Chapter 311

“Finally. Dead.”
A familiar voice echoed across the sky. Ronan looked up with an eerie sense of disorientation. Nothing but empty white space stretched out before him.
“Abel—!”
There was no one in sight. But just then, it was the unmistakable voice of Abel. Ronan squinted, staring up at the sky.
“It’s so futile, acting like you’ll never die, and then you end up like the people you love.”
Suddenly, a voice came from right next to him. Ronan gulped as he lowered his gaze. Abel had suddenly appeared, examining the Savior’s body.
“Well.”
“Now go to sleep. Foolish brother.”
He didn’t sense any movement. Abel spoke a single word, then closed the Savior’s eyes. He opened his closed eyes in prayer and finally looked back at Ronan.
“I see you again, nephew.”
Abel smiled. His severed limbs had grown back. The broken sword and the half-corpse-like body had been repaired.
“You motherfucker!”
Ronan struck a reflexive blow. The blade shot out at an unrecognizable speed and was about to reach his throat. A ferocious metallic sound rang out.
“What—”
“There’s no urgency. We’re all going to die anyway, so why rush the order?”
Ronan’s eyes widened. Abel had his sword drawn and was blocking Lamancha with a relaxed expression. As before, he didn’t even move his feet.
“What is it?
A cold sweat trickled down Ronan’s temples. He was stronger than he’d been when he’d chopped off the limbs. The feeling coming from Abel was completely different than it had been before.
“Let’s not rush this, because fortunately for you, I’m in a pretty good mood right now.”
The hairs on my body stood on end. It hadn’t been this bad when I’d first encountered Navardoze, or Ahayute, or even the King of the Giants. My instincts were screaming at me to flee.
The same aura I felt from the King of Giants was now radiating from him. Did it have something to do with their sudden demise?
“If we fight now, we lose.
Ronan slowly sheathed his sword. It was no time to be sloppy, and Abel smirked at the sight.
“You have a good head on your shoulders.”
Abel sheathed his sword in silence. He may have been enjoying the situation, but his grim face was filled with a sense of relaxation. When Ronan said nothing, he spoke first.
“Rejoice. My long plan has finally worked. It took me a long time, but I did it.”』
“Long term plans?”
“Yes. All of the spooky bald men are dead. They have become a part of me, along with all the other souls they have absorbed.”
As he spoke, Abel pounded his fist against his chest, seemingly absorbing all the power and life of the giants, though it was hard to tell. He looked around in disbelief and muttered in admiration.
“You’re amazing, by the way. I can’t believe you didn’t kill any of them with all the power you gave them. Do you know, I just destroyed a third of your stars with that blow?”
“—What?”
Ronan’s face hardened. What the fuck is this, he thought, not even a third of the system, but a third of the world. Abel spoke up.
“Narrowly missing an empire, but a good double-digit number of nations have been destroyed. I’m glad, because at this rate, it won’t be long before it’s over.”
“What the hell are you–what are you trying to do?”
Ronan gritted his teeth in silence. He could not fathom Abel’s purpose.
Up until this point, he had no doubt been thinking of offering stars to the giants and becoming part of their race. But Abel destroyed the giants and made himself king over them.
“Well, I can tell you soon enough, we’re nearing the end, and you’ll thank me for it.”
Abel snorted at the question. A chill ran down his spine at the sound of a sinister laugh. He was about to say something. Suddenly, a shout of rage rang out from behind him.
[Bastard!!!]
Both men turned their heads at the same time. A dark shadow rushed toward them in the form of flames. Ronan’s brow creased.
“That’s—!”
He seemed to have come to his senses. The red glow of his tail as he approached was unmistakably that of Archduke Shadow. Damn you, not at a time like this. Ronan cried out in frustration.
“Asshole, stop!”
He may have been blinded by rage, but he was no match for Abel. Ronan tried to stop him, but Abel was already stomping the ground to intercept. In a flash, Abel was in front of the Archduke and drew his sword.
“You’re a mosquito. I’ve always disliked your kind.”
【What—!】
Abel let out a sickening laugh. The Archduke’s eyes widened at the unexpected speed. With a sound like firewood splitting, the shadow split in two. The halved body of the Grand Duke fell to the ground in a long trail of blood.
[Cackle!
“You son of a bitch!”
It happened in a flash. Ronan, sword drawn, was about to run away. Abel frowned as he laughed.
“Hmm?”
He froze in place. Huge, black tentacles grew out of the ground and wrapped around his body. Apparently a form of blood magic, the tentacles refused to budge from Abel’s body.
Out of nowhere, the half-breasted Archduke let out a low chuckle.
[K—k—k—you’re not going to get it right—.】
“Archduke?”
Ronan’s eyes widened as he realized that the Archduke had used his body as bait to unleash a powerful spell.
“I’m sure you realize by now that this won’t work.”
