Chapter 402: Oh! My Goddess (6)

With the arrival of the Twilight Order, the tide of battle shifted dramatically. The most eye-catching of the reinforcements was Serati, but the contributions of the others were no less remarkable.

Though somewhat weakened, there was still an archmage among them, and though much weakened, the former Monarch of Death and the former Death Knight Lord were present as well. There were even three silver knights striving to reach the realm of martial kings. And Milia, who appeared ordinary only because she stood among such monsters, was in truth a priest of considerable skill.

With the strength of these individuals alone, victory was already within reach. And yet, all the others deliberately fought without drawing attention. All eyes had to remain fixed on the Saintess of Twilight.

Thus, the dazzling attacks were left to Serati, while the rest of the group focused solely on rescuing allied forces as they moved toward Fort Kasukent.

Of course, Karnak and Varos were doing something they had never done before. They felt thoroughly awkward about it.

—Ugh, this is harder than I thought.

—Indeed it is, young master. Honestly, charging straight into enemy lines would be easier.

—Well, Serati's already doing that.

Both of them had lived lives where killing enemies naturally led to gaining allies, so it was difficult for them to grasp the concept of rescuing people during battle. Fortunately, there was an excellent example to follow.

—Let's just copy Lapicel.

—Sounds good. When in doubt, do what others are doing.

And so, Karnak's group climbed up and down the fortress walls and diligently rescued soldiers. Thanks to that, Alius was finally able to catch his breath.

There is no doubt this is a most fortunate turn of events... He felt curious as he observed the familiar faces in the distance. I truly cannot understand it. How did someone as upright as Lord Karnak end up entangled with heretics like the Twilight Order?

Alius was operating under a truly terrifying misunderstanding.

***

Serati continued to rampage through the enemy lines. Crushing every foe before her with monstrous strength, she tore through defensive formations as though they were paper. Nothing dared stand in her way. Now, the necromancers of the Black God had only one option left: Attack Serati from afar.

Though they now posed as necromancers through Tesranach's power, they had originally been mages. As panic set in, the magic they had long mastered surfaced before the necromancy they had only recently learned.

"Flame Cannon!"

"Lightning Bolt!"

Countless pillars of fire and bolts of lightning tore across the battlefield and rained down upon Serati. She glanced briefly over her shoulder. Then she sneered. That was all. She did not bother to dodge, nor did she turn to defend. There was no need.

Black runes surfaced across the surface of Serati's crimson armor. At the same time, the shadow at her feet surged upward, transforming into a massive curtain.

It was the defensive necromantic domain Karnak had installed into the crimson armor: TChe Curtain of Black Shadows.

Thanks to the Anti-Time-Space Transcender, Karnak no longer struggled with insufficient necromantic power as he once had. And with sufficient necromantic energy, he was the greatest necromancer across all ages.

The incoming pillars of fire and lightning bolts were all blocked by the curtain, exploding harmlessly in midair. Having wasted their magic to no effect, the necromancers of the Black God ground their teeth in frustration.

"Damn it!"

"Our magic isn't working at all!"

Karnak had faced aura users and mages during his time. Because of that, he had mastered techniques that blocked magic and aura with minimal effort.

"In that case, taste the power of Lord Tesranach!"

This time, dozens of black blades materialized in midair and rained down upon her. Instead of magic, they now unleashed full-fledged necromancy. Serati remained unconcerned. If magic didn't work, why would necromancy?

Sure enough, every blade was blocked by the curtain. This time, there wasn't even an explosion. They were simply absorbed into the veil, making it grow even thicker. Instead of harming her, they had only strengthened the domain.

The necromancers of the Black God were struck with shock. By their understanding, such a thing should have been impossible.

"How could that happen?"

"Is that truly the power of a goddess?"

Serati paused for a moment in thought while glaring at the necromancers. It was true that their long-range attacks were not particularly threatening, but even so, leaving them alone wasn't an option either.

However, Evening Shadow alone could not reach enemies at such a distant range. Still, it wasn't a problem. She had an ally.

—Your help again, please.

—Very well.

A brief exchange passed between them. Soon, a pure white cat appeared from within the folds of her fluttering cloak. The sight, utterly out of place on a battlefield reeking of blood, left several soldiers bewildered. Fortunately, the Twilight Order quickly revealed the cat's identity with solemn reverence.

"Oh!"

"That is!"

"The divine beast of Lady Serakal, Floke!"

Naturally, its true identity was Dragon Emperor Grateria. After revealing the truth to Karnak's group, Grateria had declared that he would conceal his identity from then on.

—The fact that I remain unharmed is one of our few advantages. We cannot afford to lose it.

Thus, he could not roam about in his dragon form. If Karnak's group were seen traveling with a young dragon, Tesranach would surely deduce the truth from that alone. However, as the guardian of the world, he had no intention of hiding away in the shadows. The solution was simple.

—We shall simply continue doing as we have until now.

The cat leapt lightly onto Serati's shoulder and let out a dignified cry. "Nyaaah!" A massive magic circle appeared above her head, and soon countless spells poured down upon the undead army across the battlefield.

