Chapter 456: Ally or Enemy (10)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 456: Ally or Enemy (10)
Brain Washer.
The way to deal with him was simple.
First, I throw Seo-yeon at him.
“Hah…!”
Letting out a short, powerful cry, Seo-yeon’s movements and swordsmanship were sharper than ever.
It seemed she’d had some kind of epiphany in that short time.
Sh-k-k-k-k!
Each time the light reflecting off her sword warped, countless traces were carved into the air.
There was no hesitation in her movements.
Because of that, she sometimes overextended, moving beyond her skill level and revealing an opening.
Whenever that happened, the Brain Washer sharply exploited the gap.
A crisis that appeared in an instant.
But it was fine.
“Where do you think you’re going.”
Because I’m here.
「Lightning Spear.」
A spear of lightning materialized in an instant and flew to cover the momentary opening Seo-yeon had exposed.
“Thanks…!”
A quiet word of thanks, delivered without even a backward glance.
The reason she could attack so aggressively was none other than trust.
She trusts me.
A faith bordering on certainty that I would cover any openings she revealed.
That was what made her movements bolder and fiercer.
“Tch… like a little rat…!”
As sword strikes rained down like a storm, a gray barrier formed around the Brain Washer.
It was the Boundary of Negation he had shown when he first blocked the Meteor.
Before it, all attacks should have lost their will and vanished, but Seo-yeon’s was different.
Clang!
“What…!?”
The gray boundary.
The tip of Seo-yeon’s sword pierced through the boundary that declared the space within as his domain alone.
It only penetrated by about an inch, but the effect was more than enough.
“My Divine Authority…”
As the domain he had allowed no one to enter was breached, a crack formed in his mind as well.
The tension that one wrong move could lead to that sharp, blue-glowing sword slicing him in two.
“It seems our sister possesses a very dangerous ability.”
“……”
Son Seo-yeon raised her sword without a word.
The sword she held was imbued with a chillingly blue aura.
A cerulean blue, a stark contrast to her usual mana.
The Divine Authority of Temperance.
The power to limit and suppress oneself was pushing back against Sloth.
Kaaang!
W-w-woooong-!
Pushing forward, pushing back.
She overcame the stark difference in power through her elemental advantage, clashing with him relentlessly.
Thick beads of sweat dripped from Seo-yeon’s forehead.
“Pant, pant…!”
It seemed she had reached the limit of her stamina from going all out since the beginning.
Yoon Myung-ho was also breathing heavily from his own rough movements.
But he was in much better shape than Seo-yeon.
“Hmm, is this as far as it goes?”
It looked like it would be difficult for her to fight any longer.
But that’s fine.
Thanks to Seo-yeon fighting until now, I’ve gathered plenty of information.
“…I think I’m finally getting the hang of it.”
I have a rough idea now.
What kind of power Sloth possesses, and where its strengths lie.
In a broad sense, Sloth is the power of negation.
The reason the boundary he draws nullifies an opponent’s attack is because it negates even that power.
To be precise, it negates the result of being injured by that attack.
At first glance, one might think it’s a completely broken ability.
“Well, yeah.”
That’s correct.
It is, without a doubt, a broken ability.
“…But only when it comes to defense.”
The areas where the Divine Authority of Sloth exerts the most power are mental interference and defense.
It negates and erases the opponent’s thoughts and beliefs, replacing the empty space with its own.
That is the essence of the ability we’ve known until now as brainwashing.
“That’s why he created a cult like the Church of Light.”
He established the cult for that very reason.
He established a crude doctrine and planted it in their minds.
Fanatics engrossed in a doctrine made solely for him.
What better sword could there be to wield as he pleases?
“Haa, haah…!”
She’d reached her physical limit long ago.
But Seo-yeon still had her sword aimed at him.
“This insolent wench, really…!”
A crack appeared in the mask of the man who had been so engrossed in playing the role of a benevolent cult leader.
It was because the battle just wouldn’t end.
Even though her movements had slowed noticeably compared to the beginning, Seo-yeon was deflecting his attacks with incredible skill.
“How ironic.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.
Ironically, as her stamina ran out and her strength waned, her swordsmanship became more stable.
At the same time, she was using the magic she had somewhat neglected to cover the openings created by her flagging movements.
Each time her magic touched the boundary, it created a loud noise.
Boom!
Crack!
It seems the Divine Authority of Temperance applies to both her sword and her magic.
One step, then another.
I don’t know what spurred her on, but she was forcing her heavy legs to move forward, step by reckless step.
Those strained steps were advancing toward a solid wall.
“It really might be soon.”
It doesn’t seem far off.
The day the number of S-rank Hunters in the Twilight Guild increases from two to three.
Sensing something was amiss, Yoon Myung-ho finally played his last card.
“What are you all doing? Attack this woman at once!”
Puppets who would never move without his command, and who would not hesitate to face death the moment an order was given.
They began to move according to his command.
“Protect the Leader!”
“Destroy the demon who dares point her sword at our Leader!”
“The light protects us!”
“……”
The light protects them, my ass.
They’re just puppets.
Dolls programmed not to show any movement unless the Leader gives an order, and to obey any command he gives.
Following the Leader’s command, they began to charge toward Seo-yeon.
