00955 If You Change, One.
What is this…?
How did it come to this?
The once eerily quiet battlefield had, in an instant, transformed into a war zone.
My face burns. As fierce whirlwinds of fire swept through, the enemy’s screams filled my ears. Behind them, spirits of all kinds surged like a tidal wave, followed by the fairies’ cheering gunfire.
At the same time, the Northern Continent forces broke their formation and charged head-on. Naturally, the Western and Southern Continent armies began to collapse. No matter how strong Eldora was, there was no way to withstand such a perfectly coordinated, relentless assault.
The skies offered no hope either. The heroes of the Dragon’s Slumbering Mountains and the monstrous bird legions were nearly flawless in their assault. Even now, demon corpses were raining down in heaps. The battle was effectively lost the moment they allowed close combat without magic.
I kept blinking, but the scene before me didn’t change one bit. The war I thought was unwinnable had suddenly turned around. Honestly, I still can’t believe it, but no matter how many times I look, this is exactly what’s happening. The Northern Continent coalition, formed to oppose the demon faction, was pushing forward like a raging storm.
And then—
“…!”
Finally, my brother moved. No, not just him—four thousand soldiers simultaneously veered left, and suddenly Vivian surged to the front. She raised the Order of Order high into the sky and shouted something with all her might. She was probably summoning the Third Corps.
Sure enough, as if confirming my guess, a dark mist quickly spread, and dozens of Death Knights emerged through the smoke. Each one was part of the Behemoth cavalry legion, a force that excelled on open ground. They carved a straight path to the platform—what better choice could there be?
When they first arrived, their numbers seemed pitifully small. But now, with the tide turned, the four thousand pressing from the left had become a terrifying threat. Just an hour ago, I thought it was all over. The impossible was slowly starting to shift.
At that moment, I realized I’d been tensing my whole body. A shiver ran through me. It felt like the blood in my veins was boiling. I wanted to leap down from the platform and fight alongside them right now, but I couldn’t. No matter how hard I struggled, the restraints held firm. No matter how much I strained, they wouldn’t break.
Then—
“Ahahahahaha!”
Suddenly, a loud, gleeful laugh rang out right beside me. Without thinking, I turned to see Thanatos casually rising from the edge of the platform. At that moment, my breath caught, and a chill ran down my spine. The raging heat in my blood instantly cooled.
I’d forgotten—forgotten about the demon faction’s ultimate weapon, the one who could still turn the tide of this battle.
“Ah, really. This brings back memories.”
Thanatos said, then leisurely scanned the battlefield. Watching him, I couldn’t help but think he looked like a predator grinning with satisfaction at the scattered prey before him.
No, that wasn’t my imagination. Thanatos, now unsealed, had regained power far beyond what he once had. If my estimates were correct, he was at least a third as strong as Gehenna was before the Atlanta battle. And his range of divine powers had expanded.
What’s more, even when he was at his weakest last time, we barely managed to hold him off. If he joined the battle now, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Unless all our forces united, we were doomed to be picked off one by one. To be blunt, almost no one could withstand a full-strength strike from Thanatos.
But we couldn’t just ignore the other enemies to focus solely on him…
In other words, we were caught between a rock and a hard place.
“Hmm~ Looks like the entire battlefield’s in danger~.”
Thanatos spoke as if I were the only one listening, pointing his index finger across the field. He hummed as he tapped one spot after another.
“Let’s see.”
First, he pointed to the sky.
“Then.”
His finger moved down to the Northern Continent user forces.
“Shall we?”
Suddenly, he flicked his finger toward the fairy faction. His fingertip landed squarely on Mar, now godlike. Then, glancing at me with a sly grin, I felt a surge of irritation so strong I wanted to grab that finger and snap it off.
“…Huh?”
Without warning, his finger whipped sharply to the right.
Next moment—
“Alright, it’s decided!”
Thanatos crouched as if he couldn’t hold back any longer, then leapt from the platform. By the time I snapped back to reality, he was already rushing down like a bullet, pulling his right hand back behind his shoulder. Vivian was right behind Behemoth.
Before I could react, the distance closed in an instant. Thanatos laughed wildly and threw a venomous punch at Vivian. Darkness coalesced instantly, trembling violently, then exploded toward Vivian, who turned her head in surprise. A cold chill ran down my spine.
“Viviiiaaaaan!”
She instinctively rose, but suddenly a powerful blow struck the back of her head, and she collapsed. My vision whitened as her jaw slammed hard against the platform. I gasped for air, struggling to stand, but the pressure on my shoulders and back only intensified.
Then—
KRAK!
