Chapter 166
“Hey, Nahun.”
“Yes.”
Citri seemed dissatisfied with the current situation, narrowing her eyes. It seemed like Gremony had a similar sentiment.
“What kind of confidence is that?”
“Excuse me?”
“Are you pretending not to understand?”
Citri pointed around, speaking.
“We’re the only ones left, and this is all your doing!”
“Oh, Your Majesty Citri. You’ve caught on.”
“That’s not what’s important! What on earth are you thinking?!”
Following Nahun’s orders, Seere had disengaged the other demon lords from the front line, leaving only her and the allied forces.
Agreas had commanded the other demon lords to wait on the 71st floor, thus only Seere, Citri, and Gremony’s forces remained on the 72nd floor.
“What am I thinking? You’re asking the obvious.”
Nahun simply stated.
“We have to fight the Heavens.”
“No… that’s not it! Why are we only fighting among ourselves? We need to gather together to have any chance of victory! If we involve the human forces, the numerical disparity could be severe.”
“That’s fine. We’re closing the portal on this side. Due to the world’s laws, we can’t close all portals, but fewer portals mean fewer troops can move at once.”
“Are you saying you’ll hit those coming out of the portal right away?”
“Yes.”
In fact, Seere’s legions were currently working to close the portal connecting the Demon World and the human world. Nahun’s response prompted Gremony to express further skepticism.
“Even if we limit the number of enemies that can come through at once, it might be difficult to intercept them. You know who they might send from the Heavens, right?”
“I understand what Your Majesty Gremony is saying. You’re worried about Mikael’s power, but…”
Nahun shared a surprising fact with them.
“Don’t worry. Even if Mikael comes, there won’t be any problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“If Mikael comes, I’ll handle it myself.”
“Pardon? How could you, Nahun….”
“Do you know what happened with the explosion in the royal capital?”
Nahun said this and extended his hand sideways. Then, due to Nahun’s magic, the space was crushed, revealing a dimension where his weapon was stored. Nahun pulled out the Thorn of Embers from there.
Nahun squinted slightly at the still-hot heat, while Citri and Gremony grimaced at the sudden intensity.
“What… what is that?”
“This is the source of the explosion. Uriel, the owner of this, appeared in the royal capital.”
“U-Urial?”
Citri exclaimed in surprise.
“You… you fought Uriel and….”
“That’s why I have this in my hands.”
Citri blinks in surprise, and Gremony seemed to doubt her own eyes.
Uriel was one of the most powerful forces in the Heavens. Despite not holding the position of Archangel, he was a strong angel who surpassed them.
It was only natural to be astonished at the claim of having fought and won against such an angel.
“This war is just a process. It’s a stepping stone for us to rise higher.”
Nahun returned the Thorn of Embers to its place. Then he spoke to Citri and Gremony.
“So we must win. We need to leap higher by using those foolish angels as stepping stones.”
“……”
“You both need to keep up. If you can’t, you might have to reconsider this alliance.”
Citri and Gremony flinched at his words. Nahun was quite satisfied with their reactions.
In fact, this was more directed towards Gremony than Citri. Citri would regain her strength once the sealing stone was released, so she had a future. It was a statement that the alliance had guaranteed investment value.
However, Gremony didn’t stand out much in the original story and lacked merits like Citri. If she couldn’t demonstrate proper merit here…
“Get ready, both of you.”
It was merely a precaution; he might have to detach himself.
Nahun instructed them to prepare for battle and proceeded to the location where Seere would be.
Shortly after Nahun left, Gremony was the first to depart. She looked as if she had made up her mind. Watching her leave silently, Citri pondered for a moment before following.
“…Alright, I will do it.”
#
Eight days had passed since the demon coalition retreated.
The Heaven’s army was either preparing something or acting cautiously, not recklessly using the portals of the Demon World. In the meantime, Seere and the allied forces gained more time to prepare thoroughly.
