It lasted only a mont.
Gritting her teeth, v slid the divine sword fully back into its scabbard and tore her gaze away.
Fwoosh...
Ahead of them, the flas of judgnt were dying down, as if drawing an invisible boundary. The ground beyond was carpeted with monster corpses reduced to blackened lumps. What remained of the dismbered giant had lost all semblance of its original form, becoming just another heap of scorched remains with smoke curling lazily upward.
Monsters were still swarming beyond it, but for now, they had bought themselves a short respite.
Crack, crack, crack—
The sound of sothing freezing spread from behind, racing along the left flank in an instant.
Pushing monsters aside, a crimson-tinted Crystal Barrier rose into place. Within it stood a silver-haired elder, one arm outstretched.
v turned sharply toward her. "Thesa!"
"I'm busy right now, Redhead!"
"Do you see those things approaching the gateway?"
Thesaya, who had been channeling magic through the jewel in her palm, finally turned her head. Moro had co to a stop nearby, crunching down on a monster as her brow furrowed.
"What? There wasn't just one?"
"I don’t know how many more there are! We can’t let them reach the front line!"
At v’s shout, Thesaya’s expression tightened further. Almost simultaneously, she clenched the jewel in her left hand.
Shatter!
The Crystal Barrier, which had been cracking under the assault of the charging monsters, exploded in unison. Razor-sharp shards sprayed forward in every direction.
"Not one, but multiple? I can’t guarantee anything! I don’t have infinite magic, no matter how great an archmage I am!"
Her voice cut through the chaos.
"Pray to the Goddess with your divine sword, Redhead. Or hand it off to the people behind us! There’s a Saintess back there, right?"
v’s gaze instinctively shifted to the rear.
Although she had carved a path straight through the horde, monsters were already swarming behind them again. Yet they were not advancing toward her.
"Karha! Watch over us!"
"For the Demigod of the North—"
Barbarian warriors wrapped in blazing crimson divinity advanced in formation, their backs to the sacred flas. Like moths drawn to fire, the monsters surged toward them.
Screech!
And like moths, their fate was sealed.
First, the heat of the sacred flas roasted them alive. Then the barbarian warriors crashed into them, tearing the burning creatures apart without rcy.
v’s eyes narrowed as she also caught sight of centurions throwing themselves at massive foes like ogres and trolls.
No matter how blessed the legion is...
The barbarians were not immortal. Although the battle line was holding firm, casualties continued to arise even at this mont.
Swoosh...
The deepening divinity soaking into her stigmata was proof enough.
Since the gods’ blessings did not easily allow death, they were to fight literally until their final breath.
"No. At the very least, we have to deal with those giants ourselves—" v cut herself off, suddenly lowering her stance and tightening her grip on the reins.
From the opposite flank ca a thunderous impact, followed by a violent tremor through the ground.
Rumble...
What entered v’s sight as she turned her head was Mukapa, his fur cloak billowing as he brought his battle hamr crashing down with all his might. In front of him, waves of monsters tangled together and collapsed in heaps.
Screech—
Convulsive screams rippled through the horde, carrying all the way to the front. Those charging in stumbled and tripped over the fallen.
Even so, v’s gaze fixed on the armor beneath the orc warrior’s surging cloak. Spell circuits embedded within it were glowing brightly, every piece shining with a light brown hue tinged close to gold.
"If you knew how to do that, you should’ve done it sooner, Snub-Nose!" Thesaya shouted as she clung to Moro’s neck.
Even amid the chaos, Moro continued to roam freely, trampling monsters caught in the crystal explosions, crushing them into pulp or biting their heads clean off.
Instead of replying, Mukapa raised his battle hamr and looked toward v, yellow light glinting in his eyes.
"I will help too, Vice Commander," Mukapa said.
That alone was enough. The sight of him gripping a massive battle hamr slick with flesh and blood inspired trust all by itself.
"Good. Then let’s do it. Let’s hold out with everything we’ve got. Co to think of it, no matter how many there are, we don’t actually need to deal with all of them!" Thesaya shouted.
