The skeletons that appeared in the forest shocked everyone.
“What is its identity?”
At the same time, everyone present had the same thought.
A skeleton wearing a maid outfit.
It was a terrible combination.
The problem was the peculiar aura emanating from the skeleton.
The menacing aura from the sword it held was dominated by the power of darkness, but at the same time, a familiar aura could be felt.
“No way…”
That aura was the source of holy and sacred power known to anyone belonging to the church.
Yes, it was definitely holy power.
But that holy power was felt from that undead.
All paladins, including Vice Captain Liana, were shocked to realize this fact.
It was too confusing.
A skeleton that suddenly appeared was wearing a maid outfit, holding a sword full of dark energy in one hand, and yet a holy aura was felt from the skeleton’s body. It was a contradictory sight.
Even if they reported the current situation to the church, it would surely be rejected for not making sense.
It was that nonsensical.
Regardless of their reaction, Maru, who was wearing the maid outfit, nodded slightly.
Celia had arranged his current appearance, and he quite liked it.
Maru replayed what Celia had said earlier.
– Maru, listen carefully. If you go out from the beginning, you can’t give the opponent a dramatic effect.
With that, Celia put the maid outfit on him.
When the maid outfit was taken from the Death Knight’s shield, the Death Knight wailed, but that was none of Maru’s concern.
Anyway, Celia also offered another opinion.
– We will test the waters by sending out skeleton soldiers to the opponent first.
This is a way to warn the opponent that ‘something big is coming soon’.
The important thing here is that Maru must absolutely not move or speak first.
Celia emphasized her final remark.
She said not to move first.
She said that was the composure and dignity shown to the opponent.
Then, pointing to the Death Knight and Arch Lich, she even gave examples to ask if they looked dignified.
At that moment, Maru gained enlightenment.
Maru remembered well what Celia had said.
And when the opponent approached, he sent out the prepared skeleton soldiers.
– You shouldn’t send all the skeleton soldiers from the beginning here either! This is very important. You should send them little by little at first.
Celia’s words were accurate from beginning to end.
Look at their expressions now.
Aren’t they shocked by their appearance?
Maru decided to remember Celia’s words well and use them later.
A brief stalemate ensued between them.
The paladins observed the strange skeleton in the maid outfit, and Maru did not move first as Celia had told him.
And soon.
“Everyone, form ranks!”
Vice Captain Liana was the first to break the silence.
Regardless of the opponent’s aura, they just had to carry out their mission.
With over twenty people, could they not defeat one undead?
At the same time, Liana had another thought.
‘Was that guy the culprit?’
It was highly likely that the priests and paladins who had gone missing so far had lost their lives at his hands.
At the same time, the royal family of the Sail Kingdom must have also known this fact.
‘They dared to point a sword at the church.’
The Sail Kingdom had made a foolish decision.
If they subjugated the monstrous creature before them, they would surely teach the Sail Kingdom the power of the church.
“Maintain formation and pressure the opponent!”
With her command, the quiet forest turned into a scene of collision.
It was a battle between the church-affiliated paladins and the holy skeleton wearing a maid outfit.
The paladins swung their swords imbued with holy power, but were blocked by the skeleton’s sword.
“Tsk…”
Conversely, the Skeleton Dark Knight was unfazed even when shot with holy power.
The holy power flowing from the skeleton’s bones was unwavering against any attack from the paladins.
“Clap!”
Maru also knew this fact and took a slightly more active stance.
The maid outfit Celia put on him.
She said it reduced damage from holy attacks by 90%.
Although the uncompensated holy power seeped into Maru’s body, it didn’t matter.
Despite being undead, the holy power actually made him feel good.
Maru’s stat, Holy Power.
Although it was E-Rank, it was the reason why the paladins’ attacks did not work.
Maru didn’t care, but the paladins wore disappointed expressions.
Even when they recited various holy spells and tried to approach the opponent before them, it was all in vain.
Their swords were blocked by the sword of a monster possessing dark energy, and their spells imbued with holy power were inexplicably useless.
“Why? Why aren’t our attacks working!”
A paladin cried out in bewilderment.
But they were the sword of the church.
They must never yield even in difficult situations.
While bewildered, they did not stop trying to find the Skeleton Dark Knight’s weakness.
“Push harder! Give me a more powerful blow!”
Liana’s command flowed unhesitatingly from the middle.
The paladins who heard her cry swung even more powerful blows, but they did not deal any damage to the skeleton.
