Check out my new translation!
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With the Kronos Union's Special Assault Division having taken down four Colossal Behemoths, and Ark's sustained fire support joining in, the last remaining Grade-1 Named Colossal Behemoth—Bearagon, the Vomiter—was finally defeated.
The Named Colossal Behemoth that had threatened Ark was no more.
BOOOOOOM!───
"Whew... Gotta admit, Ark's weapons are damn good. Took down that massive thing."
"Hey, we softened it up. They just finished it off. Didn't you see?"
"Fair point. Haha."
Cheers erupted across Ark.
It was only natural. They had just passed through what many considered the most dangerous moment in this war.
"Those Kronos bastards... not half-bad, huh? Even if we did give them weapon support..."
"There's a reason they're the Kronos Union. Even as remnants, they're still formidable."
Non-commissioned officers from Rose-15 Gate under Staff Sergeant Alex Hope shared light banter during this rare lull.
What they said was bold, considering the Kronos Union was right beside them—but amid the battlefield's thunder, their chatter couldn't be overheard anyway.
Of course, the beast horde still endured, so no one could celebrate for long.
"Look at that! All bark, no bite! Kill every last one of them!"
"When else are we gonna get to fire Ark-grade weapons like this? Let 'em rip!"
Kronos Union commanders were urging their troops on.
Or perhaps "inciting" was more accurate—but regardless, it was working.
"Keep firing!"
"Haha! Slaughter them!"
The Kronos Union's warriors were fierce—and in war, that fury was a potent weapon.
So much so, it almost seemed like the monsters and beasts—those who knew no fear—were beginning to hesitate.
Everything was going smoothly.
Ark had been on the brink of annihilation, but the Kronos Union's arrival had completely turned the tide.
It was enough to make one instinctively mutter: Of course, they're the Kronos Union.
If they could just hold the line a little longer, it seemed this multi-wave attack might actually be survivable.
Yes—until they saw the shadows rising again from beyond the horizon.
"…What is that?"
Someone spoke as they noticed the looming silhouettes beginning to emerge.
They had just hunted down five Colossal Behemoths. Logically, there shouldn't be any more. But a fivefold simultaneous wave shattered that logic completely.
Grade-1 Petrified Dread-Types—Geogranite Dreads.
Even a single one of them was a living siege weapon requiring Ark's full arsenal to defeat.
Now, ten of them had appeared.
And that was just the count on the eastern front of the Rose Line. What the other fronts might face—no one dared imagine.
THUD!
BOOOOOM!
The mere movement of those ten Geogranite Dreads sent tremors through the earth.
Even before, the beast horde's march was enough to trigger quakes—but this was something far greater.
"…There's never an easy day, huh."
Despite the despair, the Kronos Union warriors merely grinned savagely and kept pulling triggers and swinging axes.
For those who had survived the harsh wastelands beyond Ark's walls, giving up was a luxury they never allowed themselves.
And then—it happened.
Just as despair was creeping in—but before they could succumb—light flashed.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!────
And something truly unbelievable occurred.
A single Grade-1 Geogranite Dread fell in an instant.
It was hard to believe such a thing had fallen from just one flash of light.
"…What the hell just happened?"
"How would I know? Just keep fighting!"
Though they couldn't turn their heads away from the immediate threat, everyone in Ark felt the anomaly that had just occurred beyond the front.
A Colossal Monstrosity falling so suddenly had sent shockwaves—literal and emotional—across the field.
Even just that might have been enough to reignite the word hope in despair-soaked Ark.
But the anomaly didn't stop there.
KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KRAKABOOM!────
Red flashes and blue frost swept through in a crisscross pattern.
To some, that sight was familiar—familiar enough to immediately realize who was responsible.
"…Carl Marcus?"
Staff Sergeant Alex Hope recognized the signature of the weapons Carl Marcus frequently used.
He knew, through the Rose Cross Knights, what kind of gear Carl had acquired.
That particular combination of plasma weaponry was Carl's favorite setup.
Plasma weapons were rarely used—fragile, unreliable, and above all, plagued by extremely limited ammo capacity.
At best, a few elite forces used them as last-resort weapons.
But Carl Marcus wielded those finicky weapons as easily as if they were Ark-15 Automatic Conversion Rifles.
As though none of plasma tech's chronic flaws applied to him.
'If that really is Carl Marcus out there, then maybe…'
Alex Hope's gaze drifted not toward the beasts charging his line, but to the horizon—where just a little hope was starting to gleam.
BOOM!
BAAAAAANG!
Explosions and shrieks echoed continuously.
And perhaps it was thanks to that glimmer of hope—but what Alex Hope had wished for happened soon after.
A miracle.
There was no other word for it.
He stared in disbelief at the phenomenon unfolding across the frontline.
The massive swarm of beasts—numbering easily in the hundreds of thousands—had all stopped.
'The frontline… it's split?'
At a glance, it seemed like a nuclear bomb had gone off—but no such weapon had been seen.
That left only one possibility.
'Did he generate an ether storm strong enough to form an invisible wall?'
Everyone already knew Carl Marcus was ether-compatible.
But this? This was on a whole different scale.
No matter how impressive he was, he shouldn't have been capable of something like that.
'Wait… could it have been the Young Lady from the White Line?'
But Alex Hope quickly shook his head.
He felt no sign of her presence.
If someone like her had moved, at the very least the Rose Cross Knights would have known.
'Besides… even she couldn't produce an ether storm on that scale.'
His thoughts grew increasingly tangled.
Something incomprehensible had occurred right in front of his eyes—and logic provided no answers.
'Carl Marcus… what the hell did you just do?'
No matter how absurd, there was no denying that Carl was involved in the anomaly.
