novelraw Chapter 128 : Two Executors (1)
Chapter 128 : Two Executors (1)
Chapter 128: Two Executors (1)
KWA—BOOOOM!
“W-What was that?!”
“Damage detected on the upper-left section of the main tower!”
“Damage? What about the barrier?!”
“The barrier hasn’t been destroyed!”
“…What? Then how did the outer wall get pierced?!”
“Th-That is… we’re not sure either…!”
Amid the sudden, incomprehensible chaos, Gustav hurried out of the command control room.
Once outside, it became much clearer what had happened.
From the 14th to the 18th floor—about five floors in total—the outer wall had been completely pierced through by five or six massive wooden pillars.
“How in the world….”
“It’s probably the Hand of Lightening.”
At the familiar voice, he turned his head. Eugene appeared from the lower terrace.
Lightly leaping across the stairs and structures, he reached the wooden pillar.
“W-Wait! Is it safe to touch that?”
“It’s fine. It’s already out of her hands.”
After running his hand over the pillar for a few seconds, Eugene landed lightly beside Gustav.
“You need to change all the barrier formulas. You can do that, right?”
“…It’s not impossible, but.”
Gustav spread both hands, his face filled with disbelief.
“What the hell did they do? Ignoring the barrier and dealing physical damage—does that even make sense?!”
“That’s Betty Scarletwood’s greatest strength.”
“…….”
“Change the formula so it reacts to all external impacts first. That should offset it to some extent.”
“But then….”
“I know. The efficiency will drop drastically.”
Still, this is the best option.
Turning his gaze outside the tower, Eugene smiled faintly.
“Let’s hurry, Master. The real game is right around the corner.”
---
After leaving several instructions with Gustav—
I descended back onto the Golem through the terrace and sent a signal to Meriel at the main gate.
‘The enemy’s main force is close—move to Phase Two.’
Meriel nodded and began relaying the message to the others.
As the enemy forces gradually came into view, a smile naturally formed on my lips.
“…This is going to be fun.”
At the same time, I could clearly feel cold sweat running down my spine.
—Looks like they’re feeling the pressure too. Sending the main force much earlier than planned.
‘Well, our main force should be arriving soon as well… but who knows how it’ll actually play out.’
From experience, I knew the gap between the two forces wasn’t that large—but that was only in theory.
Accounting for every possible variable in a real clash was impossible, even for me.
In the end, all I could rely on right now was my experience and instincts.
I glanced briefly toward both sides’ interception turrets.
The brightly lit tower was gradually dimming.
—A fight between Eugene Carter at full physical condition… and two Executors.
‘Why, you think I’ll lose?’
—If you fight both at once, you have no chance.
‘…That’s really reassuring.’
—I don’t like lying.
At times like this, you could at least tell a white lie to boost your master’s morale.
I almost grumbled—but instead, I let out a small chuckle.
It wasn’t wrong, and it wasn’t something I didn’t already know.
Even in a one-on-one fight, my chances weren’t even fifty percent.
Even if I hunted A-rank, A+ rank, S-rank, and SS-rank Beasts step by step, devoured their mana, and equipped myself with the Empire’s finest artifacts—
At best, I might barely defeat the Executor of Earth.
Well, regardless of that, I had no choice but to aim for a draw.
Karen Rosefield.
She was one of the five I had to save.
“…Alright then, shall we go greet them?”
Breaking brainwashing, facing trauma, overcoming it, and joining forces to confront a catastrophe—those were all matters for later.
So for now—
“Let’s just… fight.”
Muttering to steel my resolve, I jumped down from the Golem and charged toward the enemy lines.
A powerful light source flared up at the center of the plaza, illuminating the deep darkness.
---
The attack the Executor of Earth launched on the enemy’s main tower was both a preemptive strike and a warning.
The fact that they had held out this long against an advance force of 500 was already proof enough of their capability.
It was our miscalculation—and their strong performance.
But even taking all that into account—it wasn’t enough.
Against the remaining 1,500 elite troops, 50 First-Rank Believers, and 2 Executors—
Maintaining this kind of standoff was impossible for them.
So surrender now.
If you do, your lives will be spared.
That was the message.
With that intent, Betty Scarletwood deliberately struck not the enemy’s heart, but its flank.
‘If you throw your lives away over the power struggles of high-ranking figures in the Empire, no one will even remember you.’
For us, death meant ascending to paradise with God—so giving up our lives was acceptable.
But for you unbelievers, that option doesn’t exist.
Even beyond faith, both Executors fundamentally opposed meaningless sacrifice.
Even if they were evil, it was still their hands taking lives—and they weren’t Beasts. They could repent.
Once they repented, they would surely become valuable forces in the war against Beasts.
To cut down such future strength with their own hands—what greater loss could there be?
Thus, upon arriving at the plaza, Betty gathered all the Believers and lined them up.
Then she waited for the enemy to approach with a white flag of surrender.
But the answer she received was—
“If you withdraw now, we will overlook the human and material losses inflicted on Mallet!”
“We will also cease any objections or disputes regarding the slander and baseless accusations made against Karbenna!”
