NOVEL NEXT Chapter 168: Final Scream
In the main battlefield, Arden, fused with her harpy, held the frontline. Her gales swept those she faced away until a gorilla with a white chest and thick red fur appeared within her range.
The summoner of the 13.3 Throne Tier summon was a lieutenant who stood at the rear, shooting Vagabonds with his rifle.
Arden's eyes narrowed as the gorilla smashed a goblin summon wielding a huge round shield into the ground, pounding it with both fists.
Arden flew in and struck with her talons, ripping open deep gashes on the gorilla's arm. It roared and tried to grab her wing, but Arden, in the body of the harpy, maneuvered and opened a cut across the gorilla's face with the edge of her wing.
It growled furiously and slammed its foot into the ground. A sudden force pulled her backward, right into the gorilla's grasp.
Swiftly, it slammed her into the ground, pressed its thick foot onto her back, and dragged both wings with the intention of ripping them right off.
A figure billowing with cold, black smoke fell from the sky, landing directly on the gorilla's back. Dirge grabbed the gorilla's throat with the claws of her gauntlet and ripped it open before unleashing a banshee screech.
The earth trembled and tore open. A frightening gale blew everyone away, tumbling heavy trucks as the crack spread even farther, widening as it went.
Agents fell into the ravine along with their trucks, while Vagabonds were sent flying back by her telekinesis. When Dirge finally stopped, the battlefield was a wreck, with a massive ravine stretching far into the distance.
"W–What in the world… Is that his fifth knight?" Dax stammered as shock overwhelmed him. He felt disoriented; his ears were bleeding even though Dirge had protected them with a telekinesis barrier.
Arden's heart pounded hard as she looked at the edge of the land they stood upon. Everything around them had fallen into a deep, dark pit.
Dirge leaped from the gorilla's back and landed beside Arden. The gorilla had died resting on its muscular arms, with Arden lying right beneath it.
"Rise up, my shadow," Dirge whispered.
The gorilla's eyes shone with a ghastly blue light as its fur turned black and its white chest gained a midnight-blue shade. It roared.
Dirge lifted her staff, and wisps, representing the life force of those slain by her, flew and merged with the black smoke swirling around her.
After absorbing the life force of several King Tiers, a handful of Thrones, and numerous lower-tiered summons, her tier rose from 12.1 to 12.9.
Her crimson armour turned back into gold, restoring a majestic aura that had once been dreadful on the crimson-armoured knight whose lower body was nothing but billowing black mist.
Her white cloak and plume waved softly. Her eyes met Arden's as Arden retrieved her summon, gawking at the shadow gorilla whose aura, though slightly weaker, was still frightening.
Oliver looked at Dax. "It's one of those summons that has other means of growth aside from mana. Are his knights just going to keep getting stronger?"
***
Isshin stood amid roaring flames, the edges of his hakama already burnt away. It held both hands on the katana, staring upward as the phoenix soared into the sky and vanished.
Just as Bram fled at Dirge's display of might, Amber realized they had lost.
Besides, had it not been for her notable self-healing, known as one of the best in the world, she would have lost her summon to the Oni Ronin whose katana possessed the ability to cut anything.
Arian had been hailed as the most talented even before Godfrey's arrival for a reason. His katana could cut through illusions and even space itself.
Amber had never seen such a terrifying ability, and the tattoos on its body allowed it to duplicate itself. Once a tattoo was used, it could not be recovered, but who would ever want to face more than one Isshin? The Ronin alone was a nightmare; a dozen of them could be as dangerous as a red gate.
Arian emerged from the Ronin and retrieved it. He adjusted his plain round glasses, slid his hands into his pockets, turned, and walked away.
***
"That doesn't look good," a man said as he stood among the many watching the armoured truck leave the blue gate.
Driving it was a girl with twin ponytails. Lucy wore a soft smile, still reminiscing about the comfort of embracing Godfrey when she saw him, although his armour had been hard.
Inside the truck were the few who survived: her classmates with terrified faces and several agents who had lost all conviction, shaken and distraught.
They had little idea why they were left alive, but Godfrey didn't want Lucy to leave alone. He also didn't want to take her to Paradise, as that would separate her from her single mother.
Lucy already had a life. She wasn't wanted. She could still graduate. And he wanted someone he trusted to remain with Isolde.
While driving, Lucy turned to the individual seated in the front passenger seat. His white hair fluttered as the wind pressed against it.
He stared outside, his eyes unfocused.
"Snow…"
He turned, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "What is it?"
'Still rude and unlikable,' Lucy scowled inwardly, eyeing the white-haired young man as he continued to stare out the window.
When they reached Brooklyn Bridge, Lucy came to a stop. Bram and Amber were already standing there.
"I had a feeling you'd survive," Bram said, staring straight at Lucy.
Lucy began to fidget, but Bram and Amber surprisingly did nothing else and entered the truck.
They didn't even tell her to step down from the driver's seat.
At the back of the truck, Bram looked at Amber. "He has a fifth summon, and it can raise those it has slain and grow through its kills."
'At that, I had to run,' he added inwardly.
"He also killed Weston and Henry?" Amber asked.
"I've identified our target as a Saint Tier summoner, a regional-level threat, but Weston should still have been able to act when he was born. I went there after the target left, but I couldn't find his corpse, not even signs of a fight," Bram said grimly.
"So he was killed in the past. By who?"
Bram closed his eyes at Amber's question. "It's obvious."
"Ronald Daniels!" Amber rose to her feet. "Is he still dead?!"
"Let's hope so. We already have our hands full. Any more anomalies and things will spiral out of control."
***
In a vast, sunlit desert filled with towering dunes, a man with a head of golden hair and beard sat atop a dead dragon's head. His summon lay curled beside him, sleeping, while he slowly chewed dried meat.
"The dwarves said this thing can check tiers," Ronald muttered as he brought out a diamond-shaped crystal from a leather bag and placed it on the dragon's head.
"Indigo?" He raised an eyebrow at the color it emitted.
'Indigo means top-level Divine Tier… I'm still far off Adam.'