754. [STAGE 45] Perception (5)
This happened when Cromwell was young.
“Ah!”
Cromwell was sparring with a demonic young man, but he accidentally slipped and fell, losing the game.
The tip of the sword held out by the demon youth was touching the end of Cromwell’s neck.
It was my first defeat ever.
Although he was young, Cromwell’s talent was so overwhelming that he never lost a sparring match with anyone in his life.
Cromwell was surprised, but the demon youth who defeated Cromwell was even more surprised. And the elder’s face, who was watching the sparring, turned blue with embarrassment.
《Haha, you are amazing!》
Cromwell, who was dazed for a moment, eventually smiled refreshingly and stood up to shake the hand of the young man who defeated him.
The young man was dumbfounded and shook Cromwell’s hand. Cromwell patted the young man on the shoulder.
“You are the first to defeat me. Let’s spar again next time! 》
But that didn’t happen.
Because the young man was ‘eliminated’ that night.
Sigh! Sigh! Phew…!
The elder swung the knife with an expressionless face and plunged it into the stomach of the young man who was tied to the pillar.
The young man writhed in pain and eventually died. The elder wiped his sweaty face with his sleeve.
《Elder?!》
Cromwell, who arrived at the scene a little late, was shocked.
《The hell… what on earth have you done now?! “Why did you kill him?”
“Your Excellency,”
the elder scolded coldly.
《Your Excellency, you must not fail even if you are defeated.》
《What…?!》
《Because as the ruler of the legion, you must be perfect.》
So.
Anyone who knows of Cromwell’s defeat will be killed.
It was a ridiculous idea and action, but the elder’s eyes were filled with a strangely firm belief.
Cromwell asked with a trembling voice.
《So… you’re making something like this that never happened?》
《Yes. Your Excellency has never been defeated. That never happened.》
After igniting the magic flame on the limp young man’s body, the elder whispered in Cromwell’s ear in a stern voice.
《Your Excellency, if you really lose, if you really fail, it will be me and our entire corps that will be tied to the pillar and die like this.》 《
…!》
《Never be defeated. Never fail. Only achieve victory.》
The young man’s body burned in an instant, leaving only ashes.
The elder once again coldly engraved the words in Cromwell’s ear, who was frozen as he looked down at the charred spot.
“Only victory for the Legion.”
That was true.
Cromwell buried all the mistakes he made while growing up and pretended they never happened. She was forcibly made perfect.
She was never defeated and never failed. Cromwell grew into the greatest corps commander.
And that’s why.
Cromwell never learned to accept failure.
I neither learned a lesson from failure nor learned how to calm down from defeat.
《Huh?》
And at some point.
Cromwell was standing at the end of a dead end street.
Dead End.
After being defeated by the Night Bringer, he can no longer walk and stands still.
‘Ah…’
she thought idly at the border between life and death.
‘It’s convenient because it stops.’
In fact, she didn’t understand from the beginning.
Why must we conquer the world?
What is the tribe’s long-cherished wish? What is the glory of hometown?
I was just pushed to the front as if my back was being pushed.
Because everyone is looking forward to it. Because everyone is watching you. Because everyone unanimously says that they are the only hope…
But now that boring race is over.
You can put everything aside and rest.
“Now, Sir.”
Then a voice came from behind me. I turned around and saw an elder standing with his arms outstretched.
《Let’s make this defeat like it never happened.》
《….》
《And. Continue to win.》
I hated it.
I didn’t want to get up and fight anymore.
Why should we fight, why should we win, and why should we not lose? Cromwell still did not know.
But because he is a corps commander.
Because I have to fight for the Legion.
For my favorite corps members and my favorite dad. I need to gain strength just one more time….
“Eat.”
So I ate.
Let’s make defeat a thing of the past by chewing up everyone in the corps, regardless of age or gender.
After I achieve my long-held wish and destroy this world, everyone will be happy.
《Ah?》
Break through the wall of the dead end road by crushing it with the flesh and bones of the corps members.
As Cromwell crawled through the passage covered in blood with his reanimated body, a sudden realization occurred to him.
I have been pursuing victory for my father and for the members of the corps.
To achieve that victory, he ate his father and all the members of the corps.
《Aaaaa…?》
***
《Aaaaaaa-!》
The monster roars.
The ominous green magical light scattered dizzyingly and soared in all directions, and Cromwell’s entire body, with his huge green antlers raised in the center, was boiling.
I gritted my teeth at the unusual atmosphere.
“How many times does the phase change really happen…!”
I’m telling you to take it in moderation and relax!
However, this time is Stage 45. It is the last boss stage before Stage 50, the final battle.
As expected of the boss monster of such a boss stage, Cromwell did not seem to have any intention of being defeated so easily.
Sigh!
A huge number of tentacles rose above Cromwell’s head, which had separated from the carcass of a reindeer and was now the size of a slightly larger human woman.
The tentacles that wriggled and rose up immediately hardened and became intricately intertwined, making the originally huge antlers even bigger and thicker.
《Aaaaaaaaa-!》
Aaaah! Sigh!
The horn, made up of hundreds and thousands of tangled tentacles, each contained different magical powers and began to emit complex colors.
