Chapter 410: The New Martial King (3)

It appeared suddenly. Pitch-black darkness that swallowed light itself, a deep, heavy gloom, wrapped around Beltia, spreading despair and fear.

Serati, who had been advancing to subdue her, instinctively stepped back. "Wh-what is that?"

Karnak sent a message with a stiff expression.

—It looks like Lapicel.

—What?

—Not our Lapicel. Her daughter.

—Huh? What are you saying...?

If it was Beltia's daughter, that meant it was a human soul. That thing? What she saw was an existence so grotesquely alien and ominous that it seemed to seize everything and drag it into the abyss.

—Well, to Beltia's eyes, it probably looks like her cute daughter. And technically, part of that soul really is hers.

Sure enough, Beltia was gazing at the black monstrosity with an astonishingly gentle smile. It was the very expression of a mother looking at her child. Through that chilling dissonance, a faint voice could be heard. "Then so we shall, my beloved daughter."

Darkness exploded, accompanied by a cry that sounded like both a scream and a shout of ecstasy. A black storm raged outward in all directions.

Serati staggered backward while shielding her face. When she opened her eyes again, the Martial King of Cyphras was no longer there.

Black stains spread across Beltia's pale, deathly skin, crawling like tattoos. A red glow seeped outward from the two, deep hollow pits that were once her eyes. From the tattered remains of her clothing, darkness spilled forth, tangled and interwoven like spiderwebs.

Writhing shadows coiled around Beltia, surging outward in waves. What she displayed was an absolute presence that surpassed even the aura of a martial king.

Karnak's expression stiffened slightly. "This is bad..."

Grateria also let out a low groan.

—Was Tesranach's darkness always this strong?

Overwhelming evil radiated from the creature, evoking fear and despair. This creature was no longer something that could be called human, and it unleashed a monstrous shriek.

***

Jet-black darkness burst forth from the monster's entire body, staining the surroundings in shadow. From the blackened ground, dozens of tentacles shot upward, targeting Karnak. Serati stepped in front of him and swung her sword.

Twilight Swordsmanship, Dusk!

A curtain of pitch-black darkness spread outward. It was a wide-ranging technique useful for both attack and defense, a concentration of grace that surpassed even the strength of Martial King Beltia.

And yet, it was torn apart with ease. With a series of explosions, the curtain of darkness was shredded in all directions. The recoil sent Serati flying back as blood burst from her mouth. This was different from before. She was being pushed back purely by force.

The only small mercy was that, in that moment, Karnak had managed to escape unharmed. Beltia's gaze, interrupted in its pursuit, shifted toward Serati instead. With a savage roar, the woman-turned-monster crawled across the ground.

Her limbs, now more than twice their former length and formed of darkness, slammed repeatedly into the earth as she charged forward. She looked less like a human and far more like some grotesque insect. Beltia's abnormally long right arm was still tightly gripped around her sword.

Croterian Sword, Lingering Thoughts.

Lightning-fast strikes threatened Serati from all directions, and her face turned pale. She can still use sword techniques in that state?

Though her form had become monstrous, her sword techniques still followed the precise principles of sword arts.

Serati frantically deflected the incoming attacks. But unlike before, she could not retreat as easily. F-fast!

This was completely different from earlier. Every slash flew at a speed so terrifying that she was failing to evade them. At this rate, Serati would soon lose her head.

Growing desperate, Grateria hurriedly prepared a spell. "Nyaaaah!"

Flames, frost, and lightning twisted together into a single torrent and slammed down toward Beltia. But it failed to even reach her, rebounding away instead.

A black wave had wrapped around Beltia, transforming into a massive defensive barrier. The blackened woman lifted her head and howled. Jet-black thorns sprouted forth from her hair.

Croterian Sword, Thorned Rose.

Dozens of black thorns rained down like a storm. Everything within dozens of meters fell into the bombardment zone. Karnak's summoned elemental giants were all reduced to dust.

Explosions erupted endlessly, smoke and flame billowing into the air. Before that terrifying destructive power, Serati had no choice but to keep retreating.

From the beginning, Karnak's strategy had been for Serati to use her superior power and speed to restrict Beltia's movements, while he and Grateria steadily wore her down with precise attacks.

But what if Beltia now surpassed them in both power and speed? The fragile balance that had barely held together was bound to collapse. Staring at the frenzied Beltia, Karnak clicked his tongue.

—Of course, I figured she'd have a trump card.

The three fallen popes had gained access to even more powerful Incarnation of Divinity techniques thanks to Tesranach's descent. In that case, it was only natural to assume that Beltia, as a martial king, also possessed an ace up her sleeve.

Thus, it wasn't the transformation itself that had shocked him. Rather, he was surprised by something else.

—She's stronger than I calculated.

Cold sweat trickled down as Serati sent a message.

—What do we do now?

—What else?

No matter how powerful Beltia was, she could not possibly maintain that state for long. If anything, the excessive expenditure of power would exhaust her even faster. So all they had to do was keep retreating until she burned herself out and collapsed on her own.

—We'll handle it like we did with Jedex.

The problem was that this was the middle of a battlefield. It was crowded with countless allied soldiers. Beltia would continue to pursue them as they retreated.

