"Stop! Stop! Stop! You'll kill him!" the little priest desperately shouts at Aoi and hits her armored limb.

The bastard has already passed out, so Aoi simply slams him against the ground with a sickening crunch, then glares at the short man. "He murdered one of our knights. I won't kill him, but he will suffer for this offense," she slowly growls, her dual draconic voice so intensely enraged that the priest's legs tremble, yet the brave short man still goes to the bastard knight and begins healing him.

I turn to the remnants of Katasko just in time to see one pocket of resistance begin to freeze over with [Blizzard] while another pocket boils inside their armor from [Heat Transfer]. The two high-level spells boost each other, making it one of the deadlier combos out there.

Next, I see [Itionization] being cast in the first pocket, and the air becomes heavy with the smell of ozone as the men of Katasko are attacked by little shocks all over their bodies and even small lightning strikes, which have their power enhanced by the stormy weather. Then [Magnetize] follows up, and they struggle to move as their weapons and armor are all magnetically attracted towards the center of their group.

The second pocket has to suffer through [Vacuum], and after half a minute of not being able to breathe while receiving burns from the heat, they finally surrender. The first pocket resists for a little longer, but it's only a token effort to salvage some of their hurt pride, and they soon drop their weapons.

After the priest heals the broken knight and ensures that he's stable, Aoi unceremoniously grabs him by the foot and drags him as we leave. While the men cheer and shout in victory, we slowly walk towards the priests on our side, our faces impassive but our hearts cold.

We underestimated Katasko's evil, and they caught us off-guard. We believed they were likely to target Anton and Klein again, but all they wanted was to harm us, no matter what and no matter how.

Sure, it makes sense to kill our most experienced knight to deal a blow to our fighting power and the morale of our men, but it's such a steep price to pay for so little effect. This is why we didn't think they'd do it; it wasn't cost-effective.

But this is the new Katasko under Alki-Alki. Instead of the cold and calculative approach we expected, we get an evil and vindictive group of bastards. They aren't even that competent.

Our men follow as they see us pass, and soon we reach our backline. Sandoro is already here with the Companions and some of the Lordsguard, so we hand the murderer to them and walk up to Azador's corpse, and everyone else gathers up.

The old man looks peaceful, but the red flowers in his beard have already started to lose their color. We sense his presence, so I cast [Materialize], and his spirit appears before us, the same composed old man with a hint of a creepy grin under his gentle face, his beautiful white hair and the blood-red flowers in his long beard waving with the wind.

"I have served until the end," he solemnly states as he stares at Yunia.

Alissa and I give each of her hands a squeeze, then our loved elven wife swallows up the pain and replies, "And you have served well, so enjoy your deserved rest in Paradise."

He smiles warmly at her like a kind old grandpa. "My descendant will take my place."

She nods and smiles softly, her voice beginning to crack as we forbid her from using [Mask]. "And we shall honor him the same way we honor you."

He breathes in deeply (though I don't understand why a spirit would do that) and closes his eyes, seemingly in bliss for a moment. Then he returns to his composed demeanor and respectfully addresses all of us, "Goodbye, Your Highnesses."

"Goodbye, Sir Azador," we solemnly reply in unison.

Then his spirit turns into smoke and almost instantly dissipates in the wind.

This was a simple but meaningful ritual. Azador fulfilled his duty, and he's proud of what he's leaving behind, so he'll depart to Paradise with no lingering regrets. He doesn't even care about the fate of his murderer as he trusts us to honor his memory.

Then Sandoro says his parting words, "This was a loss not only for our military might but in our hearts, as we'll all dearly miss him."

"And now Enomosa is our most senior knight," Palo states, and we turn to the mature elven woman.

She has a stern and collected attitude, and she unhesitatingly nods in acceptance of her new role: to guide and advise those under her. "I will do my best to honor his memory," she solemnly replies, then salutes, and the other knights follow.

Almaria walks up to Yunia, then lands both hands on her shoulders. "So will the rest of us, for we're proud to serve you," the short and droopy-eyed elf kindly encourages her.

Now that pride has been mentioned, Yunia's elven nature is triggered, giving her renewed focus and motivation. For as much as she tries to look cold and calculative, she has to use [Mask] to actually hide her feelings, for she cares too much about those who serve us, and it's this big heart of hers that I love so much.

