Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Ecstatic Rampage
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027
I couldn't help but be thrilled.
If Sein had been just a little more unhinged, he would have burst into mad laughter.
Siiiizzle—!
Undead cleaved apart by his aura.
A brilliant light infused with holy power incinerated the undead, flashing through the passage.
He'd thought he'd suppressed it plenty.
Flash!
In the flashing light, Sein's eyes and teeth gleamed brightly.
He couldn't not be thrilled.
He couldn't not be delighted.
"Grraah! This is the stuff!"
The sensation of slicing through undead with aura laced in holy power.
It was the moment he felt the same pleasure as gazing into a perfectly organized storage box.
And above all.
'It's an EXP party.'
The special experience points from undead monsters.
More precisely, because they were former priests turned undead.
"Event monsters everywhere."
It was the ultimate hunting ground, showering him with explosive EXP.
In the past, the Rest had been an utterly boring event, but now.
"If you don't go crazy over this, you don't deserve to call yourself a gamer."
For gamers in Korea—no, gamers worldwide—this was an irresistible EXP event.
Slaaaash!
Another wraith split in two and died.
An undead in the form of a priest, radiating an even denser deathly energy.
Siiiizzle—!
He couldn't see it with his eyes, but he could feel it.
The EXP pouring in.
And one more thing.
A privilege unique to Sein, unattainable by others.
Ripple.
The aura rippling with holy light had already been dyed black.
His activated demon race heart.
Slaaaash—!
It was spewing out dark, murky demonic aura.
The deathly energy in undead was distinctly different from demonic qi.
But the privilege Sein had inherited was that of the Final Demon Race.
—Albaera.
He was a demon race who had received the heart transplant of Albaera, the strongest and final demon king.
Shoooaaa—!
A body perfectly optimized for recycling—even the undead's deathly energy into demonic qi.
Kieee—!
Kill, kill, and kill again.
Even though they were already dead, he didn't hesitate to desecrate their corpses.
It was a rampage.
The pent-up emotions from his powerless days living as Sein.
The fact that the world he loved so much had turned into hell.
The fact that he had to pose as trash to survive in a prison-like hell.
And.
"Die."
The fact that he himself was the culprit behind it all.
It all dyed Sein in madness.
"Dead already?"
Smirk.
Sein was grinning.
"Then die again."
Muttering to himself, Sein swung his sword again and again.
His Dragon Heart pumping, infusing his entire body with vitality.
Holy power and demonic qi, transforming at his will.
If needed.
Siiiizzle—!
Even wounds inflicted by the undead could be healed in an instant.
This was what drove Sein into his rampage.
The rampage that seemed endless finally came to a halt.
The passage leading to the Rest.
Finally.
"I've arrived."
He had reached the dark underground bathed in pure white light.
This was Antara's Rest.
The tomb of recognized priests and the sanctuary of archbishops.
Known by another name: Anhel's Bosom.
And here.
"Long time no see."
Was what Sein had left behind.
"Bastion."
The pure white light coalesced, taking on a human form.
*
*
*
Gallio knelt quietly in prayer.
His face showed no trace of worry, as if anticipating the future ahead.
Barus had chosen the path of a priest, but his faith in Anhel was faint, so he simply closed his eyes following Gallio's lead.
The two of them.
Flash!
Opened their eyes almost simultaneously.
Whip!
Heads turning.
Pure white holy power began emanating from their bodies.
"Archbishop!"
"Barus."
They called out to each other.
Their dense holy power had detected something.
Something similar yet different—another dense holy power.
And it came from Tarian.
"It's them."
Gallio said.
They had prepared for this day long ago.
Though they followed Anhel with the same faith, now that the god had vanished and faith had waned, the followers interpreted the divine will each in their own way.
"Barus!"
Gallio shouted, and Barus nodded.
Hands clasped together.
Shiiiine—!
The brilliant light pouring from Barus engulfed both Gallio and Barus.
When the light faded.
Roar!
What they faced was Tarian in flames.
The place they had built over decades was burning.
"Arrrgh!"
Amid people's screams.
The slaves handled in Tarian were burning to death, and the priests wailed in agony.
In that moment.
Clang!
A flash streaked right in front of Barus's face.
A sword bearing pure white aura.
Pure white teeth bared alongside it.
"Iron Cross!"
The cross on their foreheads revealed their identity.
Heresy inquisitors, the temple's killers.
