I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 803

The Rompeller siblings were also Avatars, capable of borrowing the power of their race’s god.

Even though they were not yet accustomed to the power they had inherited, and the supply of magical energy from the spirit realm to the real world was weakening-

“Uwaaaah!”

They could still exert enough power to survive the fall.

The two siblings created a water cushion beneath the Blue Pearl, and although the ship crashed heavily onto the ground, the impact was dispersed.

“Everyone, abandon ship!”

Lukas shouted, gathering the crew members who were staggering from the shock of the crash.

“Abandon ship! Hurry!”

However, the faces of those who hurriedly escaped the ship were soon filled with despair.

“Ah… ahh…”

“Hee, hee hee hee!”

She was approaching.

The ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’.

The Blue Pearl had crashed near the center of the battlefield. The distance to the castle walls wasn’t that far, but for the crew members struggling from the impact of the crash, it felt like a thousand miles.

And the master of nightmares was closing the distance with light steps.

The Rompeller siblings gritted their teeth, pulling out their daggers and pistols.

“Damn it, is this the end…?”

“I wanted to cause a little more chaos…”

“…”

Lukas, pushing the injured soldiers behind him, stepped forward with a grim face and placed his hand on his waist.

It was then.

《…?》

The gaze of the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’, who had been staring at the crew of the Blue Pearl, suddenly shifted.

Towards the Crossroad’s castle walls, no-

Towards an artifact installed on top of it.

The artifact, made of a large metal plate, was reflecting the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ perfectly on its smooth surface.

The red-haired senior mage, Lily, who had her hand on the artifact, shouted forcefully.

“[Start Over From the Beginning]-!”

The artifact, [Start Over From the Beginning].

Its effect was to forcibly teleport the target, whose entire body was captured within the metal plate, to the edge of the southern plains of Crossroad.

Click-!

The sound of the artifact activating rang out, and the next moment.

Crack-!

A clear crack appeared on the metal plate.

It was the price for daring to handle an existence of a different dimension, one that could not be controlled.

The alchemists gritted their teeth and rushed forward, holding the trembling metal plate with their hands, pouring all their magical power into the artifact.

Due to the influence of the spirit realm’s closure, their own magical power supply was difficult, so they were barely managing to output power by connecting the artifact to a pre-charged magical power source, but it was unstable.

Crack, crack crack!

Like a glass mirror shattering, countless cracks spread across the metal plate. Even as their grips were torn by the broken metal fragments, everyone held on.

And-

“Fly away… youuuu!”

With Lily’s shout,

Clang-!

The entire metal plate warped and broke, and [Start Over From the Beginning!] was ultimately destroyed.

But it had finally completed its final mission.

Flash!

It had succeeded in teleporting the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ to the edge of the southern plains.

As the grim reaper, who had been right in front of them, suddenly moved far away, the crew of the Blue Pearl let out a collective cheer that sounded like a scream.

But it was too early to rejoice.

Thud thud thud thud-!

Since it was the hunting ground set by the master of nightmares, the monsters had been keeping their distance, but now that she had been flung to the edge of the battlefield.

The monsters no longer needed to hold back. They rushed in from all directions to tear apart the humans who had fallen into the middle of the battlefield.

And, if the master of nightmares was absent.

The human side also had no reason to hold back.

“Everyone, duck your heads-!”

With the shout of a stern old man, a terrifying pillar of fire soared around the Blue Pearl. Hundreds of monsters that were rushing towards the crew were instantly reduced to ashes.

When Lukas raised his head, he saw the Archmage of the Ivory Tower, Diermuidin, and the telekineticist, Baddieback, flying in to provide aid.

In the meantime, Diermuidin had been supporting the Sky Knights using the flight ability of his equipped gear, [Old Phoenix]. Baddieback was also supporting him with his telekinetic flight.

That was why they were able to come to their rescue in a timely manner.

“Let’s get out of here!”

