Chapter 178: Sefira’s Big Shot (3)

The Silent Dark Page that Ailos had deployed engulfed the entire arena in shadow. Humans who possessed aura or mana typically had far sharper vision than the average person, but in that moment, even they could see nothing, just like any ordinary human.

“What’s happening?! S-somebody help!”

“Who is it?! Don’t grab my clothes!”

With not even a foot of visibility, the crowd quickly descended into chaos.

Crackle... Crackle...

Some tried lighting matches, but it was pointless. Every single flame was devoured by the darkness and snuffed out.

The only place where light still existed was near the square ring; the mana stone pillars around the ring were faintly illuminating the surrounding area. Yet that soft glow only deepened the people’s despair.

“Wh-what are those things?!”

“Undead!”

Ailos’s Deep Dark Fantasy created a field of absolute darkness that separated the arena from the material world. This alone was already a powerful ability, but it lacked offensive power. So Ailos wasted no time in deploying a second Dark Page.

“Reading the page: The Boiling Dark Page.”

Naturally, Eslow didn’t sit idly by. Darkness was no hindrance to him. He brought down a pitch-black double-headed axe upon Ailos.

Crack!!

Unlike his invisible blade from before, which had failed to cut through the dark barrier, the black axe pierced the darkness and came crashing toward Ailos’ head.

Clang!

However, Eslow’s axe was blocked by two thin swords. He looked at the ones who had stopped his strike, intrigued.

“I heard the method for creating fallen angels was lost during the Drakkara Extermination Campaign. So you’ve managed to revive it after all.”

What blocked the axe were two high elves, but they were not the noble, radiant kind; they had red eyes, jet-black skin, and pulsing violet veins. Despite wielding elegant rapiers, their entire presence radiated killing intent.

“You recognized them as fallen angels? That saves me the trouble of explaining. As you know, they’re exceedingly rare... please savor them.”

Snap.

Two more fallen angels appeared behind Eslow.

With all four present, their combined presence overwhelmed even Eslow, the Lord of the South.

Fallen angels, created by subjecting high elves to centuries of mental torment, easily surpassed six-star Grandmasters. And now there were four of them. This was undoubtedly a catastrophe. But Ailos knew even with all that, it wouldn’t be enough to defeat Eslow.

Still... they should buy me ten minutes.

The Boiling Dark Page had summoned more than just fallen angels; hundreds of Undead began crawling out of the shadows. Skeleton knights wearing dark armor and rotting zombies reeking of decay walked around. Evil spirits feeding on people’s fear floated through the air, exhaling icy breath.

The darkness was their domain. As long as it persisted, they were immortal. Resistance was meaningless. Escaping Deep Dark Fantasy was impossible. Even in death, one could not flee; their soul would be bound here and become reborn as another Undead. This horrifying truth would soon become apparent to all, even without being told.

Ailos looked around the area. To him, the darkness was no obstacle. Everything was laid bare before his eyes.

That monster Norman is holding up better than expected.

The Transparent Slime was slicing through everything in his path. Some were Ailos’ own summoned Undead, but they were immortal anyway; it didn’t matter if they were ripped apart.

Something else was bothering Ailos.

If I could somehow capture that thing and make it my servant, it would be an incredible asset...

But he shook his head.

Maybe if I could take him down instantly, but I would need at least five minutes.

The clash of weapons and screams rang out all around. The full-scale massacre by the Undead had begun, but Ailos’ expression didn’t change; it didn’t concern him.

Where’s Keter?

More precisely, he was looking for the Sefira brothers who should be with Keter. Time was tight, but there was something he urgently needed to tell them.

There they are.

He hadn’t found Keter, but he had spotted the Sefira brothers firing arrows in the dark.

Even in this absolute darkness, they are only striking the Undead. They’re not just firing at random. That’s impressive.

Still, no matter how many Undead they hit, it was meaningless. At best, it caused a momentary pause. Even if they were completely destroyed, the Undead would resurrect infinitely in this darkness.

“Shame Keter isn’t here... though that just makes this even more hopeless for them.”

With a faint smile, Ailos began slowly approaching the Sefira brothers, who were fighting desperately in the dark.

* * *

Nobles who trained more in practice than in actual battle were often said to be living inside a bubble. Anis agreed with that saying; he acknowledged that he too had been living inside a bubble. However, he didn’t believe that people in the bubble were always inferior to those living outside.

Even in a bubble, there was hardship and adversity. And sometimes, the trials that arose there were even more brutal than outside. That was why Anis firmly believed that no matter the situation, he must never be intimidated or give up.

But now, Anis had fallen into a pit of despair with no end in sight.

Thump, thump...

He was still shooting arrows on instinct, hitting the Undead here and there, but nothing changed. Even if their heads were blown off by the arrows, they only flinched for a moment before regenerating. Screams and cries echoed everywhere. Most were begging for their lives, with desperate sobs for help mixed in. It was all so helpless, so miserable.

...I should’ve told His Grace about this.

He thought from the start that they should inform Eslow, but Keter and Myle had insisted they didn't. In the end, he had no choice but to follow their judgment. So really...

This isn’t my fault.

The thick darkness and rising screams quickly ate away at Anis’ resolve.

If I had been the one making the decision, I would’ve warned His Grace. None of this would have happened.

