Chapter 31: Ultimate Star-spear

The past year had been filled with battles, but nothing on this scale.

This was a full-blown war, with hundreds of people fighting on both sides.

Although Rui had no military experience, she knew that war inevitably led to casualties. When she heard about the attack on Alphares’s West Gate, a grim image flashed through her mind.

The West Gate’s comparatively small garrison.

The potential for massive civilian casualties.

…And one of their own, gravely injured in the chaos.

But… none of that happened.

[The mage cast a protective spell on the West Gate’s walls.]

[Thanks to her, the attack from the black fortress caused minimal damage.]

No casualties despite a surprise attack? Yet, the mage responsible showed no sign of self-satisfaction.

It was a good start. But the war had just begun.

The thousands of monsters pouring from the fortress were too much for the hero’s party alone. Adventurers, mercenaries, and guards joined the fray. While skilled, they were still outmatched by the strengthened monsters.

The party fought to minimize casualties, but gaps were inevitable.

[Multiscale-Enchanting.]

The mage filled those gaps, enchanting everyone’s equipment. Instantly empowered, the soldiers held their own against the monsters, giving the hero’s party a much-needed reprieve.

By nightfall, the monster horde receded. And miraculously, despite the injuries, there were no fatalities.

The mage had defied the inevitable casualties of war.

She seemed to see the future, always one step ahead. Her actions had drastically increased the party’s effectiveness.

They decided to strike the fortress before another wave of monsters emerged. As they prepared to enter, the mage handed them bracelets.

[These bracelets track your location and condition.]

The reason for the bracelets became clear the moment they entered the fortress and were separated. Without a way to find each other, they would have been vulnerable to being picked off one by one.

But the bracelets allowed them to regroup swiftly.

Now, they stood before the demon lord’s chamber, ready to face him.

At full strength, with no casualties.

Following the mage’s guidance, they arrived at a massive, ornately decorated door. It was clearly important.

“There are no traps on the door,” the mage confirmed.

Aswell slowly pushed the door open.

Rumble…

“Look out!” Serin shouted.

Bang!

An attack the moment the door opened. Aswell reacted instantly, blocking it with his sword.

“Hmm, as expected of the hero,” a voice sighed from the far end of the room.

Aswell’s eyes met the speaker’s, and a shiver ran down his spine.

‘…It’s him.’

Chuckle…

The demon who had attacked Rui was powerful.

But even he would be no match for this old man.

The magical power and sheer presence emanating from him were overwhelming.

“Tsk, useless. Every last one of them. I shouldn’t have bothered bringing them along,” the old man muttered, leaning on his cane and pacing around a black throne.

There were no other demons present.

Aswell relayed this information to his companions and cautiously entered the room.

“A cautious one, aren’t you? What’s your name?” the old man asked.

“…,” Aswell remained silent.

“Ha, no manners. A disrespectful whelp,” the old man sighed.

Rumble…

Each word from the old man seemed to shake the very foundations of the fortress. There was no doubt; he was the master of this place.

“Battle stations!” Aswell commanded.

The party assumed their combat stances. They were facing a single opponent, but they had to be wary of ambushes and reinforcements within his domain.

“Very well. I suppose I’ll have to introduce myself to this clueless human hero,” the old man said.

Clang!

Aswell drew his holy sword and charged. Empowered by Rui’s enchanted gloves, boots, and bracelet, he reached the old man in a blink of an eye.

“Baal Pellegrino. The one who will destroy you and consume this land,” the old man declared.

Baal’s eyes turned black, and his mouth split into a wide, unnatural grin. Aswell tried to dodge, but he couldn’t avoid the dark red tendrils that erupted from Baal’s body.

Bang!

“Gah!”

“Aswell!!”

“I’m alright. I’m not hurt,” Aswell reassured them, the protective barrier from his bracelet shattering as it absorbed the impact.

‘Even with that…?’ Aswell thought, surprised.

