Hello I'm back, thy leg is healed but I don't have molars anymore.
===BREAK===
SHRAAAAK!───
Even wings that had survived a nuclear blast were now sliced off, powerless.
It wasn't me who cut them.
Ankelenth had spread his wings—right into the waiting [Rift Blade]. It was a cunning trap, leveraging the blade's unique properties.
[GROOOOOOOOH!]
With a furious roar, ether in the area was swept away in an instant.
[KYAAAAH!]
Kalakin and the remaining Ark soldiers were no exception.
Ankelenth's roar carried a tangible, physical force.
"Kh!"
"Brace for impact!"
After the tempest passed, only a handful of soldiers remained on the frontlines.
Already weakened from dwindling supplies, this ambush had left even the Ark's most elite barely standing.
"You alright?"
"…Yes."
Kalakin lowered the bone shield that had protected him.
Had he not been empowered with Janus's strength, he would've been knocked out by now. But Kalakin could now withstand that level of force.
"Don't let your guard down. Losing a wing doesn't make that thing any weaker."
"I'm aware."
Naturally, the loss of a single wing didn't cause Ankelenth to plummet to the ground.
His unnatural mobility wasn't solely dependent on flight.
'Still, for a flying monster, losing a wing is a critical blow.'
Even a being like Ankelenth, who seemed to ignore conventional wisdom, wasn't immune to certain truths.
As proof, he had ceased his rapid movements and hovered in the air.
["Ugh...."]
Perhaps wary of hidden spatial blades or for some other reason, Ankelenth abandoned his previous battle style.
But I knew.
Assuming that Ankelenth's stillness meant he'd be easier to fight would be a grave mistake.
Grrrrr....
A low animalistic growl.
He had abandoned all previous decorum and now stared silently at everything below him.
[It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.]
[Stop, please....]
[Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please.]
Ether everywhere shrieked.
Taking this as a signal, Kalakin, Brigadier General Victor, the few remaining Ark soldiers, and combat drones all charged in.
BOOM──!
KWA-KWA-BOOM!
The first clash erupted, scattering flames and sparks in all directions.
But Ankelenth remained curled up, wings wrapped around himself, showing no reaction—almost as if waiting.
'Just as I thought.'
To use his wings, now a vulnerability, to shield himself—what could that mean?
Perhaps it meant he no longer needed wings in this fight.
"Target the wings!"
At Victor's command, the remaining soldiers focused their fire on Ankelenth's wings.
Regardless of whether he had given them up, wings were still a weak point for flying monsters.
KWA-KA-KANG!
Shells rained down on his wings, yet Ankelenth barely responded.
Only occasionally would he flick them open to deflect strikes that looked genuinely dangerous.
Grrrr....
To the untrained eye, it seemed like he was in a defensive posture—but I knew better.
He was biding his time.
"Don't lower your guard."
"Yes, sir."
Ankelenth finally reacted—when the light from the Noah-01 Matter Disintegrator flickered.
All his previous calm vanished. At the first sign of the Disintegrator's glow, his concealed tail lashed out like a dagger.
PAAAAAANG!───
A massive bone shield, conjured by Janus and Kalakin, blocked the attack.
Bone fragments and dust scattered everywhere. Still, perhaps due to his stationary posture, the strike lacked its usual force.
In short, we could block it—barely.
VUUUUUNG!
That thought didn't last long.
The second strike followed almost immediately, erasing all hope of respite.
Though the reduced wind-up meant less power, it also meant quicker consecutive attacks.
KWAHHHH!───
"Kh!"
["Master!"]
Janus and Esther managed to respond, but not quickly or strongly enough—the impact still shook me.
"Are you alright?"
"I can endure it."
The battle continued.
While the blinding speed of earlier was gone, Ankelenth still proved difficult to wound.
His combat style had clearly changed.
He now withstood lesser attacks with his ether barrier and scales, only actively deflecting the truly dangerous ones.
Earlier, Ankelenth had been a god in the sky—now, he was like a mountain.
A formidable enemy in any form.
Yet there was one silver lining: Janus, who had been strategically overwhelmed before, could now fight to his full potential.
SSSSSH!
Hundreds—no, thousands—of bone tendrils shot toward Ankelenth from all directions.
Before, they couldn't even touch him. But now, they landed.
