Chapter 74: We Fight As One
(Read while Listening: 世の中を動かすのは真実 )
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“COME HERE!”
Alistair roared with a twisted, guttural voice. His giant spider-like red legs surged forward, aiming to impale Sigrid and devour her alive. His jaws split open across his torso, revealing thousands of razor-sharp teeth glistening with hunger.
It was over.
Sigrid cried out softly, a single tear slipping down her cheek as she closed her eyes in resignation.
And yet...
BOOOM!
A violent explosion of flames erupted across the battlefield. The familiar voice of her beloved friend rang out from beyond the horizon.
“SIGRID!!!”
“Ah!”
Sigrid’s eyes snapped open wide. She watched in disbelief as a giant blazing bird formed of flames and powerful aura struck Alistair with devastating force, hurling him deep into the forest.
“G-Gwaaakk...!”
As the monster screamed in pain, a figure appeared moments later. Fresh tears overflowed from Sigrid’s eyes the instant she saw Brunhild standing there once more, right by her side.
In that moment, the world between the two girls shifted completely. As their gazes met, everything around them seemed to turn pure white. Brunhild extended her hand toward her, and Sigrid, still crying, reached out weakly to grasp it. Brunhild gently helped her stand and pulled her into a tender embrace.
“Thank you for holding on until now… Sigrid.”
“Brunhild...!”
Sigrid broke down completely in her arms, hugging her friend desperately. She had truly believed Brunhild had died earlier.
“You idiot! You made me think you died! Don’t do that again! Don’t leave me alone again!!!”
“I’m sorry… I-I will never do it again.”
“You promise?!”
“I do.”
Brunhild held Sigrid tenderly and began to slowly heal her body with her strange flames. These flames were a unique fusion of three lifeforms merged into one.
“T-This is…?!”
Sigrid blushed deeply as she felt Brunhild’s soothing warmth enveloped her entirely, even reaching inside her. Yet the healing also brought pain. Her wounds were severe, and recovery would take time.
CRACK.
CRACK…!
In the distance, the sickening sounds of bones breaking and forcibly fusing back together echoed through the trees. The forest floor, already soaked with blood, trembled as Alistair crawled his way back with terrifying speed.
More legs sprouted from his body, born from his shattered ribs, arms, legs, and finger bones that constantly broke and regenerated. Red exoskeleton grew rapidly around them, reinforcing their durability and strength.
He soon resembled a grotesque red spider covered in fleshy tendrils, blinking eyes, and a massive mouth where his head should have been dominated by two enormous red eyes.
“GWRAAAAAAAHHH!”
He roared monstrously. His aura surged with pure cursed spectral energy, driving him into complete madness and animalistic fury.
Brunhild had seen this before. She furrowed her eyebrows in recognition.
Blood Beast Form.
This was a desperate last resort that certain high-level vampires could activate. Most vampire units and enemies possessed this power. It allowed them to transform into an aberrant monster in their final moments. The bat-like form he had used earlier was merely Werebat Beastification. Although dangerous, it was not their ultimate move.
This was.
“He’s coming!” Sigrid cried out in terror. “He’s too strong, Brunhild! We should run! It’s impossible… it’s impossible to beat vampires!!!” Tears streamed down her face. “I’m so scared…! I’m so scared of that thing!”
Brunhild remained still. She placed a reassuring hand on Sigrid’s shoulder and infused her with her own aura, sharing her power. “Being scared is normal. I am scared too, really, really damn scared right now… but that doesn’t mean we can run. If we let that thing reach the house, everyone will die.”
Sigrid gasped as power began flowing into her. She started to transform, channeling some of Fenrir and Huginn’s abilities through the same “Beast Ownership Sharing” spell that Magnus had once used on his little sister. Even absent from the battle, Magnus’ legacy continued to prove vital.
“We have to finish that thing off now…” Brunhild declared firmly. “Its blood core is exposed, that red stone on its back. We have to strike it hard!”
“But our weapons…” Sigrid began, then gasped in horror when she noticed Brunhild’s missing hand. “Brunhild! Your hand!!!”
“It’s fine,” Brunhild replied with a gentle smile. She formed a new hand using her divine war goddess weapon. “I knew from the start that in a battle this big, I would not come out unscathed… but I’m glad you’re still in one piece, Sigrid. I don’t know what I would have done if my little friend was hurt.”
“A-Ah… Brunhild… I…!” Sigrid started to respond, but Alistair’s thunderous footsteps filled her with fresh fear. “Then what do we do?!”
Brunhild held the broken Atlas in her hands. Only a small piece of the blade remained attached to the long hilt. She then glanced at Sigrid’s shattered bow, destroyed by the pressure of the previous attack.
(Read while Listening: 輝きを失った星を蘇らせる )
“We fight as one.”
