Ilina couldn't understand Rosa's intentions at the time. Just a few hours ago, Rosa had been extremely wary of losing her sanity.
Rosa has never changed her attitude since signing the contract with her. Threats, persuasion, temptation. No matter how prophet approached her, Rosa never abandoned her principle of not being completely assimilated by the power of chaos.
But the current Rosa is showing a completely different demeanor from her past actions.
Ilina expected, or rather was convinced, that if she accelerated the chaos further, Rosa's mind would inevitably collapse.
No, she is sure.
'If she fire Ram's main cannon, she will surely lose both her sanity and will...…!’
As Rosa said, Ilina had always hoped for her will to be broken, but if it happened now, it would be difficult to recover from so much chaos having been consumed.
If the enemies reorganized and attacked the Garden of the Sword again, Ilina wouldn't be able to handle it herself.
Unlike the two major forces that lost their entire fleet, Jin only suffered personal injuries, and since they were not fatal, they wouldn't require a long time to recover.
“Yes, that's right. I've been waiting for Madame to fall. But if the Madame collapses now, I won't be able to take responsibility for what happens next. I mean it. Didn't you plan to do this from the beginning?"
The main cannon was about to recharge.
“If you had made this choice before summoning the ten great knights and Madame herself stepped in, of course, I would have been happy. But now... it's not possible. It's a foolish decision that doesn't make sense!"
[You seem to be afraid of everything.]
Rosa's eyes flashed black. In the end, Ilina knelt down on her knees to stop Rosa, but, of course, Rosa had no intention of stopping.
[Only I…. can beat the youngest. I can break that shining child and sever the rings that protect him.]
Kwaaang...!
Ram's cannons once again vomited black energy that divided the sky. It was as if a black tidal wave had unfolded behind Murakan's back.
Ram's main cannon came as a shock to Murakan, who had easily received Rosa's secret technique throughout.
[This is insane...…!]
There was no way to dodge it.
The cannon that destroyed the 2nd ship in a single blow had more terrible power than before.
Heh, ha ha ha...…!
Amidst the tremendous roar of the cannon, Rosa's mad laughter could be heard. The sky and the earth, shrouded in chaos, were laughing with her.
"Up!"
Jin shouted. Murakan had originally planned to block the cannon and descend, but as always, he followed Jin's opinion.
Jin believed that Ram's artillery should be directed upward. Although it would move farther away from the escape point, he judged that if Ram's main cannon was fired downward, the entire forest where the red owl was located would be completely destroyed.
Then it would be the end of the escape. As soon as Murakan was forcibly returned, the rest of the group would become dead meat.
Murakan increased his speed upwards. The protective shields and barriers in the rear were torn apart. Before it even broke, the shock began to spread. Jin and Kaio barely held onto their consciousness, enduring the pain.
[Aaaa...…!]
Soon, Murakan swept away the clouds of chaos as he escaped the artillery fire. The shadow force shield was literally bruised, but there was no fatal damage.
The shield was refilled in an instant. Even Jin was impressed by Murakan's strength, but the problem was that the artillery fire was not over yet.
[Kuh……! They won't be able to reload that quickly, right?]
"I don't think so."
Unlike Murakan who was flying forward without looking back, Jin turned around to check on Ram's condition.
"Just now..."
The Abyssal ship, Ram, was once again opening its dark beak, and a new cannon was already being reloaded.
[Damn it, it would have been almost impossible to escape in the first place if I hadn't been able to save my strength thanks to Orgal...….]
Rosa's mad laughter continued to weigh down on the group. It seemed like Ram was mocking them.
A shiver ran through their bodies.
If Glyek awakened the primal fear of life, Rosa's madness was digging a dark hole in the human mind all by itself.
Not chaos, but something that was piercing through the hearts of those who watched like a sharp arrow.
[Oh, oh…….]
Rosa let out an admiration. She felt strange. She fired cannon to kill Jin, but the fact that he survived again as usual is insanely pleasing. It was the first time in her life that she felt such great happiness.
The power gathered in Ram's beak aimed again at Murakan, who looked like a dot in the distance.
