Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Crisis? (1)
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The battle was utterly one-sided.
Could it even be called a battle?
It was more like a fight between a child and an adult.
There were twelve paladins in their group, while the gang numbered fifty.
Yet the flow of the fight went completely against expectations.
The paladins overwhelmed the thugs with physical prowess far beyond that of ordinary humans.
Every time they swung their weapons, at least two or three thugs went down.
And whenever that unique cross-shaped gun rang out, four or five thugs sprouted holes in their bodies.
In contrast, every attack from the thugs was blocked.
Their crude guns and clubs were halted by hexagonal shields before they could even touch flesh, inflicting zero damage.
A truly one-sided assault.
The thugs, who had surrounded and attacked from all sides, finally realized something was wrong after more than half fell.
They hurriedly swallowed their drugs.
"Everyone, take the drugs! Fuck, these aren't normal guys!"
One thug shouted as he downed two vials at once.
Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.
Moments later, the thugs who took the drugs had skin flushed red-hot. Their height increased, and their muscles swelled to an astonishing degree.
It reminded Oliver of the emaciated dog he'd seen in the fight against the warlock.
Seeing their intimidating forms, the other thugs rushed to take their drugs as well.
"Oh dear... Those look dangerous."
Oliver thought as he watched the drugged thugs.
Their strength had clearly surged dramatically, but it was so extreme that even a glance showed their bodies were falling apart.
Dominic clearly saw the thugs as disposable pawns.
"Poor souls..."
Surprisingly, a paladin named Joanna gazed with pity at the thugs charging to attack her, as if aware of their fate.
What an odd woman.
Before the fight, during it, and even now.
She harbored no thrill from battle or rage—only emotions like duty and sorrow.
Oliver wondered.
How could she hold such feelings? And why fight when she clearly didn't want to?
A truly intriguing woman.
The drugged thugs, half-mad and drooling, charged forward.
Joanna calmly regarded them and brought her mace to her shield.
A blinding flash of light engulfed everything, strong enough to sear the eyes.
Even Oliver, watching from afar, had to close his eyes. The drugged thugs didn't stand a chance.
They clutched their eyes in agony, and in that vulnerable moment, Joanna and her comrades swiftly cut them down.
"May you find peace in your father's embrace... Mahala."
She drew the sign of the cross with her bloodied mace as she spoke.
Truly an odd woman.
Just moments ago, she'd decisively crushed thugs' skulls, and now she recited prayers of sorrow and regret.
It felt unnatural, like someone had tampered with her.
Like a carnivore grazing on grass, or an herbivore tearing into meat.
Oliver grew increasingly curious.
About the Pater Church, the paladins, and this woman Joanna.
His questions piled up like a mountain.
What a delightful turn of events.
After all, curiosity and satisfying it were the joys of life.
Then a sudden doubt struck him.
Was the Dominic Family really so confident with such meager preparations?
Right then, a nearby wall exploded, and a monster resembling a human burst out amid a cloud of dust.
"Die―――!!!!"
The monster was someone Oliver recognized—a subordinate of Dominic, the attendant who had gripped Marie's throat.
His body had grown nearly four times its original size. Veins bulging on his muscular arms, he swung a iron fist at the paladins.
The punch, strong enough to shatter a wall, smashed the hexagonal shield to pieces and sent the target crashing into a distant wall.
At the same time, another black magician leaped from the opposite wall and slammed the flying paladin into the ground.
Boom―――――!
"Richard····!!!"
Someone cried out at their comrade, crumpled like a burst tomato on the floor.
But there was no time to mourn.
Black magicians from the Dominic Family, enhanced by various spells and drugs, poured in from all directions.
The paladins, who had dominated against the thugs moments ago, faltered and struggled.
The Anthony Family joined in, casting [Reviver] on the dead thugs to turn them into zombies.
The only one holding her own was the paladin Joanna.
The rest were caught off-guard by the ambush, encirclement, and chaos, hesitating.
