Besides the endless mechanical rumbling in this Dwarf city, in the stuffy underground air, one could also hear the occasional sound like firecrackers, a weak sound, as if one was hearing a lit firecracker after someone covered it with an iron basin in the next room.
That was the sound of the skirmish between the Elf alliance and the Dwarf's airships in the high altitude of the city. However, such a sound no longer mattered to Credo.
Su'er's voice was still constantly sounding in his mind, but Credo was resisting it... He didn't want to think about it, he didn't want to respond. He wanted to cut off his thoughts, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
He shouldn't have been able to hear Su'er's words. Many years ago, he was about to drink Su'er's blood along with everyone else, but he was persuaded to put the bowl down because he was supposed to take over after the first batch of people died.
Did the bottle containing Su'er's blood on his chest break?
And mixed into his own blood through his wound.
There was a wind.
A hot, yet fresh airflow.
It was as if the patterns of blood on his skin were about to be baked dry.
Credo, who was sitting there stiffly like a withered corpse, raised his head blankly. His eyes, which were blocked by solidified blood and remnants of tears, turned dryly. A strange feeling appeared in his body for the first time. It felt as if there was an invisible hand in the air—no, it should be said that every part of his body felt the same weight, wanting to flatten him onto this steel platform.
'Am I finally going to die?' Credo's heart was numb like a corpse.
That Dwarf would definitely come looking for him after dealing with Lenny, and it would not take the slightest effort to find him. Even though his thoughts had become blurred due to the pain and blood loss, Credo could still realize this.
He was rising.
He was rising rapidly.
Even after this feeling of weightlessness disappeared, no Dwarf appeared in front of him. Not only that, but even his originally dim vision became bright, and the air, unlike the murky air underground... air?
Even a simple action like raising his head became incredibly difficult. Credo saw a familiar crimson light. The platform he was on was still rising, and it was getting higher and higher. He could already look down at the mountain peaks he saw when he came. Even the beautiful ships flying in the high altitude were getting closer. The gloomy clouds under the crimson sky were also within reach.
He only needed to turn his head slightly to see the Dwarf's city below. This city had now completely lost the appearance of a city. The steel buildings and all the items filled with the Dwarf's living aura had all disappeared in a lead-gray compression. The steel chains, which were twisted like pythons, wrapped and curled upwards. The entire city had turned into a huge... cannon barrel that extended from the underground to the high altitude.
He couldn't see the innermost part of the deep cannon barrel, but even a powerful Dragon would not ignore its threat. For them, who existed beyond time, the weapon that the Dwarf's city had turned into below was the true place of terror.
A thick malice flowed out from this dark cannon barrel. This was not just a figure of speech, but a real and substantial threat to the existence of life. The Elf alliance in the sky also clearly sensed the threat from below. They didn't even care about the airships that were originally shooting at them but were now bravely crashing into them, and they forcefully turned around to face the giant cannon below.
Pure white light seemed to flicker in that deep cannon barrel. Even though it had not yet launched an attack, the sense of threat was rising at every moment.
At this moment, countless Elves on the floral airships and grass airships raised their arms together. Countless tiny magical circles connected to each other to form a larger circle. The patterns of the incantations were spreading, and a vast amount of Elves were gathering. Even the Dragons opened their giant mouths, and light flickered there.
But this was not enough.
He knew nothing about everything called magic, yet at this moment, Credo had an idea that had never been so firm. As if to confirm his judgment, he felt an unprecedented heat that almost melted him.
From the giant cannon barrel below, a light that would assimilate everything lit up. It was spreading, it was invading, it was occupying everything it could touch.
And before that deadly white world that was almost going to erase everything spread out, Credo saw a wisp of blue flame that was born out of thin air from the very center of that pure white world. That tiny, yet absolutely undeniable, dazzling blue light was not fake.
'...I'm sorry... Cre... Morena...'
With an unspeakable sourness, the corners of Credo's mouth finally curved into a satisfied and gratified smile. He whispered in his heart.
The unfinished words and his blood-stained body were submerged in that pure white light, until there was nothing left.
A lightless environment. It was definitely not on the surface. A place deep underground should have been cold and damp, but stepping in here would only make one feel stuffy, and even the air they breathed was humid, so slippery that it felt like an invisible snake's tongue was licking their face.
Normal life would absolutely not be able to survive in such a depressing space. It was a kind of discomfort that came from the bottom of one's heart, a sense of oppression that permeated from the spirit, not just a simple reason like physical discomfort. However, in such a place that went against biological habits, there was still life, and it even broke the lightless tranquility.
"...The Dwarf bomb you were worried about really appeared..."
"The Elf troops that went there were almost completely annihilated. Only one floral airship at the very edge chose to escape at the first moment and was preserved. Even the two Dragon that went with them only had half a body left. The body that was grazed by the explosion completely disappeared. Fortunately, it's not a problem for them to survive."
The person standing at the mouth of the cave spoke so calmly, as if he was talking to himself against the stone wall. After a few seconds, a slow response sounded. The voice was like a gurgle coming out of water. Although it was in a sea of air, it was as if it was submerged deep under the sea.
"...Ah... I saw it..."
Overlapping, every word was like a superposition of countless voices, echoing in this pitch-black cave.
"Lóni miscalculated... Such a power cannot be bound by a superficial thing like a cannon barrel. He could not guide the energy after the Divine Core explosion in the direction he wanted, so that city disappeared... And what we wanted also appeared..."