Chapter 770

Chapter 770

My World Is… (5)

Graaaaaaaah!

A horde of monsters, howling like beasts, chased after the fleeing dwarf children.

They harbored a violent hatred for life itself. So, as if by instinct, they followed the scent of the living, spreading out toward those who were running far away.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

Right into the middle of the monstrous horde, a massive blue wolf charged in.

Some of the monsters shifted their attention to Kyle and Dark, but there were simply too many swarming creatures, so only a fraction actually lunged at them.

The rest kept moving to pursue the dwarves who had fled.

Kraaaang!

Kyle swung my sword with all his strength and unleashed mana. The shockwave that burst forth from the blade instantly smashed dozens of monsters.

For him, who had reached a top-tier level, killing a few feeble undead was no difficult feat.

The problem was simply their overwhelming numbers. On top of that, the high priests of the Salvation Church and the black mages watching from the rear could decide to move at any moment.

“Damn it… all of you, come at me.”

Kyle clenched his teeth and lowered his body along Dark’s back.

Whoosh!

Twisted claws and bones scraped just past the top of his head.

The moment Kyle swung his sword again, a shockwave of blue light blasted the surrounding monsters away.

Kraaaang!

The creatures flew through the air and collided with the rest of their swarm. But instead of pressing the attack, Kyle immediately pulled on the reins.

“Dark! To the right!”

“Got it!”

Dark’s body tilted in an almost acrobatic motion as he raced through the gaps between the monsters.

The advancing monsters turned their gazes toward Kyle. He swung his sword at them and shouted.

“That’s right! Look at me! Over here, you bastards!”

Graaaaah!

Riding on Dark, Kyle weaved left and right again as he ran. Each time Kyle moved, the monsters that had been spreading out all reacted at once.

“Look at me!”

Kraaaang!

As Kyle detonated his mana, another pack of monsters burst apart.

The power he released was like the most intense flame of life in this entire area.

One by one, the monsters began to focus solely on him.

Graaaaah!

The dead eyes of the undead locked onto Kyle. Their claws came slashing down toward where he stood.

Crack!

Kyle leapt off Dark’s back and swung his sword.

Kraaang!

A fierce shockwave erupted, blasting apart the undead around him.

At the same moment, Dark swung his enormous claws and ripped the bodies of the undead on the other side to pieces.

“Again!”

Kyle climbed back onto Dark’s back, and he shot forward into an open gap.

Even as he ran, Kyle didn’t stop swinging his sword and pouring out mana.

Kwakwakwakwa-boom!

With each explosion, the surrounding monsters were crushed.

Exploding mana like this consumed an enormous amount of energy. But with this many monsters to face, there was no other choice.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

Dark, taking the form of a blue wolf, ran across the battlefield without rest.

Riding on his back, Kyle gasped for breath, but never lost the sharp glint in his eyes.

‘Not yet, it isn’t enough yet.’

A fair number of monsters were chasing after Kyle, but it still fell short. There were still more creatures pursuing the dwarf children.

The only saving grace was that there were almost no flying monsters left.

The dwarves’ desperate skirmishing had forced most of the mages to use their spells against the flying monsters.

The remaining ones, too, were instinctively chasing only after Kyle. Even if a few slipped past, the mercenaries guarding the children would be able to stop them.

They, too, were mercenaries who had reached the level of knights thanks to Ghislain’s hellish training.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

As Dark sprinted forward, he shouted.

“Upper left! One with wings coming in!”

“Got it!”

Rather than dodging, Dark leapt high into the air.

At that moment, the monster diving down tried to swing its claws, but Kyle’s sword was faster.

Kraaaang!

Several of the flying monsters that had latched onto them were sliced in half and came crashing down.

Thud!

Dark landed heavily, crushing the monsters swarming up from below as well.

The more strength he used, the more the energy that made up Dark’s body diminished.

But at least this time, Ghislain had generously infused him with mana, so he could still hold out for now.

Watching Dark fight, Kyle couldn’t help but feel a flicker of admiration.

“Wow, you really fight well, don’t you? Didn’t think you’d be this good.”

“I’ve rampaged across hundreds of battlefields with my master. If I set my mind to it, I could easily kill a Transcendent or two.”

Kyle burst out laughing at Dark’s bravado.

Still, fighting side by side like this made him feel undeniably reassured.

