The allied ships fell one by one into the sea.
They capsized, throwing up sprays of water.
Or collided with other vessels, expanding the damage.
Though the damage was considerable in an instant, the allied forces were vast.
In terms of overall proportion, it was negligible.
The remaining ships began shelling toward Diera.
"Ku-ha-ha, try to resist me!" she cried.
In the air, Diera laughed aloud as she readied her weapon.
It was an unfamiliar spear, one she had seemingly brought with her.
With it, she swung and slashed apart the incoming cannonballs one after another.
Diera used no magic or spells.
Her defense was purely through skill.
It was a spectacle that defied all reason in various ways.
Having generated armor from her own power, Diera dove at meteor-like speed toward the sea surface, striking a ship.
A thunderous sound of impact echoed, as if piercing through everything.
The unfortunate ship split cleanly in two and sank.
From there, Diera pierced another ship with chains of light, moving three-dimensionally.
Along the way, several chains extended through the air, piercing an airship and sending it crashing down.
Screams of soldiers rang out as it violently exploded upon the sea surface.
By then, other ships were already bearing victims of Diera's onslaught.
(What an astonishing display of combat prowess...)
I find myself genuinely impressed.
As expected, the late Demon King's reputation is no empty title.
Among the allied forces, beast-like humanoids lurked, attempting to covertly eliminate Diera.
However, they were slaughtered just like any common soldier.
They couldn't match Diera's strength.
The Chain of Light Diera wielded was a form of divine magic granted by the will of the Holy Maiden's realm.
It was incomparably more powerful than standard holy magic, an ability manifested specifically to kill me.
Consequently, it contained the power to annihilate the undead and miasma.
For creatures from other worlds that fed upon miasma, this would be utterly fatal.
A direct hit from the Chain of Light meant instant death.
Evasion was difficult in the first place, and weak defenses were useless.
Even if one managed to dodge, a halberd thrust awaited.
Diera was a master of the halberd.
His skill was such that he could clash blade-to-blade with me directly.
In other words, he was invincible in close combat as well.
The beasts, lacking any means to counter, were subdued one after another.
I quietly collected their remains and teleported them to the Valley of the Dead.
The Demon King's army, having nothing left to do, observed silently from a distance.
I would have them give chase at the right moment, but for now, this was Diera's stage.
Perhaps it was best to let her be. I observed the unfolding chaos for a time.
Soon, her voice reached me through our telepathic link.
"I say, Dwight."
"What is it?"
"I'm about to unleash my trump card. You're in charge of the Demon King Army's defenses."
"What exactly do you mean—"
Before I could press for details, Diera sprang into action. She leaped high into the air, clinging to the intact airship above. At its apex, she raised her spear.
The spear radiated a peculiar magical energy. With deliberate rhythm, its light began to pulse.
Then, hundreds of semi-transparent tubes extended from the spear. Undulating, they unfurled around Diera, coalescing into a form.
It was a skeletal structure of human shape, colossal as a mountain. Encasing Diera within it, the half-transparent framework plummeted, impacting the sea with a cataclysmic splash that submerged it to the waist. Wild waves erupted, swallowing and sinking the allied fleet's vessels. I shielded the Demon King Army forces from the surge with a barrier of magic.
The skeletal construct seized the airship in a crushing grip. Unfazed by the cannonade hammering against it, the bone giant swung the captured vessel and smashed it into a nearby ship.