Chapter 810

The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

The One Who Will Kill You (5)

In an instant, the darkness that surged from the Adversary’s body spread out like a massive wall.

Kwaaaaaang!

The destructive breath attack collided with the darkness and triggered an enormous explosion.

The heavens and earth shook as if turned upside down, and the shockwave alone shattered the Riftspawn below into pieces.

When the explosion subsided, the dragon and the Adversary stood face to face.

The dragon’s black scales still gleamed radiantly, and an endless vortex of darkness swirled around the Adversary.

The dragon’s eyes twitched. Even after taking his full-powered breath attack, the opponent remained unscathed.

Grrrrrrr…

The dragon expressed his displeasure.

“You’re no ordinary foe…”

The being before his eyes appeared to be a high priest wielding tremendous power. However, that last clash should’ve consumed a great deal of his energy.

The dragon paused to catch its breath and let out a deep roar.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, showing yourself here as a priest of the Demonic Abyss… but this place will be your grave.”

With those words, countless lightning bolts exploded down around the dragon.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!

Each time lightning struck, hundreds of Riftspawn turned to ash and vanished.

“Waaaaaaaah!”

The cheers of the United Human Army shook the battlefield.

The front lines, which had been crumbling in despair, suddenly revived.

Knights gripping their swords rose once again, and the dwarves charged with a roar.

Elven arrows and spirits once more filled the sky. The people’s eyes gleamed with hope.

But the Adversary did not move a muscle.

Gwooooooom…

From the Adversary’s fingertips, a darkness sharp as a spear shot forth.

It flew toward the dragon’s chest with the momentum to split the world.

The dragon raised its massive forepaw and smashed it to pieces in a single strike.

Kraaaaah!

With the dragon’s roar, the sky quaked.

As if responding to that cry, flames and lightning tangled together and rushed toward the Adversary.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwaaaaang!

Devastatingly powerful spells unfolded without mercy. But the Adversary blocked all of them with a Curtain of Darkness and stood firm.

The dragon’s 9th-Circle magic and the Adversary’s darkness collided, distorting space in various places and unleashing unknown explosions in rapid succession.

As if the world itself couldn’t contain the two beings, reality trembled.

Boom! Kwaaaaang!

The dragon swung his tail, unleashing a shockwave powerful enough to bring down mountains.

The darkness surrounding the Adversary’s body cracked and scattered but quickly regenerated and surged again.

Grrrrrr…

Flapping his wings, the dragon soared high into the sky.

Now wrapped in flashing lightning, the dragon charged straight at the Adversary.

A massive arc of lightning carved the sky as the two clashed.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!

At that moment, everything on the battlefield twisted and trembled violently.

The Riftspawn were hurled in all directions, and most of the United Human Army lost their balance and fell.

It was a truly breathtakingly colossal battle.

The two were not merely beings of immense power. They were godlike entities shaking the very fabric of the world’s order.

Ghislain, too, watched the battle between the dragon and the Adversary with astonished eyes.

He had hoped someone would buy them time, but for a dragon to suddenly appear like this?

However, his expression was far from bright.

‘This is…’

The United Human Army had regained its strength thanks to the dragon’s arrival. That, at least, was a relief.

Some might call it a miracle. Others might say it was just dumb luck.

But Ghislain couldn’t think of it so simply.

‘Destiny…’

He now felt deeply bound by an overwhelming fate.

As if Deneb and Julien absolutely must not die here.

Why? Why did he suddenly feel that way?

He could have dismissed it as a mere coincidence.

‘…The unease I tried so hard to ignore.’

Ever since returning, Ghislain had changed the future. And so, he was firmly convinced the future could be altered.

But now, that conviction was beginning to waver.

‘…My existence in the future.’

That was a fixed outcome. No matter how much he struggled in the past, that future would inevitably come.

It might not be that past actions change the future—but rather, that the past is twisted to fit a future already set in stone.

After all, in the original future, there was no “Duke of Fenris, Ghislain Ferdium.”

That was a future he had forcibly changed by regressing.

The original future…

The Duke of Delfine would have emerged victorious, and the Salvation Church would have ruled the continent.

‘…No.’

Ghislain clenched his teeth.

If the future truly couldn’t be changed…

If his countless actions in the past meant nothing…

Then Deneb wouldn’t have called him here.

So he must not falter.

