She ran through a field soaked in blood.
It was a blood-soaked field, with pieces of flesh strewn everywhere.
A corpse here, a corpse there. The soles of her feet hit the ground, crunching up chunks of meat.
"Shit… shit! Fucking monsters!"
Hildir, shaman of the beast gods, steadied her crumbling body and opened the escape route.
Centuries of planning had failed. Damned Holy Knights, three such monsters!
Georgic, restored to his former glory, and the Lionheart King, from who knows where. And──
"Where are you off to?"
The Black Witch's voice drifted in front of Hildir.
"Pfft…!"
The Magician Queen, who, unlike the Holy Knights, was not enforced by the Holy Law, but had more firepower than anyone else.
Hildir was afraid of the Holy Law of the Holy Knights, but she considered this monster to be the most 'prime' power in existence, especially in a place as magical as this one.
"I have a question for you."
The voice from beyond the cotton cloth was calm. Nevertheless, her hands and feet tremble, and her disoriented mind threatens to seize up.
The Demon Queen stares at the red stone in her hand.
"I've heard it's called an enchantment stone, and that it can be mined through hunting within the gates. It's basically a new resource with concentrated magical power."
Beatrice had researched the power that supported modern Earth civilization. As a being at the pinnacle of magic, it was second nature to her to study it.
But the more she learned about these gems and gates, the more questions she had. There were many questions, but for now....
"This gate. The output of the spirit stones was vastly superior to the other gates, and they were scattered about as if they had caught millions of monsters."
"That, that's not how...."
"It's strange, isn't it? No matter how big the gate is, there's a finite amount of it inside after all, and yet there are so many magic stones scattered all over the place."
It's like when one war ends, another begins.
"It's a cycle, isn't it? Just as they tried to corrupt me."
The Queen's gaze flickers to the battlefield. Knights and soldiers mowing down the remaining beasts as the tide of battle has already turned.
"Hoo-hoo, I don't think you're a demon…but what you're doing is the same as what I've seen them do. I have so many questions for you."
Hildir realized this woman didn't consider her a mere NPC; she was going to take her alive, the only 'living' thing in this gate.
"Great beast gods, to your slave-"
"Stop."
Hic, a chill runs down her spine.
What was that?
Hildir winced at the voice tickling her ear.
"It's not my favorite power, but…I'm careful to use what I can."
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the face of the queen as she reaches for the cotton wool.
Her hair shimmers like molten silver, her eyes glisten with a strange light, her sweet voice, her gestures and her demeanor had an aura of innate corruption that dazzled Hildir.
"Will you remain silent?"
"Ah, ah...."
The sweet voice travels directly through her ears.
The seductive lips whispered less than a centimeter away, and Hildir couldn't fight it.
She wants to suck on those lips, bury her face in her chest, and stroke her thighs.
She would do anything to have her approval.
"Goddess...."
"Blasphemy. The gods are different, but…yes, I will allow you to call me Master."
"Master...."
The power of corruption is a powerful force against reason but at Beatrice's level, she could corrupt someone of the same sex with her voice alone. The demons of lust didn't choose her to be the next demon lord for nothing.
She is the most formidable woman of pleasure, capable of causing even fanatics to abandon their gods and only the strongest of minds among the Transcendents would take this power lightly.
[She let us down again]
It was then that the imprints of the Three Beast Gods, which had fallen from the skin of the unfaithful shaman, emitted their own eerie voices.
The black smoke in the form of the beasts glared at Beatrice and Hildir as if to kill them.
"Ah, ah, ah… Gods...."
Hildir shudders in fear, sensing death but behind her back, Beatrice wraps her arms around her chest and grabs her chin.
The queen laughed as she flaunted her power over Hildir, who was unable to resist in the slightest.
"Your slave is now my slave…what are you going to do about it?"
[The seed of pleasure…!]
[I see you've got yourself a slave.]
[I shall chew you up and devour you!]
The apparitions twisted with rage as Hildir shuddered and forced herself to divulge the information.
"The gods will descend. This, this gate is the realm of the beast gods… incarnations, but if the rest of the beast gods descend…!"
"That would be dangerous."
The beast gods, enraged at being deprived of their slaves, began to create cracks in the space.
* * * *
After defeating their enemies, the Kingdom army came to a standstill. The Hunters who had opposed them also regained their senses one after another, and naturally, people gathered around Leon.
"Guardian of the Grail...."
"Agent of the Gods...."
More than a living saint, a Holy Knight, a living demigod, Lord of the Lionheart and Guardian of the Grail they considered it an honor just to be able to witness the Lionheart King before their eyes.
"It was an honor to fight with you, Sir Georgic."
