The Celestial Race is strong.
This fact has been naturally passed down from the past to the present, and the only beings comparable to the Celestial Race are the Demon Race.
KWA-AAAAA!!!
A storm of hundreds of spears rushes forward and embeds itself into the wall.
As the spears split, they explode.
Light flares on the opponent’s thick forearm, and my left arm bursts apart.
I regenerate my arm.
‘Did they use their Unique Ability?’
“Hah! To regenerate like that, you’re no ordinary guy!”
“You’re strong.”
The opponent is a Celestial being and the Commander of the Knights leading the order.
He belongs to the Intermediate rank and has awakened his unique powers to enhance his skills.
A powerhouse with both ability and technique.
It’s safe to say that a being of this caliber coming down to the surface could shatter an entire continent.
‘Stronger than Duke Huangyeol.’
“With your strength, you could be in charge of a group, even if not the head of a family. What’s your name?”
“Where is Loreliess?”
“Don’t speak her name so carelessly. And I asked the questions.”
“No.”
KWAACK!
The spear moves. I move.
Before I know it, I’m behind him, and the White Guardian pierces his heart.
“…!”
“I’ll be the one asking questions.”
A roar of the spear bursts forth from the pierced heart.
The storm of disturbance grinds from the inside, not the outside.
In an instant, the Commander of the Knights sways, and the intense wave of the storm collapses his body.
The Commander falls, rolling on the ground.
“Smoke doesn’t work here.”
“Did you see through me?”
In a flash, the Commander of the Knights pulls my spear out and regenerates his ‘heart’, swinging his spear.
It’s not surprising.
Celestial beings can restore themselves based on the holiness contained in their souls, even if their entire flesh is shattered.
A heart bursting is no problem at all.
However, the reason I shattered the heart was that a part of the holiness flows through it, separate from the soul.
Just like blood circulates through the heart.
The Commander’s spear splits.
The separated spears soar high and then come raining down toward me.
I know that technique well.
“Rain of Spears.”
“Your true identity becomes more suspicious by the second. What brings you here?”
“Well…”
‘A spear for a spear.’
I split the spear and raise the Rain of Spears.
Thousands of spears collide and explode.
It’s natural for the holiness to collide and burst, but that peculiar explosion isn’t caused by the Rain of Spears’ impact.
‘Did they embed their Unique Ability in the technique?’
It’s not enough to be pushed back by force, but as the abilities are infused, I’ll eventually find myself overwhelmed by it over time.
I’d prefer to finish this with a spear if possible, but…
“I guess it can’t be helped.”
“Well, well!”
“Haha! Have you given up…?”
The spear transforms.
As the spear loses its form, the downpour spear diminishes, and the recovered downpour spear aims at me once again.
The opponent is the Commander of Knights.
Since the real opponent, Loreliess, remains, I can’t waste my energy here.
Clang!
A heavy weight fills my hand.
Before I knew it, I was before him, piercing through all spears.
“Hammer?”
“Hammer.”
Crrrunch!!!
I slammed the Commander of Knights with the hammer.
■
Technique is important.
I learned the technique of the spear from the adherent of the spear and the adherent of technique, and those techniques continue to be useful.
A way to maximize effectiveness with minimal strength.
I acknowledge the technique and think it’s quite useful, but there’s a saying.
“For strong power, technique is unnecessary.”
I imbue the hammer, transformed into the White Guardian, with holiness.
I pack it, pack it, and grab the maximally overlapped hammer, and I swing down.
It’s just a simple swing, without any special movements.
Of course, overlapping the holiness isn’t exactly simple, but putting in enough force for a swing is hardly something to call a technique.
Even so, the attack was incredibly effective.
Sometimes an old-school singular hit works better than advanced techniques.
The Commander of Knights flew away, crashing into the wall, and the temple begins to crumble.
No, the temple doesn’t crumble.
‘…Barrier.’
This place is the temple managed by someone called Loreliess.
Naturally, a barrier imbued with Loreliess’s power surrounds the entire temple.
Once this fight is over, it will likely return to its original state.
It was similar to the barrier I created earlier, but the magnitude of that power was different.
I can definitely feel it.
‘It would be tough right now.’
Even though I stacked multiples on my attack, not a single scratch has appeared on the barrier.
Rather, it resonates as though responding to the holiness, shining even brighter to increase its sturdiness.
At this level, an upper existence is assured…
Step. Step.
I approach the epicenter of the explosion.
The Commander of Knights sprawls out, not a single limb intact.
“Are you dead?”
“……”
“Ah, you’re dead.”
Though not to the soul, the body is dead.
Even so, he did manage to absorb the shock by setting up his spear and imbuing it with power while getting hit, but…
‘That’s ridiculous.’
