Chapter 59
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Chapter 59: The Rose Hound and Magic Beam
Suddenly, the sun’s glow dimmed before flaring up again with blinding intensity, as if some unseen power had disrupted the world’s natural order.
The metallic scent of blood abruptly permeated the air. Throughout the town, something stirred restlessly – in shadowy corners, within wall crevices, beneath wells’ dark waters, and under sagging eaves…
Carrion-loving vultures had begun circling overhead without warning, their shrill cries tearing through the suffocating air, intensifying the murderous atmosphere.
Even the relentlessly advancing Crimson Flame Legion soldiers felt inexplicable dread creeping into their hearts. General Red Fox, normally unshakable, didn’t berate his fearful troops but instead warily scanned their surroundings. Fenrir visibly tensed, his head swiveling nervously.
Though none could predict what approached, every soul present knew with primal certainty – something was coming.
The sun now burned crimson over Elvin Town beneath ash-gray skies.
This unnatural presence warped everything it touched. Stones cracked unnaturally, trees twisted in agony – even inanimate objects recoiled from the summoned horrors invading their land.
Silently, the mist came.
Neither white nor black, this blood-red fog surged like breached floodwaters, devouring every street and alley.
The battlefield’s countless corpses lay in pools of congealed blood, yet even this grisly scene paled before the mist’s terrifying hue – the color of pure hatred distilled through rage.
Frontline Crimson soldiers scrambled backward, but the scarlet mist outpaced the wind, swallowing entire two hundred-man teams in moments.
Piercing screams erupted from the crimson haze – agonized shrieks that ruptured eardrums before being abruptly silenced. Seconds later, new sounds emerged: the metallic clatter of weapons and armor hitting ground, as if thousands had simultaneously disarmed.
Any observer would’ve witnessed the mist’s razor-sharp fangs of condensed blood shredding living flesh with frenzied hunger, leaving only spotless equipment behind – every drop of blood and morsel of flesh absorbed by the ravenous fog.
"Attack!" Knights roared orders through trembling lips.
But blades glanced harmlessly off the mist, bullets passed through without effect. Elementalists’ wide-area spells only made the haze glow brighter, expanding faster – their magic becoming the monster’s nourishment.
This unstoppable force consumed enemies through permeating attacks, converting flesh into energy. Steel proved useless, magic only strengthened it. The more it fed, the larger it grew – rumor claimed it could eventually devour entire cities, sparing not even insects.
This was Alice Otolopas’ ultimate weapon – the red demon "Rose Hound".
While the Crimson Flame Legion could endure the Fog Demon’s disruptions and the Night Demon’s tricks without casualties, and while the Delos Empire’s Demon Swordwomen could eventually locate those demons’ cores to strike…
The Rose Hound operated differently. Its attack power dwarfed other summoned beasts.
Within its bloody vortex, humans paid dearly for every step while the demon attacked freely, assimilating victims into itself. The Rose Hound embodied fury, madness, and annihilation – truly deserving the title "strongest Summoned Beast".
The Crimson Flame Legion lost two thousand men in moments – entire formations vanishing into the mist’s crimson maw.
Witnessing such devastation, even disciplined soldiers broke. Formations crumbled, morale shattered, minds snapped.
"Monster! It’s a monster!"
"It eats people! Runs through armor!"
"Retreat! We can’t fight this!"
The soldiers at the front were closest to danger and saw everything most clearly. Through the hazy red mist, they watched shadowy figures crumble like sand before their owners’ armor and weapons clattered to the ground. This horror drove them into frenzied retreat, shoving against their comrades behind while screaming to fall back.
A piercing horn suddenly rang out. Black-armored soldiers with stone faces stepped forward, drawing blades to mercilessly behead every fleeing soldier in one swift motion.
The Crimson Flame Legion’s iron discipline wasn’t upheld by honor, but by ruthless overseers.
"Retreat! Keep formation! Rear ranks become vanguard – we’re leaving Elvin Town!" General Red Fox roared, hiding trembling hands beneath his cloak.
"That lunatic Midi must’ve died summoning these monsters, along with those cursed Elves!" Fenrir declared with false bravado, venom flashing in his eyes. "We’ve won!"
Under overseers’ cold stares, their commander’s shouts, and Fenrir’s sneers, the legion scrambled to retreat.
The red mist called Rose Hound silently pursued.
This wasn’t Alice’s doing. The Mist Sorceress strained to restrain the beast, her pale face glistening with sweat, inky hair plastered to skin.
The summoned creature’s resistance grew stronger with each moment.
No summoner ever fully controlled Rose Hound. Its battle-fueled power surge broke ordinary soul contracts. Only overwhelming spiritual pressure could bend its will.
