Episode 45
Boom!
The Purifiers unleashed a devastating self-destruct attack, sacrificing their own bodies. Amidst the raging explosion, Dale and Sephia invoked their “Armor of Frost” without a moment’s hesitation.
The molecular bonds were reinforced to an extreme, creating an icy shell that remained unbroken even amidst the swirling flames. While it couldn’t completely absorb the shock of the explosion, it provided just enough defense to avoid fatal injuries.
After all, this was the magic of Dale, the empire’s most renowned genius, and Sephia, the elder of the Blue Tower.
But the Saxon cavalry, protected only by their “Armor of Steel,” weren’t so fortunate.
The searing heat melted their steel, consuming flesh, blood, and bone.
In the wake of the Purifiers’ self-destruction, dozens of Saxon’s elite Night Raven knights were wiped out.
And that was just from one of the twelve explosives. As the fiery storm raged on, the remaining “explosives” began to move.
Determined to complete their mission, the shadowy Purifiers charged at Dale, unhindered by Sephia’s discordant magic, spewing flames as they advanced.
“So that’s how it’s going to be.”
But Dale was a seasoned warrior, no stranger to battle.
As the flames surged towards him, Dale manipulated the “shadows” at his feet. With a flick of his shadowy cloak, he conjured blades of darkness, easily evading the Purifiers’ fiery onslaught. He then counterattacked, driving the shadow blades into his foes.
Thud!
“That’s two down.”
The shadow blade pierced the Purifier’s chest, then split into multiple shards, shredding its insides.
Like the blades of a high-speed shredder, it tore through heart, organs, shoulders, limbs, and neck.
The Purifier’s body exploded, but the blast was weaker this time, its form too damaged to unleash its full power.
That made two explosives down.
“There’s no reasoning with them.”
Amidst the swirling flames, Dale focused his mind, glancing back at Sephia.
“Be careful.”
At least he didn’t have to worry about her.
“You too, Dale.”
More Purifiers began to charge from all directions. They weren’t attempting any simple attack magic.
Even they couldn’t easily penetrate the shield created by two water attribute mages amidst the Blue Tower’s discordant magic.
”……!”
Boom!
Multiple explosives surrounded the pair, detonating simultaneously.
One explosion was powerful enough, but the combined force of several Purifiers detonating at once was incomparable.
Fearlessly sacrificing themselves in a single, fiery strike.
A deafening roar echoed. The hellish flames surged.
The explosion was powerful enough to engulf Dale, Sephia, and all three hundred of Dale’s cavalry.
The shockwave was so intense it made their brains reel. Amidst the raging explosion, Dale’s body dissolved into the shadows.
The power of the shadow cloak, Wraith Form.
Sephia, too, used her own magic to protect herself. As an elder of the Blue Tower, known for her defensive prowess, she wouldn’t fall to mere self-destruction.
”……!”
But aside from Dale and Sephia, the other knights weren’t so lucky. Their bodies burned and fell without even a chance to scream.
It was a scene straight out of hell.
From dozens of knights, the casualties had now soared to over a hundred.
Amidst the endless storm of flames, Dale emerged from the shadows. Protected by his armor of frost, he approached a Purifier from behind.
Thud!
He drove the shadow blade in, spinning it like a shredder until the body was unrecognizable.
Flesh, blood, and bone scattered.
“There are still more left.”
After reducing one body to minced meat, he turned his head, devoid of any emotion.
Sephia stood protected by her barrier of frost. Behind her lay melted metal and scattered body parts, unrecognizable remnants of what once were.
The Night Raven knights of Saxon, who had sworn loyalty to Dale.
”…….”
Seeing this, Dale bit his lip until it bled.
“Your mission has failed.”
Three Purifiers remained. Dale spoke calmly as he faced them.
“You won’t be able to kill me.”
Despite the immense loss and sacrifice, he was certain of his victory.
“Heh, hehehe.”
One of the Purifiers laughed, a twisted, maniacal sound.
“Do you call this ‘victory’ after witnessing such a scene?”
Pointing to the scattered Saxon knights.
“Even if your Black Tower deals with ‘death’…”
Gesturing to their broken armor and scattered remains.
