Hello, my friends! For people in the future, this won't matter, but for people who read the last chapter when it was released not even 24 hours ago, I hope this one lives up to the hype that was built!

In comparison to last chapter, I don't have nearly as much to say. 

For this chapter's question: Do you think we've seen the last of...? Well, I'll let you see what I mean.

Enjoy the chapter! I think Solo Leveling fans will especially enjoy this one!

-----

Elphael was essentially a city built within the Haligtree. However, because that city wasn't allowed to thrive without Miquella and, by extension, Malenia, it was far from finished.

From Malenia's chambers, with the Haligtree covering it destroyed, it was incredibly easy to see how straight the path through the city was. And that path was covered in war and bloodshed.

The Shadow Army did not bleed, so all the blood was from Malenia's Cleanrot Knights and the Soldiers of Rot. Kindred of Rot, Rotten Warriors, and Aeonian Butterflies could be seen battling the Shadow Army.

It was a bit of a stretch to say the Aeonian Butterflies were fighting, but anything they landed on, even the Shadows, would rot away with just a touch. At the rear of the army, Radahn, Ranni, and Rennala focused all their attention on making sure the butterflies didn't annihilate the Shadow Army. Within the battle, any mages who could attack the Aeonian Butterflies were tasked to do so.

Salem was the farthest away from the battle, overlooking it from a tower. In all truth, she wasn't very far from the battle at all, with a simple leap being enough to leap back into the fray. She should've continued to flee, but Millicent's pleas stopped her.

Millicent was kneeling next to Salem, currently vomiting up anything she had in her stomach. As it turns out, pulling her away so quickly had adverse effects on her stomach.

While waiting, Salem found herself gazing out towards where she left her summoner and her largest antagonist so far. Another reason why she'd stopped was because her connection with (Y/n) became severed, if only for a few moments.

'What happened? Was that Outer God's strength focused enough to disconnect us from our creator?'

The raging battlefield smelled of metallic blood and rot, which wasn't... unusual for Salem, at this point. However, she sensed something particularly... unappealing within it all. A stronger presence, far stronger than even the demigods. It was a disturbing presence of pure rot.

Her eyes darted over the battlefield as she looked for it, sensing that her allies would need assistance.

"We need to go back," Millicent hacked out, her eyes passionate. She wiped her mouth, rising. "If I'm here, then we've lost. If we can't ally with Malenia, there was no point going through this all."

Salem understood Millicent's words, but hesitated. "I... don't know if we can get you back over there."

Millicent frowned. "Why not?"

Now, it was Salem's turn to frown.

"The Rotten Beast has appeared."

Before Millicent could even question Salem, a giant, humanoid ant shot up and shrieked at them. Salem only had just enough time to shield Millicent with her body and jump away. If that wasn't enough, the Ant snatched Salem's ankle and threw her back into the battlefield.

The Ant fluttered after them, shrieking, "The will of Malenia must die!"

-----

Just a little while prior, within the raging battle, a small Rotten Ant was formed from the Outer God of Rot's pure power.

While it was meagre at first, the Rotten Ant was the equivalent to the Elden Beast.

The Elden Beast was a being created purely out of the Greater Will's power, and the Rotten Ant was made in the exact same way. However, because the Outer God of Rot was so preoccupied with Malenia, it couldn't afford to spare much more than an ant's size in energy.

In truth, it hardly mattered.

That Rotten Ant devoured friends and foe alike, growing at a tremendous pace. As it ate, the ant progressed physically, but also in power. With the pure force of Rot on its side, it was an incredible threat to anything and everything around it, even Shadow Soldiers.

It devoured Cleanrot Knights and even permanently extinguished some Shadow Soldiers before growing to the size of a large human. With a black, armored exoskeleton, glowing red eyes, and an overall humanoid shape, it was completely different than the Elden Beast, while still housing a familiar level of power.

The Ant clicked its mandibles, and a small circle around formed. Its allies didn't want to get close, and the Shadow Army had an instinctive feeling that getting any closer wouldn't serve them well. They feared not for death, but being uselessly destroyed wouldn't please their liege, so they aimed to avoid such a thing.

