157. Reversed Positions
157. Reversed Positions
Hulan, the Master representing the beastmen, had been born with the destiny to become the Great Chieftain and unite the various beastmen tribes.
That was the nature of a dragon beastman.
Their numbers were few, but they were on an entirely different level compared to other beastmen.
The Great Chieftain was elected by the chieftains of each tribe.
It wasn't a hereditary position like a king, but dragon beastmen were practically royalty by bloodline, having held the position of Great Chieftain for the longest period.
Hulan, a promising talent, did not become the Great Chieftain.
There were several reasons, but the biggest was that his talent was simply too overwhelming.
Showing remarkable achievements even among fellow dragon beastmen, he became a Master at an early age.
Because that became the seed of discord, he was swept up in conflicts between the various tribes, and Hulan, fed up with it all, decided he'd rather become a wanderer.
He often found himself in trouble because he had a terrible sense of direction, but it was a rather enjoyable life.
He left his fellow beastmen behind and saw and learned many things.
Never staying in one place, always roaming the continent wherever his feet took him, this time he arrived at the Academy.
He had only heard rumors about it here and there, but this was his first time actually entering.
Wasn't it an institution that nurtured promising young people into talents?
He had been curious about what kind of place it was for a long time.
The Academy he arrived at was below expectations, but it was a decent enough place.
The level of the students was quite high, and the facilities were luxurious.
As the Headmaster wished, Hulan began touring the Academy, always accompanied by a professor, and a crowd gathered to see him, following like a wave.
A truly rare dragon beastman who was also a Master, Hulan was immensely popular.
Though the beastman exchange students hated him.
That, too, was a familiar thing.
While wandering around to see the lecture halls, Hulan heard a strange rumor.
"They said a demon's body was discovered inside the Academy?"
"That's what I heard! Anyway, it's a relief the Master was here when it happened, I don't even want to imagine otherwise!"
The story was that a demon's body had been found in a dormitory and the student staying there had been dragged away.
One person he had met yesterday came to mind.
The small person who had been fighting a life-or-death struggle against a massive Great Demon, the astonishing person who, though he received a little help, had driven the powerful Great Demon to the brink of death.
Clearly, that person had taken the severed horn as a trophy, lamenting that he couldn't kill the Great Demon.
'...No way, right?'
Hulan laughed, thinking there was no way such an absurd thing could happen—that someone who drove a Great Demon to the brink of death would be branded a heretic the very next day.
But Hulan, who also knew that this world didn't run on logic, couldn't shake off the tight, suffocating feeling in a corner of his chest.
"Waaaaah?! Th... The church exploded!!!"
It was right after that when he heard the news that a massive explosion had occurred at the church, leaving it in ruins.
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The headache was severe.
He felt nauseous.
His body ached as if he'd been beaten.
Ah, had he really been beaten?
Anyway, he wanted to collapse onto a bed right now and sleep like the dead.
But he couldn't lie still.
There were bastards looking down at him.
Insolently, they were looking down on him from above.
He couldn't forgive it.
He could let everything else slide, but he couldn't forgive bastards who looked down on him like that.
He had to make them all about the same height as him.
Then they wouldn't be able to look down on him like that.
He wanted to get up and smash them all to death, but his body, still a wreck, felt like it would explode immediately if he tried to use his Aura or the Earth Veins.
Even if anger surged to the top of his head, just emotions alone wouldn't heal his injured body.
He needed a means to take them out without putting major strain on his body.
In this situation, practically unarmed, where on earth could he find such a magic-like method?
'This is...?'
In that moment, a massive energy within his body writhed.
Because such an overwhelmingly powerful energy moved through his already wrecked Acupoints, he felt a tearing pain, but he could tell what that power's will was, what it wanted to convey to him.
The identity of that power was the Polymorph Authority granted to him by the Transformation Elixir.
Polymorph was magic that allowed one to transform into another target.
It was a mysterious magic that allowed one to transform into a completely different creature, like a person turning into a small rabbit or a dragon turning into a human, enabling movement without any sense of strangeness.
Such transformations were possible with magic, so what on earth was something that even had the title of Authority attached to it?
The Polymorph Authority seemed to allow for a broader range of transformation.
For instance... yes. It made it possible to 'transform' my wrecked Acupoints back into a pristine state.
He didn't channel that power through his body to activate it as when using a powerful technique.
He simply used the Authority dwelling in his body, and he felt his body changing.
His breathing became easier.
