บท 263: Chapter 263
In the heart of the city.
From his vantage point atop the public bathhouse roof, Damien witnessed the retreat of allies from every battleground.
To the north of the city walls, Evangeline lay injured and fallen. The remaining heroes were cornered by the Wolf King.
At the south wall, Lucas stood isolated, with a horde of werewolves charging at him from all directions.
Throughout the city, fierce battles raged between hordes of werewolves and people.
Even where Ash and Kureha were, Kureha had sustained severe injuries.
'Which front should I support first?'
The equipment he had at his disposal consisted of three magic handguns, one magic machine gun, and a crossbow.
It was impossible to address the chaos unfolding in every part of the city. Damien gritted his teeth.
'No, I can do this!'
Damien's round brown eyes glowed bright, emitting a white flash.
"It's not a matter of whether I can do it. I must!"
Setting down his crossbow, Damien drew the twin handguns, Cerberus, with both hands.
'The remaining magic power in me...'
He had taken some time to rest and recover, but it wasn't much.
Still, he did not hesitate.
Damien's [Far-Sight] shone brilliantly.
'Target acquired.'
He identified information about friend and foe alike across the entire battlefield using Far-Sight.
The influx of information piled up in Damien's vision, the rush of data sounding like the flipping of pages.
As hundreds of units of information poured in within moments, Damien felt his head throb with pain.
But he didn't stop; he mentally locked onto each target.
Click!
The two handguns in Damien's hands pointed forward.
Ultimate Skill, [Showdown].
He fired magic bullets at every target in his sight. Healing bullets for allies and offensive bullets for enemies.
A simultaneous heal and damage infliction on both allies and enemies, the ultimate skill activated by Damien, the Magibullet Marksman.
However, the effectiveness decreased as the number of targets increased due to the limited bullets and magic power Damien possessed.
'I'll make up for the decreased power with my eyes!'
Tears streamed down from Damien's overworked eyes, but he didn't stop.
'To the places where our allies are most injured, and the enemies' weak points! I'll hit them all!'
-Targeting complete.
Having selected all his targets, Damien began firing his handguns without pause.
***
At the southern wall.
"Ugh... Ugh…"
Lucas caught his breath, panting heavily.
Leaning against the wall, with his blood-soaked sword gripped tightly, Lucas's armor was a mess.
It was tattered and gruesomely torn apart from being scratched and hit by the monsters' claws.
Before him, wolves surrounded Lucas, preparing for their next attack.
"Lord Lucas!"
A voice called out from above the wall. It was from the magic troops, Fox and Rabbit.
"Enough! Come inside the wall! There's no need to continue this hand-to-hand combat!"
"It's safer to fight using firepower while staying close to the walls, isn't it?"
Of course, that would be safer.
Lucas wanted to do just that. He could no longer use his ultimate skill, and his transformed beast form was nearing its limit given his depleted condition.
However, two white wolves stood before him.
Grrr...
Heh, heh.
Two White Werewolves.
Lucas hadn't seen the retreat, and even if he had managed to retreat, there would be challenges that followed.
With the immense agility emanating from their powerful bodies, these creatures would have stormed the ramparts in no time.
That would mean engaging in close combat atop the walls.
Currently, all the forces capable of close combat had been sent into the city.
On the walls were only the artillery, archers, and four mages responsible for firepower.
'It might be better to hold them off here.'
Holding them at bay here, while bombarding them with cannons, ballistae, and magic from the walls, would probably be more effective.
'I just need to push a bit harder.'
Whooosh!
Lowering his stance, flames erupted from Lucas's longsword, the 'Karma Eater.'
Although the 'Karma Eater' was consuming his wild nature, Lucas felt it.
Despite that, he felt his wild transformation advancing further.
The more the transformation progressed, the closer he came to becoming a beast. But the energy 'Karma Eater' consumed was consistent, causing this phenomenon.
'Even so!'
Even if he was not halfway, but fully stepping into the monster's realm.
'Even so, if I can just hold on...!'
Then, in that moment,
Flash!
Magical projectiles shot from the city center poured down like a shower.
Lucas looked up in surprise at the streaks of light above him.
'Damien?'
Hundreds of magical projectiles, like shooting stars, streamed down targeting various foes.
Thud! Thud thud!
Like a meteor shower, the projectiles hit the werewolves' hearts, eyes, and throats.
The ones already wounded got hit precisely at their injured spots.
Gurgle?!
Growwwwl!
Though each projectile wasn't that powerful, the problem was where they struck.
The wolf monsters, hit precisely at their weak points, either died vomiting blood, writhed in agony, or at the very least, were momentarily stunned.
"...!"
A healing projectile hit Lucas.
Its effect was minimal, but like a drop of water to parched lips, it felt invigorating. Taking a deep breath, Lucas stood upright.
With this, he could fight a bit longer.
"Haaaargh!"
Mustering his energy, Lucas charged at the staggering werewolves, severing their throats and splitting their chests open.
In a matter of moments, about a dozen of the remaining werewolves were brought down.
'I can definitely do this...!'
As Lucas was catching his breath,
Whoosh!
Two white werewolves lunged at him simultaneously.
The two elite monsters showcased a perfectly coordinated joint attack technique, as if they had been training together for ages. Their strikes came from all directions.
'What the...?!'
Caught off guard by their sudden precision, Lucas was taken aback.
