Chapter 109: Challenge the Paladin

The forest where the attempted assassination of the Saint nearly occurred.
I barely arrived there, gasping for breath.
I had really run for my life to get there on time.

When I glanced back, I saw the Saint, Acrede, with marks on her neck.
She was staring at me with a blank expression.
It was just like her to remain silent, without even a whimper, despite being strangled like that.

‘To be precise,’
I should say it’s like the other her.

“Saint, you could’ve at least resisted, couldn’t you?”
Even at my first question, she stood up without the slightest change in her expression.

“Blessings don’t fully manifest against the Cardinal.”
Indeed, there was a reason Acrede couldn’t use her powers against Centriol.

Blessings tend to cancel each other out.
Though Acrede is a Saint, her opponent was a Cardinal who reached the rank of Paladin.
Right now, he’s merely in the process of falling into corruption.
But he is still active as a Cardinal of the Holy Order.

Defeating him with sheer physical power alone was almost impossible for Acrede.

‘More than anything,’
The same goes for me.

A Paladin acknowledged by the Holy Order is not just any Paladin.
The title of Paladin is given only to the three strongest Holy Knights of the Holy Order.
He’s an opponent no academy student could possibly face.

Just now, he was so consumed with murderous intent and rage toward Acrede that he didn’t notice me.
But that won’t happen twice.

‘I’ve already used today’s Sky Dragon Transformation.’
I had exhausted the Sky Dragon Transformation to save Isabel.
No matter how strong I am, using it twice in one day would destroy my body.

In other words, I have to face the Paladin without the Sky Dragon Transformation.

Centriol slowly got up, cracking his neck.
His face was unscathed, not a single scratch.

Originally, according to the plan, Centriol was supposed to wound himself and retreat.
But things got complicated when I brought Baek Mokgong along.

‘Baek Mokgong is still in battle.’
Even the Mystics wouldn’t just stand there and take a beating.
They must be using their own mysteries to fight against Baek Mokgong somehow.

Mysteries are so varied that they are difficult to counter.
Even for Baek Mokgong, it would take some time.

“Are you a student from Zeryon Academy?”
Centriol seemed to know something about me.

“You were wielding the magic of an elder dragon.”
White sparks crackled from the sword he drew.

His blessing manifested, and a fierce flash of light gleamed ominously.

“It seems I can execute you right now without issue.”

“Is it fitting for one blessed by God to oppress a child?”

“A crime is a crime, regardless of age.”
So, to him, I was just another criminal.

“Saint.”
I stood shielding Acrede and quietly called to her.

“Can you use your blessing on a wide scale?”
“I can.”

Alright.
There’s still a chance.

I took a deep breath and clenched my fists tightly.
The strongest Holy Knight of the Holy Order.

Paladin.
Let’s see how far I can go against him.

In my right eye, the remnant of the elder dragon cast its shadow.
At the same time, a cold, white frost formed in my grip.

In that instant, Centriol moved.
With just one step, the distance between us closed in an instant.
It was as if a giant had taken a single stride.

An overwhelming force from him engulfed me.
Chills ran all over my body.
My instincts screamed at me to run.

As expected, a Paladin.
An academy student can’t possibly compare.

However.

Flash—!
With a burst of light from behind, a blessing enveloped the area.
The surroundings were dyed pure white, and trees of white light scattered with the wind.

Behind me stood a woman with platinum-blonde hair flowing, her hands clasped together.
Acrede Saint Narea.

A Saint personally crafted by the Goddess.
The brilliant blessing of the Goddess completely covered the area.

Simultaneously, the situation changed drastically.
The explosive aura that radiated from Centriol vanished.
He, who had felt enormous just moments ago, now seemed smaller than before.

As mentioned earlier, the Goddess’s blessings cancel each other out.
The blessing bestowed on the Saint by the Goddess is of a higher rank than that of the Cardinal.

Just as Centriol had canceled out the Saint’s blessing and overpowered her with brute strength earlier, now, the blessing descending upon him was also neutralized, leaving him with only his physical power.

But it’s different for me.
My body has never received any sort of blessing from the Goddess.
There’s nothing in me to be canceled out.

Centriol’s charging speed became noticeably slower.
At this rate, I could keep up.

Clang!
His sword clashed with the edge of my hand, creating a sharp metallic sound that echoed.

My body is currently fortified with the strength of steel.
Combined with the frost of the elder dragon, its hardness has increased even more than before.

And that’s not all.
My left hand shot toward the exposed chest of Centriol.

He pulled back, pivoting on his rear foot.
My strike narrowly missed, only grazing his collar.

Shrrk!
The edge of his collar brushed against my fingertips and was sliced off.

His eyes widened in surprise.
All I did was swing the edge of my hand.
But it felt as if his collar had been sliced by a blade.

That’s because my hand was imbued with the magic of the elder dragon.
It constantly emitted an invisible frost that froze everything around it.

By honing that frost to an extremely fine edge, I gained a cutting power I never had before.

Right now, the edge of my hand wasn’t just a blunt weapon with penetration power.
It could function as a sword just as effectively.

I lunged forward, closing the distance to Centriol’s chest.
The edge of my hand extended toward him.