She pointed up at the sky with her right hand. "Before that, Ian will beat the archdemon and co back!"
Her voice brimd with certainty.
v didn’t bother asking where that confidence ca from. She rely adjusted her grip on the High Fairy's Rapier in her right hand and cast a glance upward.
The storm clouds seed closer now, swirling darker and more violently than before. Within them, faint purple flashes and glimrs of gold flickered, dim lights appearing and fading again and again.
"Right. I’ll keep carving us a path," said v.
Turning her gaze forward, she tightened her grip on Selim’s reins.
Wreathed in blood-thick divinity, Selim charged toward the monsters still tangled together and struggling.
Crunch— Crackle—
The corpses crushed beneath its hooves scattered into ash. Rising in the stirrups, v lifted the hilt she held in both hands at a slant.
"Slow down! We’ll get too far from the legion! It’s dangerous enough as it is!" Thesaya shouted from behind.
Instead of answering, v brought the raised sword down with force.
Swoosh, crunch!
A crimson arc slashed diagonally forward, tearing apart the monsters blocking the way.
Selim lowered its head and plowed straight through the flying debris.
Crash—
That was only the beginning. v did not pause, swinging her sword again and again, hacking the monsters apart. Roars and screams filled the air as chunks of flesh and viscera sprayed across the storm of red arcs.
Fwoosh...
At tis, sudden gusts blasted outward, shoving aside monsters that were charging or already torn apart. The magic stones embedded throughout her armor glowed brightly.
"Moro! Why are you getting bigger and bigger?!" Thesaya shouted.
Along the left rear flank, Moro rampaged freely, smashing and tearing monsters apart as it ran. Just as Thesaya had noticed, it was steadily growing larger.
Grrr...
Muscles bulged grotesquely beneath its hide, bones cracking audibly as its fra expanded. Even its roar carried a deep, subsonic rumble.
As the beast began to reveal its true monstrous form, Thesaya, though clearly startled, didn’t stop fighting.
Crack, crack, crack!
With a thrust of her left hand, massive ice spikes erupted in rapid succession along her line of sight. They skewered monsters clean through, staining the ice dark red.
Mukapa stayed close as well, acting as v’s other wing.
Crunch— Smash!
When his battle hamr ca down, monsters were crushed outright. When he swept it sideways, they were crumpled into wreckage and hurled away in tangled heaps. It was a result possible only through monstrous strength honed to its absolute limit.
"Advance! Don’t stop!"
"For Karha!"
The Crimson Legion followed behind them like a blazing wall of fire. The monsters were still pouring in without end, but the speed at which they tore forward was faster still.
Rumble, boom!
Thunder lighting up the storm clouds was growing more frequent. At tis, faint screams were mixed in between.
Yet v, continuing to advance without pause, never looked back, nor did she look up at the sky.
Crackle!
Calbrook’s inner fortress was already drawing close.
The monsters surging toward it beca entangled with one another, forming a bottleneck. Naturally, that ant the gateway beyond was drawing closer.
Thud... Crunch!
Another patchwork giant forced its way through the gateway. Rather than shoving aside the monsters blocking its path, it advanced by trampling and crushing them underfoot.
That, too, was likely why its body continued to writhe and swell. The creatures it crushed were absorbed outright, bursting and rging directly into its own mass.
Just as expected, it’s nothing more than a shell.
As v looked up at the approaching patchwork giant, her eyes narrowed on their own. For a fleeting mont, the thought crossed her mind that perhaps the true body lay elsewhere—within those eyes, or inside that sticky, viscous core.
After all, creatures of the void that appeared in the demonic realm were fundantally irrational beings.
And it was clear the void giant had noticed her as well. At the center of its body, where countless monster corpses were haphazardly fused together, a massive eye shimred with violet light as it fixed its gaze on v.
Swoosh...
Almost imdiately, violet fissures spread across the giant’s enormous fra. The corpses forming its body twitched as though revived, eyelids fluttering open and teeth clacking together.