He couldn’t give up just because he believed the future was already set.

It can be changed. It must be changed.

That is the way of one who lives for today.

“Nngh…”

Even as his whole body was torn apart in pain, Ghislain crawled forward.

He couldn’t leave this fight to the dragon alone. The Adversary was too powerful—there was no guarantee the dragon would win.

Even if, as his intuition told him, fate would spare Deneb and Julien, that might come at the cost of someone else’s life.

So Ghislain continued to crawl forward.

So that Deneb could perform a miracle.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwaaang!

Meanwhile, the battle between the dragon and the Adversary remained in perfect balance.

Kwaaaaaaah!

With a sky-splitting roar, the dragon brought down his massive wings. That strike summoned a storm that pushed back the Adversary’s darkness.

Drrrrrrrip!

Suddenly, black chain-like darkness surged from the Adversary’s body. It wasn’t just a manifestation of energy.

It was a binding that consumed the world’s very foundations.

And that binding began to slowly wrap around the dragon.

Krrrrrrrrr…!

The dragon used magic to break the chains. But each time one shattered, another emerged and wrapped tighter around his body.

The dragon’s wingbeats still thundered, but his momentum was gradually waning.

Kwang!

The dragon’s tail struck the Adversary. But now, the Adversary didn’t even flinch.

Instead, the darkness rippled out like waves, binding the dragon even further.

Drrrrrrrr…

Paaaah!

The dragon broke the black chains and leapt backward, then immediately opened his jaws to unleash another breath attack.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaah!

The unending torrent of breath clashed with the darkness, creating a fierce maelstrom.

But eventually, the breath’s momentum weakened, and the darkness pushed in deeper and deeper.

Grrrrrrr…

The dragon sensed something was wrong.

The more he fought, the stronger the enemy seemed to become.

‘No… Am I weakening?’

Only then did the dragon realize.

The darkness filling this place was gradually consuming him.

That darkness was steadily accumulating on his body, devouring its mana.

If he didn’t escape this place, the darkness would only burrow in deeper.

Of course, if he truly wanted to, the dragon could escape from this domain of darkness.

But his pride would never allow retreat.

Kraaaaaaah!

The dragon let out a ferocious scream as it twisted its body. The black chains binding him shattered into pieces.

His majesty remained overwhelming. The dragon drew upon even greater mana, intent on pressing the Adversary harder.

Then, the Adversary’s darkness shimmered—as if it were laughing.

Red eyes gleamed mockingly from within the shadows, piercing through the dragon.

Bwoooooooom!

The Adversary’s darkness flew toward the dragon, ready to engulf the world. In turn, the dragon unleashed countless spells and slammed its body forward, pressing its attack.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwaaaaang!

With death in his sight, the dragon unleashed explosive force, and the Adversary could no longer take him lightly.

The two clashed with all their might. But as time passed, the dragon’s wingbeats began to grow heavier.

The Adversary remained composed. He focused solely on defense, stalling for time against the dragon’s assaults.

The longer he endured, the more sluggish the dragon’s movements became.

Drrrrrrrr…

At some point, darkness began to flow like fine threads from the Adversary’s fingertips.

It cut through the lightning and fire spells filling the battlefield and touched the dragon’s body.

Grrrrrr!

The dragon thrashed violently.

This darkness was different than before.

It burrowed between his scales, crept through his veins, and spread deep inside his body.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

As if syncing with the dragon’s heartbeat, the darkness pulsed.

Kraaaaaaagh!

The dragon’s roar, once a sky-splitting cry, twisted into a scream of agony.

His massive form wavered, and his wingbeats grew heavier.

From within the darkness, the Adversary smiled.

The shadow from his fingertips continued to flow into the dragon.

Like rot slowly eating away at the strongest being created by the gods—from the inside out.

Darkness seeped between the dragon’s black scales, and his obsidian-like luster began to dull.

The dragon’s eyes trembled. He could feel something unfamiliar writhing within its body.

His instincts knew: if this continued, he would slowly lose its strength—and eventually, his very existence.

Kraaaaah!

The dragon continued his assault, enduring with all his might. But the destructive power he once had was gone.

As time passed, the dragon grew weaker. Eventually, he was struck by the Adversary’s powerful attack and crashed toward the ground.

KWAANG!

A shockwave exploded, crushing thousands of Riftspawn into pieces at once.