Right then, Dominic appeared.
A barrage of enhancement spells—too many to count.
Life force and emotions poured from the test tubes clutched in Dominic's hands, mercilessly buffing not just the zombies but his allied underlings as well.
Dark crimson energy enveloped zombies and men alike, twisting them from humans into oversized monstrosities beyond norms.
Their eyes rolled back as one, and they charged the paladins.
A muddy brawl driven by numbers and brute force. The paladins fell into a defensive scramble, none seeming likely to escape unscathed.
Dominic's confidence made a bit more sense now.
But that thought didn't last. It was a mistake, plain and simple.
Joanna overlapped her shield and mace, crying out.
A powerful barrier formed around her and her comrades in response.
The soft yellow defensive membrane looked delicate but burned like the sun, forcing even Dominic's berserk minions and zombies to hesitate.
But the brave—or foolish—exist.
One black magician gathered energy in his fist, darkening it to a bloody hue, and struck.
Boom――――――!
The world shook as the paladins' barrier trembled.
Though the attacker's fist melted away in the process.
Dominic saw potential and chanted again.
Fierce emotions erupted from the test tube once more, engulfing allies and zombies indiscriminately.
The black magicians' intelligence plummeted visibly. Fear vanished with it. Muscles swelled past limits, ripping through skin.
Capable of tearing a man apart barehanded.
Dozens of zombies and enhanced humans surrounded the paladins, attacking relentlessly.
Even as their own bodies burned and melted.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The shield shook under the barrage, cracks forming.
The zombies and magicians melted into horrific shapes from their efforts, but at this rate, the paladins wouldn't last unscathed either.
Despite the dire straits, the paladins remained astonishingly calm.
Soon, the reason became clear.
The holy barrier ignited at her call, exploding outward.
The yellow flames were beautiful yet devastating, reducing zombies and doped black magicians to ash in an instant.
Not just them—many Dominic and Anthony Family members at a distance burned too.
Even the minions Oliver had placed around the area went up in flames.
All in a single moment.
Dominic faltered in shock at the overwhelming firepower. In that gap, Joanna burst through the sacred blaze.
She swung her mace decisively, smashing Dominic's head.
Splat―――――!
With his minions incinerated, Oliver couldn't see details, but one thing was clear: Dominic had lost.
"Hm..."
Oliver peered down from the building.
The few surviving black magicians abandoned their fallen master and fled in all directions.
No will to resist remained.
The paladins would likely pursue the routed remnants and call it a day.
Now he understood why the Pharmacist had told him to run.
Paladins were the strongest foes Oliver had encountered yet.
"No... not the absolute strongest?"
He murmured, recalling the mysterious figure from his fight with Joseph. An old man on horseback?
Either way, Oliver's judgment held true.
As the Pharmacist said, this was an opponent to flee from, not fight—at least for now.
Having achieved his rough goals, Oliver turned to leave. Then chills ran down his neck.
The moment the black veil deployed, a powerful bullet struck it.
A crack formed—shocking. Black Shield blocked most attacks effortlessly.
Even more shocking: how had they pinpointed his location?
He'd suppressed his presence completely. Then someone answered.
"God's lantern reveals all evil."
The sudden voice. Turning, Oliver saw Joanna bounding toward him, using buildings as footholds.
Her superhuman leap propelled her mace forward as she declared,
"I absolve thee of thy sins."
Oliver deployed the black veil again—this time triple-layered.
Yet the mace shattered it effortlessly the instant it connected.
Black Shield withstood guns and even bombs.
"...!"
Oliver leaped back in surprise and asked,
"How the hell did you do that?"
"Before the holy power of God, petty tricks are powerless."
"Oh... Is that so?"
Oliver eyed the light clinging to the mace's tip. God's light?
Joanna aimed her mace at him.
"Are you a black magician?"
"Yes."
"By God's mercy, I say: surrender."
"Surrender?"
"Yes... Repent your sins, accept your punishment, and cleanse yourself."
