Seongguk – Crossroads

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“Follow me quickly.”

“W, wait a moment!”

I hurriedly followed Ian, who was confidently walking out.

“Don’t panic, form ranks as prepared! Priests in the rear, prepare to support with Divine law when the battle begins!”

-Thud. Thud. Thud.

Following the command of who seemed to be the commander, dozens of Holy Knights and Priests moved in perfect order.

The corridor was already completely sealed off.

In the tense situation, the commander walked forward a few steps.

-Thump, thump.

“Ian, are you seriously refusing to cooperate and planning to fight us?”

“I should be asking that. What right do you have to arrest me?”

“We have received intelligence that you have been in contact with a Demon spy. And…”

-Point.

The commander pointed at me with the sword he was holding.

“The very fact that you are with a Sinner is undeniable proof.”

“Hmm… I was just interrogating the Sinner because I had questions about this case. Of course, the Magic Tower is investigating separately, so there’s no need to cooperate with the Holy Kingdom.”

“That is something you should request cooperation from our Holy Kingdom. We cannot tolerate unauthorized intrusion into restricted areas of the Holy Kingdom. If you do not cooperate, we will proceed by force from now on.”

“Sorry, but I have no intention of being captured willingly.”

As expected, the negotiation broke down.

From the start, they came with the intention of using force, having even set up a Barrier.

‘It doesn’t seem easy to break through the encirclement…’

The width of this corridor is wider than I thought.

It meant we had to face a large number of opponents all at once.

“Priests, prepare Divine law!”

“Goddess, grant your servants divine power.”

“The power to protect from all evil!”

The Priests continued to pray, enveloping the Holy Knights with sacred touches.

-Swish.

The Goddess’s Blessing began to envelop the Holy Knights.

The shields and armor of the Holy Knights were dyed white, and their weapons were enhanced with the power of the Goddess, shining brightly.

“The opponent is a 7-Star magician. But with the Barrier, he won’t be able to use his full power. If it’s difficult to subdue him, stall for time until reinforcements arrive.”

A touch-and-go situation where a battle seemed about to break out at any moment.

Just before the fight broke out, I approached Ian and whispered quietly.

“Ian, your mana is being suppressed because of the Barrier. Can you handle it?”

“Just complete the magic before the mana dissipates. Remember, our goal is to stall for time. Ten minutes is all we need. And…”

Ian gripped my shoulder tightly.

-Squeeze.

“Ugh…!”

“Don’t try anything funny. I won’t let it slide then.”

“…Okay.”

I was worried, but this is how he repays me.

I grumbled inwardly and rubbed my sore shoulder.

He must have been worried that I might stab him in the back. It also meant he knew how severe his actions were.

‘Let’s watch for now.’

I was curious about Ian’s true abilities.

Right now, I’m only at the level of a maximum 5-Star magician because of the Barrier’s influence.

On the other hand, the Holy Knights are basically at the 4-5 Star level and are receiving tremendous support from the Priests.

At first glance, it seemed like a disadvantageous situation, but…

In reality, we had an ‘overwhelming’ advantage.

7-star magician.

No matter how much a Barrier was in place, those who reached this level were not beings that ordinary Holy Knights could stop.

Because it was literally the realm of a ‘superhuman’ who freely manipulated mana.

“How long are you going to stand there? Didn’t you say you were going to drag me away immediately?”

“……”

The other side knew that, so they were only being cautious and not rashly stepping forward despite Ian’s provocation.

Moreover, the more time passed, the more advantageous it was for us.

“We will now advance slowly.”

-Step. Step. Step.

Eventually, the Holy Knights, unable to bear it any longer, began to approach us first.

Seeing that, Ian immediately raised his hand.

“[Bind.]”

“Ugh?!”

I almost lost my balance for a moment because the ground was shaking.

Even after I regained my balance, the entire corridor continued to shake, and then,

-Rumble.

Hands made of rock suddenly sprang up from the floor.

Dozens of giant hands immediately began to advance towards the Holy Knights at a rapid pace.

“They’re coming! Everyone, prepare!”

-Swish, swish, swish.

The hands were quickly cut down by swords wrapped in blessings, and

-Crack! Bang!

They were instantly smashed by Divine law.

‘So, they are a well-trained unit.’

The Holy Knights were holding up better than I thought.

