The Saintess (6): A Taste of the Flames
I frowned as I watched Chris sprinting desperately through the building’s basement. It was no surprise—the bastard had caught on and was trying to flee. He really is a mid-level executive. Chris dodged the Space Arrow. I knew he excelled in more than just magic and that his physical abilities were outstanding, but I hadn’t expected him to evade even that.
Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve fought a demon directly. Even during the previous practical evaluation when the demons launched their terror attack, the ones who actually engaged them were Luden and the professors. I had only faced the brainwashed Sherry and hadn’t intervened beyond that. Hmm. It should be fine to step in here. In this episode, Luden is supposed to earn Aria’s favor. So even if I get involved, the overall loss shouldn’t be significant.
Disciple. At this rate that demon will escape.
Miroel, who had been watching the situation beside me, spoke up. True to her nature as the first High Elf, she had been observing everything as well.
Then I’ll just keep pushing him.
With that thought, I once again began drawing in the mana that permeated the air.
Chris raced through the basement in a frantic bid to escape. To turn this situation around, he first needed to close the distance with the sniper firing from outside.
No matter which way I run, he’ll just keep sniping. I’ll narrow the gap and kill him.
The moment he finished organizing his thoughts—
Whirr!
A small subspace opened right in front of him. Chris recognized it instantly. Another arrow was coming. And sure enough—
Whoosh!
A mana arrow shot out from the subspace. Chris threw his body into a sideways roll to evade it.
Boom!
The wall behind him shattered into pieces. Chris swallowed hard.
Gulp.
The range was ridiculous, yet the power was even worse. He couldn’t fathom what kind of person possessed such marksmanship. Still, it looks like he can’t fire them consecutively. He had worried the sniper might be capable of rapid fire, but that didn’t seem to be the case. At this rate, escape was still possible. An archer should be weak in close quarters.
Just as that thought crossed his mind—
Hummm.
Another subspace suddenly appeared. Chris’s lips curled upward. It was surprising at first, but he was starting to get used to it. He moved to dodge based on his prediction—
Hummm!
“What?”
A third subspace opened without warning. Chris flinched in shock. At the same time—
Whoosh!
The mana arrow erupted from the last subspace. The instant he saw it, Chris realized he had been baited.
“Damn it!”
He swung his arm down to block the arrow flying toward his leg.
Thud!
A small hole opened in his forearm. Pain unlike anything he had ever felt flooded his entire body.
“Ugh!”
The sensation in his arm vanished as if it had been severed. Still, he had avoided the worst outcome. If his leg had been hit, he wouldn’t have been able to dodge the next attacks.
Grind.
Chris clenched his teeth and broke into a sprint. Arrows rained down with every step. His wounded arm caused him to stagger several times, but he somehow stayed on his feet.
Whooooosh!
Another arrow flew at him. Chris released his demonic energy and incinerated it.
“Hoo…”
Using demonic energy would leave traces for the inquisitors to find. That was why he had avoided it until now, but at this rate he would be torn apart by the arrows. “I’ll end this as quickly as possible.”
Chris charged up the stairs.
Whoosh!
A subspace formed beside him. He swung his arm and burned the incoming mana arrow before it could even leave.
It won’t work anymore.
He continued incinerating every arrow that appeared around him. Eventually the subspaces stopped forming. It seemed the sniper had run out of mana. My victory.
With a smirk, Chris finally reached the surface. He burst out of the mansion and searched for the hidden sniper. What he saw left him stunned.
“?!”
On the rooftop of the opposite building, a blind man was drawing a bowstring taut. Insane. The bastard hadn’t stopped shooting because he ran out of mana—he had been waiting for Chris to come out so he could land a decisive blow.
Crackle!
Immense mana gathered at the tip of Baran’s arrow. It was on a completely different scale from before. Taking a direct hit would mean instant death. The next moment—
Swooosh!
The arrow tore through the air toward him. Chris instinctively understood: he could not dodge this.
Roar!
He unleashed flames with all his strength. A pillar of fire surged around him—the same flames that had burned the previous arrows. It should at least reduce the impact.
KABOOM!
An explosion rang out as if a bomb had detonated beside his ear. People poured out of nearby buildings to see what was happening.
“What the hell? What’s wrong with that building?”
“What’s going on?!”
Thick smoke rose from the structure. Citizens stared in confusion. When the smoke finally cleared—
“I-is that a demon?”
“Kyaaaah!”
“Run! Someone call the paladins!”
