“Aria…”
As Evan gritted his teeth at the sight of her being devoured by the monster, he understood well that he must not waver here. Though it could be painful, he knew that Aria wouldn’t die from being eaten by the monster. He was aware that if it were not for this method, it would be practically impossible to defeat that monster.
Thus, it had become a plan that he had to push forward with, but it was agonizing and heartbreaking to witness such a gigantic beast devouring her alive. Knowing the reason behind the consumption made it all the more painful; the soldiers around him were likely feeling even worse. Watching the sole hope, the saintess, being eaten by a monster made everyone freeze in place, unable to move.
“Ah… the saintess…”
“H-how… this…”
They seemed to have already lost their fighting spirit. Under normal circumstances, it would have been a dire situation, but it was precisely because of this situation that their plan was bound to work even better.
After the monster swallowed Aria, its massive body, which had been advancing towards them, suddenly froze in place.
Shhhaaaaa!
“…!!”
“L-look over there!”
The phenomenon occurred in an instant. A bright white light began to radiate from the monster’s body.
– Uwoooooo!!
The beast let out a roar of anguish. The ominous magic emanating from it began to dwindle, and in its place, the purification of divine power spread out, warming the northern chill.
For a brief moment, the blizzard-ridden realm cleared up completely.
“What’s happening…?”
“The sky has cleared…?”
“Is it the saintess…?!!”
“That can’t be… the saintess was eaten by the monster, right?!”
– [Everyone… I… I’m alright…]
“!!”
“It’s the saintess’s voice!”
Though it was a voice mixed with painful groans, the divine power amplified it enough to resonate throughout the Imperial army, sending shivers down the spines of all who were present. Even the monsters advancing nearby became motionless and frozen.
The powerful purification of divine power could be felt emanating from the dozens of meters of the giant beast.
– [I… will hold this monster for as long as I can…]
“Saintess…!!”
“W-what is happening…?”
Most of them could not grasp the situation, but they understood one thing fully. Despite having experienced being consumed by the monster, Saintess Aria was not giving up and was doing her best to hold the monster from within.
That meant they had to muster even more strength to save the saintess.
The voice of the saintess coming from the monster began to fade away. Not only that, the powerful divine power that had been restraining the advancing monsters was gradually weakening.
– [I beg you… please protect this monster… protect the peace of this world…!]
With those last words, the divine power leaking from the monster completely dissipated. However,
– Kwoooor…
The monster’s movements visibly weakened, and the ominous energy flowing from its body also faded.
“Aria…”
It was a situation that could genuinely be referred to as a theater, yet Aria’s sacrifice was real. Aria had sacrificed herself to minimize the damage and to protect the peace of the world beyond the empire.
“I cannot let you down…!”
Evan drew the Sacred Sword, Estelle.
Most of the Imperial soldiers had only heard rumors about the saintess. Just from the rumors alone, many had developed profound respect for her. The existence of the statue of the saintess in the imperial capital spoke volumes about how many sacrifices she had made in the realm for the peace of the empire.
However, they had neither met her directly nor directly witnessed her acts of sacrifice. They could have respect for her, but when it came to trusting and believing in her completely, it was a difficult answer to affirm.
After all, they had not received any grace directly.
But…
“Ugh!!”
Until the moment they had been swallowed up after attempting to shoot out purification for the first time and failing, despair filled their hearts.
“For the saintess!”
But this time, the saintess…
“For the empire!!”
Even after being eaten by the monster, she didn’t give up and was summoning her strength to capture the monsters by any means necessary.
“Charge, everyone!”
Despite being devoured alive by the monster, enduring the pain of her body melting away, she continued to expel divine power, weakening the monster. The soldiers in front raised their voices and charged toward the monsters ensnared by divine power.
Many wizards positioned behind began casting various annihilation magic they had prepared until now, aiming at the monsters caught by the divine power.
However, the remaining divine power couldn’t last long, even if it amplified temporarily. Ultimately, the monsters caught in the divine power were being released and were trying to charge towards them again.
“‘Stop!’”
A young voice echoed throughout the battlefield.
At the same time, a powerful magic spread out toward the world, causing all the monsters to halt their movements. Time for the monsters alone stopped as they were left exposed to the incoming magic, one by one starting to explode.
“Huh…!”
Before they realized it, Valencia had reached the front of the battlefield and was gathering magic into his sword.
“Haah─!”
Just then, the gathered magic formed a sword wave and shot forth.
The deep blue sword wave spread wide and accurately sliced through the hundreds of monsters in front of him in half.
It was an achievement that could hardly be attributed to a single swordsman, and all the soldiers witnessing the scene trembled and chanted his name.
“Duke!”
“It’s the Duke!”
“Duke Elgart is with us!”
“Fear not! Charge!!”
There would be no defeat. To lose here would mean it was impossible for this world, including them and their families, to survive.
They could not lose. They had to eradicate the monsters.
With shining eyes, they swung their weapons toward the monsters threatening their world and homelands.
“Evan!”
Now was the time. At Arhen’s shout, which held the monsters in grasp, Evan nodded vigorously and stepped forward. The blessings prepared solely for Evan, the Hero, granted him power that far exceeded common sense.
In an instant, Evan soared into the sky with a pained roar, looking down at the monster that was gazing up at him.
He would definitely eradicate it. He would eradicate the monster as quickly as possible… and cut through that hateful belly to save Aria inside.
Evan narrowed his eyes, gathered his strength, and swung the Sacred Sword toward the monster.
*
‘Ugh…’
Until just before being eaten… it’s a somewhat absurd thought, but I was actually looking forward to what kind of pain I might feel.
However, once I entered its mouth, I faced an unexpected problem.
‘The smell…’
The smell of the mouth… the smell of the stomach…
If only my sense of smell were obstructed, I might have only felt the pain I liked.
I had that thought for a moment, but considering I couldn’t see or hear anything and if I couldn’t even smell food or other pleasant scents, I wouldn’t be able to bear it.
Only…
Chiiiii
‘My body is melting…’
I could feel the pain of my body melting in real time.
However…
‘Huh…’
The pain I anticipated was somewhat different.
What should I say… I expected a sensation like being submerged in lava, but it felt more like being thrown into extremely hot water…?
Is “hot” the right description for this?
It is a bit different.
It’s a sensation of melting in something that is somewhat liquid-like fire?
If I had to describe it, it felt like the sensation of small burning pains spreading all over my body.
Certainly, if there had been an ordinary person here, they would have melted away, leaving only bones within moments, but… since I was continuously regenerating, and having experienced worse pain before, it was feeling relatively mild to me.
However, shouldn’t a beast called a harbinger of the end have a digestive fluid powerful enough to digest things instantly upon entrance?
Even as an early boss in the story…
“This isn’t right, is it…?”
Muttering with a slight sense of disappointment, my voice echoed within the belly.
I am not unable to speak…
It’s just that I don’t know the language…
Naturally, no one was around to respond to my words.
‘You’re insufferable.’
For not being able to satisfy me…
You don’t deserve to be called a beast of the end!
Thinking like that, I clenched the gem of light in my hands and expelled divine power even stronger.