We release her hands, and Almaria releases her shoulders, then she turns to the imperial airship landing a hundred metri away. "And so will we as we face this heinous new enemy, who's insane enough to side with Katasko," she declares with the intense venom and revulsion in her voice that only an elf could have.

 

"Well, I guess the real excitement happens now," Urmeie wryly remarks from her huge Ronti as we ride out to meet with the delegation from the airship.

We send her a distasteful frown, which is clearly noticed by her since all our heads are still moving in sync with Gestalt, and for the first time, she actually becomes awkward. There were seven other deaths, but they were all accidental, so the rest of the nobles aren't as sour and bitter as we are.

But once we identify who, exactly, is leading the imperial delegation, it's Vanea who becomes so furious that her chilling, piercing eyes start to affect us, even though she isn't looking at any of us.

Ahead of us, we see Junior General Reinhold Fisher, a Filipino-looking human Gifted, riding a muscular Ronti alongside a colorful ensemble of eighteen other Imperial Army officers from a variety of races. We notice that they seem to come from all over the west side of the empire, and they're also all relatively young, so they're likely ambitious, with a strong desire to prove their worth.

A priest leads their group, just like ours, so they instruct both sides to stop a couple of meters away from each other.

"OATHBREAKER!" Vanea suddenly shrieks, seething in rage.

Reinhold simply smiles smugly, completely unfazed by the accusation, but the other Imperial Army officers around him seem tense and grim, and the only one we recognize is the Viking-looking weredog that we met during Trox Mael, Belligax Uxello, or, as I so endearingly like to call him, Bell-end. But curiously, he seems to be holding back a sneer of disgust. At what, we don't know.

Then a silence befalls us as Vanea's accusation rings in our ears, and it's Sa'Haa who breaks it after a painfully long moment, "What did you say, Dame Vanea?"

"I had a fucking deal of non-aggression with this bastard! Yet here he is, about to break his word to me in front of the Gods!" she answers with barely controlled anger, her fists clenched on the reins of her horse and trembling from rage.

"How ironic that someone like you is hiding behind the Gods' protection," Reinhold he sarcastically replies.

And the blasphemy he dares to commit utterly shocks all of us. He's making light of the power the Gods have over our Fate, and even the priest from his side gives him a look of disbelief.

"Are you here to challenge us in accordance with the laws of the Purification?" Sa'Haa coldly asks, her stern eyes narrowed and nose wrinkled in absolute disgust.

"Yes," he calmly answers.

And that sets her off as anger starts to bleed into her tone, "You offend the Imperial Royal Family with your actions, so I advise you to think very thoroughly about your answer as I ask you again: are you here to challenge us in accordance with the laws of the Purification?"

"Yes, but-…"

"This is too far, Reinhold!" Belligax suddenly barks, and the handsome not-Filipino man gives him a surprised and confused look. "Oathbreaking, and now offending the Imperial Royals? This is too far, and I'll have no part in this."

Rage takes over Reinhold for a second, but then he immediately realizes something, "You-…! You waited for the moment that would hurt me the most before abandoning me!"

And the Viking-looking weredog narrows his eyes in unveiled disgust. "Yes, I waited so that everyone could see the insanity in your eyes… I've come to realize that my life is worth much more than anything we could ever gain from this."

Reinhold turns his Ronti around to stare at his own men. "Fine, leave, you mustch! I don't need you! But I also won't forget this!" he shouts back as he waves his hand in anger.

Belligax promptly starts guiding his Ronti away at a slow pace, and two officers follow him, but a tense silence settles in as Reinhold glares at the remaining officers.

"Offending the Gods is going too far, Reinhold," a weremonkey officer softly states.

But Reinhold is prepared for this argument. "One Gifted versus another, and our Fates have brought us against each other."

"Remember who gave him his Gift. This is all part of the plan of the Gods," a human officer confidently states.

"I really doubt that…" Ciel venomously remarks through [Bind].

"Still, I'd rather not get involved with Oathbreaking, or I won't be able to face my men, or even my family," the weremonkey solemnly states, unconvinced.

