"Alice" clutched her left eye, sneering maliciously.
"Hehehe... I knew this boy would follow here. That’s why I quietly lured every monster in the forest to converge on this spot. Urk—damn it!"
"It doesn’t matter. Even if I do nothing now, he’s as good as dead."
A dense horde of monsters surrounded Arthur, leaving him no escape.
And among them—
"Gurrrrrr!"
Lood a high-rank monster whose aura blazed at B-Rank!
"Br... brother......"
A faint murmur escaped Alice’s lips.
Realizing this was an unprecedented crisis for Arthur, Alice fought for control of her body with a resolve to sacrifice herself.
"Damn you! You want to drag down with you?!"
For a split second, Alice’s body froze mid-air, completely immobilized.
A ferocious battle raged within her mind—so intense that her eyes flickered uncontrollably between violet and blue......
On the ground.
The horde of monsters lunged at Arthur in a tidal wave.
Arthur tightened his grip on his sword and charged straight into the fray.
Whoosh—!
Flas erupted along the blade, forging it into a colossal sword of fire.
Every swing sent a serpent of fla coiling through the crowd.
For a mont, the surrounding monsters couldn’t get within arm’s reach of him.
Until......
The high-rank monster made its move.
BOOM!
A devastating blow sent Arthur flying through the air.
After a brief, helpless flight, his body crashed heavily onto the stone pavent.
He propped himself up on his sword, struggling to stand.
"Gasp—!"
A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips.
"ROAR!"
Yet the monsters pressed on, swarming him from all sides.
Arthur paid no heed to his wounds, clamping his jaw shut in grim determination.
"AAAGH——!!!"
He raised his sword and threw himself back into the fight.
But the number of monsters was simply overwhelming.
And his body had already sustained critical damage.
Ever since he’d entered the forest, his blood had been flowing relentlessly. Now it stread down his body like rain.
His vision was growing dimr by the second......
He lifted his head, staring up at the figure hovering just out of reach in the sky.
A surge of powerlessness and bitter resentnt welled up in his chest.
Why......?
Why am I so weak?
Power......
Never before had Arthur craved power so desperately.
I need strength.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Strength to save Alice!
Anyone—please!
CLANG!
A sharp, brittle sound rang out.
The sword that had accompanied him through countless battles snapped in mid-air.
The broken tip fell to the ground, vanishing beneath the trampling feet of the monsters, barely registering in Arthur’s fading peripheral vision.
"Grant the power to save Alice......"
THUD.
"Hmm?"
"Alice" frowned, glancing down at the ground in confusion.
Weird... was that my imagination?
Whatever.
It’s nothing important.
The only thing that matters is that my full resurrection is at hand.
With that thought, "Alice" turned her gaze back to Arthur, a cruel smirk spreading across her face.
Hehehe~!
Who would’ve thought I’d get to enjoy such a delightful show before I rise again—urk! Dammit! Won’t you just give up?!
Now that he was weaponless, Arthur could no longer hold the monsters back.
"ROAR——!"
A monster lunged at him from the blind spot, its jaws gaping wide to tear out his throat.
There’s no way... to dodge this.
Arthur thought numbly.
"Brother——!"
For an instant, the blue in her eyes flared to dominance.
"It’s useless! He’s dead at!"
Brother...... Is he really going to die right in front of ?
Alice thought, overco with despair.
At that very mont.
BOOM——!
A streak of black light tore across the ground like a bolt of lightning.
Everything in its path—the ruins, the monsters, all of it—was annihilated in an instant, reduced to dust and splinters.
The monster that had been about to kill Arthur didn’t even leave a trace behind......
For a heartbeat, every living being—man and monster alike—froze in shock.
All eyes were fixed on the unexpected intruder.
"ROOOOAR——!!!"
A deafening roar shook the heavens as it revealed its true form.
It was a colossal black cat with golden eyes.
The aura of a supre ruler rolled off its body in waves, sending the surrounding monsters into a panic.
But the black cat showed them no rcy.
BOOM——!
Carnage erupted in an instant.
In the span of a few breaths.
Every monster within sight was wiped out.