"Kiehkkk!" It cried. Four insect wings burst from its back, and after a few flutters, it shot off like a bullet. In the air, there was far less traffic, and the traffic that existed was... different.

Godrick and Grey met the Ant within the sky, with their customizable armor covering them and transforming them into a threat of another level. For a moment, they circled one another, and Godrick was met with a chilling sensation.

'What is this being...?'

The Ant shrieked, and with claws sharper than even the sharpest blades, it flew and clashed into Grey's form. Godrick and Grey were thrown back, but they reoriented themselves in a matter of seconds. In those seconds though, the Ant just... disappeared.

No, rather, the Ant got through Godrick, towards his real goal. Before the demigod could realize it, he returned to the fray of the war, diving down, and crushing several Rotten Warriors with spawned limbs from Grey's back.

At the very back of the Shadow Army, Blaidd let out a nigh demonic roar as the Ant shrieked. Blaidd, the Crucible Knight, and Megara were the last line of defense for Ranni, Rennala, and Radahn while they were focused on keeping the Aeonian Butterflies at bay.

Blaidd's Royal Greatsword shot up towards the Ant, but the Ant easily avoided the blow and sliced Blaidd's head off his body. As Shadows do, he would regenerate, but with the Rot eating at him, it would take too long. If the Ant decided to eat him, however, it would be a different scenario.

Megara came out next, but she was easily grabbed and slammed into the ground before being thrown off the straightaway, into the abyss below. The Crucible Knight sped off to catch Megara, leaving Ranni, Rennala, and Radahn to face the Ant.

Radahn abandoned holding off the butterflies first. He attempted to push the Ant away as he pulled out Starscourge Greatswords, but the Ant stood firmly against the tide of gravity before charging against the power.

The Ant shot forward, clashing into the Starscourge Greatswords. An ensuing shockwave nearly pushed Ranni off her feet, but she managed to stay upright.

Even with just Radahn preoccupied, the flow of the battle was subtly beginning to change. The Aeonian Butterflies were only rising as time passed, and as more of them slipped into the battlefield, the Shadow Army was pushed back further and further.

The Ant let out a roar and Rot flowed across Radahn's weapons, and they began crumbling to dust. In mere seconds, the weapons crumbled away, and clawed hands tore off Radahn's arms before stabbing into his chest and tearing him to shreds.

Rennala's immediate reaction was rage, even in the face of the Shadow Army's regeneration abilities. Her son, her dear son, was destroyed before her very eyes. She needed to keep the Shadow Army safe but—

Stab!

Before she could recognize that he'd moved, the Ant had gotten behind Rennala and had pierced her chest. Rot began to eat at her very essence as she stumbled and fell, the sounds of the battle becoming distant. She would regenerate, but it would be a while before she returned to the battle.

Ranni saw her mother fall and closed her eyes as the Ant approached her, its mandibles clicking.

"Where... is... your... king?" It asked, looming over her.

Ranni's eyes opened, glowing. She remained silent, focusing on the task she was given.

The Ant shrieked, his hand snapping around her neck and lifting her into the air. The Ant pulled back its remaining arm, and Rotten Energy pulsed from within, circling the arm and becoming denser within seconds.

It was certain, as the sounds of war became impassioned by the appearance of Malenia and (Y/n), that such a blow would annihilate Ranni, whether or not the Ant devoured her soul.

Ranni didn't flinch. She opened her mouth, speaking quietly. "Ranni the Witch, does not perish with her body, nor her soul."

The Ant shrieked, and his hand launched forward, cutting through her very essence. Without taking a second, the Ant opened its mandibles, and the essence of Ranni entered it, bolstering the Ant's abilities.

Just like that, Ranni the Witch vanished.

The Rotten Ant's eyes darted upwards, where he could just barely see Salem observing him. Unlike Ranni, Rennala, and Radahn, Salem spent her energy trying to hide herself and Millicent. Her goal, after all, was to flee, not fight.

