The master of the Cracked Desert.
A sinner cursed with eternal immortality.
A bystander of the end of the world.
The arrival of the Immortal, accompanied by such countless titles, changed the atmosphere in a completely different way than when the Church of Morte first appeared.
"…Immortal."
The moment the name slipped from the Turncoat Queen's lips, the eyes of the Turncoat Rook and Turncoat Knight widened in shock.
Immortal.
The weight of that name was anything but light.
"The Immortal? Of the Cracked Desert?"
["Same… kin, that's..."]
Especially for the Turncoat Rook and Turncoat Knight, the sheer presence exuding from the Immortal caused them to freeze, unable to tear their eyes away.
A stark contrast from when they had boldly claimed they could take on the Turncoat King after absorbing the Bone Lord's power.
Indeed… it has grown stronger.
Just as the Turncoat King had grown stronger since I last saw him, so too had the Immortal become far more formidable than when it was nearly devoured by the Turncoat King.
It wouldn't be a bad thing to watch the Turncoat Rook and Turncoat Knight falter in shock, but time was pressing.
"No need to worry. Maybe on another day—but for now, it's on our side."
"…What are you talking about?"
Unfortunately, there was no time to answer the Turncoat Rook's question.
Even now, the threat from the Church of Morte crept ever closer.
["It approaches."]
And that wasn't the only thing.
Unlike us, who had disguised ourselves as a part of the Bone Lord, the Immortal appeared without any such camouflage—prompting the Bone Lord to reveal its aggression once again.
[KROOOOOOOOAR───!]
A warning to the age-old rival who dared to trespass into its domain.
But the Immortal showed no sign of stopping as it marched deeper into the Bone Lord's territory without hesitation.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!
Bone tendrils rose in unison across the Bone Lord's territory.
They were preparing to face the Immortal.
"Go."
"What? Wait—"
No further explanation was needed.
Spreading the Wings of Ankelenth, I activated the Z-74 Jetpack and the reinforced greaves to their maximum capacity.
In addition, I triggered rift shift to reach the highest speed possible.
[Activating 'Rift Shift'.]
A speed that surpassed sound—or rather, surpassed space itself—I instantly arrived before the Bone Lord's main body and pulled out the Zeus-444 Railgun, aiming it.
There was nothing better to divert the Bone Lord's attention from the Immortal.
[Lv.10]
Tststst, Tsstsstsst!
The muzzle of the Zeus-444 Railgun sparked violently.
The flash that had pierced the Turncoat King's chest and led to his downfall—
That same light now surged from the muzzle, racing toward the Bone Lord.
──────!
As always, the sound of the bullet surpassing the speed of sound came just a moment late.
But light was faster than anything.
KRRRAAAACKLE!
A straight beam of light pierced the Bone Lord.
[GRROOOOOOOAR!]
Its body writhed, and the bone tendrils across the territory quivered in response.
This was what it meant for a single being to dominate an entire region.
RUMBLE RUMBLE!
CRACKLE!───
The earth trembled.
Now, we had to face this calamity incarnate.
"Damn it…"
Then, a familiar voice rang out from behind.
The Turncoat Rook, Turncoat Knight, and Turncoat Queen rushed to join me in a flurry.
"How the hell are we supposed to keep up when you charge ahead like that?"
"You're here."
The Turncoat Rook's eyes locked onto the Bone Lord.
Retracting the bone tendrils that had spread across the territory, it began to change into something else.
A transformation for true battle.
"…It's shifting into a more mobile form?"
"Looks like it."
"Then… we're really about to fight that thing?"
"We were always going to."
"…Right. We were."
Sadly, there was no more time to chat.
Having gathered its dispersed form, the Bone Lord concentrated its power into its true body, unfurling its wings and preparing to move.
Has it finished regenerating?
There was no helping it.
Unlike the human-sized Turncoat King, the Bone Lord's core body was massive—so much so that even among other colossal monsters, it stood unmatched.
Thus, hitting the Bone Lord with the Zeus-444 railgun wasn't difficult, but expecting the same effect it had on the Turncoat King would be unrealistic.
"Don't let your guard down. Lower it, and you'll get eaten."
"Who are you even talking to? I figured that out long ago."
The exchange was brief.
Without any signals, the Turncoats launched themselves toward the Bone Lord simultaneously.
["The time has come to determine the true king."]
The Turncoat King's consciousness, now part of Janus, appeared again.
Thanks to the order I gave Janus, a degree of autonomy had been granted.