Chris appeared within the smoke, one arm completely severed. People fled in panic at the sight of him. Grinding his teeth, he glared at Baran on the rooftop. Monster.
Even after firing such a devastating attack, the blind man showed no signs of fatigue. Chris still couldn’t figure out who the hell he was. A blind archer…
While Chris tried to staunch the bleeding from his severed arm—
Hoo, I’m going to be full after this.
I let out a small sigh. No matter how much I drew on the ambient mana, it wasn’t truly infinite. My stomach felt uncomfortably bloated. All because of the mana potions sold in the cash shop! I never thought I’d have to spend 3,000 points just to catch this guy.
I had honestly believed the last attack would finish him. No matter how strong a mid-level executive he was, blocking a full-powered shot from me should have been impossible. But it seemed I had underestimated him. After all, he is the son of one of the four legion commanders in the Demon King’s army. With that bloodline, possessing such skill was only natural.
If I keep this up, the paladins will show up and my identity might be exposed. Getting caught would only cause more trouble. I had already slipped out without the professors’ knowledge; the scolding I would receive if they found out what I was doing didn’t bear thinking about. I’ll end it with this next shot.
I immediately used Familiar Summoning.
Om nom nom.
Ppiyak-i appeared, still munching on the fried chicken I had given him as a gift. Just how slowly was he eating it that he still hadn’t finished? While I marveled at the sight, I spoke to him.
“Mister Ppiyak. Please support me right away.”
They say even beasts don’t disturb someone eating chicken, but I shall assist you this once.
I created a mana arrow at once.
Hummm.
Power concentrated within it. Ppiyak-i flapped his wings and bestowed his authority upon the arrow.
Fwoosh!
Unlike before, the bow didn’t simply catch fire. Instead, the mana arrow itself turned into blue flames. Chris’s lips curled when he saw it.
He’s really underestimating me.
Beings who wielded fire usually possessed strong flame resistance. Yet this fool was attacking him with flames anyway. Is he relying on that familiar? He didn’t know exactly why, but it was a welcome mistake. While the enemy gathered power, Chris could simply overwhelm him with a single strike.
He swiftly extended his remaining hand. Flames flickered at his fingertips as he drew a magic circle. The circuit formed in an instant. From his palm erupted hellish flames.
Roooar!
The fire surged forward, scorching the air. Under normal circumstances, anyone hit by it would die. But—
Hummm!
The necklace I wore suddenly emitted light and completely extinguished the flames Chris had unleashed.
“What?!”
Chris’s face filled with shock. He had never imagined his attack could be neutralized so easily. In that instant—
Whooooosh!
I finished my preparations and released the arrow. A shaft wreathed in blue flames flew straight at him. Though momentarily shaken by the nullification of his spell, Chris remained confident. After all, the attack I had just fired would never work on him.
That was what he believed—until a chill ran down his spine.
Shiver.
His flame resistance had reached its peak. Ordinary fire could barely touch him. So why did the flames shot by that blind man feel so dangerous? There was no time to ponder. The arrow had already reached him.
Thud!
The arrow pierced straight through Chris’s head. His vision slowly tilted backward. Then an intense burning agony—hotter than anything he had ever experienced—consumed his entire body. So this is what it feels like to burn to death?
Was this the same pain his victims had felt? He had never once imagined his own end would come from burning. Until the moment his vision went dark, Chris experienced the torment of being consumed by flames.
Chris lay dead, his brain pierced clean through. Miroel looked at the corpse and asked,
Was it necessary to use even Ppiyak-i’s authority?
From her perspective it must have seemed inefficient. Even without the phoenix, I could have killed him. But I had two reasons for summoning Ppiyak-i. The first was to catch him off guard. He never would have imagined he could die by fire. Yet Ppiyak-i was no ordinary being—he was a first-tier familiar. There was no way a mere mid-level executive could block his flames.
And the second reason was simple.
“That demon has been burning people alive all this time. I wanted him to experience it himself.”
It was a form of mirror therapy. They say burning to death is the most painful way to go. Since he had always tortured his victims with the worst possible flames, I thought it only fair he should taste the same agony.
Well done, disciple. But you mustn’t overdo it like that. Understood?
“Yes, I understand.”
She hugged me from behind and gently stroked my head. As I nodded, a series of messages appeared.
Main Episode — Defeat Chris, Mid-Level Executive of the Demon Army — Successfully Completed!
You have defeated Chris without sacrificing the Saintess!
In addition, all traitors have been eliminated!
The player will receive massive experience points, a large sum of points, and finally, the information for the Divine Archer’s Third Breathing Technique!