"What's on the other side of the sea?"
Faced with Bringer's sudden question, both Hugo and Lycaon were baffled.
The other side of the sea? Wasn't the far side of Port Elpis just the Hollow? Unless he meant somewhere even farther...
Suddenly, a chilling thought surfaced in Lycaon's mind.
"Your target is the Throne Quarter?"
Hearing the answer he'd been hoping to hear, the corners of Bringer's mouth curled up despite himself.
"Heh heh heh, the Throne Quarter? No, of course not just that — not just the Throne Quarter. What I want is all of New Eridu! The Throne Quarter is merely the beginning!"
As he spoke, the tumor on Bringer's chest swelled further, then burst open in an instant.
"Stop him!"
At the shout, Lycaon and Hugo moved as one without a word between them. Neither knew exactly what Bringer intended for the Throne Quarter, but they were certain they couldn't let him succeed.
"Soul Hunterer!"
"Time to Hunt!"
The original capture plan was scrapped on the spot. The two ice-wielding warriors threw everything they had into the fight, determined to end Bringer right then and there.
But unfortunately, it was already too late.
What flowed from the tumor on Bringer's chest was nothing other than thick, concentrated Filth.
In truth, his body had long since begun transforming under the Filth — all of it building toward this very moment.
"The full moon descends! The tide rises! The Ether rejoices! And I am reborn!!"
As Bringer's chant rang out, the moon overhead seemed to grow brighter still, though it carried a faint air of foreboding.
Neither Lycaon nor Hugo noticed it.
Soon their attacks reached Bringer — but all that answered was a metallic clang, and both blows were easily turned aside.
Filth surged out before Bringer in an instant, forming a solid barrier of protection.
"You are but mortals — how dare you look upon a god!"
From behind the dark red Filth, Bringer's voice rang out again. His body shot upward rapidly, his skin shifting to the same ashen gray-white as a Sacrifice.
At the same time, a strange, indistinct silhouette appeared behind him, stretching up to connect with the sky.
"Guaaah!"
The earth-shaking roar sent a shockwave that pushed Lycaon and Hugo back half a step. Bracing against the rushing air, the two stared at Bringer's sudden transformation, their expressions grim.
"Heh. Villains die from talking too much — I never thought that'd come true for me."
Hugo's mouth twitched as he grumbled at his own awkward situation, while Lycaon frowned, trying to work out a way to bring Bringer down.
"His build looks similar to a Sacrifice's — he must have monstrous regeneration. We need to finish this fast."
Drawing on Twiggy's old research notes on Sacrifices, Lycaon concluded that Bringer's current form was itself a kind of Sacrifice.
"Easy for you to say. The two of us just got knocked back — how exactly are we supposed to finish this fast?"
In response to Hugo's challenge, Lycaon's answer was chillingly rational.
"I'll overload my prosthetics. The surge of energy will blow a gap in his defenses. When that happens, you land the finishing blow."
"You—?!"
Hugo's eyes went wide. Was Lycaon saying he'd sacrifice himself just to create an opening for him?
Was he joking?! He didn't need Lycaon's help!
But just as the words "I don't need you" reached the tip of Hugo's tongue, Lycaon had already moved.
He launched forward in an instant, covering several hundred meters in a blink. The prosthetics on his legs began creaking and groaning, trailing a biting chill in their wake.
"Moon Hunterer!!"
Lycaon stamped down hard, launched into the air, and drove a kick into Bringer's chest. Almost instantly, a deep crater sank into Bringer's chest.
Lycaon's spirits soared at the sight — it meant his attack had actually worked. But before he could savor it, Bringer straightened up as if nothing had happened and shoved him away.
Twisting midair to land on his feet, Lycaon refused to give up and moved to try again, only for Hugo to stop him.
"This won't work. We need to move together."
Hugo had watched Lycaon's attack closely — the damage had landed, sure enough, but Bringer healed so fast it came to nothing.
"He can't heal forever. Let's hit him together."
With that, Lycaon charged forward again, leaving Hugo anxious just watching him. After all these years, why was he still so hot-headed? Where had all that usual composure gone?
But there really was no other option now. Steeling himself, Hugo swung his scythe, Final Notice, and followed after him.
Seeing the two of them coming at him again, Bringer grew impatient and decided to finish them off for good.
After all, he had more important things to attend to.
"Persistent little pests. I already showed you mercy — since you still want to provoke me, then face my wrath!"
As his body swelled further and he drank in vast amounts of Filth, Bringer's mind seemed to slip toward madness. He swung both hands, trying to stop their assault.
But whether left hand or right, both swings caught nothing but air.
Lycaon even ran straight up his arm and drove a kick into his face, leaving him utterly dazed.
Hugo's reckoning followed right behind — his great scythe swung, spinning to slice at Bringer's head, meaning to take it clean off.
But Bringer wasn't about to go down that easily.
Weathering Hugo's attack, he swung one massive hand and, just before his head could be severed, seized Hugo in his grip and squeezed hard!
"Gahh!"
A sickening crunch followed. Hugo felt several of his bones snap, and the pressure crushing his organs forced a mouthful of blood from his throat.
"Hugo!"
Frantic at the sight, Lycaon kicked hard at Bringer's wrist, hoping the pain would force him to let Hugo go.
But before he could, Bringer flung Hugo away first, hurling him like trash straight into Lycaon. The two went crashing off together.
"Insignificant vermin! A mantis trying to stop a chariot, an ant trying to topple a tree!"
Having slammed the two of them onto the ground, Bringer wasn't done with them yet — he raised one massive foot, ready to stomp them into a pulp.
With a thunderous boom, his foot came down, and the whole harbor shook. The tide along the shore churned uneasily, as if mourning Lycaon and Hugo's sacrifice.
"Heh hah hah hah!"
Having dealt with the two of them, Bringer felt exceptionally pleased with himself. But just as he prepared to move on with his plan, a strange sensation crept up from beneath his foot.
____
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