WKOC Chapter 26

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The demon lord, having fully broken free from its seal, rampaged across the battlefield. No one could withstand those crimson tendrils, and even I could barely leave a mark on them anymore. I could see the fear and despair on the faces of the warriors. Such a vast difference in power had gone beyond what humans could fight against.

The power of ‘Will’ allowed me to somewhat block its attacks, but willpower alone
couldn’t do everything.
When the tendrils struck down again, I gritted my teeth and raised [Dawn].
A white shadow flashed over my head, crashing heavily into the tendrils and halting their assault. The force on my sword lessened significantly, and I took the opportunity to deflect the attack to the side. Glancing in the direction from which the black shadow had been thrown, I saw Cooper holding another spear formed from fire elements, spinning and hurling it at the tendrils. The impact caused them to explode, forcing them back.

“Why are you the only one here…?”

“They couldn’t help, so I sent them to support the chatterbox,” Cooper answered before I could even finish asking. His helmet was nowhere to be seen, and his hair was soaked with blood and sweat, sticking messily to his face. His mismatched eyes flicked over me, then looked up at the towering tendrils. “…We won’t be able to hold out much longer.”

I also looked at those nightmarish tendrils. Their attacks weren’t targeted at any specific individuals; they swept across the battlefield indiscriminately, and that alone was causing us massive casualties.

Cooper pulled out a roll of bandages with one hand, biting one end of it as he muttered through gritted teeth, “Hand.”
I switched my greatsword to my left hand and extended my right.

He swiftly bandaged my torn palm, expertly biting off the bandage and then wrapping his own hand. “How much longer do we need to hold on?” he asked.

He wasn’t asking what the next plan was but rather how long we needed to endure… I was silent for a few seconds, then shook my head. “I don’t know.”

Cooper looked at me but said nothing, only asking, “What else can I do?”

“Don’t worry about this. Go protect Daniel,” I said, then suddenly remembered something from long ago and smiled at him. “Be careful not to get puked on by him. He’ll resent you for it.”

Cooper frowned deeply, confused.

“Go,” I said, patting his shoulder and handing him the horn I had just unhooked. “Captain Cooper, from now on, you are in command of the battlefield.”

“…Yes.” He responded in a low voice, his fingers tightening around the horn, trembling slightly.

As the tendrils descended once more, we both retreated to avoid them.

A crimson line split the battlefield in two, dividing us. Cooper gave me one last deep look before turning and running toward his side of the battlefield.

I watched his retreating figure, flexed my bandaged hand, and switched my sword back to my right hand, heading in the opposite direction.

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The closer I got to the demon lord, the more I noticed something unusual.

It was no longer releasing demon minions; all its power was now concentrated in its tendrils. Unlike earlier, when it was mechanically attacking anything that approached, its tendrils were now actively seeking out targets. Its attacks were erratic, covering the entire battlefield with a certain sense of urgency.

I vaguely guessed the reason for its behavior—before the battle began, all the warriors had unknowingly recited sacrificial oaths to the Light God, so every soul of the fallen would belong to Him. From the battle sixty years ago until now, the demon lord hadn’t absorbed any souls.

The floating mass of crimson mist didn’t show any signs of weakening, making it impossible to gauge its condition. I tried attacking the tendrils several times, but it felt like striking a steel plate—there was no sign of weakening. I knew this kind of invincible enemy would continue to sap our morale, but all we could do was grit our teeth and hold on…

The sound of an emergency horn requesting reinforcements echoed across the battlefield, suddenly mixed with the thunderous roar of ballistae firing. The sound was close, very close. Right before me, three black shadows struck a tendril, diverting its attack that was originally aimed at me, making it crash heavily into the ground beside me. I dodged the cloud of dust it raised and looked toward the source of the ballista shots—by my calculations, the ballistae shouldn’t have recharged yet, and they shouldn’t be able to fire at such a close range…

A figure cloaked in black floated half a meter off the ground. Three magic ballistae hovered around him, entwined with threads of magic power. The threads were attached to a pair of gloved hands, swiftly cooling the ballistae, reloading them with arrows, and firing them at an accelerated pace. Three bolts streaked through the air, tracing different trajectories, and struck the same spot, forcing another tendril to retreat.

“…Reis?”

The green eyes under Reis’s hood glowed eerily, with crosshairs appearing in his pupils. His pale face was illuminated by the constantly refreshing data on his round spectacles, making him look less like a living person and more like a magical puppet.

“What are you doing here?!”

He blinked, not explaining why he wasn’t at the Dark Church or when he had arrived. He simply said, “I need thirty seconds.”

“Alright.” I nodded.

The crosshairs faded from his pupils, and the ballistae around him instantly disassembled. Countless components floated around him as his fingers moved like a pianist’s, brushing over the parts. Magic patterns flared up, engraving themselves deeply into the surfaces, locking the pieces together and reassembling them into a new form.

I stood in front of him, fending off the tendrils attacking in our direction.