It was hunting time.
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The Red Flag Holy Knight Order, which reported directly to the Holy See, took immense pride in their work.
The Golden Lion Holy Knight Order, which constantly guarded the Holy See, was often considered the foremost, but the Red Flag Holy Knight Order, specialists in dispatch, were like the compassion of the Great Parent, reaching out first to the most difficult places.
They went to regions suffering under demons, rooted out heretics, and saved the afflicted weak.
They always took pride in believing they were the true foremost.
Therefore, when they were ordered to the Academy, which had suffered frequent demon attacks recently, they all steeled themselves with a solemn resolve.
As soon as the deployment to the Academy was confirmed, the Knight Commander gathered his assigned unit members and briefly briefed them on the Academy's current situation.
'Lately, incidents keep breaking out whenever there's an event at the Academy.
That means there are informants inside sending information out. First, we must weed them out.'
The Academy was an island.
Unless it was a truly major incident, things happening inside the Academy were hard to transmit to the outside.
It was clear that the Demon Church's informants hiding inside were leaking the Academy's information to the outside.
Only by weeding them all out could the Academy be truly liberated from the demons.
The Holy Knights diligently arrested heretics.
They thought it was about time for the results to become noticeably visible...
.
.
.
.
.
"Ugh... what... happened...."
Enduring the aching pain throughout his entire body, a Holy Knight got up.
He couldn't see well, but he knew he had collapsed even without opening his eyes.
Cutting through the hazy dust cloud, the Holy Knight Commander was waking the other Holy Knights.
But most of them didn't know why they had collapsed or what on earth was happening right now.
They had definitely subdued the student suspected of being a heretic... and they had taken out binding ropes to restrain him... but...
From that point on, their memories were hazy.
Looking at the Holy Knights standing dazed from the shock, the Commander shouted, calling them pathetic.
"Everyone, get up!! 'Lion Heart!'"
As the warm light of Holy Power, centered on the Commander, wrapped around their bodies, their confused minds were instantly stabilized.
It was thanks to the Lion Heart, a holy spell that quelled fear and bolstered courage.
Looking around, a few of their fellow Holy Knights were collapsed here and there.
Only then could they see what had happened around them.
The church was in a wreck, as if a bomb had gone off.
All the tiles had fallen off, the finishing materials were exposed, and dust was billowing up.
The glass windows were shattered and the doorframes were smashed.
And someone stood tall inside the crater presumed to be the epicenter.
It looked like the very small student who had been lying collapsed just moments ago.
It looked that way, but they couldn't be sure.
It was hard to see properly because of the dust, and thinking back to the student they had last seen, it was hard to believe he would be standing like that.
While they were unsure who it was, the Commander's voice came from beyond the dust.
"A monster is coming!! Everyone, take your stances!!!"
As trained, the moment they heard the commanding officer's order, the Holy Knights lowered their stances and drew their weapons.
They didn't understand the situation, but their bodies moved naturally, following the order as trained.
Then, whoever was standing at the epicenter turned their head towards the Holy Knights.
"Wh... what is that...??"
He was looking this way, but his face was invisible.
His face, deeply shrouded in shadow, appeared to the Holy Knights as if pitch-black holes had simply been drilled into his face.
No... it wasn't really that holes had been punched.
The oppressive pressure emanating from him was so intense that it only made them hallucinate that way.
They questioned whether it was really the same person as the student who seemed to be on the verge of death just moments ago.
"Is that student... really a demon?"
"Don't be scared! We don't feel any Demonic Energy yet. He's nothing but a human! He's making his last desperate struggle with an injured body, so hold out as long as you can!!"
A weak human couldn't possibly do this, the Holy Knight thought to himself.
Even though he had gained strong courage from the 'Lion Heart', his hands were trembling.
No matter how he thought about it, it didn't feel like facing a human.
Chilling killing intent, like someone holding a knife to his throat, sent numbness through his legs.
In the suffocating silence of the standoff, it was the Commander who spoke first.
"Surround him!!! Deploy the Barrier!!"
"""""No wicked evil shall pass beyond us!!"""""
They injected Holy Power into the anti-demon cloth and erected a massive barrier once more.
"Push forward!!!"
The Holy Knights, holding the interconnected Barrier of Nehemiah, all charged at once.
Their numbers weren't high, but the opponent was a small human.
Even just five people were enough to surround him without any problem.
The barrier, manifesting their steadfast faith through Holy Power, would not be pierced.
