C227
After a fierce storm, I lowered the sword I was holding.
Before me, the landscape of the coliseum in ruins entered my view.
The sand that had covered the ground was completely removed, and the exposed ground showed cracks as if an earthquake had occurred. And upon it lay the Beast King.
<Oh. He still holds his form. He was a formidable opponent.>
Gugukon murmured as if impressed.
"Kr... uh..."
The Beast King was panting.
His imposing appearance had disappeared, and his body was covered in wounds.
He probably wouldn't survive much longer.
<Huhuhu...>
The Beast King's chest rose slowly.
Cough, cough. Thick, black blood flowed from his mouth.
"You... are too strong."
I didn't respond to his words.
I couldn't deny that my current strength didn't correspond to that of a 4-star hero.
The severe side effect that used to follow a great attack had now been mitigated to be bearable.
<You may really be able to surpass your limits.>
Surpass them.
I realized that didn't mean reaching the level of 7 stars.
Even if I ascended to 7 stars and surpassed the limits of a hero, I couldn't completely free myself from the rules of Pick Me Up. I would still be bound to the game.
<But remember, warrior. How long do you think your companions will be able to follow you? Soon you will find yourself alone. That won't be fun at all.>
"Worry about yourself."
<Hahaha!>
Kiadni laughed, baring his teeth.
Then he fell still.
[The divine energy index of the statue has reached 100%!]
[The Blessing of Glory has been strengthened to the maximum!]
[The debuff of the entire Chaos Abyss area has been permanently removed!]
[Buff applied - All hero statistics increase by 30%!]
The statue shone brilliantly before dissolving into light.
I took a deep breath and firmly grasped the hilt of my sword.
[Current progress: 064/100]
The mission was not yet over.
So far, I had only released the barriers blocking the field, but the main mission of repelling the Chaos Egg was still pending.
'Black Dragon's Blood...'
I observed my left hand.
Chis.
A dark red lightning bolt jumped, but it was visibly weaker.
I wouldn't be able to use the same final move anymore.
'It doesn't matter.'
My physical condition wasn't bad.
Nor was I completely unable to use my Engravings.
I paused for a moment to observe the body of the Beast King, then entered the dimensional breach glowing in a corner of the coliseum.
"......"
When I opened my eyes, I was met with a familiar sight.
Soon I realized I was on the deck of Lucette.
<Aaaaaaah!>
With a piercing cry from the pilot, Lucette began to descend sharply.
<If you want to live, get down on the floor!>
Something dark hurtled toward me.
I instinctively threw myself to the ground.
Fwoosh! Crack!
Something long and black swept across the deck of Lucette.
A steel pillar broke like sugarcane and fell beyond the railing.
Beside me, Jenna, who was also lying down, smiled at me.
"You came just in time, brother."
"I told you I'd be here fast. So, what's the situation now...?"
<Don't follow me!>
Lucette sharply turned and fled through a crevice.
"It doesn't look very good."
[Chaos Abyss (Phase 7)]
[All hero statistics have increased by 30%]
It seemed Taonier's fleet had ventured into the depths of the forest.
What had swept the deck were the tentacles of the Chaos Egg.
We had finally entered its attack range.
The tentacles were hundreds of meters long; we were still far from the main body.
'How many people are left?'
I glanced at the assault team status window on the left side of my vision.
There were around 100 dead. The severely wounded who couldn't continue the battle numbered 50. Therefore, the remaining forces were approximately 250 people. Five aircraft were severely damaged or destroyed, but none had fallen yet. That all the aircraft remained intact was a good thing.
'I don't know how long we can hold on.'
The magic engine had reached its limit, and the aircraft's electric barrier was deactivated.
I drew a knife from behind my belt and threw it.
The knife blade pierced the skull of a Harpy attempting to enter from below the aircraft.
[Chimera Lv.53] X 5
Chimeras appeared in front of Lucette as they avoided the tentacles.
Their mouths burned with flames.
Fwoooosh!
The flames falling onto the deck were blocked by a transparent shield.
It was Katio's magical barrier.
"These guys never end!"
Katio gritted his teeth.
From the forest, flying creatures continued to emerge.
[Danger!]
[A dark portal has formed!]
Uuuuung.
Several black holes appeared over the fleet.
And from those holes, monsters began to pour out.
From above and below, monsters attacked;
And from the front, several-meter-long tentacles continued to strike.
Uuuuuuuuuuu.
[Giant Lv.64]
A huge palm was quickly approaching the aircraft.
Once again, Lucette accelerated and escaped through the fingers of the hand.
'Now the big monsters appear.'
If we hadn't received the buff in the coliseum, we would have been annihilated by now.
I put my hand to my ear and opened a private channel accessible only to me and Edith.
"What's the current situation? Have you found any other objects?"
<I checked everything on the way here, but found nothing. The only dimensional whirlpool was the one found by Group 1.>
I frowned.
It wasn't Edith's voice.
<I'm Benik from Group 2. Edith has been injured, and I'm temporarily covering her role.>
"Injured?"
I checked the team status window again.
'...Oh.'
How did I not notice?
I had assumed Edith would be safe, so I hadn't checked her status carefully.
I enlarged the Group 2 status window.
Edith's name was highlighted in red.
[Edith (★★★★) is in critical condition. Her life is in danger!]