For a creature of the Ant's level, such an attempt was pointless at best.

Having found its target, the Rotten Ant leapt into the air and shrieked before pouncing on Millicent. To Salem's credit, she responded quickly, managing to shield Millicent at the cost of the Ant's Rot-Covered talons taking a chunk out of her side.

Salem jumped, trying to flee, but the Ant immediately pulled her back down and chucked her into the battlefield. Crashing into the ground, the Ant's will was revealed as the exact same as the Outer God of Rot's, "The will of Malenia must die!"

-----

(Y/n) and Malenia's battle was... one-sided.

A Scythe of Destined Death met a Katana of Unalloyed Gold, and their otherworldly, divine energy clashed with passion, hatred, and a mess of other emotions. Their battle was nothing less than cataclysmic, only the other stopping their blows from destroying the area with mile-long gashes of Rot and Death.

But while the battle was certainly intense, it was also nothing more than a conversation, a debate. That conversation was far from simplistic, with three parties involved.

(Y/n) retreated several steps and Malenia chased like flowing water. The air around her rotted while the ground beneath her bloomed.

With just his body, the former Sovereign challenged, "Are you going to lose here, Malenia?"

The Blade of Miquella pushed forward as her butterfly wings flapped ominously. Her freaky, black-sclera, red iris, eyes met his, and the scratchy voice of an Outer God intervened.

"Good, it's perfect that you're beginning to accept my gifts! Now you understand the value of the Scarlet Rot, do you not?"

The Severed stopped chasing (Y/n), suddenly halting the flow of their battle.

Slice!

Her Unalloyed Gold Katana whipped out—taking half of her newly acquired wings off in one fell swoop. She clenched her jaw and continued after (Y/n), moving with even more vigor than before. Pure Scarlet Rot leaked from the open wounds, but she made no effort to halt what amounted to additional blood loss.

"No, no, no! Why would you—! Oh, my beloved Malenia, why do you insist on making this so difficult?!" The Outer God chastised.

(Y/n) grinned, urging her to continue her fight. Wordlessly, he met her eyes, and he could see a sliver of incomparable determination within them.

"Wake up," his gaze ordered.

"You may rest," The Outer God challenged.

Her most beautiful move, like a dancing lake spirit, flew out from her very soul. Each of her steps were measured and true, with a true swordswoman's will. Her katana sliced through the very atoms as she flowed, like a river.

The Waterfowl Dance was realized in all its glory.

Several more wings went flying as they crashed into the battlefield. The Outer God of Rot cried out, but her partners in the conversation abruptly third wheeled her as they continued to dance.

The warring grounds became their dance floor, with both warring sides as background dancers. The splash of blood and the Aeonian Butterflies became the disco ball, and the strongest warriors knew how to get down.

A Kindred of Rot attempted to attack (Y/n), but Rot Sovereign promptly cut it to pieces. No Shadow Soldiers even tried to intervene, with their liege ordering them all to simply watch, no matter how much they wanted to assist.

The two warriors found themselves somehow enjoying the fight despite its stakes.

The Rot Sovereign could hardly remember what her stakes were, but to find herself even unconsciously smiling in a fight was a genuine surprise, even for herself.

The Shadow Sovereign was pulled away from everything as his scythe closed in on a weak point that Malenia had left open, time and time again. It wasn't hard for him to imagine what she meant by her actions.

"Take them."

Legacy struck true, and in one clean swipe, Malenia's newly formed legs are taken from her. The Outer God's cries of frustration and disbelief crescendo before abruptly vanishing, the Destined Death of his scythe pushing the rejected Outer God away from the weakened body of her chosen Vassal.

The sky was immediately cleared, with all the Aeonian Butterflies flying off in all directions without a single being leading them.

Before Malenia could get anywhere close to the ground, she was scooped up within (Y/n)'s arms and cradled within his grasp.

For just a moment, the world didn't matter, just like when they were battling. While she was held like that, as weak and vulnerable as a newborn baby, his warm gaze and soothingly cold body brought her to a state she hadn't been in a long time, peace.

