Chapter 39

Chapter 39

A warning echoed in Damian’s mind.

He instinctively knew.

‘This is dangerous!’

Cracks spread across the crystal, and thick, dark magic surged out from within.

Moments ago, Homen had been engulfed by the escaping magic, losing consciousness.

“Homen!”

Claire rushed over, praying desperately.

Her holy power pushed back the magic invading Homen’s body, but it wasn’t easy.

Sweat poured down Claire’s face as her expression twisted in strain.

Whoooosh!

The magic spilling from the crystal began to thrash even more violently.

If they couldn’t completely destroy it...

‘...Everyone will die.’

It was clear how dangerous the situation was just by the way the monsters, tainted by magic, were becoming more savage.

‘What about the others?’

Even the smaller monsters were going berserk, making things much worse.

There was no way for anyone to lend a hand; they were all tied up.

Damian looked at the crystal floating in front of him.

He wasn’t sure if he could do it...

‘But there are already cracks.’

The crystal had taken a severe hit from Homen’s attack.

It was thrashing around like this to protect itself.

Gritting his teeth, Damian tightened his grip on his spear.

Right now—

‘I’m the only one left.’

The only one who could destroy the crystal.

Damian began to draw all the remaining mana from his magic core.

Though he had already exhausted much of it in his battle with the Werewolf...

‘Pull it all up from the bottom.’

He had to finish it in one blow.

There would be no second chance.

Woooooong.

Damian’s eyes cooled and sharpened.

His body began to strengthen as his muscles tensed from the mana coursing through him.

As the mana infused his spear, it began to emit a faint glow.

Whoosh!

Damian charged toward the crystal.

His target was singular: to destroy the cursed object in one strike.

“Haaaaaah!”

Whoooosh!

The crystal thrashed violently, releasing wild bursts of magic in a final act of resistance.

A foreboding energy wrapped around Damian’s entire body.

Thud!

Damian launched himself off the ground and thrust his spear toward the crystal with all his strength.

At that moment—

BOOM!

With a deafening crash, the crystal’s cracks widened.

Craack, Craaack!

The sound of it breaking apart echoed.

But Damian’s expression hardened.

‘Not enough...!’

He could feel it through his fingertips.

The force wasn’t sufficient.

Landing back on the ground, Damian bit his lip.

He needed one more strike...!

But then—

Whoooosh!

“D-Damian!”

“Damian!”

Dianal and Kyle shouted in alarm.

The black magic spewing from the crystal had engulfed Damian.

* * *

...What?

Suddenly, the world turned black.

He couldn’t see or feel anything.

Only one thing was clear—

‘I don’t think I’m dead...’

It was an intuition born of having died once before.

But then—

“Aaaaaargh!”

Damian screamed as pain ripped through his entire body.

He had thought he was used to pain.

“Gaaah...!”

The agony was so intense that Damian couldn’t help but curl in on himself.

What kind of pain was this...?

But he soon understood the reason.

“This... damn...!”

Something foreign was creeping into his body.

Damian pressed off the ground, spear in hand.

Boom!

A burst of speed.

In an instant, Damian dashed toward the crystal, twisting his body as he thrust his spear with all his might.

“Break!”

The moment Damian’s spear struck the crystal’s center again—

BOOOOOOM!

With a deafening roar, the crystal shattered like sand, scattering in every direction.

“Grrrrraaaaah!”

“Screeeech!”

“Roooaaaar!”

The three giant monsters clutched their heads and screamed in agony.

The task force members who were fighting them quickly retreated.

“Fall back! Fall back!”

“The crystal is destroyed! We did it!”

“Everyone, pull back!”

No one knew what would happen next.

Bertos, trying to calm his pounding heart, kept his guard up.

Thud!

The giant monsters collapsed.

The task force members cautiously watched the unmoving bodies, swallowing nervously.

“Are they... dead?”

Tarion stepped forward and examined the fallen monsters.

Their eyes had gone lifeless.

Seeing the monsters lying there, dead with their tongues hanging out, Tarion finally let out a deep breath.

“Hah... They’re all dead!”

“Damn... We did it.”

“Is it over?”

Everyone felt like collapsing.

Facing magic-tainted giant monsters had been as dangerous as it was exhausting.

Swoosh.

“That guy...”

Tarion turned to look at Damian.

Dianal and Kyle were hugging him, celebrating.

Tarion couldn’t help but smile.

He chuckled softly.

“He really is one of a kind.”

Just as he had felt the first time he saw Damian.

A long smile spread across Tarion’s face.

* * *

“Screeeeeech!”

The entire Bronselian Forest echoed with a ghostly wail.

The crystal, which had held dark magic, had shattered, and hundreds of monsters died instantly.

Thud, thud, thud!

The sight was truly spectacular.

The creatures that had been baring their fangs moments ago were now lying lifeless.

The soldiers felt a mix of relief and a strange sense of emptiness.

“...Is it really over?”

“We... we’re alive... we made it!”

It hadn’t been a long battle.

But in that short time, nearly half the subjugation force had died.

The memories of comrades being torn apart and screaming as they were mauled by monsters.

The sight of heads being crushed and bodies being ripped apart by the monsters’ axes and clubs.

The faces of those who had begged for their lives would forever be etched in their minds.

“We won... We won!”

“We did it!”

“Uwaaaaaaaah!”

The surviving soldiers shouted in a mix of tears and joy.

Watching them, Wilkis silently turned toward where the task force had gone.

“...They really succeeded.”

He had thought they might fail.

He had thought that this place could become his grave.

“...I survived too.”

The subjugation of Bronselian Forest had been the last chance given to a failure.

If he hadn’t seized this opportunity, he knew it would have been the end for him as well.

But the subjugation was a success.

He had earned himself another chance.

Wilkis gazed in the direction where the task force had gone. And there—

“The task force is returning!”

“They’re coming back!”

In the distance, the task force slowly came into view.

They all looked utterly worn out, but—

“Hm?”

At the very front walked a man.

He had seemed like a boy when they had set out, but now something felt distinctly different about him.

But Wilkis recognized him instantly.

This was the hero who had ended it all.

“...I owe him a debt.”

Murmuring quietly, Wilkis began walking toward the heroes who had accomplished something great.