The battle of the Ever-White Desert had finally reached a point of no return.
With Gaia's forces having exterminated all of Hitogami's supporters scattered across the battlefield, a swift and organized retreat began.
Red and Blue Dragons crossed the skies in great numbers, descending over the white sand as warriors, mages, and members of the Legion leapt to grab onto saddles, scales, and thrown ropes.
The retreat was efficient.
But even so, it was becoming harder and harder to maintain.
After all, a battle between multiple God-level mages was not like a battle between God-level swordsmen.
When swordsmen of that level clashed, the battlefield was cut, crushed, and deformed. But when mages of that caliber truly began to move, nature itself became an enemy.
The scale of the battle grew far too quickly.
Storms and hurricanes began to ravage the Ever-White Desert.
White lightning fell from the heavens in succession, piercing the sand like divine spears. Sword lights cut the desert into pieces. Rays of golden light spread randomly, sometimes rising into the skies, sometimes sweeping across the ground, and sometimes crossing the horizon.
Every few seconds, the terrain changed.
Ghislaine, Jaly, and Kilian were of great help in tracking down the vast majority of the Legion's warriors, ensuring they would not be caught in the crossfire of that apocalyptic battle.
Their senses and speed, which came together with the mastery of the Beast God Style, were perfect for a situation like this.
Meanwhile, the mages capable of using chantless magic were able to contain the adverse effects to a certain extent.
Even so, some were not so lucky.
In a vast frozen region of the desert, a man with a monkey-like face was running alone.
Although he looked exhausted and was sweating coldly, he had no visible injuries. His clothes were dirty with sand and ice, his eyes darted from side to side nervously, but his body was still whole.
If someone looked carefully, they would see the reason.
On his fingers and around his neck, there were several magical items.
Rings, amulets, pendants, enchanted plates hidden beneath his clothes.
All of them protecting his body.
"Haaa! Haaa! Damn it! Where are Vita and Badi?!"
This was, without a doubt, one of Hitogami's apostles.
Geese Nukadia.
And also the main strategist who helped Hitogami abandon much of his arrogance in order to defeat Rygar by any means possible.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, Geese had been sent to a region very far away after being ejected from the Labyrinth. Since then, he had been fleeing at full speed.
Which, in his case, was not much.
Even so, by a stroke of luck, he had not encountered any monster or warrior up to that point.
No soldiers of Gaia. No dragon flying around. No remaining creature from the Labyrinth.
So he simply continued running across the icy terrain, his feet slipping every now and then, his breathing becoming more difficult with each step.
At this point, Geese had already done everything he could to help.
He managed to gather the right people.
He managed to make them fight together to some extent, even though many of them would never have trusted one another under normal circumstances.
Now, what remained was to see whether all those arrangements would be enough to defeat the Beast God and the Dragon God.
In any case, Geese would be very satisfied.
Even if he lost, or even died.
He was absolutely certain that he had participated, even if indirectly, in the grandest battle of the last few centuries.
Perhaps of the last several thousand years.
And that, for someone like him, had its own value.
Of course, that did not mean he did not want to live, so he kept running, panting.
Until the sound of a strong gale cut through the Desert.
Geese raised his head.
In the next instant, a huge Blue Dragon landed a few dozen meters in front of him, crushing the ice with its claws.
The impact made the ground tremble, and cracks ran across the frozen surface.
The creature opened its wings for a moment, scattering cold wind and white dust in every direction. Its golden, reptilian eyes fixed on Geese with an uncomfortably intelligent curiosity.
Geese stumbled and almost fell, but kept his composure.
On top of the Dragon, he could see people wearing the armor of the Iron Legion.
Warriors of Gaia.
And leading them was a young woman with silver hair and eyes as red as precious jewels.
She observed him for a moment before speaking:
"Identify yourself. Are you a warrior of the Legion?"
Geese immediately recognized who she was.
Ruby.
This was Rygar's younger sister, so Geese did not dare underestimate her.
Even if she did not have her brother's monstrous talent, she was still dangerous enough for someone like Geese. More importantly than that, she was a direct part of Gaia's core. Any mistake in front of her could be potentially fatal.
So he opened a nervous smile and raised his hands.
"Ah! Yes, yes! I'm from the magical support team! I was teleported very far away after the—"
His words froze.
Because, behind the warriors of the Legion, a dark shadow leapt down from the Dragon's back.
The creature landed on the ice almost without making a sound.
An enormous Ebony Wolf.
Its black fur seemed to absorb the light around it. Its intelligent eyes fixed on Geese, and it began to approach him step by step.
Geese froze completely.
The smile on his face became stiff.
"S-Skoll! Long time no see, buddy! Haha! Remember me?"
Indeed, when Skoll was still only a young wolf, Geese had traveled with Rygar's group through the Milis Continent.
Did Skoll remember him?
Obviously.
Was that good?
Certainly not for Geese.
The Ebony Wolf observed him for another moment.
Then looked slightly back, toward Ruby.
He bared his fangs, and let out a hostile bark.
Ruby nodded.
"An enemy, then."
She turned away, giving the order without needing to say anything more.
Geese tried once again.
"No! Wait! I—"
But he had no time.
Skoll leapt like a shadow.
In the next instant, several defensive magical items activated around Geese. Translucent barriers appeared in layers. A blue glow lit up on his necklace. Two rings shattered at the same time, releasing automatic protection.
