Chapter 134
"Over here!"
Kwang-!
Flames striking the face.
It was an excellent performance.
The fox was raising her own peak to a level surpassing even most professors.
Growth is amplified in proportion to the crisis faced.
Irene swiftly swept through the battlefield.
Of course.
Kiyaaaak-!!
That too was just a trick or two.
She couldn't escape the eyes of a higher species.
In the end, the fox's movements were seen through. The dragon's swung tail struck her delicate body.
The girl was sent flying without a chance to resist.
Tueong-!!
Though she barely blocked with the back of her sword, it wasn't enough to maintain her posture.
The fox sprawled on the ground far away.
She groaned in pain as if her whole body's bones were breaking.
"Kuhak...!"
Trembling lips.
Her stamina had long since hit bottom, and even the sword she held had a broken blade.
The shadow of death was approaching before her eyes.
For a moment, she was crushed by helplessness.
Teeth that seemed about to chew and swallow her at any moment.
Irene raised her battered body.
"Ugh, uuk..."
Her breathing seemed to reach her chin.
Her breath was extremely precarious.
The reason she couldn't collapse in such a situation was because of a single wish deeply embedded in her heart.
A blind devotion meaning to dedicate her entire life.
She recited that prayer.
'I want to be of help.'
The girl gripped her broken sword.
Her gaze was still clear.
She scraped together strength with the thought of dedicating her last.
Flames boiling up along with a few sparks.
The light that took even the underground's heat gradually compressed into a single line.
Pressed, pressed, pressed, the flames that finally achieved perfect balance were reborn as an infinitely sharp straight line.
It was a sword forged from crimson flames.
Whoosh-!
A broken hilt.
Only a brilliant blade flashed above it.
The fox swung the flames just like that.
"Heuup...!"
Chwaaak-!
The bright red afterimage grazed the dragon's face.
A cleanly drawn line.
For the first time, a scratch formed on the hard skin.
Though it was a shallow wound far from fatal, the trace completely crossed its left eye.
She had targeted a weak point where the shell wasn't as hard.
Irene collapsed in place.
Thud-.
The crimson flames wrapped around her whole body unraveled.
Accordingly, her hair dyed red gradually returned to its original orange color.
The shadow of death was still approaching before her eyes.
Magical energy spreading stealthily.
Krrrr-.
The dragon opened its mouth along with rotten flesh.
As if mocking this side. As if saying this was all.
The fox only snorted.
"Ha... after playing around so much."
Her middle finger raised nonchalantly.
Before death could even wonder, Irene shouted.
"Now!"
The next moment.
The left field of vision was briefly blocked by the previous attack.
Someone dug into the blind spot created like that.
"You worked hard."
Golden hair fluttering.
The snake who had approached right before the dragon's nose before he knew it revealed an intense presence.
Brilliant light including pitch black shimmered.
Even his closed eyelids were fully open.
"I pronounce a call."
The boy moved his tongue.
Pitch black contained at his fingertips.
-Ding!
[Current remaining output: 61.7%]
A blue screen shimmered in his vision.
Though it felt slightly insufficient, he had to do it with such output.
The snake deployed lies.
'Monster.'
What stood before his eyes was literally a monster.
Class and strength comparable to a star.
It couldn't be reached with ordinary attacks.
Because it was an existence transcending providence.
Then.
The boy too just had to transcend providence.
Because power is usually unreasonable.
"Stars."
The snake imitated stars.
He transcended class while consuming all output, stamina, mental strength... and finally even life force.
He sought the complete source while recalling all the stars he had met so far.
This wasn't simply a process of becoming equal.
It was grasping the structure of power, reconstructing it, and wrapping himself in a class higher than even the stars in the night sky.
The power being interpreted in real time twisted even the surrounding dimensions.
Kugugugugu-!
The temple and underground shaking noisily.
Light circled around the boy.
It was an ecstatic afterimage more than people had ever seen before.
Before he knew it, a pure white curtain fluttered behind his back.
The heat haze fluttering like that cape revealed the [class] of existence.
Likewise, the sword grasped in his hand was also emitting pure white light.
It was omnipotence.
"Devour."
For a moment.
The boy took one step closer to the night sky full of stars, the source of power, itself.
The sword strike he swung lightly caused a crack in the air.
Crash-!
Cracks formed as if a mirror had shattered.
The world broke into pieces.
Beyond the gaps split here and there, only nothingness where nothing existed shimmered.
It was an error occurring in the process of dimensions twisting.
Squelch-!
The boy stabbed the pure white sword into the dragon's heart.
A surprise attack not even giving time to react.
He whispered a barely audible greeting.
"Then, farewell."
Right after.
The body made of death split into countless fragments.
Breaking, breaking, breaking... it decomposed to the extent it could no longer be visually confirmed.
It had been erased without a trace.
The concept of nothingness devoured existence, and only pure white blank space remained afterwards.
As if erasing graphite from a notebook with an eraser.
Sruruuk-.
Before long, as output was exhausted, the underground scenery returned to normal.
There was no other abnormality except for the swallowed dragon.
The snake muttered.
"It's... over."