Even though it looked like a dot from a distance, Rosa seemed to see her son alive vividly before her eyes.
“Ah, no……!”
By that time, Ilina had determined that Rosa's mind had completely collapsed. So before Rosa could fire the second shot, she had to control her somehow. Rosa seemed like she wouldn't stop shelling until Ram was completely destroyed.
Pook!
A dagger stabbed into Rosa's back. It was the dagger Ilina took from her bosom.
The blade passed through Rosa’s spine and pierced right through her heart, and Rosa twitched for a moment before stopping her movements.
“Stop! You will die, too!”
Rosa did not look back at Ilina. She didn't even look at blade sticking out of the middle of her chest. She fired the main cannon instead. The eerie, metallic laughter continued to emanate from her parched lips.
Even the minimal chaos that had been protecting Ram was drawn in this time.
‘If this continues, it'll be the end of everything...!’
Ilina managed to pull the dagger out of Rosa's back with her loose legs. She then tried to stab Rosa’s throat again, but for some reason, she couldn't put any force into it.
More precisely, even if she used all her strength, her body wouldn't move. Something invisible was restraining Ilina.
Boom-!
At the same time, Ram's huge hull tilted to the right once. The shield protecting the hull had disappeared, so the enemy fleet was now attacking Ram in earnest.
Of the thousands of cannons, some hit the front of Ram where they were standing.
There were holes all over the hull, and sharp shards and debris pierced Rosa's body. Ilina was able to strike as many shells as she could.
Ilina could easily fend off such attacks, but only if her body could move. It would be easy as breathing if she could also wield the power of the chaos that was bound with her.
Ilina couldn't do anything. All she could do was just watch cannonballs fall, in the same position as when she was trying to stab Rosa.
'What on earth is... holding me back!?'
Ilina's heart burst as she saw Rosa's back.
‘There's no way Rosa could be doing this!'
She couldn't believe that a human who had already lost their sanity and become a monster could be holding her back. However, it was clearly Rosa's power that was restraining her.
“Madame, don’t tell me. You…… are still not finished yet..… ?” Ilina asked hesitantly.
[Quite…….]
As Rosa began to speak, terror filled Ilina’s eyes.
[Be quiet...… I don't want to be disturbed by anyone right now.]
Eventually, Rosa released Ilina. She sat down and began to gasp for air, unable to do anything but listen to her.
It was overwhelming.
To think that she had been overwhelmed by a human named Rosa Runcandel.
[Can you see it too, youngest? Countless bombardment of enemies are rushing to kill this mother! But none of them can directly touch me. There's no need to block or avoid anything]
Because it is fate. Nothing trivial can interfere with the fate that lies between you and me now.
It was true that despite the many attacks that hit the front lines, there wasn't a single direct hit on Rosa. They all missed and only bounced debris.
With all her heart, Rosa was looking only at her youngest, thinking only of shooting him dead.
A smile spread across Rosa's lips.
Finally, a smile appeared on Rosa's lips.
At the same time, the second shot imbued with the power of the chaos began to extend towards Murakan. The darkness of the abyss was once again engulfing the group.
Of course, it was then that the time allowed for Murakan reached its end.
"Down!"
This time, they were descending.
There was no point in trying to stop the second barrage. Murakan was going to disappear now, and the group had no power to defend against it.
Before the barrage could hit them, Murakan's time would come to an end.
[Kid!]
"I'm not dying...…!”
Jin held on to Talaris and Mort as hard as he could. Then he bit Bradamante into his mouth and pointed the blade downward.
Kaio knew exactly what Jin was thinking.
“What’s the Aim point!”
“Middle of the forest!”
Because of this, Kaio also hurriedly stuck his feet into the wounds on Murakan’s back. Pulling the arrow of the god killer and aimed at Bradamante's blade.
By that time, Murakan's body had become semi-transparent and Ram’s barrage seemed like it would hit Murakan's tail.
Shoot!
As soon as their eyes met, Kaio let go of the bowstring.
Snap!
