Whoooosh—
The flow of air circling the surroundings changed in an instant.
The brow of the Chairman of the Beoncheon Society, who had remained composed all along, twitched several times.
Before he knew it, Hahoe Mask, wreathed in pitch-black energy, had leapt back, but he could no longer focus solely on him.
‘…When?’
And for good reason.
In this space where, aside from the undead that had been clinging to him in irritation, he and Hahoe Mask had been settling their match…
Clank—
—clank
—clank.
“There you are, filthy heretic.”
An unexpected intruder had appeared.
Along with the heavy metallic sounds ringing out at regular intervals, a paladin clad in elegant, smooth, pure-white armor slowly emerged from beyond the thicket.
“I am the first sword of the Lord God, Heinrich Saint Landguard.”
Heavy armor that scattered the surrounding light as it shone, and golden eyes gleaming from between the visor that covered his face.
Amid that overwhelming presence.
“Heretic, in the name of the great Lord God—”
Shing—
“I shall strike you down.”
A beautiful sword drawn from his hand lightly cut through the air, radiating brilliant light.
And the blazing radiance rising from his entire body began to repel and push away not only the deathly energy filling the surroundings, but also the alien divine power that should not exist in this world.
“…The champion of Auterica’s Lord God, is it?”
At that, the Chairman of the Beoncheon Society’s brow furrowed slightly.
He had naturally expected that side to intervene as well, but their speed was far faster than he had anticipated.
‘And besides…’
That was not the only problem.
His gaze turned to the side.
“Kahahaha! Now this is electrifying!”
There stood a muscular giant who exuded a presence no less imposing than the champion of the Lord God, roaring with hearty laughter.
Inside his wide-open mouth, saw-like teeth that could not be seen in an ordinary human were naturally revealed.
“Well now, this is my first time facing an angel!”
That being, who seemed closer to a magical beast than a human, Harley, stared at the Chairman of the Beoncheon Society with eyes filled with a strange desire and grinned.
Filled with a madness he could not even begin to hide.
“Brother, those wings… can’t I just have one bite?”
As if proving those were not idle words, drool dripped from the corners of his ferociously opened mouth, and his body, as though preparing for a hunt, had already entered combat readiness and swollen enormously.
No matter how one looked at it, that was not the attitude of someone asking permission, but no one present took issue with it.
“…It seems I was taking this dimension too lightly. To think you could move this quickly. And with four individuals who have reached this level… no, five.”
The Chairman of the Beoncheon Society let out a small, hollow laugh.
And the moment his low murmur ended, the two beings who had been concealing their presence behind him also quietly revealed themselves.
“Hm, so you had already noticed. What a shame.”
“The World Tree has spoken… Not even a single breath of air may be permitted to the spawn of the Outer God that has invaded this dimension.”
A blood-eyed vampire emerging from the shadows while adjusting the lapels of his black suit with both hands, and a blond, green-eyed high elf standing atop a tree, looking down as he made a grave declaration.
Together with those who had appeared before them, they naturally surrounded their opponent, and a heavy pressure rose from all their bodies at once.
Rooooar—
The atmosphere shook violently, and all kinds of different energies began to boil fiercely.
In that increasingly heightened atmosphere.
[Keheh— You look busy. Your popularity truly is impressive.]
“Hahoe Mask…”
At Hans’s mocking words, which came just then, the Chairman of the Beoncheon Society’s expression hardened again.
No matter how he looked at it, this situation was not normal.
‘It’s too systematic to call it something that happened on impulse. As if they had prepared in advance…’
Moreover, even from the circumstances so far, it was clear that there was some connection between those four and Hahoe Mask.
The exquisitely timed manner in which they appeared, the way they had crossed space, and the fact that those who, in terms of compatibility, should never have been able to fit together were gathered in one place, united solely in their hostility toward him.
An undead dark mage who ruled death, a paladin who appeared to be the champion of the Lord God, an unidentified humanoid chimera, a fairy race member reeking of the energy of great nature, and even a vampire with an extraordinary air about him.
How had those who must undoubtedly stand at the pinnacle of their respective domains managed to join hands and swarm in all at once like this?
What on earth had Hahoe Mask done?
His face twisted at the unresolved question.
[Then I shall stop here. From now on, those fellows will deal with you.]
But he was not given time to arrive at a clear answer to that question.
With a single word from Hans, who had withdrawn to the rear, fighting spirit began to surge among those who had finished preparing for battle.