Abel snorted and cut off the tentacle. Poof! Something flew across the wind and pierced Abel’s chest. His eyes widened, and he lowered his gaze. The spiraling blade of a spear protruded from his ribcage.
“This one–this one stings a little.”
【Damn him. You don’t even pretend to be sick.
Despite his grievous wounds, Abel was unperturbed. A grunt came from the direction he’d thrown the spear. He turned his head and saw Orce, who was holding his tongue.
“Orsay?”
[What are you doing, dumbass, you’re completely out of ice].
Orse growled at Ronan. His pupils were narrowed vertically in extreme tension. Ronan realized he was struggling to contain his fear.
Suddenly, the ground Abel was treading on turned over and crashed down on him. The earth and rocks, writhing as if they were alive, coalesced into a sphere, forming a prison for Abel. Trees, grass, and solid ice then surrounded the prison like a pavement.
“This.”
Ronan froze. It wasn’t hard to figure out who had done it. Catching his breath, Lorhon stroked his beard and muttered, “It was not hard to figure out who did it.
“—Ouch. That’s going to make things difficult.”
The normally imposing archmage’s face went white; he instinctively sensed how dangerous Abel was now.
Lorhon waved his hand, and the sphere slowly rose into the air. With an ominous sound, the sphere began to shrink in size.
I thought it was going to crush me, but it didn’t seem to be. Dozens of geometric magic circles floated up from the bumpy surface in a haphazard fashion. It was a damage amplification spell Ronan was familiar with.
Suddenly, in Ronan’s mind, Adeshan’s voice rang out.
[Now is the time. Drive it!]
Ronan’s eyes widened. At the same time, the pile of rocks trapping Abel quickly rose high into the air. At the same time, the soldiers and dragons who had been lying on their backs rose to their feet.
“Ooohhhh!”
“Damn, I thought I was going blind!”
Cheers erupted from every corner, their eyes a dull ashen color. It was proof that Adeshan’s abilities had forcibly boosted their morale.
It was a moment when the roar became an echo. Tens of thousands of arrows and projectile magic shot toward the isolated sphere in the sky.
[Go away!
“Hey, let me go home now!”
“Son of a bitch, there was a village in the forest you blew up!”
Boom, boom, boom! Explosions of all kinds lit up the night sky. Eardrum-splitting blasts rang out in rapid succession. Allied soldiers and wounded dragons alike were casting spells in droves.
“Huff… Hahhh… Oof!”
Adeshan, the manipulator of Shadow’s mana, covered his mouth and gagged, having used too much power.
Her eyes met Ronan’s after a long moment of separation. Wiping the corners of her mouth with her sleeve, she called out in Nurturing.
“Ronan—! Whew, we have to get him now! I don’t know what it is, but it’s dangerous—!”
“Captain.”
“You have to keep your head up. You can’t be crushed. You’re the only one we can trust right now!”
The tone was almost desperate. It didn’t take long to realize what was happening. The coordinated ambush on Abel had been planned by Adeshan.
She was the first to recognize the danger and was trying to end the fight quickly before it escalated. Every ally on the battlefield was firing on all cylinders.
“—shit!”
My head seemed to be clearing a bit. Ronan, coming to his senses, cursed. He admitted that he was intimidated by his father’s death and by Abel, who had grown absurdly strong.
The anger that came with shame washed over him. A blazing red color surged through Ramancha’s blade. Ronan leaped, kicking the ground as he powered up with magic.
Kaaaah!!! At the same time, the pile of rocks restraining Abel exploded. Despair was written on the faces of the people. Their relaxed expressions mocked their efforts. When Abel reappeared, he was unharmed.
【Builder—.】
Orse gritted his teeth. The spear he had thrown was in his hand. Once again, deadly projectiles flew from all directions, left, right, and center, but Abel neutralized them with a flurry of invisible strikes.
“I told you, it’s all bullshit.”
“Shut up, you freaking horo!”
Ronan was the only one who didn’t look in despair. The gap had closed completely by now. Abel’s eyes locked with his, and the corners of his mouth tilted up.
“Yeah. It wouldn’t hurt to warm up before the big game.”
Throwing his spear away, Abel gripped his sword straight. His and Ronan’s arms disappeared from view.
The two ships of the Charge clashed in the sky. Ka-ka-ka-!” An eerily cheerful metallic sound echoed over the wasteland that had once been a forest. Adeshan opened his mouth, his eyes fixed on the clash of the two monsters.
“—Is what you said in the previous sentence true?”
“Yes.”
Alibrihe nodded. He had taken advantage of the chaos of the battlefield to sneak up on Adeshan.
In the form of a human youth, he held a round stone in his hand. Adeshan, who had been salivating, asked again.
“I hope you don’t have to use it, but—can you?”
The concern in his voice was heavy. The answer came back without hesitation.
“I should.”