Mydei wearily pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a deep sigh. "This city is mine by right. Everything here... if you truly want it, take it. However..."
His tone shifted, becoming grave and filled with killing intent. "Before that, we must first accomplish our original objective—to completely vanquish Nikador!"
...
The air was thick with an aura of madness and strife. The shattered ruins of a temple lay sprawled like the skeleton of a giant beast.
Mydei, the Crown Prince of Castrum Kremnos, stepped through the Infinity Gate with heavy, resolute strides.
His gaze was locked onto the massive, twisted, constantly writhing, regenerating, non-human form exuding a suffocating pressure ahead—
That was his people's former faith, now utterly fallen to the Black Tide, the Titan of Strife, Nikador.
Mydei took a deep breath, gathering all his strength. His voice erupted like rolling thunder:
"Decayed god! Face me! Meet your end!"
"I am a son of Castrum Kremnos, a Chrysos Heir of prophecy! I bring you the fairest price—"
He spread his arms wide, his voice rising to its peak, each word ringing like a hammer on the anvil of fate:
"One thousand of my scars and one hundred of my lives! In exchange for your glorious death in epic song!"
The echoes of his epic, sacrificial battle cry had barely faded. Mydei, maintaining his tragic posture, turned slightly to warn his two companions behind him:
"Phainon, Phaethon! The enemy is Nikador—the Undying Titan! His power is far from ordinary! Stay behind me as much as possible! I share His blessing of immortality. Let me serve as the sturdiest—"
His words cut off abruptly.
Because the scene before him was utterly different from what he had envisioned—his companions poised for battle or tense with readiness.
Phaethon... wasn't even looking at the terrifying God-King.
He was busy quietly opening a slightly smaller Infinity Gate not far behind everyone.
And the other end of the gate clearly connected to a rich quarry area near Castrum Kremnos!
Phaethon was gesturing with his hands, his eyes gleaming, completely focused on manipulating another Infinity Gate.
Countless shimmering, strange-glowing ores were being seized by an invisible force, transforming into streams that rushed eagerly into the Infinity Gate, swallowed and transported to who-knows-where.
Phaethon's expression was that of a miser who had discovered mountains of gold and silver. Where was even a trace of tension befitting a confrontation with the Titan of Strife?
"Uh... Phaethon?" Mydei's tragic expression froze on his face, his voice cracking with thick bewilderment. "You... what are you doing?!"
Phaethon didn't even look back, redoubling his efforts to "move the goods" while replying in a matter-of-fact tone: "This? This is all good stuff. We're about to retreat. Of course we need to relocate the spoils first."
"Retreat? We are retreating?" Mydei was dumbfounded.
Phaethon opened an Infinity Gate leading back to Okhema behind them and said:
"Of course! Look, the enemy's position is confirmed, the pre-battle taunt ritual is complete."
"You know my 'casting style.' Against an opponent of this level, of course we need to retreat to a safe distance for a firepower strike."
Only then did Phaethon spare a glance at Mydei, his eyes full of confusion.
"What? Did you actually intend to honor that 'one thousand scars and one hundred lives' deal and play a game of mutual destruction with Him? The cost-effectiveness is way too low, brother."
"But... but..." Mydei was momentarily speechless, feeling the heroic, tragic spirit in his chest was about to choke him to death.
He had even mentally prepared to run a marathon in the River Styx while trading blows with Nikador!
And now his teammate was telling him: Forget the marathon, let's just cancel the whole competition?
"Alright, Mydeimos." Phainon sighed helplessly beside him, trying to comfort his comrade whose worldview was being shattered. "Phaethon's, uh... 'combat style'... you've experienced it. Trust me, in this situation, if we actually charged in to engage Nikador in close combat, we wouldn't be helping. We'd just be limiting his effectiveness."
"..." Mydei felt an indescribable sense of frustration and gloom, stuck in his chest.
This was nothing like the glorious, epic, flesh-and-blood showdown with a fallen Titan he had imagined!
This was... this was cheating! It was a desecration of Castrum Kremnos's honor!
But looking at Phainon's utterly serious eyes, and recalling Phaethon's methods of attack, he had to admit—Damn it, that makes perfect sense!
With this humanoid walking artillery platform present, getting in close for melee combat did seem like asking for unnecessary risk and potential trauma.
"But... but," Mydei made one last struggle, trying to preserve some shred of warrior's dignity, "there's no need to retreat all the way back to Okhema, is it? That's too far! Watching from the outskirts of Castrum Kremnos... should... should be safe from the fallout, right? At least... let me witness the conclusion of this battle with my own eyes?"
This was his final stubborn insistence. He wanted to witness Nikador's end, even if in a less-than-"glorious" manner.
Phaethon finally finished "cleaning out" the most essential ores from that quarry area, satisfied as he closed the Infinity Gate.
He turned around, looking at Mydei as if he were an idiot. "What are you thinking? The opponent is a Titan who's literally called 'Undying'! Conventional attacks would be like giving Him a light massage. Of course we need a permanent solution, something serious."
As he spoke, he casually snapped his fingers. The authorities of "Earth" and "Law" combined to suppress the Black Tide-corrupted Titan.
"I've prepared a 'big surprise' for Him," Phaethon said as casually as if discussing tonight's dinner. "I started preparing it before we even entered Castrum Kremnos... hmm, I've been preparing for about two hours now."
"T-two hours?!" Phainon's face instantly changed color upon hearing this.
He knew Phaethon too well! This guy who normally used spells as basic attacks, whose skill rotation had no concept of "cooldown," was suddenly saying he needed a two-hour-plus cast time for a skill?!
*(Phainon: I might not understand Nikador, but I certainly understand Phaethon!)*
"Go! Go! Go! Mydei! Stop looking! Get moving!"
Phainon made an immediate decision, casting aside any concerns about warrior's honor or a stubborn desire to spectate.
He grabbed the still-dazed Mydei and practically dragged him towards the Infinity Gate leading to Okhema, already offering two seconds of silent mourning in his heart for the ill-fated Titan of the Kremnoan people.