Chapter 327
This is really ridiculous.
Something that shouldn’t happen has happened.
The hero Sylvester, hailed as humanity’s last stronghold, has been brutally killed.
His head exploded, blood splattering everywhere like a broken watermelon, and one of those splattered with his blood was his daughter, Clemens.
“Ah, aaaa…!”
Clemens still couldn’t grasp reality.
Even in this life-and-death situation, her eyes, which usually maintained their composure, seemed to be bulging out of their sockets.
The soldiers who regained their senses grabbed their swords and staffs, trying to resist Bael.
However, their faces were painted with despair and dread. Their trembling legs betrayed them, sapping their strength in spite of their will.
“That’s… Bael….”
From beneath the castle wall, Liam gaped in disbelief at the unfolding scene. Emily and the others with him were also in shock.
“F*ck… This is so f*cked up…”
Arha forced a smile while drawing up her mana.
The pressure emitted by Bael was so immense that without mana to maintain her form, she felt she would just crumple away.
Arha spoke to her frozen comrades.
“What are you doing? Just gonna sit here and die pretty?”
Her tone was laced with sarcasm, deliberately provoking her teammates.
“Even if it’s f*cked up, are you just going to watch the stable burn? We need to put out the fire or save the horses or something!”
Arha was just as tense.
She tried hard not to show her fear, gripping her staff tightly.
The first to react to Arha’s will was the likely noble Golden Knight.
“The gap in his barrier is widening. At this rate, it’ll be completely destroyed and irreparable.”
Arterion, with Diphelia by his side until recently, had been a solid support for the new force.
The prince of the Ocel Kingdom sharply assessed the situation.
“The approaching enemy forces number about one million. Among them are Cardinal Amon and three Archbishops. By the time they reach the castle gate, the barrier will be completely shattered.”
“So? Are you saying we should ignore that monstrous creature and just deal with the small fry?”
“Are you saying you’re going to catch me?”
“…Just a lackey. Though I guess I might look like one compared to that monster.”
Arterion chuckled.
He didn’t take his eyes off Bael.
“Our mission is to protect the Central Church. And the entity we need to be most wary of among the intruders entering that Central Church is the Zero Risk Class.”
Arterion increased the intensity of the red aura surrounding his sword.
At the same time, the transcendent aura began to wrap around him like red maple leaves.
“If we don’t stand against it, who else could hold onto that monster’s foot, even for a moment?”
“Heh, look at you trying to act all princely.”
Despite the teasing words, Arha appreciated Arterion’s remarks.
Gathered here are the talents from the former Academia and Rikeion.
Although some key forces like Alicia and Finn are absent, none can be called lacking as Heroes.
Strength beyond what was established.
Everyone, bolstered by Vargan’s change in the scenario, gathered their spirits beyond individual limits.
Zzzzt—.
The ones who moved the fastest were the man bursting with red electricity and the woman who had switched positions.
And the martial artist, laughing heartily like a lion.
‘Has the fear of death already faded…?’
Arterion and the others followed that reliable back.
Meanwhile, Emily, whose fighting power was somewhat lacking, hastily moved her feet, determined to take a slightly different approach.
She didn’t want to be a hindrance to everyone for long.
*
“Father… Father….”
Clemens couldn’t gather her shattered mind.
With the idol she had believed in for so long gone, her resolve completely crumbled, and the enemy before her was nothing but an object of fear.
“D-Don’t come near me…”
Clemens took a step back.
Although Bael hadn’t moved, in her eyes, it felt as if he were approaching to kill her.
“Don’t come near me… Don’t come near me…!!”
The brave woman who once stood tall had vanished, leaving only a coward behind.
She was but a human struggling to survive.
『…….』
Bael looked down at her.
However, either out of disinterest or boredom, he pulled his fist back, imbued with violet mana.
The energy within could easily demolish several buildings, including the castle walls and the Central Church.
Bael planned to bring down the walls along with the other Heroes, including Clemens.
Kwahaaaaaaang—!!
Bael swung his fist.
The colossal wave of mana took shape, attempting to devour and destroy everything in its path.
Zzzuuuung—!
Just in time, Erica finished her movement. She formed a gigantic warp hole, beginning to swallow Bael’s strike.
“Gah, uuuugh…!”
Due to the immense mass infused in Bael’s blow, Erica struggled in agony.
As she held her arms out, it felt as if her veins and tendons might burst.
“Gaaah!”
Yet, Erica bore through it.
She froze her arms and legs to prevent herself from being forced back. After a hellish few seconds, she barely managed to block Bael’s strike.
Ka barely blocks Bael’s strike.
“Hahaha!!”
Before Bael’s follow-up attack could land, two Heroes step forward.
Boom—!
Without a hint of fear, Martial Artist Leon dives into Bael’s embrace.
Successfully striking Bael’s abdomen, he follows up with a barrage of punches like a downpour.
‘It feels like swinging my bare fists at a massive mountain! Truly, the king of monsters!’
