"ALL TROOPS!!! READY!!!" Leiso shouted.
The horrors of the Ooze slowly approached from the south.
As they got closer, the sky above us turned dark.
More than likely, they had now darkened the sky of the entire world... This was our final stand.
These monsters...and that bastard Source...
They had taken everything from us.
I felt an unquenchable rage well up within me. Then I manifested a huge number of light spears and threw them all far into the crowd of monsters.
The spears obliterated the enemies and the other Enforcers stepped forward.
Isabella raised her sword and I felt my stats increase greatly. At the same time, the other Enforcers unleashed a hellish barrage of attacks using their Aspects.
The military began firing rapidly in the direction of the enemy.
Even Rune, who hadn't been much help, had made efforts to imbue the turret she was using with divine energy.
This way, its plasma blasts could destroy the monsters just as we did.
The enemies in front of us went down with ease.
Eventually, flying variants appeared. But Isabella's divine magic, Jallah's lightning, and Gavin's wind tore them apart.
Leiso used her water to create a tidal wave that tore enemies apart on the ground and unleashed a barrage of metal shards from within it.
Carlos and Johann also lit up the sky with fire and rained hell upon the monsters.
Then titans started rising out of the ground behind our defenses.
"DAMN BASTARD!!! EVERYONE KILL THOSE THINGS!!!" Leiso shouted.
I turned and switched my submachine guns into shotguns. Then I leaped over to the enemy as I fired light javelins at them.
The Titans tried to swing their massive arms at me, but The Warlord allowed me to dodge their attacks easily.
I got close and started blasting away at their bodies.
At the same time, Isabella enveloped them in radiant, destructive light.
The Titans fell and we once again turned our attention to the outer areas.
There were thousands of monsters climbing up to the walls and they were now spawning behind us.
"DAMN IT ALL! RETREAT!" I yelled.
Our troops boarded the helicopters along with us as the monsters began spawning on top of the walls and we joined them while fighting them off.
As we flew further into the city, I could see that everywhere was just as bad as it was here. They were overwhelming our forces with sheer numbers and spawning behind our defensive lines...
Conventional warfare didn't work against The Dark Army.
When the enemy can appear wherever it pleases...you have no hope of beating them in a game of strategy.
Eventually, we were set down at the second defensive line in the city.
The hastily set up turrets and mobile artillery would allow us to mount a decent defense here...or so we hoped.
Unfortunately, we were needed here as the number of enemies was incredibly dense in this area.
As such, we could not offer support to our allies around the city.
Still, our troops had made great efforts to fight valiantly against the Ooze...but we knew it was a losing battle.
Then we looked into the distance and saw a horde of flying variants heading our way.
"ANTI-AIR ARTILLERY, COMMENCE!" Leiso ordered.
At once, several of the turrets behind our lines began firing lasers into the air and cutting the monsters down before they could reach us.
The monsters stopped and fired a barrage of spikes that Isabella blocked with her barriers. The rest of us began firing our weapons and Aspects into the approaching crowd of enemies.
Ahead of us, I could see buildings being destroyed as the landscape itself warped and opened up... More monsters were now spawning from the crevasses made in the ground.
"This is a damn nightmare! HOW THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FIGHT THIS SHIT!?" Gavin yelled.
Johann stepped forward and slammed his staff into the ground. His wings appeared on his back and several glowing cracks shot forward into the crowds of enemies.
They exploded into lava and the landscape was altered further as the enemies were set ablaze.
After that, he flew up into the air and unleashed a barrage of fire streams at the hordes and obliterated them.
While he was up there...
"SHADOW DRAGON APPROACHING!" Johann shouted.
"ALL TROOPS, RETREAT TO HQ!" Leiso shouted.
It was time to kill that thing.
The plan was to lure it into the center of the city and fight it while it was alone. We would unleash hell upon this bastard dragon.
Everyone except Johann boarded the helicopter as it touched down and we flew towards the center of the city.
Johann followed us as he shot fire streams at the shadow dragon to get its attention.
"GRRRRRAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
The shadow dragon roared violently as it charged at us.
Johann assumed his true dragon form and kept it from attacking us directly.
"I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO TOUCH THEM, VILE BEAST!!!"
