Chapter 178. Evolution (2)

The Outsiders could no longer stop the advance of Desir’s forces. After all, they had no troops left to block them with.

‘They completely eliminated their own troops.’

Desir couldn’t possibly understand their behavior. A feeling of disgust grew inside him.

As a result, the guerrillas were able to quickly reach Jormungand Citadel. At first glance, the imposing fortress looked nearly invincible.

Desir looked at the top of the fort where the white flash was fired from.

‘It may not take twelve hours to re-arm, but it certainly takes time to gather that much mana.’ After the attack had been launched, wiping out the Outsiders and attempting to level the guerrilla forces, no more attacks left the Citadel. Desir was certain that the homunculus needed time to recharge.

The homunculus, which seemed omnipotent in comparison to human beings, had to have a limit.

‘Homunculus were born from the efforts of man, after all.’

Despite his thoughts, Desir couldn’t cast aside the nervousness that had burrowed into him. After all, it would be foolish to underestimate the Homonculus’s ability to control causality. Desir preferred to analyse his opponent’s fighting style, gauge its strengths and weaknesses, and then engage in battle.

Upon his return, thanks to his countless experiences in the Shadow Labyrinth, there were few occasions where he fought against a truly unknown enemy. After a bit of work, most of his foes were interpretable.

However, a homunculus’s ability to manipulate causality was far beyond the realm a human can casually understand. He couldn’t comprehend how such powers were capable of being invoked.

‘But according to Zod, it isn’t impossible to beat it in combat. We can surely deal with it with this unit.’

Desir had finally reinstilled confidence within himself, when it was time to head back into action.

The voice of a guerrilla member came from behind Desir. “We’ve entered firing range.”

Desir ordered the second platoon members to identify the enemy’s forces inside Jormungand Citadel using detection magic.

“There are still troops within the fortress.”

Upon receiving the report, Desir had a question.

When he saw the homunculus’s attack, regardless of the collateral damage it would cause; Desir witnessed just how genuine the panic of those Outsiders was. They ran away; the obvious behavior of someone witnessing their trap card turned against them.

Nevertheless, there were those who did not back down and had remained to protect homunculus.

Desir speculated that they might be troops under direct control of the senior ranking members of the Outsiders; the Crow Masks and the Feather Masks of the group.

‘Storming the fort will be difficult.’

Their group was composed of the most elite troops within the Allied Forces. Their ability alone was considered top of the line, but the number of troops they had with them was small in comparison to those guarding the citadel.

‘It would have been much easier had the West’s guerrillas arrived.’

The original plan was a feint operation. It was the coalition’s plan to send guerrillas from the east and west to eliminate homunculus simultaneously.

The numerical inferiority would have been lessened if the Western guerrillas had arrived, but they were nowhere to be seen.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t waste even a moment waiting.

It was quiet now, but it was unclear when that wide-area attack would occur again. Desir made a snap judgment.

He looked back at his guerrillas.

“We need to split up. The Starling Party will continue with the original goal of eliminating the homunculus. Everyone else, please take care of the troops within the citadel.”

“It’s too dangerous. Unless we’re sure of the enemy’s strength, we need to stick together and make a steady push through the citadel.”

That was a reasonable counter-point. The fortress of Jormungand was the last remaining base of the Outsiders. It was impossible to know just how many traps were waiting for them.

But Desir was adamant.

“If the homunculus launches another blast at us, it’ll be impossible for us to stop it.”

It had now been a few minutes since the last attack. All they could do was wonder when it would be fired again. After that, it would all be over; they didn’t have enough Aurora systems to block the white flash a second time.

All of the guerrillas nodded in agreement.

Desir’s gaze scanned over the men and women in front of him until his eye locked onto one individual in particular.

“While I’m away, Argeria will take command of the eastern guerrillas.”

Argeria felt his jaw drop as he stared bug-eyed at Desir. “Me, me? I will command the people here?”

The polar opposite of his usual cool-headed demeanor, Argeria was completely embarrassed by his surprise nomination.

His reaction was understandable. Many of the soldiers around him were more talented and renowned by the military at large. Though he was acknowledged for his time leading the Blue Moon Party, at the moment, he was merely a fresh cadet.

“Good soldiers and good commanders are different.”

Nevertheless, Desir judged that he was making the right call and that Argeria could be trusted to lead.

“You have experience commanding and have done so admirably in the past. I know you’ll do well.”

Argeria had the experience of leading the members of the Blue Moon party and launching numerous expeditions into difficult Shadow Worlds. Though the Eastern guerrilla group also consisted of individuals with outstanding combat skills, few of them had any experience commanding troops, let alone organizing and conquering multiple Shadow Worlds.

“C-Commanding a student party and a military operation is totally different! Besides, it’s not as if… ”

“Mr. Argeria.” “Yes?”

