[Which Divine Beast would you like to summon?]

“Karian.”

[The Divine Beast, ‘Karian,’ is attempting to descend into this Other Dimension.]

[Divinity is decreasing.]

[Summoning time is reduced to 6 minutes.]

Whether it was due to growth, the previous 5 minutes had increased to 6 minutes.

“Karian, please stop that.”

But there was no time to think about that now.

If this attack hit directly, this entire area would be devastated.

It wouldn’t be enough to damage the Thunderclap Palace headquarters, but it would be too much damage for ordinary citizens.

Ha-yeon knew this, so she asked the giant ice bird that appeared in the sky, the Divine Beast Karian.

-Hmm… I understand, but it will be difficult to block the attack itself.

“Reducing the damage is enough.”

-More than that, a Divine Sword… It’s been a while.

Hearing her answer, Karian soared into the sky, summoning a storm and ice at the same time.

The storm surrounded the three of us, and the ice formed a wall to prevent damage from spreading outward.

“Divine Sword Release.”

A bright light shone from his Divine Sword.

And with it, the Thunder Dragon began to move.

Ha-yeon didn’t stand still either.

“Divine Sword Release.”

Likewise, Divine Sword Release.

She didn’t know the specific usage yet. But she had a rough idea from watching him use it.

[The Sacred Spirit Skill ‘Hellfire Dragon Slash (SS)’ of the Red Light Divine Sword (SS) is activated.]

[The power is reduced due to insufficient proficiency.]

As expected.

However, what was more concerning than that was the grade.

‘SS, huh.’

She had never seen anything above S-rank.

Whether it was a human, a monster, an item, or a skill.

But SS-rank.

When she first obtained this sword, she somehow thought it was ‘natural’ and moved on… Why did she do that?

‘Well, that’s not what I should be thinking about now.Ha-yeon shook off her distractions and swung her sword.

At the same time, Helio also struck down with his sword, and the Thunder Spirit that had been floating in the sky also fell to the ground.

Kwahwah!!!

A spectacle of light on one side, lightning on one side, and Hellfire blazing on one side.

The scene was reminiscent of a battle of gods.

“Ugh….”

She had expected it, but the aftereffects still caused minor injuries, and she gritted her teeth. However, the clash quickly ended.

“Divine Sword…? How do you have that…!”

He also seemed to recognize the identity of the weapon Ha-yeon was holding, and for the first time, he wore a surprised expression as he said that.

Of course, Ha-yeon wasn’t one to give him a detailed answer.

“It’s a sword made from fragments in your New King Church.”

“To dare insult God.”

“So what? Eleina, or whatever her name was, experienced it too.”

Honestly, this was just something she blurted out.

She just said it thinking there might be some connection.

Regardless of her lightheartedness, Helio’s eyes shook madly.

“You, you…?”

[The Constellation, ‘Moon-Cleaving Flash,’ is silent.]

A voice that sounded genuinely flustered.

“What about me?”

It was such an absurd conversation that it was hard to believe this was happening in the middle of a battle, but no one interfered.

“No, that can’t be. It’s just a coincidence.”

Helio, having seemingly sorted things out himself, ran a hand over his face and said that before raising his sword once more.

And then he said something truly unimaginable.

“I will make you pay for blaspheming God.”

God…?

Wait, the god they’re talking about is just the main god over there.

This time, before Ha-yeon could finish thinking, Helio charged at her.

Clang!

Instinctively moving her body to block it, she gripped her sword again.

She thought again that she would think about distractions after this fight was over.

‘It seems like I don’t have to worry about the other two anymore.’

That was because Cheon Haeun and her Hwangwoldan had arrived.

“First unit, follow me! Second and third units, keep the archer in check!”

Quick situation assessment and orders.

Haeun shouted, wrapping Thunderclap around the sword she mainly used.

Watching that for a moment, she channeled mana into her sword.

[‘Hongyeom’s Aether’ evolves one step further in response to the surrounding stimuli.]

[Aether Transformation, ‘Explosive Aether’]

The temperature was just right, so increasing the firepower wasn’t a good idea.

That’s why she added an attribute.

Explosion.

A powerful explosion that could easily collapse a cave struck Helio directly.

“Saint’s Shield.”

But he wasn’t easy to deal with either.

He used something that seemed to be a skill to create a silver barrier, blocking her attack.

“I don’t know if this is a place I can join.”

Cheon Haryeong wasn’t standing still either.

As a ranged dealer who mainly focused on ranged attacks rather than a dealer who focused on close combat, he couldn’t directly join the fight, but his considerable harassment and the accumulated damage he dealt from time to time were a great help.

[The Constellation, ‘Moon-Cleaving Flash,’ clenches his fist as if determined.]

[The Constellation, ‘Moon-Cleaving Flash,’ bestows upon you the skill, ‘Sword of Glory (S+).’]

[There are no penalties.]

In the midst of all this, a skill was suddenly added.

They were skills that were gradually moving away from the Sword Demon, but she didn’t care much about that.