Even with the holy sword and armor’s anti-magic properties, he had been pushed back several steps. He mentally reassessed Baal’s threat level. It was much higher than he had anticipated.

“Aswell,” Serin called.

“…Rui,” Aswell acknowledged her presence.

Serin and Raphilia engaged Baal, while Aria supported them from a distance. Rui approached Aswell, her pen rapidly inscribing golden characters in the air. The characters danced before merging with his gloves, boots, and bracelet.

“I’ve added some defensive spells. And… be careful of those tendrils. They’re not infused with magical power,” Rui explained.

“Not infused with magical power?” Aswell asked, surprised.

“Yes. So don’t rely solely on your holy sword and armor. Don’t charge in recklessly,” Rui warned.

“…Thank you,” Aswell said, grateful for her advice.

He joined Serin on the front lines.

“You alright?” he asked.

“Yeah. Thanks for holding out,” Serin replied.

“I have to be strong to stand by your side,” Aswell said.

Bang!

“Get out of my way!” Baal roared.

“Annoying pests,” he muttered.

Another tendril shot towards them, but Raphilia intercepted it with an arrow. Baal tried to retract the tendril and dislodge the arrow.

“Serin, left!” Rui shouted.

“I’ll get him!” Serin responded.

They wouldn’t let him escape so easily. Serin and Rui sliced through Baal’s tendrils, pressing their attack.

“Holy Resonance!” Aria called out.

A faint white glow enveloped Serin’s sword. Even without inherent holy power, she could now cut through the tendrils with ease.

“Aria, stay back. Out of range of the tendrils. Raphilia, aim for the top right tendril,” Rui instructed, her voice calm and steady.

Her tactical awareness and magical support were invaluable.

“Hmm. So you’re not just a ragtag group of heroes!” Baal grinned, his fangs bared.

He sidestepped Serin’s attack, narrowly avoiding her blade.

The battle raged. Dozens of tendrils clashed with two swords and a barrage of arrows. Baal continued to unleash spells, but Rui and Aria shielded their companions from the magical attacks.

“Chuckle, chuckle. This is the power my underlings feared so much? How pathetic,” Baal sneered.

‘And he’s only one,’ Rui thought, awestruck.

This was the power of a first bloodline vampire.

If they had entered this fortress unprepared… she shuddered to think of the consequences.

‘But time is on our side,’ she reminded herself.

Rui’s plan required time. They had intentionally kept the battle at a stalemate.

“Astraea,” Aswell chanted.

A bright light emanated from his holy sword, creating a protective cloud around him and Serin. Baal’s tendrils recoiled as if burned.

It was almost time.

“Rui!” Aswell called.

“Now!” Rui responded.

She and Serin retreated. Raphilia and Aria joined them.

“Running away? Is that truly the way of a hero?” Baal taunted.

“Master Key. Synchronize. Celestial alignment. Secure trajectory,” Rui chanted, ignoring him.

Her plan was simple.

There was a chamber within the fortress containing the magical circle that anchored it to this world. Rui had already pinpointed its location with her mapping tools. With a little time, she could destroy it remotely.

[With the meteorite fragments we collected from that village, we can trigger an explosion.]

The explosion would sever Baal’s connection to the fortress, weakening him significantly. The other vampires would be recalled to the demon realm, likely perishing in the process or suffering severe damage from the explosion.

It sounded like a gamble, but they all agreed.

Because they trusted Rui implicitly.

And finally, she uttered the final command.

“Detonate.”

Boom…

A brief, muffled explosion, and then everything went white.

“Barrier restoration. Maximum output,” Rui commanded, reinforcing their defenses.

A massive explosion rocked the fortress.

Rui opened her eyes to the first light of dawn.

Sunlight. They were outside the fortress.

Her plan had worked.

“Cough, cough!”

“Ha… is everyone alright?”

“Yeah… probably?”

“Probably?”

Aswell quickly got to his feet and surveyed the scene. Dazed people looked around in confusion. Behind them, the Twilight Fortress crumbled into darkness.

“Gah!”