“I chose you.” “… … … !”

Argeria realized what an asshole he had been. Desir had believed in Argeria’s skill and given him a chance, but he had completely fumbled it. “Can you do it?”

Upon hearing Desir’s words, Argeria snapped back to his senses. “Of course. I would never let you down.”

“Okay then.”

Desir gave his final orders, pointing towards the outer walls protecting the Jormungand Citadel.

“Prepare to breakthrough.” The operation was carried out.

* * *

*Boom!*

The explosion rang out.

Jormungand Citadel shook once, as though a heavy object fell and jostled a nearby table. The aftermath was severe, even though the fortress was surrounded by considerable defensive magic.

“Everyone! Defensive positions!”

Those who detected the source of the shaking rushed towards where their walls were under fire.

The soldiers were dressed head to toe in black, the hue and design of the outfit bearing a striking resemblance to a bird.

A crow. A bird of bad luck that also symbolized death and misfortune.

These were the elite soldiers of those loyal to Crow Mask; the soldiers who shared sympathy with his ideals, who shared his will, those who devoted their all to his cause.

They stood within Jormungand Citadel after all the other Outsiders had fled, resolute in their mission to guard the homunculus.

Whether the war ended in victory or defeat now was of no consequence to them. They were simply tools left to fulfill Crow Mask’s wishes.

*Boom*

A second explosion resounded.

The walls started to crumble. No matter how solid the fortress was, it could not withstand the sustained assault of an elite Allied Force.

Through the collapsed wall, the guerrillas began to enter.

Crow Mask’s troops waited in anticipation for the order to attack.

Both groups prepared magic as they locked eyes with each other. There was a tense atmosphere that threatened to devolve into conflict at any moment.

“… … … … ”

The leader of Crow Mask’s forces made a quick assessment of the group in front of him. Though they were all quite powerful, their numbers were pitiful.

He was confident in his advantage. Even if they couldn’t win, with the homunculus on his side, all he had to do was drag the fight out.

It was a plausible plan because he was determined to die alongside his enemies in the homunculus’s attack.

As long as he was able to ensure the death of Desir Arman, leader of the Eastern guerrillas, it didn’t matter if he sacrificed himself.

But… “… ?”

No matter where he looked, Desir was nowhere to be seen.

For a moment he thought he was faced against the Western guerrillas instead.

That thought was quickly put to rest, however, when he saw individuals he knew were a part of the Eastern guerrilla group.

‘Then… No, he couldn’t be… !’

His head quickly swiveled backward towards where the homunculus was being kept. Without giving him a chance to think further, he heard the enemy.

“Attack!”

At the moment Argeria gave his order, the guerrillas under his command launched their assault. Magic filled the air alongside the sound of swords clashing…

As each individual’s ability was considerable, he didn’t have the option to lower his guard for even a moment.

The leader of the black-robed troops gave orders after chewing his lips. “Repel them as quickly as possible and head for the top floor!”

Now he had no choice but to finish this battle as soon as possible and help the homunculus to ensure the death of Desir Arman.

Argeria, who was leading the army in place of Desir, felt the same way. He slaughtered the black-robed Outsiders approaching him one after another…

* * *

The Starling Party was filled with a growing sense of dread as the density of the mana around them slowly grew as each step they took, brought them closer to ‘it’.

They headed to the top of the fort with a stiff look. And when they arrived at the top floor, an overbearing iron gate blocked their path.

Desir took a deep breath, strengthening his resolve. “Is everyone ready?”

Romantica took out her rifle and settled behind the other party members. Adjest and Pram both drew their swords and took their places on either side of Desir.

Confirming his party’s resolve, Desir pushed the iron gate open, ready to confront their enemy.

An eerie squeak sounded.

At the peak of Jormungand Citadel, cold wind and snow blew freely.

In the center, there was a girl. She was perfectly still, her silver hair fluttering in the wind.

For a second, one might think she was dead. Her hands were on the ground, her eyes closed, everything about her eerily drained the viewer’s psyche.

Her thin face, her ghostly-white skin, her unresponsive eyes.

She was the spitting image of the expression “doll-like.” Rather, it wouldn’t be weird to describe her as a doll itself.

Desir felt a dark presence emanating from the girl. It was likely the same feeling that Zod had felt when he confronted her.

The girl’s inside was swirling, swarming, with a multitude of different kinds of turbulent mana.

Desir quickly realized the true nature of the mana before him. The increasingly dense mana that they had felt during their trek to the top floor of the citadel.

The girl was preparing her infamous attack, preparing to destroy everything in front of her with a white flash. “Attack! Right now!” [Abarossa Storm] *Bang!*

As soon as Desir signaled the attack, Romantica’s shot was fired.