Ch.88Jealousy (3)

Mary, the Saintess, and Plok burst into the battlefield between Khan and Hydra, immediately protecting Khan with a barrier of light.

It had been a close call—he would have died if they’d been even a little later.

After saving Khan, the Saintess and Plok examined Hydra.

Fortunately, Hydra’s skull hadn’t fared well in the battle with Khan either. Four of its heads were already rolling on the ground, staining the pure white land with green.

The other four heads weren’t in much better shape. The middle head had taken a powerful blow to the jaw, causing its jawbone to dangle loosely as if dislocated. Another head had been strangled so forcefully that its bones were cracked.

One head hung limply, unable to hold itself up properly as if its neck bones had been displaced.

And the remaining head bore the clear imprint of a massive foot.

The only heads in decent condition were the one with the footprint and one without any injuries at all.

In contrast, Khan had barely any injuries, with only a bite wound on the nape of his neck.

It seemed Hydra’s venom was present, as Khan’s blood vessels were bulging prominently as if under intense pressure.

“The poison is serious… You there, Saintess, can you neutralize Hydra’s venom?”

“Please be reasonable. Hydra’s venom is legendarily potent—said to have killed even gods. The only being who could neutralize such deadly poison is the great Lord Uldur in the heavens.”

“Then at least cast Cure on him. Khan is tough, he’ll pull through.”

“Sigh… Even if it’s Lord Uldur’s command, I wonder if this is really the right thing to do…”

The Skeleton Hydra now faced off against the suddenly arrived Saintess, Plok, and Mary.

The Saintess and Mary were continuously casting detoxification spells on Khan, who was suffering from the poison, using their holy power.

While the two were healing him, Hydra was pressing its heads against El Rapim’s sacred barrier, dissolving it with the deadly venom in its teeth. Plok swung his mace at the Hydra that was biting the barrier.

Thud! Thud—!

With a sound like beating drums, Hydra’s skull resonated, and it shook its head from side to side as if disliking the touch of holy power.

Plok hastily retreated from that slight head movement. He was being cautious after seeing what happened to Khan when exposed to Hydra’s venom. His judgment proved wise.

Hisssss…

When the creature shook its head, tiny bone fragments sprayed out, and upon touching the ground, they immediately began melting it with tremendous steam.

The holes created in the ground were very small since they were just tiny bone fragments, but if he had remained standing there…

He examined his mace that had struck Hydra’s skull and saw that despite being protected by holy power, the head of the mace was melting.

“Saintess! It’s impossible to fight this creature! Even my mace infused with holy power is melting from its powerful venom!”

“Just hold on a little longer! I need to heal him so he can return to battle…”

“Grrrr…!”

Envy, who had been at a distance, was looking at them while groaning. With half his face seemingly paralyzed, only the left side of his face was grimacing as tears streamed down.

“Why are humans helping that monster?!”

“Obviously because Lord Uldur commanded us to help Wrath. I assume his intention is for us to join forces with this creature to escape this place rather than helping an undead like you.”

‘Though that’s not quite it.’

The Saintess glanced at Mary, who was diligently casting Cure magic beside Khan.

She didn’t understand why Lord Uldur had ordered her to protect Mary, but…

There must be great significance in Lord Uldur’s command to protect her even in this urgent battlefield, using divine power.

Determined to protect Mary no matter what, she focused on using her holy power to neutralize Hydra’s venom in Khan’s body.

“Uldur… Ah, so that’s the god those dying at the hands of me and Dopl cried out to. A god that actually exists? Despite killing thousands, not once did he appear before me… How envious that you heard the voice of such a god…”

“You…!!”

“Why so surprised? Your Wrath friend beside you has killed thousands in this battle too, from what I know.”

“Those who participated in this holy war were prepared to die. But… you probably killed powerless civilians.”

“What’s so wrong about killing those who rejected me and Dopl?”

Envy spoke as if he truly couldn’t understand, so mad that he couldn’t even recognize his own madness.

Or rather, for an undead, that was normal—it was his desire for human acceptance that was truly insane.

“But I can’t afford to waste any more time…”

Snap—

As if refusing to give them any more time, Envy snapped his bony fingers. A black line appeared in the air, and Death Knights emerged by forcibly tearing through it.

Ten Death Knights with green ghostly flames pouring from their eye sockets.

As soon as they emerged from the torn space, they bypassed Plok, who was keeping Hydra at bay with the barrier, and approached the Saintess.

“Saintess!”

Seeing the green-flamed Death Knights pass by him, Plok used a holy spell to bind their feet, but only three had their feet restrained.