"It was my honor, too, sir…."
Georgic was awkwardly respectful of Leon, for he was not the only Lionheart King he knew.
"The 11th Lionheart King, Ronald Batallion Lionheart, often spoke of you and his other knights."
"Did you… meet him?"
"Yes, King Ronald is in the Paradise of the Gods."
"No way...."
The implications were clear and Georgic realized why he couldn't call for reinforcements.
The true holy power of the self-proclaimed Lionheart King and the warmth of the Goddess Demera that he had never felt before pointed to one thing.
"We are already dead."
Holy Knight Georgic, the Kingdom Knights, the Knight Errants and the loyal Kingdom soldiers who fought to honor their country were actually already dead, their souls bound to repeat their battles and deaths as NPCs.
Leon told each and every one of them the truth since these loyal soldiers had a right to know.
"Your Majesty…!"
It was then that four people rode up on horseback in the distance. It was Ha-ri, followed by Soo-ho, Jae-hyuk, and So-yeon.
They, too, had been in battle with the knights, and were covered in blood.
"I told you to stay out of my battle."
"Oh, that's right… I wanted to be of some help...."
"Who are these men?"
"Servants of this king and denizens of another world."
Ha-ri explained the existence of the Gate, the Hunters, and the Quest to Georgic.
"According to the quest…we must defeat Lord Georgic to close this gate."
"Khhhh…!"
"Lord Georgic…?"
Ha-ri's explanation made Georgic chuckle.
If you kill a creature within the gate, you'll get a magic stone and that the gate would only close when the Field Boss was defeated.
Georgic marveled at the logic of it all.
"Your Majesty, perhaps I have not been defeated in all these years!"
"I see."
His voice was raspy, almost painful to the eardrums but Ha-ri struggled up to him and asked.
"…Do you remember anything?"
"Um…! I don't remember much. We were only here to slay the barbarians."
"There must have been some kind of spell from those evil gods and the demons must have helped."
"...."
Ha-ri wondered if she should tell them what she had discovered but perhaps it would drive them to despair.
However Leon, sensing her hesitation, interrupted her.
"Tell them. They deserve to know the truth."
"It's...."
Ha-ri quietly recited the truth as the kingdom's soldiers, including Georgic and the knights, watched.
"We've also found the ore within your bodies…it's a special ore found in creatures within the Gate."
Those with the ore belonged to the Gate except for the few survivors.
"You cannot leave this gate."
Georgic was not one of the survivors. Neither were the knights, nor the soldiers.
The moment the gate closes, they would disappear.
It was then that the truth was faced, and everyone realized what they were up against.
[Lionheart…!!!]
[I will chew you up and devour you!]
The Beast Gods entered the realm.
Filled with dense magical power, they were a formidable foe that could not be defeated.
* * * *
The crack in space was not the same as when Hildir had summoned an incarnation. Then, there were chunks of meat to make the body but not now.
All that remains of the gate is the dregs of meat. Even the magic stones were destroyed by Leon and Georgic, who restored the Holy Law.
As a result, it will take time for the Incarnation to descend as Hildir testified to Beatrice's deception.
"Is there any way to stop the Incarnation itself?"
"Hehe, there is none… Now that this gate is… finished… the gods will use all the power of the realm… lavishly."
"Hmm...."
In other words, a fight is inevitable but Leon shrugged it off.
"I will fight. How can I leave this gate without the glorious knights?"
As his will to fight burned within him, Beatrice counseled him cautiously.
"Your Majesty, I don't think it's wise to go toe-to-toe with them."
"We have a choice. I fear that if the Dungeon Break occurs, they will be out in the open."
Fight them out there or fight them here but Leon decided that it's best to fight them here, where there's at least one more Holy Knight.
"No, there is a way."
Georgic stepped forward, already stripped of his armor, and his large hand flashed.
-Kwazik!
He pierced his heart with his own hand and pulled out a gigantic magic stone.
"Huh…!"
"What did you do?"
Ha-ri and the cadets who witnessed the scene turned around in horror. However, Georgic remained calm.
"The closing condition is that I, Georgic, fall. It would be pointless to fight at a gate that will soon disappear, wouldn't it, Your Majesty?"
"You...."
Before Leon could say anything else, another knight shouted.
"For the Lionheart King!"
"We offer our souls to the Great Gods!"
Understanding Georgic's actions, the knights pulled out the magic stones in their hearts in unison.
"Thank you, knights."
Even as they drew out his heart and bled him dry, he was still breathing.
Though he was breathing harder than before and breaking into a cold sweat, he was a Holy Knight of Life and Abundance. With his holy law restored, even if his heart were ripped out, his regenerative powers would keep him alive temporarily.