It was supposed to.
-Kung!!!
"Uwah?!"
When he took a single step, an unbearable shock hammered the barrier.
It was a barrier that had easily withstood an Ogre's attack, yet it was pushed back absurdly.
"Don't... get pushed back!! Hold out with the power of unyielding faith!!"
They were surprised, but the barrier was still firm.
Yes, faith had not abandoned them.
The unbreakable barrier symbolized the bond between the Holy Knight Order.
As long as this barrier stood firm, enemies could not harm the Holy Knights.
If they could just hold out with the barrier, they could face him.
The Inquisitor, who had belatedly regained his senses, cast a strength-enhancing buff on the Holy Knights.
The Barrier of Nehemiah touched his body.
Since he wasn't wielding wicked Demonic Energy, there was no major damage, but an unpleasant sound rang out as he came into contact with the Barrier of Nehemiah, which generated a strong repulsive force.
Irritated by the Barrier of Nehemiah, this time he didn't stomp on the floor but directly kicked the barrier of the Holy Knight in front of him.
-Wajangchang!!!
The Barrier of Nehemiah shattered.
The proof of the Holy Knights' steadfast faith, the Barrier of Nehemiah, was smashed futilely like a glass window.
As the barrier shattered, the red anti-demon cloth cloak, the medium binding the Holy Power, was torn apart as well.
As the kicked Holy Knight was launched into the air, the other connected Holy Knights were tangled together like a string of Vienna sausages and sent flying as well.
Once the barrier that connected them all into one was broken, the formation that pressed in without gaps collapsed, and they were scattered as they flew through the air.
And Atlas raised his hand blade high.
-Ppeok!!
"Kuaaak!!!!!"
A sound like a piece of crushed fruit being destroyed echoed, and one Holy Knight's leg was severed.
No, it wasn't even a sword; he'd slashed him with his hand blade, so saying he tore it off would also be accurate.
The Holy Knights had no way of knowing why he was stubbornly targeting that spot so inefficiently.
If he wanted to kill them, he could just rip out their hearts with that hand blade, and if he wanted to subdue them, breaking their legs without cutting them off would be enough.
But Atlas obstinately insisted on cutting off the Holy Knights' legs.
Did he want to cut them all off and make a right-foot collection or something?
It was truly a demonic idea.
Having no way of knowing that it was a method to resolve a twisted complex, the Holy Knights felt fear towards this incomprehensible being.
They were already scattered, and though everyone raised their weapons to fight back, it was futile.
The moment the Barrier of Nehemiah shattered, no defensive measure protecting them could stop him.
"Wooooooooh!!"
"Protect our comrades!!"
Even though the barrier was broken, the Holy Knights were still Holy Knights.
The only thing left that could defend them was their armor containing rare metal, but they fought bravely against him.
Holy spells shattered, and armor was crumpled.
He had no intention of dodging the Holy Knights' attacks.
He smashed them with a blunt weapon and cut their legs off.
"Don't touch my squad members!!"
The strongest among them, the Holy Knight Commander, swung his sword at the unarmed Atlas.
The advanced technique, an application of the Aura Blade wreathed in a holy sword, displayed the Commander's mastery.
But the moment they clashed, victory and defeat were already decided.
-Tukwang!
Thinking the Commander blocking his path was annoying, he kicked him, and all the defensive spells cast on the Commander's body shattered.
It wasn't just the defensive spells that were shattered.
Having destroyed the several layers of defensive spells, Atlas even smashed the Holy Knight Commander's armor and slammed him into the wall.
"You... demon bastard!!!"
He hadn't lost consciousness from just that.
As the Commander pulled himself out of the wall and tried to attack Atlas again, what he saw was Atlas's foot flying right up to his nose once more.
-Kwakwakwang!!!
Once again, Atlas's foot was driven into the Commander's body.
This time, there were no defensive spells or armor left to protect his body.
Taking the full brunt of the shock, the sound of the Commander's body breaking rang out, and the thick church wall was smashed.
"..!!"
Having burst through the wall and slammed into the dirt ground, the Commander couldn't even scream.
Making only a rasping wind sound, his rigid body trembled and shook.
And Atlas, who had created that situation, still seemed unsatisfied.
He grabbed the Commander's leg and raised his hand blade high.
"If you're going to do it, do it thoroughly."
With his face entirely veiled in shadow, resembling an endless abyss, Atlas muttered bluntly and brought his hand blade down.