* * *

Sorin, who had given orders to the knights inside the barrier, stood before the seal with Dreyfe and Lumen.

Muscular arm that was raggedly trimmed. Tanned skin that glistened with oil, and bloodsuckers bubbling beneath it.

Even with only one arm out of the way, he felt an unusual amount of power that made him shudder. Ashvka had an unusually long list of horror stories among the High Demons, and Lumen vaguely thought that he might know the reason.

“The time I can give you is about 5 seconds at most. In my experience, it won’t even last 3 seconds, so if it’s not a perfect joint attack, it should be considered a failure.”

“I know that much. If it isn’t perfect, I won’t even try.”

Dreyfe grunted and sheathed his twin swords, and Lumen glared down at him.

‘What a rude fellow.’

They said there was no need to worry about Sorin because he had the seniority, experience, and status, and there was no feeling of belittling others in his speech, but Dreyfe was not like that.

He looked like he had just passed adulthood or was just around the corner. From what Lumen had heard, Dreyfe didn’t have much experience and even his skills were inferior to him.

A large group with a clear hierarchy, such as the Guardian Knight Order, would usually consider the length of experience rather than ability or status. In fact, Sorin, who received Dreyfe’s unpleasant tone most directly, did not do much to stop him.

‘Does he have a great backbone, or someone is looking after him?’

Lumen didn’t want to focus on someone else’s flaws at a time like this, but his curiosity was piqued. The position of battalion captain of the Guardian Knight Order was not one that could be earned solely on someone’s background, and the assumption that Sorin was looking out for him was a likely one.

Having come to his own conclusions, Lumen decided to ignore Dreyfe’s cockiness. He wasn’t half as cocky as Lydon, anyway.

“Let’s get started, then.”

With that, Lumen’s figure disappeared in a flash. If the other hadn’t known his target was Ashvka’s arm, it would have been impossible to keep up with his movements.

Dreyfe watched the seal nervously. Ashvka caught Lumen’s presence and expanded the skin in the area where his energy was felt. And the moment Lumen stepped on Ashvka’s elbow and flung himself into the air.

Buzz buzz!

Hundreds of bloodsuckers flew toward Lumen as if launched. At the same time, Lumen’s world paused briefly.

In the silence of the area, where all sound had died down, Lumen’s long breathing was the only indication of the passage of time.

Lumen’s power, pushed to its limits, gave him a perfect sense of the number and location of the bloodsuckers charging at him. Before he knew it, the sword had slipped out of its sheath and drawn a brilliant, fluid trajectory through the air like a sword dance. Not a single vampire escaped its precise trajectory.

And when he had done his job, his sword returned to its original position.

“Now!”

The world pulsed once more. Lumen arched his back to dodge the bloodsuckers’ attack, then spun and landed on his feet.

5 seconds.

Dreyfe wasted no time in taking aim, a crossed golden sword energy digging into the top of the elbow where Ashvka had expelled the bloodsuckers a moment ago.

4 seconds.

The sword energy that left the scar quickly disappeared. Shocked, Ashvka’s arm swelled to expel the bloodsuckers once more, and Dreyfe, holding his twin swords at right angles, took a small step back.

3 seconds.

He closed the distance, and instead of shooting his sword energy again, he sent both of his swords flying like spears toward the center of the wound it had left.

2 seconds.

The twin swords pierced Ashvka’s flesh, and they rattled. Sorin leaped to the height of the twin swords, using his maximized angular momentum. The hammer in his hands made a low resonant sound.

1 second.

Sorin straightened his back, which had been twisted to its limit, and swung the hammer with all his might. With a thud, the hammer struck the twin swords, driving them into the flesh like nails, and a golden light flickered above them. Dreyfe, who had moved to the other side, had summoned his swords just in time for Sorin’s attack.

0 second.

Ashvka was unable to stop the shockwave of the hammer or the movement of the twin swords that pierced his arm like awls.

Kuuung—

The massive arm that had been torn apart by the twin swords began to fall toward the ground. Before Lumen could gauge the success of his plan, he ran towards the bloodsuckers’ barrier and shouted.

“Van! Get started!”

* * *

Knights were streaming through the narrow hole in the bloodsuckers’ barrier. Once opened, the hole was not easily closed due to the movement of the knights. Cadel sensed that their escape was a harbinger of something.

‘Ashvka’s power has weakened. I thought there was a battle going on inside……. What the hell are they preparing that’s taking all the forces outward?’

Lumen was the only one who could tear the barrier in this place, so if he was the one who made the hole, he must know the whole story. As Cadel looked for him, he saw Lumen standing near the exiting knights.

Lumen heard Cadel’s call and came running.

“Lumen, what are you doing in there? Where’s Van?”

“He’s preparing a manly shot.”

“Manly…… What?”

“You’d better reinforce the barrier, Leader.”

Cadel glanced up at the bloodsuckers’ barrier that hung high in the air. It was solid, with not a crack in sight, save for the gap created by Lumen.

‘……Is he thinking of using that technique?’

The only skill Van currently had that was big enough to break the barrier was the [River of the Dead].

‘That skill would compromise the people inside, so that’s why they’re all out.’

Cadel’s brows furrowed slightly at the plausible reasoning. He quickly called Lydon.

“Lydon! Get out of the seal. I will take down my barrier, so please make one to cover the entire army. You can do it, right?”

“It’s simple. Lumen can’t do it, but I can do it very easily and quickly.”

Lydon flew up like that, laughing at Lumen. Without hesitation, Cadel took down the barrier that protected the magicians. The bloodsuckers that rushed in immediately were blocked by the instantly regenerated ice barrier.

And the next moment.

Finally, Sorin’s shout echoed across the battlefield as he emerged from the veil.

“All forces! protect yourselves!”

Rumble—

The ground vibrated. The simultaneous, foul smell of blood told Cadel that his prediction had been correct. He stared beyond the ice barrier that enveloped him, watching the bloodsuckers’ movements.

The dense, tightly draped bloodsuckers’ barrier shuddered as if it were holding back a force that was expanding from within, and reddish energy leaked through the tiny cracks.

A thin aura, like blood, flooded every inch of the barrier, staining the bloodsuckers red. Like an egg on the verge of hatching, its thin shell swelled and tightened. The beating of the bloodsuckers’ wings grew louder, but so did the trembling of the earth and the smell of blood.

‘It’s coming.’

He could clearly feel the energy on the verge of explosion. Leaving Lydon to defend, Cadel poured all of his mana into the seal circle.

At the same time.

Boom—

The bloodsuckers’ barrier, exploded.

The blood that had managed to break through the barrier overflowed, crashing over the ground like a tidal wave. The compressed aura raged like pent-up frustration as it raced through the air, slashing at everything in its path.

The only one who took the brunt of the attack was Lydon.

“Ahaha! Such brute power, Van!”

Lydon hovered above, maintaining the ice barrier that enveloped the entire army. He endlessly repaired the rapidly deteriorating barrier, giving special attention to Cadel’s.

For him, the feeling of mana escaping like a broken jar was not much different from the excitement he felt during the climax. Lydon generously poured his mana to handle Van’s attack.

The gush of blood that broke through the barrier resembled a red bud in bloom. It was a sentiment that would not resonate at all with the knights pinned to the floor, facing a tidal wave of blood, but at least it seemed to Lydon.

And when the red petals finally bloomed. Silence descended upon Alithis.