At long last, the fortress of the skies, the Ark, had fallen.
But with it came Gawain, as though they had taken each other out, and then the remaining druids and wyverns charged for the remaining fleet in a suicide attack.
With the Ark gone, the fleet of flying warships could no longer enjoy the protection of the anti-magic barrier. Though their weapons remained functional, they could no longer stop the ryuus and the druids from approaching. The goblins lost their commander, Gi Za Zakuend, while the humans too lost Liuryuna, but the reaction of the now headless forces couldn’t be more different.
Without their leader, the fleet couldn’t maintain order and fell into complete chaos. Those that disengaged and withdrew were pursued and destroyed, but neither were the ryuus calm. With the anti-magic barrier gone, they could have just attacked from a distance, yet the ryuus and the druids were so taken by their wrath that they instead chose to fight up close.
They charged madly after the fleet as though seeking death. It was a mad, persistent charge that resulted in many sacrifices. And they did it over and over again until they were able to sink the last ship.
But their mad efforts to sink the ark and the rest of the fleet were by no means a waste.
The goblins knew how calm the druids were, so when they saw them fight with such inefficiency, they too hardened their resolve.
“Hear me, my soldiers! What are we? We are warriors! If the druids can fight a valiant battle such as that, then shall we, warriors, retreat here then!? I think not!”
The ground forces were in the process of being pushed back, so Gi Gu Verbena mustered his voice and rebuked his subordinates. Already, they had no reserves left. Felduk couldn’t even send their wounded to the back, yet they showed astounding tenacity.
Zeilduk, who were now fighting in a melee, the allied forces to the leftmost wing, the remnants of Sazanorga, who were doing well in the center, and the vanguard of Regiol all turned up the heat.
Even the high-ranking goblins, who should be the backbone of the army, continued to advance despite their casualties. That was true for General Gi Gu as well. His body was covered in many wounds, particularly his left shoulder, which had been deeply penetrated by a spear of ice. Were that spear off course just a few inches, it would have been a fatal hit.
Yet still, Gi Gu refused to back off.
“Believe in the king! Our king! Now go, my soldiers! Even should our flesh be torn, our bones be crushed, we shall cut open a path to our king!”
Despite being grievously wounded, Gi Gu rallied the wounded and exhausted goblins and spurred them on to fight once again. Already, they were running on nothing but their will, yet they continued to fight.
It had been a grueling three months, but it was only thanks to their training then that they could keep moving now despite their exhaustion and despite their brains no longer able to think straight
Gi Za had directed their path, while Zu Ved fought desperately to buy them those three months. The efforts and sacrifices made then were supporting them today.
As Felduk renewed their offensive, the frontmost line pushed onward.
With the ark already gone, all that was left was for their king to slay the enemy.
◇◇◇
The Goblin King leaned onto his great sword and squeezed out his voice through his clenched teeth.
“…You are a friend, indeed. My only…”
His teeth rattled as he clenched them tight.
Once again, a life had been added to the weight he carried on his back. Until just awhile ago, he had been in despair, but the loud rebuke his friend paid with his life woke him up.
“You managed to destroy them.”
But still, the hero continued to smile.
“Well, I don’t really care. The ark wasn’t absolute by any means. I’ll just have to make it again using the ryuus as material.”
His right-hand man, Liuryuna, was gone, but he remained unaffected and just smiled.
The Goblin King stood up. He wielded the Dark Sun(Aldia) with both of his hands and assumed stance.
With the destruction of the ark, the nation called Altigand was no more. After all, the entire royal family were on it, believing it to be the safest place in the entire continent.
That’s why the ark’s destruction was no different from Alrodena defeating Altigand.
Every nation that dared block their way along their path from the Forest of Darkness to claim hegemony over the entire continent has been vanquished.
The ambitions of the high king have been fulfilled.
So from here on—
“Turn me into a blade(Enchant)!”
Black flames burned and twisted around the blade of his sword.
“Hero… No, Ativ.”
The breath that left his lips was scorching hot.
“You have no right to call me by my name.”
“──I will slay you.”
—Was just the vengeance of a man who fell into this world and was woven with the soul of a monster.
“──Hah.”
Ativ laughed, but the Goblin King wouldn’t wait.
He took a step, a step so fast it was divine, and swung his great sword at a level that far surpassed anything he’d shown until now. Black flames already covered his whole body to support him. The step he took broke the earth, and the sword he swung gave rise to winds and shockwaves that trampled his surroundings.
Was it coincidence that the hero was still able to react? Or was that a miracle he performed? Regardless, metal clashed with metal, giving rise to sparks, and the metal that responded a moment slower screamed as it was sent flying.
“──What!?”
The hero opened his eyes in surprise, creating an opening that might as well have been the eye of a needle, yet the Goblin King was more than happy to take it.
“GURUuUuuUUURUOooOAOOOaOOOaaAA!!!”
The man bellowed out with such great power that it shake heaven and earth and intimidate men and gods alike, making even Ativ himself draw cold sweat.
The air shook and the earth rumbled as the forces behind the man responded to his call, nay, truly even the forces of the dead seemed to rally at his cries.
An army of tens of thousand could not compare. This was a man who carried upon his back all of the dead and all of the living. Indeed, the howls of such a man could intimidate even Ativ.
Then the man swung his sword.
Ativ received it, but it was heavy.
Before he knew it, his legs were in the air, and he was moving backwards.
“──!?”
It wasn’t until a few moments later that Ativ realized he’d been sent flying.
He was shocked, but he had no choice but to acknowledge it.
The man before him now possessed power rivaling his. The world moved with the man’s sword, and the true words he spoke possessed ‘principle’. The foe standing before him had reached such heights.
That fearful visage. Yes, this was his adversary, one who has brought with him an army of monsters and soldiers from the underworld.
Yet still, Ativ laughed.
“Fu, fu, fufuhahaha!!! Yes, you have to at least put up this much of a fight. A demon king must stand in the way of the hero. Fu, fufuhahaha!!”
Ativ distanced himself, laughed, then glared at the foe before him and gradually assumed stance.
“Very well. I shall humor you. The party will continue! I will overwrite the principle you now possess and bring this world back into the hands of the humans!”