Graaaaaaah!

Again, the monsters swarmed toward them.

Dark spun around and swung his tail, knocking one of the charging creatures away like a chunk of firewood.

Using the force of Dark’s movement, Kyle swung my sword in the opposite direction.

Kraaaang!

Kyle had already reached the level of the highest ranks. Every time he swung my sword, potent mana poured out and swept away the monsters.

But that meant he was burning through mana at an alarming rate. At this pace, he’d soon be exhausted.

‘Just a little longer…’

Kyle took a deep breath and looked back over his shoulder.

The children were farther away than before, but still within a distance too close to let his guard down. The black mages and the priests of the Salvation Church were still out there.

Kyle needed to push harder, drive the enemy back a bit more.

“Dark!”

“Hold on tight!”

Dark plowed into the monsters with tremendous speed. From atop his back, Kyle twisted his torso and hacked through them without pause.

Kraang! Crash!

Their swords and claws crossed perfectly, striking down the monsters one after another.

Whenever Kyle was in danger, Dark moved on his own to keep him safe. And whenever Dark didn’t have room to maneuver, Kyle swung his sword to carve out a path.

Neither of them needed to act first—just a glance or the faintest shift of presence was enough to make them move in unison, as though they were a single body.

It was, in every sense, a flawless synchronization.

Graaaaaaah!

More and more monsters began to gather around them. That meant the dwarf children could flee that much more easily.

Dark, who hadn’t stopped moving for an instant, spoke up.

“Maybe it’s about time we pulled back too?”

Kyle thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“No, not yet. The kids are still too slow. They’re dwarves—it takes them longer.”

“You’re stubborn as hell. But I can see why a cocky bastard like you ended up as the Hero’s companion.”

“Let’s just hold out a little longer.”

If only the slow undead had been left, Kyle would have withdrawn without hesitation. But the modified Chimeras were terrifyingly fast.

And there was no telling what tricks the black mages still had up their sleeves. He needed to buy more time.

Kraaaang!

Kyle unleashed his mana without holding back and struck the monsters again. Dark moved swiftly alongside him, covering his flanks.

The more wildly they rampaged, the more the tide of monsters shifted in their direction.

These creatures had no intelligence. All they knew was the command to kill any life in front of them, so they were helplessly drawn into reacting to their every movement.

One of the black mages overseeing them narrowed his eyes and muttered.

“What is this? Why is a human helping dwarves?”

And his skill was remarkable. The wolf he was riding looked like some kind of spirit—its movements were beyond ordinary.

The black mage deliberated for a moment, then turned to the one next to him.

“It seems he can’t keep using that tremendous magic… What do you think?”

“Hmmm… If we just ignore him and advance, I think the losses will be worse. He’s more formidable than I expected. Looks like he’s right at the pinnacle of the highest rank.”

“Then why don’t we just kill him properly here and now? If this keeps up, we’ll end up taking damage and delaying the advance.”

Saying that, the black mage glanced behind him.

The priest of the Salvation Church said nothing at all, as if to imply he should handle it himself.

The other black mage took the hint and replied after a moment.

“That’s probably the best idea. Those idiot creatures are getting dragged all over the place.”

Clicking his tongue, he muttered, “Tch, because of that bastard, we’re going to end up wasting even more mana.”

Moving this massive horde of monsters properly consumed an enormous amount of mana. That was why they had simply scattered the creatures and let them rampage on their own.

That way, the creatures would simply chase after any living being on their own.

But now was the moment to spend mana and issue them a new command.

The black mages stretched out their arms and gave their orders.

“Kill that human… You must kill him…”

In an instant, the entire formation of monsters shuddered as all of them began to converge on Kyle.

Even those that had been too far to spot him, turned their heads. Now, every one of them was staring straight at him.

Graaaaaaah!

Dark and Kyle both realized that the monsters’ movements had shifted.

But instead of fear, Kyle grinned.

“Good. You should’ve done this from the start.”

Even as thousands of monsters closed in, he wasn’t afraid.

Instead, he plunged deeper, faster, straight toward the center of the horde.

“Not a single one of you will leave this place alive.”

Kraaaang!

Kyle poured out his mana once again, sweeping the monsters away. His blade split the earth, and creatures exploded in all directions.

But there were simply too many of them. Now that every last one was focused solely on Kyle, wounds began to accumulate across his body.

