Dark Wings

It's here!

[The fifth Blessed King!]

A new Demon King!

[Dark Wings, Femto!]

Four hollow voices, seemingly from nowhere, echoed through this blood-soaked space, brimming with demonic energy.

The faces on the ground and in the sky screamed silently, the rivers of blood were boiling, and countless tiny streams of air, seemingly tangible yet intangible, rose from the scattered pieces of corpses on the ground and surged toward the giant hand.

It was as if the deaths of all the members of the Band of the Hawk were passing through a giant hand, turning into nourishment for some kind of creature being conceived within it.

Looking at the scene, Sally suddenly had a guess. Could it be that if they wanted to conquer this Painting World, they needed to protect as many members of the Band of the Hawk as possible and delay the opening of the giant hand?

The fact that very few people are still alive on the battlefield suggests that they have likely failed this time.

Damn it, if only I had noticed sooner! He gritted his teeth.

Although his mind becomes muddled when dealing with matters related to the Light Eagle Legion because of a certain leader, his intelligence returns to its peak when facing other matters.

Based on his summary of Sain's consistent habits, he expects a "plot kill" to occur next, with an enemy that the adventurer cannot defeat jumping out of the giant's hand.

However, most of the apostle monsters on the field could only last a few rounds against Elsa, and he found it hard to imagine how overpowered the monsters in the giant's hand would be.

The sense of security that Elsa brings is unbeatable!

As the giant hand slowly opened, the monsters stopped moving and looked up in unison like devout believers.

Elsa wanted to look up as well, but then she remembered Lu Lu Wo's teachings:

"When the enemy is in a daze, you should rush in and attack fiercely!"

So, while the monsters were worshipping the giant hand, she swung her two greatswords, spinning herself into a small top, and charged into the monster horde like a meat grinder.

She only stopped when the giant hand fully opened and the monsters became excited again.

She might have to go against Lu Lu Wo's teachings, because she really needed to take a closer look at the person who appeared in the center of the giant hand.

It's Griffith!

Griffith, who had been thought to be absent, suddenly appeared before everyone, dressed in a strange outfit.

His entire body was wrapped in something like a black bodysuit, and his head was covered by an eagle-shaped helmet, revealing indifferent and ruthless eyes, as if he had become a different person.

He suddenly spread his wings, and he looked more like a black bat than an eagle.

The dark figure landed in the clearing the monsters had automatically cleared and looked at the group.

The instant her gaze met that of Dark Wings, a long yet fleeting image appeared before Elsa's eyes.

The scene then shifts to a lively victory dance, but in the next scene, Guts is seen leaving with his luggage, and his friends from the Band of the Hawk try to persuade him to stay, but he refuses.

Why are you suddenly leaving? The Band of the Hawk is like home to Guts.

Elsa watched the whole thing and sensed something was off about Guts and Griffith's interactions. Guts had always had an independent personality, but he willingly integrated himself into Griffith's dream of becoming King, becoming his vassal. This way of getting along was awkward and would cause problems sooner or later.

But Elsa thought that if it were her, she probably wouldn't have left like Guts. If the Light Eagle Legion could give her the same feeling of "home" that the Band of the Hawk gave Guts, she wouldn't have made the decision to leave the Light Eagle Legion today.

Regardless of the complex reasons, Guts is indeed leaving the Band of the Hawk.

Griffith wanted to use a duel to keep his opponent in check, but his Sabre was broken in the first round of the duel, and his strength was no longer up to Guts' level.

Then things suddenly deviated from the classic development, and even Sally couldn't bring herself to describe it as a "model opera".

Heartbroken and disillusioned, Griffith raped the Princess in a self-destructive act, was imprisoned by the King and subjected to brutal torture, and the Band of the Hawk was also besieged by the kingdom's army, severely weakened and turned into wanted criminals. The originally positive story took a sharp turn for the worse.

The Band of the Hawk found Guts and together they went to rescue Griffith. However, after rescuing him, they discovered that he had become a cripple, unable even to commit suicide, let alone realize his dream.

The screen flickered, and after countless events, he raised the Overlord Egg before the crimson and black sunset.

Elsa didn't understand what it was, but it summoned the Eclipse and endless monsters.

Then, with the Band of the Hawk as a sacrifice, Griffith was transformed into the Wing of Darkness Femto.

This is the posture she's in front of now!

Is it something like a cult sacrifice ritual? Griffith's appearance gave Elsa the feeling that he had become a cultist blessed by an evil god, but the intensity he exuded far exceeded that of a cultist, possessing both a faint sense of divinity and evil.

It should be an even stronger being.

The story, which was originally bright and sunny, suddenly turned so sad and tragic that Elsa was a little taken aback.

An excited whistle came from the side. She looked over in surprise and found that Sally was actually smiling, with a joyful smile like a connoisseur who had seen a wonderful twist in the story.

