Although we emerged victorious from the battle with the beast, Lokash warned us of something bad to come. "The Fifth Epic will know something's wrong when he can't feel the power of his beast," he said.

Rose wanted to know what Lokash meant. "So the paladins could return at any moment?" she asked.

Ryuu turned to Lokash for advice. "What should we do about it? You have more experience here and know this place better than us."

Lokash thought for a moment. "We don't have much time," he said. "I suggest we split up."

Lezlie spoke up, against Lokash's advice. "The enemy is very strong. If we leave, it will be the end of us."

Lokash confidently spoke up in response to Lezlie's question. "I know the Paladins' vulnerabilities. It may be possible to defeat them with just a few of us. But if we all go to war with them, we'll lose a lot of time. Don't worry, we'll catch up with you when we stop them."

Ryuu couldn't think of any other ideas. Even though Lokash's plan was dangerous, it might be the only way out. Besides, they had already lost some time fighting the monster.

"Okay then," Ryuu said. "We'll split into two groups. Shou, Mila, and Babu, you three will help Lokash. The rest of us will come with me to stop the Fifth."

Hiroshi wanted to know if Ryuu was sure of his decision before he left. "Are you sure about this?" he asked.

Lokash supported Ryuu's idea and gave the answer Ryuu had in mind. "It's the only way," he said. "If you run south without stopping, you'll reach the castle."

Still, everyone wanted to hear it from Ryuu's mouth. Ryuu spoke up. "Lokash is right and this is my last request to you all. Fight with me, my friends. Fight so that we can fulfill our purpose and put an end to this."

At Ryuu's words, we did as Lokash said and split into two groups. By the time the Paladins arrived, Ryuu's group was already on their way to the castle.

Our goal was to keep the paladins away from the castle and defeat them. We didn't know what we could do against these powerful paladins, especially with so few of us. But Lokash told us that the paladins had weak points and only he and the Fifth knew them.

The paladins standing before us were unfazed by Lokash's betrayal. Despite Lokash's knowledge of their weaknesses, their cold-blooded demeanor was unsettling. Especially at a time like this.

As we braced for their attack, something extraordinary happened. With a thrust of their right arms, the paladins merged into a single entity. This new form possessed the abilities of each paladin: orbs spinning around it, a crystal sword in hand, control over sand, flight, and an invulnerable body. Lokash was taken aback; "I didn't expect this," he exclaimed. Lokash had seen this incredible act of the Paladins for the first time, just like the rest of us.

Now it was apparent why the enemy was so merciless; they had devised a strategy that Lokash was unfamiliar with. Being aware of the Paladin's weaknesses, Lokash was at a loss for what to do in this scenario. As far as he knew, the only course of action available to them was to fight back.

Against such an adversary, we had to be highly organized and launch our attacks at the appropriate time, but our coordinated assaults only seemed to have a limited effect.

The enemy took the initiative and hurled their orbs at us, which were too swift and robust to be thwarted by our counterattacks.

The paladin attempted to assail us with their orbs while also trying to launch close-range attacks by closing in on us. Collectively, we responded to their incoming strikes, attempting to attack the Knight from all sides.

As I dodged an incoming sword strike, Lokash unleashed a bolt of lightning at the enemy, but the paladin was able to dodge the lightning by blasting sand away.

As soon as the enemy reappeared, Mila employed the power of water to attack them, while Babu aided Mila with the power of the wind.

The paladin endeavored to stop Babu with their sword and targeted Mila with their orbs, but what could they do against my assault?

When I swung my sword with all my might at the paladin in front of me, the paladin turned into sand, dodged my attack, and disappeared from sight.

Lokash attempted to reach the enemy with their fist when they spotted them, but the adversary rose and managed to dodge Lokash's attack.

Lokash fired lightning at the airborne enemy, attempting to knock them down, but the foe deflected the lightning with their powerful crystal sword and aimed their orbs at us again.

The enemy was so fast that we couldn't keep up with their movements, and even if we could, what could we do against an opponent that healed themselves so quickly?

It wasn't easy fighting this battle, especially at night.

As the battle progressed, we grew increasingly exhausted, unlike the enemy. With my oxygen tanks damaged, I couldn't launch sustained attacks for long periods of time, but I knew I had to persevere. The people here were depending on me. Lokash relentlessly attacked with his claws, and Babu supported him with his close-range strikes.

