded like us, was now completely berserk.

—

**[Ȩ̷̖͆͑͝ḽ̵͈̆͢͠f̶̡̰͋̏͠ǐ̴̱̖̿͢͞n̸̡̮͑͠ͅe̴̳̮͑͢͞l̶̨̤̂̓͝l̷̡͙̾̀͞!Ą̵̣̫̇͑̃͠s̶̛͖̈́̌͢ț̴̨̚͝r҈̡̝͖҇̄͐̚a̶̢̰҇̇̆é̴͈͜͞ȃ̸͎͙͢͡!̸̨̠́̆͋͝! M̴̨͎̗͛̂̕ē҉̢̦̐̋͆͠n҉̧͔̳̳҇̆͑̓ë̸̢̟̝̬͡s̶̡̟̘̠̀̋͠ŝ̷̛͇̖̑͢-!҉̳̞̂̈͢͞!҉̧̱҇̎]**

The demon shrieked in an incomprehensible voice.

Black holes formed in the air wherever its numerous eyes flashed, spewing a rain of dark arrows.

It was a bombardment mimicking Seilon’s miracle, the Light of Judgment.

Agnes’s Moonlight Blade slashed the demon’s eyes, and Seilon barely countered with his weakened Light of Judgment, but it was overwhelming.

**[Scre҈̦̤͕҇̽͢a҈̨̛͖̟̏a҉̡͓̘̾̃̕a҈̡̫͖͗̈͠ͅm!]**

Adding to that, the two heads on the demon’s neck screamed in human voices. Each scream, imbued with some authority, made my head spin and my mind waver.

Every time I hesitated, the demon’s concentrated attacks followed.

I had to use Reversed Heaven to dodge and counter, while Seilon and Agnes had to endure the damage, blocking with barriers.

The demon’s power wasn’t infinite, and its attacks were noticeably weaker than at the start… but still dangerous. Leonor, who had escorted Lacey, rejoined, but the situation didn’t change much.

We fought on, adding more wounds to our battered bodies.

“Not yet, I can’t fall yet…!”

“Ugh…! Astraea, I offer this body to you…!”

Seilon began burning his life force to draw out divine light, while Nigel and Leonor gritted their teeth and moved their trembling limbs to hold on.

Dodging and dodging, we somehow managed to cut through the intestinal tentacles forming its lower body.

After a desperate struggle… the end finally came.

**[En҈̡͔̯͔̱̞̭̦͍͔̩ͅd҈̨̤̪̯͓̣̰͔̪̱̬̟͓]**

The demon, its body in tatters, leaped into the air.

We were momentarily stunned. Who could have imagined such a massive body could jump?

Then, the intestinal tentacles forming its lower body burst open, swirling like a storm, revealing a black, opal-like gem.

The storm of intestines, wrapped in dark energy, swept over us all.

—

Silence fell over the battlefield.

A silence signaling the end. No one remained standing.

Seilon, who had expended immense life force to create a golden barrier, lay collapsed against a ruined wall, his skin cracked. Leonor had lost his right arm, and Nigel, both legs, buried in the city’s debris.

Agnes, protected by the three, was also unconscious, her body pierced by shattered armor fragments. I was the only one still conscious.

“Cough…! Ugh!”

I knelt, vomiting a pool of blood. Pieces of torn intestines mixed in the pool.

My vision was half-darkened. Bloody tears streamed from my ruptured eye. My left shoulder burned as if on fire, and everything below it was numb.

“Damn it….”

I raised my trembling head with great effort, looking at the demon with my one remaining eye. My vision blurred and cleared repeatedly.

**[Gro҈̨̮͉́̊͡o҉̗͊̀̿͢͠o҈̭̰̉́͋͢͠o҈̛̘̍̅͢o҉͖̍̀̀͜͠….̴̨̬̊̏͡ͅ]**

The monster floated, its intestinal tentacles spread wide. A ring of strange characters rotated around the black, diamond-shaped gem.

I could sense that was its heart-like core, but I no longer had the strength to target it.

“Cough…!”

Another bout of blood vomit.

My body, already near its limit, suffered fatal wounds. Cold, dizzy, and burning. My consciousness was slipping away.

Hersela was shouting something in my mind, but I couldn’t hear her anymore.

**Defeat.**

Two short, heavy words crushed me.

Yes. This was a battle with low odds from the start. The enemy was stronger, and victory was unlikely. So, this outcome was inevitable.

We had fought beyond our limits and inflicted significant damage, but… this was it.

We had lost.

A cruel, undeniable truth.

—

**And so, I deny it.**

“Ugh…!”

Gritting my teeth, blood dripping from my body, I gripped the golden longsword with my one remaining arm and stood up.

I can’t accept it.

I won’t accept it.

Duty, resolve, stubbornness, and desperation forced me to my feet.

If we lose here, if we flee, that monster will kill everyone in this city. No, it won’t stop there—it will go on to kill everyone in this country.

It might be defeated someday, but how many would die before then? The thought alone was horrifying.

Moreover, even if we succeeded in subjugating it, what then?

This demon is just the beginning. The world will only grow more dangerous and cruel. That’s the kind of world this is.

Meanwhile, with each massive sacrifice, humanity’s combat power will only weaken further. The only way to fill the void left by the dead is time, but time won’t be on our side.

In the end, we’ll reach a point where we can no longer handle the enemy, leading to a catastrophic end. A calamity that will sweep us all away.

So, we must protect.

In a world where we’ve lost all our allies, holding out alone would be meaningless.

We fight to protect, we fight because we must protect.

Both are reasons enough for a dying body to face calamity.

—

“That’s right… so….”

I stood on trembling legs, firmly planting my feet on the ground, and raised Durandal high with my right hand.

“Because I want everyone to live….”

I glared at the demon with my one remaining eye. The distance was too great. Approaching was impossible. If I lifted my feet, I’d collapse.

My consciousness was fading, my thoughts slipping away. I forgot what I was doing.

…It doesn’t matter. Even if I stop thinking and forget my purpose, the stake driven into my soul won’t fade.

“So… I will….”

The conviction embedded in my heart guided my broken body.

The golden light of the blade grew denser.

Darkening vision.

In the pitch-black void where nothing was visible, I swung the sword toward the earth.

A slash compressing time. A technique severing space. The memory engraved in my soul was carried on the blade’s edge.

The sword of oath burned golden-

“…protect.”

I slashed the sky.