KANG!
KAAANG──!
Most bounced off his scales, unable to pierce through.
But the real attack was always hidden among the decoys.
CRACK, CRAAAACK…!
A few darkened bone tendrils from Janus finally pierced Ankelenth's scales.
Only possible thanks to the strength imbued by Ankelenth's own fangs.
Meanwhile, Kalakin and I—armed with the Disintegrator and the Moonlight Sword—waited for any opportunity to strike.
Support fire from Victor and the Ark soldiers rained down as well.
"He's weakening! Press the attack!"
Victor shouted, unleashing his heavy weapon nonstop.
Only a few fighters remained in the skies, but those few were the best of the best.
Each one comparable to a Rose Line colonel.
"We've almost got him!"
Victor tried to rally the troops—but I was skeptical.
It looked like we were pressuring Ankelenth.
But we hadn't dealt a single fatal blow.
And every time I glimpsed his eyes—peeking between his wings—I felt a chill.
Sure enough.
I saw it.
Hidden between his wings, between his bared teeth—a swirling flame.
I knew what that meant.
"Janus!"
Dodging wasn't an option.
Not with the range of Ankelenth's breath.
Running now would only let that attack consume the Ark.
"Unleash everything!"
Finally sensing something was wrong, even Victor and Carmen, who had stayed back, joined the offensive.
BOOM! KWA-KWA-BOOM!
Thick explosions clouded the battlefield—but Ankelenth remained.
No, the fire within him only grew fiercer.
Ssssssshhhhh…
He inhaled deeply.
And I knew exactly what was coming next.
'No other choice.'
I drew the Rift Blade with my left hand.
"What are you…!"
Kalakin seemed to grasp my intent—but there was no time to hesitate.
If I didn't stop this breath, not just we—but the entire Ark—would be lost.
'It's a gamble… but worth it.'
If I failed, death was certain.
But retreat was not an option.
["Master!"]
Just as I activated [Rift Shift] to charge into Ankelenth's maw—
SHREEEEEEEEK────!
Something flew in from beyond the horizon—faster than sound.
I didn't know what it was, but I knew it couldn't be good.
[GIGIT!]
But then—
Why?
Janus didn't dodge.
In fact, he deliberately took the hit.
KWAHHHHHHH!───
A massive impact struck Janus, and the shockwave carried over to me, our connection unbroken.
"What the…?"
It made no sense—until I saw what came next.
CRACK, CRAACK…
Janus's bone tendrils writhed.
[You have absorbed the flesh and blood of Beyond-Grade Bestial Behemoth 'God of the Overflowing Rivers'!]
[By absorbing a significant portion of 'God of the Overflowing Rivers,' you have acquired its ability.]
['Fang of Ankelenth' absorption increased.]
[97.7% → 98.9%]
[You have absorbed the flesh and blood of Beyond-Grade Demonic Behemoth 'Emperor of the Barren Desert'!]
[By absorbing a significant portion of 'Emperor of the Barren Desert,' you have acquired its ability.]
['Ankelenth's Fang' absorption increased.]
[98.9% → 100%]
['Bone Armor (Lv.5) [Janus]' rank has increased.]
[16-star → 17-star]
['Ankelenth's Fang' fully absorbed.]
['Breath of Ankelenth' acquired.]
It was clear what had happened.
The Turncoats—including the Turncoat Queen and Horus—had taken down the regional Overlords and sent their power to us.
'I didn't expect them to go this far…'
I had coordinated with the Turncoats as a contingency plan.
But they had exceeded every expectation—and delivered.
["Look at that! A most excellent servant indeed!"]
Even the Turncoat King let out a rare laugh.
I wanted to celebrate—but there was no time.
"Janus!"
His bone tendrils gathered, forming the shape of a massive beast.
One that looked eerily like Ankelenth.
["Master! Come!"]
As Esther cried out, the long-hidden breath of destruction erupted from Ankelenth's jaws.
An annihilating force meant to erase everything.
But there was no reason to fear.
"Janus."
Now, my command to him was simple.
"Breathe."
[GIGIT!]
The bone beast Janus had formed opened its massive jaws.
['Breath of Ankelenth' has been activated.]
Two annihilating forces—both worthy of the name "destruction"—collided.
===BREAK===
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