She brought Atlas close to Sigrid’s broken bow and activated Alchemy, Synthesis, and Evolution all at once in one final, desperate gamble.
FLAAASH!
“W-What are you doing, Brun?! This is too unstable!!”
“Yeah… but we have to… Huh?!”
From deep within her soul, a third spirit awakened. A giant woman veiled in darkness appeared, with fiery red eyes and flowing hair, gazing down at them both. This was her third dormant spirit, gained from her most recent divine skill: War Saintess of the Umbral Hunt, the Divine War Spirit of Hunting.
“Do you want to help us? Thanks!”
“RAAAAHHHHHH!”
The monstrous spider burst out from the forest, charging toward them at lightning speed with its jaws wide open, drooling miasma and hunger.
FLASH!
Just as he struck them with his massive body, jaws, and spectral aura—
BOOOM!
A massive explosion surged outward. Alistair’s entire charge was halted before he could devour them. A giant weapon now stood in his path: a glowing hatchet of red, white, and black hues with azure energy etched into its metal as Sigrid’s powers flowed into it. The hatchet lengthened and transformed into a dual-bladed axe overflowing with raw power. Brunhild’s third spirit fused into the weapon, becoming the final stabilizing component.
“G-GWACK?! G-GAAH…!”
Alistair gnawed desperately at the axe with his sharp fangs, but they shattered on impact. Blood poured from his mouth as his eyes widened in shock and pain. Then he screamed in rage.
“GRAAAHHHH!”
His giant legs thrust forward, aiming to impale the girls and end the fight once and for all.
Brunhild and Sigrid gripped their newly forged weapon tightly by the hilt and roared together. Their auras merged into a single unified force for a brief, powerful moment. In that instant, they channeled the deepest power of their clan.
“Red Fang Axe Style!”
“Fifth Form!”
As Alistair unleashed waves of curses to weaken them and stabbed with his spear-like legs…
Their combined aura awakened the hidden truth of their mysterious bloodline.
“Dragon… FANG!”
A colossal dragon manifested behind them, roaring furiously as the massive axe came crashing down. A titanic fang infused with crimson energy from Brunhild’s Vampiric Consumption skill tore forward.
Alistair resisted with everything he had, but he could not overcome such immense power. His exposed blood core cracked, then shattered completely. When he tried to recover, a powerful crimson energy began consuming him from within instead.
“N-No…!”
“She…”
“She has… our racial skill?!”
“One of our strongest… powers…!”
Vampiric Consumption had activated. It was a skill unique to vampires of the purest blood, one Brunhild had once thought useless because it did nothing.
Until now.
“G-GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”
Alistair screamed in unimaginable agony. Giant jaws emerged all around him, first resembling vampire fangs before mutating into dragon heads that bit deeply into his body, soul, and blood core.
Everything.
CRUNCH!
“No…!”
CRUNCH!
“Stop!”
CRUNCH!
“Please stop!”
CRUNCH!
“FORGIVE MEEEEEE!”
CRUNCH!
“AAAHHH! MASTERRRRRR!”
Unable to endure the torment any longer, Alistair’s core detonated halfway through the process. His power was consumed instead of restored, delivering the ultimate karma. The predator who viewed humans as mere prey was now being devoured by them.
BOOOMMM!!!
A violent explosion of crimson blood energy erupted in all directions. Brunhild shielded Sigrid from the blast as both girls were sent flying, crashing into a deep pile of snow and rolling down a hill.
Darkness briefly consumed them, but Brunhild forced herself to stay awake. She gasped for air, coughed up blood, and groaned in pain, yet she felt strangely refreshed.
“Ah…” she muttered. “I feel so refreshed…?”
She was surprised. The power of Vampiric Consumption was truly remarkable. At Tier 3, it proved to be an incredibly strong skill.
But none of that mattered right now.
“Sigrid! Sigrid, where are you?!”
She ran across the snowy hill, using her heightened beast senses through the same skill to track her friend by scent. Finally, she found Sigrid resting against the snow near a tree.
“Sigrid!”
Brunhild rushed to her side, quickly lifting her up and carrying her. Her right hand had not yet regenerated, but her own aura would handle it soon enough. Using her healing spells, she began mending Sigrid’s injuries as she made her way back home.
When she arrived, her mouth fell open in surprise and relief. Her entire family was still alive, sitting atop a pile of defeated vampiric monsters.
“Yo, look who’s back… haha…” Magnus laughed weakly.
“Brunhild!” Astrid cried out happily.
“Hey…” her father muttered, his voice tired. “Ugh… sorry, we can’t even move. We sat down in these cool poses, but we’re completely paralyzed from the neck down.”
“I’m back…”
Brunhild smiled warmly, her heart finally at ease.
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