His legs gave out just like that.
He knelt on the floor.
Though it had been precarious from the middle, he had succeeded in stopping the disaster in the end.
It was news worth celebrating and rejoicing sufficiently.
Relief washing over like waves.
Even after such an afterglow of victory, I couldn't enjoy it for long.
I had to pay the price for forcibly using my ability.
As I briefly massaged my aching limbs, suddenly blood poured out from my throat.
Bright red traces spread.
"Cough...!"
But that wasn't all.
Perhaps from overload, blood was also flowing from both eyes.
Pain like bones being crushed circled my whole body.
It was the price of excessively using life force.
A familiar mechanical sound echoed in my ears.
-Ding!
[Excessive life force consumption detected.]
[Further life force consumption may affect remaining lifespan.]
It was a natural result.
That strike had far transcended the natural order... it was a sword coveting the seat of God.
Should I be relieved that my lifespan wasn't reduced at least?
Since life force could be recovered with sufficient rest, it didn't mean fundamental defects remained in my body.
The snake wiped blood from his mouth and muttered.
"This level of overheating... hasn't happened except during the Usurpation War."
He calmed the pain with a deep breath.
As he took a brief rest like that, the girls who had rushed over urgently supported him.
Seeing him spitting blood, they reacted with worry.
"Are you okay? It seems you overdid it..."
"I'm fine."
Perhaps because it was a scene he had experienced a few times before.
Though Irene expressed worry and concern, she didn't ask questions or take actions that would tire the boy.
She just embraced the snake with sad eyes.
"Yu-Yuda... don't die."
On the other hand,
The imperial princess shedding tears drop by drop.
Though Charlotte had shallower emotions compared to other children, she seemed shaken by the fact her benefactor might die.
The boy stroked her platinum hair as if saying not to worry.
He whispered in her ear.
"I won't die. This level of internal injury will heal quickly."
"...Really?"
"How could I lie to Your Highness? Please believe me."
"Sniff... okay. I'll believe you. Because it's Yuda's words."
"Excellent."
The fierce air gradually subsided.
The three exhaled in relief.
"It's all over."
"Good work."
"You two did the hard work. I just put my hand on the table."
"Let's just say we all worked hard."
"That's good too."
Return to tranquility.
The boy crossed the underground temple supported by the two.
As they were about to head towards the surface again like that.
"Stop right there."
A voice was heard from behind.
What was reflected in their turned gaze was... intruders wearing dark red robes.
Villains who had appeared without even a trace of presence.
The children froze in place.
'No way.'
They had clearly seen those guys melt away without a trace.
Where had these forces popped out from?
The same thought brushed everyone's minds.
'Reinforcements...?'
As if proving that assumption, the intruders opened their mouths.
At some point they had formed an encirclement, with over 100 staying around.
"We came urgently for support when the puppeteer's signal was cut off... but we saw a scene we absolutely couldn't pass by."
The situation was the worst.
Snake, fox, imperial princess... every single one was exhausted.
Amid that, they had encountered reinforcements.
It was a unit including numerous chimeras, as well as sorcerers, executives, and even Katastos like the puppeteer.
The children driven to the brink of fainting couldn't respond.
Cold sweat flowed.
"To think you would subjugate the disaster single-handedly."
There was no way.
In a normal situation, the snake would have stepped up, but now he didn't even have the strength to walk on his own.
Moreover, if he pushed himself here, even his lifespan would be consumed.
"......"
The boy was silent.
The enemies were narrowing the distance.
"It's regrettable that the plan went awry, but there was still some harvest. Leaving such forces at the academy would become a big obstacle."
The girls standing beside also darkened their expressions.
Even amid that, as if trying to protect the snake, they hid the boy behind their backs.
Though it was a meaningless struggle.
The intruder snorted and pronounced execution.
"We can't miss this opportunity."
The heretics prepared to attack all at once.
Only waves of thick magical energy surged around.
"We'll eliminate them here."
Right after.
Shadows rushing towards the children.
But did the intruders know?
That all those situations too.
Were in the palm of the snake's hand.
"Pfft."
The boy was sneering between his lowered head.
As if very amused.
The next moment.
"...?!"
Crack-!
A noise like something blinking rang out.
At the same time, a shadow blocked the intruders' way.
As if proving that existence, an empty right sleeve fluttered.
What was standing with faint light at its back was...
"Hmm."
None other than a white-haired old man.
"It seems heretic bastards still carry a stench around. It's unbearably unpleasant."
His elegant gesture covered his nose with a handkerchief.
An atmosphere full of overbearing killing intent.
The old man leisurely looked around, then soon discovered the boy and smiled.
It was an extremely adult-like smile no matter how many times one saw it.
"How is it, did you miss this old man?"
"Ha."
The old man's name was Monarch.
He was a figure known as the king of the underworld.
The snake lightly struck back the greeting.
"You're late."
"Keukeuk... of course."
Bewilderment settled on the faces of the intruders who had formed the encirclement.
The boy only smiled glibly.
"Since your side called for support, it's only fair for this side to call for support too, right?"
The situation had reversed in an instant.