Chapter 189
The current full power of the Hero’s Party was unleashed upon the Demon God.
A deafening roar echoed alongside a tremor that felt as if the earth’s axis was shaking.
At the same time, the surrounding air was pushed away explosively, raising a thick cloud of dust.
The Hero’s Party merely stared into the dust cloud without anyone uttering a single word.
A cold silence descended upon the world.
And soon…
“So this is your full power. Then, as promised, it is now time for you to learn despair.”
The Demon God’s voice could be heard from within the dust cloud.
The thick dust began to gather into a single point as if being sucked into a swirling vortex, and soon completely vanished.
The revealed figure of the Demon God was cracked here and there as if struck by a drought, with parts of his body falling off in various places.
Checking his appearance, Franz thought.
'Fortunately, there’s some damage…'
He hadn’t harbored any hope of finishing him off with the first strike to begin with. The overwhelming power felt from the Demon God was enough to instinctively awaken the fear of death.
Right, as long as there’s damage, it’s fine. Even a massive boulder would eventually disappear if chipped away little by little.
A path leading to victory began to show itself.
However, that hope was only fleeting.
BOOOM-!
In the split second Franz blinked, a loud crash rang out and someone disappeared from his side.
It was none other than Yuna.
Something round had shot out from the massive sphere above the Demon God’s head, blowing Yuna away.
“Ugh, huff…”
Sprawled out in the distance, Yuna coughed, hacking up a clump of blood.
It was a good thing she had blocked the Demon God’s attack with the holy sword, otherwise a huge hole would have been blown through her stomach.
“Yusti-ah, you go to Yuna. I’ll block the attacks somehow.”
Franz gave the order and poured an elixir into his mouth.
With only ten percent of his mana remaining from the previous attack, he had to make an unavoidable choice for the sake of the ensuing battle.
As his depleted mana rapidly refilled, he simultaneously felt his mind grow hazy and his body become sluggish from the effects of potion toxicity.
'Still, it’s bearable for now.'
It was because his physical abilities had increased by leaps and bounds thanks to Yusti-ah’s prayer.
But how many more times would the same method be possible?
Once? Twice? Perhaps this might be the last time.
Then…
A verse from the Old Testament suddenly came to Franz’s mind, but he shook his head to dismiss it. There was no need to worry in advance about a problem that hadn’t even arrived yet.
Tap-.
Franz lightly tapped the ground with Mistilteinn. A magic circle was drawn, followed by a massive shield appearing in front of him.
That shield looked exactly like the holy relic that had been lodged in leviathan’s head.
Additionally, three identical shields appeared to the left, right, and rear, soon forming a translucent golden barrier to protect the Hero’s Party.
This was not ordinary magic, but one of the abilities possessed by the [Divine Artifact Mistilteinn].
“A familiar object.”
As the voice flowed from the Demon God’s mouth, something round shot out like a bullet from the massive sphere. It was the same thing that had blown Yuna away just moments ago.
BOOOM-!
The small sphere collided with the barrier and exploded with a deafening roar.
But that wasn’t the end. Following that, spheres began flying at them at an incredible speed, as if unleashed in a relentless barrage.
Since the power contained in a single small sphere was equivalent to ordinary 10th Circle Magic, it was more like continuously unleashing cataclysmic spells rather than a relentless barrage.
If he hadn’t been able to handle the holy relic with Mistilteinn, he absolutely wouldn’t have been able to block it.
However, that sense of relief didn’t last long either.
Even though Hera was intercepting some of the incoming spheres, cracks began to form on the barrier.
It might have been different for the main body of the shield, but a barrier made of magic had its limits.
What started as tiny cracks gradually expanded as time passed, just as it was about to shatter.
“Hyaaaah-!”
Yuna brushed past Franz’s side and charged forward, swinging her sword in a wide horizontal arc.
An intangible sword aura cleaved the world in half.
Thin, thread-like lines were drawn across the small spheres flying toward the Hero’s Party, and they all exploded on the spot.
And the Demon God was not unscathed by such an attack either.
CRACK-.
A shallow scar was carved into his red body, which looked as if it were made of coagulated blood.
“We managed to hold out for now…”
Retracting the deployed barrier, Franz heaved rough breaths.
It was only natural, as he rapidly drew upon his mana while potion toxicity was tormenting his body.
“Franz, wait just a moment. You’ll feel a bit better.”
Yusti-ah, who had approached at some point, immediately used her divine power.
Since potion toxicity couldn’t be cured even with divine power, a complete recovery was impossible, but it felt as though his hazy mind was returning a little.
In the meantime, Hera drew her bowstring, and Yuna dashed forward with her sword in hand.
Having finished her healing, Yusti-ah resumed her prayer, and Franz tapped Mistilteinn to deploy his magic.
