Yuri slashed his Soul Cleave toward the monster’s face. Darkness blurred, and the aura of black magic began to fade.
But it wasn’t enough.
The void from another realm couldn’t be cut through, even by his Soul Cleave.
Sensing a massive wave of power surging toward him, Yuri raised Guilty in defense.
He glared once more at the monster’s face.
Cedric had said it was a manifestation of humanity’s negativity, but that was wrong.
Yuri’s instincts told him the truth of the scene before him.
“Cedric.”
He called out.
“You’re wrong.”
Cedric didn’t respond. Instead, a furious wave of black magic poured toward him.
Yuri gripped Guilty tightly.
He had obtained this sword from the Death Knight, the very place where he first gained the Soul Cleave.
And now, he was facing the final battle.
Perhaps both he and this sword were born for this very moment.
He no longer cared about his own safety. Even if he died now, he would have no regrets. All he wanted was to use every ounce of his strength to kill Cedric.
With that resolve, he unleashed the Soul Cleave.
His body strained under the overload, but he ignored it. Pushing his core beyond any limit he had ever reached before.
Everything sharpened.
His senses, his mind, even the state of his body became crystal clear.
Cedric had merged with the monster that had broken free from the tower. Black magic rippled along its tentacles, and the otherworldly energy from beyond the cosmos spread outward. The grotesque figure atop the monster’s shoulder was maddening to behold—just looking at it could drive an ordinary person insane.
Yuri advanced toward the enemy.
The monster moved far more violently than before.
Unable to stay on its shoulder any longer, Yuri stabbed his sword into the monster’s massive body to maintain his balance.
Despite bleeding, the monster didn’t stop attacking. Its kicks shook the ground, crushing soldiers of the Anti-Empire Alliance beneath its feet.
A tragic scene, but Yuri focused solely on killing the enemy.
Thunder echoed from the sky with every step Guilty took.
“Raaaaaah!”
The monster roared, swinging its arms wildly in all directions, aiming to strike Yuri who darted across its body.
Yuri held his ground, refusing to be caught off guard. The key to killing the monster was its head. To strike it, he had to endure atop its shoulder and keep attacking.
He felt a tentacle wrap around his leg and slashed it off with Guilty.
Blood sprayed from the severed end.
“Ugh…”
Yuri glanced down.
The Anti-Empire Alliance soldiers hadn’t been idle either.
Perhaps inspired by his fighting spirit, they disregarded their own safety, climbing the monster’s body and inflicting wounds across its surface.
Weapons jutted out like quills beneath the monster’s knees, and the soldiers used them to climb higher, hacking at its flesh with their swords.
It was like an army of ants swarming a living creature.
Yuri charged toward the monster’s face. Tentacles lashed out again.
He had to cut its neck.
But the massive face gave no opening. Tentacles lashed from all sides.
All Yuri could do was hold his position on the shoulder. He had no room to launch a more powerful attack.
He coated Guilty’s blade with Soul Cleave and swung wildly.
Suddenly, he was struck and forced backward.
Gritting his teeth, he charged forward again.
But another tentacle caught him, pushing him back once more.
He slipped and nearly fell beneath the monster’s body. He barely caught himself by stabbing his sword in, but the tentacles kept coming.
Yuri staggered atop the monster’s body like a tightrope walker.
Every time he looked down, the dizzying height sent chills down his spine, but he refused to give in to fear.
“Arrgh!”
Suddenly, a massive roar erupted from below. Countless soldiers clung to one of the monster’s legs.
Between the quills of swords protruding like a porcupine, bodies pressed tightly together.
Humans fighting a colossal monster—desperate and fierce.
“Good.”
Fueled by their spirit, Yuri charged at the monster’s head and slashed with his sword.
This time, it worked. The sword’s energy pierced through the tentacle defenses and vanished deep into the monster’s face.
No blood burst forth, but Yuri was certain his attack was effective.
He pressed the assault.
The monster’s arms and tentacles whipped wildly, targeting him. Like a fly, Yuri dodged every strike and focused his blade on the face.
Then, suddenly, a tentacle struck his back.
“Ugh!”
His back split open, blood pouring down. Yuri turned around.
The tentacle twisted and took on a humanoid form.
It was Cedric.
He smiled calmly at Yuri.
[Yuri. Your efforts are admirable, but futile.]
Cedric said.
[A meaningless struggle.]
Yuri swung Guilty, cutting through his body. Since this was no illusion but a real form, Cedric’s upper half was severed and fell downward.
Yuri said,
“Be honest. Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”
Cedric’s fallen torso replied,
“What?”
Yuri looked around.
The enemy was strong, but not overwhelming. The terror he’d felt when first sensing this being was gone.
A smirk tugged at his lips.
“Looks like that so-called god from another realm is dissatisfied with something.”
[Yuri. Stop spouting your wishful thinking.]
“Am I right?”
[Not at all.]
Cedric shook his head.
“Fine. Maybe you’ll stop talking nonsense once you see your friends die.”
Cedric’s form faded.
“I’ll make sure of it.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the monster thrashed wildly, stomping and crushing the Anti-Empire soldiers beneath its feet.
