A warm, lukewarm breeze blew through.
In the midst of the profound silence, ironically, the voices of the Followers calling out the names of demons echoed in the air.
“…What on earth is that?”
Responding to Yona’s mumbling, the snake hovering in mid-air gazed down as its nine heads flicked their tongues and descended to the ground.
『I am the Great Demon Vervaria.』
『Hypocrites who dare to mock the heavenly beings and rule this land.』
『I have come forth, driven by your blood.』
– Thud…
With a light sound, the snake named Vervaria landed on the ground.
Its thick, thick body coiled and twisted, while its nine heads surveyed their surroundings, flicking their tongues with a hissing sound.
“I came to split the head of a kidnapper and ended up catching a snake. Heh.”
James muttered, and everyone nodded slightly in agreement.
Amidst it all, Yona gently stroked her right arm where the Sacred Barrier had run down.
Thanks to applying plenty of potions, the wound had healed quite a bit, but it still hurt like fire when touched.
But the important thing wasn’t the pain.
The dark tattoos etched on her arm were radiating heat, as if they each had a will of their own.
It was as if they were resonating with that demon.
“Yona, take Rubina and get out of here.”
Alex raised his shield high and glanced back.
“What are you talking about? What do you expect to do without me? Rather, James, you take Rubina and escape.”
“Ha, in a situation where I should borrow a kobold’s hand, telling me to escape? Now that’s just ridiculous. Yona, it’s better for you to get away.”
As their light-hearted banter continued, Yona held Rubina tightly.
“Sister…”
“It’s okay, Rubina. Your sister and the uncles will protect you. We came to save you again this time, so don’t worry, we’ll get you out.”
Will it be okay?
Even as she spoke, doubts crept in.
She had no confidence in surviving against such a great demon.
“I will definitely protect you. So you have to stay right by sister’s side, okay?”
“Uh, uh-huh.”
The vast hall.
Originally underground, but now transformed into a ground-level hall.
At the entrance of this hall, the guards stood dazed, staring at the demon.
And in the midst of it all, Vervaria.
At the very back, Yona and her group.
No matter how you looked at it, there was no way to flee.
“If we caught a bear, we can’t fail to catch a snake! Don’t be scared, you guys!”
Kaiyak roared.
With a mouth resembling that of a shark wide open, unleashing a battle cry that invigorated his allies.
“Alex, are you sure about going all out this time?”
“Like you’ve ever gone easy before.”
“James, I’m counting on you for support. Also, I think it’s best to leave Rubina with the guards.”
Kaiyak’s judgment was reasonable.
Leaving Rubina with the guards would allow her to be out of the battlefield, and James was the one most suited to hand her over to them.
“…I’m going!”
Kaiyak tightened his grip on the axe handle and crashed his fists together with a loud bang.
『Truly insignificant.』
The nine heads of the snake watched Kaiyak.
As if they were just waiting to see what he would do, one of the heads of the snake was met with Kaiyak’s axe falling down.
As if preparing for Vervaria’s counterattack, Alex rushed in with a bit of distance from Kaiyak, while Yona kept her distance, observing for any situation that might arise.
– Bang!
The firmly struck axe could dig no further into the snake’s presence. It got stuck as if blocked by something, bouncing back with a greater force than the strength of the strike, and Kaiyak was thrown back from the recoil.
“Ugh!”
Alex, who had been following behind Kaiyak, caught him while rolling on the ground. From what Yona could see, he seemed unharmed, so she didn’t rush in right away. Instead, the snake head looked down at Kaiyak and Alex, and she shouted.
“Roll!”
At her shout, Kaiyak and Alex immediately rolled away in opposite directions. As soon as they dodged, a thick purple liquid spewed out onto the spot where they had just been, sizzling with a foul smell as it hit the stone floor.
He rolled his body. The moment they dodged, a large amount of violet liquid spewed forth, and as it touched the stone floor, it let off a hissing sound while creating a foul stench.
“…Wow, what the heck is this?”
“What do you think it is? Snake venom, of course.”
“Don’t block it with the shield, Alex!”
“I know that much!”
It was an attack not to be blocked with a shield. Alex firmly imprinted that fact in his mind and observed the enemy’s movements again.
Snake attack patterns.
One of them was that vomit attack, and given its size, it would likely try a physical attack. If it swung that long tail, could they block it? No way. If that’s the case, should they dodge it? But how do you avoid a swinging tail?
“Don’t think about dodging, just avoid it. How do you dodge that?”
Alex nodded at Yona’s words, which felt like she was reading his mind. It was too heavy and too long to deflect. Anyway, it was one of the worst opponents for guarding.
“It’s somewhat similar to a Lamia. Just think of it as a much larger Lamia, right? Kaiyak, what do you think!?”