[The Constellation, ‘Moon-Cleaving Flash,’ advises you to use it on the Divine Sword.]

At his message, Ha-yeon bit her hand slightly and drew blood.

“Honestly, at this point, shouldn’t I be called a Blood Demon?”

[The title, ‘Sword Demon,’ effect is activated.]

Even so, she used a skill that she could instinctively feel on the sword.

[The skill, ‘Sword of Glory (S+),’ is activated.]

[The Divine Sword has become slightly closer to its essence.]

It didn’t end there.

[Godhood, ‘Gaia,’ is slightly aware of your existence.]

Gaia…?

‘Isn’t this too much?If this were a novel, she would want to say that it was throwing out too much bait without thinking.

‘Well, that’s not what’s important right now.’

She swung the sword, which had begun to swirl with the power of faint moonlight and the power of light, at Helio.

A fiery slash mixed with moonlight surged towards him.

And it didn’t end there.

-There’s less time than I thought.

Karian created hundreds of ice spears and fired them at Helio.

At the same time, she prepared one giant spear.

‘It’s huge as expected.’

It wasn’t like Ann’s Yasakani no Magatama, but it was a technique comparable to its power.

She also planned to unleash one attack and retreat.

“Thunderclap Palace Lord!”

“What is it!”

“Please unleash one strong attack skill!”

Ha-yeon shouted as she ran.

Judging from the current situation, there were about 5 seconds left until Karian’s attack was completed.

It was best to end everything in this time.

‘Exorcising Sword.’

At the same time, she imbued the sword with the Exorcising Sword after a long time.

It was the most effective choice for a one-time attack.

Pajijik…. Kwang!

As she requested, Cheon Haryeong poured about a third of his remaining mana into a powerful Thunder Dragon Spear and stabbed it into Helio.

“Extreme Light…!!”

He seemed to have expected something big was coming and was gathering power into his sword, but it was already too late.

-Oh pitiful one wielding the Divine Sword, I declare the end.

A giant spear.

Unlike the ice spears that were created on the spot, it resembled an existing spear.

The ice spear flew towards Helio.

Kagagag!!!

“Keueuk…!!”

As expected, he seemed to have difficulty blocking this attack and groaned as he stepped back…

‘This won’t do.’

Judging from the situation, it didn’t seem like she could kill him by pushing forward.

That’s why Ha-yeon, who had wrapped the Exorcising Sword around her sword to finish him off, charged forward.

“Uwaaaa!!”

As expected, he was bleeding and a mess, but Helio swung his sword and charged at Ha-yeon.

Ha-yeon swung her sword at him.

Thwack.

Slash.

She didn’t back down.

That’s why she cut off his arm, but the aftermath wasn’t small either.

“Ugh….”

Her abdomen was pierced by the sword.

There was a lot of bleeding.

However, his condition wasn’t good either, in proportion to that.

“Uwaaaack!!”

He seemed to be in a lot of pain.

But… something was strange.

He seemed to be in pain not only physically but also… mentally…?

“….!!”

The crescent moon mark on his forehead emitted a red light.

And the domineering exorcising energy devoured that light.

Eventually, the energy devoured even the mark.

“…..”

Before long, the groaning subsided, and he opened his eyes with a blank face.

“What… what happened just now?”

When Ha-yeon asked that, he looked at her with an expression as if he had lost something big.

“What… what have I done…”

“…?”

Wasn’t this the typical line of someone who had been brainwashed and then had their brainwashing undone?

‘It was strange.’

But she had kept that possibility in mind.

From the fact that he, who had no talent for martial arts, suddenly gained such great power and joined the New King Church to become a Cardinal, there were too many suspicious points.

“Excuse me… can you explain what’s going on?”

She said that to him, but he looked at Ha-yeon with a gloomy expression.

Along with blood.

“Cough…!! … I’m sorry to you… You were probably the original owner of this Divine Sword.”

“..?” No, shouldn’t you be telling me about the New King Church?”

She was flustered when he suddenly said that and handed the Divine Sword to Ha-yeon, but he shook his head and said.

“I can’t say. There’s a prohibition on my body.”

“Ha… really.”

“But don’t worry… you will probably reach the truth soon.”

She was about to question his tone, which seemed so certain, but for a moment, he looked at the sky and uttered meaningful words.

“I never imagined I’d meet Cecilia like this…”

With that as his last words, Helio lost the light in his eyes.

He died.

And at that moment.

The scene in front of her eyes was reversed.

‘Where is this….?’

Too much blackness.

She couldn’t move a single part of her body there.

Where was this…? It was a sudden situation that occurred when Helio died.

Was it his trick? No, that couldn’t be.

As she was searching for a way to deal with this situation and a way to overcome it, a ray of light appeared in front of her eyes.

Moonlight.

A faint silver color illuminated the darkness, and with it, a figure revealed itself.

“…..”

And that figure was.

‘….Me?’

It resembled Ha-yeon, herself, too much.