The smoke created from the explosion slowly lifted. Unsightly Humility appeared in the middle of a massive, deep crater.

Black Seol Jihu’s prediction was spot on. Unsightly Humility had not died

yet

.

The spectral horse must have been torn to shreds as it was nowhere to be seen. Unsightly Humility’s condition was even more surprising.

His sword, which had turned into a greatsword after his divinity release, was snapped in half. The remaining blade had spiderweb-like cracks, making it obvious that it would not function properly, almost like the owner of the said sword.

The jet-black armor, which seemed to be made of a special material, was completely broken off. With some bits and pieces remaining on his body, it looked like he was wearing torn clothes.

The bones that were revealed underneath his broken armor weren’t any better. They were incandescent, almost as if they were dipped inside a smelting furnace, and a portion of them had melted down and was dripping white liquid.

It was easy to see that he suffered terrible damage. He must have been brimming with divine energy from just having released his divinity, but he was still hit with hundreds of Thunders and Thunder arrows. Despite this, Unsightly Humility was still standing, his two boney legs fixed on the ground.

[Keeeeeeuuu….]

Sway, sway.

He was swaying as if he would fall at any moment. Then, his left shinbone broke. It just couldn’t hold his weight as his bones had melted down while he was in a weakened state.

Unsightly Humility swayed before falling to his knee. It was then.

Koong!

He fell backward, suddenly feeling a heavy weight and a violent evil intent on his body. When he looked up in response, he clattered his mostly broken teeth.

A giant vengeful spirit was pressing down on him as if to kill him even if it meant sacrificing itself.

That wasn’t all. Several people pushed through the cloud of dirt.

[Delicious!]

The first Servant of Gluttony, Flone, shot down rapidly.

“Uriyaaaaaah!”

The Star of Wrath, Wu Lei, struck down with his greatsword while giving off a powerful energy.

Cinzia, the Star of Sloth, came down while creating dozens of purple magic circles, and Agnes, the Star of Pride, did the same while shooting out spiderwebs.

More than a dozen Servants followed behind them, and at the furthest back, preparing a spell was the second Servant of Gluttony, Roselle.

All before Unsightly Humility could recover after being bombarded by Thunders.

His face paled rapidly.

*

Twisted Kindness stared in great astonishment.

She suspected something was up when she didn’t hear any Thunders go off. But never in her wildest imaginations did she think they would use them all in a single attack!

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t as if the Parasites didn’t make any gains from this. Without Thunders, the Dwarves were simple technicians who could not contribute to battles. The only problem was that the damage they suffered from the Thunders was massive.

With Vulgar Chastity gone, losing Unsightly Humility on top of that… would mean an irreversible setback for the Parasites.

The Parasite Queen had the same thoughts as Twisted Kindness. As soon as she realized this, she sent several long-ranged attacks at Seol Jihu, then turned around and flew away.

In the next moment, however, she felt something tug on her foot. Then, the Parasite Queen’s body suddenly shot backward.

[You!]

The Parasite Queen shook her leg angrily, then immediately pointed the ends of her bone wings in Unsightly Humility’s direction.

Zwooooong!

White beams of light shot out from her fourteen pairs of bone-wings. She was urgently trying to help Unsightly Humility from a long distance.

Boom, boom, boom!

However, even that was stopped in the middle. Seol Jihu had blinked over with Ethereal Shift and blocked the attacks.

Swinging the Spear of Purity, Seol Jihu’s body was shining gold before the Parasite Queen noticed. He had activated Spear God again.

“Where do you think you’re going, Your Majesty?”

Seol Jihu winked with a beaming smile.

The Parasite Queen bit her lower lip. It was clear as daylight how things would turn out from now on.

Although Vulgar Chastity perished, the right-wing troops were still alive, and most of the allied force’s troops had withdrawn, so it was still bearable.

The problem was the vanguard. It was already collapsing, but the moment Unsightly Humility perished, it would fall apart immediately.

With the vanguard gone, the Earthlings would join the vengeful spirit army and the Six Kingdoms’ army that were battling the center army.

The main powerhouses of the allied force would then be able to move to the left-wing, crushing Exploding Patience.

With that, the only one left would be the Seventh Army Commander in the final line of defense.