At the same time, thousands of magical patterns rushed out like waves from Cromwell’s Horn.
“this is!”
Diarmudin, who sensed that magical power, muttered with a pale complexion.
“This is the magic pattern of the other corps commanders that Cromwell devoured earlier…!”
“yes?!”
“Not only that. “The magic patterns of all kinds of small monsters still remain!”
I gritted my teeth and glared at Cromwell. Could it be that that bastard….
“Did he absorb all the special abilities of the monsters he devoured…?”
Now I finally understand a little about the messy process so far.
Why did they go out of their way to eat all of their allies and then spit them out again?
I wonder where all the abilities that the remaining zombified monsters cannot use have gone.
Like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis, it looks like it locked itself in a piece of meat and then came back out…!
《Aaaaaaa!》
Cromwell’s horn, which was emitting a colorful and ominous aura in all directions
as if all the monsters in the world had been merged into one, suddenly stopped spraying color.
Cromwell’s huge horn, which stopped spraying magic light, turned a dull green.
Cromwell, who was staggering as if a huge tree had been placed on his head, eventually
opened his closed eyes.
Flash!
With a terrifying green eye glow, a terrible evil energy arose in the area.
Afterwards, only a few dozen strands of Cromwell’s huge tangled horns turned red and glowed.
‘this is…!’
The power of the Flame Giant Legion!
‘Am I manifesting all the power of the flame giants I captured at once?!’
As Cromwell drew back his right fist and then thrust forward,
flames billowed out from his red horn, forming a gigantic giant’s arm in the air… and crashing down on the heads of our heroes rushing towards her.
Quaaaaaaaaaaa!
A huge explosion and smoke spewed out in all directions.
-But there is no damage.
“This is it…!”
This is because right before the fist of flame fell, I created a magic wall in the air and blocked it like a sword.
The magic wall melted and evaporated in real time, but it was enough to buy a few seconds. My heroes were already within a stone’s throw of Cromwell.
Cromwell then flicked the blade of his left hand horizontally.
Gooooooo!
As expected, some of the giant horns emitted a turquoise flash, and this time, a long blade-like arm was created in the air.
‘The cutting power of the mantis army…!’
Tsukaaaaak-!
And a slash in the form of a flying mantis scythe-
“Uuuuuu-!”
Ugh!
Thorkel caught it with his body.
Originally, it was a kind of curse that would absolutely cut down the opponent, but Thorkell activated his ultimate skill [Humans are not born to be defeated] and received it with his body, canceling out the curse in the air.
“Nice Thorkel!”
But instead of congratulating him, I had to stop talking in shock.
Okay! Okay! Okay! Whoa!
This is because the horns, which were only partially glowing so far, have now begun to emit colorful lights, as if lights are turning on one after another.
《Ah…》
Cromwell’s green eyes opened wide as if they were about to be torn apart, and all kinds of monster attack methods materialized into magical power around her body.
“dad. Please watch over me.》
Crumbling…
It was clearly a sound made in response to magical energy, but it sounded like an ominous bursting sound, as if bone joints were clashing together.
“I will lead our legion…”
Cromwell roared, opening his mouth wide.
《To the path of glory!》
Kwagwagwagwagwang…!
A fierce storm of magical power erupted in all directions, front, rear, left, right, top and bottom.
The hellhound’s teeth, the centipede’s venom, the cicada’s leg muscles, and countless tentacles…
all of it was shaped by magical power and poured out indiscriminately. The heroes who managed to get close had to retreat quickly to avoid being caught in its scope.
“Ugh! “How can there be people like this…?!”
“Ash! “There is no room to dig in!”
“Keep your distance! “We have to find a way!”
The melee heroes, who had barely gained distance from Cromwell, took a deep breath and looked for an opening. But just by getting this close, everyone is already covered in scratches.
I clicked my tongue as I examined Cromwell’s horn, which was constantly shining.
‘The long-distance attack team…!’
Of course, our wizards and snipers were trying to attack.
Wow! Oh my!
Already at the stage of transformation, Cromwell’s horn was caught in the thick fog-like magic field and was completely destroyed in the air.
Junior, who joined late, was whining and pouring out [Elemental Disintegration], but Cromwell ate all the monsters in the area and took the magical power as his own.
The soaring power output was greater than the magic power that [Elemental Disintegration] was reducing.
‘If anything, he’s not that sophisticated!’
Cromwell’s attack was merciless.
It is close to a resistance that is reflexively sprayed towards an enemy that approaches.
To use an analogy, it is like a boxer who has been beaten up with a lot of punches, but is standing unconscious and swinging his fists at everyone who comes near… should I say that.
‘If this is the case, the means of attack we can use…’ As
I quickly thought about it, I heard a voice next to me.
“Prince Ash.”
When I turned around, it was Diermudine.
The old wizard nodded towards me with a somewhat confused look on his face.
“I have a way to neutralize that monster.”
“yes? Is that true?”
“exactly.”
Diarmudine smiled bitterly as he glared at Cromwell.
“When I was staying with demon servants in an abandoned cathedral… “I have a known weakness.”
Diarmudin then let out a long sigh.
“This kind of role comes to an old man again.”
