“Basiliora.”
[Tell me.]
“The moment I transform, take Penia and Evan and move back with everything you have.”
[Understood.]
At Alon’s serious order, Basiliora gave a firm nod as well.
“...Lord Alon, wouldn’t it be better for us to run away together?”
“Right. Honestly, it’s way too dangerous right now.”
Then came Evan and Penia’s worried words.
But Alon shook his head.
“No, it’s fine.”
“Do you have a way?”
At Penia’s question, Alon’s head moved.
“...A way.”
Coldly speaking, no particular method had come to mind right now.
To begin with, he had not even grasped the opponent’s exact ability, so there was no way he could find a method to defeat the Descended One.
And yet, even while clearly aware of that, the reason Alon did not run away lay in this very situation itself.
Alon looked at the Descended One.
By reviving Red Conviction and Clumped Eye, whom it had killed, it had plunged the Divine blood into confusion and fear.
However, Alon instead felt that something in that action was catching on something.
More precisely, it would be correct to say he had found a strange contradiction.
A contradiction anyone might think of at least once if they considered it calmly.
‘If the Descended One truly stands in the position of the strong, there’s no need for it to do that.’
Alon looked at the Descended One.
Even now, it was still turning the Divine blood it had killed into Divine blood wearing black armor—Astarotte.
Alon began thinking quickly.
The bits of information on Astarotte, of which there were not many inside his head to begin with, slipped into place.
And with them, thought began.
According to the words caught by the subjugation force’s information network, the Descended One had become able to absorb fragments without limit, but in exchange, the process took an extremely long time.
But the Descended One was moving right in front of them as though that information were false.
Displaying overwhelming strength and abilities completely unlike what the subjugation force’s information had described, it was fully flaunting the power of Divine blood that had ascended to the next stage.
So along with abilities the information had never shown, the Descended One already seemed to have absorbed a considerable number of fragments, and absorbed them perfectly at that.
Yes, on the surface.
Alon’s gaze remained fixed on the Descended One.
At this very moment, the opponent was clearly standing in the realm of the strong.
After all, it had instantly killed countless Divine blood without much of a struggle.
So if it really were that strong, there was no need for it to bother speaking with the Divine blood that had come to subjugate it.
Of course, if what it wanted was to spare the Divine blood and absorb that force into its own ranks, then Alon’s deduction would become meaningless.
But the Descended One had clearly declared it.
Not that it would spare the Divine blood, but that it would kill them all.
The moment it had that purpose, there was no longer any need for conversation on the Descended One’s side.
No matter how terrified they became here, there was not a being among them that wanted to die.
Alon’s eyes narrowed.
Because yet another contradiction had appeared here.
‘...Isn’t it lying?’
Alon thought that perhaps the Descended One was lying.
If it were strong enough to kill everyone here, there was no need to drag things out with words.
But the Descended One’s words were strange.
What it had said was not the sort of thing said to stall for time.
For words meant to stall, they had far too little ‘hope’ in them.
As if, rather, they were provoking the Divine blood to fight even more desperately.
[Kill it—!]
While those unpleasant contradictions rolled around in Alon’s head again and again, a Divine blood’s grotesque roar rang out.
When that snapped Alon back to himself, one of the Divine blood had already opened its mouth.
[Most of the bastards from the four great factions are already gone anyway, and there are fragments here too, so are you really going to let this chance slip away!?]
At those seemingly encouraging words, fighting spirit ignited once more on the faces of the Divine blood, which had been filled with fear only moments ago.
[That bastard is alone anyway! And no matter if it’s in the second stage, there’s no way it can use that kind of power so casually! There has to be a penalty!]
The moment those words ended, as if they had been waiting for it, countless Divine blood began rushing out to seize it.
And—
the battle began once more.
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■-!!!
Along with a hair-raising shriek, attacks poured down on the place where the Descended One stood—
Crush—!
And the Descended One appeared before the Divine blood that had attacked, then smashed its skull apart without hesitation.
The same held true after that.
The Descended One leisurely avoided the madly rushing attacks and cut down the Divine blood one by one.
As if it were playing around.
At times quickly,
and at times slowly—
as if placing hope into the Divine blood’s hands.
And then at other times, as if planting despair into them.
...Like that, as though it were playing a game, it reduced the Divine blood one by one.
And then.
“Lord Alon! Run now, at least! In a chaotic melee like this, we can get out right away!”
“I agree!”
Alon, who had been watching the battle between the Divine blood and the Descended One while listening to Evan and Penia’s voices—
came to a realization.
One single realization, utterly certain.
And the thoughts that began from that realization—
“Found it.”
gave Alon the answer.
The Divine blood fell.
Bodies split apart.
Bodies were pierced through.
Heads burst open, and the Divine blood met death.
And so what bloomed among the Divine blood was fear.
But even so, the Divine blood did not stop attacking the Descended One.
