As soon as we stepped outside, just as expected, the Asura sect launched a fresh attack.
But I didn’t raise my kids to be weak enough to fall for such a pathetic ambush!
Easily fending off the assault, we headed straight for the church in the Deorent Kingdom.
“What happened?”
“We rescued the kids that were there, but I’m not sure how well they can testify since they’re terrified.”
Serin, who had been waiting, took the kids away with the priests.
While I blankly watched the kids leave with them, Lena lightly grabbed my arm.
“Are those kids going to be okay?”
“They’ll be fine.”
“…W-What if I hadn’t met my M-master? Would I have ended up like that too…?”
Lena’s voice was trembling.
Oh right, they tried to take Lena from the Asura sect back then.
Is that what she’s thinking about?
I gently patted Lena on the head.
Her anxious expression made her cautiously hug my arm.
“Even if you were taken by the Asura sect, you wouldn’t end up like that.”
I was hoping she could have worked as a witch of silence instead of becoming a sacrifice.
I comforted Lena by patting her back, and only then did her expression brighten up a little.
“Hey! Just Lena! That’s not fair!”
What’s not fair when you’re always hugging me?
Pouting like a little brat, Arisha grabbed my other arm.
Sowol, letting out a sigh toward her, shook her head.
“Master, we have to participate in the church meeting.”
“Oh, right!”
I peeled off my disciples and followed Sowol.
Inside the church, high-ranking members seated themselves.
“Welcome, Lee Hyun.”
Among them, an elder who sat at the head table stood up to greet me. It was Cardinal Roins, the second-in-command below the Pope.
“Long time no see, Cardinal. Have you been well?”
“Hmm. Not particularly well, I’m afraid.”
With a sour expression, he promptly handed over documents.
They were traces of the Asura sect found by the church.
“The Asura sect is becoming active in the world.”
This was something that should’ve surfaced in the middle of the Religious War Event, yet it revealed itself because one of the Asura’s altars was destroyed.
In the game, we should’ve been fighting the heretics, but it looks like Sowol and Lena’s hard work is paying off here.
It’d be great if it ends quickly.
“They are attempting to summon Asura through human sacrifices.”
With the Cardinal’s grim words, everyone in the meeting room stirred.
They have no idea what will happen when Asura appears in this world.
But they at least know it’s going to be something terrible.
That’s why they’ll desperately try to stop it.
“Saint of the Sword. We must stop that at all costs.”
“I know.”
“Right now, head to the abandoned land with the paladins.”
The Abandoned Land.
It’s located at the opposite end of the world from the Sage’s Tower.
He turned his gaze toward me, providing information that the Asura sect members were gathering there to perform a summoning ritual.
“Lee Hyun. And the Iridescent Acolyte, King of Rights’ nephew. Can you assist the Saint?”
“Helping isn’t the issue, but have you discovered the Asura sect’s main base?”
The Asura sect’s main base could be in random locations in the game, making it impossible for me to find and destroy it.
If we can’t capture them, they’ll cause future trouble.
We should uproot them completely when we have the chance.
“Don’t worry. We’ve discovered its location.”
“That’s a relief. Can I leave that to you?”
“I don’t plan on leaving everything to you. The church will handle that matter.”
“Then that’s good. We’ll stop the Asura summoning ritual.”
“M-Master, we might also receive support from the Ivory Tower.”
“I’d prefer to use the Ivory Tower’s support to target the Asura sect’s main base.”
“Um… Is that alright?”
We could definitely stop the Asura summoning ritual on our own.
In the game, it should have been finished by myself, some friends from the Academy, and the Paladin Order.
But now, my disciples are with me.
So what’s there to worry about?
“Hehehe~.”
Seeing my confident expression, Arisha smiled brightly, and I ruffled her hair.
Even though her neatly styled hair got tousled, her expression stayed pure and cheerful.
What a cute little thing.
“Well then, let’s take a break for today and head for the Abandoned Land tomorrow.”
The next day as we made our way to the church, the paladins awaited us.
Those clad in clattering paladin armor saluted as soon as they saw Sowol.
“We greet the Saint!”
“It’s been a while. We’re heading to do battle. Are you prepared to dedicate your lives and faith to the Lord?”
“Giving my life to the Lord!”
“Wow… Teacher, they sound like zealots…”
“At that level, it’s not wrong to call them zealots.”