"YOU WILL MAKE A FINE MEAL, DRAGON GOD!"
Johann lured the shadow dragon to HQ and eventually, we touched down.
We landed on the ground and hopped out of he helicopter as the shadow dragon violently crashed into HQ after Johann blasted her away.
The building crumbled on top of her and moments later, she stood up.
I stepped forward and looked at this dragon as Johann remained in the air behind us.
Something was oddly familiar about this exact spot... Right now, the ruins of the city reminded me of a dream I couldn't quite recall...
The day I woke up in Lorelei.
I could have sworn I forgot something...
Nevertheless, I gritted my teeth as I stepped forward.
"GIVE THIS THING EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!!!" I yelled.
"GRRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!"
All of us began unleashing a hellish barrage of attacks on the shadow dragon at once and she reeled back from them...
They were truly having an effect!
Unfortunately, we needed more...
I drew on my unknown skill as much as I could while facing the dragon and threw a barrage of light javelins into the beast.
Leiso impaled it from below with massive iron thorns and blades while the others attacked from the front.
The shadow dragon raised a claw and brought down on us, but Isabella took the attack.
The ground shook violently and she gazed up fearfully...
Then her face changed to defiant glare.
"YOU...WILL TORMENT ME NO MORE!!! SUNLIGHT BLADE!!! BLAST NOVA!!!"
Her words caused Bravery to glow even brighter than before and her sword extended. She sliced its claw off and sent an gigantic explosion towards the face of the dragon.
But it still wasn't enough...
We needed killing power.
As our attacks impacted the dragon, I could see her flesh quickly regenerating.
Even her claw was reforming itself.
"THIS IS THE POWER MY MASTER OFFERS! HIS STRENGTH SUSTAINS ME! THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE TRULY IMMORTAL!"
The dragon smiled and opened its mouth to charge a powerful breath attack.
Tentacles came from it's wings and everyone got behind Isabella.
The tentacles impacted her barriers and were obliterated as the black laser shot from the dragon's mouth.
"Ugh...this is...intense!!!" Isabella said.
The tentacles from the wings curved around her barriers and went straight for us.
I rapidly slashed the tentacles to pieces as Isabella finished taking the breath attack from the shadow dragon.
Once she had finished, light exploded around us as she kept her shield raised.
The tentacles were destroyed and the other Enforcers once again resumed their assault.
Then the shadow dragon smiled.
"YES!!! RESIST ME!!! IT WILL BE SO MUCH MORE SATISFYING WHEN I DEVOUR YOU WHOLE!!!"
"GO TO HELL, ABOMINATION!!!" I roared.
I unleashed a barrage of etherial streams of magic aimed at its disgusting smile. The shadow dragon reeled back as it began charging another beam attack.
Shortly after, the attack was released and slammed into Isabella's shield again.
Then...I felt something pulse within me as Isabella took the attack...
"What the..."
"Mizik...what is this?" Isabella said.
"GRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
I felt something akin to deja vu as a new feeling washed over us.
Something in me...was awakening...
Something within both of us.
Suddenly light shot down from above and enveloped us.
{Requirements met!}
{You have passed the test!}
TEST!? WHAT TEST!?
{SKILL UPGRADED: UNKNOWN SKILL > BLESSING OF THE CREATOR!}
My eyes went wide in shock as the golden threads connecting my hands and weapon expanded and formed into my arms.
My weapons glowed with a blinding holy light behind the emerald flames and power blazed forth as a divine inferno.
"Wow...that's...a lot of divine energy...." Jallah said.
We turned towards the shadow dragon and glared at her.
I unleashed a massive storm of spears as Isabella brought down a holy barrage from above.
The dragon was utterly decimated by the attacks.
I smiled.
"KEEP FIGHTING!!! WE CAN WIN THIS!!!" I yelled.
The dragon then grew in size as its skin stopped regenerating.
It's eyes glowed with a ferocious purple blaze and a dark purple gas oozed from it's mouth.
The shadow dragon had now become a nightmarish skeletal dragon with tentacles coming out of its bones all over the place.
"I'M GOING TO DEVOUR YOU ALL!!!" The dragon roared.
"NOT IF I CAN HELP IT!" Johann said.
