Ch.254Chapter 254 – Silver Wings (2)

An immense pressure weighs down on my body.

I remembered how this pressure had rendered me immobile when I fought Kara before.

But now it was different.

I could move my body despite the tremendous pressure.

Of course, I couldn’t completely ignore the pressure—my movements were slightly slower than usual—but being active itself wasn’t a problem.

‘I can do this.’

I clench my fist, replacing the halberd that had disappeared somewhere after Kara’s attack.

The thickened gauntlet looked threatening just from making a fist.

As I slowly walked toward Kara in that state, she was already pointing her stone staff at me, as if fully prepared.

“Here I come, heretic.”

No sooner had those words left her mouth than Kara activated her holy magic.

The area around her began to shine even brighter than before.

‘Here it comes.’

Sensing an attack was imminent, I continued advancing toward Kara.

Soon, silver weapons even larger than before began flying toward me.

Arrows made of holy magic started raining down on me.

Normally, I could have dodged them easily, but the pressure from Kara’s holy magic made evasion difficult.

Despite the situation, I silently walked toward the silver weapons and the rain of arrows.

Without any evasive maneuvers or defensive actions, I walked straight into Kara’s attacks.

“You fool, even so…”

Kara’s voice was soon drowned out by the sound of her holy magic striking my armor.

Loud noises began hammering against my body.

And a moment later.

I was still walking toward Kara.

Not even a scratch had appeared on the white armor.

“…So it’s not just your appearance that’s changed.”

Kara clicked her tongue slightly as she raised her stone staff.

I could see her holy power gathering in the staff again.

She seemed to have judged that attacks with mediocre power couldn’t inflict even the slightest wound on me.

“Try withstanding this!”

A beam of holy power shot from Kara’s stone staff.

The silver beam flew toward me, slightly scorching its surroundings.

And soon the beam struck me directly, immediately bathing my surroundings in silver light.

‘Quite powerful.’

As I withstood the beam, heat began spreading from my armor.

I could feel the air outside the armor heating up intensely.

Amidst this, I slowly put one foot in front of the other and walked.

Even as the light grew stronger and the heat intensified, I silently continued walking toward Kara.

“Impossible…!”

Kara’s voice came from within the light.

With those words, my vision, which had been dyed silver, returned to normal.

‘I might be… slightly burned?’

My body felt a bit hot, perhaps because the armor couldn’t completely block the heat.

Some parts even felt slightly stinging, though it might have been my imagination.

But that was all.

The white armor had withstood even the immense heat generated by holy power.

The strengthened dragon armor wasn’t allowing any wounds.

“You’re certainly making all that hard work pay off.”

I spoke quietly from within the thick armor.

I recalled the special training in Rubrum’s lair.

One of the countermeasures Beatrice and I had devised against Kara was precisely this close-combat enhancement form.

The goal was simple.

To maximize the armor’s defensive capabilities and strength enhancement.

If pressure weighs down the body, enhance strength to move under that pressure.

If the pressure makes it difficult to evade or defend, maximize basic defensive capabilities.

It was an incredibly simple enhancement, but Beatrice predicted that because its specs were specialized in that direction, it would be difficult for Kara to counter.

And the results were now clearly evident.

“Simple is best, indeed.”

I quietly remarked, watching Kara bite her lip slightly, seemingly out of options.

The form we had devised and adjusted with my comrades was demonstrating its power against the Saint of Emiris.

But my opponent was no straw dummy.

Soon Kara spread her wings and leaped backward.

“Without wings, you can’t fly.”

As she said, I had to give up my wings to take this form.

I gained powerful defensive capabilities in exchange, but now that I couldn’t engage in aerial combat, Kara had the advantage as she flew in the air.

Soon Kara pointed her stone staff and prepared her holy magic, saying:

“I will not fall so easily, heretic.”

Kara spoke as if to herself.

Watching her, I quietly replied:

“Well, it’s true I can’t fly, but…”

I lowered my stance slightly as I spoke.

