"Ah!!!!"
In the dark cave deep within the hunting grounds, the millstone-sized eyeball suddenly widened, erupting with a violent roar of pain.
"Le-vi-a-than!"
Ovathrax, who had severed its connection with the False Sovereign, was still immersed in unbearable agony. The entire eyeball bounced uncontrollably up and down inside the cave, shaking the cavern and sending dust flying everywhere.
"Why, why did you give your creation the sense of pain!"
A kick to the crotch — Noah's full-powered kick to the crotch — was an immense injury to a war Threnodian that was only a little over ten thousand years old!
The first time it met Noah at the [Statue of the Crownless], the other party arrogantly declared they would scatter its yolk. The second time they met, he did it. Now, on the third encounter, he did it again!
The False Sovereign's egg had been kicked to pieces by him.
"Ovathrax, are you trash?"
Still trapped in unbearable pain, the war Threnodian was instantly stunned by the accusation that reached its ears.
"We agreed that as long as I told you his weakness, you would help me destroy Septimont, right? How did you get defeated by him?"
Leviathan roared:
"If you don't defeat Noah, how can the Dark Tide destroy Septimont? How can I regain my strength and grow stronger? How can I destroy Rinascita!"
During this period, Leviathan had endured humiliation, tolerated Ovathrax's mockery and arrogance, and tried every means to provide help, all in the hope that the other party could help destroy Septimont.
But the result? Ovathrax failed!
Failure meant all the endurance and expectations of these many days had been in vain!
How could Leviathan not be furious? How could it not be resentful?
"Aren't you the war Threnodian? Aren't you the one who claims to be the strongest fighter among us? Is this all you've got?!"
"Leviathan, what's with your attitude!" Ovathrax growled in anger.
It was true that it had failed, but that didn't mean it would allow anyone to stand on its head and act wildly because of that failure.
"What attitude do you want from me? I've already given you too much face before!"
The illusory fat-headed fish shadow circled around the now-still black-purple eyeball, its tone growing increasingly intense:
"Possessing an immortal and indestructible body, yet repeatedly having it shattered by a lowly human."
"Claiming to be the Lord of Weapons, yet personally forging a divine weapon for the opponent."
"Supposedly the most combat-capable Threnodian, yet you couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes."
"You've completely thrown away the face of all Threnodians."
The harsh words made Ovathrax even more furious.
The enemy's strength was indeed terrifying, but the ally's accusations hurt even more.
At this moment, Ovathrax finally understood why Leviathan kept getting betrayed. Who could tolerate this stinking habit of only knowing how to demand and never knowing how to thank?
"Shut up!"
Stung at its sore spot, Ovathrax roared and flung out a torturing frequency into the other's shadow.
Sure enough, Leviathan immediately let out a heart-piercing wail:
"Ovathrax! You — you can't beat Noah so you come to vent on me!"
"If I don't vent on you, should I vent on Noah?"
"Stop hitting me! Quick, look at the Retroact projection — Noah is gone!"
"It-doesn't-matter-anymore!"
Ovathrax gritted its teeth and closed the Retroact Rain curtain with a backhand, then sent out two more torturing frequencies.
As a war Threnodian that never forgot a grudge, it might not be able to defeat Noah for now, but Leviathan must pay for its transgression!
Inside the dark cave, Leviathan's wails echoed.
...
"We're almost there, Augusta. A little faster."
Ahead lay the interior of Murmurstown. Iuno could sense the anchoring Resonance power belonging to Noah more and more clearly.
It was massive. Far too massive.
She couldn't imagine what kind of Dark Tide creation they must have encountered to force Noah to use Resonance power several times greater than what she had in her body.
In front of such enormous anchoring power, the enemy's strength could be seen at a glance.
"..."
"Augusta, stop."
"What's wrong?"
Iuno suddenly halted, lowered her head, and spoke in a heavy voice:
"I have a premonition… that is an extremely powerful Dark Tide creation, so powerful that… even if we go, we would only become a burden…"
Hearing this, Augusta gave Iuno a deep look without speaking, then continued striding toward Murmurstown.
Seeing this, Iuno could only quicken her steps to catch up:
"Hey — Augusta, did you hear what I said?"
"I heard."
"Then why are you…"
"Iuno!"
Augusta rarely raised her voice, then softened it:
"My homeland, as the first line of resistance against the Dark Tide, was swallowed by it because we failed to defeat the Dark Tide creations.
At that time, my companions and I fled in fear. I was simply too weak back then and could only watch helplessly as Angel… turned into a terrifying monster right before my eyes.
Now, I have become strong enough. I will not let something like that happen again."