He gave her a quick, boyish smirk. "Sleep. When you wake, you'll be freed from the Outer God's influence, I promise."

Malenia couldn't argue with his words, because the exhaustion of fighting off an Outer God mentally while also fighting off a monster like the Shadow Sovereign was too much for even her to handle. But even if she did have the energy to argue with him, something instinctual told her that he could be trusted.

He may've literally just dismembered her, but he was still, inexplicably, trustworthy.

"I... wonder if I will see Miquella... in the land of dreams...." Silent words left her lips before she went limp, blood oozing from her stump legs. As a Shardbearer and a demigod, she would survive the wound and heal, but (Y/n) wanted to get her to Salem and Millicent, so they could heal her and rid her of the Scarlet Rot.

(Y/n) felt all Malenia's soldiers looking at their queen and goddess, lying still in his arms.

'Are they gonna stop or continue fighting? Without a leader, their chances have basically fallen to zero,' the Shadow Sovereign noted, expanding his senses after they became hyperfocused on Malenia.

The Cleanrot Knights who still had some sense of self dropped their weapons, but the Kindred of Rot and other Rotten soldiers prepared themselves to continue fighting. (Y/n) didn't even need to start fighting as his Army lurched back into the fray, their morale boosted by their liege's flawless victory over the strongest demigod.

As his senses expanded across battlefield they simultaneously flowed through the Shadows, until suddenly, they both found something disturbing near the edges of his reach. A presence more like the Outer God of Rot than Malenia lingered, battling Salem and... well, crushing her relentlessly.

The other disturbing realization was—

'Ranni's gone.'

Her last words echoed through his mind, as if she left them for him. "Ranni the Witch, does not perish with her body, nor her soul."

Something about her words soothed (Y/n)'s heart. He somehow knew—just knew, that she wouldn't be gone for long. And with the threat he sensed, he didn't have much time to mourn his loss, nor ponder what she could've meant with her words.

"I will take her," Melina said, fluttering into existence as she tended to do. "She will be safe with me, until your battle is finished. And my expertise with fire may be to our advantage. I cannot restore her limbs, but I can ease her pain and heal her somewhat."

(Y/n) took a deep breath, gently handing the unconscious demigod to her sister. "I'll be back."

"You always do," Melina smiled.

And he was off, but not before planting a quick kiss on Melina's forehead. Even amid the literal war, Melina felt her body relax as the tension fled her muscles. Even when it was inconvenient and perhaps ill-timed, her companion still managed to be romantic, in some sense of the word.

And then he was gone, without a doubt arriving where he was most needed.

Melina put her hand on her chest, feeling her heart pound within. 'To dance like you two have. I wonder if such a thing is possible. I'd love to experience it.'

-----

Millicent watched in stunned silence as Salem remained tall.

Her shadowy arms had long since been torn off, seared to regenerate at a snail's pace due to the Scarlet Rot. Even her position as the Dragon Empress was nothing when compared to the Ant's might. But she remained, all to protect Millicent.

And her determination was infectious to her fellow Shadows.

Shadows that were far weaker than her, Infantry, Cosmic Knights, Dragons, everyone that wasn't preoccupied with the other fight, which had died down due to (Y/n) felling Malenia, leapt into the fray.

But the Ant made quick work of Rennala, Radahn, and Ranni. The other Shadows were less than, ironically, ants in comparison.

The Ant didn't even deem the monsters worthy of devouring for strength, destroying them and casting them aside like they were worthless. It strolled forward as the numbers dwindled, and too soon, it held Salem up by her neck, energy swelling around its hand just like it had once before.

"Kiehk! You will... be forgotten...!"

'Is it... going to devour her too...?! No, I cannot allow such a thing!' Millicent was way out of her depth, she knew that, but she refused to allow (Y/n) to lose more for her sake. He'd already lost Ranni, and losing Salem would be a substantial blow to his forces.