Dark, too, was starting to diminish bit by bit.

It was thanks to Dark that Kyle had been able to conserve his strength this long, but it seemed they didn’t have much time left.

Kyle’s breathing turned ragged, and his eyes were bloodshot. His body was nearing its limits.

But his sword did not stop. No—if anything, it grew sharper and more precise.

‘Don’t falter.’

‘I can do this.’

‘I must not retreat.’

Repeating those words to steady himself, Kyle unleashed his mana again.

Kraaaang!

The surge of power tore through the center of the monstrous horde.

The impact obliterated several creatures before they could even make a sound.

Dark didn’t miss the opening and charged forward, raking his claws.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!

Blood, flesh, and shattered bones erupted in all directions.

In this moment, Dark and Kyle were a shield more formidable than any army of any kingdom.

One by one, and then another,

They cut down hundreds of monsters, over and over again.

Watching this sight, the priest of the Salvation Church furrowed his brow.

“…An extraordinary human. And that spirit he’s riding is the same.”

Skill aside, both of them possessed a remarkable instinct for combat. They were herding the monsters perfectly, achieving maximum impact with minimal effort.

Of course, if the Priest stepped in himself, he could suppress them. But he had no intention of acting right now.

‘That human is at the level of a top-rank knight. His swordsmanship leaves nothing to criticize.’

At the top rank, even a Transcendent who let their guard down could be wounded. All the more so by a human this skilled.

On top of that, those powerful spells he’d used early on still bothered him.

He wondered if perhaps the human was conserving those spells to use against an even stronger foe.

The most important directive of the Salvation Church was precisely the preservation of strength. They were outnumbered by the United Human Army, so they had no other choice.

Suspicious by nature, the priest spoke to the black mages.

“We’ve delayed too long. Eliminate them immediately.”

The two black mages looked slightly tense.

The rampaging human was plainly stronger than they were.

And the strange spirit he rode also appeared formidable as well.

But they couldn’t defy the orders of a priest of the Salvation Church.

“…Understood.”

Even so, they thought it was still doable. The number of monsters was still considerable, and the enemies’ strength had been greatly depleted.

The black mages began moving stealthily at once.

Kraaaang!

Each time Kyle struck, silence fell over the battlefield.

Before he knew it, the countless monsters had been reduced to less than half their number.

It was the result of pushing himself to the absolute extreme.

And in exchange, his body was growing heavier and heavier. Exhaustion seeped into every breath he drew.

Dark was no different.

He had shrunk visibly, his size now clearly smaller than before. He scanned the battlefield and spoke.

“Let’s fall back now. This is enough.”

“…Not yet, not yet.”

Kyle stubbornly shook his head.

The distance had increased, but I couldn’t say it was safe. Judging by the monsters’ behavior, it was obvious that the black mages had begun intervening.

If they exerted their power, they could force the creatures to move faster.

Just a little longer— Kyle had to endure and buy a little more time to escape.

Dark growled.

“You idiot. If you keep fighting, you’ll die too. You’d be better off retreating and guarding the kids from behind.”

“If we do that and the battle spreads, they’ll be caught in it.”

“You… Didn’t you say you hated how Julien and Deneb always played the fool helping everyone else?”

At those words, Kyle let out a short laugh.

“Yeah, I did. But I told you, they stepped in even when they didn’t have to. This isn’t the same.”

“What’s different about it!”

“I told you already. Right now, I’m the only one who can protect those kids.”

“You stupid—”

Dark was about to start swearing again when he abruptly twisted his body.

Fwaaaaaa!

A hazy, fog-like black mana suddenly swept in.

Dark reared up and blocked it with all his strength.

Kraaaang!

“Guh!”

Kyle fell off Dark’s back, rolling across the ground. He quickly raised my head.

“Dark!”

“Damn it…”

Dark’s body had shrunk to about half its original size.

Blocking that sudden, powerful attack had drained a tremendous amount of his energy.

Dark hurriedly used Ghislain’s link to scan the battlefield, hoping to call for help.

“Damn it…”

But things weren’t going well over there either.

Everyone was barely holding on as they protected Deneb.

There was no one who could come to help them.

At that moment, another surge of powerful energy came crashing down.

Dark looked back and shouted.

“Run!”

Kraaaang!

With that final shout, Dark’s body scattered and vanished.