“That’s… the 【Green Lord】.”
Rui muttered, looking at the sky. Akito, with a grimace, said, “He’s got an outrageous presence.”
Anik, arriving late, also noticed the 【Green Lord’s】 presence.
“He’s finally come… Bringing this many monsters means he understands that the Indian Seekers are gathered here.”
Kaira looked back with a stern expression.
“You’re saying he has that much intelligence!?”
Anik nodded and looked at the 【King】 floating serenely.
“It’s entirely possible. He’s the leader who commands the insects. It wouldn’t be strange if he were more intelligent than other monsters.”
Kaira bit her lip at Anik’s words. The other Seekers also wore expressions of despair.
Amidst all this, Rui gasped and looked up.
“Th-That’s right! Dasha-san, Yuma is seriously injured. Please heal him with the Messiah’s magic!”
Hearing that, Dasha glanced at Yuma, who was being carried by Rudra.
Looking at the battered young man covered in bandages, Dasha sighed and faced Rui.
“The Messiah’s Recovery Magic could probably heal those wounds. But in this situation… even if we heal him, there’s no way for us to survive.”
The light had gone out of Dasha’s eyes. She, who had encouraged everyone so much and spoken of hope more than anyone else.
Her sister, Kaira, was shocked by this change in her, and Akito was indignant.
“Don’t say such pathetic things! It’s not over yet! We can retreat for now and regroup…”
“It’s useless.”
Dasha said sharply.
“We’re already surrounded on all sides. There’s no route for escape.”
Her tone was pained, almost resigned. She had probably searched for escape routes since the horde of monsters appeared.
And she was convinced that they couldn’t escape.
Rui and Akito began to understand the seriousness of the situation.
“Anyway, Yuma needs to be healed! Old man!”
“Yes, I understand.”
Anik instructed Rudra to take Yuma to the Messiah.
A few men and women in the center of the Seekers stepped forward. They were the rear support Messiahs.
“Excuse me, he’s seriously injured! Please heal him… please!”
As Rui pleaded, the Messiahs looked at Dasha in confusion, but Dasha said nothing, just standing there.
A male Messiah looked at Yuma lying on the ground and crouched down, saying, “I understand. I’ll try.”
Seeing this, the other Messiahs also gathered around Yuma and lowered themselves.
“Akito needs treatment too.”
Rui was worried about Akito, who was covered in burns, but he refused, saying, “I’m fine. Just heal Yuma.”
The male and female Messiahs nodded to each other and began to heal him together.
Each of them held their hands over Yuma’s body and concentrated. Soon, warm light overflowed from their palms, enveloping Yuma.
The Recovery Magic was performed by seven people.
Although not perfect, Yuma’s wounds could be seen gradually healing. The Messiahs had sweat on their foreheads.
Akito thought that the burns must have been quite severe, making the treatment difficult.
After a while, Yuma’s eyelids twitched, and he slowly opened them.
“Yuma!”
At Rui’s cry, Yuma’s vacant eyes opened, and his pupils focused on Rui.
“Ru…i…”
“Thank goodness… you’re safe.”
Rui was relieved and sighed in relief.
“I see… I collapsed in the lowest level.”
Yuma’s memories became clearer. He thought he had heard Akito’s voice when he was struggling in the flames.
He raised his upper body and looked around.
Many people were looking down at Yuma. He realized that they were the rear support group and that this was the surface.
Akito snorted and opened his mouth grumpily.
“What are you spacing out for! We went through hell because you went berserk! Do you understand!?”
Yuma blinked and scratched his head, saying, “S-Sorry… I couldn’t stop myself.”
“Well, I’m glad you woke up. Thanks to the Messiahs.”
Told by Rui, Yuma shifted his gaze to the people around him. Men and women dressed differently from the Seekers.
Yuma lowered his gaze to his arm. There were burn marks, though they were fading.
It was then that he realized that the Messiahs had saved his life.
“I see, thanks to you… I’m saved. Thank you.”
As Yuma tried to stand up, the male Messiah hurriedly tried to stop him.
“P-Please wait! You’re not in a condition to move yet. We need to continue the treatment for another few tens of minutes.”
Yuma had lost the translator he had on his ear, so he didn’t understand what the other person was saying.
So Rui stepped in to translate for him.
“Ah, it’s okay. I’ll heal myself from here on.”
Yuma placed his left hand on his chest and used Recovery Magic. A dazzling light spread from his palm, and the wounds healed at once.
“What!?”
The male Messiah was shocked and gaped.
Yuma stood up as if nothing had happened and took off the bandages all over his body.
“Yuma, help me out here. I’m covered in wounds.”
To Akito, who had a relaxed smile, Yuma replied, “Ah, I understand.”
He immediately went to Akito and activated Recovery Magic to heal his wounds. Because he healed the wounds so quickly, the Seekers and Messiahs around him were frozen with disbelief.
“Yuma, the 【Green Lord】 has come with his companions.”
Rui said, looking up at the sky. Yuma also turned his gaze.
The sky was filled with a large number of monsters, and among them was a monster emitting an eerie aura.
“That’s… the Green Lord.”
Yuma did not take his eyes off the “King of Insects” and glared at him.
“Yuma, that right arm…”
Rui frowned and looked at Yuma’s arm. Even though he had used Recovery Magic, his right arm had not regenerated.