“It’s too hasty to conclude that I can’t reach you.”

I concentrated magical power in my arms and legs, just like when I fought Phobia earlier.

I gathered the magical power until it reached sufficient size, then expelled it from my legs and launched myself toward Kara.

“So fast…!”

I could see Kara’s surprise that such speed was possible even under pressure.

But she was quite experienced, immediately changing direction in mid-air to distance herself from me.

Since I was accelerating by explosively releasing magical power, I moved in a straight line, which might have led her to believe I couldn’t change direction.

“I still have two limbs left!”

I immediately expelled magical power from my left arm to forcibly change direction, then accelerated with my right arm.

Just like before, I rapidly closed in on Kara as she was attempting evasive maneuvers, and quickly grabbed her.

Kara immediately began chanting holy magic, and light began to gather in her wings.

Toward such a Kara.

I brought down my fist.

-KWANG!!

The attack was slower and less powerful than expected due to the pressure still weighing down my body.

However, it wasn’t weak enough to fail to damage Kara’s wings.

After a few strikes, her wings finally cracked, and Kara gritted her teeth and said:

“Even with enhancement, there are limits…!”

Realizing she would only continue taking hits if she remained in this position, Kara began rotating her body rapidly.

She moved frantically to shake me off.

But I was already mounted on her.

Her speed wasn’t absolutely fast.

Resisting the wind and inertia, I stretched out my hand.

“Got you.”

I finally succeeded in grabbing her other wing that hadn’t cracked yet.

Still mounted on top of Kara, I threw a punch toward her wing.

-KWANG! KWANG!!

Each time my fist collided with the wing, a thunderous sound rang out.

Thanks to the hardened armor, my fist was no different from a heavy hammer, and the wing that initially withstood eventually shattered and disappeared into silver dust.

As I raised my arm to destroy the other cracked wing, Kara shouted:

“Did you think I would just take it?!”

With her words, the remaining silver wing exploded.

She must have decided to sacrifice her wing herself, knowing it would be destroyed anyway.

Moreover, it wasn’t ineffective.

The holy power forming the wing forcibly pushed me away, and I saw Kara leap backward significantly.

I was gathering magical power to pursue her immediately when:

“Sorry, but I need to see too, darling?”

Phobia’s voice reached me, and simultaneously, magical threads bound my entire body.

Phobia had somehow spewed threads to restrict my movement.

I could feel the thick armor continuously blocking the magical power coming from the threads.

“This much…!”

I immediately moved my arm to grab the threads and rotated my body.

Naturally, Phobia’s body connected to the threads was lifted up, and in that state, I swung Phobia toward Kara.

Kara, who was about to do something, clicked her tongue upon seeing the flying Phobia and quickly darted to the side.

-KWANG!!

With a heavy sound, Phobia was buried in the ground.

However, Phobia rose, laughing boisterously.

“Ahahahaha!! Hahahaha!!!”

Soon Phobia hunched down, preparing to charge at me again.

As I prepared to counter, having to face both of them, a voice suddenly called out:

“Miss Seraphina, throw me!”

I heard Eve’s voice.

Quickly turning my head, I saw Sera holding Eve up.

“Heave!!!!”

Soon Sera threw Eve with all her might, and Eve, while being thrown, quickly changed her posture and charged toward Phobia.

Phobia immediately looked at Eve and shouted:

“Ahaha! You’re first? You’re first!”

Phobia immediately extended her hand and shot threads at Eve.

But as if already knowing their trajectory, Eve lightly cut through the threads and landed.

“Eve!”

“Mask has dealt with almost all the dolls!”

No sooner had Eve’s words ended than a heavy sound came from behind.

I saw the giant Tyranno with only legs attached to its head collapse under Mask’s swinging sword.

“Leave that one to me!”

Eve immediately rushed toward Phobia.

Eve, who instantly burrowed into Phobia’s embrace, attacked Phobia with her sword, and Phobia shouted while evading Eve’s sword with bizarre movements:

“Ahaha, I like your eyes! How should I decorate them!”

