CHAPTER 644: CHAPTER 432: DARK WING

[It is born!]

[The fifth King!]

[The new Demon King!]

[Dark Wing, Fermont!]

From somewhere, four hollow voices arose, echoing in this bloody space full of Demon Qi.

The faces on the ground and in the sky screamed silently, rivers of blood boiled, and streams of tangible yet intangible auras rose from the scattered corpses on the ground, all surging toward that giant hand.

It seemed as if the deaths of everyone in the Eagle Group were passing through the giant hand, transforming into nourishment for some kind of creature being nurtured within.

Sali looked at this scene, and a sudden suspicion arose in his heart. Could it be that if they were to conquer this Painting World, they needed to protect as many Eagle Group members as possible to delay the opening of the giant hand?

But now, with so few people surviving on the battlefield, it meant that they probably failed this time.

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

Although, due to a certain Captain, his mind always got messy in matters related to the Light Eagle Group, his intelligence reclaimed its ground when facing other issues.

According to the consistent habits he summarized from Sain, the next thing would probably be a "plot kill," with an enemy emerging from the giant hand that the adventurers couldn’t defeat.

However, most of the apostle monsters on the field now couldn’t last for a few rounds under Elsa’s command, so he couldn’t imagine what kind of overpowered being might emerge from the giant hand.

The sense of security brought by Elsa is unbeatable!

As the giant hand slowly opened, the monsters ceased their activity, looking up solemnly like devout followers.

Elsa also wanted to look up but suddenly remembered Luluwo’s teaching:

"When the enemy is dazed, seize the opportunity and hit hard!"

So she took advantage of the moment while the monsters worshipped the giant hand, swung her dual greatswords, and spun into a whirlwind, tearing into the group of monsters like a meat grinder.

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

She might have to betray Luluwo’s teaching now because the person appearing in the center of the giant hand needed more than a glance.

It’s Griffith!

The long-absent Griffith unexpectedly appeared before everyone, clad in a strange outfit.

His entire body was wrapped in something akin to a black bodysuit, his head encased in an eagle-shaped helmet, with cold, detached eyes revealing themselves as if he had become someone else.

He suddenly spread his wings, and instead of looking like an eagle, he now resembled a completely black bat.

The dark figure landed in the clearing the monsters automatically made, looking at everyone.

The moment Elsa’s gaze met with Dark Wing’s, a long yet brief image flashed before her eyes.

The image shortly followed a lively celebration party, but then shifted to show Gus leaving with his luggage, the Eagle Group friends pleading with him to stay, only to be rejected.

Why suddenly leave? Surely, the Eagle Group felt like home to Gus.

Elsa, upon witnessing the entire process and from the interactions between Gus and Griffith, sensed something was amiss. Gus always had an independent personality but willingly immersed himself in Griffith’s dream of becoming King as a follower. This arrangement felt awkward and bound to cause problems.

But Elsa thought that if it were her, she probably wouldn’t leave like Gus. If the Light Eagle Group gave her the "home" feeling as the Eagle Group did for Gus, she wouldn’t choose to leave the Light Eagle Group today.

No matter the complex reasons, in the end, Gus indeed was to depart from the Eagle Group.

Griffith attempted to retain him through a duel but had his sword broken in the first round, unable to match Gus’s strength.

Then, suddenly, the development deviated from the classic narrative, even Sali couldn’t call it an "archetype."

Disheartened, Griffith regressed into self-destruction, raping the Princess, and getting imprisoned by the King, suffering perverse tortures, while the Eagle Group was besieged by the Kingdom’s army, becoming fugitives, swiftly turning the positive narrative on its head.

The Eagle Group found Gus and together went to rescue Griffith, but upon saving him, they found he had become a cripple, unable even to commit suicide, let alone fulfill his dream.

The scene flickered, and after an unknown number of events, he raised the Overlord’s Egg before a crimson-black sunset.

Elsa didn’t understand what it was, but it summoned the Erosion and endless monsters.

Then, using the Eagle Group as a sacrificial offering, Griffith ascended as Dark Wing Fermont.

This is the very form before her eyes now!

Is it something akin to a cult sacrifice ritual? Griffith’s appearance gave Elsa the impression he had become a Cultist blessed by an Evil God, yet his strength surpassed that of Cultists, possessing a faint divinity and sinister aura.

Should be a stronger entity.

The once bright and sunny story abruptly became so somber and tragic that Elsa was momentarily taken aback.

An excited whistle came from the side, she looked over in surprise, finding Sali smiling as if a connoisseur had witnessed a brilliant story twist, a joyful expression on his face.