Streams of fire shot from the sky in all directions as I disappeared.
I reappeared next to the shadow dragon's wings and cut them off with my swords.
I quickly darted around the dragon while cutting it to pieces and rapidly dodging attacks from both it and my allies.
I could feel so much energy coursing through me...it was unreal...
It was like I had an infinite well of divine power made specifically to destroy the Black Ooze.
Is this the power the Oracle intended for me to have?
"GRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"
The shadow dragon screeched in rage as it tried in vain to skewer me with tentacles and stomp on me.
Isabella's barriers were holding well and her divine power kept firing from above to burn the dragon.
I teleported back to Isabella and activated my skills.
I pointed my shotguns at the shadow dragon and smiled.
"VENGEANCE DEATH CURSE!!! WRATH!!!"
I pulled both triggers and a powerful cursed wind blasted the shadow dragon with devastating power.
At the same time, my weapons turned red as they shouldered the incredible burden of my berserk skill.
I shot towards the dragon and started slicing it to pieces.
At the same time, the other Enforcers worked to whittle away at the skeletal shadow dragon.
My attacks were slicing through its body with extreme ease, now...as if they completely ignored this thing's ridiculous defense.
As the dragon fell apart, I jumped back to Isabella and faced it.
I took a deep breath and readied my shotguns.
"EXTERMINATUS!!!!" I roared.
The blades extended from my shotguns and I launched myself forward while unleashing a chaotic combination of gunshots and sword strikes.
The power of this skill had increased exponentially. And the result was that the shadow dragon was completely obliterated.
As I attacked, the other Enforcers, Johann and even Rune continued to unleash their assault while Isabella blasted it from above with divine power.
Eventually, it stopped moving and its body slowly began to crumble to ash.
I backed up to Isabella and she dropped to her knees.
"Is it finally dead...? Is that horrible thing finally gone!?" She said as tears welled up in her eyes.
"I think so... It's not moving anymore or regenerating. The shadow dragon is slain," I said.
Johann returned to his human form but kept his wings out as he approached us.
The other Enforcers patted both me and Isabella on the backs as they smiled at us.
"That was awesome! What happened there!?" Michael said.
The realization hit me.
I had finally unlocked the unknown skill.
"The unknown skill..." I mumbled.
Blessing of the Creator, huh?
I quickly pulled up my status menu and selected it.
{Skill Name: Blessing Of The Creator}
{Skill Description: The God of Creation has blessed you with the power of The Chosen Hero to destroy the [Corruption]. This power is absolutely necessary for annihilating the darkness that threatens all worlds.}
{Attributes}
{Primary: Impending Doom: The user can sense [Corruption] by feeling its chaotic and evil presence. This ability allows the user to detect and eliminate the threat of [Corruption] before it can fully manifest. It also allows the user to locate and sense the presence of the Source of the [Corruption].}
{Secondary: Soul Link: The user's fated partner receives all effects of [BLESSING OF THE CREATOR], and shares the primary users level, experience table, and all exp gains. Note: Primary and Secondary users stats are kept separate. Soul Link can only be used on one person. Current status: linked. Secondary user name: Isabella Iratus.}
{Tertiary: Purging Light: The user's attacks are imbued with the holy divine power of The Creator himself. This purified divine energy is needed to fully obliterate the [Corruption]. Without it, there is no hope of victory. The divine power of The Creator requires the use of the light element to function in lesser beings. This ability also renders the user completely immune to infection by the [Corruption].}
I could hardly believe what I was reading... This power was specifically made to destroy this...Corruption?
What the hell is Corruption?
At that moment while we were celebrating, we heard someone clapping slowly.
We turned towards the wreckage of the shadow dragon as a figure slowly walked out of the clouds of ash.
As the figure approached... I felt a truly monstrous amount of power accompanied by a horrifyingly oppressive feeling of impending doom.
Suddenly, Isabella placed her hand on her mouth and gasped.
"MIZIK!! THAT'S HIM!!! THAT'S THE SOURCE!!!" She shouted.
The man slowly walked out of the ash clouds and stood still. He was followed by all three Generals as well as Valtheim.
And as I looked at him...
My eyes widened in confusion.