"This is a story that's not cliché, I love it!"

"."

Elsa didn't know what to say. Sally had reacted this way before, so she was used to it.

However, if she had to describe her feelings after watching all the videos, it would be this:

"As expected, I still have to leave the Light Eagle Legion."

The whole story gave her a strong sense of déjà vu. Even an ordinary person would feel that mercenary groups have become high-risk organizations after reading them and would definitely not want to join them.

Iliphis might not be as perfect as Griffith was before, Elsa was absolutely certain that he was capable of sacrificing his companions just like Griffith!

So she's definitely leaving the Light Eagle Legion!

Seeing Griffith, who had fallen to the Dark Wings, Elsa raised her Sword Remains Greatsword and unleashed the Weapon Skill "Oath of Revenge," rushing forward before the brief enhancement effect wore off.

She wanted a quick victory; she believed that once she dealt with her opponent, she could escape this Painting World.

She went all out from the start, without unleashing her full power under the influence of her emotions, but—

"Buzz—"

The air rippled, and her twin swords stopped just before they could touch Griffith, firmly halted by the air, unable to advance an inch!

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't strike her opponent with the blade; it was as if the whole world was preventing her from attacking!

Elsa frowned deeply, and flames were about to ignite on the blade, but Griffith glanced at her.

The next moment, as if struck by a tremendous force, she was sent flying backward uncontrollably, disappearing from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye!

"Ah!" Sally's eyes widened; his sense of security vanished instantly.

Dark Wings clenched his fist at the crowd, and a second later, the surviving Band of the Hawk was squeezed and kneaded into a blood-red ball by a tremendous force until it completely vanished into nothingness.

At this point, only Guts and two outsiders remained as humans on the field.

Guts roared and charged forward, but a monster that attacked from behind bit his arm, pulling him so he couldn't move forward.

The Glintstone Pebble rushed in from the side, but before it could get close to Griffith, it was deflected by an invisible force and, like Elsa's attack, could not advance an inch.

Sally waved his magic wand repeatedly, but to no avail. Then, he had a sudden inspiration and used the Swamp Generation spell on the ground beneath Griffith's feet. This time it worked; the sticky mud did make him sink a little, but upon closer inspection, there was still an invisible force field separating him from the mud.

This may have angered Griffith, who opened his hand towards Sally, who immediately felt threatened with death.

"Boom--"

A fierce fire, powerful enough to start a prairie fire, suddenly swept in, engulfing Griffith and the surrounding apostle monsters in the blink of an eye. This momentarily interrupted the death threat that Sally felt, and he gasped for breath as he hurriedly ran out of the battlefield.

Elsa, carrying the burning greatsword, exploded back into existence. At that moment, the flames that had been dividing the battlefield were extinguished, revealing Griffith completely unharmed.

Her greatsword Heavy Chop, but her opponent clenched his fist in response to her attack.

Elsa felt a fierce warning in her mind and hurriedly dodged to the side. A corner of her clothes was instantly erased as if by space itself. If she hadn't dodged, she would probably have suffered a terrible fate.

Suddenly, the monsters around her were controlled by an unseen force and surged toward her at a speed that ordinary people could not react to, seemingly intending to crush her to death.

But she eventually managed to react, leaping into the air amidst the flames and hurling her Sword Remains Greatsword at Griffith, but it still couldn't get an inch forward.

Flames transformed into a rope connecting the Greatsword's hilt to her wrist. With a pull, she successfully retrieved the Sword Remains Greatsword, which landed steadily amidst a Rivers of Blood.

In a brief exchange, she learned the strength of her enemy.

Protected by an invisible force, it is impervious to any attack and possesses extremely rare space-related abilities.

Regardless of his actual strength, these two abilities alone make him invincible until a way to break the deadlock is found. What's the difference between this and having a health bar that can be locked?

What exactly is going on? Why is Griffith's performance on a completely different level from that of other monsters?

Elsa clenched her fists. She couldn't think of a way to counter her opponent's ability. Perhaps she could try brute force? But burning herself out completely for a goal that wasn't even guaranteed to be achieved was clearly not a normal person's idea.

"Huh?"

Just then, she suddenly realized that she couldn't move.

The image freezes, then the next moment.

Everything before her eyes suddenly seemed to speed up, as if time had reversed. Only she and Sally stood motionless, both with astonishment in their eyes.

Time kept flowing backward until it returned to the beginning of everything.

The dead Band of the Hawk were resurrected, Griffith returned to the giant fist, the Eclipse had just begun, and the two were able to move again.

Elsa and Sally looked at each other in bewilderment. What was going on? Had they returned to where it all began?

The screams of the Band of the Hawk being slaughtered by the monsters echoed once more. Sally suddenly jolted and blurted out:

"We failed to complete the mission, so the Painting World has been reset!"

"Oh no, we have to hurry and protect the others this time!"