“They’re finally here. Those slugs.”
Dielka, her heart burning with a thirst for revenge, glared at the demon fleet.
The fleet was a chaotic mixture of the Legions of Ruin, Chaos, Immortality, and Greed. While the Chaos and Greed Legions were the primary instigators, the Demons of Ruin were acting as mercenaries, and the Immortal Demons had been brought by the one who kidnapped Dielka’s mother.
‘It was Count Jende.’
Dielka had been very young when her mother was taken by Count Jende. Even so, she remembered his name and appearance vividly. He was a Lich whose entire body was adorned with blue gems. It was usually difficult to distinguish one Lich from another since they were nothing but bone, but Dielka could have picked Count Jende out from a crowd of 100 Liches.
Out of the 100 demon dimension ships, ninety-nine came to a halt while only one continued forward. A Dark Elf was tied to a pillar on its deck.
Dielka headed out on a small dimension ship. Throughout the journey, her expression remained cold. The two dimension ships came face-to-face at a distance of 10 meters.
Dielka stood at the bow. The tied Dark Elf had her head bowed low, making it impossible to see her face. Nevertheless, Dielka was certain it was her mother just by her silhouette. She could tell, even though the woman looked haggard and skeletal.
Count Jende stepped out onto the deck of the demon ship. He was indeed a Lich, his robes and staff decorated with blue gems.
“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? You’ve ripened quite well since I last saw you. How about joining me and enjoying immortality?”
“Tui! You’re disgusting, so shut up and hand over my mother.”
“The Gate Stone?”
Dielka held the Gate Stone up high.
“It’s the real thing. Hand it over.”
“Didn’t you hear the terms of the deal from Duke Royal?”
“Oh, I certainly heard them.”
“Then do as you were told.”
“What I heard was this — ”
Count Jende stroked Dielka’s mother.
“That since we’re going to kill you all anyway, I should do whatever I want with you.”
“I knew it. You despicable bastards. You never had any intention of keeping your word, did you?”
“The same could be said for you.”
Count Jende swung his staff. A **Death Spear** formed above his head and shot forward.
“How ridiculous.”
Dielka was a High Dark Elf. Using the Demonic Energy of immortality in front of someone who commanded the spirits of death was like trying to teach a fish how to swim.
The Death Spirit summoned by Dielka took flight. Its wings made no sound as they beat. Despite the silence, it exuded the majestic dignity that had once earned it fame for slaughtering demons. Death Mana spread out, forming a domain.
That was all the Death Spirit did. Though it was an aggressive aura, it was more than enough to block the Mana of immortality.
*Sss.*
The **Death Spear** disintegrated the moment it entered the domain. The Mana crystals collapsed under the weight of a superior power, making it impossible to maintain the magic.
“Die.”
Dielka pointed at Count Jende. Just as the Death Spirit was about to lunge, Count Jende pressed his staff against her mother’s throat. The Death Spirit stopped abruptly.
The two dimension ships began to drift apart. Dielka did not take her eyes off Count Jende for even a fraction of a second.
A massive Mana surge erupted in the space behind Count Jende. A giant Gate opened, and dimension ships began pouring out in succession. Their numbers quickly surpassed 500 and looked set to reach 1,000 in no time. Duke Royal had deployed his full strength from the start to ensure Dielka couldn’t try anything clever.
“Why aren’t you running? Use the Gate Stone already!” shouted Count Jende, whose role was to prevent Dielka’s escape.
Interrupting a Gate wasn’t particularly difficult, as even a small disturbance could cause it to lose its balance.
“I will make sure you die by my hand.”
“And I will fill you with so much immortal Demonic Energy that you will be neither dead nor alive.”
A Gate appeared behind Dielka as well. Naturally, the Apocalid and Elf dimension ships emerged from it.
“You’ve invited your comrades to their deaths. This is why Dark Elves are useless.”
Dielka barely suppressed her urge to fire an arrow and kill Count Jende. If it weren’t for the hostage, she would have killed him ten times over by now.
