novelraw Chapter 200: Descent of Heroes (1)
Chapter 200: Descent of Heroes (1)
Translator: Dreamscribe
The sky was burning.
The sky, once blackened by Erosion, began to turn red. Countless eggs falling while engulfed in flames evoked the end of the world.
Kwa-ga-ga-ga!
A deafening roar that tore through the air echoed throughout Levannas.
A barrage of meteors ripped through the atmosphere and fell toward the land of Levannas, tainted by Erosion. Their speed increased steadily.
When the energy of Erosion blanketing the sky came into contact with the flames, it vanished meaninglessly, creating holes. The tunnels that had shot up by piercing the ground were despair, but the flames descending and erasing Erosion were a miracle.
It was the light of hope that had come to Levannas.
“Ah....”
“......”
What could anyone possibly say?
The defense forces stared blankly up at the sky, unable to speak. It was a sight completely beyond common sense, something unimaginable even in dreams.
Kkiririk!
Even the Erosion Insects covering the ground seemed to sense something ominous. Instead of advancing, they strategically braced for impact. They gathered together and formed a defensive formation. It was a sight the defenders of Levannas had never seen before.
The eggs falling at tremendous speed seemed as if they would shatter not only the Protective Barrier but all of Levannas. If they had been eggs of Erosion Insects, they would have burst without penetrating the barrier's shield, but those eggs, wrapped in Sacred Spells and magic, possessed enough power to mercilessly destroy the shield.
The directional control devices attached to the eggs were ineffective due to the extreme speed.
It was a situation where they could only pray to luck that Levannas would be spared from damage. Fortunately, the most outstanding magician among the Great Archmage's disciples was in Levannas.
[Use the Magical Device's light to guide the eggs.]
“Ah, understood!”
At Tiris’s words, Serazade hurriedly extended her staff. Then A1, controlling the staff, synchronized with the Magic Tower and drew a massive magic circle over the land filled with Erosion Insects. As the magic circle made of light formed, particles of light burst forth and soared into the sky.
The falling eggs changed direction toward the blackened land swarming with Erosion Insects. The particles of light looked as if they were guiding the eggs.
[Magical Device has been connected to the Protective Barrier. Brace for impact.]
At Tiris’s command, Serazade and her companions prepared for impact. The pre-deployed Magic Stones connected to the Protective Barrier and reconstructed the shield. The Erosion Insects that had entered the barrier were shredded by the shield and turned to dust.
"It's, it's going to hit!"
“Duck!”
“Uugh!”
The eggs that had covered the sky struck the ground directly.
The ground rippled violently, as if it had turned to liquid, swallowing the eggs, and at that moment, light exploded and the ground surged upward.
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga!
With a tremendous explosion, the ground surged like a wave, sweeping the surroundings. The Erosion Insects that had huddled together were swept up by the ground turned into a tidal wave and pushed toward the Protective Barrier.
“U-uwaaah!”
“Ugh?!”
“Cra-crazy...!”
The defense forces on the Protective Barrier stared blankly at the overwhelming catastrophe and then screamed. The ground, surging with the shockwave, had reached right in front of their eyes.
The soldiers tightly shut their eyes and curled up. It seemed they would be swept away and die from the disaster, but fortunately the reinforced shield held. The destructive force was so immense that cracks formed across the entire reinforced shield.
As the shock subsided, the defense forces, Serazade, and everyone present looked toward the land of Erosion from which the Erosion Insects had spewed out.
“Ah....”
“The, the landscape....”
“Has changed.”
The scenery before their eyes had completely changed. Most of the countless tunnels that had perforated the ground had collapsed, and in their place were massive craters. In the center of those craters lay the red-hot eggs. The Erosion Insects that had once filled the land had almost entirely evaporated, leaving only a few behind.
Even the rising dust clouds were cleanly erased upon contact with the light particles.
Kkiririk! Kirik!
However, the invasion of the Erosion Insects was not yet over. Tunnels broke open again, and Erosion Insects began pouring out. The number was enough to soon fill the entire surrounding area. The Erosion Insects did not head toward the Protective Barrier but instead swarmed toward the eggs. It was to deal first with those ominous eggs that were clearly not of their kind.
Crack! Kwaaa!
Cracks began forming on the countless eggs that had landed on the ground.
Serazade trembled as she watched the scene.
The beings inside those eggs.
Tiris had called them the light of Arsilan.
‘Heroes...!’
Heroes.
Those who bring miracles.
Beings from legends, only found in fairy tales.
Those very Heroes had flown down from the sky and descended upon the land to save Levannas.
Serazade felt as though she had stepped into a beautiful fairy tale. The Heroes that had thrilled her so much as a child were about to reveal themselves.
Surely, they would be beautiful, noble, and divine.
Serazade stared at the eggs, trying hard to calm her pounding heart.
Crack!
Just as a medium-class Erosion Insect reached the front of an egg and tried to attack it with its sharp legs.
