Turncoat King.
The first of his kind, and the worst of them.
I didn't know why he had appeared here, but one thing was clear—I was in serious danger.
'…This is bad.'
In front of me—Turncoat King.
Behind me—The Immortal.
A true no-win scenario.
And worst of all, I had lost my most critical asset: mobility.
'Ankelenth's Wings will eventually recover with time… but losing the Z-74 Jetpack is fatal.'
If both the jetpack and wings were intact, I might've been able to flee somehow.
But not now.
My wings were torn, and the jetpack was damaged beyond immediate repair.
["M-Master... "]
Esther's voice trembled.
Just like when we'd faced the Immortal.
'Only difference is—the Immortal was weakened back then. The Turncoat King… is not.'
His armor was cracked in places, but overall, he was practically unscathed.
And the sheer aura radiating off him confirmed that.
Clack, clack, clack—
He approached.
But unfortunately, there wasn't much I could do right now.
["…Master?"]
First, I needed to know whether he harbored hostility toward me.
It seemed pointless—after all, he was the one who shot me down from the sky. But my situation was so dire, even a sliver of false hope was worth gambling on.
Clack, clack, clack—
With even-paced steps, the Turncoat King walked right past me.
As if I were no more than an insect.
"..."
Call it a twisted blessing, but to my surprise, the Turncoat King didn't seem interested in me at all.
Instead, he made his way toward the site where the Immortal had been buried.
I didn't yet know why the Turncoat King had come here—but it was clear now what he was after.
["…Is he just… leaving?"]
'No idea.'
Every instinct screamed for me to flee.
But I couldn't.
It felt like turning my back on a wild beast—any sudden movement and it would pounce.
["Where the hell do things like that even come from..."]
Agreed.
The Immortal was bad enough. But running into the Turncoat King as well?
Even I hadn't imagined such a nightmare.
Meanwhile, the Turncoat King continued toward the Immortal's burial site… and stopped.
["…What's he doing?"]
'No clue.'
I had no way of understanding what the Turncoat King was thinking.
But one thing was certain—whatever he was planning, I couldn't stop it.
All I could do… was watch.
Fssss!
Suddenly, bone tendrils extended from the Turncoat King's body.
They stabbed straight toward the ground where the Immortal lay.
CRACK—CRACKK!
["Wh-What is that?!"]
Esther recoiled in horror.
But the Turncoat King's bone tendrils pressed on, burrowing deep into the earth.
Thud!
Thud-thud-thud!
They only stopped after some time—then began pulsing.
As if… absorbing something.
Slurp, slurp… sluuuurp...
Considering what lay beneath, it wasn't hard to guess who the Turncoat King was feeding on.
'He's… devouring the Immortal.'
In a way, it made sense.
But it was not something I had wanted to see.
If this continued—what would happen?
Would Ark soon face a threat it could never handle?
'Sure, in theory, the Turncoat King should be easier to fight than the Immortal… but if he absorbs the Immortal's power…?'
If a being like the Turncoat King gained immortality?
That would be nothing less than a cataclysm for Ark.
'If that happens… he might reach Ankelenth-class threat levels.'
Beyond-Grade Dragon: Ankelenth.
Even Janus had failed to fully absorb its power.
If the Turncoat King consumed the Immortal, we might have another Ankelenth-class enemy on our hands.
It was terrifying.
'Even if I survive today… one day the Turncoat King will come for Ark.'
Leaving now meant survival.
Ark might be safe—for now.
But later?
When the Turncoat King returns, Ark would face a monster with the Immortal's power.
Even with all our technological progress, I couldn't imagine the cost we'd pay to stop something like that.
I clenched the grip of my Ark-34 Automatic Conversion Rifle tighter.
I knew exactly what would happen if I turned a blind eye now.
["…Master?"]
I had to decide.
Would I watch as the Turncoat King devoured the Immortal?
Or would I stop him?
"…Yeah. I figured it would come to this."
The decision didn't take long.
With things as they were, there was no turning back.
Whatever it took—I would do everything I could.
I switched the Ark-34 into assault rifle mode.
Then, I took aim at the bone tendrils stretching into the ground.
Click—
No hesitation.
Just pull the trigger.
TA-TA-TA-TA-TAANG!────!
A barrage of A-985 explosive rounds ripped through the air.
The shells flew straight at the bone tendrils linked to the Turncoat King.
BOOOOOM—BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
Explosions erupted as the rounds detonated on impact.
Smoke and fire engulfed the battlefield.
Even through the thick clouds, I didn't stop pulling the trigger.
