"Sssssss."
Camilla drew in a breath.
Though divided under the name of the Black Sea's master, the divine beast was ultimately one.
The contamination of the divine beast, which had noticeably weakened as a massive number of its fragments evaporated from Jinhyuk's meteor, had tilted the tide of battle.
*Crrrrrrack!!*
He had no intention of letting the advantage slip away through hesitation.
"Stop holding back…"
He slammed all his remaining divine power into the Ten Divine Swords and curled his lips.
"Begone."
As Camilla had predicted, the divine beast could no longer maintain the contest of strength. As proof, the Black Sea, which had been churning to rise onto the island, began to sink downward.
Soon, he would be able to fully extract the contamination from Famiran and the Black Sea.
Of course.
*Kwaaaaaaah!!*
The tsunami surging from the opposite side was a different story.
That was something his master and friends would have to handle on their own.
"Kek!"
Dark, who had been focusing on recovery, rose to his feet.
Then he walked over to his master, who was frozen stiff alongside the Kanmo duo, and draped an arm over his shoulder.
"Master."
"Sorry, Dark. I ended up creating something like that."
"It's actually a good thing."
"Huh?"
Dark's lips curled up into a long grin.
A tsunami of a scale he had never seen in his life.
Even before it struck, his heart was already pounding.
Dark looked at Jinhyuk.
Until he had followed him, his days had been nothing but a tedious succession of boredom.
But now, he felt like he was going crazy with excitement.
Once again, he was certain.
He had made the right choice in following him.
"Leave something like that to me—"
*Kwaang!!*
"Whaaaaa!?"
Dark vanished from his field of vision.
Seira, who had leaped in an instant and struck Dark across the face, let out a low breath and brushed down her chest.
"Now I feel a bit better."
It seemed she had been holding in the humiliation of having her drawing skills insulted at the ruins last time.
Seira placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Master. There's no need to worry. We don't need a worthless undead like him to stop some water."
"Oh… oh."
He gave her a double thumbs-up.
It seemed she had a plan.
"Then I'll be off."
With a smile, Seira walked toward the tsunami.
But then she came back and spoke to him.
"Master. I think I'll need a foothold."
"Where should I make one?"
"That spot looks good."
Seira pointed to the middle of the sea.
It was a position that would directly clash with the approaching tsunami.
He moved the Black Dragon's scales to create a wide, sturdy foothold there.
She gave him a thumbs-up, then leaped and landed on the platform.
Seira raised the demon sword Tarkan above her head.
*Swaaaaaa…!*
Jet-black aura began to gather there.
He could guess what she was trying to do.
Seira's unique skill, Black Wave Tsunami.
It was a skill he had also used through Skill Borrowing.
But the amount of aura gathering was worlds apart from when he had used it.
Seira kept drawing in aura endlessly, as if she had no limit on how much power she wanted to build.
And not long after.
*Kwaaaaaaah!!!*
The wave of aura that started from the demon sword Tarkan shot forward.
"Kuhahaaa!!"
The Jinkanmo trio gaped once again.
Was this even possible?
To block such a monstrous tsunami with sheer physical mass.
A tsunami was different from a wave that passed by and ended.
The entire sea had been lifted, meaning an absurd mass of water was pushing in endlessly.
Yet Seira was holding it back all by herself.
"Still as ridiculously brute-force as ever."
Dark, who had returned to his side, wiped the blood from his lips.
"That's why I got tired of fighting her. A body that doesn't even get a scratch despite not being undead. And on top of that, that endless output. I couldn't see any way to win."
Dark shrugged as he finished speaking.
It seemed there would be no chance for him to step in.
Because that foolish knight had stepped in with all her heart.
"Master."
At Camilla's call, he turned his head.
"I've fully extracted the contamination. So, it will reveal itself soon."
Raghar von Edilen had said it.
Once the contamination in the Black Sea was removed, the divine beast would appear.
*Kugugugugu…!*
On the opposite side of the tsunami.
The sea, which had calmed after losing the contest of strength, began to stir again.
"Hey, Satan."
"It's not Satan, it's Yodel."
"Satan Yodel. Fire at that spot."
Camilla pointed to a specific point in the Black Sea.
"The scattered energy is gathering."
He moved the heavy machine gun to a good firing position.
As soon as Kancho lay down, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.
It seemed his body had been itching from waiting so long.
"Haaaaaah."
When had she woken up?
Nia, who had walked over slowly, raised her hand toward the sky.
A black sphere formed in an instant.
Black spears generated from it rained down on the spot Camilla had pointed at.
'Unbelievable.'
She had woken up on her own and was doing what needed to be done without being called first.
Sleepyhead Nia was improving.
*Huuuuuu.*
Camilla let out a sigh and narrowed her eyes.
"It won't be easy to eliminate. The power that divine beast possesses is contamination and division. Not only does it split shields and barriers, but it even divides itself into countless individual entities. Even now, every time an attack lands, it divides and reduces the damage."
"So it'll be a prolonged battle."
"That seems to be the case. But there shouldn't be a problem. With the firepower of those little ones…"
Camilla lowered her pipe.
Then she stared at the masters of the Black Sea, who were being pummeled by Kancho's bullets and Nia's spears.