Magic Tower Master Gustav and Karbenna’s representative, Eugene Carter, each declared in turn—
Then shouted together:
“Leave this place!”
At that moment—
The last shred of rationality remaining in Betty Scarletwood snapped completely.
“If that is your answer… then so be it.”
The moment she plunged her hand into the ground, wooden pillars like before began erupting rapidly from the earth.
Grabbing them one by one, she hurled them toward the center of Mallet’s main tower.
But—
The result was completely different from before.
Crack!
“…….”
The pillars couldn’t even scratch the tower’s outer wall and simply fell into the forest.
It was at that exact moment that the main force of the Mallet—Karbenna alliance arrived.
As enemy forces appeared one after another beyond the Golems, Betty gritted her teeth.
“…Sister Karen.”
“Yes.”
“From this moment on, there will be no surrender.”
A killing intent far more intense than before surged from her entire body.
---
Bang!
KWA—BOOM!
“Aaaagh!”
“Leave the wounded to the mages! Focus on maintaining formation!”
“Enemy units that headed toward the turrets are moving toward the main tower!”
“Ignore them! Focus only on enemies in the plaza!”
Amid the chaos of explosions and battle cries, even screams and commands became indistinguishable.
Even among participants on the same side, differences in ability were inevitable.
To account for this, the command structure had balanced team compositions as much as possible—
But even so, some stood out.
“Hyah!”
“Uwaaaah!”
First, the duo of “Ironblood” Frederick Lake and master of manipulation magic, Dale Wedmeyer.
They focused on repelling ordinary Believers charging at them.
Whenever Dale restrained or halted parts of the enemy’s body, Frederick would finish them in a single blow.
However, against enemies with strong faith, binding magic often failed—so their success rate wasn’t particularly high.
Those who broke through them were handled by another duo—Walter Clark and Eric Belfor.
“Ugh!”
“You’re not getting through.”
“Use your spear there, you idiot! You’re still in your prime and you’ve got no sense! What would you have done without me?!”
“…Sometimes I can’t tell if you’re an ally or an enemy.”
Despite the bickering, their coordination was strangely perfect.
While Belfor drove back enemies at mid-to-close range with sword and spear, Walter supported him with auxiliary magic to prevent him from being surrounded.
Of course, even that wasn’t enough to block everything.
Even if the gap in individual skill was reduced, the numerical disadvantage remained overwhelming.
If they weren’t already at a disadvantage, they wouldn’t need such strategies.
That was why they were necessary—
The special forces carefully selected by the Special Task Force and Karbenna.
“What do you mean ‘minor injury’?!”
“If you keep fighting like that, it’ll definitely worsen!”
“Just hurry up—huh?”
“The bleeding… it’s stopping?”
“Please wait three more minutes. The treatment isn’t finished yet.”
Ada Colloid, one of the Special Task Force’s finest healers.
She excelled in both close-range healing magic and mid-range remote healing.
“Ugh, what is this—?!”
“You’ll be crushed if you just stand there.”
“Ignore him and push through! The main gate is right—Aagh?!”
Dave Green, one of only five arcane mages in Karbenna. His specialty was Shadow Mirror Technique, capable of both absorption and counterattack.
His barrier confused enemies—sometimes like a shadow, sometimes like a mirror.
“Die! Die!”
“H-Hey! The enemy’s over there, why are you attacking the ground—?!”
“High resistance doesn’t mean you won’t see illusions.”
Noah Hamilton, a support mage specializing in disruption and illusion.
Around her, countless demonic apparitions flickered.
“…We need slight reinforcement on the right flank. Yes. The main tower’s defense is still holding. I’ll report again in ten minutes.”
Louis Rostein, a master of flight magic.
After finishing his report, he rose back into the sky to observe the battlefield.
There was no better observer for assessing the situation and adjusting tactics.
Except for two who had yet to join the main force, all special forces were fulfilling their roles.
Combined with the Golems disrupting enemy formations and the Dellowell-specific tactical system centered around Eugene Carter—
The front line maintained a precarious stalemate, neither advancing nor retreating.
“Cough…!”
“Weak.”
Until—
A truly overwhelming force entered the battlefield.
“Belfor!”
Walter hurriedly cast a binding spell—but the Executor of Earth didn’t falter for even a second.
Belfor gritted his teeth, desperately trying to steady his breathing.
Even with blurred vision, the memory of her previous display was vivid and terrifying.
The approaching opponent didn’t dodge or block the spear—she simply walked forward.
Belfor concentrated all his mana into a single strike—
But she deflected it effortlessly.
Then, with her free left hand—
She struck his abdomen.
That was the end.
Her blow crushed his sturdy armor instantly, shattering his ribs and the organs beneath.
As Belfor crawled on the ground, suppressing a groan, she drew her greatsword.
Just as it was about to cleave his neck in two—
Two spells activated simultaneously between them.
Creak, creak!
“…….”
A thick barrier blocking the blade—
And a magic circle spread across the ground.
About a hundred meters away—
Agent Meriel and Michel Bernhardt exchanged silent glances.
Without a word, both began deploying their signature magic at the same time.