Chapter 268: Who are you? (8)

Chapter 268: Who are you?
(8)

“This
bastard!!!!”

Cleassia,
whose neck with thick layers of fat had veins bulging, removed her
power concealment and emitted dense magi.

“Huh…!”

“Wh-what
kind of magi… How can a person emit such a terrible aura!”

The
magi that emanated from Cleassia was as dense as that of the Elder
Lich, which possessed enough magi to fill the swamp cemetery of the
19th floor.

Weak
priests and paladins who felt the fierce killing intent rising from
that magi either sat down or stepped back, and hands gripping swords
trembled.

Those
present were not yet skilled swordsmen, so it was unavoidable.

“Don’t
panic! We have the advantage in numbers! Raise your holy power and
execute the traitor who betrayed the Earth Mother Goddess!!”

However,
no matter how powerful a devil worshipper’s subordinate might be,
they would inevitably be intimidated when surrounded by thirty
paladins with holy power.

Perhaps
thinking this, Jellicy, who had transformed into a large beast-like
lion monster, boosted the morale of the paladins and pounced on
Cleassia who was charging forward after kicking the ground with her
front paws.

-Swaaaack!

The
lion’s claws fell quickly with heavy weight and acceleration.

-Clang!

A
metallic sound rang out from where that fast and heavy blow landed.

Cleassia
had blocked Jellicy’s strike with a nonchalant expression.

It
wasn’t a special technique or deflection, just a simple swing.

The
rapier, shot at a speed that seemed impossible to come from that mass
of fat, created a crack in Jellicy’s claws and prepared for another
strike.

-Booooom!

When
the explosive force from the heavy body firmly pressing the ground
was transferred to the rapier, Cleassia’s strike made a sound like
it came from a ballista used for siege warfare, not a simple cold
weapon.

A
single thrust enlarged the crack on Jellicy’s claws.

-Booooom!!!

The
second thrust precisely struck the crack between the claws,
completely shattering Jellicy’s claws.

“Grrrrrgh!”

A
cry of pain escaped Jellicy’s mouth, but the beast priest was
experienced.

The
opposite front paw, enhanced with enlargement miracle and strength
enhancement miracle, had already reached right next to Cleassia.

Whack!!

“Got
you— Kaaack!”

Jellicy’s
eyelids, which had been filled with confidence of victory after
grabbing Cleassia, immediately turned to shock.

-Slurp!

A
large hole appeared in the center of Jellicy’s palm with a creepy
flesh sound.

“Have
you forgotten how I saved you? Jellicy.”

A
rapier protruded through the lion’s skin and the back of the hand.

The
magi imbued in Cleassia’s rapier rotated like a drill, and
Jellicy’s fist loosened, unable to withstand the pain of having the
hand completely pierced and torn.

Cleassia
landed on the ground as gently as a feather despite her enormous
size.

“Al-almost
no wounds…?”

“…That
body. It’s because of the magi covering that fat lump’s skin that
there’s little damage!”

Frustration
and despair crossed the faces of the paladins watching the battle
that had unfolded in an instant.

There
was no paladin here now who could handle holy sword energy pure and
powerful enough to pierce through that thick skin covered with magi.

They
had just seen that exchange; the level of combat was too high.

Their
faces mixed with helplessness and despair at the overwhelming
difference in skill.

It
seemed impossible to guarantee victory even if they joined with their
lives at stake.

Some
priests had hurriedly left to report the situation since the magi
explosion, but it was questionable whether they could summon paladins
capable of fighting such a monster-like traitor in time.

Although
their honor as faithful and their religious devotion called for them
to execute the traitor, when the word ‘death’ clearly approached,
they could only freeze like ice.

Glancing
at those despairing faces, Cleassia looked around.

The
man who had ruined her long-term efforts with the worst result was
nowhere to be seen.

‘Did
he escape during the confusion?’

When
she thought of him, veins bulged on Cleassia’s forehead again.

‘What
was he doing anyway? He must also be a subordinate of the demon
worshippers, so why is he messing with me?’

Although
demon worshippers don’t all work together, they shouldn’t openly
sabotage each other when they have similar goals.

Barely
suppressing the rising anger, Cleassia approached Jellicy, who had
knelt in pain, to finish her off.

The
mission had failed because of that guy, so she needed to get at least
some emotional gain.

“It
was similar back then too. In the 21st floor, your lover and all
expedition members were annihilated by a white tiger monster, and I
saved you when you were caught by the monster and trying to commit
suicide, didn’t I?”

Cleassia
pressed down on Jellicy’s head under her foot, like extinguishing
the fire of a cigarette.

As
the lion humanoid’s face distorted with pain and betrayal, a slight
sense of compensation rose in Cleassia’s heart.

“You,
bitch… After doing that… After saving me…! Why exactly—”

“Didn’t
you ever think it was strangely convenient how everything fit
together perfectly?”

“…What?”

Looking
down at Jellicy, who threw a questioning gaze with confusion greater
than pain, Cleassia sneered maliciously.

“You
were attractive prey. You had decent support within the church and
potential, so you were perfect to use. But damn, what to do? Your
surroundings were so solid there was no gap to exploit.”

“……”

“So
I thought this way. If there’s no opening, I’ll just create one.”