The Parasite Queen did not think Twisted Kindness would be enough to deal with so many troops. No matter what, she had to stop Unsightly Humility from perishing.

“What bastard’s on your mind? I can’t believe you’re thinking about someone else in the middle of our date!”

The problem, then, was dealing with this damned guy in front of her.

[Sorry, but I’m not interested in a man who constantly plays dumb when the woman is being so forward.]

“….”

Seol Jihu flinched, being hit where it hurt. He admired the Parasite Queen for being able to come up with such a good line when she was so anxious and restless.

Soon, the troops near the Nests and even the mother species surrounding them began to move. The Parasite Queen judged that this was the most critical point in the war. One that would determine the direction of this war depending on what happens next.

The best thing would be to rescue Unsightly Humility, heal him, and have him return to the battlefield. But if she was too late, she could not let the center army get broken through.

Before the war reached an irreversible point, she would have to achieve something on par with losing two Army Commanders.

And that would be up to her and Twisted Kindness.

[Out of the way!]

The Parasite Queen fiercely roused her energy and rushed forward for a frontal breakthrough.

The moment she was about to collide with Seol Jihu, he stealthily dodged to the side. Having expected him to obstruct her, the Parasite Queen’s eyes narrowed. It was because she saw the corner of Seol Jihu’s lips curl up as she crossed by as if he was letting her go on purpose.

Regardless, the Parasite Queen continued on. If it weren’t for the chilling energy creeping up behind her, she would have cut through the battlefield in an instant.

At that moment, the Parasite Queen flinched and turned back.

[Focus on one thing, alright? Don’t try to seize everything.]

For some reason, Sung Shihyun’s mocking words brushed past her mind.

Just as the Parasite Queen turned around and spotted a certain Mage floating above the capital…

that

was already happening.

*

Turning back time by five minutes.

A Magician stealthily teleported to the rear battlefield. The one looking around her surroundings was none other than Eun Yuri.

The Parasite Queen was tussling with Seol Jihu, not paying attention to her in the slightest. And just now, the Parasite army and mother species appeared in the capital and the area behind it. They seemed to be on their way to join the center army.

This was a golden opportunity.

Eun Yuri nodded. She had already finished finding the location. All that was left was to carry it out. She had to succeed no matter what, to become the bridge that led to the end of the second plan, and for everyone else.

Soon, Eun Yuri rolled up her sleeves and stretched out her arms. A brightly shining orb rose into the sky.

“——. ———. ——. ———.”

Her fingers moving as though she was playing the piano, her mouth rapidly began to chant a spell.

As her chanting continued, the orb undulated with more and more energy. When the ice energy from Eun Yuri’s Essence of Soma mixed into the orb, a cold wind began to blow.

This was also the moment when the Parasite Queen decided to break through Seol Jihu’s defense.

Eun Yuri’s arms trembled as the orb, condensed with an unimaginable amount of energy, vibrated intensely. The fact that the orb had not exploded meant that Eun Yuri was perfectly controlling the magic spell.

Soon, Eun Yuri’s eyes shot open.

A spell crafted with the Eternal Light of Wisdom, through the Completed Truth, and cast with Roselle Recital.

“…FREEZE–!”

The vibrating orb radiated an intense light.

Soon, the surface of the orb cracked, and the coldness within burst out like blades of wind.

A total of 47 wind blades shot out from the Eternal Light of Wisdom before shooting out in all directions fiercely.

The reason Eun Yuri, whose strength was only second to Seol Jihu, remained passive was all for this moment.

“W-O-R-L-D-!”

Roselle’s signature ultimate move, Final Solo, rang out.

A voice containing powerful mana spread far and wide and struck the wind blades that were cutting the air.

It was then. The raging winds transformed into surging waves and shot down like sudden rain.

Almost like the falling sparks of fireworks, the frost storm that suddenly changed into rapid winds raged in the surrounding area. To be more precise, it was in the location where the Parasite Queen had placed the Nests.

When the Parasite Queen noticed the abnormality and looked back, a frightening snowstorm was swirling through the Nests’ location.

—KIIIIIIIIIII!

—KIIIAAAAAAAAA!

With subzero energy raging around them, the Nests screamed sonorously. The mother species protecting the Nests were no exception. Eun Yuri’s spell had encapsulated them all.

—FREEZE–!

Eun Yuri did not stop.

