Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Long Time No See
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It's been a while.
A role where I'd been this faithful as a supporter.
"Anhel's blessing upon you."
At Ain's voice, the bodies of every Holy Iron Knight began to glow.
"What a blessing!"
"As expected of the Saint!"
Their morale soared, as if their physical abilities had been amplified.
"Charge!"
Led by Blackgreen, the Holy Iron Knights charged forward.
Boom!
The Demon Tree that collided with Blackgreen began to shake violently.
A mid-level monster, the Demon Tree—a living, moving tree.
But the one from the dark zone was...
"Urk!"
A monster in the truest sense.
'Its level's at least 20.'
No shortcomings in durability or destructive power.
But the real problem was...
"Here it comes! Dodge!"
That the Demon Tree's skills carried dark attributes.
Branches exploded, scattering spores.
As the dark spores touched the Holy Iron Knights' bodies...
Sizzle!
They burned through armor and flesh, injecting darkness into the wounds.
An arm turned pitch black in an instant.
"Begone, unbelief."
But Ain's holy power followed, slowly pushing back the darkness.
"We can resist the darkness!"
The Holy Iron Knights' morale rose another level.
Until now, ways to resist darkness had been known to be extremely rare.
Only the Divine Empire was said to possess those special techniques.
But not in this moment.
"Anhel!"
"Anhel!"
Ain and Marsil.
The Saint and his knight possessed the power to drive out darkness.
'Now it's starting to feel familiar.'
Of course, what Ain used had been taught to him by Marsil.
Just as Marsil could learn what Ain possessed.
Heh.
Ain could learn what Marsil possessed too.
That was why Ain, having recognized Marsil's true talent, had offered to provide lich bones.
'A power to counter darkness.'
He was excited to see what could be done with it.
But the important thing was this moment.
"Grant your servant swifter feet than any other."
Holy power that Sein Demorus had refrained from using.
He'd promised to pull it out if needed, but otherwise kept it hidden.
"Grant your servant the strength to purge evil."
In this moment, Sein unleashed it fully.
Boom!
At last, the Holy Iron Knights succeeded in felling the Demon Tree.
Crunch.
But beside it, something even greater was unfolding.
"Kahat! Finally, it's over!"
Blackgreen.
The mad paladin had single-handedly smashed dozens of Demon Trees.
While the entire Holy Iron Knights struggled with one, he took on dozens.
That was the difference between a paladin and holy knights.
That was...
'The difference between max level and those who aren't.'
Max level meant those standing right before the wall of transcendence.
"It's all thanks to the Saint!"
Blackgreen was a true monster.
'If I faced him now, it'd be a headache.'
He lowered his posture a bit more and smiled.
"What are you saying? It's thanks to all of you."
He could perform such acting with ease.
Having lived thousands of lives, Sein could.
After days of navigating the vortex like that...
"It seems we're the first to arrive."
There had been prior visitors in the vortex, but the Holy Iron Knights reached the destination first.
A paladin and a saint.
They were the most sensitive to holy power of all.
"That must be..."
Tracking the aura of a holy sword wasn't difficult for them.
"The Holy Sword of Fire, Taindrha."
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*
Holy Sword of Fire, Taindrha.
Among the holy swords existing in Sanctuarie, it was treated as one of the upper ranks.
It allowed wielding flames in Anhel's name, and those flames greatly boosted the wielder's physical abilities.
Above all, its most appealing feature was that Taindrha granted special abilities based on the user's specs.
-Sacred Flames.
Flames with extreme resistance to demons and curses—it would be a panacea for black mages or those tainted by darkness.
"...So that's why they sent a paladin."
If they knew Taindrha was here, sending more forces wouldn't have been surprising.
However, the problem was where Taindrha was located.
"...What the hell is that?"
It was a massive boulder.
No—a golem shaped like a boulder.
"Sacred Golem, Titan."
At Sein's words, the Holy Iron Knights and Blackgreen turned to him.
"Anhel has spoken."
Nothing beat invoking the name of god.
"It says that's the giant divine soldier that once guarded a great temple."
No need to explain it was Sein's own knowledge.
"...I see."
Its appearance did suit the term giant divine soldier.
But any past sanctity was gone.
Rumble...
All that remained was an ominous dark aura.
'It was here.'
Sein felt a fresh wave of nostalgia.
Taindrha was one of the holy swords Sein had used quite often.