There was no place that could be considered a weakness, no matter how they tried.
Only then did the paladins exchange glances.
Bewilderment was etched on their individual faces.
In the short gap when the paladins stopped attacking.
Maru raised his sword high.
And he felt the flow of the sword.
He felt it instinctively.
How he should swing his sword.
Light began to emanate from the demonic sword Maru held.
Holy power bloomed around the black sword with its ferocity.
“Clack clack!”
(Judgment of Light!)
The demonic sword was swung towards the paladins.
The ominous and holy energies merged, causing significant damage to the paladins’ formation.
“Gasp!”
“Cough!”
Fortunately, it did not take their lives.
Only black blood flowed from their mouths.
But even so, calling the current situation fortunate would be a misnomer.
The attack just moments ago was by no means to be taken lightly.
Shadows fell across their faces.
Some people’s pupils even trembled.
Along with their pupils, their resolve was also shaken.
“Should we run?”
This mission was unofficial anyway.
Wouldn’t there be no significant disadvantage if they ran?
Wouldn’t it be a dog’s death to die here?
Conflict arose.
In their minds, loyalty to the goddess coexisted with a demon whispering with a sweet voice.
However, the victory was likely to go to the demon.
Of course, Liana also noticed this.
The momentum had already shifted.
But what was her role as vice captain?
Shouldn’t she encourage her allies in a situation like this?
“Tsk.”
Liana clicked her tongue briefly and took out an artifact from her bosom.
“I didn’t want to take this out…”
The artifact was made of leather, and the leather had turned white after receiving holy power.
“False faith can never defeat us! Goddess, please grant me strength!”
Liana immediately tore the artifact apart.
“Grant me the authority to purify this unholy thing that dares to deceive the Goddess!”
The forest then shone white.
* * *
“So, they’re paladins?”
Celia submitted a report.
It was about paladins disguised as adventurers coming to the dungeon and Maru greeting them.
Since they had nothing else to do, she watched Maru’s battle through her smartphone screen.
Watching the battle, she thought granting Maru holy power was an excellent choice.
The paladins’ attacks did not work on Maru, who was infused with holy power.
It could be seen as compensating for the undead’s weakness.
Furthermore, the clothes Maru was wearing added to the flawless result.
“…The maid outfit is also being used very well.”
At least Maru gave a better impression than the Death Knight.
Well, that was that, and now it was time for Maru to finish the battle.
As Maru swung his demonic sword, the paladins began to fall to the ground.
But their resolve was certainly different.
Seeing them get up again even after falling, she thought they were truly amazing.
Just as Maru raised his sword high to finish them.
“……”
One person in the center activated an artifact.
Then, the dark forest turned white.
“What?”
But that wasn’t the problem.
– Maru (★★★★) gains the trait ‘Sacred Mark of Engraving (A)’.
“Sacred Mark of Engraving?”
It was even an A-Rank trait.
She immediately called up Maru’s status window.
– Rank: ★★★★
– Race: Skeleton
[Traits]
– Flexible Movement (F+)
– Sacred Mark of Engraving (A)
[Basic Information]
HP: B-
Attack Power: B+ ( +1 rank bonus due to Demonic Sword)
Defense: C
Magic Power: C
Holy Power: 0 (Bonus due to Sacred Mark of Engraving)
[Skills]
– Loyalty as a Knight (S): Kanghyeon Lee (Active)
– Judgment of Light (B)
Huh.
As Maru gained the trait, his holy power disappeared.
How could holy power disappear just with that trait alone?
What kind of ability was it that did that?
She immediately touched the trait.
– Sacred Mark of Engraving (A-Rank): Imbues enemies with a sacred mark, making them targets of the Goddess’s wrath. This mark deals continuous holy damage to enemies and maximizes damage from holy attacks.
However, it only activates on those who do not believe in the existence of the Goddess.
Reading the explanation, it was an amazing trait.
Actually, it was a debuff.
“…This is a problem?”
She never thought there would be such an artifact.
Even when she was in the church, the information allowed to her was extremely limited, so she never expected such a trait to exist.
Most importantly, Maru was in danger right now.
The paladins also knew that and were rushing towards Maru.
Fortunately, Maru was enduring with the maid outfit he was wearing, but he couldn’t stay still forever.
This situation called for Celia’s help.
Thinking so, she read the trait again.
“Mark imbuement… Maximization of holy damage…”
And most importantly.
