Chapter 55: Ravaging

“Shion!!!”

“Mom!! Get away from here—hurry, run!!! We can’t fight someone like this while protecting you!!!!”

Even after being blown back hard enough to snap multiple trees, Shion’s fighting spirit did not waver. Or rather—if she didn’t cling tightly to her spear and force herself to believe that, her body would have started shaking uncontrollably from the sheer presence in front of her.

(That last strike… if I hadn’t taken it, Mom’s head would have been gone…!!)

A scene she had seen before—one she had survived—was nearly about to repeat itself with her mother. That alone was enough reason to fight. And yet, even with that surge of resolve, she still couldn’t bring herself to believe she could defeat the monster in the shape of a girl standing before her.

“The Spear King… don’t tell me…!!”

“That is correct, Shion Ace… This body is already mine. Julia Deuce has become nothing more than nourishment… I have some dissatisfaction, but it cannot be helped…”

Using Julia’s voice, it spoke words Julia herself would never say. Its tone was flat, as if emotion had been completely discarded—so devoid of warmth it made one wonder if anything human remained at all.

And precisely because of that, Shion was forced to understand. This was the Spear King. The golden hair, the emotionless speech, even the impossibly fast flicker of its spear—everything confirmed it.

(Can I win…!?)

No image of victory came to mind. The best she could imagine was getting her mother out of here alive—and even that felt like a miracle stacked upon miracles, given the difference in their strength.

This was a “King.” One of only seven beings in the world regarded as the highest tier of combat power—monsters among monsters.

A true prodigy who had survived for five hundred years with nothing but a single spear. A being so distorted that even the reason for fighting had long since been forgotten, yet who still clung to existence.

And yet—even that Spear King had a weakness, just now.

(My poison is working. Otherwise, I would’ve been stopped by that first strike…!! It’s not fully effective, but it’s still forcing them to expend strength resisting it…!! This is the only chance we’ll ever get to take them down!!!)

The Yaranri Kingdom had long been built under exploitation from above. Shion knew the one who created that system was the Spear King standing before her. That was why she had trained relentlessly—to reach the top.

If there was ever a chance to defeat this girl-shaped calamity, it was now. While Julia’s body was poisoned. While she was weakened.

Without hesitation, Shion moved.

The Spear King rushed forward, not even glancing at Shion. It flexed and opened and closed its free hand repeatedly, as if checking its condition. Its body was sluggish. Reactions delayed. Senses heavily restricted. Force difficult to exert.

“Trivial. This level is nothing.”

Even so, it did not register Shion as a threat.

Shion’s fastest thrust—without even looking—was caught on a spear. Her eyes did not widen. She accepted it as fact and pressed on relentlessly.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

She would not let it act. She would not give it space. That was all she focused on as she screamed and hammered strike after strike. But no matter the angle—up, down, left, right—she could not break through the Spear King’s defense.

A feint from below into a ground-sweeping strike meant to blind with sand was evaded with a single step back.

A full-force overhead strike was interrupted mid-motion by a single piercing counter.

Attacks from the sides were redirected by terrain and trees, preventing sustained pressure.

Even with its senses impaired, every attack was being read and neutralized. Worse—Shion was the one accumulating injuries. Even when blown back repeatedly, she forced herself up, knowing hesitation meant death.

“Get out of my way, Shion Ace… I must eliminate those insurgents quickly…”

“I won’t let some vengeful ghost who can’t even survive in its own body kill my mother!!!”

“Foolish… That body is merely a proxy—a tool to make you my vessel… Anything that fails its purpose and harms its owner has no value…”

“My mother and I… are NOT your tools!!!!”

Still, she had to fight. The Spear King would kill Ciel if not stopped. That fact did not change. There was no choice but resistance.

But she alone could never win. Even now, while poisoned, the gap was overwhelming—and the fact she could even keep standing proved her strength.

Yet it brought no comfort. Only time bought. A fragile delay. A hope for a miracle that might be born from it.

“Die, you parasite!!!!”

“GET AWAY FROM JULIA, YOU TRASH!!!!”

Then—wind and water blades erupted into the battlefield.

At the sound of their voices, the Spear King shifted its gaze slightly, registered them, and deflected both attacks with twin spears, sending the two figures crashing to the ground.

Its cold gaze did not waver.

“Hikari… Lady Hikari, and Leila. You survived. Even after fighting Hikari, I see.”

“I lost badly. If not for the Saint of Swordria healing me, I wouldn’t even be able to stand. And if I hadn’t been healed, I wouldn’t have found my way here with this silver-haired idiot anyway.”

“Getting lost in a forest where everything looks the same is the real problem here.”

Despite the light exchange, none of them took their eyes off the Spear King. One moment of distraction meant death.

Seeing Julia’s possessed body, Leila’s expression twisted, though she forced her breathing steady.

“What’s the situation?”

“Julia used something called the Spear King’s technique. I resisted, and she was swallowed by the darkness. I poisoned her, but even so… she’s a monster. I can’t see a way to win even with three of us.”

“I want to cry at the fact that ‘poisoned’ is the only good news here.”

Hikari looked at the Spear King, cold sweat running down her face. She knew exactly how strong Shion’s poison was—from mock battles and the old King Wars.

Even Toma, the one who had awakened as the “Adaptive One,” could not fully overcome it. A poison that invaded the senses, making even standing or fighting difficult. And yet—the Spear King stood calmly.

“Still, I won’t stop resisting. I will protect my mother.”

“Same here. I don’t care what happens to you or your mother, but I can’t accept Julia like that. She may feel differently, but to me, she’s my only friend.”

“I wouldn’t usually say this… but yeah. I’ll help. Leaving it like this would just make Toma sad.”

Different reasons. Former enemies. And yet—they understood instantly: in this situation, they could cooperate.

Shion and Hikari moved at once, weaving past each other to disrupt the Spear King’s perception, striking in synchronized hit-and-run attacks. Every blow was deflected. Even so, they refused to stop.

Hikari’s Wind Sword carved wounds each time it was blocked, but the Spear King showed no reaction. It calmly parried Shion’s poisoned spear, searching for openings without overextending.

There was no humanity in that precision. Their desperation only deepened.

Then Leila struck from behind with a water spear.

At the exact moment the Spear King blocked Hikari’s blade and Shion’s spear, the water attack forced a shift in its stance—and it staggered.

That was the opening they had been waiting for.

They committed fully.

But—

“…Too soft.”

They realized too late.

With a slight motion, the Spear King deflected the water and flung it into Shion and Hikari’s eyes, blinding them and breaking their coordination.

“Gah!?”

“Wha—!?”

Before they could recover, a follow-up strike sent both crashing to the ground.

Their bodies screamed in pain. They would have died if not for their guard.

Leila barely avoided a killing blow—but in the next instant, a spear was already at her throat.

And then—

Two shadows dropped from above, kicking up dust.

“Hands off my childhood friend!!!”

“…and my twin sister.”

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!!!!!!!”

The Sword King and the Spear of Might—both bearing the scars of battles since the early stages of the King Wars—stood together.

Two beings who held the slightest chance of opposing the Spear King.

And they charged in at once.