8. Decisive Battle>
Sian was devoting all his strength to recovering his body in preparation for the war to come. At the same time, he watched the Drakun busily making preparations on all sides for Aksarai’s resurrection.
And as Sian watched them, Aksarai sent a thought wave into his mind.
Sian nodded. For someone like Aksarai to be unable to use any of his power was a waste in wartime. Especially when a mighty enemy was right before their eyes.
Even if the fragment of Aksarai’s soul left, as long as Sian’s body functioned properly, there would be no issue such as the lines no longer being visible.
“Will this balance things out to some degree?”
Sian asked with a puzzled expression. Aksarai answered in his mind.
Aksarai would be reborn as the being called Aksarai by borrowing the body of one of the Drakun children.
Once Aksarai’s host became an Alpha, the soul that had grown based on that body would be able to form a sufficiently complete self. However, the host’s body itself was not suitable as Aksarai’s body. Whatever else he might be, Aksarai was ultimately a Drakun. Only by possessing a Drakun’s body could he display his might.
That was what Aksarai had meant. He had to reach Alpha to be resurrected, but that did not mean he would steal the host’s body.
If Sian had been a proper host for Aksarai, then Aksarai would likely have regained a considerable portion of his power the moment his resurrection succeeded and overturned the tide of battle at once. But the fragment of soul inside Sian’s body was far too small for that. Even if Aksarai succeeded in resurrecting, it would probably take a very long time for him to regain his former glory.
However, Aksarai said that even inheriting only the smallest fraction of his power would be enough to face a single Dragona. In this way, the balance would be struck.
Sian said indifferently. Seeing him like that, Aksarai gave a small laugh and sent a spiritual wave.
On the other hand, if they won, the Lukra might be able to buy themselves a little time. But once Sian and Aksarai gradually recovered their strength, they would eventually be swept away. Sian might not know about himself, but Aksarai would never let the Lukra live.
And so, Sian let out a sigh and answered Aksarai.
“I can do it.”
At that, Aksarai spoke with a strange light in his eyes.
At the center, Riona’s Talic Stone had been prepared. It seemed they would use that to bring Aksarai back to life. And for that purpose, they had set a trap to lure Riona inside. ‘To think he had even factored in something like this…….’ Looking at Aksarai, who had predicted this situation, Sian once again thought that people with good heads seemed to have an easier time living their lives.☆ ☆ ☆Watching the violently surging waves, the Lukra priest, Katun-Hal, frowned. This immense spiritual wave. Moreover, for an Alpha born so suddenly, its presence was far too powerful.
Thus, Katun-Hal was able to arrive at one conclusion.
But now the story was different. Riona was dead, and Aksarai had resurrected. The moment the barrier fell, they had to settle the matter, as quickly as possible. If Aksarai continued to grow stronger and regained his original power, then even with the sacred ground, they would have no chance of victory.
Katun-Hal went to the Golden Crystal and began preparing to control the “I”s. They had no key, but the priests had originally been granted an inherent right to control the “I”s, so it did not matter if there was no key.
The moment the barrier disappeared and their enemies had nowhere left to go, they would advance.☆ ☆ ☆“Mr. Con-Rad, it has been a while.”
Con-Rad looked flustered as he saw Sian appear before him.
“Mr. Sian. Isn’t a war about to break out soon?”
At those words, Sian nodded in affirmation.
“That is why I stopped by to prepare. In any case, we have some time while the barrier is maintained. Though less than a week remains……”
As he said that, Sian began telling him everything that had happened.
After hearing the whole story, Con-Rad looked at Sian in astonishment.
“Good heavens… you killed Riona?”
Sian nodded.
“Somehow, I barely managed to kill him before the war. But even so, we are only just managing to balance things out, if that. In some ways, it feels as though we are still being pushed back.”
Assuming the strength of the Lukra and the Drakun was roughly equal, the outcome would ultimately be decided by the balance of power between Sian and Aksarai on one side, and the Dragona and Krona on the other. The one fortunate thing was that they would not be fighting with the Mountain of Extreme Cold at their backs. Aksarai would grow stronger as time passed. Time was on their side. But precisely because of that, the enemy would not give them any time.
