Chapter 1301: Wolf of Evil’s Bane

Maleficent’s poison was so heinous that it literally dissolved a fragment of the Evil God. The sight was chilling even if we knew he was an ally, but this was no time to be stunned.

Terrifying explosions resounded continuously, shaking the battlefield.

A flash of red exploded in the south as the knights roared in the north. Meanwhile, a sinister dance of black and gold lights emanated from the demon king in the west.

Immediately after, the death throes of the Evil God Fragments shook the land.

All of the fragments had disintegrated into black particles which began melting away into the sky.

「We… won?」

Fran murmured. Disbelief was written on the face of our comrades.

We were indeed battered and bruised, but the shock preceded all of that. However, it only took a few seconds for us to regain our composure.

Cries of victory rose from all directions. Hearing this made us realize that we had truly won. Sibylla shouted with an explosion of emotion.

「Victory is ours!」

Upon hearing her voice, Fran and the others also roared with joy. Even those who could no longer stand on their own feet raised their hands triumphantly.

「We won! Master, we won!」

「Fuhaha! We prevail!」

「Indeed!」

「We really defeated them…!」

「We did it! Uncle! We did it!」

At that moment, Maleficent and Persona descended to us from the sky, but the man looked completely exhausted. Creating the poison that annihilated the Evil God Fragment must have taken everything he had. His recovery was clearly slow too.

「Maleficent, you still okay?」

「Yes… somehow…」

「!」

Fran began to cast healing magic, before suddenly widening her eyes and turning around. She had broken out in a cold sweat, with goosebumps all over her body.

The emotion on her face was unmistakably fear, and she was not the only one in this state.

Everyone present looked in the same direction, and they all had the same expression.

「Why…?」

Fran muttered with a hoarse voice. Her eyes were fixated on the jet-black pillar rising from the ruins of the royal castle.

The sinister aura radiating from the pillar grew denser, radiating evil-divine energy.

Such a phenomenon could only mean one thing…

「…!」

『No way…』

The dark pillar burst open like a bubble, revealing the monstrous form contained within.

RUOOOOOOOOORGH!

The menacing roar drained the hopes of everyone on the battlefield, chilling us down to our bones.

A fifth fragment of the Evil God. A completely unexpected menace whose arrival meant nothing but despair.

But how can this abomination even exist? Upon closer inspection, I realized the truth. This was not actually a fifth fragment.

It resembled a huge floating mouth with eyeball tentacles growing out of various places. A thin mass of flesh shaped like intestines extended from its back, with a whip-like tail connected at the end. Meanwhile, it breathed bright red flames out of its mouth.

Indeed, this new enemy was an amalgamation of the Evil God Fragments we had fought earlier. Perhaps the ones we defeated had forcibly broken out of the seal before their complete revival. Thus, some portion of them remained inside a sealed state. Those portions then merged together to become a semi-complete fragment that broke out later.

I felt strangely calm as I analyzed the situation. But does this knowledge even help us?

Everyone had already exceeded their limits.

It was not only us, but also our distant allies. The immovable Dimitris had collapsed to the ground, Asmodeus was nowhere to be seen, and Maleficent couldn’t stand without support from Persona. Chariot was still in shambles, without any sign of regeneration.

『OROOOORGH…! SUBMIT TO ME! BICKER! MASSACRE!』

An evil-infused scream echoed across the battlefield. Fran grimaced as she covered her ears, it was that loud.

Immediately after, I saw the demons in the distant sky falling to the earth one by one. The scream containing the Malice’s powers had neutralized them.

『UROORGH!』

Then the fragment launched a mass of flames into the sky, which proceeded to pour down like rain across the entire area.

As I suspected, this abomination has the powers of all four fragments. The realization only struck further despair into our hearts.

We stood no chance. That much was evident.

There were only two options. Either we retreat or we fight until the bitter end. However, none of the knights could make a decision, and their leaders didn’t have the energy left to give orders. Everyone was frozen stiff, when the fragment unleashed another wave of attacks.

Rays of black light fired out from the eyeballs at the end of its tentacles.

These blasts gouged the earth as they tore through the formations of the Northern Knights and the Belioth Army, easily claiming the lives of countless knights and soldiers.