The remaining beasts in the distance fled for their lives in terror.
With Arthur’s imdiate crisis averted, the violet in her eyes once again seized control.
"Damn it! Where did this thing co from?!"
"Alice" snarled through gritted teeth.
"You......"
Arthur stared up at the giant black cat in awe.
"Could it be... Sphinger?"
"ow!"
Sphinger nodded, its fierce golden eyes softening considerably.
"You wretched beast! Don’t think this is over!"
"Alice" shouted suddenly.
A wave of pitch-black energy exploded outward from her body.
Rumble......
From every direction, countless monsters poured forth, surging toward them.
They seed to be under so kind of mind control, no longer cowed by Sphinger’s overwhelming aura.
"ow——!!!"
Sphinger’s fur stood on end, its eyes blazing with fury as it glared at "Alice". But to protect Arthur, it whirled around and charged into the oncoming horde, hacking and slashing relentlessly.
It let not a single monster get within striking distance of Arthur.
"ow!"
Mid-battle, Sphinger glanced back at Arthur and flicked its tail in a aningful gesture.
Arthur nodded, understanding instantly.
He tightened his grip on the broken sword hilt and took a deep, steadying breath.
Whoosh—!
Raging flas burst forth from the broken blade, forging a new, blazing sword edge.
SWISH!
Sphinger lashed out with its tail, coiling it around Arthur’s waist and hurling him high into the air.
The flaming sword streaked toward "Alice" at blinding speed.
"GET OUT OF ALICE’S BODY—RIGHT NOW——!!!"
The flaming blade descended with all his might.
CLANG——!
A deafening clang of tal on barrier echoed through the air.
"Heh~!"
A sinister smile curled the corners of "Alice"’s lips.
Behind the invisible barrier that had suddenly materialized between them.
She mouthed the words slowly, her voice dripping with malice.
"It’s~, too late for that now!"
Her left eye flickered, the blue briefly resurfacing—but only as a tiny, fading sliver.
"Brother......"
Alice’s voice escaped her lips, faint and trembling.
"Run! Hurry!"
Her delicate right hand reached through the barrier, pressing against Arthur’s chest—and pushed him away with all her remaining strength.
As he plumted downward, Arthur seed to forget everything around him. He stared dumbly at the figure growing farther and farther away in the sky.
"Alice......"
......
Sphinger darted forward, catching Arthur just before he hit the ground.
High above.
"HAHAHAHAHA——!!!"
"Alice" threw back her head and laughed maniacally, her body wreathed in dark energy, her golden hair billowing wildly in the wind.
The last sliver of blue vanished from her left eye completely.
A terrifying aura erupted forth, pressing down on the land like a mountain.
BOOM——!
In an instant.
Every monster in the forest, along with Sphinger, was pinned to the ground by the overwhelming pressure of that S-Rank aura.
Only Arthur remained unaffected—staring blankly at the sky, his eyes empty, as if his very soul had been torn away.
In the final mont before the blue faded completely.
Alice turned her head.
She looked at him one last ti, her gaze filled with nothing but tender longing.
"I’m sorry... brother."
"Alice——"
"I love you... more than anything."
Hum......
The pair of rings they wore on their fingers—rings that had glowed softly with a warm light this entire ti—suddenly dimd, their radiance snuffed out forever.
All sound, all color, faded away in that instant, reduced to a blank, empty void......
"Aa... aaah......"
Two trails of blood and tears stread down his face.
A glowing crest slowly materialized on the back of his right hand.
"URRRRRAAAAAAAGH ALICE——!!!"
BOOM——!!!
The earth shook violently beneath his feet, and an endless surge of white light erupted from the ground.
"What?! That’s—!"
"Alice"’s face twisted into a mask of utter disbelief.
"Impossible! This can’t be happening......"
She muttered the words over and over again, her eyes fixed on Arthur in horror.
"It’s impossible! You—!"
"You’re the Hero?!"
CLANG——!!!
A sword’s cry rang out, piercing heaven and earth.
A colossal pillar of white light shot into the sky.
Within that brilliant light, one of the Six Divine Relics—the Brave's Divine Sword—revealed itself to the world once more.
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