At those words, Con-Rad let out a low groan.
“This is serious… Do you perhaps have Riona’s Talic Stone? If only we had that, I think I could make a weapon that would be useful……”
The level of miracles was inferior to that of the Divine Kingdom era, but with the energy inside Riona’s Talic Stone, anything made from it would possess tremendous power. That was why he asked Sian, but Sian shook his head.
“We have already used it. I came this time to look for the ring of spatial movement.”
“Ah… if that is what you need… here.”
Con-Rad must have made a few more of the rings he had created before, because he handed three of them to Sian.
“Thank you.”
“Are you perhaps thinking of running away……”
At that, Sian looked slightly embarrassed.
“Well… if things don’t work out, at least I should survive. And I plan to hide and build up my strength.”
“……”
Con-Rad stared blankly for a moment, but soon nodded. If it looked as though they were going to lose, that would instead be the best move. ‘We should prepare an emergency shelter as well…….’ He did not know whether it would be useful, but it would be better than having none.
After receiving the rings, Sian spoke with Con-Rad about various things, then parted from him in order to prepare for the war. Now, truly, only the final battle remained.
Thinking of the battle to come, Sian let out a deep sigh.
“Once this is over, I really hope things become peaceful… Hoo……”☆ ☆ ☆In the distance, the massive army of Lukra had emerged from the Mountain of Extreme Cold, trampling across the continent as they advanced straight toward the Cloud Island where the Drakun had been staying.
In the enemy camp were the enormous six-horned Harijan, as well as the seven-horned Dragona and Krona, who radiated an overwhelming presence. And before them stood the three priests leading the Lukra, exuding an immense presence of their own. Behind them, the warriors of the Lukra race, whose bodies streamed with golden light, were lined up in ranks. Their numbers were not great, but the presence they possessed actually crushed down the presence of the gigantic Harijan.
Meanwhile, the Drakun had abandoned the Cloud Island, which had already scattered apart, and were roaming the air, flying here and there. The enormous Drakun were also few in number, but their momentum was by no means weaker than that of the Lukra.
And at their head, a being who stood out even among the Drakun, radiating an overwhelming aura, was slowly beating his wings as he hovered in place.
Though he exuded an overpowering aura that did not lose to the Dragona’s, the expression of the Drakun flying at the very front did not look good.
“That much is still something. As long as you can fight, it’s enough.”
After hearing Aksarai’s words, Sian pondered for a while, then pointed at the enormous black panther standing at the very front—Krona.
“I’ll take that one.” Seeing that Sian still did not seem to have fully recovered his internal coefficient, Aksarai asked, and Sian answered.
“Well… my condition still isn’t good, but I can manage. You have the authority of omniscience, so why are you so curious?”
Sian nodded at those words.
Feeling tension run through his entire body, Sian loosened himself up and looked at Krona in the distance. ‘You bastard… I’ll pay you back with interest for all the suffering you put me through…….’ Sian stared at Krona while grinding his teeth.
At that moment, Krona and the Dragona’s mouths opened wide, and a grotesque amount of energy began gathering inside them.
The energy that had gathered in their mouths in an instant burst forth toward the Drakun, and at the same time, the continent exploded as the decisive battle began.☆ ☆ ☆“Damn it……”
Currently, Con-Rad and his companions had evacuated to the northernmost edge of the continent with the human races. It was the region where the Gerna had lived in the past, but since it had apparently been cleaned up completely by the Swarm, they were able to carry out the evacuation without much difficulty.
However, Con-Rad and the others did not feel safe at all.
The flashes from a battlefield that had to be thousands, tens of thousands of kilometers away were visible even here. By the current hour, it should unquestionably have been night, yet the surroundings were bright enough to open a book and read. And it was not a single flash. Dozens, hundreds of enormous flashes that shook the very earth were piercing and crossing through the sky, and a battle so fierce that its tremors could be felt even here, far away, was raging.
