Chapter 1472.2

Nyx was silent for a moment, then slowly replied.

[The number of consciousness fragments scattered across the world is impossible to count. Even with my help tracking them down, you can’t find them all in a short time...]

“I just need to find one. You yourself said that the fragments of his consciousness are connected to his power.” It worked on the same principle as a single drop of venom paralyzing and killing a person. “I’m going to use a virus. One that, if it infects a single fragment, will twist and infect all of them and eventually threaten the main body. It’ll make him feel the danger and hastily cut off all connections to his fragments.”

[Do you think something like poison will even work?]

“And why do you think it won’t?”

Hearing that question, Nyx laughed out loud.

[Kuhukukuku! Let's say such a poison exists, just as you said. Do you think the horne you need to protect would survive? Heheheheh. You pretend to be virtuous, yet the moment you're backed into a corner, you resort to desperate measures. How ridiculous of you.]

In response, Davey smiled faintly and slammed his skull with great force, making a thwack sound.

[Cough!!]

The soul-shaking blow caused him to shriek. When Davey was in his manifested state, every move he made was naturally wielded with divine power, even simple strikes.

“Just do as you’re told. You talk too much, you son of a bitch.”

[You damned bastard!]

“If his consciousness is spread across the continent, it’s probably in this forest too, right?”

Nyx’s eyes shone brightly with a purple hue for a moment, and he pointed a finger.

[It just so happens to be right there.]

“Huh...”

What Nyx pointed to was a small rabbit peeking its head out.

Davey sprang from the ground without hesitation and snatched the rabbit, capturing it alive.

Aris clapped her hands, letting out continuous exclamations. “Whoa! Super fast! So cool!”

“So, what are you going to do?” Shuneria asked Davey.

He smiled faintly, gathering divine power in one hand. “I’m going to do this.”

Squelsh!!

* * *

“First Corps, retreat! First Calvary Unit, charge!”

The cavalry, lined up in perfect formation, raised their lances in unison.

“Forward!!!”

Clang!!!

Following the command, the cavalry, enhanced by numerous protective and buff spells, charged forward and mercilessly swept through the undead legion.

However, some of the mangled undead clung onto the cavalrymen with reckless abandon, dragged them from their horses, and swiftly tore them to death.

They were skilled individuals of the Expert-level, but some undead that occasionally exuded superior presence were able to quickly take them down.

The capital of the Ahm Kingdom was literally like Necropolis, the City of the Dead.

The number of undead stumbling forward in the legion, regardless of age and gender, was estimated to be over two hundred thousand. While only people who met certain standards could become soldiers in a normal military, the undead had no such limitations.

Much of the Ahm Kingdom’s population lived in the capital, which meant Gargantia's catastrophe had claimed an enormous number of lives. The forces in the capital had reached such a high number, yet reconnaissance reports detected a similar number of troops gathered under Gargantia, who was enjoying his war games.

As a being who commanded the undead, the war had naturally been overwhelmingly favorable to Gargantia. The Holy Empire was providing support, but, because the subjugation force had been assembled in such a hurry, their preparations were inadequate.

If Gargantia himself went on a rampage in the middle of the battlefield, the damage would be unimaginable.

Even so, the battle remained nearly even, and was even beginning to tilt in the humans’ favor, thanks to four individuals.

Slash!! BOOM!!

Illyna was moving across the battlefield at an incredible speed, individually slicing through the black magic Gargantia shot. Perserque was keeping the entire battlefield under control, dispelling his magic and constantly interfering with his devil magic. Reina unleashed massive bombardments with her sword of light, and Evangeline used her breath attack.

For those witnessing the sight firsthand, it was beyond absurd. Just four people were exerting an overwhelming influence within the allied forces.

“Ahahahaha!!”

The one most enjoying the situation was none other than Gargantia Netzach himself. For someone who simply craved stimulation, the outcome of the battle between the undead and the allied forces really didn’t matter.

He was in an especially good mood thanks to Illyna’s presence. She not only cut through his magic, she drove immense sword energy straight into his body whenever she spotted an opening.

If not for his power of immortality, he would’ve died dozens of times up to that point.

For an ancient dragon like him, an aberration even among his own kind, being helplessly cut apart by the sword energy of a mere lowly horne stirred an unfamiliar emotion within him.

At the center of the massive fortress wall, Gargantia had been merely observing the battlefield from his throne, occasionally firing off spells. Unable to contain his desire any longer, he abruptly rose to his feet. “Nice... Nice!!”

He picked up a blood-red sword from god knows where and passionately shouted, “Yes! You are indeed worthy of the honor of being my consort.”

She shouted back, “Stop talking nonsense, you crazy lizard bastard!”

Ignoring his own undead, he dropped into the middle of the battlefield with a deafening crash and gave a bright smile as he looked at Illyna. “The sword you wield truly makes me feel something new. This is it! You finally understand how I feel!”

“Like hell. All I’m going to do is chop your head off here, go home, and relax.” She aimed her silver longsword at him. “Even if you seem immortal, there’s no way you can just eternally resurrect!”

“Wrong. Unfortunately, I'm a being who can't even kill themselves.” Gargantia spread his arms wide, as if inviting her to come closer and embrace him. “You're the first to make me feel anything this intense.