The demon dimension ships had all exited the Gate. Just as Iselin had predicted, there were over 1,000 of them. As they simultaneously cast a wide-area Gate interference spell, even the dimensions that appeared as small as coins in the distance were affected.
*Zap!*
The Gate, which the last Elf dimension ship had just passed through, snapped shut. The Apocalid moved to the front, and the Elf ships lined up behind it.
“Deactivate Mana Engines, except for the vanguard,” Duke Royal commanded.
Every dimension ship except for the front 100 shut down their Mana Engines. This was to prevent the ships themselves from malfunctioning after being caught in the Mana Storm.
“Our objective is the Gate Stone. It doesn’t matter if Iselin and Dielka escape or if they fail to kill the Outer Mind. Aim for the Gate Stone at all costs.”
As someone who had studied Gate magic for years, Duke Royal understood the value of the Gate Stone better than anyone. Even after decades of research, a Gate could only be opened by offering a massive sacrifice. The cost of this single deployment alone was enough to buy a Baron’s territory.
But the Gate Stone was different. By injecting just a little Mana, one could move dozens or even hundreds of dimension ships. It was a truly broken tool. With it, he could advance his Gate research by centuries, not just decades.
That was why he had used Gratis to steal the Gate Stone. He had barely succeeded, only for some reckless brat to snatch it away during the recovery process. Duke Royal had been beyond frustrated. On the day he heard that news, he had taken the lives of countless demons just to vent his rage. Now that he had another chance to obtain it, he had no intention of letting it slip through his fingers.
“How dare these frail things oppose demons. Marquis Shank, show them their place.”
“With pleasure. Hee-hee-hee.”
Marquis Shank was a Demon of Chaos with the head of a rat. Originally a Gratis, he was a self-made demon who had risen quickly through the ranks with his despicable yet brilliant Chaos Magic, eventually becoming a direct subordinate of Archduke Ventresca. He specialized in wide-area debuffs against Monsters.
Marquis Shank departed. Only the vanguard of 100 dimension ships advanced toward the enemy. The rest aimed their Hell Cannons and magic. Their plan was to kill everyone once the vanguard and the enemy became entangled. It was a cruel but effective method.
***
Choi Kangjoong joined Dielka. Her expression as she watched the retreating Count Jende was grim.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m not, which is why I’m going to catch that guy no matter what.”
“Should I go grab him for you now?”
“No. You’re going to devour all of them, right?”
“Of course.”
“Then let me be the one to kill him at the end. I want to see him trembling in fear.”
Since it didn’t matter whether he devoured him now or later, Kangjoong decided to grant Dielka’s request.
“But we can win this, right?”
“You think we’ll lose?”
“A little.”
One hundred dimension ships were approaching from the front. Behind them, ten times that number were stationed in reserve. On every deck, demons stood ready to cast Chaos Magic.
“We can’t lose to our food.”
“Do you have some kind of extraordinary plan prepared?”
“Nothing like that.”
“Then we’re just…?”
“Naturally.”
He intended to fight in a manner befitting the Apocalid. It would be a battle of closing the distance, crushing, tearing, and melting the enemy. Fighting like that normally would lead to defeat, but with himself and Lutal, he didn’t feel like they could lose. They also had Ku-eong, who displayed broken abilities within a Mana Storm, and many Central Command Giants capable of using **Apocalid World**.
“Go to the back.”
“I want to fight at the front too.”
“Can you handle this?”
Kangjoong activated **Apocalid World**.
For a moment, Dielka felt the shock of her soul and body being pulled apart. It was a good thing he turned it off quickly; had she remained under its influence, her soul would have been consumed by hunger while her body melted away.
“W-what was that?”
“That is what will be unleashed right in the middle of them.”
“Are your summons unaffected?”
“My summons are fine.”
“Is there a way to block it?”
“Becoming my summon?”
“I’ll go stay in the back…”
Dielka flew toward the *Divine Arrow*, looking dejected. Iselin was standing on its deck. Behind her stood Choi Yunseo and Han Junghwa. When Kangjoong looked over, the only two humans on the *Divine Arrow* waved at him.