“…As expected, you’re all talk, Hahoe Mask. To think you would turn tail now…”
Even so, the Chairman of the Beoncheon Society, who had no intention of simply letting his opponent go, lightly opened his mouth to provoke him.
Kwaaaang—!
As if cutting off those words, the hot-tempered barbarian warrior Harley kicked off the ground and charged toward him first.
“Kahahaha—! Look this way now, brother!”
With an appearance so savage that tightly sprouted scales and bulging muscles were joined by an ominous madness and killing intent.
Crack! Kuuung—
Sharp claws that had sprung from the ends of hands several times larger than usual tore through the air and gouged deep craters into the ground.
An ordinary person would not even have been able to react before being shredded in an instant, but unfortunately, his opponent was no easy prey.
Rumble—
Immediately after Harley’s attack missed.
From the atmosphere pierced by his body, which had surpassed the speed of sound in an instant, a storm raged along with a sonic boom, and an earthquake occurred from the collision of tremendous physical force.
But that aftermath was nothing more than a small omen compared to the scale of what was about to unfold.
“Then I shall begin the heretic judgment.”
“I wonder what that one’s blood tastes like. How intriguing.”
“According to the will of the World Tree…”
Heinrich, Heinz II, and Harris joined the battle immediately after Harley.
[Uninvited outsider. Invader of a world where you will never be welcomed.]
At that moment, Hans’s final message, as he watched their battle and slowly prepared to leave, echoed across the battlefield.
[Remember this.]
A voice that vibrated as if a demon were whispering from hell, as if overflowing from beneath the earth.
[There is no place for you on this land.]
It was a declaration that he would make it so, no matter what.
***
The Immortal King Hans disappeared from the battlefield.
In truth, he had considered fighting together with the other avatars, but for a more efficient battle, this was still the best option.
After all, the energy Hans used did not mesh at all with the other avatars, especially Saint Heinrich and High Elf Harris.
‘Far from creating synergy, they’d only end up reducing each other’s strength for no reason.’
In that case, it was much better to operate in rotation like now.
Having withdrawn from the battlefield, Hans prepared for a second deployment just in case, focusing on raising his condition as much as possible until then.
‘The other side is proceeding smoothly, too. I don’t know how much help this will be, but since there’s always a worst-case scenario, it’s better to prepare whatever I can.’
He briefly used the “Lord’s Authority” to check the movements of each force again, then nodded.
Wouldn’t it be better to prepare a little excessively than to let his guard down thinking this should be enough, only to end up like the Ganghwan Realm?
‘Now, then.’
And as for the situation on the battlefield, which had become four against one… no, strictly speaking, where a fair and square one-on-one duel was taking place—
Kwaaaaang—!
It was still ongoing even now.
***
The mountain region that had been overturned once by the battle between the Chairman of the Beoncheon Society and the Immortal King Hans was now suffering another disaster in real time.
Several peaks had already vanished without a trace, and valleys had formed, to the point that the terrain itself had become completely different from before.
“Whew.”
Naturally, High Elf Harris, who had contributed to that, did not look particularly pleased, but there was no helping it now.
Through a deep breath, he forcibly drove away the distracting thoughts troubling his mind and once again sprinted quickly over the trees.
Finally arriving at a suitable point, he once again took out an arrow made from a branch of the World Tree from his subspace magic tool, nocked it on his exclusive weapon, “Themis,” held in his other hand, and drew the bowstring.
Wooooong—
The arrow burned in full color, all sorts of vivid hues blending together.
Nature-affinity skills, including “Muyupal Gwae Bigong (Modified),” activated all at once, and an enormous amount of energy was sucked into the arrow in an instant.
The energy of great nature that had gathered around it even took form, becoming visible to the naked eye.
‘Now.’
And when it reached a certain critical point, Harris released the bowstring with a soft hum.
In the very next moment, it had already arrived right before the Chairman of the Beoncheon Society’s nose.
Rumble—
The thunderous sound rang loudly through the air.
Just like before, the attack was blocked by the wings that had suddenly covered the bastard’s front and did not inflict much damage, but merely restricting his movement was enough.
This kind of coordinated attack was precisely his specialty.
“Lord God!”
“One bite! Seriously, just one bite!”
While he flinched for a moment, Heinrich and Harley, who formed the front line, rushed in like wolves.