"Something's strange. The flow has changed."
After watching for a moment, Camilla turned her gaze downward.
"Master, what's down there?"
She pointed exactly to the spot where he and Raghar had fought.
"The corpse of Raghar von Edilen, who made a contract with the divine beast."
"I see… It must have realized it can't win like this. So it's trying to enter the empty vessel. Though aged, it's still a strong body. If the divided fragments gather, it will be able to exert power incomparable to before."
How much time passed after she finished speaking?
Camilla looked back at her master.
For some reason, he was quiet.
She had expected him to immediately say they should go stop it.
"Hmm."
Instead, Jinhyuk was leisurely stroking his chin.
*Snap!*
Having finished his thoughts, Jinhyuk snapped his fingers.
"Leave it. Let it enter."
Camilla quietly stared at Jinhyuk.
She didn't ask why he had made that decision.
Because she could roughly guess what he was aiming for.
*Smirk.*
She put the pipe she had lowered back into her mouth.
A shortcut, even if dangerous.
A bold decision befitting a master.
* * *
The shoreline where the sacred island of Famiran met the Black Sea.
A life form so small it could only be spotted if one looked closely emerged from the Black Sea.
One by one, they appeared, and soon they swelled to an unbelievable number, forming a massive cluster.
Those creatures began moving toward the spot where Jinhyuk and Raghar had fought.
And not long after.
The cluster of the divine beast, which had covered one side of the island, poured into Raghar's fallen corpse.
Once a sea creature known as the master of the Black Sea, now the fragments of the divine beast, split into hundreds of millions of pieces to hide its energy, coalesced using the body of its contractor, Raghar von Edilen, as a vessel.
*Sreuk.*
Raghar's closed eyes opened.
It didn't take a breath.
Because it was a being that had no need for the concept of oxygen in the first place.
It wiggled its hands and feet, quickly adapting to its contractor's body.
Finally rising to its feet, the divine beast Abkaon clenched its fist.
*Kudududuk!!*
Countless fragments had been destroyed, leaving it with less than half its original power.
But it didn't care.
This was enough to kill the things at the top of the island.
It slowly looked around.
Sight and sound felt unfamiliar after so long, but it would adapt soon.
It listened.
The tsunami that had been rushing in had scattered as if it had never been.
Perhaps because of that, the island was eerily silent.
*Tududuk.*
It moved its feet.
This much adaptation should be enough…?
It turned its head at the cold touch on its skin.
Ice surged up before it could even react, filling a certain range.
Its body stiffened from the terrible cold, and its movements slowed.
And before it could even fully grasp the situation.
*Jjeong!!!*
An attack fell from above.
**[Earth-Destroying Falling Star]**
An immense weight was added, but the ground beneath its feet didn't collapse.
That was because the ice had already penetrated even below.
*Swaaaa…!*
The divine beast, enduring the attack, extended its leg to counterattack.
Or rather, it tried to.
*Seogeok!*
Its limbs were severed in an instant.
They quickly regenerated, but a considerable number of fragments had been consumed.
*Kwaaaang!!*
Before it could even regain its senses, a heavy blow struck its chest.
Abkaon was sent flying and slammed into the ice.
It struggled to escape, but it was impossible.
As time passed, the cold gnawed at its body, and attacks rained down without pause.
Its fragments began to vanish at an absurd rate.
*Karack!*
It barely managed to escape using a movement skill.
Only then could it see.
The beings that had appeared as if they had been waiting, cornering it.
Four of them in total.
A knight wielding a jet-black sword, a man with chains wrapped around both arms, a goblin with violet eyes, and a human holding two swords.
A question mark formed.
How were they free from this cold?
"What are you doing? Not getting up?"
Jinhyuk approached and spoke.
Now he understood.
—To the victor… rewards must follow. My death… will help… with what you're trying to do.
Why Raghar von Edilen had left those words before dying.
He had expected it.
That if he died, the cornered divine beast would crawl into his body.
*Dudeuk.*
The divine beast Abkaon barely managed to rise.
But its freedom ended there.
Its body was lifted as a kick struck its back from behind.
Jinhyuk, who had been waiting in front, drove two greatswords into Abkaon.
It tried to escape upward, but it was futile.
*Kwaduduk!*
Its head was completely severed, and its vision vanished.
And before it could regenerate.
"Sssss…"
With its body pinned by three swords, a barrage of relentless blows rained down.
*Uduk! Ppakkak! Kwaduk!*
The attacks grew faster and faster, shattering every bone and rupturing its organs.
Its shattered head was destroyed again before it could even return, making it impossible to grasp the situation.
Even if it had retained its full original power, it couldn't have kept up with this rate of destruction.
Abkaon's fragments vanished at an absurd speed, and its regeneration slowed.
And a moment later.
*Pulseok!*
Unable to regenerate any further, Abkaon fell to its knees.
With eyes that barely managed to recover, it looked up at the beings surrounding it.
In that moment, it realized.
Entering the contracted vessel had been a massive miscalculation.
"Bye-bye."
With a low farewell.
*Seugak!*
Its neck was severed, and the last fragments of the divine beast Abkaon vanished.
*Ding!*
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T/N:
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