Creak... Screee—
Clawed hands and talons stretched outward, thrashing wildly as if possessed. Even the thick, club-like right arm, which fused into a single grotesque mass, joined the convulsions.
It was a horrific sight rarely seen even in nightmares, but v didn't avoid its gaze.
"Even if it costs my life..." she murmured. Her left hand slid to the hilt of another sword at her waist, crossing with the divine blade. Her fingers curled around it, aligning the edge with her palm.
However, she didn’t draw the sword.
"It's my turn this ti. Redhead," said Thesaya from behind.
As Moro’s growling breath drew closer, she added, "Stop and wait for a mont."
v followed her words. Releasing the hilt in her left hand, she instead reached for Selim’s reins, pulling them tight.
As Selim lowered its posture and slowed to a halt, Moro surged past them. It twisted its body sideways and slid to a stop with brutal force.
Crunch—
It smashed through the monsters v had already cut down, then barreled into those beyond, hurling them aside.
It’s much more...
v couldn’t help but feel a flicker of awe at the sheer savagery and ferocity on display. Moro was far more monstrous than she rembered.
Whoosh—
Thesaya clung to the thick, barding-covered neck of the beast with one arm and extended her left arm forward.
Crack, crack, crack!
A wave of icy-blue magic burst outward. Jagged ice spikes surged up at a slant, growing wildly as they pierced through the horde, skewering monsters like spits.
Screech!
Their screams rang out one after another as they struggled against the ice impaling them. One by one, their movents slowed until they froze in place.
Rumble—
Amidst this, the ice spikes, sprouting densely in a fan shape, embedded themselves wildly into the lower body and torso of the giant approaching from beyond.
Unlike the surrounding monsters, it did not scream.
Crack... Crunch...
As though it felt no pain at all, the void giant continued forward. The spikes embedded within it shattered first. Even as frost crept across the puncture points, just as it had with the other monsters, the giant did not falter.
Still, the eye that had been fixed on v slowly turned toward Thesaya. The violet light within it shimred ominously.
Boom, boom, boom!
Before it could act, the ice spikes carpeting the area like a hedgehog detonated in a rolling wave. Countless fragnts tore through not only the impaled monsters, but those nearby as well, shredding them into chunks of at.
Crack!
The giant of the void was also swept up helplessly in the explosion. Not only was its entire body mutilated, but the violet eyeball was also torn, spilling the mucus from within the vitreous body.
Had it possessed a mouth, it would have scread in agony and rage. Instead, within the thick mist of frozen fragnts, the violet light embedded in its mangled remains deepened further.
It’s not deep enough.
v’s eyes narrowed as she realized the staggering giant had not suffered a fatal wound. Even in that state, it could continue moving, or regenerate and return to its original form.
"It's not over yet," Thesaya said coldly.
As the sound of tearing flesh from Mukapa’s advance approached from the flank, her silver hair surged like waves as it fluttered again.
Whoosh—
Another wave of cold burst forth. Almost instantly, the ice fragnts lingering in the air like mist swirled violently.
Rumble—
The fragnts gathered and condensed, forming a massive sphere. It closed around the void giant, trapping it completely.
Crackle—
As the sphere tightened, it ground the giant down while freezing it solid. In monts, the creature ceased moving altogether, its form transford into sothing resembling a statue entombed in frost.
Crack!
Just as Mukapa slid to a stop beside v, Thesaya snapped her outstretched left arm, as if casting sothing away.
Whoosh—
The condensed sphere of frost scattered outward, unleashing razor-sharp cold winds in all directions. Monsters caught in the blast were flung aside, bodily fluids spraying as they tumbled across the ground.
Standing behind Thesaya, v raised her left arm to shield the front of her helt.
As Mukapa turned and lifted the edge of his cloak, v lowered her arm slightly. Her eyes twitched.
Crumble—
The giant of the void collapsed, shattering into countless pieces like a broken ice statue.
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