"We've traveled too far together for you to give up on us now," a dwarf officer kindly insists.

And the weremonkey shakes his head in disappointed denial. "You are the ones who have gone too far and left us behind, so I'm returning home."

Then the officer guides his Ronti away, and two more silently follow.

It seems that sparing Belligax was wise, but it's unfortunate that it wasn't enough to ruin Reinhold's plan.

Belli notices the officers following him, then gives us one last look, and we share a nod of understanding. Like Reinhold, we also won't forget him.

"I see the kind of loyalty you inspire, Junior General Reinhold," Léonne remarks with painful sarcasm.

But he simply turns his Ronti forward again, then continues with a fake grin, ignoring her taunt, "I don't understand what they're so afraid of, for we're not after any Titles or other prizes." Then he turns a deranged gaze toward us. "All I want is something that you, Wolf Ryder, have in your possession, yet you've kept it in relative secret so far."

He doesn't mean…!

All eyes fall upon us, but we're too shocked to reply.

And he smirks at our hesitation. "Come on, Wolf, I know you know what I'm talking about. Are you going to force me to reveal your secret to everyone here?"

"You will talk to us in private, now!" Yunia suddenly shouts, incensed, and Reinhold simply gives us another insufferable smug smile.

 

"Patrono, I know you have it," he unhesitatingly states, now completely serious.

Sa'Haa's information on his Gift claims that he can telekinetically control and activate the enchantments of any weapon he touches, but his favorite is swords. If he had Patrono in his hands, he'd be one of the most powerful warriors in existence.

But we are absolutely certain that the Gods want us to keep Patrono a secret from the Wicked because it's our best counter against them, and it'll likely save us in the future from an ambush. So, if we lose Patrono, we'll die.

"Why would we ever engage in a Purification battle with you? Vanea has already been redeemed after our win against Katasko," Yunia caustically asks.

And he slowly answers, completely serious to leave no doubt about his determination, "If you don't fight me here and now, I'll go to the High Forest and challenge all of the Marked nobles over there. They won't be from just your territory; I'll challenge every Marked in the whole of the elven lands. And then we'll see what your Elder Council and the other Lords have to say once they know that you've brought the Purification to their territory."

We've been outplayed. Katasko was ready to sacrifice themselves in the hopes of fucking us over just so that Reinhold could swoop in and steal Patrono from us. All of this, all of the death, all of the scheming, lies, and hate, just to get back at us.

This is insanity.

And it enrages me. It enrages me so much that my body can't take it all, and if I were in my draconic form, I'd have fired a [Chaos Breath] at him. But there's no release, and the rage solidifies into energy, which becomes fuel for a cold determination.

And my voice reflects my mood as I give him his last warning, "I'll take everything from you, Reinhold. I'll take your life, your wife's, and your family's. If you really want to take Patrono from us, you have to wager everything."

He doesn't take me seriously, casually replying with a shrug, "I have no family; I'm an orphan. But sure, I'll even give you my airship."

"Call the priests," I order.

They need to verify and record the wager, but the contents don't have to be public.

Ciel [Fly]s to Reinhold's priest, sternly staring down at the man, then casts [Detect Evil], making her hand glow, and touches his shoulder, but the results displease her.

"You do know you're working for a blaspheming Oathbreaker?" she questions the imperial.

"Yes, but my duty as a referee of the Purification remains unchanged," he stiffly replies.

I have no patience for more discussion, so I promptly declare, "We wager our Heavenly Weapon, Patrono, while we demand everything Reinhold and his allies have."

"Let me see it," Reinhold demands, sounding like he's almost salivating.

First, Ciel has to make sure that the priests understand the delicacy of this situation, "Both of you, swear that you will keep the wagers a secret."

"I swear to the Gods that I won't reveal the wager unless I need to enforce it," they reply in unison.

I [Equip] Patrono out of sight of our allies and have it flash its holy light, then I un[Equip] it again.

"Oh, yes…" Reinhold hums with creepy arousal, and both priests become wide-eyed at the glimpse of the Heavenly Weapon.

But our priest recovers first and asks, "What do you mean by 'everything'?"

"Every Title, possession, and wealth that they may have," I solemnly answer.

Reinhold snorts and smugly retorts, "Aren't you also going to take my life?"