Unlike a sword that requires large, sweeping motions, I didn’t need much movement to strike.

In other words, it means there are few restrictions on my movements.
‘Now is the crucial moment, while Centriol hasn’t yet adapted to being without the blessing.’

Just as I was about to thrust the edge of my hand into Centriol’s neck, I saw him release his sword.

In an instant, Centriol’s hand wrapped around my arm.
By the time I realized what was happening, it was already too late.

Divine Close Combat.
A martial art developed by the Holy Order, designed to fight evil even without a weapon.

The Goddess’s blessing was merely an addition for Centriol.
His true strength came from his rigorous training and battle skills accumulated as a Holy Knight.

Whoosh!
My body was lifted into the air as Centriol spun around on his foot.

Boom!
“Gah!”

A jolt of agony surged through me as my back slammed into the ground.
The impact was so brutal that the ground shattered into pieces.

With my body of steel, my defense is far superior to that of ordinary people.
But even so, a body is just a body.
An attack that delivers impact in this way is its weakness.

Centriol realized this from our earlier clash and immediately acted on it.

He twisted the arm he had pinned to the ground.
It was clear he intended to break it.

Despite the disorientation from the impact, my judgment was swift.
A magical seal engraved on my elbow, where Centriol held me, began to glow.

Boom!
Following the engraved explosion spell, my arm shot up toward Centriol’s chest.

My grip seized his collar.
‘Remnant of the Elder Dragon!’

In the next moment, freezing cold burst from my body, surging towards Centriol.

Crack-crack-crack!
His head was engulfed by the elder dragon’s frost, freezing solid.

Crunch!
At the same time, a deafening sound erupted from my right arm.

Even with his head frozen, Centriol twisted my arm.
My arm, reinforced with the body of steel and the elder dragon’s magic,
He managed to break it—his strength was terrifying.

I kicked Centriol’s stomach, using the momentum to roll away from the ground.

My broken arm dangled limply.
Cold sweat ran down from the piercing pain.

But maybe because I’d been through so many challenges recently, I’d learned how to endure pain.

Besides, I wasn’t alone here.
A divine touch enveloped my arm.

The shattered arm quickly began to restore itself to its original state.
The pain vanished completely.

It was Acrede who healed my arm.
She continued praying with her eyes closed.

However, even for Acrede,
It wasn’t easy to pour out enough blessing to neutralize the Cardinal’s.

Beads of sweat dotted her forehead.
The fact that she could still heal my arm in that state was remarkable.

‘We don’t have much time.’
She was giving her all, but so was our opponent.

Clink!
During that time, Centriol shattered the ice on his face with his hand and looked up.

Through the falling ice fragments from his face, his eerie eyes were revealed.
Centriol stomped on the hilt of the sword lying on the ground.
The sword sprang up, landing back in his grip.

Facing Centriol, I caught my breath.
Even without the Goddess’s blessing, he was still this much of a monster.
He didn’t earn the title of Paladin for nothing.

Honestly, my chances seemed even slimmer than when I faced Nikita.
‘In that case…’
I have no choice but to squeeze out every last trick and win by any means necessary.
My philosophy is to face everything head-on without calculating my chances.

I extended the edge of my hand forward.
Centriol responded by gripping his sword tightly and kicked off the ground.
In an instant, the distance between us closed again.

I can’t recklessly rush into his guard like before.
Even if I do, I’ll only fall victim to his Divine Close Combat again.

Centriol’s sword surged upward from below.
I crossed my arms to block the attack.

Centriol didn’t stop there—he continued his swordsmanship sequence.
Heavy strikes followed in rapid succession, tracing the sword forms of a Holy Knight.
The impact was powerful enough to make my arms numb as I blocked.

I stretched my foot forward to escape his sword path.
I stomped on the foot he had planted to complete his swordsmanship stance.

The magical seal on my elbow activated with an explosion.
My left fist struck the end of his raised sword hilt.

Clang!
The impact caused the trajectory of his intended swing to waver.

Continuing the momentum from the left punch, I pulled back my right shoulder.
At the same time, another explosion seal on my right elbow activated.

Boom!
With the sound of an explosion, my body twisted, launching the edge of my right hand like a cannonball.

Centriol, who had somehow released his sword, tried to wrap my arm once more.
The same situation as before.

However, this time, an unexpected variable came into play.

Whip—
The bandages wrapped around my arm partially unraveled from the explosive force.
In that moment, the reach of my right arm changed dramatically.

My arm, in Hanon’s form, is short.
But in Vikarmern’s form, it’s much longer.

Thunk!
Centriol’s hand, which was reaching to grab based on Hanon’s arm length, slipped and missed.

His eyes widened.
Even a Paladin, with countless battle experiences, didn’t anticipate this.

His surprised eyes met mine, which were curved into a sly grin.

Behind me, the light of the explosion seal flared intensely.
The synergy of the magic seal and mysticism.
A massive explosion erupted.

The explosion blazed like a halo as my battle cry burst forth.
My right arm, caught in the massive explosion, roared as it launched toward Centriol.

TUKWAAAAAAAAANG!

A move crafted by stacking variables upon variables.
That move pierced through the strongest knight, the Paladin.
It was the moment Centriol was penetrated.