But this was not a cry of victory—it was the sound that signaled the dragon’s waning strength.

Grrrrrr…

The dragon let out a desperate growl through clenched fangs, but despair now laced its voice.

The United Human Army, still fighting the Riftspawn, looked on in disbelief.

“No way… the dragon…?”

“Is being pushed back…?”

“T-That’s impossible…”

The dragon—called the arbiter of the world and the messenger of the gods—was staggering in pain.

It was a sight they had never dared to imagine.

The Adversary still hovered in the sky, arrogantly looking down at the ground.

Seeing that, the United Human Army’s morale plummeted. Yet none could stop fighting.

They clung to what little divine power remained and grit their teeth as they fought on.

Ghislain ignored all of it. He was trying, somehow, to escape the range of the divine power.

Right now, the United Human Army was fighting around Deneb. Leaving that zone would mean being instantly torn apart by the Riftspawn.

He needed someone to help him—just for a moment.

“Hey… someone, please… cough!”

Ghislain’s weakened voice was buried beneath the roar of the battlefield.

He paused to think. In this state, calling out to anyone was nearly impossible.

He needed someone who could hear and understand him even if he only called once.

There was only one person like that.

Breathing heavily, Ghislain whispered the name.

“Ereneth…”

His voice was so faint it barely carried. Ghislain braced his core and squeezed out the last of his strength.

“Ereneth!”

This time, his voice was much louder—but with the chaos around him, it still wasn’t likely anyone would hear.

“Guh…”

Just as Ghislain tried once more to raise his voice—

PAAAAAH!

The Spirit of Wind spiraled in, revealing Ereneth.

“Ghislain! What’s going on?! Are you okay?!”

“Haha…”

Ghislain laughed, as if he knew this would happen.

Ereneth had continued to send spirits to monitor Ghislain’s condition.

That’s why she had sensed something was wrong and arrived faster than anyone else.

Reaching out a hand to her, Ghislain said,

“Take me… outside the range of the divine power…”

“What? It’s dangerous out there!”

“It’s fine… Just protect me for a moment… Hurry… while the Adversary is focused on the dragon…”

After a brief hesitation, Ereneth nodded with a hardened expression.

They wouldn’t survive if they stayed here anyway.

But Ghislain was up to something. Ghislain had always found a way to solve the problem.

So this time, too, she had to trust him.

Ereneth carried Ghislain and moved toward the edge of the zone.

Kyaaaaaah!

Riftspawn blazed as they tore through the allies fighting alongside the divine power. The formation no longer held any meaning.

Ereneth darted through the allied lines, holding Ghislain. At last, she crossed the boundary of the divine zone.

What lay beyond was a land of death, swallowed by thick darkness.

Kyaaaaah!

Countless Riftspawn swarmed from all directions.

Ereneth immediately summoned the Earth Spirit and raised a massive wall.

Drrrrrrrr!

A towering wall of dirt rose and blocked the path.

“Ghislain! I can’t hold it long!”

Kyaaaaah!

The Riftspawn trampled over each other, scaling the wall. Before long, the weight would be too much, and it would collapse.

Ghislain, collapsed on the ground, muttered,

“Nakturah… come forth…”

PAAAAAH!

A subspace opened in the air, and Nakturah—who could not be summoned within the divine power zone—appeared.

Upon arrival, Nakturah unleashed powerful magic in every direction.

KwakwakwakwaKWANG!

Flames roared up, reducing the charging Riftspawn to ash.

Nakturah glanced at the fallen Ghislain and thought,

‘Ah, now’s the perfect time to kill him. What a shame.’

That would have meant freedom. But his vessel—his container of life—was still in the hands of the Death Knight.

Without retrieving it, freedom meant nothing.

Reluctantly, Nakturah placed a hand on Ghislain’s body and said,

“I’m really doing this, you know?”

“…Yeah. Do it.”

“Even if you die, it’s not my fault.”

KWAaaaaaaah!

Nakturah’s overwhelming mana poured into Ghislain’s body.

Naturally, his balance was already broken—there was no way he could receive all of it. No, even if he could, he couldn’t use it.

Ghislain’s soul could no longer fully control Astion’s body.

So he used another method.

“Astion… I’m counting on you.”

— Leave it to me.

Flash!

A brilliant, completely new blue light burst forth from Ghislain’s eyes.