Ch.449Heavenly Authority

The outstretched left hand stops before reaching its target.

The swinging sword feels heavy as a thousand pounds.

My legs drag as if shackled, and my vision spins and flickers like a broken LCD screen.

Chains wrap around my entire body, constricting even my breath.

Literally the worst possible situation.

I can’t even remember the last time I had such a difficult battle.

“Kuh…ugh…!”

Somehow I managed to break through the remnants of the charm magic, but it left behind only lust.

Every movement sends scorching heat and stimulating pleasure from my chest to between my legs.

Disgustingly so.

Fortunately, there’s only one madman trying charm magic in the middle of an intense battle.

If ten of them had cast it simultaneously, I might have been in real danger.

“Haa…huu…haaa…”

After somehow cutting down two more enemies, I pulled out the holy water I had tucked in my belt and drank it, exhaling heated breaths with a flushed face.

I’d been saving it for my fight with Lubitsch, but if I kept saving it any longer, I might not get to use it at all.

Holy water of Elpinel, blessed by Lacy.

She said it would provide some resistance against mental magic and curses.

Indeed, she was right.

As the lukewarm liquid seeps into my stomach, my spinning, flickering vision returns to normal.

The curse of weakness shatters, and my limbs, which felt as heavy as water-soaked cotton, regain their strength.

My mind clears like a transparent lake.

Even the pleasure that had been arousing my body gradually fades.

The effect is definite.

Though it couldn’t break the binding magic, it was clearly weakening the effects of curses and mental magic.

And once my strength returned, these restraints were no problem at all.

“Kyaaaah!”

*CRASH!*

The chains shatter into pieces just from me putting strength into my step.

Scattering the remnants of holy light like dust, I charged toward the enemies once more.

“Oh no, holy water of Elpinel!”

“Push through with force!”

While the holy water’s effect flows through my body, curse magic won’t work.

They seemed to know this fact, as they stopped casting curses and focused only on binding magic and attack magic.

Thankfully, there were no explosion-type spells, likely out of concern for friendly fire.

‘I leave the incoming attacks to you!’

[Now you’re just giving orders!]

Despite her complaints, Hersella controlled the materialized Karma of Murder to deflect the magic flying toward me.

Red tentacles, lightning bolts, and ice arrows collided and dispersed as they canceled each other out.

I’d been avoiding this method of blocking magic because it consumed too much power… but I had no choice.

If I tried to dodge everything individually, I’d never find an opening to attack.

Trusting Hersella’s skill, I ignored the magic flying from a distance and charged toward the priests in front of me.

The blade of Durandal, filled with Karma, emitted a sharp aura.

“Block him! Buy time somehow!”

The priests in front of me began firing magic all at once.

Streams of fire extending in spirals.

They approached in a spiral pattern, resembling snakes.

I tore off a piece of wall with my left arm and held it up like a shield.

The fire vortex collided with the wall fragment and scattered in all directions.

The rock, glowing red-hot, melted in the heat and dripped down.

…Not as hot as I expected.

I threw away the fragment that had melted down to just the edge and accelerated my pace.

I avoided a rain of ice spikes pouring from above by accelerating further, then jumped to evade the cold air flowing along the ground, kicked off the wall, and charged toward them.

“Fall!”

When a man who appeared to be a high priest swung his arm, a projectile of incredibly compressed air flew toward me.

Like the fist of a translucent giant.

With the overwhelming power befitting high-level magic.

I let out a bestial roar and swung Durandal with both hands, putting all my strength into it.

A blue lightning arc traced a semicircle, cutting in half everything the afterimage touched.

*FWOOOOOM!*

The true blade broke through the magical power and overwhelmed even the holy light.

So far, so good.

But when the air projectile burst like a balloon, it released shockwaves in all directions.

“Ugh!”

“Aaargh!”

Several priests caught in the impact were knocked down, and a couple were thrown off and fell to the first floor.

I too was blown backward by the force.

I might have been able to withstand attacks like fire arrows, but there was no way to resist this kind of pushing force in mid-air.

Not without wings.

‘Ah damn, aerial attacks really are garbage.’

[Says the man who just leaped into the air?]

I let out a sigh mixed with complaints as I flew backward.

Somehow managing to deflect the magic shots following me with Durandal.

Finally, my short flight came to an end.

*BOOM!*

My body slammed into the prayer room wall.

The stone wall exploded and crumbled from the impact similar to a collision with a metal mass weighing dozens of kilograms, sending fragments flying before my eyes.

“Kehek…!”

Thanks to Asha’s armor, I avoided serious injury, but the impact transmitted through my back made me cough involuntarily.

“Now! Attack all at once!”

“Die!”

