This time, three of us leveled up at once: Rushia, Kayla, and Shiki.
Kayla, now at Level 53, increased her Wind Shooting Technique to 3.
We finished our meeting and…
✦ ✦ ✦
… Back on the battlefield, I groaned in agony as pain flooded back to my shoulder. I dropped down to one knee, clutching at the wound.
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much. I’m really glad I asked for Arisu’s help…
A second later, Arisu was flying at me like a bolt of lightning. She was out of breath; she must have used Shape Lightning in a hurry.
“Kazu-san! I’ll heal you right now!”
“You don’t have to rush so—ouch!”
No use, I can’t put up a front at all. I’ve never been hurt this bad before.
Arisu and Tamaki, on the other hand, had already received multiple wounds of this caliber. Suddenly, I had a new appreciation for how hard they’d been working.
While I was contemplating how I wanted to be kinder to them later, a new arm grew from my left shoulder.
“Thanks Arisu, that’s enough. Go back to the fight.”
“But…”
“Diasnexus isn’t someone we can win against without you.”
The remnants of the skeletons Arisu had been fighting were now rushing to the Ghost King’s side. With a shortage of frontline fighters, Rushia and the others were on the defensive. Particularly annoying was the fact that Penusa’s leg was still injured.
“Go, please.”
“All right.”
Arisu gave me one last reluctant look, then nodded…
“Shape Lightning.”
With that, she was gone. The next moment, she appeared directly beside the Ghost King, who was attacking Sha-Lau. Diasnexus seemed momentarily flustered as he glanced at Arisu, and then, deciding she was the more troublesome target, reached out toward her.
“Holy Wave.”
Arisu’s body shone, and a wave of light spread around her. It was Rank 9 Healing Magic, a wave that targets the undead. The Ghost King groaned and continued to advance toward Arisu, but…
“I won’t let you!”
Arisu produced a pale, translucent shield from the tip of her spear, deflecting his strike. This was a spear-shield technique; like Deflection, the shield lasted only a moment, but then…
“Holy Weapon.”
Her spear shone with a white light. This was another Rank 9 Healing spell, and when applied to a weapon, a single hit from it was said to be enough to obliterate ordinary undead.
Arisu’s thrust flowed smoothly, and Diasnexus caught the glowing spear tip with his skeletal left hand. The moment he did, the bone began to melt away. But the Ghost King simply grinned and thrust his right hand toward Arisu.
He’s planning to sacrifice flesh to break the bone!
“Mama Arisu, don’t let them bully you!”
Kayla launched a slingshot pellet at the Ghost King’s right hand, slightly altering its trajectory. Thanks to her, Arisu narrowly escaped the same fate as my severely damaged right arm.
Arisu and the Ghost King distanced themselves from each other, each gauging the other’s movements in a standoff.
Meanwhile, Heavenly Turtle Nahan was taking care of the two Skeleton Godbreakers that entered the battlefield. Despite being in a support role, Nahan, with Familiar Enhancement 6, had combat strength equivalent to Skill Level 10. This meant he was able to keep the Godbreakers, who seemed to have the combat skill of about Level 9, at bay without giving them a chance to close in.
Phantom Wolf King Sha-Lau, having swapped with Arisu, had reached the critically injured Divine Winged Apostle Penusa and was casting Healing Magic on her. Although Sha-Lau’s Healing Magic was limited to regenerative types, at least it would ensure Penusa didn’t die from her injuries.
Once Penusa was healed, Sha-Lau looked toward me for instructions. I waved him over, and he became lightning for a moment. Next, his massive form was beside me.
“I have arrived, master. How are your wounds?”
“Arisu healed them. I want to finish this battle fast.”
“Understood.”
I cast Familiar Awakening on Sha-Lau, and his body began to glow with a reddish-black brilliance.
“This power is nearly at its peak!”
The wise wolf howled mightily. I poured almost all my remaining MP into casting Familiar Synchronization, merging my consciousness with Sha-Lau.
“Let’s go.”
“Indeed!”
Sha-Lau leapt from the roof, leaving my unconscious body behind as he accelerated toward the battlefield.
Our first target was the two Godbreakers fighting Heavenly Turtle Nahan.
“We’ll settle this in an instant.”
“Yes, Master.”
As lightning itself, Sha-Lau collided with them from the air, blowing away one of the Godbreakers. The remaining one turned to face us, sword at the ready.
“Accelerate.”
The moment Sha-Lau landed on the ground, I used my magic to speed up our consciousness. Timed with the Godbreaker’s downward sword strike…
“Deflection.”