Rather than feeling demoralized by the overwhelming power, Leon ignited with passion, his body heating up even more.
A formidable foe.
Absolute evil.
That was all the reason Leon needed to go all out.
Thud thud thud thud thud—!
Every time he hit Bael’s solid body, the Protector crumbled.
Despite years of rigorous training, Leon had to continuously produce the aura surrounding his fists without limit.
With even denser magical power.
With even more immense strength.
Stronger than Ipos and Grayden’s fists combined…!
Crackle—.
Then suddenly, a red lightning illuminated the castle wall.
Liam, who had taken Bael’s back, swung his sword. The target was his neck. He moved his blade, now an extremely sharp line.
But.
“Impressive.”
Crash—!
Liam’s sword tip got blocked. Even with the use of the Hongjeonggaebi, he could only leave a minuscule wound on Bael’s neck.
Leon’s punches were the same. No matter how many blows he landed, Bael merely stood there, unfazed, without a hint of pain.
As Bael measured the accomplishments of the Heroes, he spoke slowly.
Every word he uttered was laced with thick mana.
“But I cannot delay death.”
“Cough!”
Liam and the other Heroes suddenly spat out blood. The word “death” that Bael had uttered spread throughout their bodies like a fatal poison.
The poison would spread faster the more active their mana and bodies became, ensuring a certain death for them.
“Cough!”
Bael, the pinnacle of the Goddess Church.
The reason he stood at the top of the pyramid wasn’t just because of his physique that surpassed Ipos.
His power, which infused strength into language, was an absurd ability bestowed by the first Magician who created magic. It allowed him to overturn the laws of the world.
Let alone taking the lives of mortals was like child’s play for him.
“Accept death and stop resisting…”
Creaking!
Ice climbed up, gripping Bael’s body. The following elemental magic bombardment came without pause.
As crimson maple leaves enveloped him, Arha’s Unique Spell sealed the surroundings.
“Shut up and eat this!”
Erica, Erlich, Arterion, and Arha.
The four techniques synchronized perfectly as if they were one, trapping Bael.
Their cooperation, each a master in their own field, created a tiny hell that seemed would endure forever.
Oooooooom!
The vibrations of mana were intense.
Inside Arha’s ‘Room of Infinity,’ Bael was undoubtedly suffering relentless agony.
Everyone maintained their stance, ensuring their technique wouldn’t break. Especially Arha’s Unique Spell, which was the body of the technique, was putting immense strain on her physical form.
The spell put further strain on my body.
“Mana draining is insane. Ugh… I wouldn’t have been able to hold this without Ferangis’s support.”
Given the opponent’s high mana resistance, it was only natural that a lot of mana and stamina would be consumed.
After Sylvester’s sudden death, the heroes had significantly increased their specs through Ferangis’s large-scale spirit magic, allowing them to somewhat face off against Bael.
However, that was merely a temporary measure.
There was no way to hold back Bael.
Creeeek—.
Arha’s spell began to crack.
Even when pooling their powers with the surrounding magicians, it was insufficient to endure.
Crash—!
Eventually, the unique spell shattered.
The full body of Bael that appeared within it was etched only with small wounds as if he had been cut by a blade.
Bael. It seemed impossible to inflict a fatal wound on him.
‘…The power spread by the Schugenhartz family has grown unrecognizably. Has it continued to develop over generations?’
Having read Amon’s memories, he was naturally aware of the growth of magic and swordsmanship.
However, directly experiencing it was another story.
Bael re-evaluated the once pitiful power of the blue mana.
Amidst all this, there was a woman who drew his attention.
‘…The Saint. A distortion caused by the clash of scriptures.’
Bael referred to Emily in that way.
The woman with gray hair supporting her comrades was biting her lip tightly, sharing mysterious power.
The enigmatic shimmer that spread from her body.
Emily, who was using the so-called ‘miracle’ power, began to show signs of rapid deterioration.
‘What’s the point of stalling for time? Everyone is going to die anyway.’
Whether it’s late or soon, the difference was trivial.
Humanity would surely meet its doom.
Yet, Emily continued steadfastly to weave miracles. The state of the heroes, who had been coughing up blood, rapidly recovered, allowing them to momentarily escape the shadow of death.
‘Today, the Central Church will fall and the Holy Emperor will die. Those of you here will either become corpses or red monsters, causing another death in the world.’
Bael spoke of the future as if it were already determined.
And indeed, something similar had already unfolded in the original story.
The difference in individual strength made it abundantly clear.
Rather than stubbornly protecting the Central Church, it was common to beg for mercy or lose the will to fight, like Clemens.
That’s how his life had been.
That’s how history had been until now.
Before overwhelming force, one had no choice but to submit.
“Quit the nonsense…. It’s not over yet.”
A somewhat harsh remark for a saint. Emily gritted her teeth, enduring the pain of poison spreading within her, her eyes wide open.
She, along with the heroes extending their swords and staffs toward Bael, seemed to share the same resolve.
“…Humanity hasn’t been destroyed yet, damn it.”
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