"Okay, Momoka, now that we are here, what should we do?" Killiar asked Momoka, who made the beacon for them to assemble.
Momoka pointed at Thalamik's Alterity, which was currently being recorded and livestreamed. "Master asked me to livestream what happens here in order to expose Raum for what she truly is."
"Where is it livestreamed to?"
"It is livestreamed on the United Front's network, so almost everyone can see this broadcast," Momoka said. "But this isn't the hardest part."
"The hardest part must be..." Illias spoke.
"It's to defeat Raum herself," Momoka said.
"Is she invincible or some sort?" Trish asked.
"No, I don't think so. But there are two anomalies that made me feel like she is," Momoka said. "When meditating above the Alterity Orb, I sensed a sudden power spike. It can't be from my master, since I know his signature. Raum has spiked her power twice. Given that she has limited mana, she can't do it over and over again. Yet she is still fighting with prowess and little to no fatigue."
"That's impossible. Then how can we..." Trish said.
"That's the thing. Without figuring out her cheat skill, we can't really hope to find ways to defeat her," Momoka said.
"Vululu! Everyone! The Leviathan King and his armies have stopped moving. Is there something wrong?" Lulu showed up, levitating down from the sky.
"Then they must have seen the recording."
They all turned to look at the Leviathan King, who had stopped moving.
"This is a good time to discuss peace," Momoka said.
"Wait." Illias held Momoka's hand. "I don't feel like it's safe."
Then mana gathered around the Leviathan King.
"The torrents of water that hold unrivaled strength..."
The Leviathan King was chanting a spell.
"Crash and lay waste to my enemies. Pass on in my stead the judgment of the sea!"
Water-like particles flew into the sky above as they began to form a trident.
At that moment, everyone's eyes widened.
The Leviathan King smiled gleefully and finished his chant. "Poseidon's Trident!"
Then a large trident made out of water began descending from the sky, aimed at Momoka and the others.
Illias gritted her teeth. "EVERYONE, GET AWAY! Holy power, raise true… Protect us from evil that wishes to harm… Protection!" She cast a barrier protection spell to hold against the attack.
Killiar and Trish instinctively took Momoka's and Lulu's hands as they retreated. The Alterity Orb of Thalamik was also pulled away by Momoka using left and right movements.
"ILLIAS!!!!" Momoka shouted to her, unable to stretch a hand toward her.
.
.
.
.
An image of Thalamik appeared in her mind.
.
.
.
.
The barrier she erected was slowly crumbling away.
.
.
.
.
"...You are the protagonist. You are our only hope. And I trust you with my life."
Even if I have to give my life....
I won't give up....
I'll keep running....
I will break my limit.
Then an image of Carmilla appeared in Illias's mind. "The truth about green mana is that...."
Illias's eyes widened as she gritted her teeth.
"HAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Illias screamed as green mana suddenly enveloped her barrier, making it stronger as it reformed and deflected the attack.
Unlike before, Illias felt lighter.
Unlike before, she wasn't out of breath.
Greenish mana enveloped her body. She smiled through tears as she looked at herself, having managed to achieve it. "I will do my best, Carmilla, Thalamik, Raymed."
ZWUNG! ZWUNG!
"Whoa! What was that, Illias?" Trish asked as she zapped toward her.
"Are you ready to beat this guy, Trish?"
"Ehh? Illias, you're sounding a lot more confident than usual. But if you're up for it, I certainly am too." Electricity began forming in Trish's eyes.
"FOOLISH! YOU ALL THINK I DIDN'T KNOW THAT RAUM WAS EVIL FROM THE START? I KNOW SHE IS, BUT WHAT DO I CARE? MY GOAL IS CONQUEST, WHERE I RULE ON TOP. I DON'T CARE WHAT MEANS I NEED TO FOLLOW!" the Leviathan King roared.
Then a figure appeared.
A tricorn hat, a long coat, gauntlets, and trousers.
His left hand carried a cigarette.
His right hand carried a crossbow.
As he exhaled smoke from his mouth, the arrow launched toward the Leviathan King.
Then the arrow disappeared.
Trish and Illias widened their eyes.
SHURTSS!!!
Suddenly, the neck of the Leviathan King was punctured by the arrow.
"GRAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Trish and Illias instinctively looked to the side, but the figure was no longer there.
"You girls just try and keep up," the figure said, appearing already ten feet away from them, walking toward the Leviathan King.
Trish and Illias looked at each other, confused by the situation.
But they swiftly nodded and got ready to join the figure to fight the Leviathan King.
***
"This isn't exactly part of the plan, but the merfolk have stopped their attacks at least!" Momoka said. "I didn't expect the Leviathan King to be this vile, though."
"Never mind that. What do we need to do now?"
"As I said, we need to fight Raum and figure out her weakness."
Just then, the orb where Thalamik's Alterity was began cracking.
"I see. Then that's why they were called here as well..." Killiar pointed toward Besitulars, who was carrying five people on his back.
"AWOOOO!!! Ore Sanjou! (I have arrived!)" He stopped as the five Hero Candidates got ready.
