“That was close. I almost didn’t make it out alive.”

The figure who’d saved Hulim Heyerar wiped the cold sweat off her forehead, letting out a sigh of relief.

“S-Rank beings are utterly terrifying.”

Hulim Heyerar looked up at her savior.

“Pujeliru?”

“Oh, right, it’s me.” Pujeliru snapped out of her daze, bending down to ask Hulim Heyerar, “Are you alright? Can you keep fighting?”

Hulim Heyerar nodded firmly.

“I’m fine.”

“Good, that’s a relief.”

With that, Pujeliru released her right hand, which had been holding Hulim Heyerar steady.

On the other side of the battlefield, however, Darius’s expression had turned as dark as night.

“You fools who court death……”

“Do you desperately want to die?”

“That’s not even a little funny~. None of us want to die, obviously.”

Eugene, who had a massive greatsword slung over his shoulder, spoke up lazily.

“But y’know……”

His carefree tone shifted instantly, his features hardening into a grim, determined look.

“If we don’t stop you here—if we let you destroy the World Tree—we’ll all end up dead anyway. So even if we don’t want to, we’ve got no choice but to fight!”

“ROAR! The dwarf speaks the truth! If you succeed, my dragon kin will lose our home too!”

“Pretty much sums it up.”

Charkin chimed in, slowly lifting his warhammer and shifting into a battle-ready stance. His sharp, piercing gaze locked onto Darius like a vise.

“Don’t underestimate us. You’ll end up biting off more than you can chew.”

“……”

Darius’s eyes swept over the cluster of A-Rank powerhouses who had surrounded him.

Pujeliru, Ignir, Charkin, Eugene, Sylvia, Aznov, Sandor…… Every last A-Rank elite had arrived at this very spot.

Irus descended from the sky, landing beside the group.

She glanced at everyone, then her eyes met Hulim Heyerar’s.

“……”

Neither of them said a single word.

After her conversation with Hulim Heyerar, Irus understood: this was a battle that everyone had the right to join. They were fighting for their own futures. Even if they knew death might await them, they refused to stand idly by and let others decide their fate.

So Irus would not try to stop them anymore.

“Hehehe, Darius. You really are being looked down on, aren’t you~?”

A voice echoed inside Darius’s mind.

Shut up.

“……”

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The voice fell silent for a moment.

Then it spoke again.

“Is now really the time for this? Can’t you see you’re neck-deep in trouble? Those two women already had you struggling. Now add all these lackeys to the mix……”

“Heh. Even if they’re nothing but minor nuisances, they’re more than enough to tip the scales of victory in their favor.”

“Don’t hesitate~. Choose now—”

I told you to SHUT UP!

“……”

If you dare speak in my mind again without my permission, I’ll destroy you!

“You—!”

“Hmph!”

The voice seethed with anger at Darius’s attitude. With a cold snort, it vanished completely—whether it was truly afraid that Darius would make good on his threat, no one could tell.

HUM!

The moment the voice faded away, the demonic spear in Darius’s hand began to hum with a low resonance.

A blinding jet of pitch-black light flared to life.

He stared coldly at the crowd of figures before him, his voice dripping with icy malice.

“Don’t think this will be enough to defeat me—you arrogant bunch of weaklings!”

BOOM!

The demonic spear erupted with a terrifying surge of power. He swung it in a wide arc through the air, and a pitch-black shockwave blasted outward in all directions.

“Attack together!”

Irus shouted, taking the lead and launching the first strike without hesitation.

The others followed closely on her heels, unleashing their attacks one after another.

CRASH——!

Their attacks collided mid-air, locking into a tense stalemate.

But Irus and Hulim Heyerar alone had already been a match for him blow for blow. Now that so many A-Rank powerhouses had joined the fray, the balance of power was inevitably shattered.

As Sylvia finished chanting her incantation, a Fifth-Tier Spell came crashing down.

It was the final snap before an avalanche—the already fragile stalemate crumbled completely in the blink of an eye.

BOOM!

The violent, destructive force slammed into Darius’s body head-on.

“Ugh——!”

His chest heaved violently, and a mouthful of blood spewed from his lips.

He tightened his grip on the demonic spear, stumbling backward several steps before finally managing to steady his wobbling form.

“You damned vermin……”

His voice dropped to a dangerous growl. He slowly raised his head, his eyes blazing bright crimson with unbridled rage.

“ALL OF YOU—DIE!!!”

BOOM!

He thrust the demonic spear forward.

A frenzied attack hurtled toward the group once more.

“Don’t give him a chance to catch his breath!”

Pujeliru yelled, channeling a massive surge of mana into the slender sword in her hand at breakneck speed.

WHOOSH——!

A silvery sword aura sliced through the air, streaking straight toward Darius.

“ROAR——!”

Ignir unleashed a searing-hot breath attack.

HUM!!!

Hulim Heyerar raised the Seven Luminaries high above her head, summoning a series of overlapping magic circles directly above Darius’s head.

“Ninefold Magic Circle—Annihilation Lightning Judgement!”

CRASH!

A colossal spear of lightning seemed to tear through the fabric of another dimension, its tip emerging from the dark, roiling clouds overhead.

In the very next moment,

it descended at a speed no one could track, striking Darius square on the top of his head in the blink of an eye.

The other attacks followed close behind……

SWISH!

Finally, Irus’s arrow of light pierced straight through Darius’s shoulder.

“CURSE YOU——!”

Darius roared in fury, completely ignoring his injuries as he unleashed another attack.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM……

Again and again and again.

Darius launched one frantic attack after another against the group, only to be forced back time and time again by their combined efforts.

He lost count of how many times he was sent flying through the air.

He lost count of how many wounds littered his body.

The only thing he knew for sure was that his injuries were growing more and more severe with each passing moment, and his movements were slowing down by the second.

“……Why? Why?! You’re nothing but a bunch of weaklings I could crush like bugs! How did things end up like this?! DAMN IT ALL!”

Darius let out a cry of bitter, unwilling rage.

“Why? Do you really not understand even now?”

Irus replied, her voice calm and steady.

“Just look around you—”

“Is there even a single one of your subordinates here?”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Hmph. I’ll make it simple for you!”

“Darius! If your subordinates were still alive, things would never have come to this! It was you! You’re the one who abandoned them all! You’re the one who brought this fate upon yourself!”

“I……?”

Darius’s mind went blank, his gaze growing unfocused.

His eyes slowly swept over his surroundings.

Not a single one……

None of his loyal subordinates from days gone by were here. Every last one of them had perished in the battles below, killed by his own orders.

Did I make a mistake……?

In the split second that Darius’s guard slipped, Irus seized her chance.

She closed her eyes, focusing every last ounce of her mental energy.

HUM——!

The two Holy Tree Staffs in her hands burst forth with a brilliant, dazzling light.

A vast tide of mana converged at a rapid pace, a lengthy incantation spilling from her lips in the blink of an eye. A massive, glowing magic circle gradually took shape.

The moment the spell was complete, she snapped her eyes open. Her gaze blazed with a light so intense, it seemed capable of banishing all darkness in the world.

Her lips parted slightly, and her calm, unwavering voice rang out.

“Sixth-Tier Wind Spell—Nullifying Tempest Wave.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep