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Dante looked behind, his face turned into contemplation and contorted.
Diphus' army, who had escaped through the dimensional portal, had swiftly turned the surface into chaos.
Despite the urgent defense preparations already underway due to Joshua's invasion, it was an uphill battle to immediately stop the sudden appearance of the Chaos Dragon and the Black Ship Fleet.
'Damn it, does that mean Joshua was just a decoy...?'
A decoy for Diphus' army.
While trying to capture that decoy, thousands of people, as well as the knights who tried to protect them, were injured or killed.
They had just managed to subdue Joshua, but an even larger force was invading Imperial territory.
Furthermore, even from such a great distance, Dante could clearly sense the power possessed by Diphus, who commanded the new army of chaos. His power was incomparable to someone like Joshua, shaking the heavens and the earth.
[Heh, heh, heh... Hahaha...!]
Joshua burst into hollow laughter.
To Dante, it sounded like a self-deprecating laugh born out of a sense of failure.
Thwack!
Rashid's blade was pressed against Joshua's neck.
Even as his head was separated from his body, Joshua continued to laugh, black tears streaming from his eyes.
'It's a trap. I should have prepared for an additional attack...!'
It was an unavoidable result because Dante put the people's lives first. He slaughtered the enemy who had invaded alone, pursued them, and deployed the rest to rescue the people.
Realistically, it was the best course of action. Currently, Dante was the only one capable of engaging the chaos army alone within the empire, waging ground and aerial battles simultaneously.
It felt like his brain was about to explode. Even if he decapitated Joshua before leaving, it didn't seem like the guy would die. There was a high possibility that he would recover while Dante was absent and cause more damage, join forces with the enemy, or flee.
'Nevertheless, for now, I have to leave him and go over there.'
The moment he made the decision.
Dante could confirm that a familiar energy was spreading from the direction where Diphus' army had appeared.
'Jin...!'
Lightning energy and shadow force.
It was Jin's energy.
Furthermore, Dante also witnessed flames and a green magic he had never seen before taking place nearby. It was Veradin's power.
Just as Jin and Veradin were about to meet Dante, they saw a dimensional portal opening in the sky and immediately assessed the situation.
[Kuhahaha, kahahaha, ah!]
Joshua continued to laugh without ceasing until Dante crushed his head beneath his foot.
The shattered head gathered in the air, reforming into a grotesque shape.
"What's so amusing, trash? The real Runcandel, whom you can't even dare to look at, has arrived here. If you find yourself amusing, I can understand."
While Dante faced Joshua once again, Veradin extended a large protective barrier.
It was a massive shield that could cover a whole section of the city, but in the midst of the chaos pouring out from Diphus' colossal and dark wings, along with the rampage of the chaos army, it was impossible to protect all the people.
Inevitably, the deaths of innocent people were piling up. The sounds of explosions, screams, and the roars of chaos dragons pierced the sky soaked in mayhem.
"I will pursue Diphus, you take care of this place!"
When Jin shouted, Veradin nodded.
"Don't expect too much. I can't save everyone. I'll do my best to balance things in my own way."
As Jin swung his sword to break through the chaos army, a path opened up immediately.
The chaos dragons were torn apart like pieces of paper by the blade that carried the force of lightning.
Jin stepped on the falling corpses of chaos dragons and fragments of the Black ships like stairs as he ascended into the sky.
No matter where he appeared from, the closer he got to Diphus, the more chaos dragons swarmed him like vengeful spirits.
"4th flagbearer!"
Unbeknownst to himself, a voice filled with malice came out. It wasn't because it was difficult to pursue Diphus without wings, but rather because the things he was committing were so distant and agonizing to witness.
It felt as if the grudges of the Imperial citizens dying on the ground were piercing his back like horns.
Diphus was one of the individuals who saved the most civilians from the chaos unleashed by Glyek's death throughout the world.
Furthermore, he was a pure knight who, as the 4th flagbearer of Runcandel, resisted the evil god until the end. He sacrificed himself to save the resistance, including the Seventh Flagbearer, and he had never once sought power outside the symbol of the clan, "Sword".
However, now Diphus, who used to be like that, was committing slaughter that could never be undone.
In this situation, it was better to...
Jin had to kill him. To prevent him from killing people and destroying the world according to the whims of horror.
It felt like his strength was constantly draining with each step he took, trampling on the corpses of chaos dragons. Jin kept his composure and pursued him.
He corrected his will to not hesitate and to strike without holding back.
But it felt like he couldn't catch him in this place.
It seemed that he had already finished all the preparations to escape.
Ching-!
Jin's consecutive light speed thrusts pierced through Diphus' wings. Even if they hit him head-on, it didn't seem to have much impact.
Diphus continued forward without even looking back, as if he had no intention of fighting now.
"Do you think I don't know why you keep running? 4th flagbearer, you must be planning to bind me here so that your army can easily strike elsewhere."
Jin spoke as he stepped onto a rooftop. In the empty space behind him, trails of ice mana formed in the place where the corpses of chaos dragons had been trampled, extending like comets.
[You know it well.]
Diphus briefly halted his flight and turned to look back.
The voice of Diphus that Jin heard now was different from what he knew. It was a voice that dug a dark pit in his mind, much like the evil god or the kings of the Black Sea.
His face also had a horn protruding from the center of his forehead, just like Rosa, and his pupils gleamed black like obsidian. The Greatsword Volgar seemed to confirm that he was Diphus.
[If you know, then why do you keep chasing me?]
"I have already suffered significant losses. Binding you to the front line is the least damaging choice for the surface. If I hadn't pursued you, you would have continued to directly strike."
Just as Danté was the only one capable of handling Joshua and his army alone, Jin is now the only one who can bind Diphus.
[That's right. Considering the possibility of you being in the Empire, mother sent me with that in mind. You have completely played into mother's will. Look behind you.]
"There's no need to look, it seems. The Imperial capital must be completely destroyed and in ruins..."
The chaos army was retreating. Into the black dimensional portals that opened up in the sky like beehives, the Black Ships carrying hostages were escaping.
Jin continued to watch Diphus.
"However, I am not someone who simply falls behind. Have you completely forgotten that, 4th flagbearer?"
[That's why mother cherishes and loves you even now. Show me how you plan to strike me from now on. After all, I'm going to leave soon.]
A dimensional portal was forming behind Diphus' back.
Instant Teleportation.
Ever since Jin discovered that the evil god possessed the ability of teleportation, he was convinced that there must be a significant price to pay for such an ability.
If there were no price to pay, the war would have ended with the temporary alliance's defeat.
Jin still doesn't know exactly what the price is. He can only speculate that it would involve the use of humans or despair as a medium.
However, one thing was clear.
Regardless of what Rosa used as a medium for teleportation, whether it was the "main body" or a "alternative body," from the moment it received an attack, it could no longer be freely used.
Jin regarded Diphus as a manifestation of the evil god.
'Elder Brother Diphus received a portion of the evil god's power. He is not merely strengthened to this level by chaos like Joshua or other knights.'
Of course, Diphus was originally a formidable martial artist. Moreover, since he is fundamentally different from a person like Joshua, even going through the same process could make him immensely stronger on a different level.
But the confusion emanating from Diphus now was comparable to Rosa, whom Jin encountered for the first time.
Therefore, if Diphus were to sustain wounds that were not easily healed, it would be no different from Rosa taking a hit.
Jin switched his sword to Bradamante.
[Bradamante? Why bother using a shadow sword now? It would have been better to wield the Plutonian's reigning sword instead? Ah, could it be because there are too many humans on the surface and they would be swept away and killed?]
Diphus smirked and extended his palm towards the surface. As the chaos condensed in his palm, the air distorted.
[It was still somewhat entertaining, 12th flagbearer. Before I leave, I'll give you a present. If you ever desire revenge, come find me. I'll be waiting with joy...]
Just as Diphus finished speaking and was about to unleash the chaos towards the surface, Jin launched his assault.
Diphus naturally expected Jin to throw himself towards the surface instead. Once the chaos left his hand, at least tens of thousands of humans on the surface would vanish instantly.
So he intended to mock Jin. How could insignificant humans matter to him anymore? Or was Jin merely swinging his sword aimlessly, driven by anger and meaninglessness?
However, when Jin approached dangerously close, Diphus had no choice but to hastily retract the chaos he intended to send to the surface.
'He didn't choose Bradamante to use shadow force...…!'
It was because he instinctively realized it. The faint flame that first enveloped Bradamante signified danger.
Eternal flames.
Jin has been saving that secret technique for the sake of the present moment.
He expected that eternal flames would possess the power to deliver an essential blow to the Evil god and Diphus.
As Diphus hastily shifted the chaos onto the Great Sword Volgar and attempted to block Bradamante, the blade imbued with eternal flame had already torn through his left wing in a diagonal trajectory, piercing through his chest.
'Recovery...!'
The torn portion affected by eternal flames could not be regenerated.
The lingering flame hindered his recovery.
Diphus, even if his body were torn apart, originally planned to unleash chaos upon the surface again. However, he was eventually overwhelmed by Jin's continued assault and had no choice but to retreat back to the dimensional portal.
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