Chapter 105 – Episode 104 – Bond (5)
Hmm… I guess it’s okay to leave those two to bicker. Even though she’s the Queen of Nightmares, Lilith’s actual combat power is quite weak, so the saintess Diana, who has a surprisingly physical fighting style, shouldn’t be pushed back, right?
You never know. Maybe the saintess will actually defeat the Queen of Nightmares with a repentance punch.
The problem is actually on this side.
We’re already in bad shape from the continuous battles, and now we have to face the fake Karsilla. This side is the one in danger.
I could grasp the fake Karsilla’s power with just one exchange of magic, and it’s clear that she’s stronger than Alber Hamatan.
That tentacle guy wasn’t easy either, and now we have to face the fake Karsilla, who is definitely stronger, with incomplete forces? Is this difficulty level for real?
Even Diana, our core force, is tied up over there.
No matter how weak Lilith’s main body is in combat, she still has the grand title of Queen of Nightmares. Diana, who is primarily a healer and has to fight while maintaining high-rank skills, can’t easily win against her.
In the end, the battle against the fake Karsilla, who is a more powerful mage than Alber Hamatan, means fighting while exhausted from continuous battles and with our core force, Diana, out of the picture.
…Damn it, nothing’s going right, and things are getting so twisted. Can we even win this?
“Go away! Annoying! Annoying! Why won’t it hit!”
The only good thing is that the fake Karsilla seems more vulnerable in combat than expected.
The fake Karsilla, with a scrunched-up face, throwing purple beams around like a child, looked similar to the ‘Witch of Calamity’ Karsilla in the game… but the only consolation is that her power isn’t as strong as I thought, probably because her awakening isn’t complete yet.
Wait a minute. From a weapon-like figure with questionable emotions, she’s now acting all irritable?
“Sandra. Instead of one big attack, harass her with small, frequent spells. Distract her and try to keep her from concentrating.”
“What? Wouldn’t it be better to aim for a decisive opportunity?”
“No. If my hunch is right… trust me and do as I say. Make her as annoyed as possible. Use anything that can enrage her.”
A silent trust passed between our eyes.
“Okay. I trust you.”
I quickly turned my body, confirming that three or four magic circles were rising beneath Sandra, who nodded.
Okay, that’s settled on this side. Meanwhile, Irian and Cha Hyewon were constantly repeating approach and evasion, drawing Karsilla’s attention.
Thanks to the attacks being focused on the two of them, who were throwing themselves around like crazy, there didn’t seem to be any casualties… but the sight of the mercenaries and guards scattered around the devastated area was like that of defeated soldiers.
At least the old parish leader was panting as he moved towards Diana. When did that old man get over there? Still, that guy is crazy about the saintess, so he’ll protect Diana even if it costs him his life.
I was a little worried about Diana fighting Lilith while maintaining high-rank divine magic, but I feel relieved now that the parish leader has joined her. At least he’s the type who would block any danger to Diana with his own body.
Then… shall I focus on my fight?
After the ‘Undying Archduke’s Mark,’ which was like a persistent illness, was lifted, my body, which had felt as light as a feather, deteriorated in an instant.
The feeling of immense divine power draining away is hard to describe. Is this what it feels like to be exhausted after squeezing out every last bit of strength? My knees buckled for a moment, and I almost fell, but I barely managed to hold on.
Thanks to that, the greedy magic circle, which kept eating away at my divine power no matter how much I poured in, was gradually increasing in size. The fake Karsilla, distracted by Irian and Cha Hyewon’s frantic movements and Sandra’s constant barrage of small spells, didn’t seem to have the mind to notice what I was preparing.
Just a little… just a little more.
Trying to cast a high-level spell that might be lacking in divine power even in perfect condition, with only the divine power that hasn’t recovered since the last battle, is killing me.
Sweatdrops dripped down my jawline, staining the dirt floor, and the moment Cha Hyewon’s huge blue sword strike crossed the distance and shook the fake Karsilla’s barrier.
“…Done.”
Finally, the greed of the magic circle that had been sucking in divine power like an abyss stopped. The magic circle, having absorbed all the divine power, floated into the air and began to rotate on its own, then expanded to a huge size that covered the sky, scattering light dust.
“Servant of God, descend here. Damersis.”
Whoosh—!
For a moment, it felt like the flow of air had stopped.
Something transcendent that went beyond human senses… Immense divine power poured down from the sky. The overwhelming divine power, which made my whole body tingle, filled the ground and gradually gathered, eventually becoming a huge pillar of light that fell to the ground.
The immense divine power felt from the huge pillar of light connecting the earth and sky made my whole body tingle.
【Yurian】 ● Priest
▼ Stats
[Strength: 17(+4)] [Agility: 19(+4)] [Knowledge: 60] [Wisdom: 62] [Luck: 59]
A miracle created by combining stats that reached as high as 60 and the ‘Saint’ trait had descended to earth. The oppressive aura emanating from something in human form within the pillar of light made the sand on the ground swirl, making it hard to open my eyes.
What appeared as the huge pillar of divine power connecting the earth and sky diminished was an angel with a pair of pure white wings.
The thick, pure white heavy armor was beautifully embossed with geometric patterns, and the angel wearing white armor, a white helmet, and holding a longsword with pure white flames, took a step forward, spreading his pure white wings wide.
Thud.
