Heresy Saintess, Taboo Nun (6) - 11

We safely passed the mishap and pressed on.

The battle had been so overwhelmingly one-sided, and it was a rest period too, so we'd let our guard down a bit. But after setting off again, we got serious, scanning every direction vigilantly.

Maybe it's some woman's intuition that let them pick up on Sestia's hidden true nature.

Otherwise, I couldn't explain their sudden attitude shift.

"This place..."

"It doesn't look normal at a glance."

"Yeah, it's different from all the doors we've seen so far. The vibe too."

We cleared the fifth room without much trouble and soon reached the sixth.

Instinct told us this was the last room before entering the central area.

"Lady Sestia, do you think the others from your order have arrived already?"

"We won't know until we go in. But considering the level of the nuns and priests we've faced so far, it's entirely possible they've gotten here first."

"I think we've got the lead, having skipped three rooms. We can worry about that after clearing this one."

"Yes, Leader. I'll open it."

"Yeah. Be careful."

Having Sestia at my back made me feel incredibly secure. Was this what riding the bus felt like? It was a shame for her after all she'd suffered, but if things got dicey, I could just have her use Murder Prayer again—no fear then.

She's only a temp, so I can't let her get too hooked, though.

Still, when else would I get to make use of a level 9 healing nun? Even if this instance gave less XP and rewards than the main dungeon, I planned to milk the situation for all it was worth.

Rumble—

The door slid open slowly. The moment it was half-open, we peeked inside and immediately dropped into combat stance.

"What the fuck...!"

Even if they were weaker than us, three elites in one room? This instance was insane.

No, it probably wasn't this bad originally, but their plan must've cranked up the difficulty.

As we drew our weapons, the enemies silently readied for battle too. No preaching about heretics or whatever—I'd half-expected that, but nope.

Their vibe screamed they'd die happily, and they'd be even happier if they killed us. Fanaticism. I didn't want to deal with it, couldn't even understand it.

"Look, the altar."

"Yes."

"Same shape, but the aura feels totally different... Not just me, right?"

"Correct. Seems the contents changed as their plan progressed. Might be a key pillar."

The corrupted ones were clearly set on protecting the small altar in the room's center.

Smashing the altar is half the fun.

I decided to target the priest and nun first—they'd obviously use mental attacks and heals. The nun was in the back row, so I went for the priest in the middle row.

"...Huh?"

----------!!!

It was an absurd all-in-one buff package that left me speechless.

"Fuck... fuck, what the hell is this!!!"

My first turn was unchanged, but the monsters' stats had skyrocketed absurdly. And their speeds, once even, were now pulling ahead—thanks to that +1 speed.

"Killkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkill...!"

The room filled with terror aura flipped Shae's berserk switch. Kaya and Sestia clamped their mouths, retching from instinctive revulsion.

I figured the room before the central area wouldn't be a pushover, but this? Insane.

And I can't even hit the altar!

The ridiculous Terror ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Power buff had no duration. If it'd been normal mobs, maybe, but...

Can't just attack blindly. Gotta mark 'em.

Acknowledging how easy it'd been so far despite the stakes, I steeled myself, gripping my axe like I was facing a boss.

"Priest first."

The mark landed perfectly. Now it was the turn of that dark, knight-wannabe bastard.

"You unbelievers have entered where you shouldn't."

"Ngh!"

"Agh!"

"Sh-Shit!"

Shae took the knight's sword strike and got flung back helplessly, tumbling into Kaya and me. No system damage, but one hit shattered our formation.

If Shae's in the back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠row, she can't attack!

Seeing her, always up front, glaring at the knight from behind me and cursing up a storm—it was weird and not ideal.

"Perish in the darkness. And feel the terror."

Our speed lost out, and we ate an AoE mentality hit. Just +1 speed each, and everything went to shit.

Sestia pulled through on luck, and Kaya losing the roll wasn't shocking. But the brutal fight made my face twist anyway.

I schooled my expression before Kaya turned, but...

Fuck. Should've done at least one level-up each on the way?

I was regretting skimping on upgrades for efficiency.

"Hendrick."

"Fortress of Protection on us."

"Got it."

Sestia's calm voice steadied me. I'd been spooked knowing this wasn't the final boss, but I remembered worse.

These fuckers are the Hopeless Trio. Hopeless Trio. Hopeless Trio.

Yeah, compared to the Hand of Terror's "mountain of fear" AoE, this was nothing. With Sestia here, death risk was low. It was a mentality game.

I kept reining in my own mind.

"Don't submit. Get it together. We can win. We can advance. Compared to the dungeon boss, these are nothing. Fucking trash. You know ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it."

I muttered loud enough for the team to hear. No replies, but Kaya and Shae's tension eased visibly.

"Do not deny the terror."

The priest raised his book and bellowed, making Sestia clutch her ears and curl up.

"You fucking bastard! Sestia!"

"I-I'm fine."

It wasn't heavy damage. Shield took it, mentality drop wasn't huge. But he'd crossed the line. Big time.

Daring to target the bus driver? I was gonna smash him first anyway—serves you right.

"Kaya!"

"Yes!"

"Fuck that guy up."

Kaya's mace, still flecked with her sisters' blood, gleamed menacingly—she'd been forced to swing it at five of them.

"Not content with corruption, you dare mock our faith with that filthy mouth!"

Crack—!!

"Gaaahhh!!!"

Kaya's fury-laced mace splattered fresh blood and flesh; the priest's teeth scattered as he spewed bullshit.

"Huuuaaaah...!"

"Shae."

"Worthlessfuckingtrashworse-than-vermin world's-scum fucking bastard...!"

"Come to my front."

Shae swapped with me, moving to mid-row and ending her turn. The priest probably felt safe. Heh, fucker. Know what? One more coming up.

Next round, my turn again. No hesitation—I swung my axe full force at the priest's head.

Splorch-!

"Fuck yes!!!!!!"

"Leader!"

"Leader!!"

"Hendrick!!!"

Humanoid mark crit max damage, plus artifact +1. My first crit since level 4 literally crushed the priest's skull.

The sensation of cleaving his head in one go made my axe hand tremble. Horrifying? Hell no.

Dope as fuck.

The team wore the same faces they'd had when Sestia earned eternal rest. Yeah, yeah. I'm your leader. I'm the main DPS!

Too ridiculous? The knight just stared at the corpse on his turn, not even attacking.

"Come at me, you shit."

Hopeless Trio—no, Duo now. Just one down, but the tide had turned big time.