They had faltered for a moment, but hope still existed here.
It was then.
“Do you seek hope?”
The Demon God spoke in a still-leisurely tone.
There was a clear reason why he could afford to be so leisurely, and Franz naturally came to realize that reason.
'He hasn’t even been fighting properly yet…'
A massive spear is floating in the air.
Sparks were flying from the spear, which was dyed in darkness as if it wouldn’t allow even a speck of light. It was a phenomenon caused by mana particles reacting to the immense energy.
However, there weren’t just one such spear, but dozens of them.
“You do not know. That despair exists because there is hope. That hope exists because there is despair. I am the Creator Tiamat. That is why I exist in this world.”
As those words fell from his mouth, the spears floating in the air began to move.
“Yuna-!”
Franz reversed the magic he was about to use to recover his mana, and immediately used Spatial Movement Magic toward Yuna.
It was because he was certain.
The certainty that no matter how strong Yuna was, if she took that spear with her bare body, she would die on the spot was clear.
BOOOM-!
Right after Franz brought Yuna back, a massive spear struck the spot where she had been.
But the real problem starts now.
The dozens of spears floating in the air were all aimed at the Hero’s Party.
“Can we dodge them with Spatial Movement Magic?”
No, we can’t. We might somehow dodge the first one, but the ones after that are the problem. The speed at which the spears strike is faster than the activation of the magic.
Saving Yuna was also a dodge by a hair’s breadth; if he had been even a little bit late, her body would have been split in half.
If so, there was only one method left.
Block them.
“Can I really do it? Block that tremendous attack?”
Even with Mistilteinn, the shields it generated were ultimately inferior versions. There was every possibility that they would be pierced by the attack.
Even if he managed to block all the attacks with the shields, he definitely wouldn’t have any mana left.
Then wouldn’t death be all that remained at the end of it?
Negative thoughts bit each other’s tails in a continuous loop.
However, Mistilteinn was already tapping the ground.
Massive shields surrounded the Hero’s Party, and a brilliant golden barrier was formed.
One layer, two layers, three layers…
Franz gritted his teeth.
He had to live. No, he had to protect them.
At that moment, the spears began to shoot down from the air.
CRACK-!
A spearhead pierced through the barrier and came to a halt.
Like that, one, two, three.
With just three spears, the first barrier shattered to pieces.
The number of remaining spears was still overwhelmingly large.
The word 'despairing' was truly a perfect fit, but Franz did not give up and continuously created barriers.
If they broke, he made more; if they broke, he made more; if they broke, he made more.
His mind grew dizzy as his mana drained away in chunks, and his body desperately screamed at him to stop right this instant.
A metallic taste of blood could be felt in his mouth. Red blood trickled down from his nose.
However, he did not give up.
THUD-! CRACK-!
THUD-! THUD-! THUD-!
Only the thought of generating and restoring the barriers remained in his head; all other thoughts had long since vanished.
Just a few seconds of such fierce offense and defense passed.
The hell that felt like it would last forever came to an end.
“Haa-, haa-.”
Dozens of spears were lodged into the last remaining layer of the barrier, making it look like a sea urchin.
Soon, the spears vanished, and the barrier disappeared along with them.
“I can’t…”
Franz felt his body gradually collapsing. His vision began to blur, and the ground drew closer and closer.
If he collapsed now, the remaining three would have to somehow deal with the Demon God. But if that happened, their chances of winning could not be guaranteed.
He had expected it to turn out like this, but it was hard to accept.
Thud-.
In the end, Franz lost consciousness and collapsed. Having used his mana beyond his limits, his collapse was a natural result.
No, it could even be said that he was lucky. His mana core could have gone berserk and killed him on the spot.
But the reality he soon faced was quite far from being lucky.
When Franz regained consciousness after some time had passed, Yusti-ah, Yuna, and Hera were collapsed and bleeding in front of him.
Franz grabbed his crumbling body and somehow stood up.
It was then.
“Mage. Have you realized despair?”
Franz’s gaze slowly moved upward and faced forward.
The Creator Tiamat was standing there.
“Ah, is that so…”
Franz naturally realized why the Five Heroes had sacrificed their lives.
He was an entity that could not be defeated unless one went that far.
'Still, well, one life is a cheap price to pay, isn’t it…'
Thinking that, Franz brought his hand to his chest.
Then, near his heart, the mana core that had been diligently circulating his meager remaining mana suddenly began to emit a tremendous power.
It was at a level that far exceeded the amount of mana Franz normally possessed.
The surrounding mana particles reacted to that energy and sparkled in blue.
Franz had forcefully driven his mana core into a berserk state.
That meant his mana core would reach the end of its lifespan once this battle was over.
He had decided to sacrifice his life for this battle.