Dark Fantasy: Super Coward Mode-Chapter 173

"Н̸̨̡̠̓̈́е̸͍̪̜̏̓̕̕л̷̨̣̪̠̈̒е̸̭̞̝̉̉͜п̸͕̰̜̞̔̈́́̋ы̶̢̙̩҇̂е̷̢̙̔̊̿̏̕ в̸͙̘̞̃͢͞ы̶̫̠̙̓̓͗͢͠!̴̞̠̗̜̈́̑̑̑͠"

A monstrous sound, accompanied by a disorienting, alien voice, roared across the battlefield, shaking the air itself.

The source of this chaos was the Dragon Slayer’s vocal cords, a being summoned earlier by Tanthan.

Its gaze was fixed on Tanthan. Or, more precisely, on the Lesser Divines chasing after him.

As Tanthan had departed ahead to stop the Second Princess as quickly as possible, the Dragon Slayer stood as a wall, blocking the pursuing Lesser Divines.

The Dragon Slayer opened its massive maw.

Within moments, fiery energy began gathering in its jaws, coalescing into an impossibly enormous fireball.

Watching this, the Vice Commander, Marenne, felt overwhelmed by a sense of awe.

“What is that sound?!”

A woman’s voice cried out from behind—it was White Mask.

“Who... what in the world—oh.”

White Mask stepped forward, trying to assess the situation, but when she saw what Marenne was witnessing, her reaction mirrored Marenne’s astonishment.

The fireball, larger than the flames of any forge, was hurled toward the swarm of Lesser Divines crawling toward Tanthan.

───!!!

“Argh!”

“Gah!”

The first shockwave sent a gale-force wind tearing through the battlefield.

Both Marenne and White Mask nearly lost their footing, forced to drive their weapons into the ground for support.

Barely managing to withstand it, they were met with an ear-splitting explosion, louder than the Dragon Slayer’s earlier roar.

The sheer volume of the blast made both of them instinctively crouch as if to shield themselves.

When the chaos subsided, the two cautiously raised their heads and turned their gazes toward the site of the fireball’s explosion.

Their pupils constricted in shock.

Marenne was stunned, but White Mask seemed outright despondent.

“So... the thing I fought before... it was going easy on me, wasn’t it?”

In the center of a crater, colossal like a meteor impact, flames blazed fiercely.

Before the expedition to the Snowy Mountains, the princess had once explained that the Lesser Divine the Vice Commander and Knight Commander had fought was nearly at the level of a Greater Divine.

Even then, Marenne had found it exhausting due to the overwhelming number of enemies. But that Lesser Divine was nothing compared to the Dragon Slayer.

Lesser Divines crumbled under the Dragon Slayer’s sheer power.

According to Tanthan’s teachings on mysticism, the Dragon Slayer was said to be just below the rank of a Recorder.

To think humanity had survived against entities like this...

At this point, it felt like they had been nothing more than playthings all along.

“Snap out of it, Vice Commander!”

White Mask’s sharp voice broke through Marenne’s thoughts.

Regaining her composure, she realized that an overwhelming number of Lesser Divines had encircled them.

“Damn it, I let my guard down. What about the other knights?”

“Thankfully, they’re not surrounded. Just focus on keeping yourself alive.”

White Mask’s words brought her back to the present. Marenne gripped her greatsword tightly, shaking off the oppressive awe she’d felt from the Dragon Slayer.

Victory was far from certain.

The numbers were overwhelming.

Help from the other Greater Divines would’ve been ideal, but they were already fending off hordes of enemies themselves. Hoping for reinforcements seemed futile...

“R̴͙̐̕͢а̷̡̑͝҉̡͓̇а̴̧͐͝҈̳͋͢а̷̡͒̕!”

Suddenly, something resembling a wolf leapt into the swarm of Lesser Divines.

Startled by the unexpected arrival, the Divines shifted their focus toward the wolf.

The creature paid no mind to their attention and began swiping with its paws, cutting down dozens of Lesser Divines like leaves in the wind.

It even grabbed one Divine in its jaws, shaking it violently until it was torn into pieces.

As if nothing had happened, the wolf tilted its head slightly, panting softly.

“И̴̡̥̠͙̐͋̕ ч҈̰͈͛̀̽͢͠е̶̧̝̾͡м̶̡̭̫̟҇́͋ т̵̧̤̳̀͝е҈̡͕̇͞п҈̡̥̑͠е̶̳̱̓͗́͜͡р̷̢̛̲̃̈̈́ь̸̨̛̗̐̍́ з̶̛͓̮̥̆͂̏͢а̶̢͇̖҇̀̋͗н҉̝̠́̏͢͞я̷̢͚̓̆̑͞т̷̧̙̍͞ь̴̧̪͎͊̀̾͝с̵̧̛͔̘͌̂̈́я҉̧͙͋͡?҈̧̩͔̿̕”

The Observer’s grotesque voice filled the air as it vanished elsewhere.