We deflected the blade with a thin veil. Diving into the off-balanced skeleton, Sha-Lau tore off its head with his sharp fangs, then bit down and shattered the skull.
Turning around, I saw Nahan incinerating the blasted skeleton with fire magic.
In an instant, both had been defeated. Now, only Diasnexus remained.
Arisu and Kayla exchanged a look with me.
“Give us a nod.”
“Yes.”
As the Phantom Wolf King nodded his head slightly, we all started to move in unison.
First, I commanded Sha-Lau to use his strongest attack magic. His normally silver fur glowed gold, unleashing strike after strike of lightning.
Diasnexus turned to intercept the side-attacking magic with his left hand, but…
“Take this!”
Kayla’s subtly timed slingshot pellet curved and hit his left hand. Normally, a physical attack would pass right through Diasnexus’s body, but due to the special nature of Kayla’s weapon, the pellet exploded upon impact with the Ghost King.
The semi-transparent monster staggered slightly.
Then, Sha-Lau’s lightning made a direct hit and Diasnexus let out a muffled groan.
Arisu followed up with a thrust from her spear, enchanted with Holy Weapon.
Unable to withstand it, Diasnexus retreated from Arisu. However, his movements were slightly slower than before, hampered by the continuous Holy Waves emanating from Arisu.
Arisu’s thrust was unavoidable. The spearhead pierced through Diasnexus’s shoulder, eliciting a low groan from him.
“Now, all together…”
“Don’t underestimate me!” the Ghost King cried, his voice filled with anger. He swung his right hand, simultaneously lifting into the air…
It was the chance we had been waiting for. Arisu leaned forward, ready to strike, and called, “Now!”
But—
“Wait, Arisu! Get back!” I shouted, a shiver running down my spine. However, I was inside Sha-Lau’s head; he was the only one who could hear my voice.
“Shit, just jump up!”
“Understood, Master.”
I hated to leave the others, but at least I could save Sha-Lau. Kayla, sensing something was amiss, tried to retreat into the air as well… but it was too late.
Dozens of black arms emerged from the ground, ensnaring Kayla, Arisu, and Heavenly Turtle Nahan by their feet. Even Divine Winged Apostle Penusa, at a bit of a distance from us, was caught by these arms that appeared across the wide expanse of the ground.
What… is this?! Is it his magic?
No, my legs!
Arisu instinctively reached out toward the Ghost King, disregarding her own safety.
“But, at least—Serenity!”
A rainbow-colored, translucent sphere enveloped Diasnexus and Sha-Lau—and now they were completely isolated for a one-on-one duel.
“So, you think you’ve trapped me. You are in fact the one separated from your comrades,” Diasnexus declared, facing us. The red glow in the skull’s eye sockets flickered as if in laughter.
“Don’t worry. Attack him with everything we’ve got.”
“Of course.”
The Phantom Wolf King kicked off the air and charged at the Ghost King, who thrust his right hand forward. A touch from that hand would be dangerous even for Sha-Lau, but…
“Accelerate.”
Once again, I accelerated our consciousness. The Ghost King’s skeletal mouth slowly opened and closed, inducing an instinctive feeling of discomfort in me.
“Lightning,” I commanded reflexively. Sha-Lau obeyed without question, activating Shape Lightning at close range, and swiftly moving behind the Ghost King.
What happened next was abrupt.
A vast, pitch-dark space emerged in front of the Ghost King. The black void sucked in the surrounding air and expanded in a fan shape, shaking the entire Serenity barrier.
“Wh-what’s happening? It’s getting bigger!”
“The barrier will break, Master!”
As Sha-Lau predicted, the dark space burst open.
A tremendous shockwave followed, and a beam of blackness was fired outside the barrier, flattening houses and buildings in a fan shape.
That’s bad, I thought. There are refugees in that direction…
It was as if an explosion of darkness had covered the land. As I watched in horror, a roar echoed from far away.
The darkness subsided.
Buildings had been obliterated, and several square kilometers of ground had been gouged out and collapsed as if struck by a gigantic meteorite.
“What was that?”
“It must have created a void.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me… breaking through the Serenity barrier and then… hitting those innocent people.”
“Our battle a moment ago was being observed. That’s why he launched an attack that spread across a wide area in front.”
“Are you saying it’s my fault?”
“Calm down. Without your command, by now…”
We would have been dead, is that it?
As I stared blankly at the shattered city, I found my mouth was dry. I had no words.