Viers retreated back to the Nest. He had done his ‘big villain moment of massacring armies with impunity‘ for broadening his Horizon. Up next was his unveiling of the preparations before fighting Anne for real. It would be rude -and downright wasteful- to not use the traps he had spent months making.
Anne and the other white spark holders assembled at the main gate of the Nest, the fighting was thick around them. The Tyra Xerg had returned to their full might, shedding the lethargy that plagued them before.
The spark holders were not fools. Thoughts were forming in their heads. Whether Tanael’s recovery was that fast or he had never been wounded in the first place. If it was the second case then this was a trap.
“It doesn’t change a thing,” Anne said. “What we must do hasn't changed. We must destroy Tanael’s crystal and this is the only road to that end.”
“My lords and ladies,” a messenger NPC came. “Report from back home.”
They got a report that an army of Xerg appeared in the Alliance’s territory, attacking their bases. Eyewitnesses said at least three gigantic worms pierced the earth from underground and the Xerg were pouring out from the holes. Now they couldn't surrender and bail out with their lives when things got hairy.
Viers had been ready for quite a while, he was just waiting for a chance to let Boram survive.
Now there was no other choice but to destroy Tanael’s crystal or the worst future -where Tanael had uncontested access to spark shards- would be realized.
“Let’s go,” Max urged.
“I won't be following you.”
Fithel the elf’s words surprised them.
“You’ll back out this late in the fight?” Khalmar said.
“I have no quarrel with Tanael. This Trial is a competition and he has been doing it better than us. It is your right to challenge him for victory but I won’t.”
“Very well,” Anne replied with good sport. “This is my own wish. Whoever wishes to stay is free to do so. Choose the path that your heart tells you to take.”
***
There were seventeen white spark holders at the beginning of Stage 5. Aravin, Naya, Sabine, Troy, and the dwarf died, plus Boram retired, so out of the remaining eleven, nine stepped into the inner body of a humongous leviathan that was Viers’ castle.
“Zerri, of the two that backed down, other than the elf, tell your children to focus on him. I don't want that guy to get out of this alive,” the Overlord of the Tyra Xerg commanded.
“As you wish.”
“Now, let’s welcome the guests shall we? Paina, music.”
“Yes, yes,” Paina replied lightly from the White Flowers Meadows in Viers’ soul space. “To think my first show is for a funeral…”
Paina’s fingers danced on the white and black keys of the piano. No longer was she limited to the flute. For six months she had been learning the piano from Viers. He was no pianist but he taught her the basics and Paina, a talented musician, improved it on her own.
Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata was recreated in this isekai.
As Anne and her gang walked in a corridor resembling an empty blood vessel, they heard Paina’s piano.
“This is…”
“A song?”
“Not good. We must hurry!”
Naturally, Viers didn't broadcast a masterpiece of music and waste his Victa out of the goodness of his heart. The nine took ticking soul damage every second the song played.
Arte - Moonlight Sonata Funeral.
The damage was very slight but the debuff it inflicted was the main ingredient. Like a biscuit softened by water, their soul would become more susceptible to soul damage in the future. The effect wasn't permanent but it would last long enough for the future fight.
Anne realized it immediately and braved through the challenges Viers prepared for them. Crushing walls, spikes coming out from the floor, collapsing ceilings, poison gas, ambush-type Xerg, Viers paired like with like, classic traps to go along with classical music.
Meanwhile, Viers walked with Zerrigan’s real body at his side. With her discarding the big birthing organ, as there was no need for it anymore, she wasn't as immobile as before.
“Overlord, the crystals in the Whitelands have been destroyed. With their paltry defenses, it wasn't difficult. Other than the elf, the other white spark holder outside the Nest is dead. My children from the northern battlefront have returned, including the two kaijus. They didn't stand a chance. The armies of the Alliance are on the defensive, focusing on buying time for Anne and the others to destroy your crystal.”
“Then all is on track. Good job.”
Now there were only four crystals remaining, all belonged to the Gloomsiders. Even though the other Horsemen beside Viers had all gone, their crystals remained.