“Lutal, wake up.”
*Grrr.*
Lutal quickly emerged from hibernation and came out equipped with boosters.
“It doesn’t look like there’s anything there that can catch you, so go wild.”
*Grrr.*
“If it gets tough, you know what to do, right?”
*Grrr!*
Lutal’s black eyes turned toward Iselin on the *Divine Arrow*. To Lutal, she was a very good source of healing.
The boosters accelerated. Thanks to his Enhanced Psionic reaching Level 7, his acceleration was much faster than before.
*BOOOM!*
A thunderous roar echoed as the Mana of the Dimensional Sea was pierced. The Mana condensed in front of Lutal was so intense that it almost generated lightning. Having burrowed into the center of the enemy formation in an instant, Lutal elongated his **Death Blade** and sliced through a dimension ship as he zipped past.
*Creeeeak!*
The dimension ship, cut halfway through, began to tilt. The impact of the **Death Blade** didn’t end there. Death Mana spread out and engulfed the Wisps, which served as the ammunition for the Hell Cannons. One Wisp exploded, causing a chain reaction among those nearby.
*BOOOM!*
The spectacular explosion of the dimension ship signaled the start of the battle.
“It’s him!”
“Pour everything we have on him!”
“Kill him before he kills you!”
The Chaos demons unleashed all sorts of magic. The Hell Cannons fired. Attacks flew at Lutal from every direction.
Fireballs on one side, Wisps on the other. Wide-area magic unfolded behind him, followed by more Wisps. It looked like a dense net with no escape, but Lutal, whose Psionic Combat Nerve had reached Level 7, and the brain of his booster searched for the optimal path through simultaneous calculations.
*Swish! Swish! Whoosh!*
He banked sharply to evade the Fireballs and Wisps. He dodged with sudden bursts of speed and then accelerated again. In this manner, he pierced through countless explosions, lightning strikes, ice shards, storms, poisons, and light beams.
“He must be dead, right?”
“Even the Duke couldn’t escape that.”
The Chaos demons muttered, letting their guard down. Suddenly, Lutal plummeted toward them like an arrow.
*Crunch!*
A Chaos demon was instantly killed by the **Death Blade**. Immediately afterward, the dimension ship exploded.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
The Super Titan’s breath tore through the rear ranks of the dimension ships. Dozens of ships exploded, but it was an underwhelming result. Because the demon ships were spread out, the breath wasn’t as effective as its power suggested.
“Let’s save the breath.”
“Ku-eong.”
“Fire the Biological Torpedoes at the front.”
Biological Torpedoes were launched from the Super Titan’s back. The Apocalid, which knew nothing but acceleration, tracking, and detonation, flew toward the dimension ships filled with Demons of Ruin, Immortal Demons, and Magic Beasts.
*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Each torpedo burrowed into a ship and exploded. While it wasn’t enough to completely neutralize them, the unlucky ones were obliterated as their powder magazines were struck.
Shells fired from the Mana Cannons rained down like water. Nevertheless, the demon dimension ships stubbornly pressed forward and vomited out demons.
“Hahahaha!”
“This world is ours now!”
“You damn things!”
Even after enduring a baptism from the Chitin Cannons, the demons who managed to land on the backs of the Light Titans rejoiced. For them, dimension ship combat was simple. Once you closed the distance, you won. That was it. And since they had closed the distance, they considered the battle as good as won. To them, who knew nothing of the Apocalid, this was an absolute truth.
An Apocalid rose from the side of a Light Titan. It was a Central Command Giant. With its disproportionately large head, it didn’t look like much of a fighter. The demons thought they could kill it quickly and savor its blood and pain.
However, the moment **Apocalid World** was deployed, they fell to their knees.
“AAAGHHHH!”
“Screeeeee!”
The demons screamed, regardless of their species. Their souls were being dismantled, and their bodies were melting away. Only those of Count rank were barely able to endure it.