Additionally, Millicent sensed a closeness between Salem and (Y/n). She didn't quite understand that bond, but it was her duty to defend it, even at the cost of her life.

With her heart pounding in her chest, Millicent rose, her sword lashing out and—

Crack!

Well, shattering against the Ant's impossibly hard exoskeleton. The Ant looked down on her, suddenly growing disinterested in Salem and casting her aside with a clack of his mandibles.

Millicent found her legs shuddering as the intensity of the Ant bears down on her in full. But she was a warrior, and she prepared to face death long ago, to the Scarlet Rot.

"Will of Malenia, you wish to die? As you should, the Scarlet Rot demands it!" The Ant's claws snapped towards her neck, and Millicent's eyes unconsciously clamped shut. She readied herself to face death, but... it never came.

BOOM!

Instead, there was a boom close enough to make her soul jump from her skin. Her eyes shot open, but the broad back she found filled her with a sudden sense of peace.

"Good job Salem, and thank you, Millicent. Now, I'll deal with the bug problem," (Y/n) held the Ant's claws back with his hand, as if it was nothing more than a child throwing a tantrum.

Millicent took a few steps back, running over to Salem's body and picking her up with the strength she could manage. She looked back, fearful for (Y/n), but he met her eyes sand gave her a grin.

"I'll be fine, I swear. Things around here are wrapping up, it seems. Just a little more to wrap up," (Y/n) said, as if the Ant wasn't even there.

Shrieking, the Ant gained (Y/n)'s attention. "You... must be the king... who stood up to an Outer God...! You... insolent creature! You will die for your heresy!"

(Y/n)'s eyes widened. "Heresy? Wow, I didn't realize Ant's could have decent vocabularies."

Enraged, the Ant shrieked, yanking its hand back, "KIEHKKKKKK!"

(Y/n) let its hand go without a fight, "See, that's what I expected."

Shrieking some more, the Ant ballooned in size, muscles bulging with the power of the Scarlet Rot. A balled-up fist flew towards (Y/n)'s head. That fist had enough power to make Malenia's Scarlet Bloom in Caelid seem like child's play, and everyone, friend and foe, could tell.

Salem's eyes widened and she leapt out of Millicent's grasp, a weak magical shield beginning to form around (Y/n). He was strong, yes, but such a blow could kill even him!

"No!" Millicent yelled, moving towards Salem and (Y/n) at once.

There was no real thought behind her actions, especially because there was absolutely no chance, she could do anything but... die in the face of such an attack, but she moved regardless.

With the aura of Scarlet Rot flowed over the battlefield, the Rotten forces which were halted began warring again with a feverish newfound motivation. The Shadow Army quickly began to face them, their determination unwaning.

Melina's head shot up as she stopped tending to Malenia, for just a moment. She, however, didn't frown. She simply returned to her work, acknowledging the danger her companion faced, and wholeheartedly trusting him to handle it. "You always pull through, don't you? I don't see why that would change now."

The Scarlet Nuke slammed into (Y/n)'s fist, and all the Destined Death within his fist outright neutralized the Ant's plan to destroy everything. Unlike the Ant, (Y/n) threw another punch, which promptly sent the Ant flying away like paper in a tornado.

Millicent suddenly stopped, her jaw hanging. Such a sight was beyond reason. It was so ridiculous an awkward smile pulled at her lips in response to the sight. "You're... absolutely nonsensical."

She should've expected it from him, because everything he'd done was nonsensical to her, from saving her to flying on the back of a dragon, but this was just a new level of unexpected nonsense.

Salem, on the other hand, was face down on the ground, having also stopped, but without two arms to help her, she lost her balance. She said something, but it was too muffled to hear. Millicent bent down and began helping her up. Salem blew a rock from her mouth, "Kick that ant's ass!"

(Y/n) chuckled, giving her a thumbs-up. "Understood."

Glancing back at the raging battlefield, (Y/n) sensed the surprising amount of fight left in the opposing army. He grinned, raising his hand. "I think I've been forgetting just who I am. A war is my domain, so... Arise."

The war was won.

The Ant would fall next.