Hello I'm back, thy leg is healed but I don't have molars anymore.
===BREAK===
I thought it was all over.
That's why I was even prepared to endure the absolute worst-case scenario: a nuclear strike. I was on the verge of executing it—
And then, the anomaly occurred.
An unidentified, massive monster appeared—too large to even be detected by Ark.
A swarm of bone entities had manifested.
Suddenly, in the heart of the frontline, the bone wave appeared, devouring the beast horde and instantly dominating the surroundings, extending its territory.
Ark's forces continued shelling the bone domain, but it was effectively meaningless. No matter how much they fired, the bone wave remained unscathed—and even if some bone entities were destroyed, the domain they left behind spread faster.
The bone swarm eventually reached the territory of the three Regional Lords.
Up to that point, it was alarming—but not unexpected.
But when the bone wave's domain breached the Regional Lords' territory and began attacking them, everything changed.
"…This can't be real."
The Regional Lords.
What kind of beings were they?
Champions of regions in a world full of beasts and monsters, each one capable of bringing cataclysm to Ark. These were the Regional Lords.
Swishhh!
Yet the bone wave didn't falter before them—instead, it began to consume their flesh and bone.
It was after that that the Lord of the Grand Forest fell.
In the midst of crisis, monsters suddenly engaged in territorial warfare—and one of the overlord-class monsters was felled.
Objectively, the situation was far worse than anything faced before—indeed, beyond comparison.
Even if the Regional Lords had paused, a new monster had appeared on the frontline that could toy with Regional Lords as if they were children.
Why…
Lieutenant Imosha couldn't explain why she thought the bone swarm wasn't Ark's enemy.
It was an unbelievable thought—but in fact, the bone wave had ignored Ark entirely, focusing only on consuming the beast horde, expanding its territory.
As if protecting Ark.
"…This makes no sense."
A monster protecting Ark…?
Lieutenant Imosha forced herself to deny such an absurd possibility—but that impossibility was unfolding right before her eyes.
A miracle.
A phenomenon worthy of the term.
Within that single thread of hope, Lieutenant Imosha found her thoughts drifting to one man.
Always at the center of Ark's miracles.
"Could it be…"
Carl Marcus.
He was always at the heart of every miracle in Ark.
Lieutenant Imosha knew how ludicrous it sounded to connect Carl Marcus to the bone swarm—but still, she found herself seeing him in that monstrous legion.
She hoped—hoped—he was bringing another miracle to Ark again.
"…No. No, that can't be."
She shook her head. She felt pathetic for leaning on another.
Clack—
Still, Lieutenant Imosha pulled the trigger again. She did what she had to—like always. After all, she was a soldier of Ark.
* * *
Groooooong!───
The Lord of the Grand Forest—ruler of the vast northeastern woods of Mount Noah—fell powerless.
True, the Lord of the Forest was vulnerable to targeted domain attacks given his assimilation with his environment—but even accounting for that, the bone wave defeated him with startling ease.
'That means Janus has become incredibly powerful.'
The true Bone Lord—Janus—had absorbed both the Bone Lord and the Turncoat King's power.
Yet the Forest Lord was still alive, albeit suppressed. Fully ending him wasn't easy.
'Plus… before the Kronos Union and Church of Morte move in.'
The sky above the frontline was still chaotic with aerial beasts and missile fire.
But Ark wouldn't survive that attritional war. Such attacks would eventually fade.
The real advance would come when the Kronos Union and Church of Morte took full action.
Or perhaps they already had.
'Then I must eliminate the Regional Lords as quickly as possible.'
The Lord of the Grand Forest.
The God of the Overflowing Rivers.
The Emperor of the Barren Desert.
Not one was insignificant—but Janus's power was overwhelming even to Regional Lords.
I no longer needed to stall.
[Summoning 'Ankelenth's Judgement'!]
Death itself began to form in my right hand.