A terrifying roar pierced my ears.
“I saw it.”
I saw Vivian flying through the air, blood spraying in an arc.
Why?
Why was she flying?
Why was she falling so helplessly?
What was all that blood?
Why couldn’t I get up?
Get up quickly…!
At that moment—
THUD!
Overwhelmed by an unbearable feeling, I buried my head in the platform.
—Damn…
Behemoth, who had been charging across the battlefield, ground his teeth bitterly. The greatsword in his hand was snapped in two, and his armor was shattered on the upper half—hardly a normal sight. Thanatos stood before him, brushing off his hands, and when their eyes met, he smiled slyly.
“Stupid. Who told you to ride the summoner and charge in like that? You should’ve stayed safely in the back.”
—I thought so too, but he insisted on riding. Honestly, I was confident I could block it, but someone pulled a cheap surprise attack.
Behemoth sneered, and Thanatos shrugged.
“You’re just playing around. Anyway, I’m grateful. It’s much easier to kill the summoner than you.”
—You’ve grown a lot stronger since then. I didn’t even know you were around before.
“Oh, that? Don’t get the wrong idea. I wasn’t at full strength back then. But yeah, I’m dozens of times stronger now.”
—…
Thanatos shrugged again, waving his hand dismissively.
“Anyway, just quietly get lost. Don’t think about crawling back out.”
—Yes, yes. Of course. Just wait and see. I’ll report everything.
“Huh? To whom? Gehenna, maybe?”
—Who else but the First Corps Commander? And the Eternal Snow just woke up recently… Oh! The king will be furious when he hears this.
Thanatos laughed, bending at the waist.
“Whatever. Do as you please. Though I’m not sure I’ll even get out of here alive.”
He glanced crookedly at the disappearing Third Corps, then kicked Vivian’s lifeless body aside. The mention of Gehenna had soured his mood.
But—
“Now then, next target is…”
He turned abruptly, and I didn’t hear or see what happened next. Vivian’s body never hit the ground. To be precise, a man had caught her just in time.
“Ma-Master.”
The man, stammering slightly, gently set the woman down. Vivian showed no movement—her chest had a gaping hole near the heart, and blood poured out relentlessly.
A sad expression crossed the man’s face as he looked down, but soon his hand reached out slowly to touch the Order of Order still clenched tightly in her grasp.
Vrrrrrr!
The Order vibrated fiercely, scattering brilliant light in all directions, as if refusing to believe its owner was dead. But the man, as if understanding its feelings, spoke softly.
“W-We… haven’t seen each other in a long time, have we? Ha, haha.”
Vrrrrrr!
“Y-Yes. I know. But please don’t worry too much.”
Vrrr…?
After saying this, the man’s voice grew firm.
“B-But… the enemy’s strength is far greater than we expected. If this continues, our base will be captured without fail. That would ruin the entire plan. I have to buy time, even if just a little.”
“I don’t need you to recognize me as your master. Just please, lend me your strength, even for a moment.”
Then something remarkable happened. Whether it was the man’s desperate will reaching through or not, the incessant buzzing suddenly stopped, and his clenched fist relaxed.
After a moment, the man gripped the Order of Order firmly, exhaled deeply, and straightened his back. Adjusting the glasses that caught the sunlight, he aimed at the distant figure of Thanatos. Then, he spoke quietly.
“…Come.”
Meanwhile, at the same time.
“We’ve confirmed the death of Vivian La Cladis!”
In the summoning chamber, unexpected shouts echoed.
Seraph bit her lip as she watched the footage. No matter how many times she replayed it, the result was the same. Thanatos’s ambush was undeniably brilliant, but piercing Behemoth’s defense and instantly killing Vivian was astonishing beyond belief.
There was only one conclusion: Thanatos had recovered enough strength to make that possible.
Naturally, this was far from welcome news. With this, their plan to seize the dais momentarily using the two beast summoners and simultaneously take down Kim Soo-hyun was bound to face complications.
“So, what now? She died earlier than expected.”
At that moment, a quiet voice brought Seraph back to her senses. About five meters in front of the altar, Lee Hyo-eul was staring at the screen, his face slightly flushed.
“Hm?”
“Vivian La Cladis,” Seraph repeated clearly, though she wasn’t sure what he intended.
“Alright, then…”
Lee Hyo-eul nodded immediately.
“As the user Lee Hyo-eul, acting as the proxy authorized to use the GP of 14,057 users from the Northern Continent…”
He continued quietly.
“I hereby request the resurrection wish for resident Vivian La Cladis.”
---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=
『Insert GP!』
10….
9….
8….
7….