"Barus."
Gallio said to Barus.
Just moments ago, Gallio had conjured the barrier that blocked the sword strike.
Boom!
A storm of holy power erupted, blasting away the Iron Cross knight.
"I'll handle this place."
Though his body was aged, he was a living witness to the passage of time.
Barus, with only abundant holy power but still lacking, couldn't compare.
Especially against.
"The Iron Cross excels above all at dealing with priests."
Their opponents were heresy inquisitors.
For Barus, who had no experience against them, it was too much.
"You know what to do?"
Barus nodded at Gallio's heavy voice.
"…Find them. Protect them at all costs."
Gallio had waited a long time.
For Sein to come today.
Gallio had also waited a long time.
"With those two, the temple can rise again."
For another being he had awaited.
In that instant.
Clang clang clang!
White sword strikes flew in from all sides, spewing light.
"You've finally shown yourself, apostate."
They approached in a fan formation.
The one at the forefront addressed Gallio.
"…Badoman."
Badoman.
He was the last remaining captain of the Iron Cross.
Even one alone would be trouble, but.
Step.
More Iron Cross knights were with him.
"You hid well in this filthy cesspool."
Badoman said, raising his pure white aura.
"What happened to your cesspool?"
"There's something I need to find."
As Gallio moved to act.
Clang!
Another incoming sword strike.
Badoman gave no time to properly unleash holy power.
"Something to find?"
"Did you think I wouldn't know?"
Badoman chuckled as he spoke.
"That the holy sword and saintess are here."
In that moment.
"Go—! Barus!"
A holy magic circle appeared beneath Gallio's feet, shining brightly.
Unlike Barus, who had never faced heresy inquisitors, Gallio had survived countless years against them.
Boom!
*
*
*
The holy sword Bastion.
One of the seven holy swords in the Sanctuary, equipment so potent that merely wielding it earned recognition as Anhel's apostle.
The legendary holy sword coveted by countless people.
However.
"Ha, to think I'd have to pick up this trash again."
To players who knew and shared every guide, Bastion was no special gear.
Among holy swords, it had the most ambiguous stats and role.
Dismissed as just an early-game cheat item, Sein had used Bastion briefly in the past and discarded it.
Right here.
—I'm the saint, so what's with all the questions?
In the chest of Antara's former high priest.
Prod prod.
Sein picked his ear while eyeing the pure white human form.
And in that chest was the embedded Bastion.
"This is valuable, though."
Bastion aside, the being it was embedded in.
Stroke.
High Priest Beregus had become something truly special.
He had died for doubting Sein, the saint, but his faith was acknowledged, earning him burial in the Rest.
Was it resentment?
"Holy liches are something I've only seen twice even in the Sanctuary."
That was a holy lich.
A unique monster rarely seen even in the Sanctuary.
A cheat existence wielding holy power while also bearing dark deathly energy.
Holy power, the undead's weakness, didn't work on a holy lich, and it unleashed even greater power against beings with demonic qi...
[Sein Archibald, is that you?]
"……!"
Sein widened his eyes at the voice.
"…Never saw this coming."
As befitting a unique monster, the holy lich possessed intelligence.
But according to lore, it had lost all memories of its past life, trapped in confused madness.
Yet.
"Beregus. You remember?"
[Indeed. Sein Archibald, you mad crown prince.]
Sein's eyes narrowed.
He didn't mind the insults.
But intelligence and retained memories were the problem.
'Already a tough opponent as is.'
If it charged in screaming for revenge, it'd be even worse.
Stroke.
Sein drew his sword, intent on ending it quickly.
[You are indeed the being who will bring ruin to the continent.]
Hiding his killing intent at the voice, he poured aura into the blade.
Holy power and demonic qi would be halved against it.
Rumble.
But pure destructive dragon magic, all-in on power, could pierce through.
[But you are also the saint.]
Flinch.
[No, you have only now become one.]
The white form descended from the air, stepping onto the ground.
Crackle.
The ground split and vanished beneath it.
[You who seeks to save the world you yourself destroyed.]
Beregus approached silently, without sound or vibration, standing before Sein.
One sword swing would cleave it apart, but.
[Take back what is yours and open Anhel's path.]
Seeing Beregus with chest thrust open, Sein released the sword.
He gripped Bastion's hilt tightly.
"You too."
"Now you're acting like a high priest."
Unlike back then, when it was just a programmed NPC.