The two mages grabbed the crew of the Blue Pearl and lifted them into the air, then transported them towards the castle walls.

The monsters did not give up and continued to swarm, but Baddieback bound them with a barrier, and Diermuidin burned them all to ashes.

“Thank you for the rescue, Diermuidin.”

Lukas expressed his gratitude. But Diermuidin shook his head.

“It’s not time to be optimistic, Sir Lukas. We no longer have any delaying tactics to use against the Lake Princess, do we?”

“…”

That was exactly right.

Now that the Blue Pearl had crashed and the delaying tactics held by the strike force had all been used up, there was no way to hold back the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ any longer.

[Start Over From the Beginning!] was a trump card that they had saved to use when the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ was right in front of the castle walls, but it had also been used up.

“That artifact too, instead of just flinging her to the edge of the southern plains of Crossroad, it should have flung her all the way to the entrance of the Black Lake. How petty.”

Diermuidin grumbled, but Lukas was grateful for [Start Over From the Beginning!].

In the previous battle, and in this battle, how much time had that artifact bought them? The only delaying tactic that had pushed back that powerful enemy commander this much was [Start Over From the Beginning!].

But it was used up and broken.

Now, there were no more delaying tactics, no more stopgap measures left to use against the enemy commander.

“We can somehow hold back the other monsters, but that Lake Princess… even the sturdiest castle walls cannot withstand her.”

“…”

“If there are no more delaying tactics, then Crossroad will also…”

“No.”

Lukas, taking a deep breath, glared with his bright blue eyes.

“There is.”

“What…?”

Upon reaching the castle walls, Lukas released himself from Diermuidin’s flight magic and dropped to the ground.

Thud!

Standing in front of the castle gate, Lukas glared south with his bright blue eyes.

“The rest of you, reorganize your ranks on the castle walls and reinforce the defense of the main castle.”

“What about Sir Lukas?”

“To me.”

Lukas slowly drew the two swords from his waist and held them in both hands.

“I have a way to stop that monster.”

Far away- the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’, who had been flung to the edge of the southern plains, barely within sight from Crossroad, was quickly approaching again.

At her original slow speed, it would have taken a considerable amount of time, but her movements, with her burnt dress fluttering, had become dazzlingly fast.

Were the outer gods, who were manipulating and playing with her, feeling impatient?

“…”

Lukas calmly composed his rising breath.

Before he knew it, the magical energy in the atmosphere was scarce.

As the magical power he had been using as naturally as breathing his entire life became insufficient, Lukas suddenly felt small. It was as if the muscles in his entire body were disappearing and shrinking.

But Lukas decided not to be afraid.

Because he knew that those monsters, and that Lake Princess, were also experiencing the same… or perhaps even greater loss than this.

Also, because this loss was proof that the lord’s plan was being executed properly.

Instead, he decided to believe.

In the body he had honed his entire life, in his senses, in his swordsmanship, in his efforts.

In his comrades who were fighting in every place.

And- in himself.

Whoosh-!

A golden aura began to flow from Lukas’s entire body.

[Full Body Manifestation].

In this world where magical power was waning, perhaps his last use of his ultimate technique.

At the same time, a pale flash began to form on the holy sword [Excalibur] held in Lukas’s left hand.

It was the light of divinity.

Lukas himself did not know, but.

In many previous iterations, Lukas had fought against the Demon King in place of Ash.

When Ash had broken down after too many regressions, and had often lost his ego and died immediately after being appointed to Crossroad.

In those iterations, Lukas had led Crossroad as the acting lord, as the adversary of nightmares, as the protagonist.

Just as Aider had acted in place of the broken Ash, Lukas had acted in place of the broken Ash.

After Ash continued the game of destruction by adding other personalities to himself, the opportunity for Lukas to take on such a role never came again.

But surely, Lukas was the proxy of the proxy of the player.

In other words-

He had the ‘qualification’.

The qualification to reach the divine position. The qualification to fight against the Demon King and his nightmare forces. The qualification to fight representing this world.