"But…"
Iuno said anxiously:
"Noah is already over there. You don't need to…"
"I do need to. I am the leader of Septimont. There are things I must protect!"
Augusta's footsteps did not slow in the slightest:
"The Dark Tide is a nightmare that Septimont cannot shake off. The people of Septimont fear being pushed into the abyss of exile again, so they long for the Hero King's salvation.
As the King of Septimont, I hope I can answer my subjects' expectations.
Even if I am not the prophesied Hero King, I cannot tolerate being nothing more than a person who waits bitterly to be saved."
No matter how strong the enemy was, she would do everything in her power. Where there is light, there will be heat.
Augusta's words struck Iuno's mind like a great bell, causing her to unconsciously clench her fists.
Yes… since when had she also started wanting to rely on others? This was clearly Septimont's own matter…
"I understand, Augusta." Iuno nodded seriously:
"From now on, no matter what enemy we face, I will face it with you!"
...
"Thump!"
"Thump! Thump!"
"Go for it!"
The golden final loop had somehow dissipated.
The drumbeats continued. The cheers continued.
Countless eyes turned toward the center of the battlefield — a ferocious, extremely battered humanoid Remnant: the False Sovereign.
Weakness. Unparalleled weakness. This was the False Sovereign's first sensation.
Its frequency had been massively stripped away by Noah during the previous custody, causing it to fall from Calamity class to Overlord class. It urgently needed to replenish frequency to restore its strength.
But in front of that person… Huh? Which person? It clearly wasn't anchored. Who was it afraid of right now?
The False Sovereign suddenly raised its head and looked around. Other than distant figures, it saw no one nearby.
Never mind! First devour the human in front of it to replenish its missing frequency!
With that thought, the False Sovereign transformed into Dark Tide and flashed rapidly toward the distant crowd.
"Not good!"
"That Remnant is coming!"
"Quick, retreat!"
The drumbeats and cheers stopped instantly. All the gladiators tensed up and scattered backward.
"All directions are the bullseye!"
A sapphire-blue arrow shot through the air, accurately striking the mass of black tide.
In the next instant, the tide that had been pinned to the ground struggled to rise. The humanoid False Sovereign pulled the arrow from its chest and turned its head in anger toward the two figures rushing toward it.
One was crimson like the sun, the other was deep blue like the moon.
The gladiators behind them let out excited shouts:
"Look! It's Ephor Augusta and Priestess Iuno!"
Augusta's gaze focused. She raised the giant sword in her hand and charged straight at the False Sovereign.
Seeing the situation turning bad, the False Sovereign discarded the arrow that only had thin anchoring power and decisively merged into the Dark Tide, preparing to retreat.
The moment it transformed into tide, another sapphire-blue arrow tore across the sky. The powerful anchoring force was like a cold moon illuminating it, forcing the False Sovereign to reveal its true form.
In just a few short seconds, because of the False Sovereign's wrong judgment, it missed the best time to dodge and could only gather bone blades to meet Augusta's attack head-on.
The giant sword wrapped in crimson energy smashed down from above, carrying the momentum of its fall.
Bang!
The powerful and heavy giant sword stirred up sand and dust from the wind-eroded ground. All the gladiators held their breath, staring fixedly at the center of the battlefield.
As the dust settled, there was only one person, one sword, and one Echo on the field.
One strike.
Instant kill!
"The Ephor won! The Ephor is the Hero King!"
A shout broke the silence, followed by boiling cheers and drumbeats:
"Thump thump thump!"
"Ephor!"
"Thump thump thump!"
"Hero King!"
Hearing the enthusiastic cheers, Augusta smiled faintly and tossed out her Terminal, absorbing the golden Echo.
"Amazing! Augusta, you did it!"
Iuno ran over excitedly with her moon bow, looking left and right:
"Weird, where's Noah?"
Hearing this, Augusta frowned slightly, confused:
"Who is Noah?"
...
"Long time no see, Rinascita."
A slender figure stood at the edge of Septimont, blue-black arms crossed over her chest. Her Balor-purple eyes reflected the image of Capitoline Hill.
A mass of black mist swirled beside her, speaking in a low voice:
"What are we hunting this time?"
"...Threnodians."
"Anything is fine." The black mist urged impatiently:
"Hurry up and hunt the Remnants. If you let me stay hungry any longer, I'll eat you!"
"Got it, got it." Galbrena replied casually, took out the black pistol at her waist and loaded bullets. She frowned, looking extremely troubled:
"Where did all the Remnants around Rinascita go? Why haven't I seen a single one?"
[Main Quest: "By Sun's Burning Hand" completed.]
[Currently possessed: Radiant Tide20, Lustrous Tide20, Astrite1600, Shell Credit9.31 million]