Without giving me time to catch my breath, a bombardment of magic began to rain down.

“Oh come on…!”

The distance had increased again.

Once more, I had no choice but to dodge the barrage of incoming magic, running until my feet felt like they were on fire.

“You cowardly bastards-! Fight me in close combat!!”

I shouted in frustration.

Of course, their answer came not in words but in a bombardment of flames.

An explosion so loud it felt like it would deafen me reverberated throughout the world.

—-

…This is honestly really dangerous.

My mouth went dry with the anxiety creeping up my spine.

I was managing to dodge and counter, minimizing damage, but I couldn’t avoid the gradual accumulation of wounds.

The power of Karma of Murder was also gradually decreasing as it neutralized magic.

They say there are two hundred priests, and I thought their mana or holy power would be depleted by now… but no matter how long I held out, there was no sign of their attacks weakening.

These bastards, do they have infinite mana? No, that’s impossible.

Unless they’re consuming magic stones like water….

I don’t know.

With dozens of spells coming at me if I stopped even for a moment, there was no time to think leisurely.

I tried to intimidate them with Karma of Murder filled with killing intent, the technique Hersella called the Heavenly Demon Army Aura, but….

“Serénus potéstas – Serene Reason”

When Lubitsch, who had been watching, emitted holy light illuminating the surroundings, the priests who had been trembling in fear instantly regained their composure and attacked again.

Mental stabilization magic. Or perhaps this was more of a miracle?

Either way, it was the antithesis to the power of Karma of Murder that instilled fear and intimidation.

“This bastard…!”

“You seem anxious, Aishan-Gioro. Where did your earlier arrogance go? Didn’t you say two hundred priests were nothing? Finding it more difficult than you thought?”

Lubitsch, floating in the air, taunted me in a leisurely tone.

“Shut your mouth!”

I threw a dagger I pulled from my chest toward him.

The black blade tore through the air.

However, he calmly extended his left arm and emitted holy light.

“Ultoris præsídĭum – Avenger’s Protection”

When the light extending from his fingertips enveloped the black iron dagger, Asha’s dagger, which had been flying like a beam of light, inexplicably changed direction and flew back toward me.

A reflection spell this time…!

Magic that returns projectiles like arrows to their owner.

Normally it shouldn’t have enough output to reflect an attack from a master-level knight… but whatever amount of mana he was using, his reflection spell was strong enough to block even my attack!

I hurriedly swung Durandal to deflect the dagger aiming for my neck.

*CLANG!*

With a clear metallic sound, the dagger that hit Durandal’s blade flew sideways and embedded itself in the wall.

“Did you think we would have no means to deal with a monster like you? Our god, Grimnir, is a great sage who rules the abyss of magic with endless wisdom. We, his servants, are the same.”

“All talk…!”

I glared at him, grinding my molars.

The sense of crisis running down my spine intensified.

The fact that this bastard, who had been merely observing after the initial attack, suddenly started talking to me… it probably meant the magic he had been preparing was complete.

Indeed, the symbols and strings of characters that had been floating above his head were now forming a brilliant magic circle, flashing with holy light.

Three times as many magic circles as the meteor shower he first manifested.

It reminded me of Isabella, who used to cast magic with all her might, consuming dark mana like water.

…This doesn’t look good. Really.

I’d been fighting for nearly ten minutes but hadn’t managed to reduce the enemy numbers much, and they showed little sign of mana depletion.

And now it seemed their leader was about to join the fray in earnest.

“If strength is lacking, then overwhelm with numbers. If fear is your weapon, then simply cut off emotions. This is human wisdom and the profundity of magic.”

“Oh, is that so? That wisdom doesn’t seem to be killing me though.”

Though I was singed and scratched all over, I still hadn’t sustained any major injuries.

I was somehow managing to respond to the relentless storm of magic.

Perhaps it was because they too were concerned about being buried alive and were restraining from using high-level magic that would cause widespread destruction.

“Indeed, it may not be easy to bury a hero with just their attacks. They lack the ability to deliver a decisive blow. But… isn’t that why I’m here? Well, preparations are complete. Now behold the power of our Lord!”

Lubitsch spread his arms as if praising a god and shouted in an impassioned tone.

A blinding radiance. An enormous amount of magical power surged above his head.

It wasn’t the level of mana a single person could possess.

It was an output reminiscent of siege magic cast by dozens of mages pooling their mana together.

In terms of sheer power, it already surpassed even the power of Karma I possessed!

“Praise and welcome! The authority of the god of magic, Grimnir. ‘The Authority of Heaven’!”

Lubitsch cried out the name of his god with jubilation.

The next moment,

the sky opened up on the ceiling of the prayer room.