And so it was with every member of the Legion under Georgic's protection.
"My brothers and sisters! You know that the final battle is imminent, for here, in this place, is the Lionheart King, a representative of the glory of the gods!"
"We the dead are willing to lay down our lives for the future of the living!"
"Will you follow me!"
At Georgic's rousing proclamation, the remaining knights and soldiers of the Legion fully understood their position and stared at their only hope: King Lionheart.
A being who could sing the glory of the gods for years to come, unlike the dead and imprisoned by the Gate, and there was no hesitation.
As the knights had done, the loyal soldiers who had sworn to defend the people and kingdom of Lionheart would gladly cut out their hearts.
"Gulp!"
"Damn, that hurts like hell!"
With their hearts ripped out, they take out the proof that they are dead but their flesh was now animated only by the miracle of God, not by the magic stones.
In the midst of their great sacrifice and loyalty, Leon spoke, his face twisted.
"Your loyalty puts me to shame, and you have left me a great task."
"I ask one more favor, Your Majesty."
Georgic held up the spirit stone and hammer he'd removed from his heart.
"Goddess Demera, grant me my wish."
If this spirit stone is the vessel that binds his soul-─
"Loyal to the Lionheart King and favored by Demera, through this hammer I, Georgic, shall pass on my power!"
Goddess Demera was pleased with the Grail Knight's Sacred Offering.
The spirit stones of Georgic and his soldiers vanish like smoke, and are imbued into the hammer as the Holy Knight's relic glows with even more power.
The Holy Knight, his honorable knights, and his loyal soldiers had poured their souls into the hammer and Georgic handed it to Leon.
"Please keep it until a man worthy of it appears in front of Your Majesty."
"...."
Leon gladly accepted the hammer and Georgic clasped Leon's hand.
"It was an honor to fight alongside you."
"I will remember your honorable ascension, Sir Georgic."
Leon turned without hesitation while the queen and the cadets trailed behind him. The Knights stepped forward, dismounting from their steeds and willingly giving them to the Hunters.
"Take it. Despite your lack of horsemanship, you follow the king."
"...."
Yong-wan shakily took over the horses willingly given to him by the knights who were killing each other just a moment ago.
More than a hundred Hunters mounted their steeds and Georgic ordered.
"Horsemen still on horseback this is your final order. Protect the king until the final retreat."
""Yes, sir!""
The survivors rode off, escorted by the remaining horsemen.
The dead, who have pledged their allegiance to the living, place their hands on their chests.
"An honorable life."
" May the gods bless you."
Thousands of soldiers salute Leon then turn to face forward, not looking back at Leon and his men as they disappear from view.
Baron Laurent Dominek approached him as he put his armor back on and was about to enter the battlefield.
"Sir Georgic."
"Sir Laurent, I see no sign of Sir Gaston."
"He was killed fighting the beasts but he left behind this sword."
Laurent offered the sword his friend had left to Georgic, whose hands were empty.
"A fine sword. I will use it to slay my enemies and soothe the soul of Lord Gaston."
"He will be pleased."
-Purrrr…!
Georgic petted the Pegasus that flew toward him, a comrade-in-arms who had hovered around him throughout the battle, driving away the black eagles.
"You will truly meet your end, my comrade."
Georgic mounted his horse and rode at the head of the line, followed by the Kingdom Knights, the Horsemen, and the soldiers of the realm.
The beast-gods burst through the rift, bringing with them gigantic mutants and countless servants.
Against the forces of evil and the gods that no mere mortal can stand, Georgic shouts out.
"I, Georgic…!"
"One hundred thousand enemies of the realm I have slain in person, and five million I have defeated as a War Knight!"
"Undefeated in two thousand two hundred and fifty battles!"
"Defended Gerhane against three hundred thousand orcs, pitted my strength against the Ogre chieftain and won!"
"Demera has favored me, Arianna has watched over me, and Petos has rejoiced."
"I am Georgic, Holy Knight of Life and Fertility!"
"You have been reduced to beasts by your lust for power. What do you think you're capable of?"
The thunderous echo made even the beastified monsters tremble with what little instinct they had left.
A saint, shining brightly on the chaotic battlefield.
A man favored by the gods and bestowed with their power.
A knight of glory, a symbol of divine presence and evil.
He said.
"Come, let us go. My brothers and sisters. Today we will die for justice. The gods will avenge us."
""For the Goddess!!""
""For honor!!!""
""For Lionheart…!!!""
With a lion's roar, the Holy Knight draws his sword.
"Glory be."
Forward, singing his final glory.
"To the Lionheart."