The Serpent Church (6)
The Serpent Church (6)
Isabella smashed the pincer charging at her. Flesh and shell fragments flew. But even after taking one down, more than double that number swarmed in.
The numbers simply would not thin. The reason lay in the Serpent Church's attack power, which was lower than expected.
Sword arts specialized for killing people. The paladins were unusually weak when facing aberrant monsters. The Serpent Church never waged holy wars, nor did they conduct periodic monster subjugations.
"Swing your swords! Hold on!"
The battle situation was too overwhelming even to give proper commands. All she could do was swallow her words and force her legs forward with all her strength.
A sword flashed. A split pincer scattered in every direction. A paladin saved by a hair's breadth lay gasping on the ground.
"I-I’m sorry, Isabella!"
"If you have time to apologize, move!"
Aberrant monsters.
The pincers were powerful. Far stronger than most ordinary monsters. And yet those numbers kept pouring out endlessly.
Isabella tried to find a way to break the situation. But no matter how she looked at it, it was impossible.
Pincers surged in. Isabella, who had slipped to the side, flinched in surprise. A paladin stood behind her. Someone who hadn't overcome the shock of being knocked to the ground earlier was swaying dizzily.
Isabella gripped her sword again. She abruptly changed the sword path she had been using to deflect. But because of that, she had to bear the full brunt of the impact herself.
BOOM!
Isabella was flung away. She rolled across the ground and barely managed to right herself.
"Commander!!!"
"Just wait a moment!!"
"Don't come!"
If even one person pulled out, the line would collapse. After that, the worst. Isabella struggled to rise somehow, her hands trembling.
A shadow covered her. A massive pincer dropped before her eyes. Isabella clenched her teeth.
She had run this far to succeed, and now...
Now, of all things... she was going to be taken down by some damn crab shell...?
"You piece of...!"
"Nice lungs you've got there."
A flame flew in.
"Save your strength. Don't waste it for nothing."
Wings of flame coiled around her body. Isabella couldn't regain her senses as her view shifted in an instant. In the sound that rang out belatedly, she saw with her own eyes the pincer smash into the spot where she had just been.
She was being held. But by whom? There had been no one to come running and save her.
No one except those damned heretics...
Isabella flinched in surprise. The hands holding her were softer than she'd expected. She was half-draped against the boy she had seen earlier.
A priest of Ra. His name was Zahard... was it?
"Why... are you...?"
"Special service from the Church of Ra."
The boy smiled. Flames swirled behind him. Along with the fierce battle cries of the inquisitors, the tide of battle turned.
"We'll be the ones to kill you!"
"Do you intend to die to mere monsters?!"
"How feeble! Heretics!"
The dumbfounded Serpent Church members blinked. What followed was rage.
"What the hell is this shit?!"
"What?! We're going to die to you bastards?!"
"You fucking—! What did you say?!"
"How dare mere heretics—!"
The Serpent Church members, screaming at the top of their lungs in fury, began pushing the line forward.
"You think we'd accept help from bastards like that?!"
"Push them baaaaack!"
"We can't lose to crab shells!!"
Two groups crossing each other. In the midst of it, Isabella felt something strange. In her field of vision, a Serpent Church paladin and a Church of Ra paladin stood back to back.
A sight she had never seen in her life. A sight she had thought she would never see.
"...Was this... your doing?"
"Ah, shit."
Isabella was dumped unceremoniously. Zahard dusted off his hands.
"You said it yourself earlier. Move instead of running your mouth."
Flames spread to the tip of his sword. A smile flickered across the boy’s face above his black priestly robes.
"Priest Isabella of the Serpent Church, are you going to keep sitting there?"
"Ha."
Isabella stood up.
"...I can't accept help from the Sun God Church."
"Seems like you've already accepted plenty."
"I never asked for it."
"So dishonest."
She raised her sword. Isabella aimed her blade not at Zahard, but at the monsters.
A strange feeling. Isabella glanced at the priest beside her.
"...You. Are you really an apprentice priest?"
His combat power and his situational judgment were both so far removed from someone without experience it was staggering. It felt like a veteran who had been through every hardship imaginable was trapped inside a boy's body.
Zahard shrugged. He carved apart a charging pincer.
"Too competent to believe?"
"......"
"Hah. What if I get even more impressive here? This is trouble. Big trouble!"
"......"
Not someone I want to keep close, at any rate.
Isabella reached a clean conclusion.
. . .
The monster wave.
More precisely, the parasite wave had ended. Once a day. Exactly at 12 o'clock, the monsters that surged in began to slink away.