Every time the massive armor, which looked to be at least 2-3 meters tall, took a step, the pressure of intense divine power was felt. It wasn’t the heavy yet beautiful pure white armor, nor the huge body, nor the burning longsword.
It was a being that suppressed the entire area with only its powerful divine power. The one-of-a-kind angel with a pair of wings brought the battlefield to a temporary lull just by appearing.
“This is… this is cheating! You bad guy! Really… ugh? Th, this is real! Hey! Is it okay to attack while I’m talking! What kind of saintess is this, a fighting chicken! Kyaa, stop it! Stop it!”
Hmm… that side is in a fierce battle.
Even without that, the combination of the sanctuary declaration area that Diana had cast and the divine power that the angel was naturally emitting was causing Lilith’s magic to shrink in real-time. It must be painful just standing there, and she must be having a hard time because of Diana, who is attacking her like she’s going to die.
Then what about the fake Karsilla? What’s going on? Why… is the purple glow getting stronger?
“…It hurts. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.”
Was it because of the oppressive divine power that was suppressing the surroundings? Karsilla’s skin was repeatedly tearing and healing. It would crack and blood would spurt out, then heal in an instant, and then crack again and blood would gush out, repeating the process.
Could it be… because of the magic power I feel inside Karsilla? The powerful magic power within her was reacting against the surrounding divine power, affecting her fragile body that wasn’t fully formed yet.
If she had fully awakened as the ‘Witch of Calamity,’ she wouldn’t be suffering this much. Or if she hadn’t awakened at all, she would have been safe even in this storm of divine power.
The transition period to awakening as the ‘Witch of Calamity.’
Inside, an unprecedented demonic magic power was boiling, and outside, overwhelming divine power was pouring down, creating a war between the two with her fragile skin as the battlefield.
And all the damage was being borne by Karsilla’s fragile body.
“It hurts. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.”
As if reacting to the external attacks, the magic power felt inside Karsilla fluctuated even more violently, emitting a purple glow outwards.
It was a movement that seemed to block the overflowing divine power around her. The magic power… was moving on its own?
“Karsilla! Control your magic power! You have to gather your magic power. I’ll go to you, so hold on as much as you can…”
“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!!”
Soon after, the purple glow that burst out like an explosion began to gather at one point. A chill ran down my spine at the sight of the huge magic power pulsating around a hollow, circular hole like a void.
“What… an absurd amount of magic power.”
The problem was that the huge mass of magic power was strengthening in real-time. The one who was injecting the magic power staggered to her feet and moved her lips.
“Why do you keep bothering me? Why do you keep hurting me!”
Karsilla, whose wounds were constantly appearing and regenerating, was covered in blood. Her skin, which was originally as white as porcelain, was now stained red. Only the white skin visible here and there allowed one to guess her original white skin. The moment Karsilla’s cry burst out.
The sphere floating in the air rotated at high speed, absorbing the purple mist around it, and then, with a flash, it lifted a large eyelid.
“An eye…?”
“Th, there’s a huge eyeball in the air!”
This is… something I’m seeing for the first time. Was there a monster like that? No, I doubt if that’s even a monster. I should know if there was a monster with this powerful magic power that I feel all over my body. And it’s not like it’s something that would appear in the late game.
Above all, the magic power connected to that monster. The strange eye, which seemed like it would disappear at any moment if Karsilla didn’t constantly supply it with magic power, blinked its large eyelids a few times and then looked around in all directions.
“Eek! It, it looked this way!”
“I, I just made eye contact! It’s the devil’s eye! I made eye contact with the devil! Oh, God!”
“Calm down! Calm down! That’s not a devil! Are the men who defeated devils going to make such a fuss over just an eyeball floating in the air!”
While the veteran mercenaries were calming the surroundings, I thought that it might be a magic or a magical creature rather than a monster. But still, I’ve never seen anything like that before.
Because there was no magic or magical creature that made such a grotesque giant eyeball appear in the air, at least in the playthroughs I’ve done.
Attacking that grotesque eyeball made my anxiety rise to the top of my head, but… it was too ominous to just leave it alone. Above all, the amount of magic power gathering in that eyeball was unusual.
‘I guess there’s no other choice. Even if I’m anxious, I can’t give it any more time. The amount of magic power is increasing at an alarming rate, so if I leave it like this, it’ll become unmanageable.’
At the same time as I thought that, I moved the angel. I used my connected psychic link to make it attack the eyeball. The angel, who had been quietly raising his sword, flew forward with fierce momentum.
It was then that a gloomy purple beam began to shoot from the huge eyeball that had met the angel’s gaze as he kicked off the ground and approached.
The purple beam that was shot tore through the ground and headed towards the pure white knight, and a strange path was created along the trace of the beam.
It wasn’t melting, nor breaking, nor crushing… it was a strange sight where the place where it passed seemed to evaporate, leaving a void as if the material itself was being decomposed. It was a chilling sight where the material itself disappeared without any sound.
‘Could it be a void…? Is it void magic?’
The name of the Blood-Soaked Archduke flashed through my mind.
The revered unknown terror.
So that’s what the unknown terror meant.
No wonder the followers turned into tentacle monsters, and they were carrying around alien-like minions and laying eggs on humans… all the disgusting stuff is on this side.
‘…I hope my baby doesn’t turn into an octopus monster.’