Several vampires lay dead or injured amidst the debris.

Baal was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he had been consumed by the collapsing fortress.

‘I hope so,’ Rui thought.

“Rui, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. So please stop squeezing me, Raphilia…” Rui said, chuckling as Raphilia checked her over with excessive concern.

‘After finalizing the plan, Rui said this:’ Aswell recalled.

[There’s no need for a direct confrontation. If there’s an easier way, we should take it.]

And as a result, they had destroyed the fortress and the vampires with minimal effort and no serious injuries.

This would be a major setback for the Demon King. Alphares would have peace for a while…

“Ahahahaha! So that’s what you were waiting for!”

A maniacal laugh jolted Aswell back to reality. He instinctively raised his holy sword.

A puddle of blood emerged from the fortress debris.

Baal stepped out of it.

“Ahahahahaha!” he laughed, his voice filled with rage.

“Everyone, it’s not over yet,” Aswell warned.

Baal was covered in wounds from the explosion, but his magical power remained undiminished.

“Ah… impressive. Truly impressive. Hero, do you know what impresses me the most?” Baal asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“…What?” Aswell replied.

“Hoo, you’re finally talking. Then I shall answer your question. It impresses me that the hero’s party and I had the same thought!” Baal exclaimed.

The same thought?

If it was the same thought… stalling for time?

“No way,” Rui whispered.

“Langdelion! Are you dead?!” Baal shouted.

“No, Lord Baal,” a woman appeared beside him, radiating a power similar to his own.

“The second bloodline…” Rui murmured.

“Yes, so the preparations are complete? After all this time I bought you!” Baal exclaimed.

“Of course. Fifty fortresses are ready to be summoned,” the woman replied.

What?

Fifty fortresses?

Did that mean… fifty more of these massive structures?

And they were about to appear here?

Aswell turned around. Thousands of citizens lived in Alphares.

If the fortresses appeared, they would all be annihilated. And that wasn’t all. The monsters pouring out of fifty fortresses would overrun the entire Empire, causing untold devastation.

He had to stop them.

“Hmm, finally decided to get serious?” Baal sneered, as if reading Aswell’s mind.

“But it’s too late. You didn’t think I wouldn’t anticipate this, did you?”

The ground began to tremble.

Rumble…

The same tremors that had preceded the appearance of the first fortress.

And in the distance, new towers began to rise from the debris of the old one.

Hundreds of them.

Simultaneously, thousands of vampire presences emerged from the ground.

‘I have to stop them,’ Aswell thought desperately.

If he didn’t, countless people would die. He wouldn’t allow it.

But how?

Could his holy sword defeat so many demons and destroy so many fortresses?

Could he protect everyone until then?

It was impossible…

‘Even if it’s impossible, I have to try!’

Aswell gripped his holy sword, preparing to charge.

It all stemmed from these two vampires.

If he could defeat them, they might still have a chance.

He would start with the female vampire…

“Aswell,” Rui said softly.

“…Yes?”

“Hold me. Please.”

“What…?”

“Hide me from view. And promise me something.”

What was she talking about?

Aswell glanced at the sky beyond her. A star shimmered brightly.

No… was it a star?

It was too bright, and it was moving too fast.

“Whatever happens next, it wasn’t me. It was you. If anyone asks, tell them that,” Rui instructed.

“What are you…?”

“And… don’t worry if I don’t wake up for a while,” she added.

She moved with a strange slowness, as if he could stop her with a touch. But he didn’t. He held her close.

Rui raised her white staff towards the sky.

“Master Key. Synchronize. Celestial alignment. Trajectory secured.”

The bright light in the sky descended rapidly, pulsing with each word she spoke.

“Connect to all mana reservoirs. Coordinates set. Target… West Alphares.”

The light grew brighter, larger. Like something about to burst.

“Orbital bombardment. Ultimate Star-spear.”

A beam of light descended from the heavens.

And then…

“Have a taste of pure star mana.”

The rising fortresses, Baal, and Langdelion vanished.

Completely.