The entire scene had unfolded in less than five seconds.

Marenne and White Mask exchanged glances, both shrugging as if to say, What the hell just happened?

“Did we miss something?”

“...Beats me.”

“They look like they’re struggling. Let’s help them out.”

“Understood.”

Marenne chased after White Mask, who was already dashing toward the fight. But a loud crash made her glance back.

There, she saw the Gardener crushing swarms of Lesser Divines beneath a mountain of human corpses, utterly annihilating them.

Sometimes, Marenne wondered.

What if she had been harsher toward Tanthan when they first met?

What would’ve happened then?

Shaking the thought from her mind, she rushed to follow White Mask.

There were some horrors she had no desire to imagine.

*****

Pushing forward through the blizzard that fell like thunder, we pressed onward.

Aphta had, eventually, started flying on her own.

Despite her playful remarks, it seemed she also wished for peace to return to this world, as she refrained from imposing her whims on others.

The protective gear provided by the princess was now so heavily encrusted with ice that every movement required significant effort, making it creak with strain.

The wyvern wings, however, seemed to be somewhat immune to the Second Princess’s power, likely due to Zumya’s divine authority.

In any case, our speed had significantly improved since the beginning, so much so that the powerful winds pressing against our faces made it feel like we were cutting through the air.

“We’re almost there.”

The Hunter, who had been quiet, murmured softly.

Through the dense snowfall ahead, the silhouette of the Second Princess was finally becoming visible.

Though even with her now in sight, there was still a considerable distance left to cover.

The princess let out a soft sigh.

Perhaps the thought of facing her sister, the very source of her trauma, was weighing heavily on her heart.

If only we could charge straight toward the Second Princess without interruption.

But life, as always, was rarely that simple.

“What’s with them? Why are they coming at us already?”

“Intercept them!”

Several Lesser Divines, capable of flight, spotted us and began rapidly closing the distance.

Simply outrunning them wasn’t an option—it would only lead to greater trouble near the Second Princess.

If I kept letting the Lesser Divines pile up, it would be like carrying a snowball into an avalanche.

With Asti absent, the only capable fighter left was the Hunter.

If we kept fighting in midair, the presence of the princess would make the battle disadvantageous.

There was no choice. We had to land.

“I’m landing.”

Without waiting for a response, I descended quickly to the ground.

Aphta followed my flight path closely, landing alongside me.

Touching down, I set the Hunter and the princess down and quickly scanned our surroundings.

Frozen knights.

Every one of them wore expressions of agony, frozen in the moment of their despair.

“Let’s deal with those quickly and move forward.”

“‘Deal with those together,’ huh?”

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

The Hunter muttered while staring at the approaching Lesser Divines, but her tone seemed oddly focused on my phrasing.

I turned to glance at her, curious about her intent.

And then...

“…What?”

The princess and I were suddenly flung into the air.

As I regained my senses, I looked back toward the Hunter.

Her outstretched arm proved it—she had thrown us.

Even as we flew, the Lesser Divines swarmed toward the Hunter.

I saw her bring something to her mouth before tossing it to the ground.

It was an adorable bomb with a skull design on it.

“HUNTER!”

Pop!

The explosion was as devastating as it was bizarrely cute in sound.

Lesser Divines fell from the sky like broken toys.

I flapped my wings rapidly to catch the princess mid-air. Fortunately, we avoided colliding with anything.

“What is she…?”

The princess covered her mouth with both hands, her expression one of shock and confusion at the Hunter’s actions.

A thick plume of smoke rose from the site of the explosion, adding a sense of gloom to the battlefield.

For a brief moment, the reality of the situation was hard to grasp.

Whoosh!

Something shot out of the smoke, high into the sky.

I tracked it quickly with my eyes.

It was the Hunter, perched casually atop a rooftop, unharmed.

“Sometimes, teamwork is terribly inefficient,” she said, as though lecturing us. “Trusting a strong ally to hold the line while you advance is also a strategic move.”

She gave me a thumbs-up.

“Finish the job. Survive. I’ve got something to say to you later.”

With that, the Hunter leapt into the fray, a massive double-barreled shotgun in her hands.

Her comment about having something to say lingered uneasily in my mind, but there wasn’t time to dwell on it.

“Tanthan! We need to help her!”

“Let’s go.”

“What?!”

The princess’s voice was full of panic, but I wasn’t swayed.

I had forgotten something important, and the realization brought clarity.

“She’ll be fine.”

I smiled at the princess.

“She’s strong, after all.”

Indeed, I had forgotten the most crucial fact.

The true protagonist of the Snow Castle was the Hunter.

No matter how cruel the world might seem...

In a game like this, the protagonist never dies.