“Do you think we fear ‘death’?”
With voices filled with madness, the Purifiers charged again.
“Prepared for death, ready to burn our bodies before it!”
Like true fanatics.
“Hail Empire!”
They charged, ready to explode once more.
“──So, are you prepared for death?”
A voice rang out.
A familiar male voice.
At the same time, the remaining Purifiers’ bodies exploded.
Self-destruction.
Flames surged, and Dale and Sephia once again wrapped themselves in their armor of frost. As the fiery storm finally subsided, Dale caught his breath at what remained.
Despite the self-destructive magic, the Purifiers, who should have been obliterated, were still alive.
Completely intact.
“Contrary to what people think.”
Simultaneously.
“Preparing for death is easier than you think.”
The voice continued.
“True courage lies elsewhere.”
A man stood there.
Draped in a black robe.
“The resolve not to die.”
The Purifiers, puzzled by their survival, tilted their heads.
Their bodies, intact despite the self-destruction, were not by their own will.
“Do you have the resolve ‘not to die’?”
The man asked the Purifiers again.
It was the voice of the continent’s greatest dark mage, the pinnacle of the Black Tower. The Purifiers turned their heads towards him without hesitation.
They charged at Dale’s father.
Ready to explode their fiery bodies once more.
Boom!
Another explosion erupted. A massive blast that could engulf the entire area. The hellish flames surged.
But something was amiss.
There was an explosion, yet it caused “no damage.” Even the ones who exploded were unharmed.
The dark mage waved his hand again. The “flame shadows” that had enveloped them extinguished.
Like snuffing out a candle.
The Purifiers, realizing the gravity of the situation, looked up. They faced the man in the black robe.
The continent’s greatest dark mage, “Lord Black.”
“Have you not realized yet?”
Lord Black spoke.
“I have not permitted your deaths.”
Understanding the meaning of those words, the Purifiers’ faces paled for the first time.
“In this place, there is no ‘way to reach death’ for you.”
The dark mages of the Black Tower, who delve into the truths beyond death, and the man at their pinnacle… had not permitted their deaths.
“Curse: Abomination.”
Lord Black continued. He spun eight circles, generating dark magic, and cast the curse.
Simultaneously, a dark wind began to swirl around them.
An invisible, powerful gravity enveloped the Purifiers. They were drawn to each other like magnets, their bodies melting and merging into “one form.”
“Wh-what…?”
Their bodies felt heavy. They couldn’t move even if they wanted to. Their voices wouldn’t come out. Their vision twisted unnaturally.
“Wh-what is…?”
“Wh-what is happening…?”
Voices of his comrades echoed right beside him. Right beside him? No, it wasn’t just beside him. It was closer. Closer? No, not even that. It was beyond close.
That’s when one of the Purifiers realized.
The voices of his comrades were coming from within him.
He looked down at his own body. And then he understood. It wasn’t his body. It was just a massive lump of flesh. The remaining three Purifiers had fused into a grotesque mass of flesh, molded into a single, round entity.
It was, as the name suggested, a “repulsive fusion.”
Six eyes spun around, surveying the surroundings. From three mouths, voices emerged, twisted and distorted beyond recognition. Six ears listened to those sounds. Thirty fingers twitched erratically, attached haphazardly to the spherical mass of flesh without any sense of order.
Could that truly be called a “person”?
It resembled a bundle of materials a creator might prepare to sculpt a human.
“To live,” the black sphere continued, addressing the mass of flesh.
“Is far more painful and arduous than merely bracing for death.”
Calmly.
“I’ll ask again.”
In a voice devoid of any emotion.
“Are you prepared to ‘not die’?”
The man was no grim reaper. He wasn’t a being that brought a simple, comprehensible death.
In the presence of the black sphere, “death” was a mere luxury.
A pain beyond death. Dale understood this and felt a chill run down his spine.
For he had finally witnessed the true nature of the entity known as the black sphere.
The mass of flesh began to murmur desperately. At last, the fanaticism faded from their faces, replaced by signs of fear and dread. Even though there was no longer a face to speak of.
What was certain, at least, was that even those who had braced themselves for death were not prepared to “not die.”