“No…it can’t be…!”
As Sheto looked up, the burning despair began to spill down. It started as a red speck, then swelled until it was large enough to blot out the black void itself.
“Embraced by unseen arms, let love and hatred shatter and pour down as rain.”
“We are out of time! It is coming!”
The enemy raised their shields in unison, and the startled monsters scattered frantically while looking up.
“Bloom and fall to ruin. Blazing Star of Flame.”
And then the sky split apart.
The flaming star, now like a second sun, shattered into fragments and rained down upon the earth.
With a heavy thud, something crashed down next to Sheto.
“Ah, huh?”
The goblin who had been standing there was looking dumbly at his chest.
“My, body. A hole, open.”
A moment later, the wound flared into a blaze. And without even letting out a cry, he died.
One after another, the dull, heavy sounds echoed around Sheto as the fragments slammed into the ground.
“Ahhhh! Gaahhh!”
“Ru-run!!”
The scorching fireballs rained down without end. The ground ignited, kicking up clouds of dust as countless craters gouged out the earth.
‘Anything will do! Get behind cover! If there is none, hide behind the corpses!’
“That is madness! There is nothing here big enough to protect me!”
With a sudden motion, Berganda tore away the vines that had been binding him. He then threw his body over Sheto to shield him.
“I-idiot! If you do that, you will…”
“I do not care! I will obey the Demon King’s order, even if it costs me my own life!”
‘Sheto! Use the blessings on Berganda! Hurry!’
At Salia’s voice, he poured every ounce of strength into layering the protective blessings. Even as he worked, the fragments of falling stars continued to slam around them, burning everything in their path.
‘That bastard… So he is willing to throw caution to the wind… In spite of the control he has and with the magicians in his tercio…’
The Dragon God muttered bitterly as he glanced toward the retreating Hero’s army. The magical stars were falling not only upon the Demon King’s forces, but on the Hero’s army as well.
‘Such siege sorcery is meant to be used from afar, after days of rituals, in order to strike fortresses and enemy strongholds. Even if it was adapted for use on a battlefield, unleashing it in the middle of such chaos is like dropping cluster bombs!’
The Dragon God roared with anger, and the earth shook. But Sheto could pay it no mind as he continued to cast the blessings.
And then suddenly, the rain of stars ended.
A strange heat hung in the air. And when he finally looked around, most of the monsters nearby were riddled with holes or were burned black and collapsed on the ground.
“Ah…ah…damn it!”
“A-are you alright!”
Still, with the power of the blessings accepted, the Demon General breathed hard as he rose.
“How many times is it now? That you have saved me!”
“It is same, for me too! What of the others!”
“Shit. What a terrible sight…”
A short distance away, Udik, his entire body scorched, was crouching. The ogres capable of using magic had survived by stacking enhancement and defensive spells, but they still suffered severe burns.
“Salia! How is, everyone!?”
‘…It is terrible. The front units have been wiped out, save for those around you. The Fang Riders on both flanks and the lizardmen have taken heavy losses as well.’
‘But the enemy’s advance has stalled for now. Break through their lines and fall back!’
Sheto quickly stood up and tried to run on the ground still covered with fire.
“As I said, you must stick with me!”
“Ahhh!? I, not baggage!”
Berganda suddenly snatched him off of the ground and began to run again. The ogres began to follow. Like that, the distance between them and the enemy closed in the blink of an eye.