Hello I'm back, thy leg is healed but I don't have molars anymore.
===BREAK===
The joy of a successful attack was short-lived.
["It's coming!"]
The moment Esther's warning rang out, Ankelenth's tail lashed toward me.
Vwooooooom!
["B-block it—kyaaaaak!"]
The ether shield Esther deployed was torn apart in an instant.
At a glance, it looked like a simple tail swipe—but Ankelenth's attack wasn't just physical. It carried with it an overwhelming density of ether.
'I have to dodge this.'
Even if Janus were in full form, it might not be enough to block that monstrous attack—and Janus was currently in no shape to defend.
If that kind of brute-force hit landed, it wouldn't just destroy my body—it'd scatter my ether too.
[Activating 'Rift Shift.']
Even after one rift shift, the distance wasn't enough—so I activated it again.
I barely escaped the radius of Ankelenth's tail swipe, but there wasn't enough time to avoid the shockwave that followed.
Kwakwakwakwa──!
["Master!"]
Esther and Janus hurriedly raised an ether shield and bone barrier.
But even that wasn't enough to fully block the shockwave's force.
Kugugugugu!
The shock pierced through the ether shield and bone barrier and slammed into my body.
Even though I deployed every defense I could, that was all I could do.
"Kuhk!"
It wasn't just pain—my entire body reverberated.
Just being exposed to the shockwave laced with ether felt like my internal organs had been liquefied.
["Ugh… Master, are you okay?"]
"…No."
As much as I wanted to say I was fine, the truth was—I felt like I might die.
If I weren't a genetically enhanced human injected with all kinds of enhancement serums, I'd have been dead already.
But there was no time to whine.
Ankelenth was still gazing down at the ground.
Boom!
Kwakwa-BOOM!
The Ark's barrage still continued, but to say that any of them actually hit Ankelenth would be generous.
"..."
My previous attack had landed, but it only left a small scratch, no more than the size of a single scale.
Meanwhile, my situation was catastrophic.
The Zeus-444 Railgun—my most powerful weapon—was down, and Janus had expended too much power to restrain Ankelenth, leaving him in poor shape.
And the attack I scraped together in that state?
Just a scratch.
'…Hopeless.'
I knew there was a power gap—but not like this.
But I couldn't stop.
The moment I stopped—that would truly be the end of the Ark.
"Janus."
[Gigiiit...]
"Let's go."
Ankelenth's wings and my Z-74 Jetpack activated simultaneously.
But the earlier shockwave had apparently caused minor damage—the jetpack was slower.
'…At least it wasn't completely destroyed.'
That alone was a small mercy in this dire situation.
'Still, I have to keep going.'
I reached into [Rift Space] and pulled out the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher and ICE-54 Plasma Cooler.
They didn't match the raw power of the Zeus-444, but together, they had incredible synergy.
Zzzzzng───!
Cold blasts and flashes of light shot out from the BLT-47 and ICE-54.
At the same time, hundreds—thousands—of bone tendrils burst from Janus.
He'd exhausted himself trying to block Ankelenth earlier, but there was no other choice.
Boom!
Kwakwa-BOOM!───
Janus's massive bone tendrils clashed repeatedly with Ankelenth.
Despite its massive size, Ankelenth moved with agility, exposing no weak points as it shattered every tendril flying toward it.
That could only mean one thing.
'We're losing the numbers game.'
As unbelievable as it seemed, Janus wasn't just losing in strength—he was outmaneuvered.
Ankelenth wasn't just powerful—it was a master of combat.
"It's time for me to step in."
At that, Turncoat King awakened within Janus.
["…So, it's come to this. Very well. I'll help."]
I, too, controlled [Rift Space] and gravity gloves simultaneously, pulling weapons from the dimensional pocket.
I didn't expect them to work on Ankelenth—but that didn't mean I could just do nothing.
[Initiating combat algorithm.]
[Target designated: Firepower concentration mode.]
Nearly every weapon I owned—and all of Janus's strength—focused on a single target.
Even against the Forest Lord, I'd held back a little—but now, I was truly going all in.
However—
Not a single weapon penetrated Ankelenth's scales.
In fact, they barely left a scratch.
Crunch!
Crack!
["…So, this is the power of the one they call the End."]
Even Janus, now the true master of bone, couldn't follow Ankelenth's movements.
No matter how much brute force we used—without matching technique, even Janus became helpless.
["Grrghh!"]
The ether storm Esther unleashed by draining my own ether was devoured by Ankelenth's ether.
["Nnnghh..."]
How could power like that be allowed to a single living being?
As Ankelenth's tail once again swung with a wave of force, my weapons and Janus's tendrils were swept away.
Kugugugugugu!
Some weapons made it back into [Rift Space]—but those that didn't were completely destroyed and flung into the distance.
Of all my heavy weaponry and plasma arms, only a few now remained.
'…So mid-tier weapons really don't work at all.'
The situation couldn't have been worse.
[Grrrrrrr…]
From afar, flames began to swirl between Ankelenth's teeth.
I knew exactly what that meant.
Ankelenth's Breath.
The same force that scarred the Ark long ago—about to bring another wound.
If it struck again, that would mark the true end of the Ark.
'I can't let that happen.'
Ankelenth's Judgement barely worked—but I still had one move left.
'The Rift Blade.'
With that, I might be able to deliver meaningful damage.
But the [Rift Blade] was unstable. To use it, I'd have to get up close to Ankelenth.
Could I reach it, weakened as I was and without Janus's full power?
I didn't know.
I could only do what I had to.
Ruuuuuumble───!
Flames licked out from Ankelenth's jaws—it was about to unleash its breath.
I had to stop it.
With that thought alone, I spread Ankelenth's wings once more.
["Master! No, you can't!"]