I wielded my Kusarigama, aiming for the enemy's legs. The foe flew away from us, sandblasting, attempting to fly up and down. They swung their spheres and crystal sword at us, creating a challenging situation.

I had to retaliate to block the sword. Assisted by Lokash, I ascended as high as I could with Babu's winds and managed to reach the paladin on the hill.

After distracting them by hurling my shurikens, I swung my sword at the enemy as quickly as possible, but the adversary countered my sword with their crystal sword.

When they turned to launch a powerful strike at me, Lokash diverted their attention with his lightning bolts, causing them to turn to sand and move away from me.

As soon as they retreated, Mila attempted to immobilize them, this time using sound waves, but as anticipated, the enemy was unaffected by the sound waves.

The fact that they were immune to sound waves and united as a group implied that they were not human; rather, they resembled some type of monster.

Once I landed on the ground, I attempted to attack the enemy again with both of my weapons in hand, but they were so formidable that Babu also resorted to using two weapons to attack them.

This time, Babu and I coordinated our attacks and moved in together, while Mila and Lokash provided support with water and lightning attacks from a distance.

I leaped over Babu and swung my sword at the enemy, with Babu following suit right behind me, but the enemy expertly blocked both of our swords in the air with his own sword. His sword seemed impervious to any damage from our attacks.

As Mila and Lokash combined their powers, the enemy retreated once again to avoid the attack.

I had an idea that maybe we could catch the enemy off guard with a lightning-fast attack. I quickly released my Kusarigama and wrapped the chain around Babu's club.

Babu swung his club powerfully and launched me toward the enemy as fast as possible. This time, I was certain that I would strike the enemy with my sword.

But somehow, the enemy sensed my approach and, in response to my sword strike, he deftly sidestepped and countered with his own sword, shattering my sword into pieces.

Even with only a small part of my sword remaining, I was determined to fight to the bitter end. I wanted to make the enemy pay for his actions.

Lokash continued to throw his lightning bolts, while Babu and Mila supported him. Even though I had only a small part of my sword left, I tried my best to attack the enemy with my Kusarigama. However, the enemy was able to block all of our incoming attacks.

The enemy caught Babu's vulnerability and hit him with the back of his hand. Then he turned his spheres towards Lokash and attacked Mila and me with close attacks. Mila tried to stop him with her water power, but eventually, we were unable to defend ourselves against his attacks. Mila was kicked hard and I was thrown back to the workshop by the enemy's sword, but I was not seriously wounded because the enemy hit me with the blunt point of the sword.

Breathing was becoming harder with each blow I took, and I was unsure if I would survive even if we won this battle. But I knew I had to do something, even if it meant using my last breath.

While the others were distracting the paladin, I tried to think of tactics and attacks we could use to defeat him. But it was not easy, as the enemy had no weaknesses. He was like a monster who lived only to kill. If he had no power, we could have defeated him. But while I was thinking about how to cut his power, I saw the magical chains in the center of the workshop.

These chains prevented those who had the power from using it, just like they did to us. So we could use them on the paladins.

I replaced the chain on my Kusarigama with a magical chain and prepared to use it on the enemy. Now we had one more chance to win the war.

When the enemy swung his sword at Mila, I made a surprise attack through the bushes, swinging my Kusarigama and wrapping its chains around the enemy's arm.

As he struggled to break free, Lokash sent a bolt of lightning from the sky, distracting the enemy. When the enemy blocked the bolt with his sword, I circled around him, trying to wrap the chain around him.

Despite the enemy's attempts to stop me, the others kept him busy. When he was fully wrapped in chains, I jumped on top of him and plunged the remaining part of my sword into his head with all my might. the magic of the chains had worked as I thought it would. The Paladin couldn't escape from the enchanted chains or my sword. The magic of the chains neutralized the enemy's properties.

Babu knocked him down with his wind attacks, and Mila doused him with water to make the lightning even more effective.

Lokash struck the Paladin with all his might with his lightning, making sure he wouldn't stand up again. We had won the impossible battle, but as we celebrated, I realized I couldn't breathe.

As everyone gathered around me, I felt at peace, knowing I had no regrets. I closed my eyes and let out a deep sigh.

I'm sorry, Karina, I broke my promise.