Ch.275Chapter 275 – The Saint’s Sincere Mode

The Holy Maiden of the Solar Order, Eterna Lumio Sol. The Messenger of Enceladus, the demon Aegir.

The moment the servant of the Sun God and the servant of the Demon God faced each other, they instinctively recognized each other as enemies.

Aegir sensed the divine power of the Sun God within Eterna.

The concentration of her divine power was too intense to be considered that of an ordinary priest.

Moreover, the amount of divine power circulating through her body was like a massive water tank.

“Are you the Holy Maiden of the Sun God?”

Aegir presumed she was the Sun God’s Holy Maiden despite Eterna not introducing herself.

How could an ordinary priest possess such concentrated and enormous divine power if not a Holy Maiden?

That was simply impossible.

Only three beings could possess such concentrated and vast divine power:

The Pope, the Holy Maiden, and the Apostle.

As the messenger of the Demon God Enceladus, Aegir was well-acquainted with the strength levels of priests serving the gods of the pantheon.

How strong are the members of forces hostile to his god? How many are there?

How much greater power could be generated when a certain number of individuals with specific strengths gather?

Aegir was the demon who had endlessly researched answers to all these questions.

It was precisely because of such efforts that Aegir had become the messenger of Enceladus.

“That’s right. I am Eterna Lumio Sol, the Holy Maiden of the Solar Order.”

“As I thought. My eyes did not deceive me.”

Aegir marveled at the confirmation of his assumption.

If another demon had been beside him, they might have questioned what he was doing in front of an enemy, but Aegir was not a demon who would fall prey to such carelessness.

“The Holy Maiden of the Sun God. In all my years, I’ve never met someone like you. There have been those who claimed to be holy maidens or saints, but they were all mere impostors.”

Aegir raised his hand, extended one finger, and pointed at Eterna.

“But you… you’re genuine. That concentrated divine power emanating from you. You are the real thing.”

“I never expected to be acknowledged as genuine by a demon, but that doesn’t mean I’ll show you any mercy.”

Unlike how she usually spoke to Pathos, Eterna’s voice addressing Aegir was cold and flat.

No, rather, beneath that flatness, a hint of hostility toward Aegir was evident.

This meant that Eterna disliked Aegir’s existence to that extent.

“Very well. Then I too shall fight with all my might.”

Upon confirming Eterna’s hostility, Aegir smiled and unleashed his true power.

Different from demonic energy, Aegir’s body began to transform as he emitted the unique energy that each demon possesses.

Though he had taken human form, the moment he released his power, his entire body instantly grew massive, transforming into a demonic figure with protruding fangs and curled ram’s horns.

“Minion of the Demon God. Today, you will be annihilated forever in this place.”

Seeing this transformation, some of the other holy knights flinched and stepped back, but Eterna instead ignited her fighting spirit at the sight.

“Hahaha! The Holy Maiden is indeed different. Most people flee or cower when they see me. Truly worthy of being chosen by the Sun God!”

Aegir let out a satisfied laugh at Eterna’s fearlessness.

“I don’t need recognition from a demon like you!”

Hearing Aegir’s praise, Eterna thought he was mocking her.

The demons she knew were evil beings who toyed with their opponents before bringing them to a miserable end.

Before engaging in battle with Aegir, Eterna cast dozens of divine enhancement spells without verbal incantation.

The sight of her deploying dozens of high-level spells without incantation—spells that would take even an archbishop-level priest about a minute of prayer and chanting—revealed why Eterna had been chosen as the Sun God’s Holy Maiden.

“This is the first time I’m showing this form to someone else.”

After casting dozens of divine spells on herself, Eterna appeared completely transformed.

Her silver hair had turned golden like sunlight, and her seemingly closed eyes were now wide open, revealing golden irises.

Her gaze was fixed on Aegir.

“So this is the true form of the Holy Maiden.”

“I had originally planned to show this to him first. But well, it doesn’t matter. My showing this form means… I will definitely annihilate you!”

Eterna charged at Aegir, kicking off the ground.

Her body was now under the effect of dozens of stacked divine enhancement spells.

Even before receiving these divine enhancements, Eterna already possessed physical abilities comparable to an Aura Expert.

And with dozens of divine enhancement spells, Eterna’s physical abilities had risen to…

“Kuk!”

A level where she could fight against five Sword Masters without losing.

Aegir barely blocked Eterna’s kick, which came at him with a speed his reflexes could hardly follow.

Throughout his life, Aegir had encountered many beings, but none like Eterna whom he was facing now.

His body was so tough that ordinary attacks couldn’t even scratch it.

Yet, the arm that blocked Eterna’s kick was throbbing with pain.

This meant that Eterna’s strength was powerful enough to damage even Aegir’s body.

Despite Eterna causing him harm, Aegir wasn’t angry at all.

Rather, he was delighted.

How long had it been since he’d found a worthy opponent!

“Uahahahaha! Magnificent, Holy Maiden! Until now, no one has ever pushed me, Aegir, this far. But today, I shall show you!”

Aegir took to the sky to counterattack Eterna.

Despite his massive bulk soaring into the air, there was no shockwave on the ground, as Aegir was using his powers to levitate.

“Behold the power of Aegir, messenger of Enceladus!”

High in the sky, Aegir descended like a meteor cutting through the firmament, plummeting toward Eterna.

As Aegir rapidly approached the ground at a speed that would leave ordinary people unable to react, he was met by something massive and rod-shaped that Eterna had been carrying on her back.

“Holy Strike!”

What Eterna swung was too long and thick to be called a mace.

Indeed, this was not made for human wielding.

“Brother, do you know where the construction steel pillar stored in the warehouse went?”

“I don’t know either, brother. Someone must have taken it for use.”

“Is that so…?”

This was originally a steel pillar used to support scaffolding during the roof construction of the temple.

It wasn’t made to be swung at someone, but to support the heavy roof and ceiling of the temple.

However, for Eterna, who had gained formidable physical abilities through divine magic, it was simply a convenient weapon to wield.

“Kueeeogh!”

No matter how remarkable and powerful a demon Aegir was… he couldn’t withstand being hit by a massive steel pillar as thick as an adult man’s forearm.

Moreover, that steel pillar had become a fearsome weapon, imbued with divine power on top of Eterna’s immense physical strength.

Eterna’s divine power, due to her experience as an inquisitor, had a nature particularly suited for destruction, more so than anyone else’s.

If an ordinary priest’s divine power had been like this, they would have been excommunicated long ago, but Eterna was the Solar Order’s only Holy Maiden.

Besides, she had originally been an inquisitor.

The expectation placed on inquisitors was simply to condemn heretics who misled people onto the wrong path.

So it wasn’t wrong that Eterna’s divine power, from her time as an inquisitor, was specialized in destruction.

Eterna recognized that right now, while Aegir was still disoriented, was the perfect opportunity.

In battles between overwhelmingly powerful masters, victory goes to the one who seizes the advantage and maintains it to the end.

In Eterna’s view, this was the moment to eliminate Aegir.

“For a peaceful world, die!”

Eterna infused destructive divine energy into the construction steel pillar she claimed was a mace, and once again kicked off the ground, charging toward Aegir.

“Kuk, but I won’t fall here either! Avoluon!”

As Eterna rushed toward him with the steel pillar charged with powerful energy, Aegir drew his beloved weapon, Avoluon.

“Haaaah!”

“Kraaaah!”

When Eterna’s divine-infused steel pillar collided with Aegir’s sword Avoluon, a tremendous shockwave swept through the surroundings.

But their battle was far from over.