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The violet flames began to spread across Bearagon's body.
The flames that would never be extinguished.
However, even if they were the eternal flames, Bearagon was far too massive for them to consume its entire colossal body.
"Retreat! Fall back!"
"Return to Ark!"
The Kronos Union's Special Assault Division had officially chosen to retreat, but that was no easy task.
Once Lania effectively gave up trying to hold back the surrounding demonic beasts, their assault intensified further.
At this rate, they would all be swept away by the tide of the wave, not by Bearagon.
'...This isn't good.'
Gritting her teeth, Lania pulled the surrounding ether toward herself.
[Creak, creeeaaak───!]
[Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. Go back.]
[Let's, go....]
There was a reason Lania hadn't stepped fully into the front lines until now.
Her assigned role in this mission was coordination and support of the overall situation.
If Lania hadn't been assisting the Special Assault Division with ether or keeping the surrounding beasts in check, the unit would have been wiped out long ago.
But now, the situation had changed.
In the midst of the relentless combat, unwilling to lose her comrades, Lania had no choice but to step forward herself. Naturally, this exposed gaps in the roles she had been covering.
In other words, Lania's involvement had made the overall situation that much more urgent.
"Hurry."
Lania murmured softly.
The members of the Kronos Union's Special Assault Division moved immediately, without even enough breath to respond.
The die had already been cast.
All that remained was to move.
[Gwooooooo───!]
By now, Bearagon's entire body had been engulfed in violet flame and he began thrashing wildly.
Even for Lania, binding such a massive creature with ether was impossible, and so the Special Assault Division had to now evade both Bearagon's onslaught and the demonic beast horde without the life-saving ether support they had depended on until now.
"Just die, you bastard...!"
Lania screamed as she swung the Ether Hammer gathered at her fingertips.
[Hammer────!]
Boommm──!
The absurdly forceful ether strike caused Bearagon's body to lurch violently, but that was all.
The firepower was simply insufficient to inflict a fatal wound on Bearagon, whose hide was impossibly tough.
[Grrrrrr....]
Of course, if they could just buy time, Bearagon would eventually be devoured by the violet flame.
No matter how massive he was, he couldn't endure the inextinguishable flame forever.
But the real question was whether they could last until that point.
"Colin! Take everyone and return to Ark!"
"What? Lania, what about you?!"
"I'll handle it!"
Colin knew as well.
That following Lania's judgment was the right choice under these circumstances.
But for some reason, he couldn't easily bring himself to move his feet.
"...Don't die."
'Who do you think you're worrying about?'
"Yeah, I guess."
Colin forced a smile.
Even in that moment, the battle between Lania and Bearagon grew fiercer.
[Grrrrrrrgh...!]
Torrents of contaminated filth spewed from Bearagon's mouth.
If it were an ordinary human, even breathing near that stuff would melt their lungs, but Lania, a highly compatible ether adept, could endure it.
That didn't mean she was unharmed, of course.
"Ugh, disgusting...!"
Lania shook her head and stirred the ether and Rift Flames even more violently.
Waves of ether pushed back the pollutants, and the violet flames burned them away.
It was a brilliant display of offense and defense as one.
The only problem was the sheer size of her opponent.
[Grrrrrrrrrr!]
A Behemoth like Bearagon did not die easily.
No matter how much he was struck or burned, Bearagon responded with more violent thrashing, driven by his immense life force.
BOOOOM!
Crash──!
Once the Colossal Behemoth began rampaging, it was inevitable that not just the surrounding demonic beasts but even the retreating Special Assault Division would be caught up in the chaos.
"Kh!"
"Cover the rear!"
The formation of the retreating unit crumbled, and the pack of beasts that had been relentlessly attacking seized the opportunity to pounce.
"Argh!"
"Calvin! Luis!"
At this rate, they would start losing people.
In war, casualties are inevitable—but these were not just any soldiers. They were key forces within the Kronos Union.
They couldn't be lost so meaninglessly.
[Gwoooooooo!]
Of course, Bearagon himself wouldn't last long under the Rift Flames that were consuming his body.
Ether and violet flames struck and burned him simultaneously.
The more he was cornered, the more violently Bearagon rampaged, threatening the retreating unit.
"Move!"
"Ah, damn it─"
Just as Bearagon's vomit was about to rain down over Calv's head—
[Block....]
A massive ether wave surged from somewhere, stopping the vomit in midair.
It was Lania.
"Lania!"
"Use that breath to get out of the way!"
Lania screamed as she unleashed more ether and Rift Flames at once.
[Block....]
FWOOSH───!
Rift Flames.
At a glance, it seemed like an unlimited power, but in truth, it consumed something unseen.
Lania had begun to sense that.
"...Ngh."
Bearagon, whose whole body was now aflame with Rift Flames, would not last much longer.
But Lania was also in no condition to go on.
'If only brother were here right now…'
Lania quickly shook her head.
She couldn't always live in the shadow of her brother. Now, she was one of the pillars holding up the Kronos Union. She had to handle her role on her own.
[Grooooo!]
A battle of strength.
A battle against time.
Bearagon and Lania—neither had much time left.
One was being eaten alive by flame, bit by bit.
The other, by the ever-approaching wave.
If there was one stroke of luck, it was that Lania's desperate efforts had carved out a gap—enough for the Kronos Union's Special Assault Division to escape the eye of the storm.
Of course, just because they had escaped it didn't mean returning to Ark would be easy—after all, the calmest place in a storm is the eye of the storm itself.
'Now's not the time to be worrying about others.'
Lania gave a bitter smile.
To get the Special Assault Division out of this place, she had quite literally poured out everything she had.
