Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The eye of a typhoon was always the calmest place to be. And this description was equally appropriate when used to describe Chaos.
The instant after Rhode painstakingly broke free from the restraints of Chaos and arrived at the core, everything around him changed abruptly. The clamoring and deafening Chaos creatures earlier became silent. Those that crowded toward them, baring teeth and claws, also came to a standstill.
At a glance, the densely-packed Chaos creatures could be seen fusing with one another as their bodies lost all boundaries. As far as the eye could see, there were innumerable wide-open scarlet eyes and opened mouths filled with countless teeth, merging and forming a hollow sphere. And at the center of this sphere was a huge, scarlet, bizarre piece of flesh that writhed unceasingly like a heart.
“Wow, this thing really fits the traits of a final boss, Leader.”
Looking at this scene, Mini Bubble Gum couldn’t help but whistle in excitement.
“Chunks of flesh and worms are the best choice for the final boss of any civilization-based RPG. Let’s go and kill it!”
“Are you sure you can kill it, Bubble?”
Upon hearing Bubble’s ramblings, Canary sighed helplessly, while Icy Snow who stood beside her swept a quiet glance. Indeed, as Bubble said, if the scenario of a game or movie was coming up next, Rhode would only need to lead these people to destroy the Chaos Core to save the world. But… The premise was that there wasn’t as much difference between the two sides as it seemed.
That’s right. One must think twice before ‘destroying’ a hunk of flesh the size of Jupiter. In fact, its mere presence was enough to leave one shuddering. And if one were a mortal, one would go insane at the sight of this gigantic lump of flesh and its turbid, messy, viscous, and vein-like parts extending from its body and connecting to the surrounding walls of Chaos.
The air became heavy and murky, making it impossible for one to breathe at all. The invisible air around them had as though become something tangible like water under the infection of Chaos. And the more one moved forward, the more one felt massive pressure. The speed of the magical warships also slowed down considerably. Not only that, but the protective barrier that enveloped the magical warships also flickered incessantly. The pressure of Chaos became a realistic threat as if it were a vicious beast that would completely crush, distort, and destroy all existence of Order.
“———!”
The instant the overwhelming pressure approached the crowd, Rhode let out a mighty roar and expanded his wings. Along with his action, the invisible wall of Order unfolded in all directions, stopping the invasion of Chaos. Almost at the same time, along with the unfolding of the Order barrier, the Chaos Core apparently sensed the presence of Rhode and the others.
In a hoarse, sharp screech like nails scratching against a blackboard, a gigantic eye surfaced on scarlet flesh. It didn’t seem any different from the Chaos Eye that had been monitoring Rhode and the others outside. The only difference was that it was even larger and more terrifying.
“Attack!”
Upon sensing the movement of Chaos, Rhode didn’t hesitate to give the order to attack. In fact, the instant he saw the Chaos Core, he was convinced that he would never be able to kill this terrifying behemoth. It wasn’t just its humongous size, but he felt like the power of Chaos wrapping around the scarlet meat planet was as scary as a furious wave instead. Not only that, but the Order barrier that he worked so hard to unfold was like a tiny boat tumbling in a storm in the face of the power of Chaos.
Moreover, his men barely reached the edge of the core and already had this disturbing feeling. If they went further, they might not even have a chance to escape later. Thus, without the slightest hesitation, Rhode gave his command, seeking to strike before the Chaos Core reacted. Otherwise, when the Chaos Core attacked, it would be too late!
“Sanga!”
The first to attack were the Canary, Mini Bubble Gum, and Icy Snow, who were like-minded with Rhode. As players, they knew how important it was to disrupt the momentum of the battle. Hence, the instant Rhode yelled the command, Mini Bubble Gum grunted and raised her hands high. Soon after, countless rays of light coalesced and shrunk between her hands.