But I don't deem it worth a reply, and then our secret negotiations are interrupted by our rapidly approaching allies.

"You can't be seriously negotiating a wager without us!" Sa'Haa shouts indignantly.

"A second fight isn't part of the deal!" Mako follows, his [Godly Language]-infused voice sounding incredibly grating to me.

The wives and I all turn to him at the same time and glare, unleashing our high-level aura upon him, and he almost loses control of his Ronti as we accidentally frighten the shit out of the poor animal.

We order our Gatuns to guide our carriage away from Reinhold so that we can have some privacy, then everyone gathers in a circle.

"Our support is a given," Léonne immediately declares, as reliable as ever.

"So is mine," Vanea adds, still seething with rage.

"And now's not the time to be cowardly," Jacques sternly states as he stares at our "allies."

"You won't get us with cheap provocations," Urmeie retorts with a loud laugh.

But I slowly and carefully give them an ultimatum, "If you put any value in our relationship, if you have any respect for our family, and if you want to not make an enemy, you'll fight with us…"

And a silence befalls us as Sa'Haa has a staring contest against all of us. She shows no emotion aside from her carriage driver and Ronti looking very frightened by our glare, but we're certain she's feeling the pressure.

"What have you wagered?" she finally replies after a moment, her voice sounding awfully soft.

"Our treasure against everything they have," I solemnly reply.

"Is it that valuable?"

We nod. "It is."

She goes quiet again, thinking very carefully about our demand. I'm sure she wants to complain about us threatening other royals like this, but it's necessary to make it clear how important this fight is to us. Besides, we're being generous; she has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

"Fine, we'll join you," she begrudgingly agrees, and she doesn't even try to negotiate for a bigger share.

 

For the second time today, we line up and begin marching after the horn blares.

"FOR THE SECOND TIME TODAY, WE FIGHT AGAINST EVIL!" I roar, and my words are followed by the thunder of the storm intensifying above us.

"FUCK THEM!" Urmeie cheers, and the men follow.

"WE FIGHT AGAINST A FUCKING OATHBREAKER!" I continue, and the last word comes off my tongue with so much disgust that it makes me nauseous.

"OATHBREAKER!" Hana howls with as much distaste as me, and the men follow, even more incensed than during our fight with Katasko.

"SO WE FIGHT IN THE NAME OF THE GODS…!" Then I switch to [Godly Language]. "AND WE BEG THEM FOR THE STRENGTH TO PUNISH THESE BASTARDS!"

"FUCK THE OATHBREAKERS!" Urmeie cheers.

"FUCK THE OATHBREAKERS!" over six hundred men roar as the Gods answer our prayer and refill our bodies with divine energy and holy fervor!

Then we charge.

We're outnumbered, but only by one hundred men, and we have Belligax to thank for this number not being two hundred higher.

Reinhold is staying at the backline, and we don't see any of his floating swords, so he's holding back, giving us an opportunity to inflict damage upon his men that we can't afford to waste.

And we're going all out from the get-go.

I pull out crates of Chuckys, and the golems launch them into the enemy lines.

But then the golems start to scream as they fly.

"HEEERE'S JOHNNY!"

"REMEMBER THE ALAMO!"

"WHO DO YOU WANT ME TO KILL?!"

"CHEEKI BREEKI!"

"AHAHAHAHA!"

"FOR KING AND COUNTRY!"

"BANZAAAI!"

"CHA-CHING!"

"YOU COURT DEATH!"

"THINK YOU CAN TAKE ME?!"

"HI, I'M MR. MEESEEKS, LOOK AT ME!"

"RIP AND TEAR!"

"LEEEROOOO-…!"

I forgot that these Chuckys were made while I was in a memeing mood, but it's not like anyone will understand what they're screaming about, and their insane laughter shocks and confuses the enemy, allowing the Chuckys to fall all over their ranks. Then the suicidal and murderous little dolls raise hell just as we crash against their lines and begin the melee.

But we aren't done with spreading chaos.

They attempt to stop Aoi's charge with a rain of halberds and by putting a number of superhumanly strong men in her way, but we disrupt their footing with [Earth Wall], and she blasts through. Then we release in their midst everything we have.

