Ch.3030. The Purifier (4)

So, I had boldly landed a blow on Marquis Riverback, which felt good.

“You son of a bitch!”

In reality, the situation hasn’t changed much. I’m still being chased by Marquis Riverback, and I don’t have many ways to inflict significant damage.

Absolute type advantage sounds impressive, but it’s practically limited to erasing the opponent’s “unique” abilities.

Of course, considering that these unique abilities are usually terrifyingly powerful, even that alone is a strong effect, but it’s not enough to overcome the current situation.

Thanks to activating the King of Pandemonium, I erased his unique skill “Purification,” but the overwhelming difference in our specs still remains.

“Oh, shit.”

I threw my body sideways as a black beam hit a nearby statue, shattering it to pieces.

Fortunately, there were no civilian casualties from the attacks aimed at me.

That’s probably because following emergency protocols for city incidents, all students and staff had moved to the innermost part of the academy.

I should almost be grateful to Marquis Riverback for causing this situation.

‘That’s the problem…!’

I turn my head to look at the dark veil surrounding Marquis Riverback’s body. That’s what sent me flying hundreds of meters earlier.

If I were to check its skill description, it would probably read something like this:

[Skill: Black Mist] [Rank: A]

[Demonic residue emanating from the essence of demons. It corrodes targets approaching nearby by spewing demonic energy. Various applications are possible depending on the user’s capabilities.]

This is a skill commonly possessed by bosses who have consumed an essence and become demonized. It allows them to manipulate demonic residue for both offense and defense.

Within a certain range, it deals damage indiscriminately, with each hit painfully effective, plus it deflects most ordinary attacks.

As if that weren’t enough, there’s more to worry about.

[Skill: Blessing of the Black Soul] [Rank: A]

[Due to the essence taking root in the body, all physical abilities are enhanced, and regenerative abilities are added. Possesses strong resistance to all physical damage.]

Beyond basic spec enhancement and physical regeneration, the overflow of demonic energy brings all these ridiculous effects.

There’s a reason why Elnore, who’s nearly a master in close combat, struggled against him.

“Why, why can a bug like you handle divine grace-!”

The latter part of his sentence became distorted. Seems like he’s overcome with rage.

The one fortunate thing is that, unlike before, he’s clearly furious to the point of losing control.

He’s been in that state ever since he noticed that his Purification skill was erased by the effect of my King of Pandemonium.

‘Well, that’s…’

Let’s try to see things from his perspective.

Considering his background, he’s probably a black market merchant who started from the bottom, got entangled with demon cultists by chance, and gritted his teeth to earn their recognition.

Based on the circumstances, he likely considers the demon essence given by the Luminary as the culmination of all his efforts. Thanks to that, he obtained power and was intoxicated with a sense of omnipotence.

He easily shattered the tower I had built over years without much effort, and he also crushed Elnore with that ability.

But then.

Someone he thought he had killed suddenly revived, and in the blink of an eye, started using a skill that’s a superior version of his own ability.

And it’s the same person who just nullified years of his achievements in one go.

“…”

Yeah. He must feel wronged.

Imagine having two lifetime achievements completely stripped away by the same person in less than a day.

Even I would be furious.

Even villains who fall to ridiculous protagonist buffs probably feel less cheated than this.

But, in other words…

“Is this ability good? I’m not really sure.”

That means it’s extremely easy to get under his skin.

I throw a sentence at Marquis Riverback while smirking, even as I flee.

“…”

“Hmm, I’m not sure if it’s good since I just got it by luck. Someone just made eye contact with me and told me to take it. Using it, it seems a bit lame.”

“…Y-you…”

“Oh, don’t tell me Marquis Riverback spent years twisting his body to obtain an ability that’s worse than this? Surely not…”

“Shut your mouth!”

Hmm. That’s right.

Nothing is more specialized in provocation than deception delivered with polite speech.

I chuckle as I continue running, watching Marquis Riverback charging at me with his eyes rolled back in rage.

A characteristic of a personality full of vanity and arrogance: it’s nearly impossible to maintain rational judgment when being provoked.

In reality, he could effectively pressure me using our spec difference, but right now he’s simply chasing after me and frantically unleashing attacks.

In this dynamic, I can manage to escape fairly well just by using Life or Death without rank reduction.

Of course, I’m not just running away without a plan.

‘Not much time left.’

I check my watch.

The “appointment time” is approaching.

So I need to shake him off for a moment.

“…Hmm.”

I confirm my current position and deliberately slow down my escape speed.

“Die!”

Well, naturally, an attack comes flying at me.

[Soul Linker activated.]

[Receiving magical power.]

[Using ‘Skill: Divine Shield’.]

The translucent shield created by infusing Ultima with magical power shatters upon contact with Marquis Riverback’s demonic energy.

Without linking it to ‘Skill: Asceticism,’ it probably won’t have enough defensive power to bridge the current stat gap. The difference is likely too great to withstand.

Still, it manages to block once fairly well since it’s holy power. It has particularly good compatibility against demon types.

That’s largely why I’ve been able to escape smoothly until now.

‘…Come to think of it, this doesn’t make sense.’