Conrad found himself newly grateful to Aksarai. Had there been no warning, every human species on the continent would have died. That was not something one could survive simply by avoiding a direct hit. He could not know for certain, but once that battle ended, regardless of who won, the continent’s terrain would be completely changed. ‘Ugh…….’ Seeing the violet flashes bursting in the distance brought back the nightmare of that old day when he had been swept away by Krona.
The difference was that, back then, it had been a flash unleashed as casually as a yawn, whereas now flashes were erupting into the air dozens, nearly hundreds of times over.
That alone was enough to tell him that Krona, too, was in quite a desperate situation. And Conrad knew who it was currently facing Krona. A week ago, Sian had come to see him, and they had talked about this and that.
Most likely, Sian was the one confronting Krona. And those violet flashes exploding far away showed that Sian was driving Krona into quite a corner.
Thinking that, Conrad was once again astonished. A being like Aksarai was incredible, yes, but even he did not seem likely to have grown stronger in as short a time as Sian had.
To catch up in less than thirty years to Krona, who had spent thousands of years focusing solely on accumulating power. ‘Ah… was it one hundred and thirty years…….’ Either way, it was an absurd speed. A miraculous existence born by gathering together the strengths of three races, and only the strengths suited for becoming stronger at that.
If only he had had a little more time, he truly would have become an unprecedented existence, and this battle would never have happened. Sian would have gone out and beaten them all to a pulp. For making a racket.
Hoping that this situation would come to a complete end, Conrad silently watched the southern horizon where the colossal explosions were taking place.☆ ☆ ☆
Three times. It had had three chances.
Back then, when that strange red sphere had opened.
When he had fled across the Great Forest.
When he had been fighting Liona.
Three times, Krona had had the chance to devour him, yet it had failed, and each time the bastard reappeared, he returned monstrously stronger in a way that defied understanding. So much so that even Krona, who had lived for thousands of years, had never seen anything like it.
After those three failures, he had ultimately grown strong enough to threaten Krona like this, and as a result, he was now swinging that golden blade to carve Krona apart.
With a monstrous roar, Krona unleashed another violet flash. That flash, which in ancient days had annihilated the entirety of the Empire’s territory in a single shot, was now compressed and compressed, unlike before, flying out like a single drop of dew to exterminate the enemy before its eyes.
It was small in size, but the energy contained within it was far more powerful than it had been in the days when it destroyed the Empire. Yet Sian did not even dodge the approaching energy; he simply swung his golden blade and split it apart.
Shhk!
Fiiiing!
The condensed mass of energy that had been shining brilliantly violet split apart and flew off to both sides, crashing straight into the Betas of the Drakun and the six-horned Harijans fighting on the ground.
Kwaaaaang!
It was an attack Sian could parry only because he was Sian; to those below, there was no greater calamity. The combatants fighting below were swept up in the explosion and torn to pieces.
But neither Sian nor Krona had the leisure to pay attention to that. Their opponent was truly no easy foe.
This place was not the only battlefield. The great decisive battle unfolding in the heart of the continent was splitting and crushing the landmass itself.
Far in the distance, Dragona and Aksarai were displaying all manner of abilities, commanding energies that seemed capable of cleaving the heavens as they attacked each other. Nearby, the first-class Kuns of the Drakun and the priests of Rukra were fighting a bloody battle.
Both sides were utterly desperate. Because they knew. If they lost this battle, their race would be exterminated.
If the Rukra won, they would uproot the Drakun, Aksarai included. If the Drakun won, the Rukra could hide in Sinji and buy a little time, but in the end, as time passed and Aksarai recovered his strength, he would enter and crush Sinji itself, golden crystal and all. Even if the Rukra could not kill the Drakun, they had to kill Aksarai at the very least, no matter what.
Knowing this, the Rukra were charging in like mad to kill Aksarai, and the Drakun were throwing their entire bodies into defense to block them.
Naturally, because of that, the damage on both sides was piling up at a truly exponential rate. They knew that losing meant the end, so they rushed in without any thought of self-preservation.
Those taking part in the battle were powerful beings whose equals would be hard to find. Beings who could easily split apart an island with a single snort.