“First, let me cut off that mouth that flirts with others!”

Eve shouted as she dodged Phobia’s arm swung at a strange angle for a counterattack.

And as I watched Eve, Kara shouted at me reproachfully:

“Don’t get distracted!”

Silver weapons were flying toward me.

I immediately punched them away, and I saw Kara approaching me with her stone staff.

“‘Grant us the power to defeat heresy, O Lord.'”

Another blessing directly bestowed by God to face heretics.

Kara had clearly strengthened her body further with it.

-KWANG!!

I raised my arm to block, and it was a heavier attack than before.

Due to the impact, my arm felt a bit numb, and my legs sank slightly into the ground.

But that was all.

There was no further damage.

“This much doesn’t even tickle, Saint.”

“…Let’s see how long you can keep talking!”

Kara began swinging her stone staff again.

Her intention was probably to find the weakest point in my armor using the staff and concentrate on it.

However, it wasn’t easy to find such weaknesses after just a few exchanges.

Moreover, it was already beyond Kara’s attack power.

Nevertheless, she struck my armor as much as possible with her stone staff for victory.

Eventually, Kara’s hastily swung stone staff was caught in my hand.

“Looks like the lady was holding a dangerous toy.”

I applied force and shattered the stone staff.

Kara’s face contorted, and I saw her immediately deploying a shield with holy magic.

“Grit your teeth, Kara.”

I threw a punch toward the shield Kara had deployed.

With a loud noise, the shield shattered, and I saw Kara’s body flying backward.

+

It’s different from before.

The heretic’s words before the battle weren’t lies at all.

His strengthened body moved even within the holy magic of the God-King she believed in, and his thickened armor easily withstood her attacks.

Perhaps as a trade-off, he had no wings, but seeing how he moved nimbly during the fight using some method, it must have been worth giving up.

She tried various tactics, but ultimately she couldn’t land an effective hit.

Kara had to admit it.

She couldn’t defeat him.

As she flew backward from the heavy punch, Kara closed her eyes.

‘God, I’m sorry.’

Kara prayed quietly.

‘I have failed to fulfill the task you bestowed upon me.’

It was impossible with her abilities.

She could no longer fight.

She could not win.

She could not accomplish what God had entrusted to her.

‘Please show mercy and save the lives here.’

Therefore, the last thing Kara could cling to was God’s mercy.

She prayed that God would take pity on her and save the innocent lives of Ferarius.

Her body, thrown backward, finally hit the ground, and she saw the heretic slowly approaching her.

Watching this, Kara bit her lip slightly.

And then a voice was heard.

[Kara, foolish child.]

God’s voice echoed in her mind.

A disappointed voice resonates.

An angry voice resonates.

[Pathetic child.]

God’s reproach continues.

Kara quietly closed her eyes.

[But you have devoted much to me until now.]

[I shall take pity on you and strike down the heretic.]

Perhaps it was because she had thrown herself for God.

Hope kindled in Kara’s eyes at the sudden words.

‘It worked.’

Even if she lost, God would take pity on her and save this country.

Believing this, Kara’s face became somewhat peaceful.

Even in defeat, there was still hope.

Kara felt a little peace of mind.

[However, your prayer shall not be granted.]

God’s voice was heard.

[You have failed to complete your task.]

[There shall be no reward for you.]

Kara’s eyes wavered at God’s words.

[You shall be punished.]

[I will take your flesh and soul.]

[I will use you to strike down the heretic.]

She didn’t understand what it meant.

Or rather, she didn’t want to understand.

God showed no mercy.

At those words, Kara tried once more to rely on mercy, but her thoughts were halted by the sudden extreme headache she felt.

[You are my pet doll.]

[Gladly offer everything of yours.]

The headache intensifies.

Kara’s consciousness fades.

‘Mercy…’

With that thought, Kara’s consciousness was cut off.

And sinister light began to leak from Kara’s eyes.