Ch.12743. To the Sacred Realm (2)

“KYAAAAAAAH-“

As expected, a high-pitched scream like speaker feedback filled the surroundings.

‘This smell of rotting corpses and blood…’

Simultaneously, the fog condensed, revealing dark red bats. I shouted to my companions.

“Anyone with bleeding wounds, be careful! These are vampire-type monsters!”

The knights panicked at my words. But they quickly used their holy power to heal their wounds.

“Then this fog is entirely blood mist…”

I nodded at Marco’s words.

“Blood mist is a dangerous magic that only Royal Vampires can create. We need to be thoroughly prepared to enter the sacred grounds.”

Marco urgently exclaimed in response.

“Royal Vampires? Of all the terrible monsters… But as Brother Minsu said, if he created this blood mist, then surely the Count of Ghoul is…”

Royal Vampires. They’re monsters from Ailetan of a completely different level.

Unlike lower vampires that indiscriminately suck blood from humans or animals,

These creatures have elevated their status as monsters by consuming only the blood of royalty descended from Ailetan’s ancient empire or high-ranking clergy.

‘Among Royal Vampires, a lord-class vampire is no different from an S-rank dungeon boss.’

And the Count of Ghoul.

As one of the Twelve Apostles, it seems he has even absorbed the blood of Royal Vampires. After all, blood mist is a magical domain that only Royal Vampires can create.

I shared this brief explanation with Marco.

“If the Count of Ghoul created this blood mist, he’ll be extremely difficult to deal with. The blood mist itself is a concentration of all kinds of debuffs that Royal Vampires can produce.”

“That’s right. Minsu… you’re truly remarkable. Despite not being a priest of the Cross Society, you know so much about undead monsters. You even already knew the Count of Ghoul’s identity.”

“But knowing about a villain doesn’t make confronting him any easier. Be careful!”

As I spoke, the condensed blood mist formed shapes and attacked our party.

“Ugh!!”

One knight immediately groaned in pain. The holy knights’ faces turned pale. This was different from lower vampires that directly sink their fangs into prey.

‘This blood mist is essentially the Count of Ghoul’s fangs.’

Any body part that contacts the blood mist—if there’s a wound with blood flowing—the mist rapidly accelerates the bleeding.

‘To make matters worse, the current holy ground is contaminated with the domain of impurity. That doubles the effect.’

The knights’ bleeding seemed to be getting serious. Following my warning, they had used holy power on their wounds, but with the prolonged battle, they likely didn’t have enough holy power left. The treatment didn’t seem to be working properly.

It had only been a few minutes since our party entered the blood mist.

But at this rate, it wouldn’t be strange if they went into shock from excessive blood loss.

‘And it’s unreasonable to expect other priests to heal them.’

There were two priests, Arini and Marco. But they needed to conserve their strength for the sacred grounds. If they helped the knights now, who knows what might happen at the sacred grounds.

‘This is a dangerous situation. The master of this blood mist is one of the Twelve Apostles. At this rate, our allies could be completely wiped out.’

However, if the three holy knights at the front line who were holding back the monsters fell, our situation would become extremely disadvantageous. It was a dilemma from all angles.

Crack-sizzle-

Yuri tried to counter the blood mist with a freezing spell, but right now, the Count of Ghoul’s dominance, which had already prepared the domain of impurity, was stronger than Yuri’s control.

But my mind remained calm. I quickly searched for a solution. I whispered quietly to Yuri.

“Yuri. Stop the bleeding of those holy knights.”

Hearing this, Yuri, who was busy eliminating the bats made of blood, looked puzzled.

“I’m not a priest. How can I…”

“Use your freezing spell to forcibly freeze their wounds. That should temporarily stop the bleeding.”

Yuri immediately understood what I meant. Her Nivis glowed. And the complexions of the holy knights, who had become very sluggish from excessive blood loss, temporarily returned to normal.

Then I shouted to them.

“I’ll create a path! Form a formation and break through along that path!”

Whoosh-

At the same time, Parma’s Holy Fire split the blood mist in half.

***

The knights breathed heavily.

“Huff… huff… huff…”

Our party barely escaped the blood mist. Though the holy ground was still defiled by the domain of impurity,

Just escaping that terrible mist gave us some breathing room.

The party headed toward a sunny spot where sunlight was shining. That place would be relatively safe from the undead that filled this island.

We took a brief rest there.

Thanks to our quick movement, we weren’t far from the sacred grounds. I distributed all my remaining recovery potions to the knights.

“…Thank you.”

The leader of the knights bowed his head to me. After consuming the recovery potion, he used his own holy power to heal his wounds.

Thanks to Yuri’s freezing spell stopping the bleeding, they hadn’t become sacrifices to the blood mist. But if not treated promptly, there was a risk of frostbite in addition to bleeding.

Priest Marco also created an aura of holy power to help them. Being close to the sacred grounds, it seemed acceptable to use some holy power.

A moment of silence passed. But the holy knights’ gazes were directed at me.

After hesitating a bit, they approached me and finally bowed, saying:

“Brother Minsu. We apologize for our rudeness earlier.”

This caught the attention of the other companions. But with my mind full of thoughts about the Saint’s manifestation, I accepted their apology calmly.