But their opponents were also such beings, and so the numbers of Rukra and Drakun were rapidly dwindling in every direction. ‘How ironic…….’ Even as he fought Krona, Sian offered a single line of judgment on this strange sight.
A war started to prevent extinction was driving both sides to a level close to extinction. The priest who had deceived him was dying under the attacks of the Drakun, and the Drakun who had first welcomed Aksarai was likewise surrounded and dying under the attacks of the Rukra.
It would be nice if they could coexist peacefully, but the existence of an absolute powerhouse threatened the other side, making that impossible. To begin with, beings born strong could not tolerate having something above their heads that could control their fate in an instant.
It seemed they thought that even if they lived, that would be little different from slavery. And they believed that any race with the potential to stand above them had to be uprooted entirely.
But that was fine. Even if only a minority survived, the victor would take everything.
Once their natural enemy was gone, only expansion would remain. And both the Rukra and the Drakun were races so powerful that, as long as they survived, they would be hard-pressed to find any match. Having judged that it would be better to uproot the other side entirely and focus on development rather than end things half-heartedly here, the two races were trading blows with the resolve to annihilate each other.
Dodging another violet flash that grazed past his side, Sian avoided Krona’s claws as they rapidly closed in. As Sian dodged, the violet flash swept violently into the Drakun fighting behind him, but he had no leisure to concern himself with that.
Avoiding the attack, Sian swung his golden blade in a broad arc once more, and Krona, unable to completely evade it, blocked with its claws. Its claws were so sturdy that the golden blade that could cut through everything was stopped by them and could go no farther. Krona then swung its opposite foot, tearing through space as it lashed out at Sian, but Sian also swiftly avoided the attack and landed another cut.
But he could feel it instinctively. ‘I’m going to win.’
His stamina had not fully recovered, but fundamentally, he had become stronger than he had been when fighting Liona. And even though Aksarai had left, the line clearly visible before his eyes continued to show him the path by which to cut Krona down. Even better, following that movement was not as difficult as it had been long ago, when he had fled from Krona in the Great Forest.
All of these circumstances pointed to what was going to happen next.
“You should’ve known this would happen when you were bullying the weak, you bastard. You’re dead today, simple as that!”
“That’s an old story.”
Swinging his blade without pause, Sian burned Krona’s entire body. By now, marks where the golden blade had passed were engraved all over Krona like tattoos, and those golden tattoos, constantly burning in place, were steadily gnawing away at Krona’s stamina and energy. ‘This side looks like it’ll wrap up smoothly enough… as for the battle situation…….’ In the midst of their relentless exchange, Sian glanced aside and looked around.
He had thought the Drakun would be fairly advantaged since the Rukra were desperate, but they did not seem nearly as favored as he had expected. And Sian could see the reason. ‘I see a few who’ve gotten stronger…….’
A crisis of death. It went without saying, but a crisis of death was not some friendly device that obligingly raised one’s combat power. Even for the Rukra.
Thus, most died. But in today’s battle, every Rukra had been mobilized. Naturally, hundreds of Rukra were fighting while experiencing the crisis of death, and amid that, a few Rukra had grown stronger and survived by odds that could only be called miraculous. The Drakun, wary of this, had desperately tried to finish them off, but the few Rukra who overcame that and survived were unleashing truly monstrous strength despite their depleted stamina, pressing the Drakun hard.
It was the moment the Drakun gained one more reason why they absolutely had to destroy the Rukra. If those bastards entered Sinji and built up their strength, things would become quite troublesome. ‘That side aside…….’
The Rukra did appear to have the advantage, but the difference was not that great. They had grown much stronger, yes, but that did not mean their lost stamina and energy had returned. There was a place more important than that in this decisive battle.
Exchanging blows with Krona, Sian turned his gaze toward where Aksarai and Dragona’s duel was taking place. The victor there would decide the outcome of the war.
If Aksarai lost, then without a doubt, the Rukra would immediately join forces with Dragona and massacre the Drakun.
But if Aksarai won, he would combine strength with the Drakun and begin pressuring the Rukra, and they would be able to maintain a roughly even balance.
Thinking this, Sian looked toward Aksarai and wore a troubled expression. ‘Damn…….’