Crack!
A black hand burst through the surface of the egg and grabbed the medium-class Erosion Insect by the head. The hand was large enough to grasp the head of the Erosion Insect with room to spare.
Kkiriririk!
The medium-class Erosion Insect flailed to escape, but the black hand did not budge, as if it were fixed in space.
Crunch!
A sound like a motor whirring was heard, and then the black hand crushed the head of the medium-class Erosion Insect with brutal force. Its head, which could withstand even direct hits from shells, burst open like a watermelon, far too easily and meaninglessly.
The body of the headless Erosion Insect trembled on the ground as it collapsed.
Crunch!
A massive foot burst through the egg and mercilessly trampled the corpse of the medium-class Erosion Insect. A creature that would take an entire fully armed company to take down was wiped out in an instant.
The eggs shattered completely, and the Heroes revealed themselves.
They were gigantic machines.
They had a bulky, rough-looking body with thick limbs, and in the center of the body hung a skull emitting a red glow. Several mechanical devices connected to the skull writhed grotesquely, powering the unbelievable machine.
It was a Magic Armor piloted by Death Knights.
The Magic Armor extended a massive hand to the side. Dark mana gathered in the hand and formed a crude weapon.
A giant sword.
The skull attached to the Magic Armor began to glow red. The red light in its eyes flared explosively, engulfing the entire skull. At the same time, an enormous surge of black mana burst out from the summoned sword.
The Magic Armor pointed its sword forward. At the same time, its other hand pulled out a chain filled with sawblades.
Click! Zzzzzing!
As the chain attached to the sword, it began to spin rapidly, emitting black energy .
Sawblade Sword.
All Magic Armors were equipped with Sawblade Swords that released dense black energy .
The Magic Armor at the very front bore a red insignia on its black surface. It was the commander of the unit.
Kwa-d-d-d-d-deuk!
The commander swung the Sawblade Sword and tore apart three medium-class Erosion Insects in a single blow.
Black vapor flowed from the commander’s mouth.
[Behold! The darkness of Arsilan!]
As the commander pointed the Sawblade Sword forward, all the Magic Armors moved their massive bodies and assembled behind the commander. The Erosion Insects rushed toward them, but they were nothing more than obstructive trash.
The Magic Armors slaughtered them all and formed a formation.
The darkness of Arsilan.
Because of them, the light blazed even brighter.
Even now, their darkness erased all other lights, leaving only the light of Arsilan to fill the surroundings.
[Hear it! The wrath of Arsilan!]
Clack!
The Magic Armors slowly raised their Sawblade Swords and aimed them forward.
As the Sawblade Swords spun, shockwaves burst out. The sound they emitted carried a dreadful sensation, as if echoing the enemies’ screams.
[Feel it! The terror of the enemy!]
What lay ahead was nothing but the destruction of the enemy.
The mana of all the Magic Armors rose rapidly. The massive energy surging from the True Magic Stones overheated every part of the Magic Armors and granted them overwhelming power.
The surfaces of the Magic Armors cracked as black flames surged upward.
Blending with the red glow emitted by the skulls, it created an ominous darkness beyond measure.
Crunch! Kraak! Thud!
The Magic Armors ground down the approaching Erosion Insects far too easily. With each swing of the Sawblade Sword, black energy burst forth, shredding multiple Erosion Insects like they were caught in a blender.
[We are the darkness, the terror, and the fury of Arsilan! With the true power of darkness granted by His Imperial Majesty, we shall annihilate all enemies of Arsilan....]
All the Magic Armors turned to face forward.
The Erosion Insects were so overwhelmed by the sheer presence of the Magic Armors that they couldn’t approach.
[For His Imperial Majesty!]
[For Sillion!]
[For Arsilan!]
Those battle cries surged upward as if they had burst from the depths of hell itself. It struck terror into the hearts of all who stood against them.
[Defend them and save Levannas! Kill them all and tear them apart!]
At the commander’s order, the Magic Armors glided forward. The Mana Engines attached to the Magic Armors activated, granting them supersonic speed.
With such massive bodies moving at the speed of sound, they became lethal weapons by their very existence. Moreover, the enormous mana radiating from the Magic Armors generated shockwaves that exploded all nearby Erosion Insects.
[Kuhuhuhu!]
[Kahahahaha!]
[This is it! Now this is a massacre!]
[The feel of it- insane!]
Blood-curdling voices echoed across the battlefield.
A one-sided massacre unfolded. They ground down enemies with the Sawblade Swords and activated the flame-spewing devices on their other arms to burn everything in black fire.
When a large Erosion Insect appeared in the distance, a Magic Armor extended its hand. Its forearm split open, releasing a sphere embedded with a magic circle that struck the large Erosion Insect.
Kwaaah!
With a tremendous explosion, a mushroom cloud rose and incinerated the entire surrounding area.