The magic’s solidity was lowered because of the Barrier, but even considering that, they were really defending well.

But if this continued… the outcome was obvious.

No matter how many hands were destroyed, they kept popping up.

I could see the Holy Knights panicking in the face of a seemingly endless wave.

“Vice-Captain, there’s no end to it!”

“We’ll reach our limit soon at this rate!”

“I’ll break through and cut off the magic, so hold on!”

So the commander was the Vice-Captain.

Anyway, the Vice-Captain, having grasped the situation, seemed to be trying to break through, taking the lead.

The Vice-Captain broke formation and came forward, madly slashing at the hands.

-Swish. Swish. Swish.

‘Not bad.’

It would be a close call if we fought in the current state. Of course, we would win because of the difference in level, but still.

“Everyone, support the Vice-Captain so he can break through!”

With the support from the rear, the Vice-Captain pushed through the waves and gradually approached Ian.

But it seemed too late already…

“Don’t let them through. Block them all!”

“The side is breached!”

“Evade!”

As I expected, the Holy Knights in the rear were collapsing even faster.

The magic that the Holy Knights couldn’t block reached their bodies.

-Screech.

The protective Divine law seemed to block it for a moment, but

More hands covered them.

-Crack.

Then, even the protective Divine law was shattered, and all the Holy Knights on the front line were captured by the hands.

Then, the remaining hands immediately turned and began to rush towards the Vice-Captain.

The commander, noticing this, hurriedly backed away.

“Damn it!”

-Thud!

The commander, barely managing to avoid being bound, looked shocked.

“H, how can he use this much magic even with the Barrier…?”

“Did you think you could stop me with this kind of Barrier?”

Ian continued to pour out magic with a nonchalant expression, as if it was nothing.

‘He does have outstanding talent.’

An ordinary 7-Star magician would have had difficulty using mana.

For example… Dean Sarah of the Academy.

Sarah lacked many things to be called a 7-Star magician.

But Ian, like a genius, quickly grasped the Barrier and was bypassing it.

Like shooting out magic before the mana dissipated, or using the surroundings to efficiently use mana.

Moreover, he was subtly using the mana he had stored in Magic Stones.

The Vice-Captain let out a hollow laugh, feeling the difference in level.

“Ha, ha…. So the difference is this great.”

“[Isolate.]”

-Rumble.

Now, a wall made of rock completely separated us from the other side.

‘He’s doing well on his own.’

It was taking time because the goal was to subdue them, but if the goal was to kill, it would have been over quickly.

Ian continued to create barriers with one hand while preparing to activate the Magic Stone with the other.

“Lena, I’ll be focusing on the Magic Stone, so tell me if there are any changes on that side.”Okay, now we just need to quickly resolve the Magic Stone andㅡ” -Boom!

A spear that pierced through the rock like tofu with a roar came into view.

“!!”

‘What a flashy entrance.’

I feigned a surprised expression and lightly took a step back.

-Poof!

The spear, instantly wrapped in Divine Power, brushed past my eyes.

“Ian!”

-Screech!

The blue Shield that Ian created in an instant collided with the spear, creating a friction sound.

“Kugh!”

In the end, the spear failed to penetrate the Shield and fell to the ground, losing its power.

But suddenly, the spear floated up and began to return to where it had come from.

Soon, someone flew in at a rapid pace from behind the Holy Knights.

“Everyone, step back!”

The man who landed stably in front of us spun the spear he was holding once and then slammed it into the ground.

Whirr— Bang!

The man called Ian’s name in a serious voice.

“Ian Orden, it’s been a while since the Papal Chamber. You’ve been plotting interesting things in the meantime.”

“…I knew you would come.”

“Is that so? And next to you… the spy who has been communicating with Demons and tried to assassinate His Holiness the Pope, whom I’ve only heard about.”

“Ugh….”

I felt a chill at the powerful aura emanating from the man in front of me.

‘This is… even Ian might be in danger.’

It was a face I had never seen before, but his strength was similar to or greater than Cardinal Antonio.

If he was a skilled spear user from the Holy Kingdom… there was only one person I knew.

Cardinal Daniel.

He was famous as the Pope’s Spear.

He was also the one who made great contributions to dealing with the remnants of the Demon. That’s why I wanted to meet him at least once.

I never thought I would meet him as an enemy.