"FINE, I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"
The Turncoat Rook let out a savage roar, as if mocking Horus and the Turncoat Knight standing in his way.
He seemed to be consumed by rage, but even in that state, he never took his eyes off me.
It meant he was remaining cautious of the Ankelenth's Spear, the only weapon capable of turning the tide of battle.
In other words, even the anger displayed by the Turncoat Rook was nothing but meticulously controlled.
'Despite his beast-like nature on the surface, the Turncoat Rook is more cautious in combat than anyone else.'
And that could sometimes be a weakness to exploit.
Being cautious also meant that his judgment in the midst of battle could be just a step slower.
'This should be enough.'
Thanks to Horus and the Turncoat Knight, I finally managed to create enough distance.
I reached out to Janus and grabbed a bone spear.
['Hardening' activated.]
['Steelization' activated.]
With the power of [Hardening] and [Steelization] combined, the bone spear that should have been white turned a dull, jet-black color.
Just like Ankelenth's Spear.
['Bone Javelin' activated!]
The black spear shot forward.
However, even while fighting both the Turncoat Knight and Horus, the Turncoat Rook easily dodged it.
Having already experienced how blocking it was nearly impossible, he chose to evade instead.
"Hmph! Is that all you've got—"
Just before his sneer could fully form, another bone spear grazed his cheek.
Although it was just an ordinary bone spear like the one I threw earlier and lacked power, the Turncoat Rook erupted with both surprise and anger.
"You bastard!"
Ignoring him, I threw yet another bone spear.
Shiiiing—!
Although it was something he could have easily deflected, the suspicion that it might be Ankelenth's Spear forced him to dodge.
During that evasion, his stance broke for a brief moment, creating an opening that shouldn't have existed.
["Die... now."]
Not missing the chance, Horus and the Turncoat Knight closed in.
Even for the Turncoat Rook, dealing with both of them while off-balance wasn't easy.
"Tch!"
It seemed he finally realized something was off, but it was too late.
'Alright, time for an OX quiz.'
Is the spear I throw now the Ankelenth's Spear or not?
The Turncoat Rook wouldn't know the answer until he got hit.
Shiiiiiing—!!!
The bone spear flew again.
After dodging it a few times, the Turncoat Rook seemed to realize he couldn't keep doing this and struck the spear aside.
"Cheap tricks won't work anymore!"
Ah, just as I expected.
The Turncoat Rook tried to knock away the spear again, but instead of bouncing off, it pierced right through his arm.
Crunch—!
This time, the spear I threw wasn't just any spear.
It was the Ankelenth's Spear.
"You... bastard...!"
His thoughts, his methods, his fighting style—everything was under my control.
["Attack... now."]
[Kreeeek!]
The Turncoat Knight and Horus didn't miss the opportunity and unleashed a relentless assault.
No matter how strong the Turncoat Rook was, overcoming such numerical disadvantage in this situation wasn't easy.
"You...!"
Since the situation was turning against him, the Turncoat Rook had no choice but to aim for me, even if it meant taking a risk.
Targeting the rearguard during battle was the most fundamental tactic, so it wasn't surprising.
'It won't be that easy.'
The Turncoat Rook persistently shifted his gaze to target me, but the Turncoat Knight and Horus refused to let him get close, relentlessly harassing him.
Boom—!
Boom! Boom!
Every time Horus's massive body moved, the Turncoat Rook had to maneuver quickly to avoid being crushed.
Even for the Turncoat Rook, Horus was not an opponent to be taken lightly, and his sheer size made it impossible to ignore.
In this prolonged battle, it was the Turncoat Rook who made the first decisive move.
Crack, crack—
With a sudden burst of strength, the Turncoat Rook shook off both the Turncoat Knight and Horus.
He dismissed all the bone vines supporting him and charged straight at me.
Considering the energy required to maintain that bone domain, it was clearly a reckless decision, but he calculated that I was worth the effort.
"Attack."
Just as the Turncoat Knight and Horus tried to intercept him, the bone vines discarded by the Turncoat Rook suddenly shot forward at terrifying speed, ensnaring both of them.
"Ugh!"
Both Horus and the Turncoat Knight had their legs caught by the trap the Turncoat Rook had set earlier.
'He's coming.'
Despite the considerable distance between us, the Turncoat Rook was closing in fast.
If I got caught by his momentum now, my already battered body wouldn't stand a chance.
However,
Even this decisive move of the Turncoat Rook was just one of his predictable patterns to me.
'Esther.'
["...Sorry, Rook."]
Ether began to stir, albeit faintly.
It wasn't as powerful as usual, but its quality remained unchanged.
[Cut?]
[Kill... now...]
What formed was a finely honed blade of ether.
An exceptional technique only achievable by Esther, once a top-tier spectral entity who had mastered the essence of ether.
The sharp ether blade emerged like a hidden dagger, quietly positioned.
'Now.'
Invisible.
Soundless.
Nonexistent.
