Chapter 311: Demon (4)

Yuri slashed the monster’s face with the Cut the Soul and the Heart.

Then, the darkness blurred, and the black magic energy began to fade.

However, that wasn’t enough.

The void from the other world couldn’t be cut even with his Cut the Soul and the Heart. Yuri felt the massive wave of power approaching him and raised Guilty, taking a defensive stance.

Yuri fixed his gaze again on the monster’s face.

Cedric had said that it was a manifestation formed from the accumulation of humanity’s negativity.

But that statement was wrong.

By instinct, Yuri could correctly perceive the scene unfolding before his eyes.

“Cedric.”

He called out to his opponent.

“You’re wrong.”

At his words, Cedric didn’t reply. Instead, a wave of black magic energy, filled with rage, rushed toward him.

Yuri raised Guilty.

He had obtained this sword in the same place where he had acquired the Cut the Soul and the Heart, taking it from a Death Knight.

And now, he was in the final battle.

Perhaps both he and Guilty had been born for this moment.

He no longer cared about his own safety. At that moment, he would have no complaints if he died. He only wanted to finish Cedric, even if it meant consuming everything he had left.

With that resolve, he unleashed the Cut the Soul and the Heart.

His body suffered an overload, but he didn’t care. Yuri pushed his core to limits it had never reached.

Everything became clear.

His senses, his mind, and the state of his body sharpened.

Now Cedric had fused with the monster that had destroyed the tower.

Tentacles brimming with black magic thrashed about, and an otherworldly energy from the outer cosmos spread out. The figure dancing atop the creature’s shoulders was so insane that any ordinary human would lose their mind upon seeing it.

Yuri charged toward his enemy.

The monster now moved much more violently than before.

Yuri could no longer stay on its shoulders, so he stabbed his sword into various parts of its body to keep his footing.

The creature, though bleeding, didn’t stop attacking. Its stomps shook the ground, crushing Anti-Imperial Alliance soldiers beneath.

It was a tragic sight, but Yuri focused only on killing it.

Each time Guilty struck forward, thunder rumbled in the sky.

“Kraaaahhhhhh!”

The monster roared and swung both arms in all directions, targeting Yuri as he ran along its body.

But he dodged, keeping his position. The key to killing it was the head. To attack it, he had to stay on its shoulders and keep pressing forward.

He felt a tentacle coil around his leg and cut it with Guilty.

A spray of blood burst from the wound.

“Tsk…”

He glanced down. In the meantime, the Anti-Imperial Alliance hadn’t been idle.

It was as if his fighting spirit had spread to them—everyone was climbing the monster’s body without caring for their lives, wounding its surface.

Below his knees, the monster looked like a hedgehog covered in embedded weapons, and the troops used them as footholds to climb and tear at its flesh again with their swords.

It was like a swarm of ants attacking a living being.

Yuri ran toward the monster’s face. A tentacle attacked again.

He needed to cut its neck.

But the huge face left no openings, and tentacles covered it entirely.

All he could do was stay on its shoulders, without room to strike further.

He coated Guilty’s blade with the Cut the Soul and the Heart and swung it in all directions.

Then, suddenly, he was struck and pushed back. Gritting his teeth, he advanced again.

But once more he was repelled by a tentacle.

He slipped and nearly fell from the monster’s body. He held on by stabbing his sword in, but the tentacles kept hammering him.

Yuri moved unsteadily, like performing acrobatics atop the creature.

Each time he looked down, the height made his skin crawl, but he didn’t give in to fear.

“Uaaaaaahhh!”

Suddenly, a deafening roar came from below. Dozens of soldiers were pulling at one of the monster’s legs.

Among the swords jutting out like hedgehog spines, human bodies clung to each other.

The humans fighting the massive beast did so with absolute desperation.

“Good.”

Motivated by their courage, Yuri rushed toward the monster’s head and drove his sword in.

This time it worked. The sword’s energy pierced through the tentacle defenses and sank into the creature’s enormous face.

There was no blood, but Yuri was certain his attack had an effect.

He kept striking.

The monster’s arms and tentacles lashed out to hit him, but he slipped away like a fly, focusing only on its face.

Then, a tentacle struck his back.

“Kuh!”

He felt flesh tear and blood flow. Yuri turned his head.

The tentacle distorted until it took human form.

It was Cedric.

He looked at him and smiled calmly.

[Yuri. Your effort is admirable, but useless.]

Cedric spoke.

[It’s a meaningless desperate struggle.]

Yuri swung Guilty and cut him in two. It wasn’t an illusion—it was his real body—so his torso split and the upper half fell.

“Be honest. Something went wrong, didn’t it?”

The fallen torso replied.

[What?]

Yuri looked around.

The enemy was strong, but not invincible. He no longer felt the overwhelming terror from the first time he sensed its presence.

He smirked.

“I get the feeling that god from another world is dissatisfied.”

[Yuri. Stop saying what you want to hear.]

“Bet I’m right.”

[Not at all.]

Cedric shook his head.

[Fine. When you see your friends die, you’ll stop talking nonsense.]

His figure vanished.

[I’ll take care of that.]

At that moment, the monster began to move with uncontrollable fury. It stomped the ground, crushing Anti-Imperial Alliance troops.