Joanna's words rang true. But Oliver couldn't grasp what sins he'd committed.
He wanted to ask, but realized there was no time.
Her comrades were converging on his position.
"If I refuse, may I ask what happens?"
"I shall deliver judgment in God's stead."
Joanna's resolute words. Oliver nodded.
"Ah, in that case... Cling Spider Web."
Oliver fired black spider threads from his hand.
Joanna reacted instantly.
Holy light incinerated the threads mid-air. No matter—it bought him a moment, which was enough.
Oliver leaped from the building, casting targeting magic on a distant structure and himself.
Strengthened, it yanked him toward the building like a taut line.
Bang-!
He crashed into it from the hasty pull, tumbling down.
Before hitting ground, he spread a spider web below as a safety net and landed on it.
Then he fled again.
His body ached from the impact, but in a life-or-death chase, he gritted through it.
Enduring pain was one of Oliver's specialties.
"Damn it!"
As Oliver ducked into a corner, he barely avoided a sword swing from a paladin comrade who had somehow flanked him. His neck nearly severed.
"Filthy rat..."
Oliver fired three hate bullets at the paladin rearing for another slash.
Astonishingly, a hexagonal shield deployed before they pierced, blocking them. Still, the impact hurled the paladin far away.
Oliver bolted in the interim.
"Stop right there!"
The paladin rose and pursued immediately.
Oliver's physical abilities couldn't compete, so he whirled to attack.
"Not a chance!"
The foe raised a shield head-on.
The same attack wouldn't pierce. Not the same one, anyway.
[Wrath Bullet]
[Hate Bullet infused with Wrath Boom]
The hate bullet, loaded with wrath's explosive fury, detonated on impact. A scream followed.
"Gaaahhhh――!"
The pursuer reeled, but it backfired.
The scattered paladins converged from all directions.
Oliver's running wouldn't shake them.
Time for a gamble.
Oliver cloaked himself in a Black Suit—a morphed Black Shield.
He targeted the tallest nearby building and himself.
The dual targeting magics pulled him skyward as intended. Then—
Bang――――――!
A gunshot roared. Agony exploded in Oliver's chest, sending him plummeting.
The Black Suit prevented severe injury, but the bullet and fall left him wracked with pain.
No matter. It was within expectations.
Oliver scanned around and ran again.
Pursuers closed in. Then a dead-end alley appeared. Perfect.
Back to the wall, Oliver expelled massive emotions, crafting hordes of minions infused with Wrath Boom and Hate Bullets, hiding them in corners.
He laced shadows with black magic for Bind Shadow and Shadow Spike.
Targeting spells dotted everywhere, ready to unleash dozens of Black Darts if needed.
His maximum firepower.
The paladins approached within sight.
A few more steps, and he'd overwhelm their shields in a barrage. But they halted abruptly.
As if waiting for something.
He realized too late.
"No more places to run."
Joanna appeared atop the building, radiating intense light.
The brilliant holy glow erased every black magic Oliver had prepared. Even unflappable Oliver couldn't hide his shock this time.
How did that work? What principle allowed it?
As the light faded, her comrades encircled him.
No escape.
Death crossed his mind for the first time in ages. Then he recalled the Filterette made from Joseph's emotions.
Ah... Should've tried it sooner.
"Ah... What a shame."
"No need for regrets. We'd have found you anyway."
"Not what I meant."
"?"
A click echoed. Something dropped between Oliver and Joanna.
"..."
"...What is this?"
Oliver shielded his eyes with his arm. A flash erupted.
"Over here! Master! Here!"
A familiar voice. Oliver dashed toward it.
After some distance, something grabbed his ankle. A hand?
"Get down flat! Flat on the ground!"
Oliver flattened and crawled into somewhere. He descended amid splashing and dampness.
"Marie...?"
"Yes, it's me. This is the sewer! You okay? Follow me!"
And so, Oliver escaped through the sewers, guided by Marie's hand.