The arrow of god killer struck Bradamante's blade. Although he felt a terrible recoil from the arrow throughout his body, Jin endured it with all his might.
He was holding Talaris and Mort tightly with both arms. Jin started to fall into the forest where the red owl was. Kaio’s last will to save his brethren was imbued in the arrow, which was firmly attached to Bradamante's blade like a magnet.
The moment Ram's main cannon hit them. Murakan disappeared with his eyes fixed on Jin, and Kaio raised his thumb high in the sky.
His arrows showed great strength and sent Jin, Talaris, and Mort into the middle of the forest in an instant.
“Ugh……!”
Spitting out clots of blood, Jin immediately got up and checked on Talaris and Mort, both of them were in bad shape.
Talaris was nearly unconscious from the internal wounds and the impact of the arrow, and Mort was motionless as if dead.
Looking around, the red owl was nowhere to be seen. Although they fell in the middle of the forest, he was about 500 steps away from the red owl.
‘Which way……!’
In moments like this, the forest was like a maze. The next attack would land in the forest for sure.
[Bong…… Ooh…….]
In a moment of uncertainty, Mort opened the dimensional portal of the snow garden. Dark spots of chaos were visible all over the pure white snowfield.
If they fall more than a hundred steps away, Mort would not have been able to open the portal. As fate would have it, Mort only had the strength to open a portal only 500 steps away.
Once they entered the portal, Jin, holding Talalis, made his way towards the location of the Red Owl using the snow garden as a shortcut.
When he pressed the button in the center of the cabin, the red owl vibrated with mana and started to accelerate.
The acceleration required to jump the space is about 10 seconds.
‘All that remains is to hope that the next bombardment will not be prepared……!’
one.
two.
three…….
…….
nine.
The space jump has begun.
As Jin was engulfed in the dazed sensation unique to space jumping, he looked up at Ram.
It felt like he had made eye contact with Rosa.
[You will come back to this mother again soon. I’ll be waiting...….]
Rosa was gazing at the forest where Jin had disappeared, calming down the overwhelming excitement that seemed to make her heart burst.
Ilina couldn't understand Rosa's intentions at the time. Just a few hours ago, Rosa had been extremely wary of losing her sanity.
Rosa has never changed her attitude since signing the contract with her. Threats, persuasion, temptation. No matter how prophet approached her, Rosa never abandoned her principle of not being completely assimilated by the power of chaos.
But the current Rosa is showing a completely different demeanor from her past actions.
Ilina expected, or rather was convinced, that if she accelerated the chaos further, Rosa's mind would inevitably collapse.
No, she is sure.
'If she fire Ram's main cannon, she will surely lose both her sanity and will...…!’
As Rosa said, Ilina had always hoped for her will to be broken, but if it happened now, it would be difficult to recover from so much chaos having been consumed.
If the enemies reorganized and attacked the Garden of the Sword again, Ilina wouldn't be able to handle it herself.
Unlike the two major forces that lost their entire fleet, Jin only suffered personal injuries, and since they were not fatal, they wouldn't require a long time to recover.
“Yes, that's right. I've been waiting for Madame to fall. But if the Madame collapses now, I won't be able to take responsibility for what happens next. I mean it. Didn't you plan to do this from the beginning?"
The main cannon was about to recharge.
“If you had made this choice before summoning the ten great knights and Madame herself stepped in, of course, I would have been happy. But now... it's not possible. It's a foolish decision that doesn't make sense!"
[You seem to be afraid of everything.]
Rosa's eyes flashed black. In the end, Ilina knelt down on her knees to stop Rosa, but, of course, Rosa had no intention of stopping.
[Only I…. can beat the youngest. I can break that shining child and sever the rings that protect him.]
Kwaaang...!
Ram's cannons once again vomited black energy that divided the sky. It was as if a black tidal wave had unfolded behind Murakan's back.
Ram's main cannon came as a shock to Murakan, who had easily received Rosa's secret technique throughout.
[This is insane...…!]
There was no way to dodge it.
The cannon that destroyed the 2nd ship in a single blow had more terrible power than before.
Heh, ha ha ha...…!