"I have to."
There were almost no weapons left.
Just the Spear of Ankelenth in my hand—and the unused [Rift Blade].
Still, I pressed forward.
[Run away…]
[No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.]
[Stop, please─────!]
The ether around me screamed.
I knew it too.
This path led to death.
And still, I went forward.
["If this is how it ends… it's not the worst way."]
[Gigit!]
Turncoat King and Janus came with me—ready to die.
"Feels kinda bad dragging you along."
["You don't mean that."]
"True."
Even as we exchanged that trivial joke, I flew toward Ankelenth.
At the same moment, Ankelenth's maw opened, flames coiling.
["Kyaaah, Master!"]
["Hurry!"]
Just as Esther and Turncoat King screamed—
KWA-BOOOOM!────
A sudden bombardment struck from somewhere, and Ankelenth's maw erupted in flames.
Had it closed its mouth a moment later, the explosion would've gone off inside it—but even that opening was too much to expect from Ankelenth.
That wasn't the only surprise.
[Grrr…]
Ankelenth's scales—which had shrugged off nearly every previous attack—flinched slightly.
It could only mean one thing.
'It worked?'
I knew the strength of those scales better than anyone.
Very few weapons in the Ark could damage them.
'Which means…'
The weapon that hit Ankelenth wasn't from the Ark's existing arsenal.
Before I could finish the thought, dozens of aircraft suddenly swarmed in.
And at the front of them—I recognized someone instantly.
'No way…'
Commander of the Blue Line Defense HQ, one of the three stars leading Möbius—
"…Brigadier General Victor?"
There he was, jetpack-equipped, appearing on the battlefield.
Behind him, some of the Ark's top forces—Skull Knights and ether soldiers—followed.
KWA-BOOOOM!───
Even before they'd landed, another bombardment rained down on Ankelenth.
And for a moment—Ankelenth actually faltered.
There was a gap—brief, but real.
"Hey there, rude Carl Marcus. Knew it was you."
Victor's completely unexpected arrival left me speechless.
"…You're alive."
"You still suck at hellos. Still rude as ever."
Victor laughed heartily.
Now that I thought about it—the Blue Line had been the first to counterattack.
His arrival wasn't just coincidence.
"But anyway…"
Victor smirked, glancing at the bone tendrils around Janus and me.
"So, you were the Pawn. I had my suspicions. Not that it matters now—we'd take help from the worst terrorist if it means surviving this."
Though he said that, the Skull Knights and ether soldiers visibly reacted to the sight of Janus's tendrils.
Their reactions differed, but now wasn't the time for that conversation.
And clearly, no one pushed further—because arguing about the Turncoat Pawn's identity was pointless now.
I didn't intend to make any excuses either, so I went straight to the point.
"What happened?"
Victor nodded slightly, already knowing what I meant.
"Once we confirmed normal weapons were useless, we tested every prototype we had. Found one that worked—mass-produced it, then deployed. You buying time made it possible."
"…I see."
I hadn't expected that.
But with the Ark's access to Silk Road's resources and Machine Cult's tech, it made sense.
"Well… wasn't just me. We had help."
"Help? From who?"
"Oh, just in time."
Vrrrrr…
Unidentified aircraft began appearing, one by one, rapidly increasing in number—hundreds now, raining fire on Ankelenth.
They were combat drones.
"…Drones?"
Not just a few—hundreds of drones were attacking Ankelenth.
[KROOOOAAAAHH!]
Even more shockingly, their attacks were actually working.
"…Carmen?"
The Faith's Messiah of the Machine Cult.
She commanded the combat drones, arriving on the battlefield.
"How did you get here…?"
"I am also part of the Ark. Have you forgotten? First—please accept this."
Carmen hurled a box toward me, delivered via gravity gloves.
The gravity gloves synced automatically, securing it in my hand.
[Sync control complete.]
[Authorization granted.]
I stared at the nameplate—barely containing my surprise.
I knew this item, how could I not?
"This is…"
Noah‑01 Matter Disintegrator.
Under normal circumstances, the Ark shouldn't have anything like this—yet thanks to the Machine Cult's technology, it was completed.
"It was barely finished just now. We haven't done stability tests, but this isn't the time to be picky."
"…Made for me?"
"It wasn't specifically, but you're the only one qualified to use it properly."
"Is that so."
Regardless of the how—it didn't matter. What mattered was that now in my hands was the Noah‑01 Matter Disintegrator—considered one of the Ark's most powerful weapons.
"These drones were built using all the Machine Cult's assets…they won't last long. They're meant only to buy time."
Even powerful enough to hypothetically capture the Ark—Carmen used them purely to stall Ankelenth.
I knew the sacrifice required by the Machine Cult all too well.
"It must have been a sacrifice without promise of reward."
"When all is gone, numbers mean nothing."
The android of the Machine Cult—once just an AI—stood here as a true Messiah.
I accepted the Noah‑01 Matter Disintegrator with reverent gratitude.
"…I won't let you down."
"I believe you will. Ah, one more thing."
"What?"
"There is someone else essential for this mission."
"Someone else?"
Amid my confusion, one of the paratroopers raised a visor and looked at me.
I already knew that face—I couldn't help but.
["Analyzing data from across the Ark and Machine Cult, we've determined that this person is necessary here."]
"…Indeed."
I didn't know how they came to that conclusion—but I couldn't argue with Carmen's calm smile.
Because emerging now was someone destined to be called the Dragon Hunter.
"Kalakin."
The player-character I see as the hero of The Defense—Kalakin—has countless titles:
Thousand Eyes.
Dragon Hunter.
And above all,
The Hope of the Ark.
===BREAK===
Like the story and want more chapters?
Join and support me by joining my Patreon!
[email protected]/SiRoasa