'Critical.'
That's not good.
"How is Edith?"
<She's...>
Benik couldn't continue.
I looked back.
At the rear of the fleet, the severely damaged Capitalism Ho staggered in the air.
The hull reinforced with high-resistance alloys was in ruins, and thick smoke billowed from the hole in its side.
'It was the target of a concentrated attack.'
The other aircraft were firing, but the monsters paid no attention to them and headed towards Capitalism Ho.
While we fought in the coliseum, it seemed they had concentrated on attacking the flagship of the fleet, the Capitalism Ho.
Now I remembered I hadn't heard any reports from Edith since halfway through the battle.
"Abandon the aircraft. Take the survivors to the Tier."
<Those orders have already been given.>
I watched the Capitalism Ho closely.
On the deck, a dimensional portal swayed.
It was a passage to other aircraft.
The crew and heroes were entering there.
'Edith... will she be the last?'
What an idiot.
What does the captain intend by being the last to enter?
"Benik, bring Edith. Make her enter, even if you have to force her."
<...I'm fine.>
A weak voice was heard.
<I'm sorry, I got distracted in the battle.>
"How serious is your injury? How many potions do you have left?"
<Well, thanks to you, it was quite fun. I even got to try wearing the hat.>
"What are you talking about?"
I looked at Katio.
Katio was busy blocking the monsters' assault.
Without the magic barrier, the monsters would bring down the aircraft in an instant.
The other mages on the different aircraft were replacing the role of the electric barrier.
'Can we create a new dimensional portal?'
[Current progress: 072 / 100]
Uuuuuu.
A giant shadow of a hundred meters reached its hand towards us.
But from somewhere, a tentacle caught and dragged it.
Soon, the sound of something being chewed resonated throughout the forest.
[The Capitalism Ho aircraft has been severely damaged!]
Finally, the defense line of the Capitalism Ho was breached.
Hundreds of monsters were simultaneously clinging to the deck and the hull.
[Sirad (★★★★) has returned to the goddess's embrace. Their fighting spirit will be remembered forever.]
[Nidal (★★★) has returned to the goddess's embrace. Their fighting spirit will be remembered forever.]
[Withney (★★★★) has returned to the goddess's embrace. Their fighting spirit will be remembered forever.]
[Haidin (★★★) has returned to the embrace of the goddess...]
The heroes who hadn't managed to escape were slaughtered.
<There was nothing in Sector 7. We have to go further in. Han, take command from now on. Benik, who was sent to Frang, will assist you.>
"......"
Creating a dimensional portal now would be too late.
The advancing aircraft didn't slow down.
The Capitalism Ho, which had deviated from the formation, was moving backward.
'...Ah.'
I raised my left arm.
Chis. Dark red lightning jumped again.
<Fool! Save your energy, Han. There's still the end!>
I looked at the members on the deck.
They must be aware of the current situation too.
"Aren't you going too?"
"It's already too late."
Belkist crossed his arms.
Jenna remained silent, bowing her head.
"Understood. Even if it's just me..."
No.
I suppressed any regret.
It wasn't a good choice.
Definitely not the right answer.
‘Damn.’
I closed my eyes.
Chis.
The noise in my ears resonated.
It was Edith's private command channel.
<We're not far from the goal. Just keep going forward.>
"......"
<Victory... will be ours.>
[Edith (★★★★) has returned to the goddess's embrace. Her fighting spirit will be remembered forever.]
Boom!
The Capitalism exploded in a dazzling flash of light.
[The Capitalism Ho aircraft has exploded!]
It seemed like someone had activated the emergency self-destruct switch.
The nearby monsters were completely annihilated.
[Current progress: 082 / 100]
Not far away.
A huge egg trembled.
‘Not yet, not yet.’
Craaack. Craaaaack.
The surface of the egg began to crack.
Dozens of tentacles were moving fiercely.
I put my hand to my ear.
With Edith's death, command of the assault team had passed to me.
"I'm Han from Group 1. Captains of the aircraft, listen up. Don't group together. Disperse as much as you can to minimize damage. From now on, it's a battle against time."
Craaaack.
A large crack formed in the middle of the egg.
Through it, a black eye became visible.
[Current progress: 085 / 100]
My eyes met the black eye's.
‘No object was found.’
In the end, we found no goddess statue in this field.
The only statue in the coliseum was all there was.
That statue's role was to lift the curse and strengthen the heroes.
And it seems the goddess statue's role wasn't limited to just that.
[You have entered the final stage of the Chaos Abyss.]
[The Blessing of Radiance shines brightly.]
[Heroes of Group 1 receive the blessing of the goddess.]
In a moment, the aircraft had come right in front of the egg.
"This is it. Prepare yourselves."
Final phase of level 50.
I lowered my sword.
<What should we do?>
Benik's voice sounded.
"Keep the monsters away from us."
<Yes.>
Uuuuung.
The three aircraft simultaneously opened fire.
Those cannons were aimed at the monsters outside.
‘Blessing of the goddess?’
I looked down at the blade of my sword.
Bifröst, wrapped in light, trembled.
‘What a joke.’
Playing tricks like that.
Anyway, there was only one thing left to do.
I looked ahead.
The black eyes were still looking at me.
[Current progress: 091 / 100]