A knight of light clad in brilliance more radiant than ever, swinging a sword of light over five meters long, and a monstrous lifeform thrusting forward its wide-open mouth with a sturdy body approaching four meters in height.
With them charging in so aggressively at every opening, the Chairman of the Beoncheon Society, unlike when he fought Hans, had no choice but to actively move his body.
“Whew, troublesome things.”
At his murmur, Harley’s body, which had been charging in swiftly, abruptly came to a halt.
His movement had been sealed by an invisible barrier cast through the air.
Kwakakakakang—!
In the meantime, Heinrich’s holy sword and a hand blade imbued with sunset-colored divine power clashed dozens of times in the span of an instant.
Scratches once again appeared all over the pure-white armor that had been cleanly repaired after the battle against the Immortal King in the south, and everything in every direction touched by the shockwaves split apart and burst.
“Kraaa! Let me join in too!”
Riiiiip—!
At that moment, red and green light erupted from both of Harley’s eyes, and at the same time, the barrier blocking his path was shredded to pieces by his claws.
Afterward, Harley, now completely transformed into the form of a monster, joined the battle between the two, and the Chairman of the Beoncheon Society’s movements grew even more chaotic. Yet in the end, he still pierced several holes through that massive body, forcibly twisted his wings, and knocked the two of them far away.
“Whew.”
However, despite having the upper hand in the battle that had continued several times, the Chairman of the Beoncheon Society’s expression was far from pleasant.
When he lowered his gaze slightly, he saw the wounds on his hand, cut by the holy sword, healing slowly.
As time passed, not only was his body’s durability falling, but even his regenerative power was being severely reduced.
It must have been because he had continued to fight immediately after battling Hahoe Mask.
“…How bothersome.”
Moreover, while Heinrich’s martial force itself was below Hahoe Mask’s, the problem was that, in terms of compatibility, he was actually superior to the Chairman of the Beoncheon Society.
No matter if both were divine power, this place was the opponent’s domain, so it could not be helped.
And that was not the only thing causing him trouble.
“You’ve been wounded.”
A cold voice suddenly came from beside him.
Kugugugung—!
Immediately afterward, a storm of immense energy raged with the place where they stood as its center.
With no time to rest, the battle resumed, while long-range sniping came flying in whenever an opening appeared, as if cutting off his breath.
In response, he fired divine bombardments in the direction of the shots to suppress the sniper, but the opponent slipped away here and there like a cockroach, continuing only to scrape at his nerves.
‘How is every last one of them so endlessly troublesome?’
After regenerating the wounds that were gradually increasing, he licked the pure-white blood on his hand and frowned as he watched the vampire silently vanish.
It was not to the point that he would completely lose track of his presence simply because he hid like that, but if he popped out unexpectedly during battle, his reaction would inevitably be delayed, so it grated on his nerves.
If not for his advantage in compatibility through divine power, would he not have been even more troubled than he was now?
However, he still had no such thing as spare time.
Before he knew it, Heinrich had closed in right before him with “Blessing: Leap.”
That thoroughly coordinated war of attrition was a board designed solely to whittle down the Chairman of the Beoncheon Society’s strength.
To hold him down completely so that this side could pour out everything they had prepared.
***
Pat, pat!
Crack, crack—
Crunch.
“Chomp, chomp. I’d better hurry.”
Harley, who had been slammed into the ground, roughly brushed the dust from his body as he stood up, then tilted his neck to the side.
Only faint traces remained on the body that had been pierced by several holes.
Crunch, crunch—
As he loosened up his body here and there, several white feathers poked out from the corner of his chewing mouth.
Even at the moment he was struck, he had somehow managed to take a huge bite and tear off a clump of feathers.
“What a waste! It would’ve been nice if I’d gotten just a little deeper.”
Of course, since they were only feathers without blood or flesh included, the effect was not very good, but it was still better than nothing.
And if he kept trying like this, would he not eventually succeed?
Toughness was also one of Harley’s strengths, so there was nothing particularly problematic about it.
‘There isn’t much left now.’
Simply driving the bastard out of this land was not the only important thing.
The current fight was only a preliminary skirmish.
For the proper fight with that bastard that would come later, he had to obtain as much as possible right now.
“Up we go! Then, shall we?”
In an instant, Harley’s leg muscles swelled as if about to burst.
Kwaaaang—!
Once again, his body headed toward the battlefield where thunderous roars were erupting.
< Preliminary Skirmish (3) > End