As Janus clashed with monsters and Regional Lords in a brutal domain struggle, I readied the dagger to pierce their hearts.
Only one thing remained: delivering the sentence of death.
Fzzzt… crackle…
Ether coalesced around my right hand, circling Judgment of Ankelenth.
Ether beyond ordinary human limits transformed me—and promised to multiply the weapon's destructive power.
'First… one.'
With a powerful swing, Judgment of Ankelenth flew true toward the fallen Lord of the Forest.
Fwiiing!--–
Tearing through the air with a sonic boom, Judgment pierced the Forest Lord.
[Guuuuuhhh!]
He screamed—but for only an instant. A dying scream is the last right of a living being.
Pssssss…!
The body of the Lord of the Forest disintegrated, scattering into dust that melded into Janus's bone domain—as naturally as breathing.
[Defeated Beyond-Grade Plant Behemoth, 'Lord of the Forest'!]
[Boss monster defeated!]
[All boss monsters' damage increases by 1%.]
[Regional Lord defeated!]
[All beasts and monsters in 'Grand Forest' will fear you.]
[Damage dealt to all beasts and monsters in 'Grand Forest' increased by 30%.]
[Damage taken from them decreased by 30%.]
[Ankelenth's Fang absorption rate increased.]
[96.5% → 97.7%]
Even after absorbing an overlord, the absorption rate only rose 1.2%. That shows just how difficult it was to fully harness Ankelenth's power.
'But soon, that will be history.'
Once Janus fully absorbs the Fang, even the worst scenario I envisioned will have a way forward.
* * *
BOOOOOOOOOM!───
Ark's once-unshakeable wall trembled, dust flying.
Not from a massive beast—but from human weapons of war.
'They've finally made their move.'
The Kronos Union's main force—hidden among the beast horde—revealed itself.
Thunk…
A segment of Ark's wall crumbled, exposing skeletal girders.
Fortunately, small arms couldn't break the wall—but the fissure had formed.
If bombardment continued—or beasts attacked it—the entire wall could collapse.
BOOM!
KWARURURUNG!──
And the sky began to twist with unnatural weather—clearly man-made. The culprit was obvious.
'The Church of Morte.'
No surprise—they and the Kronos Union had colluded to start this war.
Even with an overlord fallen, the real war was beginning.
["Master! Be careful!"]
Esther's warning came as flames erupted where I stood.
Certainly, that heat couldn't pierce Janus's defenses—but I cared about who fired it.
"So, you finally showed yourself."
I recognized the unexpected visitor.
How could I not?
It was the Cardinal Oculus.
"I didn't expect you'd fall so easily, Archbishop. Perhaps my hubris led me to underestimate you."
"We're hardly in the mood for pleasantries."
I tightened my hold on Ankelenth's Judgement.
I was ready to erase the Cardinal Oculus from existence.
"It's already too late."
"I don't need your opinion."
"The ritual is complete."
"…What?"
It sounded innocuous…but I knew exactly what ritual he referred to.
"No…."
The earth began to tremble beneath us, as if anticipated.
KUGUGUGUGUGU!───
The epicenter was obvious: Mount Noah.
"The will of the Great One cannot be defied. This is proof."
It clicked.
Finally, I understood why the Church of Morte hadn't revealed itself earlier—not because they couldn't—but because they lacked the time.
'Ritual of Dragon Summoning.'
The Church's forbidden ritual to forcibly awaken the ancient extinction within Mount Noah.
Normally, it would occur later in the stage—only under precise conditions. That was why I'd paused thinking about it.
Despite everything, in terms of timing we were still early to mid-stage.
Kuruurururung!
Mount Noah's crater erupted with red flames, just as it had in the visions of old.
Death descended on this world.
["Ma-Master…"]
Within the inferno, a massive silhouette slowly unfolded its wings.
Like stretching after a long sleep.
Slowly—and deliberately.
[Crooooooooong!───]
The ancient, slumbering destruction revealed itself at last.
===BREAK===
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