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A sudden assault by those imbued with vampiric mysticism.

Their eyes dyed red, they had lost all reason and launched indiscriminate attacks.

Those resurrected by the vampire mysticism were already dead.

The White Wolf Knights had no hesitation in cutting them down.

“Be careful! It’s not just vampires!”

But the enemy had used their heads as well.

Among the vampires were people being controlled by the mysticism.

Mysticism—Puppets of Ruin.

It was a mysticism that controlled others at will.

‘A rare one, huh.’

Lucas must’ve been manipulated like this too.

If ordinary people were among the attackers, the White Wolf Knights couldn’t recklessly swing their swords.

They were victims—not ones to be slain.

So the course of action was clear.

“Sharin.”

I seized a vampire and brought it before Sharin.

She then channeled light through her staff.

Sharin had witnessed vampire mysticism firsthand in the past.

Ever since Lucas was resurrected through it, she had been preparing.

No matter how mysterious the mysticism was...

“Already deciphered it.”

Against our genius mage, all mysticism was futile.

Thud!

Sharin slammed her staff down on the vampire’s head.

At that moment, red blood flowed simultaneously from its eyes.

The blood turned into bats and flew away.

For them to release vampires like this meant things had gone awry on their end—they were fleeing.

We had to pursue.

“Sir Zergas!”

“I’ll give chase. Go!”

The commander of the White Wolf Knights replied as he cut down three vampires at once.

Solvas was with him, fighting fiercely.

“My husband, Bel.”

“Yeah.”

Isabel and I simultaneously ran toward Sharin.

Just then, magic exploded from Sharin, and a whirlwind swept us up.

The wind was so strong our faces trembled, and it lifted us into the sky.

The red bats flew at the same speed.

The sky and clouds streaked past us.

We saw the forest below, swarming with vampires.

Who knows how many had been resurrected—it seemed endless.

Isabel’s eyes scanned the forest frantically.

She was desperately searching, hoping Lucas might be there.

But I had a faint idea where Lucas might be.

After our last battle, the enemy likely sensed something between us.

That meant they would absolutely try to use Lucas.

“We’re here.”

The bats veered down toward a canyon where a river flowed.

In the distance, a group was moving aboard a strangely-shaped ship.

“Sharin.”

No time to waste.

Sharin raised her staff toward the sky.

Clouds gathered and rained down upon me.

Unlike the previous True Dragonification, this lightning strike was on a smaller scale.

But it was cast without relying on the thunder-summoning artifact.

Magic Inscription: Lightning Catcher.

The magic inscription engraved on my body absorbed Sharin’s lightning.

The remnants of the ancient dragon awakened, spreading current throughout my body.

Amber-yellow eyes gleamed with the essence of the dragon.

Celestial Dragon.

With Sharin’s magic, I unleashed my transformation and kicked off the air.

A technique that transcended the body and became lightning itself.

Heavenly Thunder.

Lightning tore through the sky and struck the ship.

BOOOOM!

My descending kick caused the steel vessel to tilt violently.

“Aaaaargh!”

A scream echoed in my ears.

Amid the crashing waves, I saw a man clinging to one of the ship’s pillars.

A middle-aged man wearing dark glasses, looking fragile at first glance.

The moment I saw him, my mind sparked.

‘Eurozen.’

A madman consumed by mysticism.

Before Vulcan seized control of the Mystic Cult, he was the acting leader.

After Vulcan’s rise, he was demoted to vice-leader, serving as his subordinate.

Most of his mystic powers had been stolen by Vulcan, so he wasn’t hard to defeat back then.

But not now.

I could feel dozens of mystical powers layered all over his body.

This bastard… he’s covered in mysticism from head to toe.

If he weren’t a rare case loved by mysticism like Vulcan, it would be suicidal.

‘No way…’

Mystic powers can cancel or amplify each other.

This guy has studied all the interactions between them and layered them in harmony on his body.

Leaving him alone would be dangerous.

Without hesitation, I dashed across the deck and swung my knife-hand strike.

Just before my hand pierced through Eurozen’s neck—

Clang!

A sword shot up from beneath my feet, blocking my path.

Under the shadow, I saw a man wielding the blade.

A Mystic.

A Shadow Swordsman.

A Mystic born from stealing the shadow of a once-great swordsman.

My eyes narrowed instinctively.

“Damn it.”

A Mystic is a twisted existence, one that fails to become a divine being.

The original swordsman had refined his blade to the brink of divinity.

The Shadow Swordsman mimics that master completely.

A Mystic far more dangerous than expected had appeared.

I leaned back and pulled my rear foot away just in time to dodge the incoming blade.

But the tip of the sword twisted skillfully, grazing my shoulder.

Blood and flesh scattered.

It was a blade so sharp, even my steel body couldn’t withstand it.

There was nothing the Shadow Swordsman's sword couldn't cut.

Cloaked in pitch-black, the Shadow Swordsman charged in, his hat pulled low.

But fortunately, I could handle him.

“Isabel!”

At my shout, a flash of light streaked overhead.

A blinding flash pierced through the Shadow Swordsman in an instant.

He vanished completely, consumed by the divine radiance.

The light of the Goddess’s wings—an almost absolute counter to the Shadow Swordsman.

“You bastard!”

From afar, Eurozen threw himself off the deck.

Clearly, he possessed some water-related Mystic as well.

But he had already been accounted for.

Boom!

The river surged upward with the ship, forming an enormous droplet.

Eurozen flailed within it, trapped.

Above that droplet floated Sharin, calmly aiming her final staff.

A massive water prison.

“Gotcha.”

I leapt off the tilted deck toward the water prison.