“Illyna, was it? You may be a horne, but that no longer matters to me. So, I'll make you an offer one more time. Become my consort. If it pleases you, I'd even give you this entire continent.”

In response, Illyna raised her free hand and flipped him the middle finger. “Kick rocks, bozo.”

She had naturally picked up the crude language and behavior from traveling back and forth to Earth with Davey. Before then, she didn’t know such things.

While Davey had wondered if video games were the problem, to Illyna, Earth’s culture was incredibly novel and stimulating.

“Ooh! You’ve got a wild side. There’s only one way to handle a wife with a lot of ego, one tried and true since ancient times.”

He lightly brought down the blood-red sword.

At the same time, Illyna took her stance, and both of them vanished from sight almost instantly.

BOOM!!!

The resulting shockwave from the massive metal clash burst forth, shattering countless undead who were wandering nearby.

“Ahahahahaha! This is it! This is it!!!” Gargantia yelled with joy, looking at the wounds that appeared on his body. “This isn’t just a simple wound! This intense and stimulating sensation that I feel with this wound! I believe this is love!”

Illyna, disgusted by his maniacal shouting, shook the blood off her sword.

Fwoosh!!!

At the same time, an incredible amount of blood sprayed from his neck, which had been completely fine just moments before.

She frowned in disgust as the wound from her sword strike finally began gushing blood. “Seriously, this guy is some kind of perverted bastard...”

It was a fatal wound that would’ve surely killed any normal living being. Yet, he didn’t even pay it any mind and screamed, “Hwaaah! This electrifying sensation... this feeling of being alive!”

He lifted his head and stared up at the sky with wide eyes, then shuddered all over, gently scratched his neck, and drooled. “It’s too good...” ℯℯ𝑙.

Illyna had already struck him innumerable times.

The undead, who should’ve been shattered by the allied forces, kept getting back up, and Gargantia himself kept resurrecting without end.

The allied forces would inevitably lose if the battle continued and turned into a war of attrition.

Just as Illyna flicked her sword and took a stance, preparing to end the fight with a decisive blow, Gargantia ignored the blood dripping from his neck and smiled in ecstasy.

“GAAAH?!” But then he suddenly coughed up a pool of black, corrupted blood. “W-What?!”

He stumbled in surprise. The bewilderment was clear on his face, unable to understand what was happening to him. “What in the...”

He looked at Illyna with a shocked face. Her sword was definitely fatal, but, on a fundamental level, it wasn’t a good enough match to kill him. Somehow, this time was different.

He didn’t die, but he felt an enormous drain of power. He hastily began to resonate with the fragments of his consciousness scattered throughout the world to circulate his power even faster.

Fully resurrecting once the immense power linked to his consciousness fragments gathered again should've been easy. But for some reason, he could feel the flow of power slowing down instead of speeding up. “What in the....”

“In a place called Earth, there’s an electronic device called a computer. It’s notorious for getting utterly destroyed when a virus gets into the system, where it multiplies and spreads like crazy.” Illyna gave a sinister smile. “Did you really think my husband would leave such a poorly secured net alone?”

She pointed her longsword at Gargantia. “Do you wanna know what real battles of attrition are like? Let’s see whose power is depleted first. Yours or mine.”

While it was definitely an intense stimulus, Gargantia didn’t welcome the bizarre and repulsive stimulus flowing in from the connection with his consciousness fragments.

“What... what did you dooooo?!!!” he suddenly yelled as if having a fit. But then, a supporting energy sword flew in and pierced his flailing arm. “Huh?”

Squelsh! Squelsh! Squelsh!!!

At the same time, seven more energy swords pierced into multiple vital points—his larynx, heart, spleen, solar plexus, and more.

He staggered and retreated a step or two.

It was a trivial amount of power. However, as his power began draining away at an incredible rate and the vitality that sustained his immortality started dwindling, his expression slowly changed.

Illyna mocked, “What? Does it feel different now that you know you can actually die?”

Every emotion was new to him. Gargantia couldn't help but shudder at the unfamiliar sense of rejection he was experiencing for the first time.

With every step he stumbled, the undead he controlled visibly began to weaken.

Instinctively, he turned away from Illyna and hastily tried to retreat to the royal castle. He felt as if his body was moving on its own, though he didn’t know what was going on.

Rejection. He was immediately engulfed by the terrible and novel sensation of wanting to escape.

However, once he turned and began to flee, someone appeared before him like a flash of light. “Rinne evaluates the savior of humanity highly.”

The blue-and-silver-haired girl gripped her crowbar with both hands and swung it straight into his groin without the slightest hesitation.

“Driver number one, full swing. Rinne evaluates hole-in-one highly.”

Crunch!!!

A bone-chilling sound rang out, and several people gasped in horror at her merciless attack.

Of all the injuries, everyone hoped he would feel that one most deeply.

His face twisted in confusion as unfamiliar sensations flooded through him and the flow of his power suddenly went haywire. “Ugh... Ughhh!!!”

Soon, explosive dragon Fear erupted from his entire body.

His weakening was progressing faster than expected.