Flasks of Rox's Sneeze-'n-Wheeze, containers of Laughing Gas, bottles of Toxic Decay Goop, and bombs of Draconic Climax fly in all directions. Then we activate our handheld [Abyssal Fire] flamethrowers and douse our enemies with a blanket of dark red, all-consuming flames. Hana even uses the diamond orb Artifact to spew toxic Darkness all around us.

Then I pull out a huge, cracked [Fly] gem, and the golems lower it in the rapidly growing clearing around us, safe from the enemy and ranged attacks. We immediately use [Redirect Mana] on it to draw out the unbelievable amount of mana stored inside, then Ciel casts [Wind Storm] in the middle of the mana, which amplifies the spell's power to an insane degree.

Before the mages can interrupt her, she releases the malformed spell upon the enemy ranks to our left. Nobody has any exposed skin to be split open by the spell, but it's still so powerful that their whole flank is forced to stop fighting and cover their eyes to not get blinded.

Then we finally finish crossing their formation.

A shadow falls upon us as Reinhold swings a tower-sized lump of metal at us like it weighs absolutely nothing. The Colossal Sword is a Dungeon Artifact, and it's his signature weapon, but even we can't face it head-on.

Lina unites our wills, and we cast [Earth Wall] at our feet to dig a hole, then the Colossal Sword falls upon our heads, and we sink into the soft earth. It isn't comfortable being squished like this, but at least we survive.

The Colossal Sword lifts and returns to its normal, bastard sword size, but then hundreds of shortswords whistle past us and dive into the battle. Almost immediately, we sense a number of Chuckys being eviscerated by the floating weapons while they can do little to stop it, too focused on causing chaos to defend themselves.

We sluggishly stand up from the mud and [Clean] ourselves, but we aren't allowed to rest as spells and more floating swords fly towards us.

"How the fuck are we supposed to fight this?!" Hana questions through [Bind] as she desperately attempts to keep a nimble sword from stabbing through the vulnerable spots of her armor.

Somehow, Reinhold's swords fight with such high skill that they give us trouble. It's like there are multiple Lord-level enemies engaging us at the same time.

A [Fireball] explodes on my shoulder, and though it's absorbed by the armor and enchantments, I lose my footing and have to resort to [Telekinesis] to remain standing, and then I desperately defend against a [Searing Blade] sword. My melee skills are still jumbled, so I feel like I'm just flailing my weapons around ineffectively.

We can't even advance towards the backline like this, even though they're right ahead of us. If we ignore the floating swords, they'll just dice us up with [Searing Blade] from behind.

The Colossal Sword suddenly appears on our right, rapidly approaching us in a horizontal sweep, so we just [Blink] past it, but then Reinhold instantly swings back the sword because it has no weight and no momentum for him, and we're hit on our backs.

The girls and the golems are all just batted away, even Aoi, but Hana and I grip the huge blade and remain stuck on the weapon as it's swung up into the air. Then it simply disappears as Reinhold stores it up his ass again, and we're left up in the sky, right above his mages, exactly where they've been preparing their powerful spells.

Our minds go blank with pain as lightning falls upon our backs, but our draconic "Endurance" helps us immediately recover, and we start flying back down as fast as possible before we can be boiled alive or suffocated in a vacuum.

A shadow falls upon us as the Sword's flat side comes down on our heads like a fly swatter, forcing us to [Blink] to dodge, but Reinhold does it again and simply reverses the direction of the attack, hitting us on our backs.

WE CAN'T DO SHIT AGAINST THIS!

Lina [Blink]s forward, halving the distance between her and Reinhold, then casts [Earth Wall] at his feet, distracting him long enough for us to escape his attack and for her to [Blink] right before him, but he just [Blink]s away.

She hides underground with [Earth Wall] while her [Blink] recharges, but once she's facing off against him again, he simply [Dodge]s her attacks until he can [Blink] away again. He clearly has no intention of fighting us in melee, and it'll be hard for us to actually close the distance like this.

Meanwhile, the Chukys are getting destroyed, and Reinhold's swords are starting to turn the tide against our men. Our stamina was recovered with my use of [Godly Language], but not our MP or mental stress. Not only that, but Lina's [Cursing Magic] spam on Reinhold won't become effective for a while, so this isn't a battle of attrition that we can win. We have to make a decisive attack.

