Chapter 449: The Third Calamity (3)

“Hup!”

Aidan felt the scorching heat graze his cheek as it passed by.

“Is that the power of a Druid?”

Anchar’s body, now cloaked in radiant white light, had undergone a transformation. Two large, angular antlers had sprouted from her head, resembling those of the Divine Deer, and her legs were bent like the hind legs of a stag.

With a powerful leap, Anchar kicked off the surface of the waves as if they were solid ground, soaring to the top of the tallest ship.

“Amen-t Montaph!”

Her voice boomed across the battlefield, echoing as though amplified by magic.

“Wha—?!”

“...”

The soldiers of the Silverwing Fleet flinched at the overwhelming sound of her voice.

“All troops, cover your ears and board the Mana Ship!”

“If you spot any wyverns, fall back to them instead!”

The commanding officers shouted as they deployed the remaining rescue boats across the water.

Unlike regular soldiers, the knights could tell that the voice echoing from her chest wasn’t simply amplified by mana. It carried something deeper, something primal.

As Anchar recited the Spirit Beast Purification Spell in the druidic tongue, a fierce wind began to swirl around her—though it wasn’t stirred by air pressure or any natural current. It was driven by the furious movement of thousands upon thousands of insects.

Crackle!

She ignored the Lice surging toward her in a frenzied attack, focusing instead on gathering more spirit power.

“Mew...!!” From her lips came not a human voice, but the cry of a beast.

Fwoooooosh!

BOOOOM!

Light erupted from Anchar, engulfing the murderous swarm.

Like Rasis, Alkar possessed the power of light—along with the power of purification. The rite Anchar had performed drew upon that very light-based cleansing force.

Ssshhhh...!

She stretched her hand upward, and from it unfurled a dome of light, like a radiant shield. The dome expanded outward, and every Lice that touched it began to smolder and sizzle. However, insects weren’t being scorched in the literal sense—this wasn’t fire.

It was purification in its truest form.

The moment the Lice came into contact with Anchar’s light, their frantic movements slowed. As if tamed, they began to circle her slowly, like wild beasts brought to heel.

Thwip!

Though invisible to the naked eye, mutant strains were hidden among the hundreds of insects. One of them, bearing crimson wings, resisted Anchar’s spell and retaliated—launching a sharp, venomous stinger.

“Watch out!” Aidan warned.

Just as the deadly stinger was about to pierce Anchar’s neck, Aidan caught it deftly between his index and middle fingers, snapping it in half.

His figure blurred before Anchar could even respond, vanishing as he darted with lightning speed across the sinking ships, emitting crackling electricity with every step.

Is the continent filled with warriors like him?

Ever since leaving the Great Jungle, Anchar had come to realize just how vast the world truly was. The belief that her tribe was the mightiest of all savages had been thoroughly shattered.

However, that didn’t mean the mutated monsters lurking in the Great Jungle were weak—quite the opposite. And individually, the people of her tribe were still stronger than those from the northern and southern regions, so her perspective hadn’t been entirely mistaken.

What truly stunned her was Karyl’s people in particular, as they all seemed to defy common sense.

“Snakel!”

Aidan’s shout carried across the strait.

In response, the elite assassins of the Burning Darkness, who had been stationed on the Mana Ship, scattered in all directions, as if they had been waiting for this exact moment.

“What?! When did they...?!”

Anchar was baffled—she had assumed only she and Aidan were aboard the Mana Ship.

Noticing her reaction, Aidan smirked. The Snakel assassins, masters of stealth, had eluded even her senses, despite her connection to the spirits.

“I’m tired of waiting. Rescue operations aren’t exactly my forte, but we gotta clear these things out if we’re to face that damned monster.”

At the forefront of the Snakels, Zouk De Holde clenched her fists tightly.

“Hup!”

Drawing in a deep breath, she pulled her fists back, and her gauntlets doubled in size.

Viewing Aidan as a rival, Zouk had never slacked in her training. She had done everything she could to keep up with him. Now, she stood as a Sword Master-level assassin, with full mastery over body modification.

BANG!

When she struck her fists together, the sinking ship erupted from the water, rising high into the air.

“Aaaaagh...!”

“Arghhh...!”

The soldiers aboard were launched into the sky along with the ship, as if gravity had ceased. The Snakel assassins moved swiftly, snatching the soldiers midair and bringing them to the Mana Ship.

Zzzzzzt—!

“Zouk.”

Aidan vanished from sight once more. He slid across the deck of the falling ship, sparks flaring in his wake. Twin black streaks scorched the surface beneath his feet, lightning still crackling behind him.

“Let’s do something actually worthy of our time and strength.”

“...What?”

“The Mana Ship has reached the heart of the fleet faster than I expected. Looks like Karl Mack hasn’t been slacking off either. The Snakel can rescue those soldiers by themselves. You and I will go after Lice’s main body.”

“How are we supposed to do that?”

“There are mutants within the swarm. I saw some firing venomous stingers. There are several of them, which means the main body has to be hiding somewhere nearby. Once Anchar gathers the swarm with her spirit powers, we’ll identify the mutations and track the real one.”

Zouk De Holde snorted, as if to say easier said than done.

“...That’s something only you could pull off.”

***

Tap, tap.

“Think, Anchar.”

Karyl tapped his temple with two fingers.

“The battle has finally begun in full. It’s similar to what happened with Hekqet, but this one’s different. There’s no point in building a seawall. By the time it’s done, the waves will have already crashed. You have to control the current itself.”