Dazzling holy brilliance exploded. Three huge, sun-like spheres appeared out of nowhere above her head, spinning ceaselessly to form a gorgeous and elegant halo. The flickering holy radiance shredded the Chaos aura like sharp blades, illuminating the enormous Chaos Core.
Seconds later, in an ear-deafening snarl, the part of the Chaos Core’s body that was shone by the light emitted white smoke as if it were scorched. Although it was just a small part of its enormous body, it was apparent that one would still feel pain if one stepped on the fire barefoot.
The Chaos Core shuddered violently after being ambushed by the holy light. Soon after, a huge and dense, pitch-black fog sprayed out from one of the openings on its massive body of flesh, wrapping itself entirely and turning it into a strong shield to block Mini Bubble Gum’s further assault.
However, at that moment, Canary also made her move.
Along with a crisp and lively chant, the young lady waved her hands around as if she were dancing lithely. Air swirled around her fingertips, while flames coalesced in her chant, rushing straight ahead like a drill and striking the surface of the fog barrier mercilessly like a blazing tornado.
Along with sparks splashing everywhere, the pitch-black fog that encased the Chaos Core gradually thinned. But even so, the fog didn’t seem to be fading away entirely. On the contrary, after it was swept away by the fiery tornado, it started all over again. However, that momentary opening was more than enough for the attackers to take advantage of.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The moment the fog scattered, ten streams of light as bright as meteors streaked across the air. In a series of violent explosions, the fog that was merging dispersed once again. And it was at that moment when Icy Snow lowered the longbow in her hand. Her eyes that could see through time and space reflected only images of darkness and Chaos.
Following closely behind, the magical warships and deity wardens also began their assault. Cassidy swung her sword, slashing a dazzling blade ray that sliced through the exterior of the Chaos Core from top to bottom. With this flickering blade ray, the pitch-black fog that was cut through changed color instantly. However, that was only for a moment.
Even though the deity wardens had powers that allowed them to dominate the world of Order, they didn’t have much power to speak of in this lair of Chaos. The pitch-black fog that was altered in form by Cassidy existed for less than a minute before it was completely crushed in the ensuing stream of Chaos.
Marybelle also waved her wand uncharacteristically-fast, tapping it around in midair. Along with her action, huge patches of pitch-black fog that surrounded the Chaos Core collapsed one after another. The roaring bursts of magical beams released from the top of the battleships penetrated the boundary of darkness and Chaos, striking the huge body of the Chaos Core ruthlessly.
To the Chaos Core, the attacks from Rhode and the others were like a mouse scaring an elephant, but it wasn’t entirely ineffective. Because if a mouse were to keep nibbling on the foot of the largest elephant non-stop, the elephant would eventually fly into a rage. And as expected, after being attacked constantly by Rhode and the others, the Chaos Core trembled greatly.
The surrounding Chaos creatures that fused together separated themselves and scattered. Soon after, countless, overwhelming Chaos creatures darted out of the opening of the Chaos Core’s body, rushing toward the brazen enemies like a swarm of bees.
“It has begun. Hang on!”
Upon witnessing the innumerable Chaos creatures ahead, Rhode yelled out again. He finally set his heart at ease because this scene was panning out the way he had planned. The Chaos Core changed its direction of attack to ensure its safety. At the same time, the Chaos creatures that realized that the Chaos Core was under attack also assaulted Rhode’s group. Rhode sensed that along with the increase in Chaos creatures on his side, the number of Chaos creatures on the periphery decreased rapidly.
The next thing they had to do was to resist Chaos’s attack until the plane channel was completely open!
“Big Brother…”
And at that moment, the young lady in Grandia raised her head and looked toward the distant sky with a worried expression. Like Rhode, the younger sister also sensed that the Chaos creatures that were choking the plane channel were leaving speedily. And along with the departure of the Chaos creatures, the plane channel once again restored its usual speed and got back on track.
“I hope all of you will be safe.”
The young lady prayed softly. She opened her eyes and looked at the Door of Akasha before her.
“This time, we’ll definitely succeed.”