—FREEZE–! FREEZE–!

As she continued to chant the Final Solo, the screams of the Nests quickly died down. The surface of their bodies became covered in frost, freezing them in place.

Thanks to Eun Yuri pouring out all of her mana in this attack, it did not take long before the Nests lost their ability to resist, and the desperate movements of the dying Nests stopped.

The Parasite Queen’s pupils shook faintly. Never in her wildest imagination did she think there would be someone capable of destroying the widespread Nests simultaneously.

The corner of Seol Jihu’s lips curled up.

Then, Eun Yuri clapped forcefully.

Chak!

Her palms hit each other.

Clang!

With the sound of shattering glass, the frozen ice exploded simultaneously and destroyed the Nests. The sparkling crystals of the ice and the viscous bodily fluids of the Nests mixed together into a beautiful mist.

“Huff…. Huff….”

Eun Yuri panted heavily and forcefully held herself back from stumbling. Her robe was clinging to her body, drenched with sweat, and a burning smell came out from her mouth.

She had used all her strength in the previous attack.

Like the saying,

a disciple eventually catches up to her master

, the power and control that Eun Yuri displayed was no less than Roselle’s.

What was important was that Eun Yuri succeeded. Destroying the Nests that the Parasite Queen so dearly cherished held a significant meaning.

The Parasites no longer had a method of replenishing their reproductive species. A large portion of their troops had escaped their control, and Seol Jihu, who was fighting the Parasite Queen, had a great burden taken off his shoulder.

Furthermore, with all Nests disappearing, the Parasites could no longer corrupt the land. Of course, the Empire’s land was already corrupted to the limit, but once the allied force purified the land, the Parasites would no longer have a method of corrupting the land again.

With this, the second plan, which would allow the allied force to grasp the key to victory, was reaching its end.

*

Same time.

Total chaos was breaking loose inside the crater.

[Nom nom nom nom nom nom!]

Flone was nibbling on Unsightly Humility’s stomach like a rabid hamster.

“Uriyaah! Uriyaaaah!”

Wu Lei was continuously swinging his greatsword after cutting off Unsightly Humility’s arm with his first attack.

“Die! Diiiieeeee!”

And Agnes was brandishing her arms crazily, finally succeeding in severing Unsightly Humility’s two legs.

That wasn’t all. Dozens of battle maidens were stabbing the immobile knight with their spears, and hail-like icicle spears were shooting down from the sky.

Everyone was following Seol Jihu’s plan, but they seemed to be going at it a bit excessively.

The scene inside the crater was reminiscent of an event from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, where the soldiers of Liu Bang rushed to dismember General Xiang Yu’s corpse and claim fame after he fell in battle.

[Go, Gor….]

The allied force’s members were attacking so hard that the evil spirit biting down on Unsightly Humility’s back groaned from the pain.

[….]

Meanwhile, the receiver of all of this treatment was silent.

He couldn’t do anything even if he wanted to.

His limbs had been cut off, and his body was being smashed to smithereens. Unsightly Humility was genuinely dumbfounded. He was so aghast that he almost felt cheated.

Being bombarded with Thunders and then immediately being attacked on all sides.

…In truth, he already knew that things would turn out like this the moment he was hit with the Thunders. It was just that knowing something was entirely different than experiencing it first hand.

It was… disheartening.

[…I made a mistake.]

With these words, the faintly shining light in his eyes flickered off.

Soon, Wu Lei’s greatsword smashed down and destroyed his skull.

Flash!

A large pillar of light shot up from the crater.

Then….

*

“The Nests have all been destroyed!”

A loud voice rang out in the allied force’s main camp.

The Sky Fairy, who received the report, looked back at Seo Yuhui.

“Will you really be okay…?”

Seo Yuhui nodded her head, her face pale.

The Sky Fairy looked at her worriedly before grasping the seed and the sedge in her hand.

“There is no need for you to do everything.”

“….”

“Planting the seed and helping it lay its root in the soil… that’s all.”

Seo Yuhui quietly nodded her head again and closed her eyes. Laid out in the eight directions around her were altars filled with offerings.

Seo Yuhui cupped her hands together and slowly kneeled down.

“…O Luxuria.”

The Star of Lust and Level 9 Saint Empress, Seo Yuhui, began a Ceremony.

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