Fire fell from the sky.
Endlessly, it fell.
RUMBLE───
KRAKABOOM!
The relentless firestorms scorched the ground without mercy.
Flames rose like karmic infernos.
"That's…"
Tatiana Belov stopped her silent hovering bike as she gazed at the scene.
The explosion she saw now was what she had come across after following the voices whispering in her ears without pause.
'That's…'
It wasn't just the explosion.
Even from afar, the shadow of a colossal beast confirmed that something was happening there.
[KIIIIEEEEEEE───!]
All kinds of monstrous cries and blasts echoed forth.
The ground shook as though the heavens were collapsing, and the rising blaze summoned black clouds.
GUUUUUUUUUUUUU────
Naturally, Tatiana sensed a connection between the ether whispers that had drawn her and the explosion before her.
'I have to go…'
Just as she instinctively moved her hovering bike forward—
Sergei, the field leader by her side, stepped in front of her.
"Tatiana, going any further is too dangerous. This area… it looks like it's within the Church of Morte's territory."
"The Church of Morte?"
"Yeah."
If it was the Church's domain, even the Belov Family couldn't simply trespass.
Not because they feared them, but because they were repulsed.
Those deranged fanatics… meddling with them carelessly could lead to all sorts of trouble.
"The Capo also said to avoid conflict with the Church of Morte."
"…The Capo?"
Within the Belov Family, Capo Anton Belov's orders were absolute.
Even Tatiana, as the formal successor of the family, could not easily oppose them.
'But…'
For some reason, she felt compelled to go there.
It wasn't merely because of the blazing fires or the voice that called her.
"..."
The decision didn't take long.
Tatiana made up her mind.
"You all return to the Ark."
"What are you saying? Are you not coming back, Tatiana?"
"I have something to do."
"What is it?"
"Something that must be done."
Sergei's eyes thinned.
"I can't allow that. You're the legitimate successor of the family. You have to come back with us."
"Sergei, what's our goal?"
"Vendetta."
"Exactly. And I want that too."
The blaze reflected in Tatiana's eyes.
Sergei felt as if her very eyes were set ablaze.
"…You're serious?"
"Yeah."
"…Hah…"
Sergei let out a deep sigh.
Between Capo's order and the vendetta…
It was hard to decide which weighed more.
But one thing was certain.
"You've made up your mind, haven't you?"
"I have."
"…Got it. Then let's go."
"…You're coming with me?"
Sergei nodded.
"We're family."
* * *
Could what was happening on the surface even be called war?
This was slaughter.
An utterly one-sided massacre.
KRAKABOOM───!
KRRASH! KRRRRUMBLE!
Even for the Church of Morte's branch, led by the Bishop of Earth, standing against Ouroboros under such a relentless barrage was no easy feat.
Especially when the bombardment ignored all known material limits and poured down endlessly.
In hindsight, it was only natural.
Unlike Ark, the Church of Morte's branches weren't built to defend against the invasion of beasts and monsters.
They were built to integrate and harmonize with the surrounding environment.
So, while they possessed a certain degree of defensive capability, they were notably weak when it came to defending against Wave-class or regional lord-class creatures.
Among them, the Earth branch—where the Bishop of Earth resided—had slightly stronger defenses than others.
But the problem was the opponent.
[KIIIIEEEEEEEE───!]
Enraged, Ouroboros rampaged violently, massacring the followers of the Church and tearing through everything.
The Church's followers, refusing to go down quietly, poured out every blessing they could muster to resist.
But the enemy was Ouroboros.
"GUAARGH!"
"O Great Will, why…?"
"Ooooh… I shall soon join you…"
Some zealots believed their current suffering was divine martyrdom.
But even among fanatics, most could not overcome the primal instinct to survive.
No surprise—after all, many of them had joined the Church of Morte in hopes of surviving this harsh world.
'Where is the Bishop?'
Despite the chaos, there was no sign of the Bishop of Earth.
If he had stepped forward, Ouroboros would at least have been partially restrained.
'Did he expend too much strength earlier? No… the Bishop I know wouldn't be spent by something like that.'
I knew the Bishop of Earth.
The one I knew wouldn't tuck his tail and flee in a situation like this.
That could only mean he was plotting something—some countermeasure to turn the situation around.
'Hmph.'
What I desired was for the Bishop and the followers to unite and face Ouroboros head-on.
Yet, his refusal to act meant he was searching for another way.
Which meant I had to find him and cut off that path.
'Esther… is still asleep.'
I tried calling for Esther, but there was no response.
If she were awake, she could've searched out the bishop through the ether.
But alas, she had spent too much power and had fallen into deep slumber.
She could not be relied on now.
'Still, even without Esther, there are other ways.'
The easiest way to rid yourself of fleas is to burn the entire thatch house down.
And if the fleas don't come out after that, you flip the earth.
I pulled out the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher and the ICE-54 Plasma Cooler from my coat and lowered Horus's altitude.
"Let's go."
[Ki-het!]
Crimson beams and freezing air surged toward the ground, sweeping across the Church's followers.
KRAKAKAKAKAKA───!
Perhaps it was because this wasn't really a war, but rather a massacre.
Or perhaps it was because of the very real threat of Ouroboros right in front of them.
In any case, very few eyes—or attacks—turned my way.
Meaning, I could ride Horus freely through the sky, devastating the Church.
'With this, I've become the Church of Morte's perfect enemy.'
No matter how many I slaughtered, a few rats would always escape.
And thus, word of me would spread—across other Church branches, to other bishops, and even to archbishops and cardinals.
'From here on, it'll be a real war.'
The full power of the Church of Morte was massive—on par with the Ark.
In sheer numbers, it might even surpass the Ark.
Making them my enemy meant inevitable clashes ahead.
'Well, it was only a matter of time.'
Until now, I'd intentionally avoided direct conflict with the Church.
When I did strike, it was against smaller branches, carefully minimizing the fallout.
But now the situation had changed.
I needed to open trade routes, including the Silk Road episode involving the Ark.
And for that, I'd inevitably have to clash with the Church.
'Hmm?'
As I lost myself in thought—
RUMBLE───!
A lightning bolt struck from the sky, crashing down upon me through the storm clouds.
Lightning travels at roughly 100,000 km/s. Not even I could react in time.
KRAKAKRAKRAKRAKROOOM────!
[Ki-hehehe-hek!]
What…?
What just happened?
The sheer power of the bolt nearly blew my mind away.
No—surviving a direct strike from lightning was a miracle in itself.
SSSSSSSS…
The stench of burning flesh filled my nose.
A searing pain raged across my body.
Luckily, Janus had instinctively reacted, sparing me a direct hit.
But my skin felt like it was melting.
"Damn it…"
So that's why the Bishop had vanished.
He'd been setting this up.
I recognized this.
This wasn't just Lightning's Blessing—it was Thunderbolt's Blessing, a superior version.
Lightning's Blessing was granted to priests.
Thunderbolt's Blessing belonged to bishops.
Meaning, the Bishop of Earth had called for help—from another bishop.
"Ghkk…"
I felt like I'd die if I lingered any longer, so I opened the [Rift Space] and pulled out a canteen of Lifewater.
GULP, GULP—
SPLASH…
As I drank and poured it over my body, fresh flesh began to regenerate.
Truly, it was life-saving.
[Ki-ik…]
Horus and Janus hadn't escaped unscathed either, having taken direct hits.
But true to their rank, they hadn't been taken out in a single blow.
[Ki-ik…]
[Ki-ek! Ki-ek!]
No—if anything, they were enraged.
'A proud bishop asking another for help… he must see this as a real crisis.'
Which made sense.
Their branch was under attack by Ouroboros—a regional lord.
And it was clearly orchestrated by someone.
Even a bishop would run out of options.
'With the distance between branches, reinforcements will take time… the problem is that Thunderbolt's Blessing.'
Where Earth's Blessing was about shaping terrain, Thunderbolt's Blessing was raw destruction.
In terms of sheer offensive power, it was one of the highest-tier bishop blessings.
'Even I can't take too many direct hits like that.'
Janus and Horus might endure a few more strikes.
But I was still, at the core, human.
All I could do now was increase my defenses with Janus and rely on Horus's evasive flight.
'But even Horus might not dodge a properly aimed Thunderbolt…'
There was no time to deliberate.
If I couldn't dodge lightning in the sky—
Then there was only one option.
"Horus."
[Ki-het!]
Gripping Horus's bone reins, I dove straight to the ground.
At the same time, Janus and Horus extended their bone tendrils—forming a shape like a giant drill.
From a distance, it looked like two bone parasites had fused into one.
'Dig in.'
If I couldn't dodge the lightning in the sky—
Then I'd just hide underground.
KRAKABOOM!
And thus, the massive bone drill formed by Horus and Janus tore into the earth.