The monster’s massive body shook violently, and Yuri grabbed a tentacle to steady himself.
He glanced down.
With every step the giant foot struck the ground, red blood splattered. Crushed bodies, barely recognizable, were pressed into the earth.
The tentacle Yuri held transformed into a mouth and relayed Cedric’s words.
[Yuri, this is all your doing.]
Then, suddenly, the tentacle detached.
The monster was still thrashing wildly. Yuri lost his balance and began to fall.
Tentacles sprouted from the monster’s body, aiming to impale him as he fell.
Yuri spun like a top in midair. The tentacles struck him but bounced off, tearing apart.
He immediately plunged Guilty into the monster’s thigh.
Driving the blade vertically, the monster’s skin split lengthwise, slowing Yuri’s descent.
His fall stopped near the knee.
“Phew…”
Yuri, drenched in blood, shook his head to clear it, sheathed Guilty, and leapt to the ground.
“Your Highness!”
“Are you alright?”
Voices called from below.
“I’m fine.”
“What about above?”
“I tried to cut its head but failed.”
Even as they spoke, the monster stomped relentlessly.
Skilled fighters like Yuri could evade, but knights and regular soldiers were at the mercy of fate.
Many perished, reduced to mere pools of blood.
“It’s just too big.”
Ainzur approached Yuri, also covered in blood.
“If a creature like this is unleashed and just walks into another country…”
“A hellscape will unfold.”
This was a being capable of slaughtering people simply by walking. Like other monsters, even when wounded, tentacles would emerge from within to heal its body.
There was no obvious way to kill it.
Cutting off its head was the only answer, but climbing up there was nearly impossible.
Yuri paused to think.
“Your Highness?”
As he stood still, the monster’s massive foot cast a shadow overhead. But Yuri didn’t move. His expression was one of deep contemplation.
Ainzur shouted,
“Your Highness!”
The moment the foot slammed down, Yuri’s figure blurred.
He grabbed Ainzur’s body and was already out of the attack’s range.
“Why shout when you should be retreating?”
“I can’t leave Your Highness behind…”
“I’ll take care of myself. Don’t worry.”
Yuri said.
“Order everyone to fall back.”
“Huh?”
“We need to change our strategy.”
Yuri looked up at the monster.
“Regular troops can’t harm this thing.”
“No, they’re stabbing it with swords…”
“It doesn’t even notice.”
“Ugh…”
“Good effort, but it’s not a meaningful attack.”
Yuri explained his thoughts to Ainzur.
“So that means…”
“Retreat for now. Pull back, regroup, and fight again. Order the retreat.”
“Will they let it go so easily?”
“We’ll stop anyone who can stop it.”
Yuri meant the Ten Strong.
They would gather to block the monster’s advance as much as possible, preserving their forces while retreating. Continuing the fight now was pointless.
The sun was setting.
They wanted to finish today, but they’d hold out for one more day.
“Understood?”
“Yes.”
Ainzur nodded.
Even if he didn’t fully understand it in his head, he followed Yuri’s orders without question. That was just how he operated.
Ainz gave the command to retreat.
Slowly, the troops began to pull back.
The monster strode forward, ready to give chase. But Yuri stepped in front of it.
In terms of size, it was like a battle between a human and an ant.
Yet the sword energy surging from Yuri’s hand was far larger than the creature’s own massive body.
Before long, skilled fighters including Moyangchan, Francesco, Jose, Bernard, and the warriors from the East lined up alongside Yuri to block the monster’s path.
It was almost the same lineup as the death squad that had helped tear down Zbeta’s fortress walls.
As their swords unleashed a towering wave of energy, the monster hesitated for a moment.
“Your Highness, do you really think we can beat a thing like that?” Jose asked, his voice shaky. He was a mess, having just tumbled all over the monster’s leg.
Yuri shrugged.
“I don’t know. We’ll find out once we fight.”
“That’s a reassuring answer. Ha ha ha!”
Jose laughed loudly.
“Yuri, do you think your plan will work?”
Moyangchan asked. Yuri shrugged again.
“We’ll see once we try.”
“Honestly…”
“If Sir Ainz has prepared well, it should be fine.”
Moyangchan smirked.
“Alright then. Let’s try to lure it out.”
Meanwhile, the monster lifted its foot again. Francesco scoffed.
“Does it really think stomping like that will work on us?”
“Yeah, seriously…”
The monster’s foot came down.
But this time, the speed was different.
It slammed the ground with incredible force.
A scream echoed among the Eastern warriors.
One of them was caught in the impact and killed instantly.
Where he had stood, the earth was deeply gouged, forming a crater. There was no sign of the body.
“This is different from before.”
“Damn it…”
The monster raised its foot once more.
As everyone stepped back, Yuri charged forward instead.
“We have to latch on first!”
Shouting, Yuri grabbed the monster’s shin and drove his sword into it, anchoring himself in place.
Understanding his intent, the others changed direction and rushed back toward the monster.
“Hold on tight and keep it fixed!”
They all clung to the monster’s leg.
The creature thrashed wildly, but they never let go. No matter how hard it stomped, without a target to strike, it was just futile struggling.
“This is the leech tactic. We just have to hold on for now!”