Chapter 98
Chapter 98
Saint, You’re So Vulgar! – Chapter 98
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After rushing over out of sheer worry, how on earth do you deal with someone spouting utter nonsense?
Asher found himself unexpectedly lost in such thoughts as he stared at Versia.
Of course, he knew Gal's curse was influencing her words and actions.
But couldn't she have held back just a little?
As he narrowed his eyes, Versia averted her gaze.
"Don't look. My down there is all wet and it's uncomfortable."
"Ah, come on."
"No, I'm serious."
Was it that bad? Sure, his thoughts veered toward the sexual side, but it wasn't anywhere near Versia's level of writhing in agony. That was by Asher's standards, having endured the curse far longer in his own body.
"Endure it. It'll get easier if you just push through."
"That's not easy."
"It's a lack of willpower."
He stated it firmly.
Then, steadying his breath, he looked ahead.
It resembled the witches of the archipelago. The real witch behind her was tearing open space, draping fragments of Ashanta into the present world.
His expression turned grave in an instant.
'It feels like my divine power is being suppressed.'
The moment a gaze from beyond space touched him, his whole body felt frozen solid.
Even if it was a heretic god, a god was still a godit seemed capable of interfering with the Parent God's divine power to some extent.
Still, amid all that, there was one silver lining.
'If this is the extent of the suppression, I can handle it.'
He tightened his grip on his sword. Back in his original body, he could just close in with melee combat and slice her down. And divine power wasn't entirely off-limits.
When he tested it, his divine power responded, if weakly. It was thanks to Asher's exceptional control over it.
"Saintess, can you provide support?"
"Ha, hiss."
For some reason, Versia let out a hot breath as she channeled her divine power. Swiftness, sharpness, fortitudethe basic support prayers. Asher layered his own divine power over hers to compensate for the shortfall.
Right after, he lunged. The witch, who had shown displeasure at his arrival, revealed an opening in that instant.
The higher one's realm, the more a single second of hesitation became a fatal mistake.
He closed the distance to Tehura in a flash. Asher's sword shot out like a beam of light.
But the opponent wouldn't go down that easily.
Claaaang!
"Kgh!"
"You have no manners, do you."
His sword halted in midair. Asher's eyes widened as if they might tear.
Bloody tears streamed from Tehura's eyes. She was clearly straining her body to wield such intense divinity, yet it was astonishingly robust.
"Surprised?"
A chill raced up his throat. Asher reacted swiftly. Perception and judgment accelerated, splintering the instant into dozens, hundreds of frames. He found the optimal path, thrusting his sword and shifting his body.
Tzwaaaaam!
His swift blade pierced weaknesses with precision. His blurring form accelerated to the point of radiating heat, unleashing murderous intent.
The strike was mere physical force, but when honed to extremes, it shattered common sense.
Even with suppressed divine power, he could coat his blade with it.
Ziiing!
A crack formed in the barrier. He'd deflected a volley of thorny vines and slammed them into it.
The moment he grasped the method to break it, Asher's movements changed.
Craaaack!
He hammered the fractured barrier, guiding the thorns. The impact rippled red waves across the entire space, beyond just the two of them.
"Fierce and persistent. I acknowledge you."
Rumble! With thunderous roar, red veins bulged across Tehura's pale skin.
The whites of her eyes vanished. A grotesque power erupted.
In that moment, Versia's power manifested.
Quaaarrr!
Hundreds of beams of light intercepted Tehura. Asher hid within them, aiming for her blind spot.
The tide turned. Things were more favorable now. But Tehura's demeanor heightened his unease, vigilance spiking to its peak.
"You should've come just a little later."
Blood trickled from Tehura's mouth in streams.
She smiled chillingly.
"I could've shown you something fun."
She licked her lips regretfully, smearing the blood with her tongue.
Asher braced for defense. His instincts demanded it.
But no attack came.
[]
Her blood-smeared lips uttered incomprehensible words.
Even hearing them, he couldn't grasp their pronunciation or meaning.
It sounded like the voice of something inhuman.
And then, crack, crack,
"That's all for today. It's broken."
Tehura's neck snapped.
Ruuuuumble
Tehura's body began crumbling away.
Something detached from her and was absorbed into Ashanta beyond the space.
He realized too lateit was an escape.