When all faction crystals were destroyed, Stage 5 would end.
“Do I have your leave to proceed with the Final Order, Overlord?”
Viers stopped walking, he faced Zerrigan with gratitude and fondness, no matter how inhuman her form might be.
“You have been a most valuable person, Zerrigan. I wouldn't be able to do this without you. I am grateful beyond measure.”
“It is my pleasure to serve, my master.”
“...We made a good team.”
Viers completed his goodbye by kissing the forehead of the Alien Queen look-alike. He proceeded to look upon his castle, remembering the place as it was. Spires of blood veins, walls of flesh, and his throne of bones.
All is lost except for the soul, bodies can be replaced but events like this will not be.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Zerrigan stayed behind for her first and final battle using her main body.
Meanwhile, Viers was walking out of the Nest using a secret underground passage that he had made months prior.
Since when did a Demon Lord have the obligation to stay in their castles when the Heroes came knocking?
***
With difficulty, Anne and her merry band of heroes finally reached the crystal room. Even Anne was not in pristine condition after going through Viers’ nasty villain traps. They had tried to circumvent the laid-out path by breaking through the walls and such but Viers also had measures for that. He was very thorough.
Anne’s contribution was massive. Otherwise, the nine would have been two or three fewer members by now.
The group laid their eyes on the crystal behind Zerrigan’s real body. The sonata had reached the presto agitato part. The beat quickened, the tension in the air could be cut with a sword.
“The crystal’s over there… but there’s no sign of Tanael,” Max said.
“Welcome invaders. Lord Tanael is in another castle,” Zerrigan spoke using telepathy, passing on the words that Viers told her to tell. “But if you want to destroy the crystal, you’ll have to kill me first.”
“...Tanael ran!?”
“Ha! He must have lost his marbles seeing the might of the Holy Child!”
In contrast with the happy gang, Anne looked on in silence.
“...He left you here to die,” Anne grimly realized.
“Not quite. But should I die for him, I have no regrets.”
“Then I’m sorry for doing this,” Anne prepared her move.
“The name bestowed upon me is Zerrigan!” Zerrigan bellowed. “The Queen of Living Blades! First of the Tyra Xerg! Enemies of my lord, perish!”
“Oh no! Full defense!” Anne shouted.
There was a blinding light and thunderous boom.
Right off the bat, Zerrigan unleashed Immaterium Psychic Ultima! A beam of blue lighting born from psychic energy three meters in diameter rushed and raged like a beast unchained.
She began the battle using her ultimate technique. Compared to the time she used it against the yellow lady using a proxy, the power was much stronger.
No holds barred, Zerrigan held nothing back. She used all the brain power in the Hive Mind. Outside the nest, many Xerg had their brains explode from the strain.
Like a colorful beam from a robot anime, the massive surge of energy struck Anne first. She took the brunt of the attack from the front, protecting the other players behind her like a mother bird protecting her eggs. It was like watching someone diverting a river of lightning with their bare hands and sheer will.
Zerrigan kept exerting her strength, squeezing every drop out of her psychic mind. To prolong the attack by a single second, she paid in blood. The casualties on the Tyra Xerg were staggering, nine out of ten Xerg were now brainless gunks of flesh. On the battlefield outside the Nest, there were more than one million Xerg in that wretched state, their heads had exploded spontaneously.
It lasted less than thirty seconds. Zerrigan had wrung herself dry to reach that limit.
Zerrigan’s energy ran out before Anne. Crackling blue sparks remained as a residue before fading to nothingness. The crystal room was pretty empty despite its size. The floor and walls were beaten up from the strike beyond the limit of humans. Out of strength, Zerrigan slumped on the floor, barely holding on to her consciousness.
“Urgh… Is everyone alright?” Anne coughed a few times.
“Thanks to you.”
“Anne, your hands…”
Anne’s hands were charred black like charcoal. The skin was peeled and the room smelled like burnt flesh. Even she couldn't defend such a mighty attack without a price.
“I’ll be fine.”
“It’s weakened,” Khalmar eyed Zerrigan. “I’ll finish it off!”