“Ah, it seems my Recovery Magic can’t heal it. It was burned by the 【Red King’s】 flames, so it can’t be helped.”
Yuma smiled lightly, as if resigned. Rui felt a pang of pain.
“With that arm, it’s impossible to fight. Let’s think about escaping.”
“No.”
Yuma looked straight at Rui’s face.
“I’m going to defeat him here. Everyone, please evacuate far away.”
Akito, who was listening, exclaimed “Ha!”
“You have a chance of winning?”
“Yeah, I do. Believe in me.”
Akito nodded deeply and said, “…Understood. I’m counting on you,” and turned his back on Yuma.
Kaira, who was watching nearby, was shocked and asked, “Are you serious!?” but closed her mouth, seeing Yuma’s unwavering eyes.
“…I believe in you. Save us… save this country!”
Kaira turned around and called on the Indian Seekers to evacuate.
Anik stroked his beard and smiled cheerfully.
“To not give up hope when facing that enemy… no, he seems to be overflowing with confidence. Even though his body isn’t in perfect condition, he’s quite something.”
Rudra, who was standing behind him, asked, “What shall we do, Anik-sama?”
“Let’s go too. It seems we have no choice but to leave this to him.”
Anik and the Peacock King (Mahamayuri) members turned on their heels and left the scene.
Dasha, who was a little further away, was in disbelief. Kaira and Anik were not giving up even in this situation and were trying to evacuate everyone.
Even though there was nothing more they could do.
“Hey, Kaira’s sister! What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and run!”
Akito grabbed Dasha’s arm, but she quickly shook it off. Dasha bit her lip.
“Where are you telling me to run! There’s nowhere left to run. If it’s the same no matter where we run, then I’ll fight here and kill as many monsters as possible!”
Dasha glared at Akito with a tragic expression.
“It’s not certain that we’ll lose! We’re going to turn this into a counterattack!”
“…You don’t understand anything, Tennoji.”
“What? What don’t I understand?”
“It is said that the total number of Insectoid Monsters that have emerged from the Dungeons in various parts of India exceeds 100 million.”
“O-One hundred million!?”
Even Akito couldn’t hide his surprise at this.
“You Japanese wouldn’t understand. The despair we’ve experienced. Being attacked by countless monsters, our comrades dying without hope. The 【Green Lord】 cannot be defeated… we cannot win. Even so, I have to go around encouraging my comrades and sending them to their deaths. Do you understand how I feel, Tennoji!?”
Dasha’s words were piercing. But Akito, without paying heed, shook his head with a “Good grief.”
“We’ve tasted despair too. When we saw the 【Red King】, I thought it was over for me too. But that guy didn’t give up. It’s the same this time.”
“What are you saying…”
Akito grabbed Dasha’s arm and forcefully started running.
“W-Wait! I said I wouldn’t run away—”
“We’re not running away from the Green Lord, we’re getting out of Yuma’s way!”
“Out of Mitaka’s way? What are you talking about? What can the weakest one among you possibly do!?”
Dasha frowned as she ran.
“You’ll see soon enough, since he said he’s okay…”
Akito grinned.
“This time, it’s the “Monsters” turn to despair!!”
◇◇◇
Yuma stood on a small hill.
Looking around, Monsters stretched as far as the eye could see. The sky and the land were completely covered with countless Insectoid Monsters.
Facing this many Monsters was insane.
Yuma chuckled softly and looked at his right arm. His arm was gone from the elbow down.
Normally, this would hinder his ability to fight, but with so many enemies in front of him, it seemed trivial.
“Hmph!”
He put strength into his body and activated Metallization. His skin turned black, and his entire body was covered in a grotesque armor.
Yuma shifted his gaze to his left hand.
From the moment he saw the Green Lord, he felt a bubbling sensation. Some kind of different power than before was coursing through his body.
The reason was immediately clear.
The Chimera’s Orb on the back of his left hand. The Jewel, which had been cloudy and unusable, faintly glowed and became transparent in an instant.
It’s reacting to the Green Lord. If so, the condition for using this power is the existence of a “strong enemy.”
If there is an enemy worthy of using a powerful Shapeshifting ability, the 【Orb】 will be released and the ability can be used.
Yuma raised his left hand to the sky. One of the Orbs shone brilliantly, cutting through the night-like darkness. The Liquid Metal throughout his body rippled and began to bulge.
His body grew huge, and its color gradually changed.
The surrounding air changed, and a tingling tension spread around. The Insectoid Monsters also noticed the change and stopped moving.
The grotesque being on the hill continued to change its form.
Its neck stretched long, and a thick tail grew. Large wings spread from its back, and legs with sharp claws gripped the earth.
Its entire body glowed red, and ferocious fangs were visible in its mouth.
Its body was dozens of meters tall, and its winged form was far larger than the 【Green Lord】. As if intimidating all the Monsters, it glared around with burning eyes.
It was unmistakably a Dragon.
The Dragon raised its long neck and opened its mouth towards the sky.
“ヴォォォォォォォォォォォォォォォォォォォォォォォォォォォォ！！”
A roar echoed through the skies of India. The surrounding temperature rose sharply, and the earth bubbled and boiled.
What appeared was the strongest Monster that had plunged the world into a vortex of explosive flames.
【Red King】—Aulus Venom!!