It was engraved in the soul of the knight.

“…”

At the same time.

The blade of the sword held in Lukas’s right hand, [Bestowed Sword], began to glow blue.

The violent instinct sealed within Lukas’s own heart.

The power of the beast.

A shameful past that he wanted to ignore, but would not disappear. The driving force of that regret.

He decided to accept even that willingly.

“Haaaah…”

A white breath escaped from Lukas’s lips.

At the same time, the pale light of [Excalibur] and the blue light of [Bestowed Sword] began to melt into the golden aura emanating from Lukas’s body.

‘Divinization’ and ‘Beastification’ were opposing concepts. Completely incompatible.

They were not qualities that could be contained together in one body.

But Lukas was managing to handle them simultaneously. He was neutralizing the two qualities, not being consumed by divinity, not being devoured by beastliness, and walking the middle path between them.

“I am human.”

Lukas, who had murmured, slowly brought the two swords together in front of his chest.

Clack, clack, clack!

The two swords transformed and merged into one.

The [Bestowed Sword], which was only a hilt, clung to the lower part of the hilt of [Excalibur], emitting magical lightning.

At the same time, the separated guard parts also emitted magical lightning and moved up along the hilt of [Excalibur], attaching to the guard of [Excalibur].

And,

Thwack-!

Following the white blade of the holy sword, where a pale light had formed, a stream of blue light surged.

The blade of light of [Bestowed Sword] surged out, swirling and enveloping the blade of [Excalibur].

The white and blue aura, a combination of divinity and beastliness, soon subsided into a calm golden color.

EX-grade weapon, [Towards the Stars (Ad Astra)].

This weapon, which was so unstable that it could only be used for a limited time, was now held calmly in Lukas’s hand without wavering.

Because its master had solidified his own heart.

The weapon had also found peace between the two swirling forces.

“I am the master of my fate, choosing my path with my own will…”

The pale light of divinity and the blue light of the beast had completely merged into a golden aura.

Looking straight ahead with unwavering eyes, Lukas asked.

“What about you, Nameless?”

Before he knew it, the master of nightmares was within reach.

Bound by the gazes of the outer gods, creaking like a marionette- the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ was shot straight forward.

Lukas took a deep breath.

“Don’t let them decide your fate…”

A dark sword formed in the hand of the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’. A dark greatsword, incomparably larger than anything before, was swung fiercely.

In response, Lukas swung [Towards the Stars] honestly.

Whispering softly with all his heart.

“…Don’t let them decide.”

The dark sword and the sword of light collided.

There was no sound, but instead, a tremendous shockwave spread in all directions.

Darkness and light swirled, and the battlefield was devastated. The monsters standing in the area all vomited blood and collapsed, and the entire Crossroad castle wall shook greatly.

Whoooosh…

And, when the aftermath of the collision subsided.

“…”

Lukas had retreated more than ten steps from the point of impact.

Barely managing to plant the greatsword into the ground and slide backward, his back was almost touching the castle gate when he stopped with difficulty.

And, the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’.

《…….》

She had retreated one step from the point of impact.

While Lukas had retreated ten steps, she had only been pushed back one step.

The difference in power was clear. The ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ was overwhelmingly stronger.

However-

The outer gods, who were looking down at this scene and controlling the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’, were flustered.

No one.

In the countless repeated iterations, no one.

Not any ancient being, not any mythical monster, not any legendary hero, not any weapon that was the culmination of all human wisdom, nor any strategy or tactic devised by the wisest.

Nothing had ever faced her head-on and made her take a step back.

Perhaps it was the transmission of the outer gods’ agitation.

《…….》

For the first time.

The fingertips of the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’, who was holding the dark sword, trembled.

“…Until our lord returns.”

After spitting out blood-stained saliva to the side,

With bright blue eyes gleaming through his disheveled hair, Lukas gripped his sword again.

“You shall not pass here, Nameless.”