Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: Ruby
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: It Wasn't Supposed to Be Cuttable, Right?
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Thump, thump!
From the moment I sensed the smell of those demon bastards, rage began to surge up.
Irritation arose and thoughts of wanting to kill them all dominated my mind.
That sensation even devoured my fear completely.
Tap! Tap!
Diaz and I ran toward the source of the noise without exchanging words.
The closer the demons' terrible smell got, the more violently my heart pounded.
At some point, I felt as if all the sounds reaching my ears had disappeared.
"Lord Rohan, for now..."
Diaz seemed to be saying something.
But even that didn't register in my ears.
It was just muffled as if I were submerged in water.
I saw a massive fireball shooting up into the sky.
I could tell immediately.
'It's Hellfire Buster.'
There weren't many monsters that performed such attacks.
Only large creatures that were at least named boss-level could execute such wide-range attacks.
I increased the speed of my sprint even more.
And when I arrived at the scene, the paladin formation was already collapsing.
The first Hellfire had swallowed the defensive line, and ghouls were using that gap to push their way in.
'This won't do...'
I clicked my tongue.
If the enemy forces had Hellfire Buster, clustering together like that was absolutely forbidden.
The safest method was to form small circular units with each team supporting one another.
The Straun paladins weren't managing to do that.
Moreover, in the midst of it all, a second Hellfire shot up into the air.
Whoooosh...!
Everyone's gaze followed that parabolic trajectory.
And the shadow of despair began to gnaw at their faces.
The Hellfire was falling precisely toward Archbishop Haint.
If Archbishop Haint, who was their spiritual pillar and the leader of Straun, died...
The battle would take another step closer to defeat.
Without realizing it, I launched my body forward.
The distance to Archbishop Haint was about 10 meters.
I gritted my teeth.
Now 8 meters.
I drew the sword I had newly received.
5 meters.
It was the moment when I began to feel the heat of the Hellfire.
3 meters.
The instant the Hellfire was about to strike Archbishop Haint.
Slash!
My sword cut through the fireball from hell, slicing through space itself.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The massive Hellfire split precisely in half and separated to the left and right with me as the center.
All the ghouls that had been lurking nearby, waiting for an opportunity to strike, turned to ash.
Thanks to that, we gained some time to catch our breath.
'Huh, what?...'
At that moment, I felt my rationality returning.
It seemed like I had lost half my mind at some point.
This sensation—I had felt it before.
'Was it called Kallarim? I was like this when I fought that demon too...'
A state where my heart raced and extreme excitement burst forth.
As if in a trance-like state.
It wasn't that I had no memory of it.
I definitely remembered it clearly, and I was aware that I had fought.
I was also the one who reacted to the enemy's attacks moment by moment.
It was just that I became somewhat excited and my actions tended to become more aggressive.
Thanks to that, I was able to perform actions like suddenly flying in and tearing apart the Hellfire just now.
In a state of extreme excitement, it was possible because I could quickly decide whether something was doable or not.
'My judgment improves and my reaction speed increases even more, so it's not bad... but I do need to control it a bit.'
While I was having such various thoughts.
I suddenly felt that the surroundings had become severely quiet.
Not quiet because I had entered a state of selflessness like before, but actually quiet...
I slowly turned my head.
There, I saw paladins with their mouths half-open.
'Huh?'
I briefly thought about why they were making such expressions.
But Archbishop Haint told me the reason first.
"Ro, Rohan Sir... did you just... cu, cut through the Hellfire?"
"......"
I kept my mouth shut.
Only then did I realize.
'Come to think of it. Originally, Hellfire... wasn't supposed to be cuttable, right?'
Cold sweat ran down my back.
There was no problem since my judgment in the excited state had been accurate, but originally, cutting through magic didn't exist even in the original work.
'Damn. I almost died...'
I was only now getting shocked, so what answer could I give?
Instead, I could clearly realize one thing.
The instinctive judgment I made in a state of selflessness was trustworthy—that was my conviction.
When I lived in modern civilization, I never had opportunities to experience combat.
Far from combat, I even avoided fights.
Therefore, the original me could be said to have absolutely no experience regarding actual battles like now.
For me, the instinctive judgment that this body possessed came as a great weapon.
I naturally came to know how to act moment by moment.
Moreover, with sharp judgment combined with the sensitive Third Eye unique skill...
"Rohan Sir! Behind, behind! Behind you...!"
"Kyaaaak!"
Slash.
Even ghouls attacking from invisible spots were as easy as dodging attacks I had been watching head-on.
As long as it wasn't a speed I absolutely couldn't react to, I felt I could handle it well enough.
I could even do things like this.
I swung my arm while still keeping my gaze directed toward Archbishop Haint.
"Kek!"
The ghoul was cut in half like sliced tofu without any resistance.
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When Monted first brought Rohan.
Archbishop Haint had actually been displeased.