But his Gift is simply even more overwhelmingly powerful than ours.

"FUCKING FLYING SWORDS!" Urmeie bellows as she struggles to fight against two flying swords and two warriors at the same time.

Alki is still here, watching and laughing on the sidelines, and Reinhold isn't even struggling against us. We simply can't accept this humiliation without pushing ourselves to the edge.

"I put my life in your hands," I declare to the girls through our connection.

"You always have, and so do we," Alissa immediately replies and gives me a quick hug. She always worries about me the most, but this time, she'll trust me, and I know I won't disappoint.

We gather up a few dozen meters away from the battle, and I put all of my points in [Summoning Magic], [Reduced Mana Cost], and [Mana Overuse Resistance].

"BREEEETT! COME HEEERE!" Aoi roars for me, and her extremely powerful double-voice doesn't even need [Godly Language] to sound imperious.

Then I press the button inside my soul space to summon the albino Fay Leviathan.

My MP reaches zero after just a few seconds, and I use [Redirect Mana] to fill my mana pool again and again, but my MP still reaches the negatives a few times, draining my HP and harming my body, not to mention what this is doing to my mana organ.

The spell needs so much mana that Reinhold and even the mages and warriors start to notice that something is going on, and the flying swords attacking us intensify their assault, trying to stop us from finishing the spell.

The Colossal Sword falls upon our heads, but we just dig a hole with magic and hide, and the Artifact Weapon is too clumsy to be used as a shovel from a distance, so Reinhold has to get close if he wants to flush us out.

A [Meteor] suddenly appears in the sky, right above our heads, and the house-sized ball of fire and molten rock immediately starts plummeting towards us.

"I'VE DREAMED OF THIS!" Hana shouts excitedly as she flies up, directly towards the [Meteor], then she un[Equip]s her armor to not ruin it and clads her body in scales.

Now that there's finally something not protected by [Dead Zone], Roxanne unleashes her [Explosion] at the massive spell while the rest of the girls support Hana with other spells, damaging the [Meteor] to weaken it.

And our unyielding, unbreakable, fucking invincible dragonkin simply punches it, making it explode into a rain of molten rock and fire.

"AHAHAHAHAH!" Hana laughs euphorically, her right arm bent and broken, but the rest of her body is unharmed.

Then Brett reaches us just as the Leviathan appears above our heads. A huge, long, white, semi-transparent winged snake. It's bigger than the Floater, faster than any ship, and capable of stopping the Colossal Sword.

"What…" the Gifted Shiba Inu hums in awe, but I touch his arm and cast [Haste], which causes me to feel no small amount of pain in my overtaxed mana organ.

"Grab Reinhold, and stop him from using that huge sword. Only you can do this," Yunia sternly explains for me as I wince in pain.

"Y-yes…!" Brett reflexively replies.

"GO!" I roar with [Godly Language], and he instantly breaks into a sprint.

The flying swords try to stop him, and they even use [Searing Blade] on his back, but all they can do is damage his armor as he uses his Gift to make his skin indestructible.

The Colossal Sword falls upon the albino Leviathan, but the white snake blocks it with its huge summoned mirror, which is merely cracked from the attack.

"Wolf, was that you?!" Sandoro exclaims to our bird back at the camp, in disbelief of what he's seeing.

Fuck yeah, this one's mine.

"MY LEVIATHAN WILL WIN THIS BATTLE!" I roar to encourage the men.

"FUCKING GET HIM!" Urmeie cheers back, and our morale gains a noticeable boost.

Gify even gives me a view of Alki-Alki's pale face. Not even he could've ever predicted that I'd summon something bigger than a fucking Grim Giant!

For the first time, Reinhold seems to struggle. The Leviathan's summoned mirror barrier is simply too powerful, and the huge beast also passively damages his spirit, which causes a compounding effect with Lina's constant [Cursing Magic] spam.

But his battle sense can't be underestimated, and he quickly realizes that by taking me out, the Leviathan will also go away. The problem is that I'm now so fucking spent that I can barely move, and there's a [Gate] Scrubber on both sides preventing me from just [Gate]ing away.