"Don't forget not to break your artifacts, or Thalamik will crumble in debt," Dwargo said.
"Are you mocking me, dwarf? You seriously need to learn manners, hahaha," Isval Il Opache spoke with flair.
"My, my. It's Isval." Killiar shook her head.
"Oof. I didn't think you would be here, distant cousin." Isval smiled as he saw Killiar.
"What are you doing here?"
"Wow. Isn't it obvious?" Isval smiled as he walked past Killiar.
Thalamik's Alterity Orb began cracking once more as it slowly returned to its original size, which was the size of South Jaka City. Due to the Alterity slowly breaking, the rule Thalamik imposed on its small size would soon be gone as well.
The others retreated to a safe distance as they prepared to enter the Alterity.
"Killiar, you should go back to command the army. They need your help more than ever," Momoka said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am sure. So far, everything is going according to plan. Lulu, help Killiar."
"Aye aye! Let's go, Ms. Killiar," Lulu said.
"What about me?" Besitulars asked.
"It depends. You can go help Dwargo guard the Psytelier Store in South Jaka, or—"
"I would like to fight! AWOOO!!!" Besitulars howled.
"Right, then let's go with the Hero Candidates."
"Then I'll be off to the warping place again!" Dwargo said.
***
Now.
Three hundred seconds after Thalamik's Alterity crumbled.
The landscape that had been maintained inside it had completely vanished.
Raum and the Hero Candidates were fighting in Jaka City.
Cobalt, with his fiery armor, clashed his sword with Raum's clawed hand.
"Sky Piercing: Tiger Fury," Cobalt chanted as he swung his sword left and right very fast, like a tiger's slash.
Raum, with her speed, tried her best to guard against the attack, deflecting it with her hand.
As the exchange happened, Istar was flying beside them.
"I call upon the gales of nature. Zephyr Auger!" Three drill-like structures made from wind appeared and launched toward Raum.
In response, Raum screamed, "KUAAA!!!" The aura exerted from her scream began to halt the drill structures.
Then Oryba Twinkle Snake appeared, attaching himself to Raum's body. With his snake-like build, he pacified Raum's mouth as she became unable to scream. Not stopping there, Oryba began to move and restrain Raum's whole body. "Python Choke!"
Raum's eyes widened before she bit Oryba's body. Blood filled Raum's mouth, but Oryba didn't move an inch, trying his best to restrain her. Her red eyes began to glow once more as crows began to appear again.
The vortex of crows began to attack Oryba's body. "GRAA!!!" Oryba screamed in pain as the barrage of crows punctured his body.
"ORYBA, SWITCH!" Thierus arrived as Oryba slithered away from Raum.
A fist launched at Raum was easily blocked.
Then Thierus launched another fist, only to be blocked again.
Both Raum and Thierus were locked in an impasse, with both fists clashing with each other.
"What will you do now?" Raum smiled, licking her lips.
Then a figure appeared behind Thierus. It was Cobalt. "Sky Piercing: Pegasus Kick!" Cobalt launched himself with fiery mana from his armor and pushed Thierus's body with his leg, effectively sending Thierus toward Raum.
As Thierus crashed onto Raum, he hugged her, both crashing onto the road of Jaka City. Thierus then turned his body, revealing Raum's backside so it could be attacked.
"YOU INSOLENT—!"
"Sky Piercing: Dragon Slayer!" Cobalt arrived as he began thrusting at Raum from above with his blade in rapid-fire motions, puncturing her body at extreme speed. Raum's red eyes began glowing again as the crows flew toward Cobalt.
"No, not this time." Istar aimed at the flying crows. "Spirit Burst!" she spoke as she launched a beam of mana energy at the crows. As soon as a crow was hit, only the carcass remained.
"Sky Piercing: Dragon Rend!" Cobalt slashed left to right and right to left repeatedly.
"This is over! Raum! DIEEE!!!!!!!!!!!" Cobalt said before—
.
.
.
.
An image of Cobalt's father appeared.
"Father?"
"You are a disappointment, Cobalt Il Degurathon. I don't ever want to see your face in this house again..."
Cobalt began to shiver.
Then a slithering voice was heard.
"I see... so that's your fear."
A pair of red eyes appeared behind Cobalt.
.
.
.
"HUEEK!!!" Cobalt suddenly threw up. His body felt weak and nauseous.
What the hell?
Raum suddenly gained strength and broke free from Thierus's restraint. She lunged into the sky by kicking Thierus in the stomach. She grew her wings and grabbed Cobalt by the neck, lifting him into the sky.
"COBALT!" Istar tried to reach for him as she flew, chasing Raum.
The crows blocked her way.
Raum licked her lips and said, "Explode."
Istar's eyes widened before the explosions started.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"ISTAR!!!!" Cobalt cried out as he saw Istar fall from the sky. At that moment, he also understood that it wasn't only Istar—the crows were present near Thierus and Oryba as well, so everyone was hit by the explosions, with the exception of him.
"How's that? Did it go as planned?"
With that, Cobalt finally felt fear.