Reacting quickly, I flew forward, swept Seo-yeon into my arms, and soared into the air.
At that, our allies, who had been watching us closely, also began to move again.
“Charge!”
The Paladins, having barely regained their composure, charged forward, their steel-toed boots thundering against the ground.
At their center was Angela.
The Apostle of Patience, casting a brown protective barrier that seemed to span over 50 meters in radius.
“Do not, under any circumstances, leave this area!”
It seemed that barrier was blocking the Divine Authority of Sloth.
While Seo-yeon and I had been keeping him busy, the Paladins had recovered their strength and were now pushing back fiercely against the enemies.
“By the grace of the holy light!”
Seeing his followers being pushed back, the Brain Washer grit his teeth and drew upon his power.
“By the grace of Sloth!”
A gray mana enveloped the bodies of the hundreds of fanatic Hunters.
The ability was obvious.
“Our attacks aren’t working!”
The Paladins’ fierce attacks lost their power and dissipated before the gray protective barriers.
The fanatics, having gained a sturdy shield, launched a counterattack.
But that shield was not invincible.
“The attacks aren’t working, you say?”
Angela’s mace, accompanied by a savage grin, came crashing down on a fanatic’s shoulder.
CRUNCH!
“Kuaaargh!”
A violent scream followed.
Having erased the gray barrier from his body without a trace in a single blow, she roared.
“If the attacks don’t work, then hit them harder until they do—!”
A truly simple and brutish method.
But it was just as clear.
“Don’t fall back! Fight!”
Having witnessed the example firsthand, the Paladins continued their attacks with almost brutish force.
One by one, the gray barriers lost their power and vanished.
Having lost their sturdy shields, the fanatics began to fall, one after another, wounded.
“Keuk!”
“Kugh…!”
They were deep wounds.
But they weren’t fatal.
They were, after all, just puppets moving under the Brain Washer’s orders.
If the situation became dire, there would be no choice, but they weren’t beings that absolutely had to be killed.
“Eeeh… you useless bastards!”
In the midst of the chaotic battle, the mask of the Brain Washer, Yoon Myung-ho, finally shattered.
Just a moment ago he was calling them ‘Brother, Brother,’ but now that he’s in a pinch, look at him calling them ‘bastards.’
His fanatics were falling, his prized brainwashing wasn’t working, and to top it all off, his natural enemy was here.
Amidst his frustration, the worst-case scenario descended upon him.
“Leader of the Church of Light, Brain Washer.”
Angela Lopez.
The Apostle of Patience, who had mercilessly rampaged across the battlefield, finally arrived before him. Aiming her mace, which dripped with the blood of his followers, she continued.
“Release your followers from the brainwashing and surrender. Do that, and I’ll spare your life.”
An ultimatum from a top predator whose domain overlapped with his.
In response, Yoon Myung-ho’s face crumpled into a scowl.
“Damn it… Now I see. I know who you bastards are.”
He continued, his face showing a flicker of realization.
“The Seven Heavenly Virtues… you’re those damn followers.”
“So you knew about us?”
“Of course I did. I also know that you are the biggest obstacle in my way.”
As he spat the words out through clenched teeth, Angela replied with a completely relaxed expression.
“You realized it too late. You’ve already tripped over that obstacle, haven’t you? So just give up quietly.”
She urged him to surrender once more.
Knowing her personality, she probably wanted to swing her mace and smash his skull right this second.
But this was a premeditated move.
To make him lose his will to fight with an overwhelming show of power, and then accept his surrender.
This plan was devised solely because of the brainwashing.
There was no guarantee that the brainwashing would be undone naturally if he died.
Because some abilities continue to exert their influence even after the user is dead.
That’s why they were using his life as leverage, urging him to surrender so he would undo it himself.
The Guardians, who were supposed to protect humanity and the world, couldn’t very well take the lives of hundreds of innocent people, could they?
In response to this offer, the man let out a sinister laugh and shook his head.
“Khuhuhu… I can’t do that.”
What was that saying? Even a cornered mouse will bite a cat.
His mana, which had been spread throughout the area, gathered in an instant.
An extraordinary convergence.
Sensing danger, I hurriedly shouted.
“Angela! Just smash him!”
“……!”
The moment the words left my mouth, she swung her mace.
Truly dazzling reaction speed.
The mace cut through the air in a wide arc, just moments before it would have shattered his skull.
“Stop.”
Just before impact, at the sound of his voice as he barely managed to open his mouth, Angela’s movement came to a dead halt.
“……?!”
“Ah…?”
The moment an ominous premonition flashed through my mind.
Yoon Myung-ho’s gaunt hand tapped the shoulder of the woman who had stopped mid-swing.
“It seems you were swinging your mace in the wrong direction, Sister.”
At that, she lowered her mace and bowed her head respectfully.
“…My apologies, Leader.”
“……”
“……”
Her tone was endlessly refined.
The wildness that had been running rampant in her voice just moments before was gone without a trace.
Straightening her back, she turned around.
Instead of a blazing gaze, her now placid eyes turned toward us.
“I will eliminate you traitors who have risen against our Leader.”
“Uh, um.”
Our side’s most reliable shield had just been turned over to the enemy.