“It’s fine. I’m not a member of the Cross Society, so it’s understandable.”

Hearing this, the holy knights’ expressions changed to even greater embarrassment. At this sudden change in attitude, Priest Marco quietly said to me:

“They are, after all, priests of our Cross Society. Having directly witnessed Parma’s Holy Fire that you created, they had no choice but to acknowledge you.”

As Marco said, I had fully unleashed the power of the Holy Fire.

I had been conserving its power, not knowing what the Count of Ghoul might do. But the moment I confirmed that the Count’s main power was his dominance as a Royal Vampire, there was no need to hesitate anymore.

“Parma’s Holy Fire evaporated the blood mist in an instant.”

Marco made the sign of the cross. And the holy knights, who had returned to their original positions, also made the sign of the cross while looking at me.

“It was not my power but the power of the Holy Fire. As sacred flames, they were perfect for dispelling impure mist.”

“That’s not true. Directly manifesting Ayel’s power, like Sister Saint Arin here, is absolutely not an ordinary feat.”

He explained why he had made the sign of the cross:

“While the holy power we use barely imitates Ayel’s power using mana as a medium, sacred objects like the Saint’s manifestation or Parma’s Holy Fire directly manifest Ayel’s power without any medium—it’s practically a miracle.”

Marco was right. In the original story, Chae Min-ah also safely reached the sacred grounds through Parma’s Holy Fire before the Saint’s manifestation.

I was now playing the role that Chae Min-ah had in the original story. Me, who had been just a minor character in the original.

‘There’s nothing to worry about anymore.’

The butterfly effect that had killed the original protagonist. Because of that butterfly effect, I was honestly afraid of becoming stronger myself.

But after regaining consciousness, I started using the system I had been avoiding. And Hong-ok had already unlocked the third level of her seal.

The final form of the Ancient Gear. So the image of Hong-ok, the fire-attribute gear, was completely materialized.

Not just my will, but her existence, her appearance became clear within me. And I had been persuading her every day.

I closed my eyes briefly. Soon I saw Hong-ok standing demurely in her shrine maiden outfit.

– Lend me more of your power, Hong-ok.

Before departing for this island, I had received a message from Zerfield, a member of the 2nd Ghost.

The prophecy book we had excavated together from the ancient dungeon in Mount Seorak. The decoded prophecy pointed to the spear of the warrior who would prevent the resurrection of the evil god.

That the Dragon-Slaying Spear Epitheus was pointing to Flame.

‘If only Flame can end this story, I’ll make sure whoever in Flame becomes that spear.’

If I am the one who must become that spear, it might cost me my life. But I was prepared.

‘And I will definitely make Arini a Saint.’

Not just Epitheus’s spear, but also a Saint who can use Ayel’s power. All that power would be needed to prevent the resurrection of the evil god.

If the Count of Ghoul tried to block our party to prevent the Saint’s manifestation, I would have to burn that villain even if it cost me my lifespan.

Reading my determination, Hong-ok looked like she was about to cry.

I met her red eyes. I turned away from that gaze and opened my eyes again.

Having finished resting, the party finally headed toward the sacred grounds.

***

The party approached their destination.

“Is that… the sacred grounds?”

Marco nodded at the knight’s question.

Before the party stood a temple that was little more than ruins, heavily weathered. And at the center of the temple was an altar in the form of steps leading upward.

“This is an ancient temple of the White Cross Society. During the ancient empire era, temples that received Ayel’s oracle now remain as sacred grounds. We must send Sister Arin there, to the top of that altar!”

But the party members’ expressions hardened. The domain of impurity created by the Count of Ghoul.

That domain had already completely enveloped this place, the sacred grounds.

So the sacred grounds, which should have been filled with divine blessings, were now full of impure magical energy, making one nauseous just looking at the altar.

“The altar is already contaminated. Unless we purify it all at once with massive holy power… the Saint’s manifestation will be impossible!”

“I’ve been conserving my holy power until now. I’ll act now.”

Arini responded to Marco’s words.

At that moment, the area shook.

“What’s happening? Could it be an earthquake…”

I shook my head at the knight’s words. Although a strong vibration was felt that seemed to shake the entire area, the sensation was actually an illusion.

“The ground isn’t actually shaking, so it’s not an earthquake. Massive magical energy is surging through the air.”

That’s why it felt like an earthquake. And I knew well that this wave was a precursor to some phenomenon.

“It seems a demon is being summoned to the surface.”

At those words, the knights’ expressions became gravely serious.

“Are you saying the Count of Ghoul is a demon contractor?”

“With magical energy surging this much… it’s definitely not an ordinary demon, but a greater demon without doubt. Everyone, prepare yourselves!”

And I shouted to Marco:

“And please take Arini to that altar as quickly as possible, Priest Marco! I’m counting on you!”

Marco nodded. He ran toward the altar with Arini.

And at that moment, Yuri shouted:

“Is that… the Count of Ghoul?”

From the center of the surging magical energy, a middle-aged man with gray hair gracefully gestured in greeting toward our party.

“I’m delighted beyond words that you’ve attended my banquet.”

At that moment, his red eyes met mine. I instinctively accelerated the mana being released from Hong-ok.