The holiness and rank he possessed fall short of mine.
If he had used superior techniques or annihilation, or even ‘Sacred Transformation,’ it might have been different, but with any other techniques, he couldn’t kill me.
“Cough!”
Of course, I had to bear some losses too.
I wipe the blood dripping from my mouth.
Due to overusing the holiness, I couldn’t recover from the aftereffects of the power the Commander left behind.
The lingering effects of the power I left behind haven’t been recovered.
Still, after some time, once my holy power starts to replenish, I will manage to recover.
Using my hammer as a staff, I support my body and look around.
“…It’s quiet.”
I should deal with Erbino, who dared betray me.
Has he already escaped?
“Such a nuisance.”
I stretch out my hand.
I could use the Red Guide, but in my current state, I can easily pinpoint the position of a low-ranking celestial.
I’ve found a trace.
It hasn’t been long.
After briefly replenishing my holy power, I teleport right in front of him.
Erbino’s eyes widen to the point of breaking as he clutches his head with both hands and runs away.
I wonder if he really needs to run away like that, but it’s probably because he saw me swing my hammer.
“Afraid your head might get smashed?”
“Ah! I-I’m sorry!”
“Why did you do something so foolish then?”
“P-please forgive me!”
“No way.”
Celestials don’t get a second chance.
I’m not that merciful, and celestials don’t deserve a yellow card.
Clang.
They only receive a red card.
I grip the hammer and leap forward.
Even if they are low-ranking, once on the ground, it’s embarrassing for someone who should be treated as a god to run away like this.
“You’re lucky. You won’t be obliterated.”
“Obliterate?”
“Exactly.”
Just as the hammer imbued with holy power was about to crush Erbino…
“…What is this?”
Something flew in swiftly, blocking the space between Erbino and me.
A large white octagonal shield stopped my hammer.
The inside of the shield was spinning like a vortex, and as the holy power radiated, my hammer was naturally deflected backward.
The arm holding the hammer tingled.
The shield declares, “You, rude one. Step back.”
“Who are you?”
“……”
Swish!!
This time, a white edged sword flies toward my neck.
Once again, it possesses the same power as the shield.
I swiftly leap up and swing my hammer to knock away the sword.
The sound of weapons clashing echoes, and the weight of the sword pushes my hammer back.
But the sword is pushed back as well.
“…!”
The sword was pushed and pushed until it finally stuck in a distant pillar before coming to a halt.
The shield radiates a sinister aura.
“You, rude one, have committed two mistakes today.”
“Mistakes? Well, I feel I’ve given you enough warnings.”
The reason I’m letting a celestial, who should be killed just for existing, live is that I’m not in wartime.
Right now, I’m experiencing the trials in the game after returning from that place.
That’s why I can grant a single reprieve, but nothing beyond that.
But I can’t tolerate more than that.
“How ridiculous. To judge Loreliess’ ‘discipline’ with that pathetic power.”
“Discipline? You mean that nonsense?”
“Discipline is not nonsense.”
Another weapon rises behind the shield.
This time, it’s a spear.
“First, you invaded Loreliess’ temple. Second—”
Got it!
“…!”
The hammer escapes the spear’s attack range.
Before I knew it, the spear is piercing my side, emitting light.
“How dare you defy that person’s discipline.”
The spear spins.
—
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
At the top of Loreliess’ temple.
The door to the space where the owner of the temple resides opens, and a strangely shaped shield floats in.
The shield bends as if bowing its head.
“I have subdued her as ordered.”
“Have you really subdued her?”
“Yes. It wasn’t very difficult because the Commander of Knights held back his strength. The resistance was strong, so she is currently imprisoned in the ‘Eternal Iron Cage.'”
“I see. Good job, Manus.”
Loreliess, the owner of the temple, sits in an antique chair, praising Manus.
As she shifts her gaze, Manus follows suit.
Behind her, a large window allows a view of the ground instead of the Heavenly Realm.
The world is peaceful.
“The world has changed a lot. The blood and death that seemed endless have faded; isn’t that remarkable?”
“That’s right.”
“Still, some things remain unchanged. For example…”
An eternal promise, perhaps.
“A promise… you say?”
“Yes. An eternal promise. That’s why, even as time passes, ‘this place’ remains. If you think about it, this too might have been that person’s arrangement.”
“……”
“Everything, from our survival to the distant future of this place, and what will happen to ourselves.”
All of that was the result of that person’s arrangement and promise.
‘The great road continues to this day.’
Creeeak…
“You must know well. Only Manus and I know the truth of this place.”
“……”
“That said… ‘you.'”
Thud.
“How long do you plan to keep pretending to be Manus?”
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
