-1582- The power of one

In that moment, an unprecedented panic descended upon the floating city of the Pope.

An endless swarm of Armored Beetles attacked from the sky, launching assaults in all directions across Vebel, mercilessly swinging their claws of slaughter at one innocent citizen after another.

People could only flee in panic, crying, fearing, and despairing as they tried to reach a safe place.

But in the current Vebel, where could possibly be safe?

The army of billions of Armored Beetles, like ants preparing to devour a beehive, quickly covered every corner of Vebel. The city appeared to be completely filled with the mass of beetles, transforming into a nest, leaving no gaps behind.

The original Armored Beetle hovered above Vebel. In comparison, even the largest floating city looked insignificant. If it descended directly, Vebel would instantly be crushed, and everyone would perish.

The situation could only be described as hopeless.

Even if all the Sky Wizards of humanity gathered to fight, they likely couldn't withstand such an army.

Among the army, even a single large Variant could threaten a floating city. Now, there were at least hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of such large Variants, along with numerous medium-sized, large, and Variant types attacking Vebel's airspace. How could there be any hope?

Thus, this army could undoubtedly destroy the floating city of the Pope, Vebel, in an instant, continue advancing, wipe out all the floating cities across the world, and ultimately eliminate humanity to claim dominance over the world.

This was the current situation.

If Rozen were not present, that is.

"Come forth! The fourth Beast Vassal — Natra Cinereus!"

Just as the endless swarm of Armored Beetles covered Vebel and prepared to slaughter everyone within, a voice echoed through the skies.

Immediately after, within Vebel, a massive silver-shelled beast appeared.

"Grrr—!"

The silver-shelled beast let out a roar.

Under that roar, all of Vebel began to blur.

The fleeing people became fuzzy.

The buildings became fuzzy.

The ground became fuzzy.

The roads became fuzzy.

Everything became blurry, and finally, everything turned into a silver mist.

Thus, the entirety of Vebel turned to mist, becoming a dense silver fog, with no solid objects remaining.

The endless swarm of Armored Beetles suddenly became like beasts rushing into a fog, turning into headless flies.

Under Natra Cinereus's power, everything that the Armored Beetles could destroy and slaughter had all been vaporized. They lost their targets, unable to harm a single person.

And then...

"Buzz—!"

A massive magic circle suddenly spun into view, covering the skies above Vebel, appearing in front of all the Armored Beetles.

"Summon Wyvern!"

Rozen's voice resounded throughout the airspace once again, causing the magic circle to emit a dazzling radiance.

Then, various types of Wyvern emerged from the magic circle, accompanied by deafening roars, charging toward the billions of Armored Beetles.

A total of several hundred thousand Wyvern appeared, far fewer in number than the Armored Beetles.

However, each Wyvern carried high-grade mana, with power far surpassing their original level.

In the past, Wyverns were merely upper-tier familiars, vastly inferior to true dragon species.

But these hundreds of thousands of Wyverns, empowered by high-grade mana, experienced a rapid surge in strength, instantly transforming into several hundred thousand dragons at the level of ultimate familiars.

"Roar—!"

"Roar—!"

The dragons roared fiercely, charging through the silver mist and attacking the army of Armored Beetles.

In an instant, the jutsuryoku fluctuations and dragon breaths filled the air, with thunderous booms echoing across the skies, never-ending.

The dragon army and the Armored Beetle army clashed violently, fighting fiercely and relentlessly.

The dragons, despite their fewer numbers, were so powerful that they could easily crush even large Variants. They howled in rage, biting down or spewing all kinds of dragon breaths, bombing the Armored Beetle army with relentless ferocity.

Meanwhile, the original Armored Beetle had also encountered an adversary.

"Roar—!"

With a brilliant golden light shooting up like a beam, a golden dragon took shape within the silver mist, roaring and gliding rapidly through the clouds, charging toward the original Armored Beetle.

It was none other than Hokuto.

"Boom—!"

Hokuto slammed fiercely into the original Armored Beetle, creating an impact comparable to a Category 10 typhoon, scattering the surrounding clouds.

"Graaah—!"

The original Armored Beetle let out a pained howl, immediately countering with a charge toward Hokuto.

Hokuto instantly expanded in size, transforming into a colossal creature that was not in the least inferior to the original Armored Beetle. With a fierce roar, it charged fearlessly forward.

"Boom—!"

A far more violent and terrifying shockwave erupted, expanding like a blade of light in all directions.

The Wyvern army and the Armored Beetle army clashed wildly, neither side giving any quarter.

Rozen alone held off the entire Armored Beetle army.

Had the people not been vaporized, they would have surely been awestruck by the scene unfolding before them.

Unfortunately, all non-Armored Beetle entities, including Kanata, Chloe, Yuri, and Mina, as well as Annerose, Emilie, Cris, and River, had all been vaporized.

Only Rozen stood, suspended at the center of the silver mist, standing in front of the silver-shelled beast, facing the wind.

As for Rozen...

"As expected, you are my greatest obstacle...!"

With this declaration, a figure charged toward Rozen like a streak of black lightning.

Who else could it be but Zeth?

"Slash!"

The cursed black sword in Zeth's hand sliced through the silver mist, cutting toward Rozen like a bolt of black lightning.

"Clang—!"

The cursed sword struck Rozen's raised hand, as if hitting steel, sparking fiercely and unleashing a shockwave that blew away the surrounding silver mist.

"Is that all?"

Rozen sneered, gripping a jutsu talisman in his hand, which transformed into a golden sword imbued with the light of Magic Resilience.

"Splush!"

With a tearing sound, the Magic Resilience sword in Rozen's hand slashed through Zeth's body, cleaving him in two.

Blood sprayed from Zeth's body.

Yet, in the next instant, Zeth's body, which had been cut in half, healed instantly.

"Oh?"

Rozen raised an eyebrow.

But by then, Zeth had already closed in again.

"Cursed Sword Battle Skill — Purgatory Strike!"

The cursed black sword in Zeth's hand erupted with a terrifying radiance.

That radiance was not bright but rather dark as an abyss.

Zeth unleashed a black torrent.

The black torrent surged toward Rozen, illuminating the cold gleam in Rozen's eyes.