Charles clung to the cliff face, his eyes wide as he watched the massive living shield-borer slowly descend.


    As it drew closer, more details became visible. The creature was a colossal amalgamation of black chitin, purple tendons, and viscous flesh, resembling a monstrous shield-borer.


    Giant insect-like legs, the size of small houses, extended from its sides, propping it against the rock walls as it inched downward.


    Beneath the creature, insectoid compound eyes, like deep-well searchlights, swayed back and forth.


    The remaining mantises perched on its body, their glowing abdomens arched in a lotus-like formation.


    A trembling, whale-like cry emanated from the fleshy web. Charles could sense the emotion in the sound—it was grieving the death of the mantises.


    "Gulp." Charles swallowed hard.


    Though the creature hadn’t done anything yet, every time its compound eyes swept over him, a chill ran deep into his core.


    Its shadow didn’t just loom over the physical space but also over the minds of those who saw it.


    "Governor, the Church of Light said there were only some flying natives! What is this thing?" a helicopter pilot shouted, his voice trembling with fear.


    Charles also wanted to know what this thing was. Why had it appeared now, just as they were about to reach the surface?


    But he knew this wasn’t the time for complaints. Whatever this thing was, he had to deal with it.


    If they retreated now, organizing another massive flight group would take who knew how long. He had waited too long already—he couldn’t wait any longer.


    "All units, ascend!" Charles flapped his wings, climbing toward the living shield-borer.


    When Charles was about twenty meters away, the mantises on the shield-borer’s surface fluttered their transparent wings again. The sound of their wings vibrated into the language of the Underground Sea.


    "Light-skins, haven’t you brought enough disaster to all races?"


    Charles hovered in the air, his wings beating steadily. "I don’t know what you’re talking about! I live up there!! I’m just going home!!"


    "Light-skins, you can’t be from above. Those from above vanished with the great calamity!"


    "You mantis freaks are speaking in riddles!! What calamity happened up there? Are you going to tell me or not?!" Richard suddenly burst out, cursing angrily.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The mantises didn’t respond. Instead, they quickly dispersed, their scythe-like blades gleaming as they lunged at Charles.


    Seeing this, Charles knew there was no more talking. He shouted to the others below, "Open fire!!"


    Gunfire and cannon blasts erupted again. Purple blood splattered across the fleshy shield-borer, but the wounds healed almost instantly. Its regenerative abilities were formidable.


    The shield-borer trembled. The whale-like cry grew louder, and its insectoid legs retracted from the cliff walls. Its massive body plummeted like an out-of-control elevator, crashing downward.


    No one had anticipated such an attack. Charles and all the other fliers were caught in its descent.


    The helicopter propellers tore through the shield-borer’s flesh, but it showed no reaction—perhaps it felt no pain.


    The remaining airships played a crucial role. Their buoyancy significantly reduced the shield-borer’s impact.


    Just as it seemed the shield-borer would stop mid-air, scythe-like blades, similar to the mantises’, extended from its underside.


    However, while the mantises’ scythes were connected to their forelimbs, the shield-borer’s were attached to long, black-spotted tendrils.


    Like whips, the tendrils lashed out, piercing the airships’ balloons.


    Whether it was human bodies or the ships themselves, anything that touched the blades was instantly cleaved in two.


    Charles tried to lead a counterattack, but wounds inflicted by bullets or cannonballs healed within seconds.


    Faced with the relentless assault of the shield-borer’s tendrils, everyone began to retreat. Once again, they were forced back outside the sunlight rift.


    The shield-borer, either unable or unwilling to attack beyond the rift, remained lodged in the crevice, its tendrils flailing like a jellyfish, probing wildly in all directions.


    Charles frowned as he watched the creature occupying the rift. He knew that if he wanted to ascend, he had to deal with it.


    After careful observation, Charles devised a plan. He issued orders to the remaining fliers.


    "Divide into three groups. Focus your attacks on its left side. It’s supported by six thick legs—if we break them, it won’t be able to hold its massive body."


    The followers on the airships nodded in agreement, but the helicopters ignored the order and began descending.


    Charles quickly flew to one of the helicopters, shouting angrily, "What are you doing?! At the most critical moment, you’re running away?"


    The roar of the propeller was deafening. The pilot yelled back, "Look below! The Governor has ordered us to retreat!"


    Charles glanced down and saw steam ships below using searchlights to signal a retreat.


    While Charles was questioning the pilot, the other helicopters had already left. Only Charles and about twenty airships remained near the dome.


    If success had been possible before, now with so few people, charging up would be suicidal.


    Under normal circumstances, this would mark the failure of the plan, but Charles couldn’t accept it.


    He opened his monstrous mouth and shouted to the airships, "Your Pope ordered you to follow my commands. Will you obey any order?"


    "Yes!" they all replied in unison.


    Charles wrestled with his thoughts. He had one last plan, but it was a decision he found difficult to make.


    But the thought of the surface just within reach steeled his resolve.


    "Now, I order you to gather all the explosives. I have a plan…"


    Minutes later, the remaining twenty airships began to move, heading toward the edge of the rift.


    A brutal battle erupted in the air. The airships’ balloons were swiftly slashed by the scythes, their wreckage plummeting to the water below.


    They had anticipated this. Each crew member carried a barrel of explosives, flying toward the shield-borer’s thick legs.


    Scythes lashed out, trying to cut them down.


    But the fuses on the explosives were short. Whenever a tendril approached, the followers detonated them without hesitation.


    With each explosion, Charles trembled. He knew each blast meant another death—deaths he had caused.


    "I don’t care!! I’m almost there!! I can’t stop now! I have to go back!! I’ve waited long enough!!"


    Charles, his eyes filled with madness, screamed hysterically.