CHAPTER 257: CHAPTER 254 – FANGS OF THE MOON AND FIRE FROM THE ABYSS

The air still trembled.

The violet glow in the sky had yet to fade, and the lingering heat from Aurellia’s explosion still burned the air like drifting embers.

Alicia slowly lowered her staff. The lantern at its tip swayed weakly, its blue flame dim but steady.

"...We’re still alive," she murmured, almost to herself.

Stacia stood beside her, the massive grimoire in her left hand still vibrating with leftover energy.

"That doesn’t necessarily mean good news," she said curtly. "The gate’s not closed yet."

Indeed from the south, the red-black light still pulsed violently, as though the creatures of the underworld were pressing against a veil too thin to hold their madness.

From the sky, two silhouettes descended like meteors

Aurellia and Celes.

BOOM!

The ground quaked as they landed before the undead army, smoke and embers swirling around them.

Celes drew her sword without a word, the black blade trembling faintly as it drank in the surrounding light.

Aurellia looked toward Alicia and Stacia. "You’re still alive. That’s... a relief," she said flatly, though sweat trickled down her cheek. "The Queen would’ve killed me if you’d vanished."

"Funny," Alicia rasped. "I was thinking the same thing."

Their brief exchange was cut short as the ground shook again this time, harder.

From the gate, the colossal guardian still stirred, its body bound by blue-green seals from the earlier ritual. The black hands that composed its body ripped through the outer layers of magic like wet paper.

KRRAAAK!

One of its white eyes opened wide, fixing on them.

Aurellia raised her hand to the sky.

"Then," she said quietly, "let’s burn it until even its shadow turns to ash."

Her grimoire snapped open.

"Infernal Art: Bloom of Thousand Suns!"

The sky blazed red. Hundreds of fireballs bloomed above like miniature suns. Their light drowned the battlefield, consuming everything in molten radiance.

FWOOSH! BOOOM!

Waves of heat swept through the front lines, melting the bodies of underworld beasts, reducing their bones to slag. But behind the flames came more new creatures, born directly from the flesh and blood of the fallen.

Celes darted forward without waiting for a signal, her sword vibrating.

"Spatial Cleave!"

ZRAAAAK !

The air split apart. The shockwave cut down a thousand creatures at once but from each severed limb, black blood splattered onto the ground and morphed into smaller abominations.

"Tch." Celes glared, spinning her sword. "Like maggots after a storm."

Alicia drove her staff into the soil. "Then let’s show them winter."

Her lantern flared, brighter than before.

"Hex Field – Frostbane Veil!"

A wave of icy fog enveloped the gate’s surroundings. Every underworld creature that stepped through froze halfway but even with ice piercing their bodies, they kept moving. They felt no pain, no fear.

Stacia slammed her grimoire shut and shouted, "Full buff to the undead lines! Fortify! Acceleration! Mindlink!"

Layers of green light spread across the zombie ranks. Their bodies gleamed faintly; their movements grew sharper, more synchronized.

The heavy footsteps of the undead echoed, in rhythm with the heartbeat of the earth.

"Raise the outer wall!" Stacia commanded. "Hold the perimeter! Don’t let the pressure reach the center!"

The undead moved as one. Without a single sound, their formation was flawless, a tidal wave of dead flesh standing against the storm of hell.

But the enemy’s numbers were beyond reason.

The Gate of the Underworld had now fully opened, and from within poured a sea of darkness a flood of blackened flesh and hate.

Aurellia gritted her teeth. "This isn’t enough. There are too many."

Celes glanced upward. "The Queen isn’t here yet?"

"Not yet. I can’t sense her aura," Alicia replied tensely. "Normally she’s already erased half the battlefield before I can even speak."

Stacia turned sharply. "She wouldn’t be late without a reason."

"Which," Aurellia muttered, "makes it even more dangerous."

Then the air thundered.

DOOOOOMMMMM!!!

Not magic. Not an explosion of footsteps.

Hundreds of massive, synchronized footsteps that made the ground and sky quake.

Alicia looked up. "What... is that?"

From the mist on the eastern side of the battlefield, colossal shapes began to emerge. They weren’t undead, they were alive. Breathing. Muscled. Wolves the size of houses, their eyes gleaming silver, their fur the color of midnight.

Stacia blinked in disbelief. "...Lycanthropes?"

Celes frowned. "What are Velthya and her forces doing here?"

From within the fog, a tall woman with long silver hair rode a massive white wolf four or five meters high. Her eyes gleamed like liquid silver.

"Sylvia’s army does not fight alone," she shouted, her voice echoing across the field. "In Velthya’s name, we spill the blood of the Underworld!"

Awooooooo!!!

Hundreds of lycanthropes howled together, their roars shaking the heavens.

Their bodies shone with moonlight, transforming completely. Muscles thickened, claws elongated, eyes burned silver. They dashed forward at lightning speed, colliding with the sea of underworld creatures pouring from the gate.

SHRRRRAAACK! BOOOOM!