Because the Descended One, which had clearly displayed overwhelming power when the fight first began, was now, somehow, gradually weakening.
Seeing the Descended One slowly growing slower, as if its strength were gradually failing, the Divine blood charged in to somehow finish it off rather than run away.
And when things reached that end point—
[This is— insane.......]
The Descended One was still alive among the countless Divine blood.
However, its body did not look to be in very good shape.
Was it because so many Divine blood had attacked it?
Its gaunt, emaciated body was covered in wounds that looked horrific even at a glance, and its right arm hung as though it might fall off at any moment.
[Don’t let it overwhelm you! Just a little more and we can kill it—!]
At the Divine blood’s shout, the Divine blood raised their weapons one by one, even while wearing expressions shaken with fear.
And just as the Divine blood was about to charge at the Descended One once again—
Crush—!
Suddenly, the skull of the Divine blood that had been steadying the others exploded.
Before it had even reached the Descended One.
In other words, that meant it had been attacked by someone else.
With startled expressions, the Divine blood turned toward the one that had fallen with a huge ghastly sound.
And soon they saw it.
Crackle—! Crackle-crackle—!
Appearing before the Divine blood whose head had burst apart—
Seollang.
For a brief moment, the Divine blood looked baffled, as though unable to grasp the situation.
“Everyone, stop.”
Soon, at the voice amplified with magic, they all turned around at once.
And there, they could see one man—
no,
[...Star Eater?]
the Star Eater.
[Hah— thank you, brother— for giving me time to recover.]
At Alon’s words, the Descended One opened its mouth as though grateful.
At those words, anxiety swept through the Divine blood for an instant, unable to understand what exactly was happening.
But—
“Everyone, look over there.”
At Alon’s following gesture with his chin, the Divine blood looked again at the corpse Seollang had dealt with.
The corpse with the burst head.
And then.
[...Huh?]
Not long after, the Divine blood were able to notice the abnormality in the corpse whose head Seollang had blown apart.
No, they had no choice but to notice it.
[There’s no blood?]
Because though its head had clearly burst open and it should have been scattering blood like the other Divine blood, it was not bleeding.
The moment the Divine blood felt something was wrong—
“I thought it was strange.”
“I thought it was strange.”
Alon opened his mouth.
His gaze moved toward the Descended One.
The Descended One, too, looked at Alon with its body still horribly smashed apart.
“You were definitely strong. Considering the power you displayed, you were strong enough to wipe out the entire subjugation force in one sweep.”
“But you didn’t do that. As if showing off your own power, you only killed some of the Divine blood.”
Alon briefly turned his gaze and checked Basiliora, already far away in the distance with Evan and Penia on its back.
“At first, I thought you were buying time because of the constraints of your law.”
“But that wasn’t it. The things you said weren’t the sort of words used to stall for time—they only provoked the Divine blood.”
“As if you were trying to make the subjugation force fight with everything they had.”
Alon, adding that there had been no need for that at all, continued.
“And at that point, I realized one fact. More precisely, I realized that you were killing only Divine blood who had ‘used their abilities.’”
At Alon’s words, the Divine blood began murmuring for an instant.
And not long after, they realized that what Alon had said was true.
All the Divine blood still alive here had each, for one reason or another, not yet used their abilities.
“So I thought about it. Why, despite having that level of power, were you killing only the Divine blood who had used their abilities? Why, instead of appearing in person from the very beginning, did you send out the dead of Astarotte that you had devoured? And I reached a conclusion.”
The gazes of the Divine blood.
The gaze of the Descended One focused on Alon.
“...The fragments are bait.”
Alon spoke the truth he had realized.
[What is that supposed to mean—?]
[The fragments are bait?]
Among the Divine blood, whose confusion only deepened, Alon spoke.
“Exactly what it sounds like. The claim that the Descended One absorbs fragments is, in the end, bait it created on purpose by deliberately gathering fragments without limit. Its real goal was this subjugation force instead.”
[The subjugation force—?]
“Yes, because the law it possesses is not ‘absorbing fragments,’ but ‘absorbing Divine blood.’ And—”
He spoke of what the Descended One had hidden—
“It cannot use its law unless it ‘knows’ the other party’s ability.”
the final truth.
And then, the moment all the Divine blood’s gazes turned back toward the Descended One—
[...Ha.]
The old man’s voice let out a small, hollow laugh.
As if drained.
And on the other hand, as if amazed.
And in that moment—
Thud— thududududuk—!!
The Descended One’s body, which had looked so horrific just moments ago, began recovering as if it were a lie.
Its dangling right arm reclaimed its original place once more.
The entrails that had grotesquely spilled out returned as though time itself had been rewound.
The red blood that had run all over its body vanished as if it had never been there in the first place.
And then.
[...I didn’t think it would be found out this easily.]
That endlessly cynical voice—
[You are impressive, Star Eater.]
reached Alon’s ears.

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