“Those who do not believe in the existence of the Goddess.”
The trait was explained to be effective only on those who did not believe in the existence of the Goddess.
Unfortunately, since Maru was an undead monster, it was safe to assume he had no faith in the Goddess.
The reason Maru had holy power was because I empowered Maru—
“Empower?”
Thinking about it, there was a way.
The traits and skills obtained from the three paladins sacrificed.
Of these, she had used the skills.
But wasn’t there one trait she hadn’t used?
– Faith of the Goddess (D): Trait. This trait manifests when a follower’s loyalty and faith towards the Goddess are excessive.
Although it was a D-Rank trait, it said it emerged when loyalty and faith towards the Goddess were excessive.
With just this, she might not need to call Celia.
“But is it okay to empower Maru with this?”
What happens if an undead believes in the Goddess?
Most importantly, Maru had a skill.
It was ‘Loyalty as a Knight’.
“Hmm…”
But the 고민 (gomin – worry/thought) didn’t last long.
Maru, seen through the screen, was slowly being pushed back.
There was a chance Maru might be extinguished first.
– Do you want to empower Maru (★★★★) with the trait Faith of the Goddess (D)?
– Once empowered, the ability cannot be reversed.
She immediately touched “Empower.”
– An error has occurred!
– Skill ‘Loyalty as a Knight (S)’ and trait ‘Faith of the Goddess (D)’ conflict with each other.
– The higher-ranked skill ‘Loyalty as a Knight (S)’ absorbs the trait ‘Faith of the Goddess (D)’.
– Skill ‘Loyalty as a Paladin (S+)’ is applied.
– Maru (★★★★)’s trait ‘Sacred Mark of Engraving (A)’ is released.
Fortunately, the debuff trait disappeared.
But the alarms didn’t end there.
– Dispatch Maru (★★★★) to the special mission dungeon ‘Evil God’s Nest’.
– Special mission successfully completed.
– Maru’s Transcendence Ticket is awarded as a reward.
– Skeleton Dark Knight Maru (★★★★) transcends to Skeleton Paladin Maru (★★★★★).
– Holy power greatly increases.
* * *
The paladins, who had been pushing with their remaining strength, stopped in their tracks.
“……?”
The skeleton’s condition was strange.
“What’s happening!”
Liana shouted.
The undead creature, which had been unable to do anything just moments ago, was changing into something.
“No, it can’t be!”
The ‘Sacred Mark of Engraving’ placed on the opponent using the artifact was disappearing.
“Attack quickly! Squeeze out your remaining strength!”
They had to finish the match before the engraving completely disappeared.
Otherwise, all their efforts would be in vain.
Liana also drew her sword and charged at the creature.
“There’s no time! Hurry and finish it!”
And soon, the engraving that had been placed on the skeleton completely vanished.
“……”
But that wasn’t the end of it.
The undead was absorbing the holy power fired by the paladins.
“Ah…”
The black body of the Skeleton Dark Knight’s sword began to change.
It gradually took on a grayish hue, and soon it completely transformed into white bones.
No, it went beyond white and shone faintly.
“Ah.”
From the being before them, from the undead monster, a familiar aura could be felt.
“G, Goddess, is this…”
Beyond the familiar aura, they felt a vast amount of holy power.
They were witnessing a miracle.
At the same time, they realized that this being was not merely an undead monster.
“…A messenger of the Goddess has descended!”
A bad aura still flowed from the sword he held, but what did that matter?
This was undoubtedly a messenger sent by the Goddess to punish them, who were greedy.
Tears flowed from the paladins’ eyes.
Some even knelt and offered prayers.
At that sight, only Liana shouted.
“Everyone, snap out of it!”
She yelled as she helped up the paladins lying on the ground.
“There’s no way that monster is a messenger!”
But no one listened to her words.
Everyone was completely dazed.
She bit her lip and looked at the skeleton being praised as a messenger.
And she picked up her sword.
If her subordinates couldn’t do it, she had to make a decision.
A skeleton wielding a sword in one hand, its maid outfit fluttering.
Continuously watching it, she slowly stepped forward.
One blow.
She had to eliminate that monster with one blow.
Liana’s hand tightened.
The moment she raised her sword.
The glowing skeleton spread its bone-made arm to the side.
It looked as if it were inviting her into its embrace.
“Ah…”
It was too beautiful.
Why was there such a holy and beautiful being?
The sword dropped from her hand.