Of course, it was mid-game gear, discarded later for better ones.
Stuck in that sacred golem.
Why it was here.
'Assuming someone placed it is just speculation.'
The changes on the continent after the empire's fall.
Best to chalk it up to coincidence.
Taindrha was embedded in the sacred golem's chest.
"We should set up a base camp."
One of the Holy Iron Knights said.
"The cardinal said to prioritize slaying unbelievers."
The destination.
And naturally...
'They'll gather here.'
Those after the holy sword would converge here.
But if the Holy Iron Knights and Blackgreen were fighting it then?
If they suffered major injuries?
"We'll erect a holy barrier to hide and observe the situation..."
The Holy Iron Knights would be annihilated.
Even Paladin Blackgreen might sustain heavy wounds.
Even against the dark factions.
"Hmm. To have Anhel's fragment before our eyes and wait?"
"It's the Church's will."
"If it's the Church's will..."
Blackgreen seemed ready to acquiesce.
"No."
Ain—no, Sein wouldn't stand by.
"We attack right now."
Blackgreen was a threat.
"But—"
"Don't you see?"
He didn't know who Immortal sent.
'That snake-eyed bastard would never win.'
Even accounting for forces, they might not even inflict proper damage.
One might think the dark factions wouldn't send hopeless forces upon hearing "paladin."
"Do you not hear it?!"
But this paladin had appeared after far too long.
If they didn't grasp his full strength, they might have made a poor choice.
But Sein's thoughts proved irrelevant.
"Thanks for guiding us here."
Those mad bastards.
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He hadn't sensed their presence.
The pervasive darkness had disrupted his senses.
'That confirms it.'
The dark factions also wielded power resistant to darkness.
Though Sein belonged to Demorus, he hadn't been deployed on dark-related missions yet.
Such matters would naturally be top secret.
'I need to investigate.'
He glimpsed another possibility.
But that was all.
"...Those mad bastards."
Around thirty humans appeared.
One side in black robes.
The other in armor blending black and gold.
Immortal and Demorus.
"Unbelievers have revealed themselves!"
Blackgreen stepped forward gleefully.
Clang!
The Holy Iron Knights drew their weapons, assuming full battle readiness.
'Are they that confident?'
If it were him, he'd wait until the sacred golem and Blackgreen clashed.
Revealing themselves earlier meant something was up.
'I need to watch.'
The power of the dark factions.
Thud!
The power of the paladin.
Which would prove superior.
But then.
Rumble rumble boom!
A massive roar shook the earth, as if an earthquake had struck.
"Hold steady!"
They scrambled desperately.
The command to maintain balance on the shaking ground soon changed.
"Dodge—!"
Everyone present was an elite.
Survivors of countless battles.
"Dark Barrier—!"
Immortal.
Tatat!
Demorus.
"Disperse—!"
The Holy Iron Knights each reacted in their own way to endure the approaching threat.
Most impressive among them was Blackgreen.
Boom!
He slammed his massive greatsword into the ground and ignited his holy power.
"Let faith surge forth!"
The greatsword glowed instantly.
The already unstable earth cracked completely and began to upheave.
A shield protecting the Holy Iron Knights, it seemed.
But not just that.
Bang!
The upheaved earth scattered the Holy Iron Knights everywhere.
In Sein's view, it was the best approach.
Splat!
If they couldn't dodge quickly...
Boom!
They'd all be crushed under that mad fist.
Worst off were Immortal.
Trusting their formidable magic and black sorcery, they pooled power for a barrier.
Crack!
But it shattered to pieces.
"Urk!"
Where the fist rose again, surviving Immortal elites stood amid the pulped remains of their comrades, reduced to bloody mush.
A single attack.
"...What the—"
An attack that stunned everyone.
High above.
Hum.
Red-glowing eyes glared down like Anhel himself.
It was the giant divine soldier.
-Titan.
The raid-boss-level monster had awakened.
Stunned momentarily by its form and overwhelming aura.
But as said.
"Follow-up coming! Dodge!"
They were elites.
They quickly reformed ranks to evade the next flying fist.
Sein, holding Cecil, leaped toward the Holy Iron Knights.
Then, the first to play their hand.
"Dark Needle."
Immortal.
Having lost a third of their forces in one blow, they couldn't contain their rage.
Gigantic black needles filled the air.
They...
Boom!
Collided with Titan's fist, erupting in explosion.