"Run!" Stencil shouted as she unleashed a multitude of abilities, destabilising her surroundings as Aronaut grabbed her and Gehera to teleport away.
Conjurer flashed into the area, hindered for the fraction of a second by Stencil's power as he failed to capture them on time, watching them disappear once again, "How many times has it been already?"
He groaned in irritation, chasing after Stencil in an effort to capture her. Aware that Compass Carburettor prioritised her safety above all, Conjurer intended to capture her and use her as a bargaining chip to deal a critical blow to the Main Character.
After all, he didn't just intend to win against Compass Carburettor but also use the other party's strength as the Main Character to better the development of the worlds under him. Even otherwise, just a conflict could result in his worlds sustaining damage, which he didn't wish to see happen.
After all, it made no sense if he won the war against Compass Carburettor but lost all the worlds under him in the process. Winning a war was of no use if he didn't gain benefits worthy of the effort.
Thump! Thump!
"Not again!" Conjurer grunted in annoyance, clutching his chest to feel his heart thumping in tension for some reason. For the past few months, this sensation had only grown stronger, confusing him.
Unfortunately for him, no matter what he did, Conjurer was unable to unearth any reasons for why he felt tensed all the time recently.
Unaware of Compass Carburettor's actions in his world, he thought it was an external impulse brought about by his failure to capture Stencil despite the three-year time ticking nonstop.
"I'll capture you, Stencil, no matter what." Saying so, he focused, riling up the powers of the worlds under him as he used the Conjurer profession to scan through the Fantasy World, locking onto her position once again before vanishing in response.
…
"He's coming!" Stencil shouted upon seeing her Happy-Go-Lucky Luck waver in response, hurriedly disseminating the power of her Skill-Breaker System.
Following that, Gehera took out a Magic Beast that she transformed into a totem to stab into the ground, causing it to unleash a mystical effect.
Aronaut grabbed them and teleported away right when Conjurer flashed into the area. Aronaut made a successful escape while Conjurer was stuck momentarily under the effects of the Skill-Breaker System and the totem pole that worked in conjunction.
Just as before, the same abilities were used to stall him for the fraction of a second necessary for them to escape.
Ever since Conjurer began to chase after them, the Aero Society had stopped functioning as everyone returned to the Relic. It seemed that when necessary, the entirety of the Aero Society could house themselves within the Relic.
The condition was that at least one of them should remain out to harness the power of the Relic. After all, the Relic was incapable of using its own powers. There should be someone to actuate it. And, Aronaut took charge of that, being the strongest in Aero Society.
With that, there were just three among the allies wandering about the Fantasy World: Aronaut, Stencil, and Gehera.
While they were busy running away from Conjurer, a certain someone's plans were proceeding without any hiccups.
…
Boom!
"My God…" Horan muttered in a daze, holding Lelumi Xetuka in a protective embrace as the figures of the two were bloody, surrounded by a mountain of corpses.
All four Saints of the Xetuka Kingdom were now dead. The case was the same for the Saints of the Giant Kingdom of Gormana, the Lizardmen Kingdom of Lethuna, and the Birdmen Kingdom of Burnak. All were dead, mutually killed by each other.
Following that, the majority of the people died as a result of the billowing hatred that continued to climb to unforeseen levels, one beyond what anyone could ever hope to douse.
"Is it…over?" Lelumi Xetuka muttered, staring at the over thousand humans that were alive now, all that was left in their capital city. If she gathered everyone in the Xetuka Kingdom, less than ten thousand humans would be alive.
This was what the war had resulted in their state.
"Mom…dad…" A Birdmen child wandered around the dilapidated surroundings, tear-struck as he failed to reign in his fear. He was barely ten years old, having laid witness to one of the, if not the most gruesome war to ever erupt in the Fantasy World.
"…hel…help…" The boy stopped all of a sudden, his wings expanding gradually to enact like a dome that allowed him to capture the sound waves better, hearing the shouts of someone asking for help.
"I'm coming!" He shouted in a hurry upon seeing the pleas originating from underneath the rubble of a building. The Birdmen boy grunted as his wings flapped in a flurry, barely lifting a tiny rubble that he chucked away.
He was just about to pick up another piece of rubble when suddenly, a gust of wind slammed into the rubble, turning it into a pungent goo. There were plenty of curses streaming about in the region, unleashed by the baleful intent of the Birdmen Witches moments before their deaths.
Therefore, these curses continued to plague the surroundings without rest. Moreover, they seemed to be strengthened by the sufferings of the people.
He was only a doctor as the Birdmen boy didn't have the strength to save the child stuck within. But an instant later, he bellowed, leaping into the way of a curse that seemed on the verge of attacking the child stuck underneath the rubble.
"Grahhh!" The curse seemed to originate from a Master, too powerful to endure. But the Birdmen boy persisted, covering himself with his wings that shone with a blinding radiance, healing himself at full swing.
Some of the feathers even slipped through the gaps between the rubble to heal the injured child within. Grunting in pain, the boy shouted, "Endure! I'll come to save you!"
His skin began to peel off under the effects of the curse. His feathers fell off while his hair wilted, causing his vitality to drop down. Warts popped all over his face, bursting to ooze out pus as the Birdmen boy hurriedly pulled out feathers from the corpse of a Birdmen nearby and created a beak to cover himself with.
And strangely, the moment he did so, the curse began to revolve around him before transforming into a mysterious force that lifted the rubble, allowing him to notice the Lizardmen child within, one that had lost its legs.
The Lizardmen child stared at the Birdmen boy, staring in a daze before paling in fear, "Aaahhhhhhhhh!"