“No,” Anne interrupted. “She’s beaten. Leave her be. We must destroy the crystal.”
“You soft-” Khalmar stopped himself. He inhaled a breath and finished his sentence. “As you wish.”
After the heroes walked past the body of Zerrigan by a few steps, they heard her last words.
“Sieg… Zeon…”
The walls shook, the ceiling collapsed. Explosions from outside and inside the crystal room consumed Anne and her party.
And half a million gallons of skin-melting acid rained down on them from a special chamber upstairs.
***
Like a staple villain, Viers self-destructed his base, including his own crystal!
EXPLOOOOOOOSION! Now that’s something Megumin will like!
On the outside, the two kaiju exploded on the western and eastern ends of the Nest. Inside, hundreds of Suicide Bomber Tyra Xerg that had stayed at key positions set off like buried charges. The great chain of explosions, big and small, demolished the Nest with the hero party still inside.
There wasn't even a countdown so the heroes couldn't escape at the last second!
The deviousness of Viers knew no bounds.
If every villain was like Viers, there would be many, many protagonists that would not be alive when the movie credits rolled.
Viers watched this from the air, on top of a flying Xerg. Zerrigan made sure to not explode the brain of the Xerg that her lord rode.
As expected, the most important one survived… with some extras.
Viers saw Khalmar the Noble Tiger was being carried out by Ubah. Khalmar screamed a mournful ‘noooo’ as Ubah succumbed to his wounds. Half of his body was already dissolved by acid. It was a wonder he could still save Khalmar in that state.
On the other hand, Anne saved Max and Eugene, carrying them out hurriedly from the zone of death. The acid was terribly harmful and the vapor was no less deadly.
The acid from the acid-carrying Xerg strain was potent enough but Viers heightened it. Sakuya lent her expertise with poison and Izabella contributed with her Staff of Pestilence. The result was a very nasty acid. Almost on par with a certain alien species’. Viers was sure Grandpa Nurgle would approve.
Anne put them down someplace far away and began healing them immediately. They had suffered wounds all over, minor and major, visible and invisible. Their condition was dire.
Anne felt their fire of life was fading fast.
“Max! Squire! Hold on!”
In just a few seconds Anne managed to stabilize the two using a healing flame. Her skill in healing arts put the most prominent healers of the Church to shame.
Relief colored her face. Even with dust and soot, her face remained impeccably beautiful. Her expression was of grace and compassion.
It transformed into utter shock as a blade sunk into her torso from her back, coming out from her front.
Viers swooped down from up high like a demon and delivered a devastating blow. Viers’ sword was no mere sword, and the stab was no mere stab.
Not yet!
The sword hit its mark, it hit a vital point, but Viers didn't stop there. Lightning fast, Viers pulled out his sword and delivered a horizontal slash at Anne’s neck.
There was a response.
The sensation he felt on his hands, the separated head he saw with his eyes, all told him that he had succeeded.
From the eye-catching self-destruction to create an opening, to the legendary Sephiroth’s killing blow, to decapitation to be absolutely sure, Viers had done it all.
Yet it wasn't enough.
A conflagration of fire knocked Viers away, his Blithe Lich Robe was singed. He would have suffered even more damage without the enchanted robe and the emergency barrier otherwise.
The fire obscured Anne’s form. Viers’ super sight was unable to see inside, so Viers took a stance, readying himself for what would come next.
When it faded, Viers saw Anne standing there. Her neck was now reconnected, there wasn't even a scar.
The blood on her clothes signified there was a big puncture wound before, but it similarly was healed. The blackened hands, something that Zerrigan traded her life for, were no more.
Anne was the picture of health. She now had neck-length black hair because of Viers’ cut, this was the only ‘wound’ she had.
But this was still within Viers’ calculation. Viers had set the expected difficulty of killing Anne very, very high.
Anne was looking straight toward Viers’ eyes with no hostility. Viers couldn't guess what was going on in her head right now.
“Aerith died from that. Even without the decapitation. She was the ‘best healer’ in the party. You just shrug it off… As expected of a Mary Sue.”