They closed all remaining portals and only needed to keep watch over three portals that remained open. One variable was the fact that one of the portals was somewhat distant from the other two.
“Isn’t it too far? Support might arrive late….”
“It’s fine.”
However, Nahun stated that there was no problem. Even at a distance, he could teleport using magic.
If he could find the location where Mikael appeared among the three places, Nahun could simply teleport there. If Mikael didn’t show up, they would just fight from where they were.
Thus, the preparations to welcome the Heaven’s army progressed smoothly. They set traps, prepared magic circles for long-range bombardments in advance, and soldiers continuously practiced on how to fight from their designated positions while the legions conducted mock battles for repeated experience learning.
Finally, it seemed that the Heaven’s army had decided to move. It was unclear why they had been so slow, but at last, the portal connecting the human world and the Demon World began to operate.
“Stand by.”
Seere raised her command staff high. Her legions took positions according to their roles. The 8th Legion created Blood Spears simultaneously while the 5th and 6th Legions prepared their bows.
The 4th and 7th Legions prepared to ambush from the flanks, and the 2nd Legion prepared to activate the magic circle.
The first to emerge from the portal was a brown-haired man.
“…The air of the Demon World is murky.”
“Commence attack!!”
As soon as Seere’s command staff came down, all the waiting legions unleashed their assaults. Hundreds of Blood Spears and thousands of arrows fell from the sky, and a powerful magic bombardment erupted from the magic circle activated by the 2nd Legion.
The man slammed both fists down onto the ground. The earth violently shook and rose up like a wall.
“Ground wall!”
Kwahh!!!
The coordinated attacks collided, echoing with a tremendous roar. However, Seere narrowed her eyes and raised her command staff again.
“…Prepare for a second attack. 4th Legion, 7th Legion, get ready for battle.”
She had concluded that their first attack did not work. Following her instructions, the earthen wall crumbled, but the caster remained unharmed. He looked at the collapsed earthen wall and spoke.
“It seems more powerful than expected. I cannot afford to be careless.”
He was Noah, the Earth Spirit King. The strongest spirit king before Eia’s appearance and recognized as one of the essential forces of the Heavens alongside Archangel Metatron.
As the first attack ended in failure, the Heaven’s army began to safely cross through the portal. Seeing this, Seere lowered her command staff and commanded again.
“Initiate the second wave!”
Once again, countless Blood Spears poured out, and this time, arrows rained down from a different direction. The 2nd Legion activated the magic circle and dove down as before.
“Mikael must have sent me ahead for a reason. If it weren’t for me, it would have been difficult to protect all the soldiers.”
Noah thought as he attempted to slam his fist into the ground again. Just then, he noticed a sword suddenly appear from somewhere and hurriedly raised a small wall.
“…So fast.”
“Eliminate those who have dared to step into the Demon World!”
Noah was ambushed by Lin El Lazine, the swordswoman known for her quick blade. She marked Noah to prevent him from casting spells, allowing the Blood Spears, arrows, and magical bombardments to strike directly without being hindered by the earthen wall.
Kwah! Kwah! Kwaaang!!
“Raise your shields! Activate the protective barriers!”
Noah commanded the soldiers, dodging Lin’s swift sword strikes. Thanks to Noah’s quick orders, the soldiers of the Heavens managed to protect their lives amidst the pouring attacks.
Noah found himself honestly impressed by Lin, who was pressing him.
“Quite impressive.”
Noah retreated and raised his hands. The earth erupted sharply, and Lin quickly tilted her head back.
The sharply risen ground barely grazed Lin’s jaw, causing blood to flow from the spot it brushed.
Although Lin was capable of matching a demon lord, the spirit king before her had strength beyond that of the average demon lord. It was only natural that she couldn’t handle Noah alone.
Lin wiped away the dripping blood and raised her sword. Noah also prepared for battle.
“Retreat!”
“…Huh?”
Lin suddenly commanded a retreat, and the 4th Legion immediately began to flee. The 7th Legion, which had stormed the Heaven’s army alongside them, did the same.
