Chapter 1009: It Must Be Defeated by Me
The colossal Cursed Hand halted its advance.
Under the watchful eyes of all, its massive form toppled toward the port city!
The heavens and earth darkened at the spectacle, winds and clouds roared in response!
Like a meteor crashing from beyond the sky, the atmosphere was compressed into nothingness, all air currents forced to flee to either side. The intense pressure differential instantly pressed down upon the entirety of Norwich.
The unimaginable weight finally made everyone feel true despair.
There was no way to be saved.
The Child of Prophecy could do nothing.
What awaited them was the fate of reincarnating into the next generation, and Norwich reduced to ruins by then.
That thing was essentially a born god of destruction, inherently lacking the option of being defeated.
Even the proud Bogart had lost his fighting spirit by now.
So this was the level of the powerful enemy—the "King of Mors," the Great Calamity that Woodward defeated a thousand years ago?
How did that guy manage it?
If the challenge back then hadn't been conducted as a ceremonial contest but decided by pure strength, he might have already reincarnated into the next generation!
An undefeatable foe.
There was no possibility of salvation left.
Nor any need to fight.
Just as all humans and fairies were plunged into utter despair—
"BOOM—!!"
A pitch-black Aurora, as if capable of devouring everything, shattered the silence, rising from the ground like the Tower of Babel!
A vast surge of magical energy roared like the sharp cry of a dragon. The pillar of black Aurora shot upward from below, crashing directly into the canopy of the Cursed Hand!
A shocking shockwave, akin to a tsunami, scattered the atmosphere and swept out in all directions!
The falling momentum of the gigantic monstrous shadow instantly stalled!
"Oooohhhhhhh?!!"
A wave of astonishment swept through Norwich.
Witnessing that scene, the fairies and humans felt hope surge from the depths of their hearts!
Though the light was pitch-black, at this moment, it radiated a dazzling brilliance!
However.
"Ugh!"
The dream clone's expression began to falter.
"How tough is this thing?!"
He knew his own limits.
To outsiders, the pillar of black Aurora seemed to be holding its own against the massive Cursed Hand, but Eiji knew that heavy firepower was not his forte, and his endurance was overwhelmingly poor!
He absolutely couldn't afford a stalemate!
If he didn't gain the upper hand from the very start, it was as good as losing!
Yet reality was always this harsh!
The black Aurora felt as if it had crashed against an unbreakable Aegis Shield. No matter how much he strained his main body's magical energy, merely halting its descent was the limit—he couldn't destroy its canopy at all!
"Dammit, my magical energy is almost—!"
Almost depleted!
Eiji cursed inwardly.
What is the me from Strike the Blood doing? It's been a month since synchronization, and he still hasn't obtained the power of the Fourth True Ancestor?!
Upon synchronizing, Eiji was speechless.
That version of me was actually celebrating the New Year!
And he was even flirting! With the Third True Ancestor, no less!
Damn it!
As expected of me!
"So, is Norwich still going to be destroyed in the end?"
Eiji was deeply frustrated.
After all, the restrictions in this battle were too severe for him.
Speaking of that Cursed Hand, Eiji contemplated whether he could defeat it—he was a hundred percent confident. As long as he materialized a hundred-meter-long light sword and charged forward in a furious slashing spree, he could absolutely dismember the Cursed Hand!
But the biggest problem was that he had to protect Norwich!
If Norwich couldn't be saved, everything else would be utterly useless!
That was precisely why he had come here!
If he were to slash recklessly with the light sword, the falling fragments of the Cursed Hand would undoubtedly shatter Norwich. Therefore, he had to rely on a powerful light cannon blast—even if it didn't shatter the hand, at the very least, he had to blast it far away from Norwich!
The strongest light cannon he possessed was the Reversed Holy Sword. Its power was immense, but its mana consumption was outrageously high!
If things continued this way, Norwich would still be destroyed!
"I refuse to believe it!"
The veins on the Dream Clone's forehead bulged violently.
"Just hold on a little longer—!"
Gritting his teeth, Eiji desperately whipped his spirit, squeezing out more mana from his nearly depleted body!
"Sir Galahad, please lend me your strength once more!"
Suddenly, a resolute shout broke into the battlefield.
"Noble Phantasm, deploy! That which heals all wounds, all resentment—our homeland! Manifest! The Distant Utopia of Camelot (Lord Camelot)—!!"
A chalk-white castle, impervious to all impurity and sin, appeared before Eiji's eyes.
A massive illusory fortress, as if summoned from a distant shore, descended upon this place!
A phantom-like shield was erected in the sky, its indestructible form seemingly capable of blocking even a meteor piercing through the earth!
"Mr. Eiji, leave this to me!"
Mash, gripping her cross shield, appeared before Eiji.
"No!"
Mash's arrival was a tremendous help. The power of her shield would earn cheers from any player who had experienced the Crown Singularity of the Grand Temple of Time.
As long as her heart remained unbroken, it would not bend to any force!
After her journey through the Fairy Kingdom, it seemed she had finally regained the strength she had lost during the previous Lostbelt expedition!
"This monster must be defeated by me!"
But Eiji firmly stopped her.
"Help me hold off that monster—just for a little while. I'll be back soon!"
"Mr. Eiji…?"
Mash was astonished.
She couldn't understand.
Why would Eiji, always the most rational and big-picture-minded, become so stubborn at a time like this?
"I understand. I will hold him off while you regroup and return!"
Yet Mash resolutely agreed.
Because it was Eiji who had taught her never to run away no matter what. She believed he wasn't the type to act recklessly.
Eiji instantly released the Dream Clone.
The pitch-black pillar of Aurora vanished from the ground in the blink of an eye.
A massive monstrous shadow descended from the sky, crashing down like a genuine meteor above the illusory fortress!
"Ugh…! So heavy!"
An overwhelming pressure struck, sending Mash flying back nearly a hundred meters before she barely managed to halt her momentum, raising her shield with all her might!
Though it was already close to the ground, the Cursed Hand was blocked by the chalk-white castle. As if enraged beyond reason, it immediately intensified its force.
"Mash, no matter what, you must hold it back!"
The figure of an orange-haired girl appeared behind Mash, offering her the utmost support.
"Yes, Senpai… By the way, I think I saw a light?"
With the support from her senior, Mash's heart grew even more pure.
Yet, she soon became puzzled.
"There really is a light, coming from the direction of the city!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka looked back.
A colossal radiance spanned the heavens and the earth.
It was not the ominous black Aurora, like a curse.
Instead, it was the starlight breath—a warrior's true brilliance, as if capable of extinguishing all darkness and curses!