“No
way…”

“So
I got help from lust succubi to make the monster go into heat, and
set a trap.”

Perhaps
because she anticipated what would soon come out of her mouth, an
expression of intense anger along with despair flashed across
Jellicy’s face.

“…Stop.”

“I
captured the monster in heat and starved it for days. I waited for
you to go on an expedition.”

“…Please,
don’t say any more—”

“And!
Without noticing my plan at all, you led your lover and companions
that way—”

-Snicker.

A
sneer settled on Cleassia’s face as she confirmed Jellicy’s
crumbling expression.

“That
day was really the best! You thanked me, said you were grateful for
saving you, that you would survive on behalf of your dead lover and
repay the debt no matter what… You bowed down pathetically to the
very person who killed your lover!”

“You…
you traitor bastard!!!!”

Jellicy,
bursting out with a roar full of anger and killing intent, swung his
front paw, but Cleassia subdued Jellicy again with a few thrusts and
stomped on her head once more.

“You
didn’t stop there and pushed me forward within the temple. You even
created a paladin position for me by forcing it… If you had
continued to be brainwashed like a sucker, it would have been good
for both of us, but because of one nobody’s words, you became
suspicious of me…”

“I
will kill you! No matter what! Even if I go to hell! The Earth Mother
Goddess’s hammer will fall upon you—”

“Too
bad.”

Cleassia
said so as she raised her rapier.

“You’ll
die here.”

-Woooong!

Her
highly raised rapier was immediately covered with magi, and just as
it was about to fall to pierce the neck of the puppet she had
exploited for days.

Cleassia
urgently modified the path of her rapier swing.

-Kwaaaang!!!

The
paladins rushing in to prevent the worst situation were pushed back
by that tremendous explosion and gust of wind.

A
huge light fell from somewhere and clashed with Cleassia along with
the explosion.

In
the midst of a light so bright it was as if the sun in the sky had
fallen to the ground, the figure of a man at the center of the light
was revealed.

The
man, wearing magical armor, was holding an oversized axe wrapped in
pure radiant light and sword energy.

“You!!!!”

Cleassia
screamed at the sight of it.

Why
must this guy be so desperate to interfere at every important moment!

-Kuuuung!

As
she blocked his strike by thrusting her rapier, a phenomenon similar
to the magi explosion that had been the trigger for all this chaos
occurred.

However,
the situation now was different from then.

Not
a unilateral explosion of magi, but a collision between enormous holy
power and magi.

Every
time the axe and rapier collided and sparked, the holy power and magi
imbued in each other’s weapons distorted and demonstrated their
power.

With
each strike that collided, their legs ground into the earth and they
were pushed back slightly, evidence that the competing forces were
close to equal.

Yet
seeing him standing calmly without even frowning, it was clear that
his earlier tumbling was indeed just a clumsy act.

‘I
must end this in one blow.’

The
axe hidden with questionable magi and inexplicable vicious behavior
was dangerous, but.

His
body itself, which emitted explosive power and stamina in addition to
having powerful holy power that was no less than hers, was the most
threatening.

It
felt like facing the demon worshipper of wrath, the red-haired
minotaur with a giant axe, whom she had only seen from afar.

As
his muscles, which had reached the realm of the superhuman, exploded
with each swing, wounds increased on both their bodies.

As
Cleassia’s thick skin was gradually cut and soaked in blood, wounds
also increased on Balkan’s body.

But
when she swung her rapier again, the wounds that had been engraved on
his body had somehow disappeared.

Even
after inflicting wounds twice, the wounds were gone without a trace,
and only after three consecutive attacks did a slight gap appear.

‘That
guy! Healing miracle!’

He
hadn’t drunk a potion. He hadn’t received a healing miracle from
another priest.

He
was raging fiercely like an immortal warrior who defied even death by
performing healing miracles on himself.

She
had never seen a warrior raging as madly as him in the past few
years. But

“That
trick ends now!!!”

-Kwaaaaa!

The
magi accumulated in the rapier during the exchange formed a clear
shape and rotated like a drill.

The
strike that had pierced Jellicy’s hand and the secret technique
that had brought Cleassia to this position.

-Kaaaang!

When
the axe blade that collided with that strike started to split in
half, Cleassia was confident in her victory in this battle.

“Bunny.”

It
was only natural.

“Eat.”

-Crunch!!!

No
one would have thought that the phenomenon of the axe splitting in
half was for the purpose of opening jaws like a monster to bite the
rapier…

[Gurk.
This is quite edible.]

Feeling
Bunny patting her stomach in his mind, Balkan cut off Cleassia’s
right arm.

The
handle of the rapier whose blade had been eaten flew through the air.

The
winner of the battle was decided.

“…Ah…”

The
eyes of the faithful turned to one place.

A
man who had brought the monster wielding the demon’s power to her
knees and raised an axe wrapped in light to signal the end of the
battle.

The
holy power emanating from him shone like a halo.

“…Saint…”

Someone
murmured as if entranced, looking at him.

No
one disputed this murmur as a blasphemy against the sacred.

“He
is a saint…”

Because
everyone who had watched that battle was thinking something similar.

Those
who had put down their swords knelt, bowed their heads, and offered
prayers.