Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: 055. Archangel - (2)
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Holy See knights charging from the end of the corridor.
Opposite them, dozens of paladins and priests had us surrounded.
Caught between two forces. Our options were limited.
"Lady Isolde, could you handle one side?"
"Of course."
Leaving the paladins and priests to Isolde, we decided to confront the Holy See knights approaching from the other direction.
Confront might be too strong a word—I was just cheerleading.
Fwaah.
Divine power rippled around Elise. The Holy See knights visibly faltered at the sight.
Then, when Elise swung her divine barrier like a blunt weapon, they were utterly aghast.
No wonder. From their perspective, the saintess candidate they'd drugged to suppress her divine power was boldly wielding a divine barrier to bash them.
"Lady Elise, how much longer can you hold out with the divine power left in that handkerchief?"
"Five minutes at most."
"Hmm."
Five minutes.
Could Isolde scatter the paladins in that time?
Behind us, Isolde was unleashing a barrage of spells to break through. But the paladins weren't fools. Leveraging their numbers, they used priest-supported divine barriers to deflect her magic, dragging things into a war of attrition.
"...Lady Isolde, can you do it?"
"Nothing's impossible... but five minutes might be tight."
Having overheard us, Isolde adjusted her glasses.
"I'll seek reinforcements outside. Just hold on a bit longer."
Helena was about to vault over the windowsill when—
——Rumble rumble rumble.
A vibration echoed from the rooftop.
I could guess what was happening.
'Phase 2?'
Gregory, captain of the Holy See knights—his phase 2 pattern. Destroying a gem infused with divine authority to unleash a near-suicidal shockwave.
That meant Sophia and Otilie had cornered him somehow, but...
'Isn't this dangerous?'
The mid-boss Gregory's phase 2, meant to trigger after the ritual, had activated now. My original knowledge was worthless from here on.
Anything could happen next.
"Ugh."
Isolde shuddered first. A chilling sensation crawled up my own spine. It wasn't just us.
Everyone in the corridor—no, everyone in the cathedral—felt it.
"This is..."
And the saintess candidate Elise, most attuned to such auras, went wide-eyed.
"Priest, this... this is dangerous!"
Elise formed hand seals. Her divine barrier curled into a dome, shielding the area.
"Divine power... no, something denser..."
"You mean divine authority?"
"Yes!"
I knew the basics of Throne of the Academy.
The divine power priests wield is mere dregs. Residual traces left after the gods' authority faded.
Divine authority is the source of divine power. Its sheer might is mentioned countless times in the game.
Even a speck overwhelms vast amounts of divine power—it's power on another level entirely.
So...
Boom!
A mere burst of divine authority triggered a colossal explosion.
"Kuh!"
The floor shook.
The grand cathedral's framework began to crumble.
A black pillar shot skyward, devouring the building's skeleton. Even the barrier over the rooftop tore like paper in its overwhelming force.
"Watch out!"
Thanks to Elise's divine barrier and Isolde's timely flotation spell, we avoided being buried in debris—but the shockwave hit full force. Thick dust clouds filled the corridor.
"Cough cough."
I coughed, peering through the dust at the black pillar rising toward the heavens.
The scene was familiar.
A cutscene I'd seen countless times on my monitor.
In the original, the black pillar erupts from Elise after she forcibly drinks the grail infused with divine authority.
But the vessel for the ritual, Elise, was right beside me now.
Someone else had willingly become the vessel. Performing the ritual without Elise was suicide. There was only one fanatic mad enough in this cathedral.
"...Archbishop Balua."
As I muttered, a frail figure emerged from the rubble.
Sprouting from his torn priestly robes weren't wings, but massive tentacles. Dripping slime, mimicking a crow's sodden feathers—grotesque flesh horrors.
Nothing like when Elise drank the grail. Far from the original's majestic, holy aura, this was pure corruption incarnate.
"Archbishop..."
Even Elise grimaced at the monstrosity.
[Elise.]
Balua's voice sounded muffled, like static noise. Yet laced with mirth.
[Behold the gods' return. Witness this great power.]
Perched on Balua's shoulder, cradling him like a babe with a benevolent smile—a black silhouette.
Long, feathered wings of divine authority rose above the form. The gleaming black halo evoked a ladder descending from the heavens.
Act 3's boss: the Archangel.
The inscrutable entity stood before my eyes.
"Damn it."
The plan was to rescue Elise and foil the ritual entirely. Half-success at best.
The Archangel had been summoned anyway.
Using Archbishop Balua as its vessel, not Elise.
No such branch existed in the original.
"...Priest, that thing looks seriously dangerous."
Isolde backed away, face pale.