Though talented, Alice’s youth meant limited soul strength. Each enemy Rose Hound killed increased its defiance. Should control slip, she and a thousand Elves would share the legion’s fate.
Killing half their foes while being annihilated wasn’t victory – just catastrophic defeat rendering Midi’s sacrifice meaningless.
Alice fought to suppress the thrashing beast. Her earlier injuries from facing Necromancer Wiseman made this struggle harder. The soul contract vibrated violently, cracks spreading. When it shattered, Rose Hound would turn on its master.
Is this my limit?
Does the Otolopas legacy end here?
Is this all the Forest’s Guardian can achieve?
Alice’s thoughts circled until remembering Midi charging to save her.
Still… I’ve failed…
Azure light pierced the gray sky.
Like a divine blade, the glow struck red mist-covered Elvin Town. The flesh-hungry Rose Hound shrieked in fear.
Before the radiance faded, a second beam destroyed an old building, blocking the legion’s escape route. Then came third and fourth strikes.
Under this magical onslaught, Rose Hound cowered while the legion’s retreat collapsed into chaos. The battlefield now belonged to these devastating Magic Beams.
Only one person in Belmar Duchy wielded such power.
Fina Hamilton, the red-haired Queen of Magic.
"Finally arrived, and even early?" Alice whispered softly, instinctively exhaling a long breath.
Though the proud Mist Sorceress would never admit it aloud, the knowledge that this red-haired girl of similar age had reached the battlefield brought genuine relief to her heart.
Fina’s appearance wasn’t miracle or coincidence, but the carefully planned outcome of Midi’s strategy.
Having disappeared after leaving Joseph Castle, Fina couldn’t truly withdraw from this war.
Her true mission was to unite with Midi’s father Count Ingman at the Asreks family territory, lead three thousand Asreks soldiers to breach York County’s defenses, then stealthily converge with Midi’s Elven troops from the east – forming pincers that would crush the Crimson Flame Legion’s main force.
This daring Strategy demanded perfect timing.
If Fina attacked York County too early, General Red Fox might consolidate his forces into an impregnable ten-thousand strong army, making both piecemeal destruction and encirclement impossible.
Thus Fina waited.
She held back during Midi’s night attack. She restrained herself during Midi’s skirmishes with the Crimson Flame Legion. Only when General Red Fox transferred fifteen hundred troops from York County for his final assault did she finally strike.
Quinn Joseph’s last thousand troops and five hundred infirm defenders stood no chance against Fina’s three thousand. York County fell instantly.
Fina then demonstrated swift and decisive action – abandoning wounded and supplies, driving her troops relentlessly toward the main battlefield.
Covering three days’ march in thirty-six hours, her army arrived at the crucial moment to block the Crimson Flame Legion’s retreat and halt the Rose Hound’s rampage.
The Asreks soldiers arrived disheveled – helmets discarded, armor shed, shields abandoned, many clutching only swords. Gasping from the forced march, formation broken, they faced Belmar Duchy’s finest troops.
Yet blazing fighting spirit shone in their eyes.
One charge shattered the Crimson Flame Legion’s rear guard. The Asreks forces became an iron nail pinning retreating enemies at Elvin Town’s center. Fina’s relentless Magic Beam barrage shattered Crimson morale, formations crumbling.
The Rose Hound suffered equally. Unlike ordinary Elementalist magic, Fina’s condensed power proved difficult to absorb. The red mist couldn’t withstand such penetrating attacks.
The beast could only desperately Consume more Crimson soldiers to replenish fading strength.
Trapped between terrifying Summoned Beast and sealed retreat, the Crimson Flame Legion’s feeble resistance collapsed completely.
"Impossible!" Fenrir screamed, eyes bloodshot. "Damned Fina! Damned Midi! How?!"
"Silence! Move!" General Red Fox roared, dragging him through the carnage.
Guarded by surviving elites, the nobility escaped – but their faces showed only despair. Less than a hundred followed them.
The Sais family’s seven thousand five hundred elites – product of years and vast funding – vanished. York County’s garrison stood no chance against Fina’s advance.
Abandoned soldiers fled chaotically, but weak and disordered, most got pushed back. Many became Rose Hound food without surrender chances.
Flesh eventually depleted, but Fina’s Magic Beams never ceased.
Outpaced by continuous bombardment, the Rose Hound weakened until Alice’s commands overwhelmed it.
The red mist dissipated. The Crimson banner fell.
No barriers remained between black-haired girl and red-haired girl.
No words needed. As Mist Sorceress and Magic Queen stood shoulder-to-shoulder – black waterfall and autumn flame hair dancing in wind – the war ended.
But Midi’s battle was just beginning.
