A back view she knew all too well.
The back she had searched for so desperately.
And finally, the back she now faced.
"Turncoat… Pawn."
Tatiana couldn't understand it.
She couldn't grasp why the Turncoat Pawn, whom she had sought so ardently, suddenly appeared before her—
Much less why he now stood in front of her as if to protect her.
'…Coincidence?'
No.
There were too many things that didn't add up for that.
The Turncoat Pawn had no reason to save her—
Or the Belov Family, for that matter.
Not if it meant standing before something as monstrous as the Ouroboros.
"What… are you doing?"
That's why she asked.
But no answer came.
SKREEEEEEE!
With a shriek, the injured Ouroboros rampaged.
"Brace for the backlash!"
At Sergei's shout, the family members deployed Level 5 camouflage barriers.
Though some had been damaged from earlier, they were still enough to block the storm winds spawned by the thrashing Ouroboros.
KRA-KOOM! KRA-KRA-KOOM!
The howling wind battered against the outer shields of the barriers relentlessly.
Tatiana stared blankly past the flapping veil of the barrier.
"How is this… possible…"
The Turncoat Pawn who had stood before her now faced off against the Ouroboros.
Foolishly enough, Tatiana felt a strange sense of relief watching his back.
Even she couldn't explain it.
"Tatiana, snap out of it."
"Why, why, why, why, why, why…"
"Tatiana!"
She had risked everything—even death.
No, perhaps she had actually longed for death.
She must have.
And yet, gazing at the Turncoat Pawn's back, she felt a surge of reassurance that she would not die.
'…Fool.'
It was laughable.
Absolutely laughable.
SKREEEEEEEEE!
Meanwhile, the battle between the Ouroboros and the Turncoat Pawn had begun in earnest.
CRACK, CRACK, CRAAAAACK…!
A massive bone began to sprout from the Turncoat Pawn's hand.
Like a tree extending its branches.
Endlessly, continuously.
Before long, the gigantic bone spear flew straight and struck the Ouroboros.
ROOOOOAAAR!
With a deafening blast, bone fragments scattered in all directions.
Though the great spear hadn't pierced the creature's scales, it was evident the impact had dealt significant damage—
Enough to make the Ouroboros thrash.
SKRAAAAAH!
At a glance, it seemed like the two weren't even fighting on the same level.
And yet, the Turncoat Pawn darted through the air, weaving attacks that caused the massive beast to falter each time.
Which meant—his attacks were actually working.
'…This is insane.'
According to the Ark's assessments, the Turncoat Pawn was a dangerous beast, yes—
But not one that could threaten the very fate of the Ark.
That was why, even when the Turncoat Pawn had attacked the Navy Line alongside the Turncoat Knight, no casualties had been reported.
But what was she seeing now?
'He's overpowering the Ouroboros—a Regional Lord.'
Granted, the creature's massive size made it hard to retaliate effectively.
So, overpowering might not be the most accurate term.
Still, at least from Tatiana's perspective, the Turncoat Pawn showed no signs of being crushed by the Ouroboros.
His strength was uncanny—
Utterly foreign.
"What… are you?"
Tatiana couldn't understand.
What the Turncoat Pawn was.
What his goals were.
Or why he had saved her.
"..."
She did not know.
And likely never would.
* * *
SHHHHHHHHHHHK─!
The Ouroboros thrashed and spewed venom in all directions.
Among its various attacks, this was perhaps the only one that could deal meaningful harm to me.
Not that it matters.
Dodging the venom raining down was all but impossible.
So, I raised Janus's bone tentacles, weaving them into a massive umbrella.
SHHHHHHHH!
Venom fell like rain.
I could feel Janus's bone tentacles dissolving under the acid, but not a single drop reached me.
'A bit earlier than planned… but no real difference.'
Even if Tatiana Belov's appearance made me enter the fight sooner than expected, the target remained the same.
Ouroboros had to be taken down here.
The process might have shifted, but the result was unchanged.
'Well then—shall we?'
While fending off the downpour of venom, I stretched out my left hand.
CRACK, CRACK, CRAAAAACK───!
Janus's tentacles began to shudder and converge.
A colossal bone spear.
A massive weapon I had prepared specifically for the Ouroboros.
'Heavy as hell, as expected.'
Even with Ether reinforcement, supporting such a massive spear using just myself and Janus was no easy feat.
But I now stood atop the Ouroboros's head.
In this situation, my job wasn't to throw it—
Just to sever the tentacle holding it.
"Choke on this."
The colossal spear, loosed from my hand, plummeted straight to the ground.
Its sheer mass and gravitational potential converted instantly into overwhelming destructive force.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE───!
A catastrophe fell from the sky.
The Ouroboros didn't even have time to dodge before the giant bone spear struck.
KRRRAAAAAAACK────!
With a tremendous boom, bone shards exploded outward.
Given the spear's size, the fragments scattered were both massive and numerous.
SKREEEEEEEK───!
Howling in pain, the Ouroboros writhed.