Thanks to using the skill “King of Pandemonium,” I can temporarily erase the unique abilities of demon types, and conversely, I can use holy power imbued in objects.

It’s an incredibly powerful combination against demon-type enemies.

And it’s something I can use effectively even at my current stage with practically no growth.

As the shield breaks, Marquis Riverback’s demonic energy scatters around. Seeing this, he immediately snickers.

“Ha! For all your big talk, you’re just desperately running and blocking…”

He suddenly closed his mouth mid-sentence.

That’s because the demonic energy that shattered my shield and scattered in all directions damaged part of a nearby ‘cathedral’.

Specifically, it hit the location of a holy relic that is always placed outside every cathedral.

I deliberately angled my shield so it would break there.

Fragments of stained glass and holy artifacts shower down.

Naturally, a cathedral built within the ‘Imperial Academy’ Elphante would only use the highest quality materials that have completed consecration.

According to the system, even just being damaged like that would cause the holy power inside to scatter around like an exploding grenade.

White light begins to flash in all directions. That’s all holy power.

“Maybe you should pay attention to your surroundings?”

I taunt him as I turn around again.

Behind me, I can hear Marquis Riverback’s screams as he’s exposed to holy power and his entire body bursts into flames.

‘Good.’

This should be enough to shake him off for a while.

Enough time for me to go to the meeting place and receive the item.

Talion is a clever and diligent guy. If I specified an exact time, he would definitely carry out the task accordingly.

Indeed, when I arrive at the meeting place just as my watch beeps…

‘That’s right.’

I catch a glimpse of Talion running at full speed with the “item” I requested.

Seeing this, I smile and reset my watch.

Yeah, this is enough stalling.

All that’s left is to finish this.

●

Marquis Riverback’s head was boiling with rage like never before.

‘That bastard, I’ll skin him alive and eat his entrails in front of him!’

He had never felt such anger in his entire life. It felt like the blood vessels in his head were about to burst.

Never in his life had he met someone who humiliated him so mockingly!

Stroking his skin that still throbbed from being burned by holy power just moments ago, he scanned the surroundings with gleaming eyes.

In the brief moment he lost focus after being hit, that Darwood fellow had long disappeared somewhere.

Of course, that wasn’t much of an obstacle. He had consumed a demon essence.

No matter where the opponent was hiding, tracking them down would be child’s play.

“…”

The smoke billowing around cleared away even the faint traces of human presence.

Conveniently, there were no other humans around. Following such traces would be even easier.

After a short while, Marquis Riverback found the location and sneered.

‘Gregory Hall?’

A spire. One of the tallest buildings in Elphante.

After all that desperate running, this is where he ended up?

Due to its height, it’s a dead end with nowhere to run or hide. And the man is positioned at the very top.

“You idiot!”

Perhaps if it were the usual Marquis Riverback, he would have pondered even briefly about ‘why’ the man went to such a place.

But now, the rage consuming his entire mind had deteriorated such judgment.

That’s why he began flying toward Gregory Hall without a moment’s hesitation.

“Hah!”

Accelerating his body in an instant to reach the top of Gregory Hall, he looked around with a vicious expression.

It didn’t take long to find what he was looking for. Darwood Campbell was standing there boldly, not hiding at all.

There was something new at his waist that wasn’t there before.

‘…What is that?’

A cylinder about the length of a human arm. A golden object with no visible features from the outside.

Suspiciously so.

“…”

However, Marquis Riverback decided not to pay much attention to it.

Despite reviving from death and receiving some unknown power, he was still just a nobody being chased by him. That must be just another pathetic trick.

At least, he was in such a state that he couldn’t calm down unless he belittled his opponent in this way.

“I’ll make you taste all the hells painfully! I’ll make you beg to be killed!”

He shouted as he accelerated his body. Black mist spread around again as he pushed his speed to the limit.

After all the running around that had infuriated him to no end, he intended to catch him in one go.

But this time, Darwood Campbell didn’t move at all.

He had used holy power shields to defend against attacks before, but now he showed no signs of trying to escape.

“…?”

By this point, even Marquis Riverback, despite being furious to the core, began to sense something was off.

What is this guy doing?

‘…I’ll just kill him here and be done with it!’

He had been continuously drawing magic power from the amulet on his wrist and transferring it to the censer in his possession.

But the amulet caught in the corner of his vision now was depleted of all magic power. That last use must have been the final one.

Now this guy has no means to defend himself!

Thinking this, he raised his hand filled with condensed demonic energy, wearing a sinister smile. The distance was close. With no means of defense and considering the spec difference, evasion was even more impossible.

The mere thought of tearing this guy’s body to shreds brought an involuntary expression to his face.

“I told you. Pay attention to your surroundings.”

But as those words flowed out…

Marquis Riverback’s body froze in place.

Or more precisely, it was “fixed” in place.

On a disc laid on the ground.

‘…A disc?’

Why on earth would such an object be here? As he blinked in disbelief…

With a thud, the rod connected to the disc was driven into the floor.

“Hmm.”

Darwood said with a smirk.

His body was also on the disc.

“Good thing I didn’t return it.”

With those words…

The bodies of the two men were launched into the air with terrifying momentum.

●