So we give the code to the rest of our men, asking for help as every single flying sword begins to change targets to us.

Aoi protects me with her massive body, taking hits whenever she can't stop them with her balls of water. Then Ciel finishes [Heal]ing Hana's broken arm, and the girls all [Blink] away at the same time, taking me with them.

Silvano is, predictably, the first to arrive, and he's fast enough to cut down the swords with his own [Searing Blade], but there are just too many.

Léonne and Jacques arrive next, but she's forced to draw her sword as arrows do little against flying weapons.

Then Almaria arrives on her huge, autonomous battle ent. She hops off to help Yunia heal my soul, and the [Nature's Guardian] simply continues to fight on its own.

But when she notices what's wrong with me, she reflexively asks in disbelief, "What in the Gods' names have you done to yourself?"

"A summon as big as that one doesn't come for free," I wryly reply, and she snorts bemusedly.

Then we notice that Reinhold is still summoning more swords from his bottomless asshole faster than we can take them down. His Gift is even more ridiculous than my tentacles!

"YOU WON'T STEAL ALL MY GLORY!" Urmeie arrives with a shout, then she and her bodyguards promptly throw themselves at the flying swords. She's incredibly fast for her size, and her "Endurance" is legendary, so she's a relentless war machine.

But pulling so many high-level warriors from the main battle is worsening the tide against us. The Leviathan is keeping the Colossal Sword busy in an absurd-looking battle, but the summon is also being ravaged internally by dozens of swords as it's too big to dodge every needle.

"We're losing control of the battle," Sandoro grimly reports. There's too much chaos, too many disruptions, too little strategy as two Gifted fight in ways that are impossible to predict, but it's clear that our men are losing.

We're getting swarmed, and a sword sneaks through the gaps of our defenses, then sinks its [Searing Blade] into my flank, but I've felt worse! Just a [Heal] from Ciel, and I'm… still not ready for battle, but at least I don't need to be carried!

Then we sense that the swords are getting more aggressive, more daring, more… desperate, just like us, and that's really fucking dangerous. You don't corner a man, and you definitely don't corner a Gifted man.

Lina takes a [Searing Blade] to the back, right through her gut, but her dwarven "Endurance" won't let her fall here.

"I'm fine!" she reports through our connection, and Ciel only gives her a quick [Heal] before returning to the battle.

"The Ryders will fall," a strategist declares.

"But the battle rests on their shoulders," Sandoro states.

Our mages suddenly stop fighting over the air above our men and turn their spells our way to shoot down the flying swords, sacrificing the knights' safety to buy us time.

Then Brett finally reaches Reinhold, who's too busy fighting the Leviathan to notice his approach. The man of steel simply tackles the Widebergian, but Reinhold stands his ground, his body also forged with strong muscles, and the two start to wrestle.

Wait, Reinhold is distracted, so he won't be able to [Blink] away…

This is it. This is the opportunity we need to end it all.

Lina hugs me as I open my "Items" window, then we [Blink] away from the mess, giving me a clear line of sight to the two wrestling men.

I find the entry for the Field Gun, but then I hesitate when it's time to choose which one.

But what if this kills Brett…?

A foreign but familiar female presence nudges me onwards, forcing me to press the button, and the huge darksteel cannon appears before me.

There's no time to pull out another one as the flying swords will swarm us in just a few seconds, so I line up the sights with the target, then fire.

Gods, I-…

"You are now level sixty-three."

I don't even know what to think, say, or even just pray. I simply remain stunned as my ears ring from the blast, and I hold my breath as I wait for the dust to settle so that we can see the aftermath.

Reinhold's swords suddenly drop to the ground, completely lifeless, and the Colossal Sword simply disappears. The men are so confused that they even stop the battle, and silence falls over the battlefield.

Then a horrible shriek pulls me out of my daze, "REINHOLD!" And his mage wife runs desperately towards the crater.

But there's nothing there.

"Brett!" Alissa suddenly exclaims as she finally finds his presence, over one hundred metri away from the blast, his body partially sunk into the mud… but still alive.

We've won, Reinhold is dead, and Brett is alive, exactly how I wanted things to go, but everyone looks grim, and a horrible feeling starts to well up within us.