That impossible, intangible blade faced the approaching Turncoat Rook.
Thud!
Thud-thud-thud—!
The Turncoat Rook could barely sense the ether.
His ether sensitivity was practically nonexistent.
In fact, ether-sensitive beings in this world were exceedingly rare.
However, this wasn't entirely an advantage.
Since the ether blade was undetectable, it couldn't actively suppress or hinder his movements.
"Die."
The Turncoat Rook's cold voice reached me as his bone spear thrust toward my chest.
Even in perfect condition, it would have been hard to block.
But in my current state, it took everything I had to brace for the impact.
[Kreeeeeek...!]
Janus let out a horrific scream and coiled his bone tendrils around me, forming a protective barrier with all his strength.
But Janus was exhausted as well.
The thin, frail bone tendrils, far weaker than usual, shattered effortlessly against the Turncoat Rook's bone spear.
Crunch!
Crack, crack, crack!
Scarlet droplets scattered through the air.
Thanks to Janus buying me some time, I barely managed to dodge the Turncoat Rook's attack with just a superficial cut on my skin.
"Where do you think you're going?"
But the Turncoat Rook persistently lunged at me once more.
Though I evaded the first strike, there was no way the Turncoat Rook's relentless onslaught would end just like that.
Yes, that is—when the Turncoat Rook was attacking unilaterally.
Drip—
Drip...
Crimson blood dripped from the Turncoat Rook's chest.
The ether blade I had prepared earlier had slipped into his opening.
"This... is nothing...!"
Despite the copious blood flowing from his chest, the Turncoat Rook acted as if it were nothing and charged at me once more.
To be exact, he tried to.
"Guh!"
The Turncoat Rook's body twitched.
He hadn't noticed, but the ether blade controlled by Esther had already embedded itself within his body.
The plan was a success.
"Tricks!"
As the Turncoat Rook glared at me with a savage snarl, Esther appeared in front of him.
["Don't move."]
"...Esther."
["I don't want to hurt you."]
Was that a lie or not?
Honestly, I wasn't sure.
In the past, I would have dismissed all of Esther's words and expressions as deceit, but recently my perception of her had begun to change.
Especially since the opponent this time was the Turncoat Rook, once a comrade from the Shadow Order.
"Do you really think this pathetic trick can stop me?"
["It'll be difficult, yes. But if you take one more step, you'll die too."]
"Then do it."
The Turncoat Rook sneered.
He wasn't wrong.
The ether blade, even though it could wreak havoc inside his body, couldn't physically block the attack coming at me.
In other words, even if the Turncoat Rook took damage, I would undoubtedly die as well.
'Are the Turncoat Knight and Horus... still a bit far?'
The bone vines created by the Turncoat Rook.
When he dropped them and rushed forward, he scattered the bone vines all at once to entangle the legs of Horus and the Turncoat Knight.
It wasn't enough to inflict significant damage, but it bought him just enough time to separate them from me.
Esther spoke.
["This is a meaningless death. Are you giving up on your ambition?"]
To be honest, that was pure bluff.
Neither I nor Esther had enough strength left to maintain the ether blade any longer.
"If I'm gone, it's the same anyway."
["The Commander will be sad."]
The Turncoat Rook froze for a moment.
Was it because she mentioned the Commander?
For the first time, his unwavering stance faltered.
"...You don't have the right to mention that name, traitor."
["I... I didn't betray her."]
"Then what is this? If you truly didn't betray her, step aside. If it's for the Commander, sacrificing one person should be nothing."
["Even if I die... the Commander will be sad."]
"Ha!"
The Turncoat Rook's gaze burned with a murderous intensity as he glared at Esther.
Of course, the Turncoat Rook lacked the power to harm Esther, but that wasn't the issue here.
Betrayal.
Resentment.
Longing.
A whirlwind of emotions churned between the Turncoat Rook and Esther.
'Hmm.'
I watched the situation and realized it was time to act.
Sure, provoking the Turncoat Rook's emotions through Esther wasn't a bad plan.
But I had a more certain method.
"Janus!"
Almost as soon as I called out, the Turncoat Rook reacted swiftly.
But before he could charge at me, the Turncoat Knight leapt in, intercepting the attack.
While Esther was buying time, the Turncoat Knight had managed to break free from the bone vines.
["What... what are you doing—"]
Esther looked shocked.
I hadn't discussed this plan with her at all.
"Yeah, this is how it should have been from the start!"
As if pleased with the turn of events, the Turncoat Rook let out a vicious laugh and prepared to resume his offensive.
['Ankelenth's Roar' activated!]
Janus squeezed out his last bit of strength.
[KIEEEEEEEEEEEEK—!!!]
The roar, imbued with the power of Ankelenth, even forced the mighty Turncoat Rook to halt momentarily.
An opening revealed itself.
I had no intention of missing it.
["No... don't do it!"]
Amidst Esther's desperate scream,
The Spear of Ankelenth that had suddenly appeared in my hand pierced through Turncoat Rook.