“…It’s about repaying a debt of gratitude. I have no other intentions.”
Alex looked at Scarlet with a sly expression before turning away.
Honestly, Scarlet didn’t matter that much right now.
Yona and Vervaria had gone ahead, leaving Rubina and Serad behind in the carriage while Alex’s group entered Evian with the Alebians.
Because there was already chaos in the back alleys, the gate guards who should have been protecting the city gate of Evian were nowhere to be found, allowing them to enter smoothly without any hindrance.
But that was as far as it went.
The black barrier blocking their way stood resiliently as if to say no one could enter, and even when Alex tried using holy power to pound against it, it didn’t budge an inch.
It wasn’t just them; even the guards of Evian and the military forces that had been mobilized couldn’t get in either.
And Scarlet, who had stubbornly followed them all the way here, received an ominous gaze from Alex in response.
“It seems Damian has unfolded his domain.”
Alebians whispered to Alex.
Only Alex and Yona knew Alebians’ true identity.
There was no way it would be good if the identity of a demon realm priest was revealed, especially to Yona and perhaps Alex.
Kaiyak thought Alebians was just a great magician.
“…Then what should we do?”
“There is a way.”
“Then let’s do it.”
Without a hint of hesitation, Alex responded.
As he glanced at Alex for a moment, Alebians slowly began to speak.
“The inside is already filled with magical energy. Even if I try to open it, it might not help much. Inside, Alex, you might struggle to move properly. Same goes for Kaiyak and Mr. James.”
“…So what do we do?”
“Damian’s power is magic. It means his physical strength isn’t that formidable.”
“…Alebians, let’s be straightforward. I have no idea what you want to say.”
At Alex’s words, Alebians frowned.
Yona felt the same way, and now Alex too.
Alebians pondered how his situation had come to this while pressing his temples and sighed.
“So—”
*
“I can only open it for a moment. Damian’s magic is definitely not weak.”
As Alebians said this, he began drawing a circuit on the black barrier.
Excluding Kaiyak and James, who had decided not to enter, Alex and Scarlet nodded with determined expressions, watching Alebians.
“Sir Scarlet, can you do it?”
“…Of course. I will surely repay the debt I owe.”
Having poured such fierce hatred onto Yona, yet the one who saved him from dying by self-harm was Yona; he felt the need to repay that debt.
How much of Scarlet’s word could be trusted was questionable, but Alex decided to at least give it a chance.
Otherwise, there was no other way.
“Then, I’ll open it.”
The circuit drawn on the black barrier.
The characters densely filled around the circuit, a blend of five-fold and six-fold patterns, were indecipherable.
And in the very center of that circuit, Alebians struck down with his palm, making a loud clap.
Suddenly, the barrier lurched and undulated violently.
The once solid barrier suddenly felt squishy.
It was big enough for an adult man to enter.
“Come on, hurry up and get in.”
At Alebians’ urging, Alex and Scarlet stepped into the barrier.
As soon as the two entered, and Alebians followed, the undulation vanished, and the barrier reverted to its original solid form.
“…Ugh.”
The moment he stepped in, Alex frowned and swallowed hard.
This strange feeling weighing down on him wasn’t from magic.
It was an eerie sensation that could only be described as ominous and foreboding.
And it wasn’t even a divine force.
Struggling against the repugnant energy he’d never felt before, Alex barely managed to suppress the urge to gag.
Alebians didn’t seem comfortable either, but Alex and Scarlet were at least managing to cope.
“Sekti, are you okay…?”
“…I’m fine. How about you, Senpai?”
“I can manage.”
Neither under the influence of magic nor divine presence, Alex and Scarlet were in a bizarre state.
Scarlet had been gradually tainted by magic since being attacked by Yona, and that taint intensified after receiving healing from her. Alex, too, had been healed by Yona, and the seal on him had been broken, leading to his own blending with magic.
That said, their lifelong dedication to the divine didn’t vanish either, so they had become strange beings with a mix of magic and divinity.
To Damian, who had lived eons, they were incomprehensible third entities.
And that was what Alex and Scarlet had turned into.
A mystical power exerting tremendous influence over ordinary humans, divine beings, and those infused with magic alike.
Alex and Scarlet were neither ordinary humans nor pure priests nor beings enslaved by magic.
“Ugh… This feeling is really awful no matter when you experience it.”
Even Alebians remarked on how dreadful this place felt.
Scarlet slowly drew her morning star, one hand grasping a shield, the other brandishing the weapon.
Her eyes sparkled with intensity.
*
“What’s going on? You told me to obey and now you can’t do anything, huh?”
Glaring at Damian with a voice full of mockery, Yona clenched her fist.
Her weapon was the storm of magic, as well as a serpent reminiscent of a familiar relying on Vervaria’s strength.
The magic storm was supporting Vervaria, who was wrestling with the black giant, while the familiar serpent, perhaps powered by Vervaria’s essence, was repeatedly blocked by the parchment charms swirling around Damian.
Meanwhile, Priest Vigrind was making an even bigger impact.
Claiming she’d realized the divine power of the celestial beings, she seemed to back it up; her golden divinity was both supporting the knights and persistently striking down with the hammer of divinity above Damian’s head, getting in some decent hits.
However, one thing was clear: no significant results were visible.
– Kraaaargh!
The roar of the black giant echoed.
At the same moment, Vervaria’s body flew across the sky above Yona—
– Quang!
Crashing into the barrier, Vervaria fell to the ground, wriggled a few times, and then lay limp.
His body slowly started to turn transparent, and eventually, he disappeared.