'Even that body was fake?'
No, not quite. It had been real, but some trick had turned it into something close to a fake.
In his haste, Asher hurled his sword, embedding it somewhere beyond space.
Crunch! He felt it lodge in place.
But only faint vibrations followedno further reaction.
[We'll meet again. That is, if that girl can hold out until then.]
A meaningful message lingered. In that instant, Ashanta's eyes curved into crescents toward Versia.
Before he could dwell on it
Thud!
The spatial rift closed like a beast's maw. Silence fell. Only Asher's ragged breaths and the rumble of collapsing debris remained.
'What the hell just happened?'
He was bewildered. Having barged in midway, it was hard to piece together the full picture.
Yet amid the confusion, one realization dawned. Some of Tehura's techniques.
They were unmistakably
'ancient prayers.'
He couldn't be certain from records alone, but that thicket and barrier resembled the lost prayers documented in the Church's ancient tomes.
If true, the situation was dire.
Did Versia know the answer? As he turned to her with that thought
"Ah, Saintess!"
Asher gasped and rushed to her.
Versia was staggering, unable to stand.
As Asher approached, she flinched in surprise and shook her head.
But Asher was faster.
"Wait."
"Are you alright?!"
Grab! He seized her shoulder.
They were close now, their breaths even closer.
And then it happened.
Something only Asher could see.
"Hyak!"
A sharp moan escaped her. Versia's head snapped back.
Her body convulsed violently once, and he felt the tremors through his grip on her arm.
Asher's expression twisted oddly.
Specifically, he frowned.
"?"
Versia's eyes rolled back.
Drool trickled from her mouth.
The spasms hadn't stopped.
'What the hell?'
Asher couldn't process it, plunged into confusion.
He had his suspicions, but couldn't accept them.
"Saintess."
He called in a low, steady voice. Versia shuddered.
"Wait. Don't talk."
Her voice was languid, trembling.
Revulsion surged, and as Asher began to pull his hand away
Grab!
"Hik?!"
"Why let go."
Slump, Versia's head drooped forward.
She drew a deep breath, then lifted it slightly.
Her eyes peered through her hair. No rationality in them.
Asher was terrified. It felt like something irreversible had happened.
Had the curse fully manifested at last?
No, she seemed too composed for that.
"This won't do. Let's just do it once."
Or not?
Cold sweat beaded on his back.
His heart pounded wildly.
He needed to knock her out now.
"Uwaaaah! Wait! Why are you undressing?!"
"You know damn well. Don't ask. It's annoying."
Asher panicked, grabbing at Versia's clothes. She eyed him with a feral glare, devouring him visually. No good. If she stripped further, it might turn physical.
In that moment, feeling a crisis unlike any in his life, Asher poured all his strength into locking her in a joint hold.
"Ah, stop!"
Her struggling strength was immense. Had building muscle in that body been the problem?
Kiiiiing!
Noshe was using divine power!
"Put that halo away!"
"Just once."
He felt terror in her relentless pleading.
But something even more frightening occurred.
"The curse isn't fully formed yet!"
Her top half-undressed, a lewd tattoo visible only up to her wingbones on her back.
It wasn't much different from before the body swap. Maybe a bit more grown.
"Endure it! You have to endure!"
Her glare grew fiercer, no intention of holding back.
Indignation welled up. And a realization hit.
'This woman!'
Has the patience
'of a gnat?'
Absurdity sapped his strength.
A mistake.
Bam!
Versia slammed him down with divine power. Truly the weight worthy of divine favoritism. Asher couldn't twitch a finger.
Her halo whirred menacingly, signaling intent to proceed.
Click! Versia straddled him, pinning his wrists above his head.
Her clothes half-fallen, a crooked smile as she looked down.
Asher's body trembled uncontrollably.
"Now you're behaving."
Forced into submission, Asher's eyes began to well up at her whisper.
That was the moment.
Kwaaaang!
"Versia! Asher! Are you safe?!"
The outside skirmish over, Halia burst through the wall.
She froze upon seeing them.
Silence fell.
Then Halia glanced behind her, then back at the two.
Looking awkward, she scratched her head, then started gathering debris from the broken wall to patch it up.
"Uh, um. Sorry. I'll come back later."
"Save us!!!"
Asher cried out desperately.
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