Its scales might still be intact—
But the sheer weight and velocity alone were enough to deal effective damage.
'Just as I thought. Weakened.'
The Earth branch.
One of the few high-ranking branches led by a bishop of the Church of Morte—
Its available power had clearly been enough to threaten the Ouroboros.
To prove that fact, the movement of the Ouroboros now felt clearly different from before.
Even though the Ouroboros had tough scales and a massive, sturdy body, it had clearly taken considerable damage.
'If the Bishop of Earth hadn't died, we could've inflicted even more damage… but that's too late now.'
There was no point in dwelling on the already dead Bishop of Earth.
Now was the time to focus on what lay ahead.
I quickly scanned the state of the battlefield.
'The remaining followers of Morte… can be considered practically annihilated.'
The assault of the Ouroboros.
The bombardment from the skies.
The death of the Bishop of Earth.
The earthquakes caused by the shockwave.
All of those factors had come together, and the once-impenetrable upper division of Church of Morte, known as the Earth Division, had finally crumbled.
With this, Church of Morte would now have no choice but to move in earnest.
'Well, that's something to worry about later…'
For now, I had to deal with the Ouroboros in front of me.
'From here on out, it's a battle of attrition.'
There were still eyes watching, so I couldn't use firearms—but that didn't matter.
To take on the wounded and exhausted Ouroboros, Janus alone would be more than enough.
'Let's go.'
[Giiik!]
From Janus's entire body, bone tendrils burst out with terrifying momentum.
As if a beast were trying to swell its body size.
Then, those massive bone tendrils began concentrating around the tail.
['Wave Sweep' has been activated.]
Janus's enormous tail swung and slammed into the Ouroboros.
KA-AAAAANG!
A deafening Sweep rang out—so thunderous it was hard to believe it came from bone clashing against scale—and sparks flew.
Though shattered bone fragments scattered everywhere, it didn't matter.
That much could be regenerated anytime.
'Janus.'
With my call, Janus regenerated his bone tail and swung it again and again.
['Wave Sweep' has been activated.]
['Wave Sweep' has been activated.]
['Wave Sweep' has been activated.]
.
.
.
['Wave Sweep' has been activated.]
Sweep!
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
Perhaps agitated by the relentless assault, the Ouroboros suddenly opened its massive jaws wide.
KEEEEIIII!
And spewed out venom.
Just as I already knew, for all its size and strength, the Ouroboros had remarkably simple attack patterns.
'Still, even that was plenty threatening.'
If this were the Ark, even it would've taken significant damage in trying to fight the Ouroboros.
That's how much area-of-effect damage the Ouroboros could deal. And its monstrous size and terrifyingly tough scales only matched that brutality.
'But this isn't the Ark.'
This was not the Ark.
No matter how much havoc the Ouroboros wreaked or how much venom it sprayed, the only casualty here would be the Church of Morte's division.
Even if it was adept at fighting against many, if it couldn't take down just me, then it was meaningless.
KEEEEEEEEEEEEEE───!
With each thrash of the Ouroboros, the terrain shifted and the earth's surface flipped over.
But it was all meaningless.
'Let's do this.'
I maneuvered the Wings of Ankelenth in a zigzag, then headed straight for the ground.
To deliver a proper hit to the Ouroboros, I felt the need to use a larger skill.
KAAAAAAAAH!
The moment I descended from the skies—where I'd been darting around—just as if it had been waiting, the Ouroboros charged at me.
Its massive body rushed toward me at astounding speed, but I didn't hesitate for a second.
'Janus.'
[Giiik!]
Janus's bone tendrils stretched out in countless numbers, all burrowing deep underground.
Crunch, cruuunch───!
One, two, ten, twenty, a hundred…
Just how many bone tendrils had pierced into the ground?
The Ouroboros, now right in front of me, opened its maw as if it would devour me in one gulp.
"You're too late, pal."
That was the signal.
Just before the Ouroboros lunged at me—almost as if on cue—massive bone spikes erupted from beneath the earth.
['Needle Spike' has been activated.]
BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!
The countless bone spikes that shot up battered and pierced the scales of the Ouroboros.
As expected of a technique used by Turncoat King, it had an enormous range and was highly effective against colossal monsters like the Ouroboros.
'Still not enough.'
I didn't stop there.
Even though Needle Spike was indeed effective against massive beasts, the Ouroboros was just too durable to be finished off with that alone.
'I've bought enough time.'
Thanks to the direct hit from Needle Spike, the Ouroboros was now writhing in pain.
I wasn't about to miss this opportunity.
[Giigit…!]
The bone spikes from Needle Spike began to tremble violently.
Then they slowly began to swell.
Like leaves.
Bloom.
Flowers made of bone began to blossom.
KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE────!
The Ouroboros thrashed violently, trying desperately to shake off the blooming petals—but it was all in vain.
Once the blooming started, it couldn't be stopped.
Not even by a monstrous being called the region's master.
"This is the end."
Full Bloom.
The bone petals that bloomed sky-high all spread open at once, engulfing everything in the area.