'…What is that?'
The ominous purple flames exuded a sense of dread as they hungrily spread around, weaving through the flying beasts and monsters.
It was as if those purple flames were alive.
Fwoooosh!
The flames were subtle.
But also utterly destructive.
[Kehhek...!]
[Kak─!]
Beasts and monsters engulfed by the purple flames soon dropped to the ground one after another.
They weren't completely incinerated.
Once life left them, the dreadful purple flames moved on like parasites, leaping from one beast to the next.
Fwoooosh──!
This was no ordinary fire.
In fact, it was questionable whether it could even be called fire at all.
[Kyaaah, kyaaaak!]
[Gwooooooo───!]
Flames of red and purple intertwined, spreading in all directions and creating devastation throughout the area.
However, this devastation wasn't meant for humans.
It was purely a disaster for the beasts.
And shockingly, that disaster had been unleashed into reality by a single human being.
"Fire at will!"
"Hahaha! Kill them all!"
Even amidst such an abnormal scene, the soldiers of the Kronos Union remained completely unfazed.
Of course, there were a few exceptions like Staff Sergeant Alex Hope who showed signs of unease, but those were merely a handful of rookies.
In other words, the Kronos Union knew exactly what those flames were.
"This is insane…"
Staff Sergeant Alex Hope instinctively began searching for the origin of the purple flames.
And not long after, he discovered their source.
'That woman…'
Lania Marcus.
Sister of Carl Marcus and a core figure within the Kronos Union.
At the very center of those dreadful purple flames stood that woman.
[KIEEEEEEEEEK!]
Amidst the constant explosions, the horrific screams of beasts echoed through the battlefield.
The purple fire blazing from Lania Marcus's fingertips…
Just looking at those ominous flames was enough to inspire dread, and they spread rapidly, consuming the beasts and monsters in their path.
It wasn't just that the flames burned them.
When they seemed about to catch onto a Kronos soldier, the flames changed direction, as if they had a will of their own.
At first, it seemed like coincidence, but when it happened simultaneously all around, that possibility was no longer tenable.
"What… is that?"
One of the Ark commanders spoke.
Staff Sergeant Alex Hope, watching this unfold, felt exactly the same.
He had never heard or seen of such power.
Ether?
No. That was something far more dangerous and destructive than mere Ether.
'Is something like that… even possible?'
Ark possessed countless technologies.
They had once been unrivaled in enhanced serum technology during the Cloud City of Heshbon era, had subjugated parasitic skeletal creatures to create Skull Knights, and even artificially manufactured Ether soldiers.
But what was unfolding right now—this was beyond the imagination of even Ark.
What on earth was that power?
What exactly did Kronos possess?
If it were anyone else, they might have felt reassured, knowing that such a powerful Kronos Union was allied with Ark.
At the very least, they wouldn't expect that power to ever turn against them.
But Staff Sergeant Alex Hope was different.
'…This is dangerous.'
The Kronos Union was a threat.
Though they were currently weaker compared to Ark's full military strength, if they were allowed to grow…
And if one day, they pointed those blades toward Ark?
Even though he hoped that would never happen, Staff Sergeant Alex Hope couldn't help but imagine the worst-case scenario.
"..."
Staff Sergeant Alex Hope recalled the message from the knights.
—Do nothing.
The knights had instructed him to simply observe for now.
Given the current situation, acting rashly could prove disastrous.
But Staff Sergeant Alex Hope felt a deep unease about following those orders.
「"Help… Help me…"」
The vision of the now-vanished Black Line resurfaced in Alex Hoff's mind.
* * *
Grade-1 Named Demon-Type—Durandal, the Noble of the Night.
Ordinarily, Demon-types like that wouldn't appear this early in the stage.
But this was an unprecedented multi-wave assault, and a Grade-1 Named Demon had made an appearance.
'Hmm…'
Though each had differences, Demon-types were generally far more troublesome to deal with than other beasts or monsters.
Not only did they possess near-human intelligence, but they also had bizarre and difficult-to-counter abilities.
'Durandal is an especially tricky one.'
Durandal, the Noble of the Night, had a wide-area charm ability.
With the power to invade the human mind, he was a dangerous enemy. If he broke into Ark, it would cause tremendous damage not only to Ark but to the Kronos Union as well.
'No, it might even spark conflict between Ark and Kronos.'
One way or another, this was an enemy that had to be eliminated here and now.
'I'll kill him before he reaches Ark.'