A gigantic phoenix soared into the sky. Blizzards raged. The earth trembled as dozens of spiraling tornadoes swept across the land. Lightning struck repeatedly, flashes of brilliance bursting in rapid succession. Terrifying destructive power shook the entire battlefield.

The magic was so powerful that parts of the surrounding terrain began to change. It felt as though a colossal mural depicting the battlefield had been set ablaze all at once. Witnessing the spectacle, the allied soldiers fell into stunned silence.

"My heavens..."

"Is that truly the power of the Twilight Goddess...?"

Though not quite shocked to the same degree, Karnak's group also clicked their tongues in amazement.

—No matter how many times I see it, it's astonishing.

Dios, being a mage himself, was especially bewildered.

—How can Floke cast such powerful magic in that body?

Karnak let out a wry smile. The truth was that, because he was in Floke's body, he could only use magic of this comparatively low level.

—Ah... actually, it's the opposite. It's just that even low-level magic is absurdly powerful for the dragon em.

In reality, Grateria himself felt somewhat embarrassed.

—My apologies. This is my limit in this child's body...

Serati looked at Grateria with a strange expression. The cat was busily licking his forepaw, pretending nothing had happened.

Looks like this guy's getting completely used to pretending to be a cat.

***

Physical attacks could not break through Serati's monstrous physical abilities. Magical attacks could not penetrate Karnak's thick defensive barrier. Long-range attacks were handled by none other than the dragon emperor himself.

Having become a veritable moving fortress, Serati rampaged freely. Wherever she struck, the undead army scattered and broke apart.

At last, even the siege surrounding the fortress had completely collapsed. Now, all that remained was to drive in the final nail of victory.

Sweeping her gaze across the battlefield, Serati considered her next move. What should I do?

Wide-area attacks were still most effective when left to Grateria's magic, but... Ah, I should try that.

Coincidentally, she had recently learned another new sword technique. The Twilight Swordsmanship itself had long since been completed, but Serati had yet to fully master all of it.

The ability to instantly learn techniques at a glance was the privilege of geniuses. For ordinary people, it was only natural to acquire skills slowly through time and effort.

Having made her decision, Serati raised her aura sword high into the sky. A massive force spiraled up around her and surged along the blade's tip. Terrifying power gathered again and again, condensing into a massive sphere of light. It was as if another sun had risen above the battlefield.

She brought her sword down in a single stroke.

—Twilight Swordsmanship: Sunset!

The sun began to fall. Brilliant light poured in all directions, and the undead faltered and staggered backward. Watching them, Serati recalled her earlier conversation with Leven and Drel.

—D-do it like this?

—Yes.

—You're simply gathering as much aura as possible and launching it upward. You should be

capable of it.

—No, there's no way I can control that much aura with my skills!

—That's the point.

—If you can't control it, then just use it without controlling it.

The falling sun trembled while releasing a deafening roar. Serati lost all control over maintaining its form, and it began collapsing. The sun lost its cohesion and began scattering in every direction.

Dozens—hundreds—of massive fragments of aura turned into a meteor shower, blanketing a vast area. A merciless carpet bombing pounded the battlefield from end to end.

Amid endless explosions, screams, destruction, and blazing shockwaves, Serati calmly withdrew her sword. Then she gazed at the miracle she had created and felt renewed amazement.

Wow... when three geniuses put their heads together and research something, they really can make anything happen.

***

The miracle Serati had unleashed, Sunset, was clearly visible even to Alius atop the fortress walls. He was astonished. Is that woman truly Sir Serati?

The feats she had displayed on the battlefield were not entirely without precedent. Martial kings or archmages could likely produce similar results. But something about it was different.

This was not someone who had reached the realm of the transcendent through innate talent and tireless effort, but a being that fundamentally walked a different path. Though he believed such a thing impossible, Alius found himself muttering without realizing it. "Could she truly be... an incarnation of the goddess?"

**

At the edge of a forest far from Fort Kasukent, a young blonde woman clad in black robes watched the course of the battle. She was Splendia Vitus, the Fallen Pope of Katera, the commander of the army in battle.

"The Saintess of Twilight..."

Because of that woman, victory had slipped away from her fingers. If Splendia herself had stepped onto the front lines, the outcome might have been different. With the authority of a fallen pope, changing the flow of battle would have been entirely possible.

Even so, Splendia had not made a move. If the Saintess of Twilight was here... "Then that man must be here as well."

Tesranach's orders were absolute. As long as those orders existed, she had only two choices. Withdraw as she was now, or die and return to Tesranach. But she could not die. She still had much to accomplish in this land.

"I have been commanded, so I have no choice but to withdraw..."

Splendia concealed herself within the forest's shadows. The Black God's army that had been surrounding the fortress also began to retreat slowly. That sight was clearly visible to the soldiers within Fort Kasukent.

"The enemy is retreating!"

"We've won!"

"We survived! We survived!"

Cheers erupted from the survivors.

"Long live the Saintess of Twilight!"

"Long live Serakal!"