Even the top magic student was mere prey before the Archangel's authority.
'Can we win?'
I analyzed coldly.
Archangel, Act 3's boss—infamous for its brutal difficulty. No merciful patterns whatsoever. The original strategy was simple: ignore the main body; target the black pillar linking to the sky.
And the foe wasn't just the Archangel.
"...Insolent rats...! How dare you destroy the cathedral!"
Mid-boss Gregory was crawling down from the rooftop.
We'd have to face the Archangel, Gregory, and the remaining minions all at once.
Did we have the manpower?
"Master!"
A cheerful voice snapped me from my thoughts.
Sophia slid down the collapsed rooftop slope like a playground slide.
Following was none other than Otilie.
"You're safe!"
Sophia beamed, yet raised her Ink Sword at Balua. Otilie drew a clockwork device from her bosom.
'Not bad at all?'
Whatever the case, our current forces outmatched the original Act 3 party.
We had the great witch Isolde, sword saint Sophia. Plus Otilie from outside the scenario, and me.
A winnable fight.
"Everyone okay! Ah! Aquilova, you're here too."
Just then, someone charged from the ruined main entrance.
A middle-aged man in armor wielding a greatsword. Unfamiliar face, but Sophia's grimace suggested a knight department instructor.
"Isolde, you alright? Oh, Priest Leo's here too."
Behind the instructor, a familiar face.
A woman with faded golden hair.
Everett Lutpfinger, who'd recently visited the chapel to offer me a magic department professorship.
'With faculty here, we've got this.'
No matter how often Erebos Academy played punching bag to invasions, its staff weren't pushovers.
Plus, the department heads were gathered.
Overflowing firepower.
Hope swelled that we'd overcome this crisis.
"..."
But I soon noticed the hush around me.
I turned.
"..."
Everyone stared at me in unison.
Even the knight instructor and Professor Everett gawked.
"...Hm."
Why were they looking at me?
They seemed to think I was the party's linchpin.
"Master, what now?"
Not a misconception, perhaps.
Elise, Sophia, Otilie, Isolde—all awaited my word.
"Ha."
A hollow laugh escaped.
Game characters awaiting orders. And the one issuing them? Me, the player.
'Feels just like the game.'
Water under the bridge.
My resolve to lay low had crumbled long ago.
Fine then.
Treat this like a game.
"First, Lady Isolde."
"Yes."
"Handle the remaining cathedral forces. You said given time, you could take the paladins, right?"
"Of course. What do you take me for?"
Isolde soared into the night sky.
I turned to the two faculty.
"You two, support Lady Isolde."
The instructor and Everett nodded without protest.
"Lady Helena, rescue the isolated people in the cathedral with Ophelia Hall's maids."
"Got it. Seems that's all I can do here."
"And Lady Otilie."
"Yes!"
Otilie perked up, her black twintails bouncing cutely.
"Can you buy as much time as possible against that human?"
I pointed at Gregory.
In phase 2, he was losing rationality. In game terms, it was a berserk pattern. Drag it into attrition, and he'd self-destruct.
"No problem."
Otilie nodded vigorously.
Finally, I turned to Sophia and Elise.
"Lady Elise, how much divine power left?"
"About three minutes... I used a lot shielding everyone with the barrier."
"Lady Sophia..."
Before I finished, Sophia drew her Ink Sword. Ominous energy swirled.
Clearly in peak condition.
"You two take the archbishop. Make it quick."
"Me and that whitey again?"
Sophia scowled.
Subtle glances passed between them.
Like cat and dog, but saintess and sword saint made a perfect duo regardless.
"Well, if it's the priest's order, I'll follow."
Elise acquiesced; Sophia nodded silently.
"Good. Now, the archbishop's patterns."
I'd faced the Archangel dozens of runs—patterns down pat.
"First, don't touch those black wings. It might use tentacles too—stay off the ground as much as possible then..."
Mid-explanation, I felt eyes on me.
Turning, Professor Everett of the Ashen Tower stared.
"...As expected."
Everett looked awestruck.
"Something wrong?"
"Just amazed. Assigning such strong personalities so perfectly."
Everett chuckled, watching everyone move efficiently at my command.
"Not just personal prowess, but strategy and leadership at their peak. Priest, you're full of surprises."
"..."
...It's just game攻略.
And personal prowess?
Definite misunderstanding.
But no explaining now. I smiled awkwardly; Everett grinned.
"My previous offer still stands. Think it over."
With that, she left to aid Isolde.
Sophia eyed me sulkily.
"What offer?"
"...Something like that."
Beyond the cathedral's caved-in ceiling, the full moon began to rise.