They dragged human corpses away with their pincers and devoured the bodies of their own kind on the spot. People blinked as they watched them vanish back into the ice shards.
"W-we survived."
"Is it over...?"
Who just raised a death flag?
Well, they'll come anyway even without the flags.
All that remained now was restoring stamina. Radatok quickly organized the battle situation. Passing by Isabella, he glanced down at her indifferently.
"Don't die. Isabella."
"What?"
"Judging you is our job."
"Crazy bastards."
Isabella stuck out her tongue as if disgusted.
"You watch yourself, fire bear. I'm the one who's going to kill you."
"All talk, I see."
A simple dinner followed. We decided to conserve food. I tapped at the rock-hard frozen meat.
It was already a cold place. If you didn't circulate Sacred Power, your backside would freeze solid in no time. There was no way the ingredients could hold out.
"Why is it so..."
"Ah, shit..."
"Firewood..."
I could hear the Serpent Church members whispering. Those guys don't even have a proper fire, so they can't cook anything.
No. That won't do. If those bastards starve to death, who's going to be my meat shields for the boss fight?
I stood up. I checked beyond the line. Just as I suspected.
The firewood they had so adamantly refused to share was nearly gone. Absurdly insufficient. Most of the firewood salvaged from the broken wagon had scattered during the fall into the ice cave, so it wasn't surprising.
I strode over. Radatok blocked my path.
"What are you trying to do, Brother?"
"I was going to cook them some food."
"There's no need. They are heretics."
"Didn't you agree with what I said earlier?"
"That doesn't mean we must look after them from head to toe. Conserving Sacred Power is the right course. Brother."
Radatok placed a hand on my shoulder.
"There are people who mistake continued kindness for entitlement. The Serpent Church is dull-witted. Their god is also exceedingly violent. They've gathered the stupidest people in the world, so it's better not to give them more help than necessary."
"But..."
"I admire your compassion, Brother, but trust my experience. Those people are like snakes. They repay goodwill with malice. They have firewood of their own right now, so there's no need to go out of your way to help."
No.
I don't care about their malice. I just need the headcount, okay?
The inquisitors were moved.
"Brother is too kind."
"But the way he moved when hunting monsters showed great promise."
"To move like that at such a young age."
"He'd be more than worthy as a future inquisitor."
"If I don't work hard, I'll be overtaken in no time."
...Why does it feel like I'm being forcibly recruited as an inquisitor?
For now, I sat down. It wasn't because I intended to follow Radatok's advice. Thinking about it, those guys still had a means of getting food.
"...Inquisitor Radatok is right."
Meaning they weren't properly hungry yet.
Showing generosity to people who aren't hungry won't earn any thanks. If anything, it'll only make them wary.
Starve them good. Toss them a bone later and they'll roll over and show their bellies. They need to be well-behaved if I'm going to use them in the boss fight.
"Let's not feed them."
"Thank you, Brother."
"Hey. If Inquisitor Radatok says so, I should always follow."
I beamed.
"You're the person I can trust and rely on most in this place, Inquisitor!"
The cold face naturally softened a little. Radatok, who had quietly turned his head away, cleared his throat with a cough.
Oh ho. He's smiling?
Maybe I didn't need the konjac jelly after all.
"Brother."
"Yes?"
"...Never mind. Once we get out of here, I'll ask you properly."
Properly?
A slightly ominous feeling came over me. The inquisitors were grinning at me.
Wait a moment.
If I actually get scouted as an inquisitor, my plans are screwed...? Inquisitors can't attend the Academy, right?
. . .
The days passed. The second day and the third day went by quickly.
The moment I opened my eyes, battle. After dragging my exhausted body through whatever food I could force down, I immediately collapsed into sleep. The inquisitors said I didn't need to stand night watch, but I refused right away.
Through the continuous battles, I was running along the line of death. A precarious line where one slip meant falling into death.
My skills weren't enough to keep up with them. But I was growing so fast that the shortcoming became meaningless. Power-leveling spots like this weren't common. High-level monsters with obvious weaknesses, no less.
Wasting time at the best hunting ground would be the weird thing!
"Um. Inquisitor."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Please teach me some Holy Arts."
"...Holy Arts?"
The inquisitor standing watch with me glanced around.
"Unfortunately, an inquisitor's Holy Arts aren't something we can teach to just anyone."
"......"
"But Brother is different! We're comrades who fight together!"
"I knew it, Inquisitor! I believed in you!"