Even the great Lucas, exhausted to his core, found it challenging to fend off a perfectly timed combined attack from two elite monsters.
Rip! Rrrrrip...!
His worn-out armor completely shattered, ultimately leaving his body vulnerable to hits.
A monster's claw brutally slashed Lucas, and a sturdy werewolf leg kicked him squarely in the chest, sending him flying back.
Crash!
"Ugh!"
Lucas, pinned against the fortress wall, coughed up blood. He tried to use his longsword as support to get up, but...
"..."
He'd dropped it.
The [Karma Eater] he'd let go of rolled away in the distance. Lucas stared blankly at it for a moment before bursting into a smirk.
Clink. Clunk.
It felt like the last safety mechanism had just shattered and fallen to the ground.
Leaning bloodied against the fortress wall, Lucas twisted his mouth into a grin.
"Got it, I got it. I'll play by your rules."
The knight, who was already treading into the beast's domain,
Took another half step.
Sssssizzle-!
Heat wafted out like mirages from behind Lucas.
Almost crouching on all fours, Lucas's blue eyes flickered like flames as he drew his longsword.
"Come on in-!"
He looked even more like a wolf now.
***
Front of the northern wall.
"Kehehe. Heh heh heh."
Lunared laughed lowly, gripping Kuilan's collar.
"The taste of victory is always sweet, descendant."
"..."
Bloodied and battered, Kuilan dangled limply in the Wolf King's grasp.
The same went for the rest of the party members.
Not just the Penal Squad, but the Shadow Squad too. They were all brutally scattered and defeated.
Only Saintess Margarita was desperately healing and shielding, managing to keep everyone alive, but it felt like a candle in the wind.
"..."
Kuilan stared at his distant ancestor through blood-soaked eyes.
Too strong. Overwhelmingly strong.
The gap was too wide, and his fists felt futile...
"After all, aren't you too weak, descendant? To think you share the blood of this Lunared."
"..."
"Do you know why you're weaker than me?"
Lunared sneered.
"You're suppressing your true nature."
"...True nature?"
"Yes. Aren't you hiding the wolf's blood you inherited from me?"
"..."
"Now, accept yourself, descendant."
A strangely affectionate smile played on the Wolf King's lips.
"Let's become wolves together. Then I'll take you with me on my path of human annihilation."
The Wolf King drew his sharp claw across his own hand, dripping his blood into Kuilan's open mouth.
The blood of an ancestor.
His very own.
Lunared naturally assumed that with his blood, Kuilan would quickly 'reveal his true form'. But...
"...Hmm, even after mixing so much of my blood, you still maintain a human appearance."
No change.
Kuilan remained human. Lunared clicked his tongue.
"Someone must be suppressing your wolf instincts. And quite strongly at that."
"What are you..."
"Someone has taken on the wolf's curse that was bestowed upon you."
Looking up at the moonlight, Lunared chuckled.
"They must have really not wanted to turn you into a wolf, judging by the extent they're sacrificing their own soul."
"...!"
Just as Kuilan, who seemed to realize something, was about to speak,
Thud thud thud!
From the city center, magic bullets rained down like a downpour, released by Damien.
Healing magic bullets struck the ten heroes.
As if jump-started by a defibrillator, the heroes who had been lying motionless started to violently cough and slowly get up one by one.
And then, toward Lunared,
Thwack!
"Huh?!"
Straight to his eyes.
While looking up at the moonlight, two needle-like magic projectiles narrowly grazed Lunared's red eyes.
Lunared barely managed to turn his head to dodge a direct hit, but the skin around his eyes tore, causing blood to spurt.
"Who dares...!"
Misjudging the strength of the incoming magic projectiles, he had erred in not reacting in time, placing too much faith in his formidable physique.
In pain, Lunared staggered, while Kuilan's eyes widened in shock.
'This is my chance!'
A fierce red energy gathered in Kuilan's right hand.
Lunared was blinded for only a few seconds.
In that brief moment, he must die...!
Kuilan thrust his fist forward with all his might. His full-powered punch was aimed directly at the werewolf's heart.
For some reason, Lunared didn't try to block it.
Smash!
The fist connected cleanly with the werewolf's chest.
Unbeknownst to Kuilan, the [Lucky Strike] charged in his right hand showed the numbers 6, 6, 6.
A jackpot just short of 777.
Taking advantage of his opponent's lowered guard, he had delivered the most powerful blow he could muster.
It wouldn't have been surprising if Lunared had dropped dead on the spot, coughing up blood.
"Hmm, so that's all?"
Lunared remained unfazed.
Suddenly, he opened his red eyes wide, gazing intently at the mark on his chest.
There was a clear imprint of a fist, but the damage seemed minimal.
"If that's the best you can do, there's no point in letting you live."
"What... how..."
Kuilan asked shakily.
"I'm certain I hit your heart directly...?"
"It's unfortunate, but I have two hearts."
The Wolf King sneered.
"My first heart was already taken by my king."
"...?!"
"I thought of keeping you alive, to make use of you since you share my bloodline. But if you can't transform into a wolf and your martial skills are subpar, there's no reason to keep you alive."
With his other hand, the one not holding Kuilan, Lunared unsheathed his claws.
"Farewell, descendant. We'll meet again... in hell."
Splatter!
Blood spewed in every direction.
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