Thirty seconds wasn’t long, but it wasn’t short either. The seal the Light God had left behind must have suppressed most of the demon lord’s power, which allowed us to sever its tendrils before. Now, all the tendrils were covered with that layer of red mist that blocked attacks, and I had to give it my all just to fend them off. Fortunately, its attacks were spread across the battlefield and not focused on one spot, giving me a chance to catch my breath between strikes.

The parts around Reis reassembled at a dizzying speed into three smaller ballistae. Their surfaces shimmered with the light of magic patterns, and their size was almost half of what they had been before. The arrows were replaced with pure magic power. As the final component clicked into place, Reis looked up again. His pupils now displayed even more intricate crosshairs, and with a flick of his fingers, the ballistae fired.

There was no thunderous roar. The compressed wind elements flew through the air like birds, carrying the arrows silently. The elemental vortex touched the tendrils, distorting and tearing through the red mist that protected them, revealing the smooth crimson surface underneath.

…It worked!

I stepped forward and swung [Dawn]. The white flames gathered at the tip of the sword, spreading out into a layer of pure white along the blade as I plunged it into the exposed tendril. I slashed down with all my might, and the recoil caused the bandages to snap. Blood splattered from the torn skin on my hand, flowing down the sword and mingling with the red mist gushing from the tendril’s wound.

The severed tendril fell to the ground, writhing slowly instead of disintegrating immediately. I stared at this piece of hope—a sign that we could actually fight back against the demon lord—and was about to ask Reis if he could enchant more ballistae when I suddenly felt that omnipresent gaze again.

The wind stilled in front of me, demons turned their heads, and unseen eyes opened in the earth… All around, tangible and intangible stares converged on me, locking onto my position.

The demon lord paused, then sent several tendrils surging toward me at once. The pressure pinned me in place, and in the last second, I could only push Reis aside before I felt myself collide with a wall of steel.

The wind stretched into a piercing wail before ending with a thunderous crash. My vision was filled with black and red, and when I finally caught my breath from the sudden pain, I was already deeply embedded in the canyon wall.

The demon lord’s voice echoed in my mind again, like someone mumbling to themselves in confusion: [Why would Light grant humans the power to use soul energy?]

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The power to use… soul energy…

The words slowly pieced together in my mind. I suddenly understood why I could sever the tendrils, why the Light God’s power enhanced attacks against demons, and why weapons blessed by the Light God could pierce the Dark God’s body… It was because we had been granted powers from the same source as the gods.

The power of the soul.

If that’s the case…
I struggled to recall the sensation when I severed the tendrils. Anger, protection, hatred, determination… The power that came with Will gathered in my hands again as I tried to break free from the tendrils’ hold.

The layers of crimson seemed to tremble for a moment, or maybe it was just my imagination. The demon lord’s whispers stopped, and the tendril pressed harder against my chest, embedding me deeper into the wall.

“Guh…”

The air was forced out of my lungs in an instant, replaced by blood that flooded up, spilling from my mouth and nose, splattering all over the tendrils. I couldn’t see how much of my health bar remained, nor could I hear if I made any sound. Suffocation and pain shattered my thoughts, and my ears buzzed with a chaotic ringing, making it almost impossible to think.

But the voice in my mind wasn’t affected at all. It whispered softly: [Don’t waste your energy, human. Your power is insignificant compared to mine. The fact that you could even harm me is surprising. I suppose… you must be favored by Light?]

The voice paused for a second before continuing:

[Alvin, I will remember you.]

[Now, let me see why He would bestow His grace upon you.]

A tendril lifted, becoming transparent before my blurry eyes as it reached for my forehead.
My mind went blank—I couldn’t think of any way out of this.
Is this the end…

Arrows wrapped in wind and lightning exploded against the tendrils, the faint vibrations snapping me back to consciousness. Time seemed to slow down, and through the slowly approaching tendril, I could see the battlefield below. Everything was shrouded in a hazy crimson, with pale red figures being swept aside in waves. The battle lines were in complete disarray, but no one was giving up. The light of magic and the glint of weapons flickered against the tendrils like a swarm of ants trying to shake a giant tree.

…I can’t give up.

I gritted my teeth and squeezed out the last bit of strength from my body, forcing my wrist to twist.

Thin red mist leaked out from between the tendrils, which loosened slightly, revealing [Dawn]’s blade. The demon lord let out a faint sigh as the tendrils tightened again. The straight blade bent under the immense pressure, but it was my fragile flesh and bones that broke first. An indescribable pain shot through my crushed arm and into my brain, cutting off the breaths I was barely managing to take.

Everything in front of me sank into darkness, leaving only the blurry red shadow that slowly reached for my forehead.
Just as it was about to touch my skin, a dazzling white light appeared.

The crimson tendrils disintegrated in the light, and the force binding me vanished. I fell forward into the light, which gently brushed against my body. My dim vision was filled with brightness once again. The falling stopped, and I was caught in someone’s arms.

“…Lord?”

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