Bang!—
BANG-BANG-BANG!
Explosions roared nonstop, but the dread lingering in the smoke refused to fade.
No—if anything, it grew worse.
Shhhhhhkkkk—!
My worst fears came true as dozens of bone tendrils burst from the haze, surging straight toward me.
There was no time to dodge.
I immediately retaliated with Janus's bone tendrils, launching a counter against the Turncoat King's assault.
CLANG!
CLINK, CLINK!
The moment our tendrils clashed—
CRACK!
CRA-CRACKK!
Janus's bone tendrils snapped like brittle twigs.
The power gap was overwhelming.
'Janus!'
If I let this go, we'd be torn apart. I had no choice but to use every resource left to me.
['Hardening' has activated.]
['Steelization' has activated.]
Janus's tendrils darkened, taking on a pitch-black sheen.
Then, once again, they lashed out to block the Turncoat King's tendrils.
CLAAANG! CLANK—!
CLAAAAAAAAANG────!
The grotesque clash rang out like metal on metal, the tendrils coiling like a tangle of serpents in a vicious struggle.
But the side losing ground was clearly mine.
Even with hardening and steel coating, we were only delaying the inevitable.
'…This won't work.'
Janus wasn't strong enough to face the Turncoat King.
That meant I had to admit it—and switch tactics.
I quickly pulled out the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher and ICE-54 Plasma Cooler from my coat.
Alongside the Ark-34 Railgun, it was the strongest burst-fire combo I had.
ZEEEEENG──!
Red-hot plasma and frigid blue cold.
They combined into a violent stream, firing into the smoke-filled chaos.
ZEEEEEEEEENG!
FWOOOOOOOOOOOSH──
As expected from a late-stage weapon combo, even the Turncoat King couldn't completely ignore it.
Twitch—
The bone tendrils rushing at me suddenly hesitated.
I seized the moment, unleashing another volley from the plasma launcher and cooler.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM───!
'More. MORE…!'
Even though I couldn't see through the smoke, I knew—I knew stopping now meant certain death.
RUUUUUUMBLE────!
But the heat in my fingers told the truth—both weapons were nearing their limits.
I was almost out of time.
Reluctantly, I holstered the plasma launcher and cooler and switched to the Ark-34 Automatic Conversion Rifle.
I tried to fire again—but in that brief moment, another barrage of bone tendrils shot from the smoke, aiming right for me.
Blindingly fast.
'Can't block this—'
I dove to the side, narrowly dodging.
If I'd reacted even a second slower, I'd have been impaled.
Fssssss...
The smoke began to clear.
And from within emerged the Turncoat King once more.
His massive bone armor still intact.
He had weathered the assault.
"..."
His gaze landed on me.
The weight of it nearly made me drop my weapon, but I met it head-on.
Tap… Tap… Tap…
He retracted the tendrils he had driven into the ground.
And then began walking toward me.
He was ready to fight—for real.
["M-Master! He's coming! "]
'Yeah, I see him.'
This was the worst-case scenario.
Sure, I'd started this—but I couldn't handle the consequences alone.
["Ugh… ugh…"]
Esther shook with fear.
And to be honest—I felt the same.
I knew.
On my own, I couldn't beat the Turncoat King.
Even if I called the Turncoat Knight or Horus from afar, it wouldn't change that fact.
He was too strong—a colossal wall to overcome.
'But… that doesn't mean I have no options.'
If I couldn't face him alone, I wouldn't.
My strongest ally was already here.
'Janus!'
Ignoring the advancing Turncoat King, I thrust my tendrils downward, into the ground.
['Earth Dive' has activated.]
Shhhhhk!
I tunneled deep, the King's tendrils following swiftly.
But I was faster.
Now came the critical part.
Extending tendrils in every direction, I braced for the next move.
['Sand Collapse' has activated.]
The broken ground began to tremble again.
It was my only chance.
RUUUUUMBLEEEEE────!
The earth beneath us swirled violently as the collapse effect triggered.
KRUMBLE! KRUMBLE!
The terrain sank—
Then flipped.
And with the upheaval of soil and stone, I emerged once more onto the overturned surface.
["M-Master! He's still standing like nothing happened!"]
Just as I expected.
Even the terrain collapse hadn't fazed the Turncoat King.
But that didn't matter.
Because my goal had never been to bury him.
["…Wait, what?!"]
Esther gasped—her eyes wide with shock.
Which meant—
It worked.
'You're here.'
From the earth beneath us, something stirred.
The Immortal.
He had emerged from the grave I buried him in.