But absorbing the Turncoat King's self wasn't just to honor the subjugation contract with the Turncoat Queen.
As Janus's power grew, it became increasingly difficult for a single will to control it all.
That's why I employed the Turncoat King's mind—a top-tier bone parasite entity—to manage that vast power more efficiently.
Use whatever you can. That's the only way to reach the end of this damned world—if there even is one.
The Immortal's already begun its part...
Elsewhere, the Immortal had also entered the fray.
Though I had summoned it here, it was ill-suited for fighting bone parasite monsters like the Bone Lord.
That's why I had another opponent in mind for it.
"Purge the heretics!"
The Church of Morte.
More specifically, the Gaishara Division.
Although the Immortal hadn't performed well against the Turncoat King before, that was because of its poor compatibility with bone parasite monsters.
In raw power or complexity, the Immortal was by no means beneath the Turncoat King.
The Immortal shines brightest when facing many weaker foes.
Seemingly no different from an ordinary human at first glance—
How could something so fragile reign over the Cracked Desert and plunge an end-stage arc into despair?
The answer was becoming clear in its fight against the Church of Morte.
Now then…
I shifted my gaze.
The Bone Lord.
It was time to hunt.
* * *
The Bone Lord had severed its roots and taken flight.
Its current form differed greatly from when it was rooted in the ground, yet it remained grotesque—impossible to define clearly.
["Go first."]
The Turncoat King, reborn as part of Janus, took the lead and flew toward the Bone Lord's second form.
"…Your Majesty!"
The Turncoat Queen, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally followed after him.
"Let's go!"
["Same… kin… go."]
The Turncoat Rook and Turncoat Knight also spread their wings and charged at the Bone Lord.
The true hunt had begun.
I, too, spread Wings of Ankelenth and gripped its twin spears in both hands without hesitation.
Esther, support me.
["Ready."]
Not just brute force—Esther's ether control guided my entire body's movement.
[Throw?]
[Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.]
[Obliterate it───!]
A dark flash cut through the air.
Even the Bone Lord couldn't ignore it—its grotesque body twisted unnaturally to dodge the attack.
A ridiculous evasion, made possible only because of the Bone Lord's perfect control over its own form.
Hoh...
No time to admire.
The Bone Lord began its assault, targeting the Turncoat King and the others at the front.
Shhhh!
Bone tendrils shot forth in unison.
Unlike before, when they erupted from the ground, these tendrils came directly from the Bone Lord's core.
They were vastly different in speed and power compared to the minor ones we'd faced before.
But...
Janus and I were no longer what we had once been.
CRAAAASH!───
Bone tendrils from Janus and the Bone Lord clashed mid-air, scattering fragments everywhere.
Before we could even retrieve them, the fierce battle between Janus and the Bone Lord raged on.
[Gigit! Gigitgigit!]
["Excellent."]
The Turncoat King joined in, supporting Janus in the clash.
Though to say the opponent increased in number wasn't quite accurate—after all, the Turncoat King was now part of Janus.
"Let me in on this too!"
["Go. ing."]
Having deflected the Bone Lord's attacks once, the Turncoat Rook and Turncoat Knight joined the fray without hesitation.
CRRRACK!
CRAAACK-CRACK!
Bone against bone, clashing in countless forms, filled the air with deafening roars.
In this chaotic melee where no one could see even a step ahead, it was the Bone Lord who made the first move.
["Master! Get back!"]
At Esther's cry, the bone tendrils rushing toward me writhed, blocked by an ether barrier.
["Kh... uh..."]
Though it consumed a good deal of ether, what mattered was that the Bone Lord had begun a new action.
The real hunt begins.
Thousands of petals bloomed.
Not from the Turncoat Queen, but from the Bone Lord's wings.
A fitting attack for this battle where all seek to take and devour each other.
"This is…"
The Turncoat Queen's gaze darkened.
There was no way she didn't recognize the technique the Bone Lord was now using.
She couldn't help it.
The Bone Lord was using her technique.
"…How dare it."
With quiet fury seeping from her voice, bone petals began to scatter around her.
Different from the solid-petaled flowers she'd used before.
Shhh.
The seemingly fragile fluttering bone petals effortlessly sliced through the Bone Lord's tendrils.
Yet, they could not stop the fully bloomed petals from spreading.
Bloom.
Full Bloom.
The petals, now open around the Bone Lord, began guiding everything around them into the realm of death.
===BREAK===
Like the story and want more chapters?
Join and support me by joining my Patreon!
[email protected]/SiRoasa