'He doesn't particularly seem to have anything special about him.'
He was someone who had traveled around every corner of the world for quite a long time, fighting demons.
He had fought possessed people bewitched by demons.
He had also battled demon worshippers and evil spirits.
So he considered himself to have quite an accurate eye for people.
But he couldn't sense any aura from Rohan at all.
Of course, knights who had reached high levels were sometimes so quiet that their level couldn't even be gauged...
'This fellow doesn't seem to have that much experience. Perhaps Lord Gauriel saw his growth potential?'
Since nothing was immediately visible, he must have hoped for the future.
Therefore, Archbishop Haint couldn't help but have low interest.
He had simply trusted because he couldn't oppose Gauriel's absolute support.
But now.
Archbishop Haint was keenly realizing that his thoughts had been wrong.
And that Gauriel's eye was remarkable too.
'He was someone who surpassed my senses. To have reached such a level despite looking so young. It's even frightening in a way.'
Not only cutting through Hellfire in one strike.
He dodged all the ghouls' attacks without even looking at them.
And clean slashing strikes too.
Swish-swish-swish!
With what seemed like a light stroke, about five or six ghouls had their upper and lower bodies separated in an instant.
Even he himself, who had waged war against demons his entire life, could only barely cut about three or four with all his might while borrowing the power of a holy sword.
Cutting through flesh was not such an easy task.
Especially if they were creatures infused with demonic power that wouldn't die and kept rampaging.
But what about Rohan?
It was as if he was swinging his sword through empty air.
'There could be nothing more reliable than this!'
Archbishop Haint, at this moment, didn't envy even the church's most elite unit.
He began taking command again with a faint smile.
"I'll go to the collapsed area! Don't waver and maintain your current positions!"
He joined the formation where the biggest breach had occurred, with light infused in his sword.
"Keeeeek!"
"Kyaak! Kyaak!"
As Archbishop Haint approached, the speed of the pushing ghouls slowed down a bit.
But they didn't completely stop.
The ghouls at the rear continued their advance.
As a result, the ghouls at the front kept pushing forward, forward, even while burning in the light.
Archbishop Haint and Monted poured out their full strength to avoid retreating.
"Sir Monted. Can you hold out a bit?"
"Aren't you the one pushing yourself too hard, Archbishop? You're getting on in years."
"Haha. Sir Monted, until just recently you couldn't even land a hit on me with a wooden sword."
"That was already 30 years ago!"
While exchanging small talk, the two were simultaneously displaying overwhelming prowess.
How Archbishop Haint had risen to that position.
And why Monted was evaluated as being equal to seven knights and could become Gauriel's aide.
The majesty of both was being fully displayed in this place right now.
Archbishop Haint's sword was swung with a flash of light, cutting five ghouls at once.
Even though blood and flesh would stick to the blade, his sword had no hesitation.
Intermittently, ghouls attempted ambushes from below and above.
But those were blocked by Monted instead.
It was truly as if an iron wall had been erected.
Thanks to this, the paladins regained their momentum and began reconstructing the front line centered around Archbishop Haint.
Veteran high-ranking paladins led the troops in detail.
"Follow along more closely this way! You're doing well! Just hold out a little longer!"
"Don't miss any of the ones crawling up the bottom of the shields!"
"Protect the shield bearers! What are you all doing? Huh? Move quickly! Did I teach you to be so lazy?"
Of course, at the center of all that advance was Rohan.
The high-ranking paladins themselves were scared, but they tried their best to suppress it and comfort their subordinate paladins.
Sometimes with shouts, sometimes with encouragement.
Thus, the battle of dawn reached its climax.
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'Control it. Control...'
I was determined to control this enraged state according to my will with this opportunity.
I couldn't continue living in this state where my eyes went crazy when I saw demons.
But when I actually became conscious of it and concentrated, controlling it was surprisingly easy.
'It's easier than I thought?'
Once that became possible, combat became very easy.
Ghouls were just numerous, but they weren't overwhelmingly fast like Andrew.
At my current level, I could at least react.
With battle sense from judgment and the new unique skill Third Eye added to that.
There was no longer any element that could dare harm me in this place.
'Just managing my stamina a little. Slowly, slowly.'
My cooled judgment even gave me the leisure to control my stamina.
Moreover, since I wasn't fighting alone, the battle situation was completely being reversed.
Swish!
The ghouls' heads rose into the sky from my slashing strike.
I felt quite refreshed.
Demons should be cut to be at their best!
A smile slowly crept up to the corners of my mouth.
'Whew. Calm down! Calm down!'
As I trained myself like that.
Before I knew it, I was standing on top of the Hellfire Buster's head.
'Since I held back quite well... a flashy finishing blow should be okay, right?'
Dash!
I drew a long vertical line down the Hellfire Buster from the crown of its head.
Craaack... Thud!...
As it split left and right and collapsed, the ground shook.