With Vervaria in between them, Kaiyak and Alex were on opposite sides. It was uncertain which way the attack would go, but Kaiyak should be able to evade one attack and set up a counterattack. Then Alex could slip in during that time.
The problem was that this was an unknown monster.
“Chattering away, aren’t you?”
“Chattering? Your tongue is making more noise than mine!”
Yona snapped back. It would be better if that snake looked at Alex. In the meantime, if only Kaiyak could land a hit on the back of its head, that would be great. After all, Kaiyak was a ranked warrior known in Evian. No matter how great a demon it was—
“Ooh, so you’re interested in my tongue, huh?”
The snake’s head turned toward Yona. The vertically split pupils focused on her, and Yona felt her body freeze in place.
“Yona, well done!”
With Kaiyak’s shout, his head briefly became visible from the other side. He must have leaped. His head came into view, and then an axe flew right above it, preparing to slam down again.
“Nice—!”
“That’s pathetic.”
Before Alex could even think of moving, the snake’s tail moved first. With nine heads, there was no blind spot. The tail subtly moved, and then—
“Ggghhh!”
With Kaiyak’s scream, dust erupted from the altar.
What had once resembled an altar was completely destroyed and became unrecognizable as Kaiyak crashed into it.
“Ggghh… ugh.”
Fortunately, it seemed he wasn’t hurt, as Kaiyak shook his head and stood up. The bright red blood smeared all over his body quickly revealed its source as he placed his hands on the ground.
Andrei’s left arm was completely mangled. He had already lost consciousness, but at least it seemed Kaiyak had cushioned the fall.
“Kaiyak! Are you okay!?”
“…I’m fine!”
Kaiyak shakily stood up, holding onto the dripping axe handle. He bravely answered that he was fine, but it really wasn’t.
Kaiyak stood barely, gripping the axe that was dripping with blood.
Alex’s shield was cracked and shattered in multiple places, making it seem like it could barely be used a couple more times before having to be repaired.
Yona’s divine power was also nearly depleted. The divine power that was being forcibly emitted without the help of the Sacred Barrier was very inefficient, and even Yona, who was praised for her mastery of divine energy, lacked the strength and divinity to heal the injuries of Kaiyak, Alex, and James one after another.
Kaiyak needed healing urgently, while Alex was holding up better.
James’s condition wasn’t so good either.
“Have you all played around enough?”
Compared to them, that demon named Vervaria hadn’t sustained even a speck of damage. Not a single wound. Not even a weapon had been laid upon it.
Vervaria’s gaze swept across the arena.
The gaze swept through the venue.
Most of the twenty or so guards were already taken out, and the followers were huddled down, barely moving, with some even getting crushed now and then—leaving a truly tragic scene.
If we consider the living, with Yona’s group included, there could only be about ten left.
“Why… is there no support coming?!”
Yona cried out in frustration.
With such chaos erupting in the heart of the city, shouldn’t someone be rushing there?
Whether it was the army, the guards, or even the Adventurer’s Guild—it made no sense that no one was coming.
“…I don’t know!”
The man, who appeared to be the guard captain, replied with a pale face. Even if he didn’t know the reason, with things so chaotic, why was no one responding?
『This is where your journey ends. My descent has made for a rather pitiful feast.』
Vervaria opened its enormous mouth wide.
Something crimson was bubbling up from that mouth, and Yona instinctively felt that everything was about to end.
“…Sister!”
“Rubina, don’t come here!”
Despite Yona’s protests, Rubina rushed over to her.
“I’ll stay by my sister’s side… even if I die!”
What was I even supposed to say—
Yona reached out and hugged Rubina tightly.
She still hadn’t completed what she wanted to achieve.
But here, to think it would all end was infuriating.
Feeling Rubina’s warmth within her embrace, Yona squeezed her eyes shut.
Wishing for the end to come quickly—better yet, to welcome it.
– Pishwooong.
Yet the end did not draw near.
A sound slicing through the wind, followed by something flying in, and a dull explosion-like noise.
『…Holy spear?! You wretch!』
“You filthy demon daring to sully the name of the Divine!”
Yona’s eyes flew open. Shadows of several people stood at the entrance, and among them was someone charging towards her whom Yona knew all too well.
“…Ludvik?!”
“I’ll save the greetings for later!”
Ludvik shouted towards Alex, maintaining his momentum.
“Step up!”
The moment Alex heard those words, he threw off his shield and gripped it with both hands. Like a springboard, he knelt and placed the shield under him, then stomped on it and leaped powerfully upwards. At that moment, the shield shattered completely.
“Under the name of the Divine, I shall punish the demon!”
At Ludvik’s shout, a spear of light embedded somewhere in Vervaria returned to his hand.