“Are you running away from the battle now?”
With a slightly incredulous feeling, Noah pursued those who were fleeing.
“Earth wave!”
The ground shook violently, moving like a massive wave as it began to chase after the 4th Legion. It surged fiercely toward their rear.
However, they weren’t fleeing out of fear of Noah. They had to retreat.
Kuhhh!!!
Something enormous blocked the very wave itself. Noah could only stare in disbelief at what was before him.
“What… is this?”
It was a giant leg, several dozen meters in diameter. The owner of that massive leg was a creature hundreds of meters long with four fangs that looked like they were half its body size.
───────!!!
“…A massu?”
The apocalyptic massu, Behemoth, revealed itself. Nahun had strategically positioned one massu at each of the three open portals.
Seere only commanded the legions for long-range support and drew her sword, Blood Ruin.
“Ersha. I leave the following commands to you.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Though startled by Behemoth’s entrance, Noah soon regained his composure. He retaliated against Behemoth by causing the earth to rise again, just as he had done before.
“Muuwung!!”
“Is that ineffective…?”
Behemoth’s tough hide was unscathed by such attacks. Behemoth charged towards Noah, who realized he had to stop the charge.
If he failed, the incoming army would be swept away. Noah summoned his powers and prepared to touch the earth with both hands.
“Designate target.”
『Objectum Dēsignátĭo』
“Bind.”
『Sérvĭtus』
However, Seere’s reaction was much quicker.
“Bind the target.”
『Objectum Sérvĭtus』
As Seere chanted the incantation, the magic activated.
“Ugh!?”
In an instant, Noah’s entire body was bound, rendering him immobile. Although it was not very strong magic, Noah soon broke free from the bindings, but it was enough time for Behemoth’s massive form to crash into him.
“Kuhk…!”
Noah was knocked away by Behemoth and sent soaring, crashing through the Heaven’s army.
“That just now….”
Noah used his immense power to prevent his body from being shattered, but he trembled as he barely managed to stand.
“To take that hit head-on and endure? Quite impressive.”
However, as he stood up, a sword was already aimed at him. Seere had somehow appeared before Noah.
“So you anticipated my appearance….”
“With the majority of our archangels lost and Uriel gone, there are few who can be put out as vanguards.”
“…Kuhk, do you really think so?”
Seere tilted her head slightly, and Noah spoke to her.
“We can produce plenty to serve as vanguards.”
Upon hearing Noah’s words, Seere briefly showed surprise before she understood what he meant.
“…You made another one this time?”
“You seem to know.”
“I know well.”
Having encountered it twice already, the Celestial Knight.
“I just killed the latest hero you sent.”
He was referring to the hero.
#
“Hmm.”
Nahun stood before Gremony’s assigned location. He had sent the strongest massu, Gize, to Citri’s side, and here he was with Leviathan.
He was slightly flustered yet somewhat puzzled as what he had suspected was now happening. The vanguard of the Heavenly army that emerged was not an angel.
It was a human.
In fact, it was an unfamiliar face, one he had never seen before, even during the gameplay; however, he recognized the sword she wielded.
It was the ‘Holy Sword’ that Metatron had bestowed. Originally, it was supposed to be held by Luke, who was a childhood friend of Dein and Eri, but it was now in the hands of another.
‘Was Luke, who should have been the hero of the sword in the original story, killed, thus appearing this way?’
Nevertheless, Nahun thought it was unexpected.
‘I assumed Mikael would take direct action, but if he chose this method…’
Did he sense that a great demon was laying in wait in the Demon World? Such thoughts crossed his mind.
“…I don’t quite know what’s going on.”
Still, the tasks at hand did not change. Nahun rose from his position. And, feeling the quiet, gentle breeze, he tied his long hair into a single ponytail.
As he did, black mist swirled around him. Then, a giant white whale gradually emerged.
“Shall we do what needs to be done?”