Amidst the tremendous roar of the cannon, Rosa's mad laughter could be heard. The sky and the earth, shrouded in chaos, were laughing with her.
"Up!"
Jin shouted. Murakan had originally planned to block the cannon and descend, but as always, he followed Jin's opinion.
Jin believed that Ram's artillery should be directed upward. Although it would move farther away from the escape point, he judged that if Ram's main cannon was fired downward, the entire forest where the red owl was located would be completely destroyed.
Then it would be the end of the escape. As soon as Murakan was forcibly returned, the rest of the group would become dead meat.
Murakan increased his speed upwards. The protective shields and barriers in the rear were torn apart. Before it even broke, the shock began to spread. Jin and Kaio barely held onto their consciousness, enduring the pain.
[Aaaa...…!]
Soon, Murakan swept away the clouds of chaos as he escaped the artillery fire. The shadow force shield was literally bruised, but there was no fatal damage.
The shield was refilled in an instant. Even Jin was impressed by Murakan's strength, but the problem was that the artillery fire was not over yet.
[Kuh……! They won't be able to reload that quickly, right?]
"I don't think so."
Unlike Murakan who was flying forward without looking back, Jin turned around to check on Ram's condition.
"Just now..."
The Abyssal ship, Ram, was once again opening its dark beak, and a new cannon was already being reloaded.
[Damn it, it would have been almost impossible to escape in the first place if I hadn't been able to save my strength thanks to Orgal...….]
Rosa's mad laughter continued to weigh down on the group. It seemed like Ram was mocking them.
A shiver ran through their bodies.
If Glyek awakened the primal fear of life, Rosa's madness was digging a dark hole in the human mind all by itself.
Not chaos, but something that was piercing through the hearts of those who watched like a sharp arrow.
[Oh, oh…….]
Rosa let out an admiration. She felt strange. She fired cannon to kill Jin, but the fact that he survived again as usual is insanely pleasing. It was the first time in her life that she felt such great happiness.
The power gathered in Ram's beak aimed again at Murakan, who looked like a dot in the distance.
Even though it looked like a dot from a distance, Rosa seemed to see her son alive vividly before her eyes.
“Ah, no……!”
By that time, Ilina had determined that Rosa's mind had completely collapsed. So before Rosa could fire the second shot, she had to control her somehow. Rosa seemed like she wouldn't stop shelling until Ram was completely destroyed.
Pook!
A dagger stabbed into Rosa's back. It was the dagger Ilina took from her bosom.
The blade passed through Rosa’s spine and pierced right through her heart, and Rosa twitched for a moment before stopping her movements.
“Stop! You will die, too!”
Rosa did not look back at Ilina. She didn't even look at blade sticking out of the middle of her chest. She fired the main cannon instead. The eerie, metallic laughter continued to emanate from her parched lips.
Even the minimal chaos that had been protecting Ram was drawn in this time.
‘If this continues, it'll be the end of everything...!’
Ilina managed to pull the dagger out of Rosa's back with her loose legs. She then tried to stab Rosa’s throat again, but for some reason, she couldn't put any force into it.
More precisely, even if she used all her strength, her body wouldn't move. Something invisible was restraining Ilina.
Boom-!
At the same time, Ram's huge hull tilted to the right once. The shield protecting the hull had disappeared, so the enemy fleet was now attacking Ram in earnest.
Of the thousands of cannons, some hit the front of Ram where they were standing.
There were holes all over the hull, and sharp shards and debris pierced Rosa's body. Ilina was able to strike as many shells as she could.
Ilina could easily fend off such attacks, but only if her body could move. It would be easy as breathing if she could also wield the power of the chaos that was bound with her.
Ilina couldn't do anything. All she could do was just watch cannonballs fall, in the same position as when she was trying to stab Rosa.
'What on earth is... holding me back!?'
Ilina's heart burst as she saw Rosa's back.
‘There's no way Rosa could be doing this!'
She couldn't believe that a human who had already lost their sanity and become a monster could be holding her back. However, it was clearly Rosa's power that was restraining her.