I aimed my Zeus-444 Railgun at Durandal, who was deep within the beast horde.
There was considerable distance between us, but to me and the Zeus-444, distance meant nothing.
Tzzzt, tzzzzzt──!
The trigger was pulled, and a level-1 energy flash shot toward Durandal.
BOOOOOOOM───!
But the beam failed to hit its mark.
Durandal's minions had shielded him.
'As expected… it's not going to be easy.'
Durandal, the Noble of the Night, commanded his own followers.
Moreover, hiding among the beast horde made it difficult to target him directly, even with long-range weapons.
'Still not enough energy for level-10 output.'
Which meant there wasn't enough firepower to sweep away both Durandal and his minions from a distance.
That said, I didn't need to wait.
"Horus."
[Kihik!]
"Let's go."
I gripped Horus's skeletal reins and charged into the heart of the beast horde, where Durandal lurked.
"Esther, support me."
["Ugh, seriously…"]
Though Esther complained, she started erecting an Ether barrier around Horus.
It wasn't perfect, but it should hold for a while.
[Kihehehehet!]
Horus began evasive maneuvers, weaving through the beast horde.
[Kaaak! Kaaak!]
[Gwooo! Gwooo!]
The beasts swarmed toward us.
Thud!
Boom! Boom─!
Each time, Esther's Ether barrier shook violently, emitting agonized cries.
[Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.]
[It hurts. Hurts. Hurts. Hurts. Hurts. Hurts. Hurts. Hurts. Hurts. Hurts. Hurts. Hurts. Hurts. Hurts. Hurts.]
Just like bugs crashing into a car windshield, the beasts slammed into Horus's Ether barrier.
Splat! Splat!
Fwoooosh!
We pushed through the horde.
The once-distant Durandal grew closer.
'Now then…'
I fused my lower body tightly to Horus using Janus's bone tendrils and lifted the Zeus-444 railgun.
Target: Durandal, the Noble of the Night.
His heart.
Tzzzt──!
With a flare of sparks, the energy blast once again shot toward Durandal.
But just as expected, his minions blocked the shots.
I never believed I could kill Durandal that easily.
'I'm in range.'
While he was hiding behind his minions, I had reached close range.
Roughly 300 meters?
From the sky, that was nearly point-blank.
[Activating 'Rift Space'.]
Inside the rift, I pulled out the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher and the ICE-54 Plasma Cooler.
Thanks to enhancements with Scales of ouroboros via Maybell Pilgrim, both weapons had been upgraded to 9-star grade.
'Stay here for a moment.'
I detached the bone tendrils connecting me to Horus.
Then I leapt off Horus without hesitation.
["You—You maniac! What are you doing—"]
Before Esther could finish yelling, I unfolded Wings of Ankelenth and fired the Z-74 Jetpack and reinforced greaves at maximum output.
With Ether's assistance, the 300-meter distance meant nothing.
[Kigik! Kigigigik!]
[Karak!]
Durandal's minions charged to block my path.
He tried to retreat again, but I wasn't about to let that happen.
[Activating 'Rift Shift'.]
In an instant, I crossed space and closed the gap.
["Mortal!"]
Durandal hurled his blood at me.
Had I been hit, I would've gone mad too—but I knew better than to let that happen.
[Block—Ah…]
Durandal's blood splattered against the Ether barrier, and surprise flickered in his eyes.
A monster with intelligence—caught off guard when his plan failed.
I was behind him now.
Gripping the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher and the ICE-54 Plasma Cooler, I fired without mercy.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
The combo attack of the Plasma Launcher and Plasma Cooler was powerful enough to remain effective even in the latter stages.
With numerous upgrades, the damage was lethal to a Grade-1 Named Demon.
["GAAAAAAAH!"]
Durandal's body was torn apart, frozen, and burned in a cycle of agony.
["UNFORGIVABLE──!"]
With a final roar, Durandal began to dissolve into a swarm of bats.
As expected, he activated his escape pattern in the face of death.
'It ends here.'
Durandal was not a monster you let get away.
He'd surely scheme something vile if spared.
'Durandal's bats are nearly immune to physical attacks.'
Demons don't die easily.
But I wasn't like others.
Clack─
I pulled out the Ark-34 Automatic Conversion Rifle from [Rift Space] and switched the magazine.
Experimental Round GHOST-157.
A bullet forged from Ark's long-held ambition—made to kill the unkillable.
And it had finally appeared in the world.