Anyone with a brain could make that connection.
'What is this? What did you do?'
He wanted nothing more than to rush over and ask Carl face to face.
But sadly, Alex Hope didn't have the luxury of time.
[GUEEEEEEK!]
A Grade-5 Beast-Type lunged at him, spewing acid.
He wore a fairly high-level protective suit, so he wasn't harmed directly—but no equipment was indestructible. He had to be careful.
[QUEEEEK!]
"…Tch."
He dispatched the monster without much effort, but the acidic spray had splattered more than he liked.
This was not the time to be worrying about what was happening beyond the front.
"Looking rough, Ark guy," came a voice beside him.
It was Pavel the Hauler, who had approached without him noticing.
Apparently, he had come to help.
"That's how it goes."
"You're not out of gas yet, are you?"
"Of course not."
"Good. Because we're about to serve those bastards a serious helping."
Pavel grinned wide.
* * *
["…Absolutely revolting."]
Riding Horus up into the sky, I could clearly see the eight remaining Geogranite Dreads left on the ground.
Even at this altitude, their overwhelming presence didn't diminish. If those things reached Ark, no matter how sturdy its walls were, they wouldn't hold.
'Not that I plan on letting them through.'
The situation had become simple.
Kill the beasts in front of me—again and again.
And of course, that included the eight remaining Geogranite Dreads.
'Hmph.'
As expected of Grade-1 Petrified Dread-Types, the Geogranite Dreads were hardly affected by the declaration of Ankelenth's Domain.
It made them flinch momentarily, but didn't stop their march.
'That actually works in my favor.'
Even I couldn't take down eight Colossal Monstrosities in the middle of a never-ending beast onslaught.
But under these conditions, I didn't need to chase them—I could just stay put and slaughter anything foolish enough to crawl into Ankelenth's Domain.
'I don't have a lot of time… but it's enough.'
The Geogranite Dreads continued to march, never realizing this would be their grave.
"Let's go."
Mounted on Horus, I soared toward the approaching Dreads.
"Janus. Horus."
The moment I reached striking distance, I didn't hesitate.
Bloom and Full Bloom—two of the most devastating techniques Janus and Horus possessed—were unleashed immediately.
KRAKAKAKOOM!───
The violently blooming bone tendrils unfurled like petals, devouring everything in their path.
The Geogranite Dreads were no exception.
[GWOooooOOOO!───]
Two of them were caught in the storm of Bloom and Full Bloom.
Considering the sheer mass they occupied, it was clear just how massive the area of effect for these techniques was.
'But it's not enough.'
Even after taking direct hits, the Dreads were still alive.
Petrified Dread-Types wouldn't die unless their cores were destroyed. Breaking their shells wasn't enough.
'But I'm not finished yet.'
SSSSSSSSSS──!
The bone tendrils that bloomed didn't stop.
They burrowed into the Dreads' rocky hide, digging deeper until they reached the cores.
CRACK!
CRRRRUNCH──!
The petals from Bloom and Full Bloom tore through their interiors, relentlessly ravaging until they shattered the cores.
That left six Geogranite Dreads.
'I just used heavy techniques… but this isn't the time to pace myself.'
I gave Janus and Horus their next command.
"Kill them all."
[GI-GIT!]
[KI-HEHET!]
With their replies, Janus and Horus rooted themselves into the earth.
And began violently ejecting bone tendrils from their entire bodies.
['Needle Spike' has been activated.]
The tendrils stabbed into the ground—and then, thousands of bone spikes shot up all at once.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!
Needle Spike was meant to deal with multiple enemies, but its wide coverage also made it extremely effective against huge targets.
Its sheer range instantly bound the six remaining Geogranite Dreads in place.
Even for them, there would be no moving—for now.
["…So, what's your plan? Just binding them won't kill them."]
"There's another way."
["Huh? But the Zeus-444 Railgun's energy isn't fully recharged, is it?"]
"I'm not talking about that."
Sure, I couldn't use maximum output on the Zeus-444 Railgun yet—but that didn't matter.
Because I had one more trump card—just as destructive.
It didn't have the same range or radius, but at this distance, its power would be enough.
"Esther, support me."
["Huh? Ah… now that you mention it, yeah. You do have another weapon just as powerful."]
She was right.
Even before the Zeus-444 Railgun, I had a weapon capable of piercing anything.
['Spear of Ankelenth' summoned!]
I gripped the Spear of Ankelenth tightly in my right hand.
Then, with support from Esther and Janus, I began concentrating all of my power into it.
['Hardening' activated.]
['Steelization' activated.]
CRKK, CRACKLE...
[Th… throw it?]
[Pierce. Pierce. Pierce. Pierce. Pierce. Pierce. Pierce. Pierce. Pierce. Pierce. Pierce. Pierce. Pierce. Pierce. Pierce. Pierce. Pierce. Pierce. Pierce.]
[Kill──them──ALL.]
Preparation complete.
Target: the cores of the Geogranite Dreads.
Number of targets: six.
'This is nothing.'
I aligned my angle so that all six would be in a line—and hurled the Spear of Ankelenth with all my might.
['Bone Javelin' activated.]
Empowered by potent ether from Esther, the Spear of Ankelenth became a living weapon.
It pierced the first Dread's core—without stopping.
CRRRRRUNCH!
RUMBLE!
One, two, three…
As the spear shattered core after core, it didn't slow down.
It was like a ravenous serpent, relentlessly targeting and devouring hearts.
With a fury that aimed to end everything.
THUD!
BOOOOOM!
Finally, when the Spear of Ankelenth came to a halt, its momentum spent—
There were no Geogranite Dreads left standing.