Ch.116Chapter 116 – Etherna’s Touch is Incredible

Eternia, the Chief Inquisitor of the Solar Order, and the Holy Knights of the Solar Order were swiftly subduing the demon worshippers inside the dilapidated warehouse.

“Damn it! Everyone, draw up your demonic energy!”

When the man who appeared to be leading the demon worshippers ordered them to draw up their demonic energy, they all began to do so at once.

“How dare you draw up demonic energy in my presence?”

However, Eternia was not one to stand by and watch as demon worshippers summoned their demonic energy.

“Power of the Sun, bestow mercy and grace upon those tainted by evil! ‘Sacred Barrier’!”

Eternia drew upon her holy power as she recited her prayer.

As she finished her prayer and spoke the activation word, a holy barrier imbued with the sun’s energy unfolded.

“Argh!”

“D-demonic energy won’t respond to me!”

The demon worshippers tried to draw up their demonic energy, but for some reason, it wouldn’t obey their control.

“Everyone, attack that Solar God’s whore! We need to kill her!”

“Great Demon God! Accept our lives today!”

Realizing that Eternia’s holy barrier had made it impossible for them to use demonic energy, the demon worshippers began burning their life force.

Using life force to momentarily generate explosive power was their specialty.

“They’re burning their life force!”

“Everyone, deploy your sun shields and form a defensive formation!”

Under Eternia’s command, the Holy Knights created shields with holy power and moved closer to each other.

This formed a solid defensive formation that looked like a wall made of massive shields.

The demon cult followers charged forward while burning their life force.

Having lost all reason, they rushed toward the defensive formation created by the Solar Order’s Holy Knights.

—BOOM!

When the demon worshippers collided with the defensive formation, a sound like a battering ram striking a firmly locked castle gate echoed throughout the warehouse.

Judging by the sound alone, one might have expected the Holy Knights to be knocked back, but the result was exactly the opposite.

“Urgh…”

Eternia, the Chief Inquisitor of the Solar Order, had faced many heretics alone and had seen their desperate struggles many times.

Therefore, the strategies of demon worshippers were all familiar to her.

Naturally, she had already established countermeasures against them.

The Holy Knights who accompanied her had learned exactly how demon cults and their followers operated through Eternia’s rigorous training.

Moreover, thanks to Eternia’s holy barrier, the Solar Order’s Holy Knights were receiving tremendous buffs to their strength and endurance.

“Why… why aren’t our attacks working?”

“You are foolish. Now as you were before.”

Eternia sneered at the demon worshippers sprawled on the floor.

They had executed the exact same attack pattern that she had experienced numerous times and for which she had already developed countermeasures.

If she couldn’t block an attack when she knew exactly what was coming, wouldn’t that reveal her own inadequacy?

“Tell me. Who orchestrated the attack on Glesius Academy?”

“Heheh, do you think I would tell you that? You filthy whore of the Sun.”

When Eternia asked who the mastermind behind the incident was, the demon worshipper mocked her instead.

Despite his consistent insults calling her the Sun God’s whore, Eternia showed no particular anger.

—Swish.

Instead, she merely extended her hand toward a Holy Knight.

The Holy Knight then placed a bag he had been carrying on his back onto the floor and took something out of it.

What the Holy Knight pulled out of the bag was a nail-studded club, the kind that might be used by local thugs.

The notable point, if there was one, was that the surface of the club had dark red bloodstains that appeared to be human.

“…?”

As the nail-studded club with what looked like human blood on it emerged from the bag and into Eternia’s hand, the demon worshipper expressed confusion.

But soon, the demon worshipper would personally experience why Eternia had taken up the club.

—Thwack! Thwack! Thwack-thwack-thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

“AAAAARGH!”

“…”

Eternia mercilessly swung the blood-stained, nail-studded club at the demon worshipper.

And she wasn’t just striking mindlessly, but with the skill of showing maximum pain while minimizing actual wounds.

It was the craftsmanship that only a highly skilled torture specialist could demonstrate.

“S-save me…!”

“…”

Though the demon worshipper begged for his life, unable to withstand her merciless beating, Eternia continued her brutal assault without so much as blinking an eye.

Well, since she appeared to have her eyes closed, one couldn’t actually see her blink anyway.

Eternia’s club-swinging seemed to end when the demon worshipper, who had been beaten for quite some time, passed out from the unbearable pain.

“Pour water on him.”

“Yes.”

But she had no intention of stopping there.

At her command, a Holy Knight took out holy water and poured it on the demon worshipper’s face.

“Blurgh, blurgh!”

The demon worshipper, who had been unconscious, regained consciousness after being splashed with holy water.

But what followed his return to consciousness was Eternia’s merciless beating.

She continued her beating with an expressionless face, then delivered a full swing imbued with holy power.

Her holy power-filled full swing was aimed at the demon worshipper’s head.

The demon worshipper’s head exploded with a “pop!” and fragments flew in all directions.

“…”

Eternia’s face, as she looked at the demon worshipper whose head had burst, contained a certain indescribable satisfaction.

“P-please spare me!”

“I’ll tell you everything I know, so please let me live!”

Seeing her actions, the other demon worshippers fell to their knees and begged for their lives.

‘As expected of our captain. She makes an example of one to get the others to spill information willingly.’

‘That’s why we follow the captain, isn’t it?’

The Holy Knights watching seemed quite proud of Eternia, who had extracted voluntary information through her club therapy.

“I’ll ask once more. Who led the attack on Glesius Academy?”

“B-Bishop Demiuros!”

In response to Eternia’s question, the name of the person who appeared to be behind this incident spilled from the demon worshipper’s lips.

“Bishop Demiuros… where might he be?”

Eternia wanted to know where this person was.

But the demon worshippers remained silent despite her question.

Seeing that the demon worshippers weren’t answering, she realized they must be under some kind of constraint.

People who were just begging for their lives now refusing to answer?

It was impossible unless they were under a constraint preventing them from revealing someone’s location.

So Eternia raised her club, pointed it at the ceiling, and looked at the demon worshippers.

—Shake, shake.

When Eternia pointed at the ceiling, they shook their heads.

He wasn’t there.

Then she changed direction and pointed at the floor.

When the club pointed at the ground, the demon worshippers finally nodded.

Eternia smiled at the demon worshippers’ answer and brought down her club toward the warehouse floor with all her holy power.

The floor split with a crack! and the dilapidated warehouse was split in half.

The demon worshippers felt their knees weaken at the tremendous power that split the warehouse in half and cracked the ground with a single blow.

Beyond the ground split by Eternia’s power, the surprised face of someone appeared.

“Found. You.”

Upon discovering her target, Eternia opened her eyes wide and grinned.

From a distance, it might have looked like a beautiful smile from a pretty girl, but to the demon worshipper and the man hiding underground, it was death’s signal sent by a grim reaper.

Eternia gestured to the Holy Knights to arrest them while she descended underground.

“H-how did you break through our protective barrier…?”

Bishop Demiuros, the mastermind behind this incident, looked extremely flustered.

He never thought his barrier could be broken.

“My, my? Nothing is impossible for the Chief Inquisitor of the Solar Order.”

“Ugh, but my plan hasn’t failed! He must be dead by now!”

“Yes, yes~. I understand, so be quiet!”

When Demiuros showed signs of trying to escape, Eternia swung her club and knocked him unconscious.

Hit by the club imbued with holy power, he immediately passed out, and she triumphantly captured him and brought him before Pathos.

“Uh, well…”

The fact that the actual victim of the incident felt quite awkward seeing this scene is something we need not know.