“Madame, don’t tell me. You…… are still not finished yet..… ?” Ilina asked hesitantly.
[Quite…….]
As Rosa began to speak, terror filled Ilina’s eyes.
[Be quiet...… I don't want to be disturbed by anyone right now.]
Eventually, Rosa released Ilina. She sat down and began to gasp for air, unable to do anything but listen to her.
It was overwhelming.
To think that she had been overwhelmed by a human named Rosa Runcandel.
[Can you see it too, youngest? Countless bombardment of enemies are rushing to kill this mother! But none of them can directly touch me. There's no need to block or avoid anything]
Because it is fate. Nothing trivial can interfere with the fate that lies between you and me now.
It was true that despite the many attacks that hit the front lines, there wasn't a single direct hit on Rosa. They all missed and only bounced debris.
With all her heart, Rosa was looking only at her youngest, thinking only of shooting him dead.
A smile spread across Rosa's lips.
Finally, a smile appeared on Rosa's lips.
At the same time, the second shot imbued with the power of the chaos began to extend towards Murakan. The darkness of the abyss was once again engulfing the group.
Of course, it was then that the time allowed for Murakan reached its end.
"Down!"
This time, they were descending.
There was no point in trying to stop the second barrage. Murakan was going to disappear now, and the group had no power to defend against it.
Before the barrage could hit them, Murakan's time would come to an end.
[Kid!]
"I'm not dying...…!”
Jin held on to Talaris and Mort as hard as he could. Then he bit Bradamante into his mouth and pointed the blade downward.
Kaio knew exactly what Jin was thinking.
“What’s the Aim point!”
“Middle of the forest!”
Because of this, Kaio also hurriedly stuck his feet into the wounds on Murakan’s back. Pulling the arrow of the god killer and aimed at Bradamante's blade.
By that time, Murakan's body had become semi-transparent and Ram’s barrage seemed like it would hit Murakan's tail.
Shoot!
As soon as their eyes met, Kaio let go of the bowstring.
Snap!
The arrow of god killer struck Bradamante's blade. Although he felt a terrible recoil from the arrow throughout his body, Jin endured it with all his might.
He was holding Talaris and Mort tightly with both arms. Jin started to fall into the forest where the red owl was. Kaio’s last will to save his brethren was imbued in the arrow, which was firmly attached to Bradamante's blade like a magnet.
The moment Ram's main cannon hit them. Murakan disappeared with his eyes fixed on Jin, and Kaio raised his thumb high in the sky.
His arrows showed great strength and sent Jin, Talaris, and Mort into the middle of the forest in an instant.
“Ugh……!”
Spitting out clots of blood, Jin immediately got up and checked on Talaris and Mort, both of them were in bad shape.
Talaris was nearly unconscious from the internal wounds and the impact of the arrow, and Mort was motionless as if dead.
Looking around, the red owl was nowhere to be seen. Although they fell in the middle of the forest, he was about 500 steps away from the red owl.
‘Which way……!’
In moments like this, the forest was like a maze. The next attack would land in the forest for sure.
[Bong…… Ooh…….]
In a moment of uncertainty, Mort opened the dimensional portal of the snow garden. Dark spots of chaos were visible all over the pure white snowfield.
If they fall more than a hundred steps away, Mort would not have been able to open the portal. As fate would have it, Mort only had the strength to open a portal only 500 steps away.
Once they entered the portal, Jin, holding Talalis, made his way towards the location of the Red Owl using the snow garden as a shortcut.
When he pressed the button in the center of the cabin, the red owl vibrated with mana and started to accelerate.
The acceleration required to jump the space is about 10 seconds.
‘All that remains is to hope that the next bombardment will not be prepared……!’
one.
two.
three…….
…….
nine.
The space jump has begun.
As Jin was engulfed in the dazed sensation unique to space jumping, he looked up at Ram.
It felt like he had made eye contact with Rosa.
[You will come back to this mother again soon. I’ll be waiting...….]
Rosa was gazing at the forest where Jin had disappeared, calming down the overwhelming excitement that seemed to make her heart burst.