The remaining seven headed toward the Saintess, Mary, and Khan, who was still dazed from Hydra’s poison.

“Divine Protect!”

The Saintess quickly deployed a holy barrier to defend herself and Mary.

“No!”

But the barrier, cast too hastily, only protected the Saintess and Mary.

Only part of Khan’s body was inside the barrier, with portions of him sticking out.

The seven Death Knights directed their green spectral aura-infused weapons at Khan’s exposed head.

Some wielded hammers, others swords, and some dual blades.

Various weapons were swung at Khan, and the attack was dangerous even for Khan with his thick protective hide.

His head currently had a hole where the hide offered no protection.

As a spear-wielding Death Knight jumped to thrust downward, and others aimed for the vulnerable eyelids—

“Khan! Wake up!”

Moo!

Khan, who had been disoriented from Hydra’s poison, suddenly opened his eyes wide at Mary’s call.

Krarung—!!

As soon as he rose, Khan opened his mouth and fired lightning at the Death Knight thrusting the spear.

Hit by the lightning, the Death Knight froze in its spear-thrusting posture, its animating spirit unable to move properly.

Khan released Earth power from his hand on the ground, raising stone pillars where the Death Knights charging at his eyes were positioned.

Rumble… Thud!

The six charging Death Knights were pushed back by the suddenly emerging stone pillars. Using this opportunity, Khan rose and cleared his foggy mind.

“Khan! You’re awake!”

“Moo!? Mooooo——!! (Mary!? Why are you here!!)”

Khan was startled by Mary’s voice coming from his chest area, and doubly surprised to see the Saintess riding on his chest.

The woman he had killed was now sitting on his chest! And with Mary!

Unable to properly assess the situation, Khan embraced Mary and stood up, distancing himself from the Saintess.

He was ready to reach out and kill her again if she targeted Mary, sending her corpse to the underworld so she could never return.

“You don’t need to be so wary, Wrath. Who do you think neutralized that poison in the first place?”

“Me and her! You don’t need to be so cautious!”

Seeing Khan lower his guard at Mary’s words, the Saintess became even more vigilant upon confirming the hypothesis that he possessed enough intelligence to communicate with humans.

Though she had allied with this monster who had killed her brothers and sisters to follow Lord Uldur’s sudden divine command, he would be an enemy to kill again after defeating Envy.

The Saintess was thinking of protecting the fairy for whom Lord Uldur had used his divine power to issue a command, while ensuring the mutual destruction of Wrath and Envy. Meanwhile, Khan was ready to kill the Saintess at any moment.

As they stared at each other with these thoughts, Envy’s Death Knights charged at them.

Even the spear-wielding Death Knight whose spirit had been burning from the lightning joined the attack, along with the Death Knights that Plok had restrained. All ten Death Knights rushed toward Khan and the Saintess.

“El Zeria’s Red Lightning!”

The Saintess used her strongest and fastest attack spell.

El Zeria’s Red Lightning—the lightning used by El Zeria, an angel who followed Lord Uldur in heaven and stood at the forefront in mythical wars.

That lightning struck down from the sky toward the charging Death Knights.

Krarung—!!

In an instant, three Death Knights were purified and disappeared by the red lightning.

Mooooo—!!

Kwaaang——!!

Khan also struck the ground forcefully.

Rumble—

The ground responded by creating a massive stone hand that grabbed the charging Death Knights.

Boom—

As Khan stomped the ground again, a fissure appeared where the giant hand had grabbed the Death Knights, making them disappear into the earth.

Rumble—

As the fissure completed its task and closed its gaping mouth, the Death Knights were instantly eliminated.

Watching this, Envy’s half-mobile face twisted severely.

“My soldiers… working together so well to defeat them… so well together…”

Envy kept muttering “so well together” as if his language circuits were broken.

While only the Saintess was paying attention to this bizarre behavior—

“Envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious envious”

“Lord Uldur…!”

“Eeeek…!!”

Blood tears were streaming from his left eye. And Envy kept muttering “envious” over and over.

At this strange phenomenon, all eyes—Khan’s, Plok’s, and even Hydra’s—were drawn to Envy.

“Cradle of the Dead.”

A single phrase uttered by Envy as he shed bloody tears and kept muttering “envious.”

With those words, the remains of the skeletons that the cult had defeated began gathering behind Envy.

“What is this…!”

“Saintess! Be careful! Envy is using some strange magic!”

“El Zeria’s Red Lightning!”

Mooo!

Once again, red lightning unfurled. Along with it, Khan’s black lightning also raced across the sky and fell toward Envy.

Krarung—!!