Lena frowned while listening to our conversation.
“Um, uh, b-but they can hear us…”
“They love it when we say things like that.”
“Huh? Is that so?”
“Hahaha. It’s true we’re a bit crazy for the Lord. Nice to meet you, I am the commander of the First Paladin Order, Michael.”
“N-Nice to meet you!”
Surprised, Lena bowed her head to greet him, and he lightly made the sign of the cross.
Then he approached me and extended his hand.
“It’s been a while, Brother Lee Hyun.”
“Seems like you’ve been well.”
“Hehe. I’ve been living according to the Lord’s will. By the way… who’s this beside you?”
He seemed to know Lena, the Iridescent Acolyte, but not Arisha.
Just as I was about to introduce her, Arisha tightly hugged my arm and made a peace sign with her fingers.
“Hello~! I’m Arisha, the teacher’s disciple. And also his primary partner!”
“Primary partner?! Who said that?!”
“Y-Yes! It’s me, the primary partner…!”
Michael’s reaction to Arisha’s bombshell left Sowol and Lena rolling their eyes.
Seeing them get mad while Arisha giggled, Michael awkwardly said,
“Are you dating those little girls?”
“No!”
“Well, that’s up to you to figure out, but you are prepared, right?”
Michael and the Paladin Order had been fighting heretics for a long time.
It’s natural to be hyped about capturing the Asura sect, which is the most vicious among heretics.
“I am always prepared.”
“Hmph. That’s good to hear. Then let’s move right away.”
Following Michael’s orders, the paladins sprang into action.
Seeing that, Sowol quietly cleared her throat and leaned closer to me.
“Let’s go now.”
“Right. Let’s go.”
We decided to use the Dimensional Magic Circle to travel to the Abandoned Land.
Upon arriving at the desolate land through the Dimensional Magic Circle, we were greeted by a barren landscape.
As we surveyed the wide, empty land, Michael drew his weapon and spoke.
“Looks like they’re welcoming us.”
The ground trembled.
I lightly raised my hand to my disciples. As their expressions turned serious, we spotted a cloud of dust rising in the distance.
“What’s that…?”
Strange monsters.
They looked like a bunch of monsters fused together.
Mixed beasts created by the Sham sect.
“The Asura sect uses the power of heretics, right?”
“Yes… The Sham sect was definitely the heretic I completely annihilated. I didn’t expect to see them again.”
Sowol revealed her Moonlight Sword.
The mixed beasts from the Sham sect are stronger than most elite enemies.
Looks like we’re up against some tough opponents right off the bat.
“Prepare for battle!!”
Of course, we had no intention of backing down.
Even after defeating the Sham sect’s mixed beasts, the lingering power of the vanished heretics continued to attack us.
It was as if they were trying to prevent us from approaching, but our power was too much for them to stop.
“Wow~! This is hard~!”
But even we couldn’t keep fighting forever.
As the sun began to set, the paladins started making a base for rest, and during that time, Arisha plopped down next to me.
“Teacher! Please massage my legs~!”
Among us, Arisha is probably the weakest.
Of course, she fights well too.
Once this event is over, we could say she had risen to the ranks of a strong fighter.
With the Religious War Event concluding, we’ll dive right into the final chapter, where there will be even tougher fights ahead.
Surely, this will greatly aid her growth, but… it was somewhat pitiful to see her struggling to keep up.
You’re really putting in a lot of effort.
I looked at Arisha and started massaging her beautifully elongated leg.
“Ahhhh~! That feels so good~!”
“You’re relying too much on ‘Powerful Step’ when using the Arang Technique. It’s not bad to gather power using it, but you should think of other ways to gather strength too.”
“Like what?”
“Using physical strength.”
“Hmm… Got it. I’ll try that next time.”
She seemed sharp; it looked like she caught on with just a hint.
While Arisha nodded her head, I continued to massage her leg.
“Ugh~. I wish you’d massage higher too~. Or my chest feels heavy, so how about a chest massage too~.”
“You think I’ll do that?”
As I let out a peculiar smile, jokingly saying that, in that moment…
“Oh, Master. I also want a massage!”
“M-Me too…”
Are they treating the Master like a massage therapist?!
Sigh. Fine. I’ll do it.
Since they’re working so hard for my wish after all.
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