What’s more, the survivors of the attack began turning on each other.

With the evil energy spreading over such a wide area, it was no longer possible for me to absorb it all by myself. Even absorbing the stuff nearby gave me an unbearable pain that was driving me insane.

I still can’t hear Announcer-san’s voice either.

All I could do was endure the pain and continue sucking it all in. I didn’t have the composure to be thinking about anything else.

To tell the truth, I’m pretty ready to give up now. Fran looked like she still had some fight left, but she probably couldn’t imagine any path to victory.

More importantly, what should I do? Try to get Fran as far away as possible? No, Fran wouldn’t want that. As Fran’s sword, I could never disobey her wishes like that…

In the midst of all this despair, the first to move was not Fran, Dimitris, or Chariot, but a jet-black wolf.

「Grrrr…」

「Urushi!」

Urushi, who had been sluggish just moments ago, morphed into his giant size, glaring at the Evil God Fragment. His legs twitched sporadically, as if simply standing was a struggle.

Nevertheless, Urushi let out a fierce howl.

「Awoooooon!」

This was a simple roar, containing not the slightest bit of mana, yet I could sense a powerful anger. However, Urushi’s anger was not directed at this formidable foe, but at his own weakness.

Urushi’s surge of emotions flowed into me, intense enough to make me tremble.

「Arf…」

I was supposed to have grown stronger. Sharpened fangs, honed strength, improved mastery of magic. But it wasn’t enough.

Carrying Fran atop my body, tracking down enemies with my nose, ambushing them from the shadows. I had pride in my utility.

But it wasn’t enough. I lack the fangs to kill the formidable foes. All I could do against the Evil God Fragment was stall.

It’s so frustrating. At this rate, I’ll be left behind again. I require stronger fangs. If that means using the power of the Evil God, then so be it.

My power comes from the Divine Wolf of Evil’s Bane, so I should be able to do what he did: Devour the fragments of the Evil God and turn them into my sustenance.

It seems that’s what Urushi was thinking.

「Grrrrh…」

Urushi growled again, this time in pain. His connection to me may have nullified the dominating influence of evil energy, but that doesn’t mean he can absorb it safely.

Despite that, he continued absorbing the power of the fragment’s flesh he had consumed earlier. All so he can stand at his master’s side again.

「Urushi…」

Fran looked up at Urushi with concern. With his entire body convulsing, the pain he experienced was obvious to us both.

Yet Urushi continued to endure the pain. Then, his entire body was enveloped in a dense cloak of evil.

「Grrr… Awooooooon!」

「Urushi!?」

Fran shouted in surprise. The cloak of evil had burst open, and Urushi was gone. Had he hidden himself into the shadows? No.

Urushi was already in the skies right above the Evil God Fragment. Having returned to his original size, he leapt out at lightning speed, too fast for Fran to follow.

Despite his shrunken body, Urushi was brimming with evil energy from head to toe, exuding an aura that captured everyone’s attention.

And then, he swung his claw down on the fragment.

The dull sound of the collision reverberated, as Urushi’s evil-cloaked foreleg clashed with the fragment’s barrier.

The stalemate continued for a split second. Blood spurted out of not just Urushi’s foreleg, but his entire body. His flesh and bones had been torn apart, unable to withstand the power of evil.

Even so, Urushi turned this pain into strength, gritting his teeth and pressing even harder. As a result, the fragment’s black barrier shattered.

「RUOOOOGRH!」

Urushi had managed to leave his mark on the fragment’s flesh, as well as sever a few of the eyeball tentacles, and there was no sign of regeneration. The grotesque cry emitted by the fragment was undoubtedly a scream.

It was an unbelievable sight. Yet at the same time, one that shook our hearts.

This event rallied not only us, but all of our allies. The eyes of everyone fixated on the falling Urushi had regained the light of hope.

I slowed his momentum with telekinesis and Fran caught him softly. The arms that held Urushi were gentle, but there was a strong determination in her eyes.

The same light as our comrades.

「Urushi, you were awesome.」

「Woof…」

The battered Urushi let out a satisfied whimper.