She would mercilessly clear away anything that obstructed her path. Even now, soldiers were screaming as they were struck down across the battlefield. In the past, Karnak would have delighted in this, throwing even more allied soldiers forward as bait.

—We can't do that, can we?

—Of course not!

—Looks like I'll have to work harder.

The battlefield was littered with corpses. Black magic seeped through the piles of bodies scattered everywhere. "Rise, my servants!"

Hundreds of undead lifted their heads at his command. Then, all at once, they charged toward Beltia. Of course, it would not stop her. Such low-level undead were no more than swarming flies to Beltia.

But flies, in their own way, could still be irritating. While the undead were crushed apart, allied soldiers gained precious time to retreat.

Karnak grumbled inwardly while reforming the undead soldiers. Ah... living like a proper human is really difficult.

To be honest, he still did not fully understand what any of this had to do with being human. Did it matter that the allied soldiers he had saved were looking at him with gratitude and reverence?

He wasn't sure. He felt nothing. The only conclusion he could come to was that future battles would be slightly favorable, since fewer allied soldiers had died.

After all, they were strangers with no connection to him. What did it matter whether such people praised or condemned him?

But acting this way changed Serati's expression. She was looking at him with admiration. That, at least, was not unpleasant.

"Right... I can't live like I used to." Mid-mutter, Karnak suddenly glanced at the countless corpses he was controlling. "But am I really not living like I used to?"

***

Beltia was radiating terrifying power while rampaging across the entire battlefield. Naturally, even Varos and Milia, despite being far from her position, noticed it immediately.

However, there was nothing they could do at the moment. The two of them were already struggling to face the Fallen Pope of Wind, who was using the strongest Incarnation of Divinity. If even one of them withdrew, their strength would fall dangerously short.

The same held true for Drel and Dios, who were fighting Splendia. Neither had yet fully regained their former strength. In other words, they were not yet capable of facing a fallen pope one-on-one.

But three against one was a different matter.

Delphiad Swordsmanship, Sovereign's Onslaught!

Sharp slashes carved deeply across the stone giant's thigh in rapid succession. Fragments of stone and rock shattered and flew outward. Leven glanced across the battlefield after landing an effective blow against Beneville.

He could feel it clearly. He wasn't sure whether it was aura or darkness, but Beltia's presence had grown monstrously stronger. At this rate, Serati and the others would be in danger.

Leven shouted, "Alius, do you think you and Lapicel can handle him alone?"

Alius nodded. Gripping his staff tightly, Alius fixed his gaze on the stone giant and steeled himself. "It seems we must. If they fall, it won't end well for us either. Go on ahead. I will stop him here, even if it costs me my life!"

Lapicel suddenly interjected in a calm voice. "Please let me go."

"Huh?" Leven blinked in surprise. Somehow, her expression felt different from usual.

She gazed at the far side of the battlefield with distant eyes. "Even though fate has gone astray... she was still my teacher."

The young Lapicel would never have called Beltia her teacher. "Are you Sir Lapicel?"

But it did not seem entirely so. Her tone toward Leven remained that of the young Lapicel. The aura gathered around her sword still shone silver. She simply... felt strangely more mature. "Please, brother Leven."

"R-right..." The moment Leven gave his approval, Lapicel launched herself forward.

Watching her figure as she kicked off the ground and sped toward the distant battlefield, Leven blinked dazedly. What's going on here?

Beneville's fury erupted. "You dare to dismiss me?"

One of her opponents had suddenly left in the middle of battle. How little did they think of him to do such a thing?

Leven shrugged while raising his sword. Having traveled alongside Karnak, Leven had gained considerable skill in provocation. "Well, it's not that we're trying to belittle you, but you have to admit you're a tier below a martial king, right?"

Alius, meanwhile, had always been the type to get under an opponent's skin, even before meeting Karnak. "That's right. How does some unheard-of fake pope think he can stand on equal footing with a true martial king?"

Molten lava began glowing red across the rocky surface of the stone giant. "You insolent wretches!"

***

Serati and Karnak continued fleeing, evading Beltia's pursuit. Beltia relentlessly chased after them while scattering darkness in every direction.

Countless undead soldiers were destroyed in her terrifying rampage. The number of corpses available was steadily dwindling. More precisely, the number of intact corpses was running out.

The total count of said corpses had increased, but only because bodies were being smashed into countless fragments.

With a deafening roar, Beltia lashed out with dozens of streaks of darkness in all directions. Eventually, even living soldiers were caught within her range.

The screams of allied soldiers continued to grow. Karnak frowned and brought his hand to his chest. His fingers touched a square object. Can I really use this in front of everyone?

Just then, a brilliant golden flash suddenly shot forward and struck Beltia directly. With a thunderous explosion, the darkness scattered, and the black monster halted its charge. Serati and Karnak turned their heads at the same time.

What's with that light?

A martial king? Who could it be?

It made no sense. All of the current martial kings were subordinate to Tesranach. And then, an even more incomprehensible sight unfolded before their eyes. A gray-haired girl landed lightly in front of them. The golden brilliance of the sword in her hand shone more clearly than ever.

Serati muttered blankly, "Lapicel?"