It was clearly a self-serving excuse, yet it brought him no comfort. Instead, it dragged him deeper into despair. Unable to accept the horrifying reality, he mentally placed his own neck on the executioner’s block.

At that moment, Ailos appeared before Anis—or more precisely, he revealed himself before the three Sefira brothers.

Twang!

They fired Aura Arrows at Ailos almost simultaneously. No one needed to give the signal; they knew instinctively that if they didn’t kill Ailos, this wouldn’t end.

But Ailos didn’t move, not even a twitch. As the master of Deep Dark Fantasy, a world of darkness, simply standing in this world gave him the power of a seven-star Prime, meaning all he needed was the will to act, so just the will to block was enough.

Ping!

The Aura Arrows, fired with deadly force, bounced off the barrier of darkness without a trace of impact.

“It’s useless to attack me or the Undead.”

Still, the brothers didn’t stop. Ailos didn’t care and continued speaking.

“Normally, I avoid touching Keter’s toys... but you have crossed the line. Tried to meddle in my plans, did you? Even Keter chose to look the other way.”

“...?!”

Only then did the brothers halt their attack. They had no choice.

They hadn’t directly opposed Ailos’ plan. Instead, they had quietly informed a few trustworthy nobles to prepare. But how could Ailos possibly know that? The answer was clear.

There was a traitor.

Why didn’t we think of that?

We didn’t have time to weed them out.

Despair bloomed across the brothers’ faces. In contrast, a satisfied smile crept onto Ailos’ face.

“Originally, my plan was only to stall Eslow. The others? I couldn’t care less. But look around—the Undead are slaughtering civilians right now. Oh, maybe you can’t see because of the dark. Still, they’re dying, right this moment.”

“What are you trying to say...?!” shouted Myle, the eldest, in place of his brothers.

He could see Anis and Taragon’s resolve crumbling.

Ailos spread his arms wide.

“I’m saying it’s your fault. All of it. Thousands—no, at least ten thousand people will die today. And it’s all because of you. Keep that in mind. Hahaha!”

He drove the nail in.

The life completely drained from them. Enraged, Myle fired another arrow despite knowing it was futile.

“Lies! You think we would believe a word you say? You’re just trying to torment us!”

“Do I look like I have the time to lie to pathetic worms like you? Know your place.”

Clicking his tongue, Ailos turned his back on them. Just seeing the Sefira brothers suffer had satisfied him. Wasting more time on a fruitless argument would only be to his detriment.

“Well then, good luck—if you can survive, that is.”

Snap!

Ailos flicked his fingers, and a swarm of Undead charged the brothers. They were the elite Undead, the skeleton knights Henya and Rajis had been struggling against.

“...!”

Now facing dozens of them, the brothers were overwhelmed. Even Henya and Rajis, both top-tier five-star Masters, hadn’t been able to take on more than ten at once, and the Sefira brothers had only just begun to breach the four-star threshold.

They drew every last ounce of aura from within and fired again and again. There was no thought of retreat; there was nowhere to run. Dying in battle would be more honorable, and at least they could help someone else survive a little longer.

But the situation was hopeless. Their Aura Arrows, weakened by despair, couldn’t even pierce the Undeads’ dark armor. It wasn’t that their attacks lacked power; their will had broken, and with it, their arrows lost their force.

“Agh... Ahhhhh!!” screamed Anis in frustration.

It was anger directed at him for blaming his brothers, even for a moment, but also fury against his younger brother, who always handled every crisis without losing his composure.

“Keter!!!”

“You don’t have to shout. I hear you just fine.”

“...!”

Ailos stopped in his tracks. The voice that answered Anis was unmistakably Keter’s.

“Keter...!”

And there he was, standing before the three brothers, facing the swarm of skeleton knights head-on. Even in a realm of darkness and terror, Keter smiled.

Taragon, overwhelmed with joy and alarm, shouted, “Keter, watch out! Our Aura Arrows don’t work on those things!”

“Even if you manage to damage them, they regenerate. They’re immortal!”

Keter wagged his finger.

“Brothers. Remember this: never despair, never falter, and never give up in front of me.”

Voong!

The Milky Way, an arrow that shone brilliantly even in darkness, formed on Amaranth. Ailos scoffed as he watched Keter prepare to fight.

“Keter! I didn’t think you were the type to make foolish choices. Even if you can save your brothers, that’s all you’ll save. Everyone else will die! That’s all you can do by yourself!”

“Thanks for the concern, but I’ve decided I’m done fighting alone.”

“...What?”

Ailos suddenly felt a strange sensation.

Why... did the screams stop?

The groans of agony and the screams of fear were all gone. Now, only war cries and the clash of battle filled the air.

Of course, that wasn’t weird. There were hundreds of knights in the arena, so they would eventually regroup and retaliate. But even then, victory was impossible, as the Undead were invincible in this darkness.

And yet, what is this? This strange, skin-prickling feeling...

“...Glory...”

“What?!”

Ailos trembled. He had just heard something that should never have been uttered. Turning toward the voice, he spotted a silhouette in the darkness: arms raised high overhead in a pose unmistakably symbolic of a certain order.

“Glory to the Sun!”

With that cry, light exploded through the darkness. The Undead, struck by that light, faltered and shrank back.

The Order of the Sun—the eternal nemesis of all dark sorcerers—had arrived.