"Hahaha! Ask me anything! Future inquisitor!"
I learned Holy Arts at a rapid pace. Holy Arts were divided into three tiers.
Low-tier Holy Arts.
Mid-tier Holy Arts.
High-tier Holy Arts.
The paladins were learning mid-tier Holy Arts among those. High-tier Holy Arts were techniques only a select few within the church could use, so I couldn't learn them from these people.
But still, this was incredible. I squeezed the inquisitors dry of their power. Several of my skills changed into higher-tier skills.
[Ember (C) changes to Sacred Flame (B).]
[Song of Fire (C) changes to Sword of Judgment (B).]
[Weapon Blessing (C) changes to Whisper of Fire (B).]
[Sacred Barrier (C) changes to Sacred Wall (B).]
[Zahard Balton] [Level: 32]
[Race: Human] [Class: Apostle of the Sun God]
[Class Unique Skills]
-Sun God's Love: Sun-God-related skills you possess grow rapidly.
-Sun God's Grace: Your Sacred Power recovers rapidly.
-Sun God's Blessing: You can handle the Sun God's Sacred Relics without risk.
-Sun God's Prayer: You are immune to mental corruption.
[Possessed Skills]
-Sacred Mark (B): Grants great resistance to all Demonic Force. Can bestow Sacred Marks on others. (5/10)
-Divinity (B): Can draw forth a great deal of the Sun God's divinity. Sacred relics react to Sacred Power.
-Healing (B): Can perform healing and combat simultaneously. The world calls this 'Immortal's Battle.'
-Blessing (B): Status ailment resistance greatly increases, and composure is maintained except in special circumstances. Physical abilities greatly increase, and Sacred Power temporarily increases significantly.
-Sacred Flame (B): Produces sacred flames. Purifies evil and can burn some things that cannot be burned. The size and limits of the flame are proportional to Sacred Power.
-Prayer of Fire (C): Praying maintains body temperature for a set duration. Physical abilities improve.
-Holy Water Production (C): Infuses water with Sacred Power. Activates the body's healing power and raises resistance to Demonic Force.
-Sacred Wall (B): Can block off certain areas. Can be applied thinly over the skin and wreathed in fire. Exhibits power comparable to armor and negates impacts below a threshold.
-Whisper of Fire (B): Enhances weapon performance. Flames settle upon it, and it can be granted to others' weapons as well. Grants resistance to Demonic Force.
-Purification (C): Expels curses and purifies the corrupted.
-Sword of Judgment (B): Derived from the Sun God Church's foundational swordsmanship, 'Song of Fire.' Unnecessary elements were trimmed away, and the inquisitors' swords have long been famous for lacking mercy.
-Meat Cooking (C): Grills meat deliciously.
-Crown of Ash (EX): Offering tribute raises the grade of Sun-God-related skills.
"Heh heh."
Level is a measure of strength. Skills need no explanation. The two complement each other, and raising both had massively increased my power.
This is the protagonist buff!
I was practically flying. Every time I woke up, my Sacred Power had shot back up, and eventually I was cracking crab shells before even the inquisitors could.
"...Insane."
"Radatok. Does this... make any sense?"
"I can't believe it even seeing it."
Radatok looked at me like a father gazing at his son.
"...The church has gained a remarkable talent. An enormous one."
His lingering stare made me a little uncomfortable, so I turned my head away. On the seventh day, as our food began to run out and everyone’s mouths went dry from exhaustion, something changed.
CLANG!
"What?!"
An inquisitor staggered back. The shell they had been breaking without trouble now repelled the blow. It was a different specimen from anything seen before.
"...It's here."
I glared at the creature, much smaller than the giant crabs and almost humanoid. It was a leader specimen among the parasites—a special type above the Sommeliers. The ones that usually just ate whatever their underlings brought them had come up themselves.
Crunch.
The sight of a crab standing upright on two legs made me sigh. So Stage 2 is only starting now. Even slower than I expected.
"Yeah. You little shit."
I met its black eyes glaring at me without flinching. A superior specimen of the Sommelier. The crayfish-like creature whose body gave off a sweet smell had a nickname.
Coconut Crab
I'd forgotten its original name. This one had a stronger image anyway. Its pincers crushed ice. It ground it up and shoved it into its mouth.
A creature with an appetite so voracious it was always hungry. With fresh chunks of meat lying all over the place and its underlings not bringing any, it must have been furious.
It's strong.
But so what?
"I'm stronger! You little shit!"
I'm not the same as before! I'll smash your skull in!