I had to capture Eurozen completely to resolve the vampire Mystic.

But just then, I saw Eurozen pulling something out from within the water.

Without hesitation, I hurled the electricity within me into the water prison.

Crackle!

The lightning spread through the water, piercing Eurozen.

He charred black instantly, black smoke billowing from his mouth.

He had been trying to do something, but I barely stopped him in time.

I saw Isabel approaching.

“Sharin, bind him—”

Just as I was about to ask Sharin to restrain Eurozen—

I spotted a figure behind her.

Before I knew it, I had thrown myself forward.

Heavenly Thunder.

I squeezed out the remaining lightning and grabbed Sharin.

A woman slashed at the space Sharin had just vacated, wielding a knife-like sword.

She had long black hair and a large red ribbon.

But her distinctiveness didn't end there.

Ears sprouting from her head and two tails swaying behind her waist.

She wasn’t human.

Our eyes met in a brief moment.

Rip!

The water prison split in half.

Inside it—

A tattoo-covered man, inked head to toe instead of hair, swung a massive axe.

The moment I saw them, I knew who they were.

The reason I couldn’t recklessly strike the Celestial Grace.

The five enforcers that guarded her.

Celestial Echo Squad.

Monsters personally raised by the Celestial Grace, hidden from the public eye.

They kill Duke of Whitewood in the Bad Ending “The Final Villainess.”

“Isabel, stop!”

I cried out as she charged at Dragos, the one who split the mountain.

But she was already within his range.

No good.

The current Isabel couldn’t handle Dragos.

His axe turned pitch black.

At the same time, the tattoos covering his body began to glow.

“That’s…”

As Sharin recognized the nature of those tattoos, my hand shot up toward the sky.

Come, Lightning Caller.

A bolt of lightning tore through the heavens and struck Dragos.

He didn’t swing at Isabel—he swung his axe at the falling lightning.

BOOOOOOM!

The divine lightning and Dragos’ axe collided with a deafening explosion.

The resulting shockwave swept us away, but Sharin managed to control the wind with magic.

In that moment of reprieve, Isabel successfully snatched Eurozen.

But only briefly.

Just like before, the cat girl sliced through space and appeared again beside Isabel.

Her kitchen knife left behind a red trail as it rushed toward Isabel.

“I’m not falling for that twice.”

But before it could reach her, Sharin's magic activated.

Dozens of light bullets split and spread out in all directions.

Instead of hitting Isabel, the girl cut through the space and disappeared.

Isabel spread her wings and safely rejoined us.

“Phew, what the hell are those things?”

The appearance of these beings, who were far from human, left Isabel visibly shaken.

And I felt the same.

As the divine lightning dissipated, someone appeared beneath it—someone who had split a mountain in two.

Smoke drifted from the tattoos carved across his entire body.

"Those are magic engravings."

I nodded quietly in response to Sharin's question.

What enveloped the body of the man who split the mountain…

Was the same magic engraving as mine.

He was also the one who taught me that you could inscribe magic engravings onto your skin.

While we watched, the cat girl reappeared beside the mountain-splitter.

She lowered two sword-like kitchen knives and crouched.

“Ugh, I-I missed her…”

“Do it properly.”

“I did do it properly!”

The cat girl raised her tail in protest.

That cat girl—

Adora.

In her hand, she held the divine artifact weapon, Gongdo.

Gongdo, which slices space like sashimi, is originally a storage-type weapon.

Its internal space is infinite.

So if a person accidentally enters, they can get lost in the darkness forever, endlessly wandering.

Normally, it's used to store a variety of tools inside the space.

But Adora is different.

In this world, divine beasts exist.

Even the widely known elemental lords are similar to these divine beasts.

The one Adora has consumed is just like her title—the Cat from the Other Side.

That divine beast, the Cat from the Other Side, can freely traverse through space.

Its special ability is spatial anchoring via coordinates.

Having consumed that divine beast, Adora can move precisely through Gongdo’s space using those innate coordinates.

I clicked my tongue.

Adora is an endlessly troublesome opponent.

She may act weak and timid, but when it comes to slicing people, her eyes turn completely deranged.

“Adora. The order has been given. Retrieve Eurozen.”

“Huuu… I really just want to go home…”

Looks like they’re preparing for battle.

She must’ve received orders from Duke Robliage to bring back Eurozen.

‘No more are coming.’

Only those two from Celestial Echo Squad are here.

It doesn’t look like there are any others.

The remaining three must be operating elsewhere—or possibly on Duke of Whitewood’s side.

‘Unless all five are gathered…’

They can’t deal with Duke of Whitewood anyway.

“…What are you going to do?”

Perhaps because I stood still without trying to run, Isabel cautiously asked.

A muscle man who took divine lightning head-on, and a cat that traverses space.

They weren’t ordinary people—so Isabel and Sharin were also waiting for my judgment.

My eyes quietly met theirs.

With Adora on the other side, a hasty retreat wouldn’t help.

Since she can jump through space, she could appear anywhere.

Adora specializes in chaos.

If we head to the White Wolf Knights, there will be endless casualties.

If Duke Robliage went as far as deploying Echo Squad, it means the situation is urgent.

In that case—

“Isabel. Sharin.”

I called their names, raising my hand in a blade-like stance.

It’s been a while since my gamer instincts stirred.

They don’t know.

How many times I’ve fought them, how well I know how to counter them.

Is there a chance of victory—just Isabel, Sharin, and me—against two members of Celestial Echo Squad?

My eyes lit up.

Yes.

“We take them down.”

Today, we reduce the strength of Celestial Echo Squad.