Chapter 1197: Beyond the Limit

The superhuman soldiers had transformed into grotesque monster-like forms, and began rampaging out of control. I thought back to Count Ashtner, who we fought in Kranzel’s capital, since he possessed a skill called “Superhuman Transformation”.

I had expected these soldiers to be the result of experiments in replicating that skill, but I guess not. They seem more like humans infused with the power of monsters.

Now that they’ve left the control of their leader, Bladehawk, it became more difficult to lure them or predict their movements.

Still, we couldn’t afford to let a single one through.

Many ignored us and headed for the village, so we were left with no choice but to stop them with all our might.

『Uooh!』

（Hah!）

The flying superhumans were particularly dangerous, so we chased down the flyers closest to the village, eliminating them one after another.

Yet the number of enemies was not decreasing at all. Countless superhuman soldiers were already in the sky, yet additional soldiers kept growing wings and jumping up. All of them were heading towards the village.

We didn’t have the luxury to take our time, nor could we continue concealing our identities. Well, I still maintained my heavy-armor form for increased defense, but we could no longer hold back our abilities like thunder magic and Awakening.

Fran continued teleporting to various superhuman soldiers and striking them down in turn. Each of her blows contained black thunder and divine energy, while I spammed spells boosted by Arch-Sorcerer.

One strike, one kill.

This was necessary because feints and similar tricks mean nothing against opponents who don’t feel pain and regenerate instantly. Each of the superhumans had magic stones inside their bodies, but absorbing them yielded minimal mana and points. Destroying them didn’t kill or weaken the soldiers significantly either.

That said, every last bit of mana was welcome in this situation.

『They still have their eyes on the village, even after we’ve slain so many of them!』

「Why?」

『Just a hunch, but they can probably sense the presence of prey there.』

We’ve heard the superhuman soldiers were modified by infusing the factors of various monsters. Their natural instincts as monsters must be enhanced in this berserk state.

As a result, the grotesque abominations radiated an unfathomable hunger.

「Master, faster!」

『Yeah!』

Fran immersed herself even deeper in the battle, probably emptying her head of everything aside from massacring the soldiers.

Be it running, jumping, flying, or teleporting, she could be everywhere at once. This lone girl had dominated the entire battlefield all by herself.

The sky was decorated with explosions and raging bolts of lightning. One of the soldiers got cleaved in half when Fran teleported behind him. Another was torn to shreds by my steel threads. Urushi charged all the way through their ranks and crunched the soldiers with his jaws.

We kept eliminating the superhuman soldiers one after another, and we had taken down 1000 before we knew it. Even so, we hardly managed to thin their ranks at all, and the fatigue was wearing us down.

The superhuman soldiers on the ground managed to break our Great Wall, and began pouring through the gaps. As if that wasn’t enough, the ones who had taken a detour were now approaching the village from the left and right sides.

I continued invoking powerful spells to shave down their numbers, but the superhuman soldiers didn’t even flinch as their allies fell, hardly earning us a single second. I attempted to create additional Great Walls to block them, but the flyers managed to close in on the village in the meanwhile.

『Kanna Kamui!』

『Ekato Keraunos!』

『Uroooh!』

I unleashed several powerful spells in sequence, but firing them randomly wouldn’t be enough. I had to control them all perfectly, and take down as many superhuman soldiers as possible with each spell.

『Kuh…!』

I felt a chill, the familiar one, signaling that I’ve pushed myself too hard again. Considering that I was already relying on evil energy, I must be on the verge of breaking.

There might be huge risks if I continue pushing myself like this.

But this isn’t a situation we can solve without getting reckless! I don’t want those villagers dying on me either!

Fran and I felt exactly the same way.

We kept flying around at max speed, delivering full powered strikes packed with divine energy. Fran vomited a mixture of blood and stomach acid each time she overexerted herself.

She was taking significant damage, even without getting hit a single time. Her internal organs simply couldn’t withstand her ridiculous movements. While her regeneration managed to keep up with the damage for now, the blood loss just kept piling up.

As such, Fran’s movements began to lose their luster. Her fatigue was building up.

「Kuh… Ahh!」

『Fran! Slow down a bit!』

（But, the village…!）

I can understand Fran’s worries. We have the half-insectkin as a last line of defense, but they’re not strong enough to hold back hundreds of these soldiers. While the villagers themselves seemed eager to fight, they wouldn’t stand a chance either.

Maybe they could handle one or two strays, but any more will result in countless casualties.

Moreover, I could sense the mana within the superhuman soldiers growing as we fought. The more we defeated, the stronger the surviving superhuman soldiers became.

『They’re absorbing power from their fallen comrades!』

（Nn…）

As we continued expending our resources, our enemy only grew stronger and stronger. Yet we can’t afford to avoid killing them, since that would result in the villagers dying. Unacceptable, especially considering the children we had grown so fond of.

Fran resolved herself to continue, but our enemy refused to allow this.

「…!」

「Kwahaha! You’re really going all out, eh!」

Fran had no choice but to pause in front of a sudden explosion.

『Bladehawk!』

「Your voice sounds incredibly strange. Who are you really? Let’s see what’s behind that mask of yours!」

Bladehawk finally joined the fray, shooting his feathers out like arrows.

Furthermore, he could detonate the mana contained inside each feather to cause an explosion. What an annoying attack.

Fran tried to fight back, but Bladehawk maintained his distance, shouting back with a confident expression.

「Oh dear! Are you sure you can leave those failed experiments alone?」

「!」

Fran suppressed her killing intent and pursued the flying superhuman soldiers. She continued striking down those closest to the village while dodging Bladehawk’s feathers.

「Daaaaah!」

But even as Fran’s determination grew, her movements only became duller.

Despite both Fran and I being exhausted and pushed beyond our limits, the momentum of the approaching army remained unchanged. We simply didn’t have enough manpower to force them back.

（I won’t lose!）

We continued pushing on with sheer willpower. That said, some things can’t be done with willpower alone. Fran continued coughing blood, sometimes breaking her own bones. She was so bruised and battered that her consciousness was starting to get hazy.

Practically all of Fran’s damage was self-inflicted. Bladehawk’s attacks were more of a diversion than anything else, probably to exacerbate our exhaustion.

With a determined spirit, Fran continued fighting at max output.

But I could sense her breaking point approaching.

「…!」

『?』

Did someone say something?

「…it!」

Yeah, this is definitely a voice.

Someone’s voice could be heard amidst the roars of the superhuman soldiers.

「…Onee-chan! You can do it!」