【I’m sorry… Saint… My, my power… couldn’t reach you…】
Yona heard Vervaria’s voice in her head.
That voice, stern enough to seem like it would extinguish at any moment, made it clear that Vervaria was not in good shape.
Despite continuously healing her wounds, it was unavoidable that her strength was waning.
She wasn’t completely dead, but there was no way she’d be able to fight right now.
‘…What should I do?’
No answer came.
She looked around.
The twenty or so cathedral knights were bravely fighting, likely due to Priest Vigrind’s blessing.
Priest Vigrind was sweating profusely, but he was still holding on, and behind him stood Bishop Poby and other priests reciting their prayers and channeling divine power.
‘—Ceres? What’s she doing here?’
Somehow, it seemed like magic was constantly flying at her, and it appeared Ceres was the source.
Was there a reason for Ceres to show up at the relief event?
Yona wanted to rush over and shake her by the collar, but she couldn’t.
Sister Aege was right behind Ceres, and Yona couldn’t let Aege see the kind of relationship she had with Ceres.
“—Yona!”
Just when Yona was thinking there must be some way, a familiar voice reached her ears.
Alex and Scarlet charged towards Yona.
The Alebians said it would be unwise to reveal themselves and disappeared, leaving just the two of them.
They entered from behind Damian, who was approaching Yona and Vigrind, the black giant looming over them.
So they rushed towards the throne where Damian sat.
“Doing something pointless. If someone is doing this, they’d definitely be that priest…”
Damian sat on the throne without turning around, snapping his fingers again.
As if on cue, several crimson flames swirled up around the throne, and from those flames, numerous arrows materialized.
“Alex—! Danger, it’s dangerous!”
Yona shouted as she dashed towards where Alex was running.
The storm of magic tried to catch up with her movements, extending out to block Alex, but—
The arrows were faster.
Dozens of arrows whizzed through the air with a “swoosh” sound.
Alex and Scarlet did not stop upon seeing the arrows.
Instead, they split in two and dashed in different directions, slamming their shields down to brace themselves and dodging behind.
– Thudthudthudthud!
The sound of arrows banging against the shields echoed like rain.
The arrows couldn’t penetrate the shields and ricocheted away, and when Yona reached Alex—
He stretched out his hand and pulled Yona into an embrace.
“I’m too late. I’m sorry, Yona.”
“Why did you come, you idiot.”
A mix of joy and relief.
An emotion that couldn’t be explained by anything else filled her voice.
At the end of that voice, Yona buried her face in Alex’s arms.
There was no need for words or pretense.
It was the instinctive result of the moment.
Scarlet’s eyes sparked with anger at the sight.
However, after briefly shutting her eyes tight, when she opened them again, her gaze was calm, as though nothing had happened.
She glared at Damian with that look.
“Is that a demon?”
“—Why did you bring her, though?”
Yona’s pointed voice.
But there was no demand for an answer.
Given the situation and the enemy needing to be defeated right in front of them.
In this situation, with an enemy right in front of us.
“Well, this time you’ve brought some strange beings. Neither celestial nor earthly deities, and not even ordinary humans.”
Damian scanned the two with an interested look.
He felt no particular emotion, but at least it was interesting.
“I don’t have time for long explanations. They’re trying to kill Vigrind. We need to stop them.”
“That’s enough.”
There was no reason to consider the circumstances.
He was curious why the hero was missing and the Saint was all alone, but there must have been a reason for it.
There wasn’t time to ask all those questions now, so Alex exchanged glances with Scarlet.
“Charge!”
Leaving Yona behind, Scarlet and Alex rushed in.
Damian maintained his relaxed posture all the while, as a sphere of crimson flames swirled around him, shooting arrows at Alex and Scarlet.
Each time they deflected an arrow, their shields shook violently.
Alex’s shield was already not great to begin with, and even though Scarlet’s shield had been enchanted, it was shaking just as much. Their durability was visibly wearing down, and thus they were getting closer to Damian.
– Bang!
“Ugh.”
A suppressed groan escaped from Vigrind’s lips.
The golden barrier shook violently every time the black giant slammed down its fists, threatening to break at any moment, and with each repair Vigrind felt a pain like his brain was on fire.
“Celestial deity, give me strength…!”
The opponent had changed to a black giant, but the situation remained the same.
Alex and Scarlet appeared; Yona rushed toward them, and the one hammering at this barrier was Damian, now transformed into a black giant.
“Hero…! Hero!”
The black giant seemed even more vigorous after swallowing the hero.
When it faced the hero, it didn’t appear to have much physical strength, but now it was a different story.
Each time it punched down, the golden barrier trembled.
The dead summoned by Damian no longer appeared as he faced others, but the problem was that the cathedral knights couldn’t handle the black giant.
The size difference was undeniable, and there’s no way the human cathedral knights could defeat the black giant that even the great demon Vervaria couldn’t overcome.
“Can I help you, Saint?”
Vigrind heard a voice whispering near her ear.
It was Ceres, who had been casting spells that made one question whether they were helping or not, coming closer to her.
“…I-I’m fine. I can still manage.”
“Is that so?”
Her voice sounded strangely twisted.
Vigrind removed the damp garment of the Saint’s robe that clung to her neck with sweat and looked back at Ceres.
“I think I could do something if I helped a bit…”
“Since you say you’re fine, come over here and help me.”
Aege grabbed Ceres’s arm and pulled her to fallback.
Vigrind quietly observed Aege.
She must have sensed something strange.
Otherwise, Aege wouldn’t have such a reaction.
If this job ends safely, then she must be asked about what was going on in detail.
–And first and foremost, surviving was what’s important.
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