But all of them were a fraction of a second too slow.
The powerful Ebony Wolf was already upon him.
With a single bite, Geese was mercilessly torn in half.
Perhaps, for an ordinary attacker, it would have been almost impossible to pierce those defenses with speed alone.
But Skoll was an Emperor-level beast, and his greatest strength was speed.
At this point, few in the entire world could say they would be able to escape his pursuit.
Blood spread across the ice.
Geese Nukadia, Hitogami's apostle and the strategist behind much of that offensive, died without ever discovering whether everything he had done had been worth it.
Skoll merely released the body.
Then turned around and leapt back onto the Blue Dragon's back.
The creature took flight without delay, rising toward the skies with a beat of its wings.
On the horizon, an apocalyptic storm could be seen covering the heavens and approaching from the direction of the ocean.
---
Meanwhile, even while fighting six against one, the best combatants of the Dragon God and the Kingdom of Gaia were not finding the expected ease in confronting Saint Milis.
After deciding to kill them all, that was exactly what Milis was trying to do.
Rudeus Greyrat's Magic Armor retreated at full speed, its feet sinking into and exploding the white sand with each burst of momentum. The machine gun in his right hand fired an uninterrupted sequence of Stone Cannons, devastating everything ahead.
Projectiles crossed the battlefield at high speed, each one capable of finishing even powerful warriors.
But, at that moment, emerging from the ground before him, Milis merely cast him a sidelong glance.
Then he kicked off.
And shot toward the barrage of Stone Cannons without hesitation.
He crossed the battlefield like a bolt of lightning.
The white and golden aura of Ascalon gathered more and more at the tip of the blade. The multiple stone cannons struck his body, exploding against his Battle Aura, tearing out sparks and flecks of blood.
But they only managed to open scratches and superficial wounds. Wounds that healed almost as quickly as they appeared.
Rudeus saw the future with his Foresight Eye.
And all he could see was a gleaming golden sword light cutting his Magic Armor in half.
"HAAAAAH!"
He pushed himself to the limit.
In that same instant, he summoned an enormous earth golem between himself and his enemy.
The creature rose from the ground with thick arms, a broad torso, and absurd mass, standing like a wall between Rudeus and Saint Milis.
Milis did not slow down.
He merely swung Ascalon in the same way, and the sword light cut through everything horizontally.
The golem was split in half.
The blade of light continued moving to cut the Magic Armor as well.
But, at that moment, Aisha's voice rang out:
"Spatial Confusion!"
Suddenly, space distorted strangely.
Milis prepared himself in the same instant, already knowing the strange magics the young woman used.
The world around him twisted.
Then, suddenly, he found himself in Rudeus's place.
The Saint looked back, and reacted in an inhuman manner.
He counterattacked his own strike.
The golden light of Ascalon collided against the light he himself had launched, creating a shockwave and brilliance that exploded from the point of impact. The entire desert was illuminated by a flash.
Rudeus disappeared.
And, in the place where Milis should have been, Jino appeared.
He was already in the drawing stance.
This attack had been coordinated long ago.
Milis was in front of him.
But without seeing him directly.
Jino breathed once.
"Nine Heavens, One Paradise!"
His Battle Aura ran like fire through his muscles, nerves, and bones. This was a technique created during the battle itself, created precisely to combat Milis.
Jino advanced.
But, as soon as he leapt, he disappeared into the air.
Milis, who had already seen him and was prepared to repel any direct attack, was shocked for a fraction of a second.
Then, without warning, he dodged to the side.
Even so, his neck was cut halfway through.
Jino passed through him like a ghost, cutting as if he had emerged from the void.
Milis's Healing Magic acted immediately, closing the wound before it could become fatal. But the Saint could not help but admire the boy's absurd talent.
That was a technique aimed exclusively against him, targeting the most important weaknesses he had shown during the battle.
Against someone who only perceived the battlefield with ordinary senses, it would be almost impossible to defend against it the first time.
Before Milis could breathe, two others attacked him.
One from each flank.
Kalman II and Kalman III.
Sándor advanced along an irregular trajectory, hiding the intent of his strike behind variations of the North God Style.
Alek came more directly, the black blade loaded with killing intent, aiming at an opening that existed only because of Jino's cut.
Milis still seemed vulnerable.
But, upon realizing his situation, he raised Ascalon.
And spoke softly:
"Shine, Ascalon!"
In the next instant, accompanied by the white glow emerging from the Sacred Sword, an enormous whirlpool of light was born around Milis.
The light spun like a storm.
Not merely for defense, the light threatened to tear both North Gods to pieces just by being close.
But then Aisha's voice, which could not be detected anywhere, sounded again:
"Disturb Magic."
Before it could be fully formed, the whirlpool of light was interrupted.
Even Ascalon's glow trembled.
Saint Milis saw, for a moment, Aisha's figure. She was standing in the distance, her sword sheathed.
The winds stirred her tied hair and her blue cloak.
Then she drew her sword.
"Dimensional Fracture."
Milis suddenly felt an intense nausea.
As if his body were about to be split into several pieces at the same time.
Then he saw a crack forming in the air.
The sound that came with it was like a terrible snap.
Before he could fully understand the phenomenon, a Barrier formed around him.
----
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