Irene shook her head gently and said in a soft voice, “Lilisah, you’ve done well enough already. Leave the rest to us.”
She looked up toward the sky. At some point, the moon had turned a demonic blood-red. Shadow’s robe billowed violently in the high-altitude winds, like the wings of a demon.
Her golden eyes bore down on them arrogantly, like a monarch gazing at vassals during an audience.
“…The warm-up is about over. I’ve gotten used to this body now. Come then, mortals—do your best to entertain me. Let’s see how far you can go!”
As her voice resounded through the heavens, the barrier sealing the entire city of Endymion began to crack like a spreading spiderweb—the seal was breaking!
But before Irene could feel any relief, she saw a terrifying sight: countless auras of magic, like a meteor shower, surged from every corner of the city toward the figure floating in the sky—toward Shadow!
Screams and cries of agony began to ring out across the city.
“This is…”
Roswythe wore a sorrowful expression. “It’s the magical creatures in the city… their lives have been drained, turned into pure mana for her.”
Regeliff sighed softly. “Their suffering is over. But the one who caused all this still lives. If we can’t defeat her, how can the souls of the dead ever rest?”
Her deep blue eyes turned to Irene, and she spoke solemnly, “Irene-chan, lend me your strength once again.”
“This kind of opponent can’t be dealt with using common sense. Only your abnormal luck can match her!
Relying on luck might sound stupid, but right now, that’s all we’ve got!”
Helga pushed herself up using her staff. After healing and chugging down a ridiculous amount of mana potions, she was barely combat-ready.
Her teammates wanted her to stay out of harm’s way, but as a mage, how could she miss the opportunity to fight a legendary Holy Archmage King? Besides, if her teammates died, there was no way she could escape on her own anyway!
If death was coming either way, she might as well gamble for a chance to live!
“Abnormal luck? I don’t have anything like that, do I?”
Irene thought her luck might be slightly better than average, but relying on something so vague? Were these girls out of their minds?
“…No, you do, Master. Even I can sense it,” Lilisah spoke up.
“Honestly, if I hadn’t been lucky just now, I wouldn’t have lost just a left arm.”
Serena and the others all nodded in agreement.
Irene still felt unconvinced, but seeing everyone insist on it, she reluctantly accepted it.
Seriously?
Whatever. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Let’s just go with it!
Irene obediently took out a snack and re-entered spectator mode. “I used up all my scrolls and gave you all the last of my potions. I’ve got nothing left to offer, so the rest is on you.”
Serena nodded. She believed that if Irene was with them—they could win!
Though there were still tensions between them, everyone knew: now was not the time for grudges. That could wait until after the battle—if they survived.
High in the sky, the mana drawn from every magical creature in the city formed a giant cocoon of magic, wrapping Shadow inside it. And then—the cocoon shattered.
The Shadow King, in her full power, descended upon the world once more.
She raised her hand. In the sky above, the clouds were blasted apart, revealing a massive meteor falling toward them—an overwhelming pressure of despair behind it.
“This is your reward for trying so hard…and also your formal greeting.”
However, even in the face of a spell powerful enough to destroy an entire city, Serena showed not the slightest trace of fear. She asked, “Reif, can you hold it back?”
Regelief raised her shield and smiled faintly. “Of course I can—if Irene’s with me…”
Yes, if Irene was with her, she could believe in miracles! No—she already held a miracle in her hands!
Bathed in golden light, the Holy Knight raised her shield high.
The Shadow Queen scoffed at the sight. “A shield like that? You think it can withstand my magic? Disappear along with this city!”
The meteor plummeted, flames and shockwaves erupting like a natural disaster. In an instant, the entire city was reduced to rubble.
Fools!
Just as she thought this, the Shadow Queen’s sense of reality cracked. She saw clearly: the future where Endymion and those adventurers were destroyed—it had been changed! Reality itself shattered like broken glass before her eyes. What appeared next was… another future.
An impossible future.
The shield blocked the meteor. The Holy Knight took the full brunt of the impact alone. By all logic, what should have happened? She should’ve been reduced to dust, not even a trace left behind.
But no—she was still alive! Her HP had dropped to a mere 1 point, but she still stood!
“This isn’t luck… this is the power to manipulate fate itself…”
At her level, she could see things invisible to most mortals. She saw it—each of those adventurers bore a small icon shaped like an eye. This was the mark of those blessed by fate.
Fate… rewritten.
The Shadow Queen stared long and deep at Irene. Her gaze was so intense, so tender, it sent chills down Irene’s spine.
Irene thought to herself, Don’t tell me pretending to be her sister just now really pissed her off this badly?!
“Everyone, don’t let her cast again!”
Sweat poured down Irene’s forehead. The Shadow Queen wasn’t some mindless monster—she was human, and thus had no predictable pattern to her actions.
To make matters worse, they had exhausted all their scrolls and consumables. Right now, Irene was the very definition of a useless cheerleader.
From here on out, all she could do was pray that her teammates could somehow defeat this woman.
That was it.
Regelief had managed to block that meteor spell just now, but her HP had been reduced to a single sliver—held together only by her innate ability, Undying Will, which prevented her from dying outright.
It was a testament to how terrifying the Shadow Queen’s attacks were.
She was shaken—after all, the Holy Knight class had innate magic resistance buffs, yet it had still come down to a sliver of health. Without that passive, she’d be dead!
Fortunately, Lorthwetha’s healing miracle landed just in time—and it triggered a critical heal!
In an instant, her health bar was full again!
In the very next moment, Serena, Helga, and the puppet girl dashed past her, launching an assault on the Shadow Queen as she descended from above.
As for the blonde rogue, Paluma?
She’d been missing ever since the meteor strike. Most likely, she saw how bad things were getting and decided to bolt.
Regelief didn’t approve of Paluma’s behavior, but she could understand it. After all, going up against the legendary Holy King—the one who came within a step of unifying the entire continent—how could anyone think they stood a chance?
That’s how it should be… but if Irene’s at our backs, maybe miracles really aren’t so far-fetched!
“Let’s go, everyone! If we beat her, we’re gonna be legends!” Regelief shouted.
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