Lycan claws tore through hundreds at once. Black flesh burned on contact with lunar energy. Blood splattered into the air but evaporated instantly under the heat of battle.

Aurellia’s red eyes widened slightly. "...They really came."

Celes gave a small nod, her voice calm but firm. "The Moon Legion... I didn’t think they’d intervene."

Alicia glanced across the chaotic field, a faint smile touching her lips. "Maybe the world hasn’t completely lost its mind after all."

Stacia’s eyes followed the giant wolves weaving among the undead ranks.

"My passive buffs can still reach them," she said quickly. "I’ll boost the regeneration of the entire front line."

Her grimoire flew open, pages spinning until every rune inside blazed.

"Nature Resonance – Lunar Bless!"

Green-silver light rippled across the battlefield.

Gaping wounds on the undead closed. Torn lycan flesh regenerated instantly. The moonlight intensified, merging with the deathly aura.

Celes leapt onto a massive boulder, shouting,

"Combine formations! Undead on the left, lycans on the right! Push the line forward!"

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

The armies moved as one.

Two different forces merged into a single current of destruction: swords, claws, fire, and curses blending into a storm.

The gate’s guardian roared, its massive frame trembling as its magic chains began to snap.

KRAAAAK KRRSSHHHH!

Each black hand swept through dozens of soldiers at once.

Alicia shouted, "I’m lowering its resistance! Stacia, support Celes and Aurellia!"

"Already on it!"

Abyssal Debuff – Soul Decay!

Alicia’s lantern poured thick blue mist, coating the giant’s body.

The screams of trapped souls echoed through the air as the creature’s wounds turned pitch black.

Celes charged forward, her sword blazing violet, dimensional rifts forming in her wake.

"Spatial Rend!"

ZRAAAAK !!!

Her slash severed one of the monster’s arms.

The resulting shockwave split the earth, hurling the dismembered limb skyward until it vaporized into mist.

Aurellia followed, her right hand summoning a massive surge of crimson fire.

"Infernal Lotus Burst Mode!"

BOOOOOMMMM!!!

A colossal explosion rocked the battlefield, engulfing the creature’s chest in flame.

Its scream tore through the sky.

But from within the fire, smaller creatures spilled forth dripping from its body like living blood. They scattered in all directions.

The undead and lycans were forced back.

"They’re still multiplying!" Stacia cried. "The gate’s pouring out energy nonstop!"

Alicia turned toward the great pulsating portal. "There’s no time if Sylvia doesn’t come, we’ll close it ourselves."

"That magic’s too vast," Stacia protested.

"Better to die trying than wait for everyone else to!"

Alicia gripped her staff tightly, the blue flame in her lantern flickering violently.

But before they could move, the sky rumbled once more.

WHUUUUUMMMMM !!!

Moonlight burst from the west.

Noble lycanthropes leapt forward, their eyes gleaming like blades.

At the highest peak stood Velthya, her silver hair streaming as she raised her spear.

"Moon Legion Third Formation! Unleash the Full Moon’s Power!"

Awooooooo !!!

Hundreds of howls answered her call.

The moon, once hidden behind violet clouds, emerged round and radiant, its silver glow flooding the world.

Moonlight bathed the battlefield.

Underworld creatures caught in its radiance screamed, their bodies melting like wax. Their auras burned, smoked, and vanished.

Velthya lifted her silver spear. "Celes! Aurellia! Strike when the moonlight peaks!"

Celes nodded silently. Aurellia raised her hand to the heavens.

"With pleasure."

As the last lycan howl echoed, moonlight fused with fire and spatial energy.

BOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!

A massive wave of energy swept across the field.

Crimson fire, violet space, and silver moonlight merged into a holy storm that swallowed the underworld army.

Their screams filled the air then faded, one by one.

From afar, Alicia and Stacia watched.

The blue lantern and green grimoire in their hands shimmered faintly.

Stacia lowered her gaze slightly. "...For a moment, it feels like the world can breathe again." Alicia nodded. "But the gate still isn’t closed."

Celes stood at the edge of the field, her sword dripping black blood that evaporated into smoke.

Aurellia stepped beside her, crimson hair glowing under the reflected moonfire.

Velthya dismounted her wolf and looked at them sharply. "Where is Sylvia?" she demanded.

Silence answered.

The four generals Alicia, Stacia, Celes, and Aurellia exchanged glances.

None of them knew.

Normally, their Queen would already be at the front, tearing reality apart before they even finished forming ranks.

Celes frowned. "She didn’t appear even after we unleashed full-scale magic."

Aurellia lowered her head slightly, her voice soft but cutting. "If she’s quiet... something’s happening."

The night wind blew, carrying the scent of blood and ash.

The underworld gate still pulsed

but now, it felt as if it were waiting.

Alicia looked toward the distant violet glow. "Sylvia..." she whispered. "What are you doing out there?"

Above them, the full moon shone cold and bright.

The undead and lycanthrope armies stood side by side, staring at the gaping wound in the sky that refused to close.

And beneath that light, the four generals of the Death Queen waited for the war to be far from over.