That relatively short spear, about the height of a child, elongated in Ludvik’s grip, transforming into a spear as long as an adult, radiating dazzling light once more.
『You!』
Vervaria’s tail sliced through the air towards Ludvik. Seeing this, Alex instinctively moved, but Yona quickly threw herself and grabbed his ankle.
“You crazy idiot! Where do you think you’re going without a shield?!”
“Uh.”
“What do you mean ‘uh’, you lunatic?!”
Only then did Alex step back and stand in front of Yona.
From now on, this was no longer their territory. At least, it wasn’t a fight they could interfere with. Yona knew very well that getting involved under the guise of helping would only lead to disaster.
And a shadow fell before Yona.
“…How delightful, you head-scratching healer.”
“Ugh.”
When Yona frowned and looked up, she met the contemptuous gaze of Priest Vigrind. Vigrind briefly looked down at Yona with disdain before turning away.
“I fervently pray for the protection of the Divine. Please watch over these poor, powerless little beings.”
As Vigrind’s melodious prayer with the rosary echoed, a golden glow radiated from her body. A large dome of light solidified, shining brilliantly in every direction.
A golden light burst forth, shining brightly as if the very essence of brilliance had materialized in a colossal hemispherical form, illuminating everything around it.
This golden glow began piercing through the night sky, pushing aside the red clouds, and on the ground, it started burning away the darkness, driving back the thick miasma.
‘…This feels stronger than usual, doesn’t it?’
No matter how you look at it, this energy from the divine barrier is something I’ve never felt before.
Could it be because she’s a Saint? Even if I think that way, she hasn’t been officially ordained yet, so her divine power shouldn’t have changed.
Just as Priest Vigrind was pondering this, Ceres stepped into the protective barrier with a serious expression.
“Are you the ones who were holding the Demon?”
“Um, yes, yes… that’s us.”
Yona, who instinctively sensed their noble aura, timidly got to her feet and bowed her head.
“Thank you for your hard work. It seems… there were no casualties.”
As she spoke, the smile on the woman’s face struck Yona as unexpectedly charming in such a dire situation.
“…I’m Yona. No surname.”
“I am Ceres Olkamain. We can discuss more details later.”
The woman who introduced herself as Ceres turned back to gaze intently at the Demon.
Vervaria felt a wave of impatience rising within.
No matter how much of a clone this is, it doesn’t make sense to be losing to such pathetic creatures.
Yet, the sacred radiance engulfing her was so pure and clear that it overwhelmed the miasma she was exuding without pause.
And that wasn’t all—
『You bastard!』
“Just die already!”
The Warrior was relentlessly assaulting Vervaria as well.
He was stabbing with his spear and somehow wrapping it around, probing for Vervaria’s weaknesses.
He deftly twisted his attacks to change direction, hitting with a spear charged with divine power.
Truly, the prowess of a Golden Tier Warrior wasn’t a mere boast; he was driving the Demon back with strength that far surpassed that of Silver Tier Warriors.
As the spear swung, shards of light scattered everywhere. Each time they struck the serpent, sizzling sounds echoed as wounds formed.
Then, as Ludvik thrust his spear deeply, the serpent twisted on the ground to avoid it.
“Ugh, Aah!”
“Eek!”
Yona gasped, hugging Rubina tightly, who also shouted in alarm. The serpent, rolling on the ground, crashed forcefully into Priest Vigrind’s protective barrier and rolled away again.
In that moment, the serpent’s gaze fell upon the gathered figures of Ceres, Vigrind, Yona, and Rubina.
『You idiots are just wasting time…!』
With its gaze fixated on them, the serpent began to retract its long body bit by bit.
Then, a black veil started spreading over the nine heads of the serpent.
With each layer of the veil, the serpent’s form began to vanish slowly.
“Do you think I’m going to let you do as you please?!”
Ludvik shouted, gripping his spear tightly and charging forward. However, the black veil unfurled just slightly faster than his advance, rustling ominously as it enveloped the serpent, gradually erasing its image from view.
『This is enough for today. I don’t need to waste unnecessary energy here. Hero, I’ve seen your power. It’s not enough to obstruct our path. Relief.』
“Shut your mouth!”
Yet, Ludvik, gritting his teeth, realized he couldn’t charge again. Despite its clone status, fighting the serpent was hardly a walk in the park for him either. Retreating felt like the better option now.
『Our power has already overwhelmed the divine. Even if you struggle, you cannot stop us. Besides, it’s only natural that seven is stronger than one. Everything will follow the natural order, so understand that.』
As the serpent’s voice faded away, so did its form.
Only after it fully disappeared did the true night sky reveal itself.
A night sky adorned with a moon and stars.
“…For now, let’s clean up the aftermath.”
And with that, Ceres continued speaking.
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