Chapter 43 : Siege of Crimson Spire (1)

The Dreamer Army came to a stop as they all marveled at the Crimson Spire. Despite having seen it many times before, Kiyotaka was still amazed by the structure.

From a distance, it looked like a bloodied sword that some primordial titan had thrust into the heavens. The crimson coral streamed from its walls like the blood of gods, spreading out from the base of the Spire to devour all of the Forgotten Shore. The tower itself seemed to stand on an island, surrounded on all sides by black water.

On the coast from both sides, there were many harrowing Nightmare Creatures of Awakened and even some Fallen ranks. Needless to say, no ordinary Sleepers would be able to fight them.

But no one in the army was ordinary. On their way to the Crimson Spire, they had slaughtered any Nightmare Creatures they faced. Some perished, but it was mostly due to their own stupidity and weak mentality. Now, there were only those who were at the apex of humanity left.

Looking at the harrowing twisted tower, Kiyotaka glanced at Cassie, Nephis, and Sunny who were beside him. They had started their journey in the Labyrinth together, and now they were here, together.

Glancing at them, he spoke. "It's strange, isn't it?"

Cassie looked at him and asked, "What is?"

Kiyotaka looked at them. "How much trust we have and how much we don't."

Sunny looked at him with confusion. "What do you mean?"

Kiyotaka briefly glanced at Cassie. "Nothing, let's prepare for a siege."

---

Very soon, the sun rose higher, and the dark whirlpool surrounding the Crimson Spire became a little smaller. Several bridges of red coral rose from its depths, connecting the island to the rest of the Forgotten Shore.

And out there on the island, countless silhouettes suddenly began to move, crawling out of the crimson mounds. They were the Nightmare Creatures guarding the cursed tower.

All kinds of horrors were among them. There were members of the carapace legion: scavengers, centurions, and demons. There were colonies of carnivorous worms, giant centipedes that secreted corrosive oil, and eerie vines that crawled on the ground like snakes.

All of them moved together in strange harmony, devoid of the usual territorial aggression that forced the Nightmare Creatures of different tribes to fight each other. They were subjugated by the Crimson Terror and now served to guard the Spire.

Like a terrible wave, the horde of monsters rolled over the bridges of crimson coral and flowed toward the human army.

From his position at the back of it, Kiyotaka could clearly see the bodies of those standing in the front line tremble and take an involuntary step back. Someone even dropped their weapon.

A moment later, he spoke in a sharp, murderous tone. "Stand your ground, or I will kill anyone who dares to run away and abandon their comrades."

His words seemed to create more fear in the hearts of Sleepers as they remembered how mercilessly Kiyotaka butchered his opponents, no different from Nightmare Creatures... no, even worse than that.

As they resolved themselves, they looked at the horde of Nightmare Creatures running towards them. Their knees felt weak, but the hope from Changing Star's presence and the fear from the earlier threat in their hearts made them stabilize.

At the forefront stood Effie, gripping her shield [Dusk Shard] and her spear [Zenith]. Effie seemed like a bastion of strength and resolve in the sea of fear, a mythical hero that had stepped into the mortal realm from an ancient legend.

However, Kiyotaka could see that she was, in fact, scared shitless. He couldn't judge her as anyone in her place would be scared. Standing at the forefront and leading people to their certain death was no easy feat.

Sighing to himself, he left Cassie's side, leaving her to command. He had given her all the information she needed. Now, it was time for him to fight. Summoning his Abyssal Reaver, he stepped closer to the first line and stood next to Effie.

Nephis looked at the impending danger. She gave a nod to Kai, signaling to attack.

Kai raised his bow at an angle and nocked an arrow, his unit following suit. Immediately, arrows and other projectiles rained on the horde as if in a massive artillery strike.

This was a traditional medieval tactic of lowering the number of enemies. Many Nightmare Creatures fell, but their places were immediately replaced by others, creating a visual effect as if nothing had really happened.

Kai and his unit managed to attack two more times, but yet again, the horde seemed unending.

Soon, the horde reached Effie and her unit of melee fighters.

Making a step forward, Effie strained her muscles and threw the Zenith Shard into the approaching mass of abominations. The beautiful bronze spear shattered the steel carapace of an especially tall creature and pierced its heart.

How could it not kill, empowered by the miraculous enchantment of the Crown of Dawn? All of their weapons, and all of their armors, were currently being fed raw power by Changing Star's charm memory.

All around the steel demon, numerous abominations fell, killed in a similar fashion by the Memories thrown by the other Sleepers.

Summoning the spear back, Effie watched as the first row of Nightmare Creatures fell into a deep ditch that the Artisans had created just an hour earlier. Those moving behind them simply stepped on the bodies of their fellow abominations and continued moving forward.

But finally, the speed of the horde was diminished, if only by a little.

"Brace!"

That's all she had time to yell before the wave of monsters crashed into the line of humans.

Then, the world was consumed by nothing but madness, havoc, and death.

All around Effie, the bodies of humans and Nightmare Creatures were entangled into an undulating, bleeding, roaring mess. Claws and steel weapons rose and fell, sending streams of blood, splinters of bone, and chunks of flesh to the ground. Screams of fear, pain, and fury mixed with the indescribable howling of the nightmare horde into a cacophonous litany of death.

After arduous minutes of fighting, Effie issued a command to switch. Instead of her, the second line of fighters, who were fresh, stepped up, letting the survivors of the first line rest a bit. Seishan led her handmaidens and others to replace them.

In all of that madness, only one person remained in his place, slaying abomination after abomination. His Abyssal Reaver cleaving through creatures left and right.

Yes, it was someone who had been assigned to remain to the bitter end. A warrior who would fight till the end.

The Warrior of the End.