Strictly speaking, just the act of taking down four Colossal Behemoths was already a tremendous feat, but under these circumstances, that wasn't exactly a comforting thought.
[Kyaoo!]
[Kkyeeeeeeeh───!]
[Gwooooh!]
Demonic beasts swarmed in from all directions.
Lania could no longer draw upon her ether, so she instead pulled out the self-defense revolver at her hip.
It was the DR-404 Revolver, a standard officer-issued firearm from Ark.
Bang!──
True to the reputation of the DR-404 Revolver, the moment the trigger was pulled, a Grade-7 Behemoth exploded apart in a single shot.
It was a weapon far too unwieldy for ordinary soldiers, but for Lania, who had attained ether fortification, it was nothing she couldn't handle.
Bang!
Bang!──
She pulled the trigger again and again.
However, as expected, bullets were not an infinite resource.
[Kaaaaaak!]
[Gak, kakakak!]
The wave crashed over her like a tidal surge.
Lania had no remaining means of resisting that massive tide.
'There is one method if I really reach for it…'
Lania quickly shook her head.
That power was far too dangerous.
So dangerous, in fact, that even the notoriously hazardous ether seemed trivial in comparison.
That's why Lania had hoped to put off using it until the very last possible moment.
'I can still keep going.'
Despite already being at her limit, Lania began to summon ether once more.
She had already lost a significant amount of the focus and strength needed to control ether.
And any power that escapes control is inherently dangerous.
[Heehee....]
[Lania Marcus. Lania Marcus. Lania Marcus. Lania Marcus. Lania Marcus. Lania Marcus. Lania Marcus. Lania Marcus. Lania Marcus. Lania Marcus.]
[Kekeke....]
[Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me.]
[Kyaaaaahah───!]
Ether with bared fangs rushed in from every direction, and Lania felt a sharp headache burst through her skull.
It was because she had pushed ether beyond what she could control.
'If I'm not careful, I'll be devoured by the ether.'
Lania knew this well—yet she still pushed herself—because letting ether run rampant was safer than forcibly invoking that other power.
[Kill them all...!]
The rampaging ether's destructive force was overwhelming.
It quickly dominated the surrounding space and whipped up a storm that engulfed the demonic beasts around Lania.
[Kehhek!]
[Kyaaak──!]
[Kyakeng!]
But Lania knew.
If she couldn't suppress the rampaging ether, she too would be swallowed by that ether storm.
"Urghhhh!"
Lania fought desperately to stay centered within the ether storm.
And then she saw it.
Bearagon, pushing through the storm, charging straight toward her.
'…This won't work.'
Truly, there were no options left.
At last, Lania made her final decision, and the Rift Flames surged even more violently.
FWOOOOOM!───
This power consumes something.
She didn't yet know what it was, but she knew it wasn't a power she could use freely.
And she could feel it.
That forcing herself past this power's limit would bring consequences.
Just as Lania was about to cross that line—
KA-BOOOOOOM!────
With a sudden flash from somewhere, a massive explosion erupted at Bearagon's head.
It wasn't the Special Assault Division who had attacked.
This was long-range bombardment support.
'Who?'
The violet flames that had been about to erupt again suddenly died down.
Lania, whose focus had been entirely locked on the battle before her, quickly scanned the area.
And then she reached a conclusion.
'...Ark?'
No weapon from the Kronos Union possessed that level of firepower.
In other words, while the Special Assault Division had been deployed, Ark had provided the Kronos Union with Anti-Behemoth weaponry support.
'Ark actually… made a move?'
Given what she knew about Ark as an organization, and what they thought of the Kronos Union, Lania found it hard to believe.
Yet it was undeniably happening right before her eyes.
Fweeeeeung───!
BOOM! BOOM BOOM!
With successive bombardments launched from Ark, Bearagon's gigantic body soon collapsed.
[Gwooooo....]
A light flickered in Lania's eyes.
Because, amidst the bleakest moment, a small sliver of hope had appeared.
'We can do this.'
However, hope always carries with it a deep and dark shadow.
People call that shadow despair.
[It's, coming....]
[It's coming. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming. It's coming.]
[It── has── come.]
A chill ran across her skin—an etheric warning that buzzed through her bones.
There was no way Lania didn't understand what it meant.
Thud!
BOOOM!──
From beyond the horizon, a massive shadow began to rise.
Lania couldn't look away.
"What in the world…"
If what they had faced so far were moving mountains, then what now emerged could only be described as a living weapon.
'…Grade-1 Petrified Dread-Type.'
Not one. Not two.
More than ten massive monstrosities began to cast their shadows over the horizon.
And that wasn't the end.
The demonic beast horde, which had been halted by the ether storm, also began to force their way through—slowly but surely—reaching toward Lania.
"No, no…"
Despair crept in.
The moment the thought everything is over crossed her mind—an anomaly occurred.
─────!
There was no sound.
Only a flash of light streaking in from somewhere.
And then—clarity.
[Gwooooooooooo───]
A Grade-1 Petrified Dread-Type lost its core and collapsed instantly.
A living siege weapon had fallen in a single strike.
'What just happened?'
The Petrified Dread-Type only dies when its core is destroyed.
The fact that it had been taken down so effortlessly meant the attacker had precisely located and obliterated its core.
"What the…"
Lania stared in stunned silence at the scene before her.
Then, from beyond the sky, a small dot appeared—gradually growing clearer.
She didn't know what it was.
But somehow, she felt like she knew.
"…Brother?"
Carl Marcus.
He had returned—revealing himself at the very heart of the battlefield soaked in despair.