[So you’re saying Lice must have a main body too,] said Allen.

Of course. After all, Tarak is the essence of the Calamities. Hekqet scattered his fragments across the land, but once we took care of all of them, the main body finally revealed itself. Lice is the same. There has to be a main body at the center of those millions of bugs.

[So now we’ve got to find that main body hidden among a bunch of microscopic bugs we can’t even see? That’s one hell of a job. But that guy running around like crazy over there... I guess he’s trying to find it in his own way.]

If he pushed himself, Aidan might be able to locate Lice’s main body, but that’s as far as he’d get. He wouldn’t be able to deliver the killing blow.

[Why not?]

Because finding an enemy and striking them down are two completely different things. To cut something down, you need to move faster than your target. If not, you just end up stuck in an endless game of chase.

[So you’re saying that guy’s just going to keep chasing after Lice’s tail but never catch up to the real thing? Even with his incredible speed, he can’t overtake the main body?]

That’s why we need Anchar. She’s the only one who can control the Lice’s speed. She doesn’t see the world the way we do. But whether she figures out how to do that depends entirely on her own abilities.

[I see...] Allen Javius nodded slowly. [But how the hell did they even manage to kill something that strong back then?]

In the previous timeline, Aidan had never become a Sword Master. Likewise, the rest of the Ten Godslayers had fallen just short of reaching their full potential.

“...”

Karyl said nothing. He simply raised a finger to his lips, signaling for silence.

[It’s not like anyone else can hear me but you,] Allen muttered under his breath, shrugging.

But he already knew why Karyl was acting that way. He had sensed another presence a while ago.

You don’t plan on helping, do you?

Karyl turned his head.

“Serga.”

Fwooooosh

—!!

A gust of wind rose beside him, and the robed sorcerer emerged from the swirling air.

“You’re back from the Spirit Realm. I believe this is the first time we’re having a proper conversation.”

“You’ve been staying off the grid ever since the war,” Karyl remarked. “I told Anthem to entrust the Academy’s sorcerers to you, but seeing as you came here alone... I take it you’ve decided to act independently.”

“Indeed.”

Karyl nodded, as if he had expected that answer. “Well, that’s one way to go about it. You’re still just an observer, after all. But to be clinging to that role even now, when your comrades are struggling in battle... Don’t you think that’s a bit cruel? Especially for someone who holds the title of Grand Sorcerer?”

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

“And yet the one who’s reached the peak both in swordsmanship and magic, a feat previously considered impossible, is standing by and watching just the same.”

“When you’re at the top, it’s only natural to let your subordinates act first.”

At that, Serga smiled faintly. “Wasn’t equality the core principle of the Free Nation? No class, no rank... That’s how you envisioned it, right?”

“You’ve done your homework. What, not happy about the fall of the Serga family?”

“Who knows?”

[I can sense draconic aura... Miliana might’ve been right. It looks like one of them brought him here,] Allen muttered to himself, clearly displeased by Serga’s mana.

Serga had also been the disciple of a dragon—the Platinum Dragon.

“Truthfully, I’m just tired. The Spirit Realm wasn’t the only place I visited. I stopped by Pharel while I had some time.”

“...Huh.”

Karyl spoke nonchalantly about his past endeavors, omitting the fact that he had gained the power of the Lycanthrope in the tower. Just mentioning the fact that he had ventured into Pharel by himself was enough to baffle Serga.

“I can’t quite tell if you’re joking or not. As expected, you’re beyond our reach, Karyl MacGovern.”

“A commander must be able to judge the strength of his most capable subordinates. So, tell me. What’s your take on this situation? Do you think there’s a way to capture Lice right now?”

Karyl asked the question deliberately, and Serga immediately recognized it for what it was—a test to see how well he could assess the battlefield.

The sorcerer gave a wry smile, seemingly exasperated by the fact that Karyl was still keeping him under a microscope, even in the midst of all this.

“From what I can tell, unlike the previous monsters, these insects don’t carry the aura of Tarak, aside from the mutants. They’re actual bugs.”

With that, Serga snapped his fingers. Two bugs appeared in his palm, spinning in place as if trapped by an invisible force. One was a mutant, the same type that had shot a venomous stinger at Anchar earlier, and the other one was a normal insect.

Though these creatures were almost invisible and incredibly fast, Serga had picked them out effortlessly.

[So that’s how they stopped Lice last time.] Allen nodded in understanding.

“The Druid’s power works on insects, but not on the mutants. However, if Anchar manages to control the regular bugs and separate them from the mutants, Aidan should be able to step in and eliminate them.”

“And the main body? What if it’s faster and stronger than the mutants?”

“Well, Anchar’s powers don’t work against the Tarak, so I reckon they won’t be able to stop Lice.”

“And you?”

“I can do it. My magic can tear everything apart, living beings and Tarak alike.”

“You sound confident.”

Karyl wasn’t displeased by Serga’s attitude. Sorcerers required a certain degree of arrogance—without it, they would never refine their magic to perfection. In Serga’s case, though, it wasn’t arrogance. It was a straightforward, objective assessment of his own capabilities.

“Impressive. You really do live up to your reputation as a lifelong prodigy.”

Karyl regarded him with a crooked smile.

“Though, I see things differently.”

“...?”

“There are geniuses even in the mud of the jungle. But those who sit at their fancy desk and learn everything from books? There are things they’ll never figure out.”

At that, the confidence in Serga’s expression cracked.