As its body shook violently, Yuri clung to a tentacle to stay on.

He looked down.

Each time the creature’s foot touched the ground, red blood splattered. Crushed, mangled corpses were embedded in the earth.

The tentacle he held turned into a mouth, carrying Cedric’s words.

[Yuri, all this is your fault.]

Then, the tentacle suddenly let go.

It was just as the monster thrashed wildly. Yuri lost his balance and began to fall.

Several tentacles erupted from the creature’s body, aiming to pierce him.

In the air, his body spun like a top, bouncing off them and cutting them down.

He immediately drove Guilty into the monster’s body—at the thigh level.

He embedded the blade vertically and slid it down, carving a long gash that slowed his fall.

Finally, he stopped at the knee.

“Huff…”

He was drenched in blood. Shaking his head to clear it, he retrieved Guilty and leapt toward the ground.

“Your Highness!”

“Are you alright?!”

From below, those still fighting called out to him.

“I’m fine.”

“Up there…”

“I tried to cut off its head, but I failed.”

Even as they spoke, the creature kept pounding the ground with tremendous force.

Experts like Yuri could dodge, but lower-ranked knights and ordinary soldiers could only rely on luck to survive.

Many died, reduced to pools of blood.

“It’s seriously too big,” Ainzer said as he approached Yuri, also covered in blood from head to toe.

“If something like that reached another country and just walked around…”

“It would be hell.”

Just by walking, it could massacre people. And, like other monsters, it regenerated its body with tentacles sprouting from its wounds.

There was no clear method to kill it.

Decapitation was the only solution, but getting that high was far too difficult.

Yuri fell into thought.

“Your Highness?”

While he was lost in thought, the monster’s enormous foot cast a shadow over his head. However, Yuri didn’t move. His face was that of someone deeply absorbed in thought.

Ainzer shouted,

“Your Highness!”

The instant the monster’s foot came down, Yuri’s figure blurred.

In the blink of an eye, he was out of range, holding Ainzer’s body.

“You, of all people, should retreat first—so why are you shouting?”

“How could I leave Your Highness behind…?”

“Don’t worry, I can take care of myself.”

Yuri spoke.

“Order everyone to retreat.”

“Pardon?”

“Looks like we’ll have to change tactics.”

Yuri looked up at the monster.

“Regular troops won’t be able to harm this thing.”

“No, but if they stab it like that—”

“It won’t even bother with that.”

“Ugh…”

“The effort was good, but it’s not a meaningful attack.”

Yuri relayed his thoughts to Ainzer.

“You mean…?”

“Let’s withdraw for now—fall back a bit, plan, and fight again. Pull everyone back.”

“You think it’ll just let you go like that?”

“Those who can hold it back, will hold it back.”

Of course, Yuri was referring to the Ten Greats. His plan was for them to gather and hinder the monster’s advance as much as possible while the troops withdrew. There was no point in continuing the fight like this.

The sun was beginning to set.

He had wanted to finish it today, but they would hold out one more day.

“Understood?”

“Yes.”

Ainzer nodded.

Even if he didn’t fully grasp it, he always obeyed Yuri’s words. That was simply how he operated.

Ainzer gave the order to retreat. The troops began pulling back slowly.

The monster tried to follow them with massive strides, but Yuri stepped in its way.

In terms of size, it was like a fight between a human and an ant.

Even so, the sword energy emanating from Yuri far surpassed the scale of his own body.

Before long, Moyongchan, Francesco, Jose, Bernard, along with warriors from the East, lined up beside Yuri to block the monster.

The formation was almost the same as the suicide squad that had taken part in destroying Zveta’s walls.

When immense cutting energy burst from their swords, the monster stopped for a moment.

“Your Highness, do you really think we can beat something like this?”

Jose asked in a trembling voice. He, too, was in tatters after climbing the monster’s leg and grappling with it.

Yuri shrugged.

“I don’t know. We’ll find out when we try.”

“A reliable answer, hahahaha.”

Jose laughed.

“Yuri, do you think your plan will work?”

Moyongchan asked. Yuri shrugged again.

“We’ll know when we test it.”

“Honestly…”

“If Sir Ainzer prepares it well, it should work.”

Moyongchan smirked.

“Fine. Let’s lure it.”

Meanwhile, the monster lifted its foot again. Francesco snorted.

“You think that stupid stomp will work on us?”

“That’s what I’m saying…”

The monster’s foot moved—but this time, it moved at incredible speed.

Cries of terror rang out among the Eastern warriors. One was caught and killed instantly.

The spot where he had been sank deeply, forming a crater. Not a trace of the body remained.

“This isn’t like before.”

“Damn it…”

The monster lifted its foot again.

While everyone else retreated, Yuri ran forward.

“We have to cling on first!”

Shouting, Yuri grabbed the monster’s shin and drove his sword into the surface to anchor himself. The others, realizing his intent, changed direction and ran toward the monster again.

“Grab on tight and hold it down!”

They all clung to the monster’s leg. Even though it thrashed violently, they didn’t let go.

Stomping the ground did nothing if it didn’t have a target. Its efforts were in vain.

“It’s the leech tactic. Let’s hold out for now.”