"Now this is an unconventional story, I like it!"

"..."

Elsa didn’t even know what to say. Sali had reacted like this before, so she wasn’t surprised.

But if she had to express her feelings after watching all the images, it would be—

"I really must leave the Light Eagle Group."

The entire story always gave her a strong sense of déjà vu, and even an ordinary person would feel that the Mercenary Group had become a high-risk organization, absolutely not wanting to join.

Although Eliphas may not act as perfectly as Griffith did before, he could definitely do the same thing Griffith did in sacrificing his comrades, of this Elsa was sure!

So, she was determined to leave the Light Eagle Group!

Looking at Griffith, who had already fallen into the Dark Wing, Elsa raised her Sword Corpse Greatsword and released the combat skill Vengeful Oath, charging forward before the temporary enhancement effect faded.

Quickly settle the battle, she thought, and as long as she could take him down, she could escape this Painting World.

She went all out from the start, not her full strength under an emotional state, however—

"Buzz—"

The air rippled, and her Dual Swords halted just before reaching Griffith, steadfastly stopped by the air, unable to advance further!

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t slash the blades at him, as if the entire world was preventing her attack!

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

The next moment, as if hit by a tremendous force, she was sent flying backward uncontrollably, disappearing from everyone’s sight in an instant!

"Ah..." Sali’s eyes widened, his sense of security instantly gone.

The Dark Wing clenched its fist towards everyone, and a second later, the surviving Eagle Group was crushed and squeezed into a bloody sphere by an invisible force until it completely vanished.

From then on, the only humans left on the field were Gus and two outsiders.

Gus roared and charged forward, but was bitten on the arm by a monster’s sneak attack from behind, preventing him from advancing.

The Luminous Stone Magic Gravel rushed over from the side, but before getting close to Griffith, it was diverted by an invisible force, unable to advance like Elsa’s attack.

Sali continuously waved the Magic Wand, but to no avail. Inspiration struck, and he used Mud Swamp on the ground beneath Griffith, and this time it worked; the sticky mud indeed caused a slight descent, but upon closer examination, an invisible force field still separated him from the mud.

This might have angered Griffith, who extended his hand towards Sali, and the latter immediately felt a threat of death.

"Boom—"

A fierce fire strong enough to consume all suddenly swept through, engulfing Griffith and the surrounding apostle monster in an instant, disrupting the threat of death Sali felt as he gasped and hurriedly ran away from the battlefield.

Elsa, wielding the burning Greatsword, explosively returned, and as the flames dividing the battlefield instantly extinguished, it revealed Griffith, unharmed.

Her Greatsword slashed down heavily, but the opponent met her attack with a clenched fist.

A fierce warning sounded in Elsa’s mind; she quickly dodged to the side, and a corner of her clothing immediately vanished as if erased by space. If she hadn’t dodged, it would have been a tragic end.

The surrounding monsters were suddenly controlled by an invisible force, rushing towards her at an inhuman speed, seemingly trying to crush her to death.

But she eventually reacted, leaping skyward with flaming momentum, throwing the Sword Corpse Greatsword at Griffith, yet still unable to advance.

Flames turned into a rope connecting the sword’s hilt to her wrist; she pulled it back and successfully retrieved the Sword Corpse Greatsword, landing steadily amidst a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

After a brief encounter, she understood the enemy’s strength.

Protected by an invisible force, preventing any attack from approaching, and possessing the exceedingly rare ability related to space.

No matter the actual strength, just these two abilities alone made him invincible until a way to break the stalemate was found. How was this different from having an unbreakable health bar?

What exactly was going on? Why was Griffith’s performance not on the same level as other monsters?

Elsa clenched her fists, unable to think of how to counter the opponent’s abilities yet; maybe brute force could break it? But fully burning for a goal that might not be achievable didn’t fit a normal person’s thinking...

"Eh?"

At this moment, she suddenly realized she couldn’t move.

The scene froze, and in the next moment,

everything in front of her suddenly rewound as if time had sped up, with only she and Sali standing still, both with astonished looks in their eyes.

Time kept rewinding until everything returned to the beginning.

The resurrected Eagle Group, Griffith back into the Giant Fist, Erosion just starting, the two could move again.

Elsa and Sali looked at each other in disbelief, back to where everything began?

The screams of the Eagle Group being slaughtered by monsters echoed again, and Sali suddenly shivered, exclaiming:

"We failed the mission just now, so the Painting World has reset!"

"Not good, this time we have to quickly go and protect the others!"