The entire defense force stared at the scene with pale faces. The sight of Erosion Insects being slaughtered so effortlessly, as if they were just stepping on ants, filled their entire bodies with dread. Some even wet themselves.
Monsters!
Demons from hell had appeared in Levannas!
“Ah....”
“H-Heok!”
“H-Hrk....”
The defenders couldn’t even speak and trembled. Fear overtook them, and they couldn’t bear to look at the scene unfolding before them.
Serazade and her companions were no different. Karin and Mira clung to each other, shaking, and Serazade swallowed hard as she barely managed to keep her eyes on the Magic Armors.
“Th-Those are... Heroes?”
No matter how she looked, they didn’t appear to be Heroes. They looked like demons or monsters.
When a Magic Armor split open an Erosion Insect with its Sawblade Sword, the skull at its center opened its jaw and bit off a chunk of Erosion Insect flesh that had popped out of the shell.
The strange words shouted by the skulls, like "soy sauce" or "wasabi", sounded more like curses from demons.
There was no way those things could be Heroes!
“H-HQ! Please respond! Unnie!”
[What is it?]
“A-Are those really Heroes?”
Serazade contacted Tiris in a panic.
Tiris remained silent for a moment.
[...By every measure, they are the very picture of Heroes, but....]
"Y, you hesitated just now, didn't you?"
It seemed Tiris had harbored a moment of doubt herself, but since she affirmed it regardless, there was no room to argue.
The Magic Armors tore through the Erosion Insects and approached the Protective Barrier. Countless Erosion Insects continued to rush in, but the Magic Armors only responded with chilling laughter.
The more Erosion Insects there were, the deeper the laughter became.
[Look over there. Those are Heroes.]
Tiris redirected Serazade’s gaze elsewhere.
Magic rained down from the sky, erasing Erosion Insects. Heroes riding horses made of light charged forward, annihilating the Erosion Insects.
When the Clerics used Sacred Spells, the wounds of the injured soldiers healed rapidly. As NorthernGrandDuke raised the Valkyrie’s twin axes, wings sprouted, and rainbow-colored light fell from the sky. It was the Valkyrie-exclusive skill, Bifrost, summoning all the Heroes from her guild and territory.
The sight of them walking forward confidently, wrapped in light, was exactly the image of Heroes Serazade had dreamed of. Just as she was about to be moved.
“Wow! This is a jackpot!”
“Looks so fucking tasty!”
“Look at how plump that Erosion Insect meat is. I wanna strip it and take a big bite.”
“Kuhuhuhuhu!”
The Heroes charged toward the Erosion Insects while spouting vulgar words. Laughing joyfully, the countless Heroes who had emerged from the eggs slaughtered the Erosion Insects.
“Oh! This one’s got some solid organs, huh?”
"Erosion Insect intestines! Oh yeah!"
“It’s a super-sized Erosion Insect! Oooooh!”
They dismantled the Erosion Insects with such expertise that they looked more like butchers than Heroes. And it didn’t stop there, after pulling off the legs of the Erosion Insects, they even sucked out the flesh inside.
“...Unnie?”
[It’s just a cultural difference. They are quite tasty once you try them.]
“R-Really?”
[Give it a try.]
“I’ll pass.”
These aren’t Heroes!
Serazade gripped her staff tightly and backed away. The number of Erosion Insects dwindled far too quickly. The Heroes fought over the Erosion Insects as if competing to secure even one more.
"Hey, no kill-stealing."
“I saw it first.”
“I hit it first.”
"Guys, I was watching, and that person over there hit it first."
They didn’t escalate into fights, instead dividing the spoils or calling on high-level Heroes to mediate. While the Heroes were butchering the Erosion Insects like mad, they noticed Serazade.
The Heroes’ eyes widened.
"S, Sera!"
"It's Sera!"
“Eeeek! Karin and Mira are here too!”
“Uoooooh!”
They cheered aloud.
The Erosion Insects that had been swarming toward Serazade vanished in flames. As the Heroes ran toward Serazade, they slaughtered every Erosion Insect in their path.
Serazade froze in place from the overwhelming pressure of the Heroes.
"Sera!"
“Huff-huff! You held on!”
“Well done.”
The Heroes looked at Serazade, their eyes brimming with emotion. Some of them even burst into tears. Serazade was so flustered, she didn’t know what to do.
Karin and Mira were the same. When they saw Heroes wearing T-shirts with their faces printed on them, their minds went blank.
Upon seeing the wounds on Serazade’s body, the Heroes radiated intense killing intent.
The Heroes released massive mana and swept away the Erosion Insects in front of the Protective Barrier.
Magic rained down and energy surged upward.
Area skills and large-scale Sacred Spells poured down upon the Erosion Insects.
It was a scene that could only be described as something out of myth or legend.
“Sera, I’ll protect you!”
“Just trust us!”
“So precious!”
If only it weren’t for those things they were saying, it would have been so much more touching.
That’s what Serazade thought as she nodded.