21st Century Archmage

Chapter 84: Returning Home

Translator: Lei

Proofreader: Imagine

“I wish to sincerely thank you for your goodwill, Your Lordship.”

“Please, you sadden me with such words. As a faithful servant of Neran-nim, this is my natural obligation.”

“God will not forget your faithfulness.”

Count Urhans de Calvaron, Lord of Calvaron County, was conversing with the leader of the paladins, Havestrian. A congenial conversation had gone on for quite a while in the Count’s office.

“In any case, the development of those Nerman bastards may have increased, but how dare they commit the outrageous act of kidnapping a priestess… If not for Havestrian-nim, I would have been completely fooled.”

Count Urhans was in charge of the border between the Havis Kingdom and the Nerman Plains. With his considerably protruding belly, the man in his late forties looked like the epitome of a lazy noble. Moreover, his gleaming eyes were shining with desire even as they conversed.

Following the appearance of a man named Kyre, the national economy had become lively these last few months. At first, Count Urhans was happy about the thrilling transit fees, but he was deeply worried after hearing about Nerman’s rapid development. When he was asked for a favor by Paladin Havestrian, he agreed to help them without any convincing.

‘100 top-grade potions! And on top of that, we will be selected as a territory receiving Neran-nim’s grace—how can there be an opportunity this good?’

The value of the potions alone was an enormous amount that could not be ignored, but if Calvaron was selected as a territory receiving the grace of the gods, it was possible they could receive special benefits from the priests dispatched from the temple. It was a perfectly good opportunity to boost his authority in the territory.

‘Their development must be controlled. If those Nerman bastards increase their strength any further, my territory will be endangered.’

In any case, because of a contract with the nation, transit fees from important merchant groups could not be taken as territory taxes. Therefore, even if the transit fees increased overall, it wasn’t enough to immediately kickstart rapid development in his territory. Rather, if trade with the Nerman Plains increased and territory revenue increased as a result, the kingdom would set up their own checkpoint on the national border, so from Lord Urhans’ viewpoint, it was a bigger loss.

A slower development of Nerman was the best scenario.

“Then, we will trouble you to finish things here.”

“Haha, what trouble. Please depart without worries. Our knight order will guard you until the neighboring territory.”

Havestrian did not respond with an affirmative and only indicated his desire to leave. In any case, the matter at hand was finished, so Urhans could not keep him here any longer.

‘Holy power on the level of a saintess…. What a shame. I haven’t seen such a fine looking wench in a while.’

Urhans had heard from the merchants coming and going through the border that the Apprentice Priestess inside his castle right now was a priestess with holy power so impressive that she was treated as a saintess in Nerman. Additionally, he had seen her face just once, and she was an incredible beauty, a rare sight in a rural territory like his. However, Urhans was very good at knowing his place, and did not harbor greed towards something outside his means.

Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta. Ker-chunk.

“M-My lord! We’re in trouble!!!!!”

Urhans was finishing up his conversation with the paladin when he heard urgent footsteps outside. Without even getting permission, his Chief Knight, Havince, flung open the door and ran inside.

“What exactly happened for you to cause such a ruckus?!” shouted Urhans, enraged by the lack of knightly courtesy.

“I-It’s an aerial attack! My lord, a large number of wyverns have crossed the border and are flying towards the castle!”

“W-What?! Aerial attack?!!!!!”

After hearing the words “aerial attack” from the pale Havince, Urhans’ scowling face also turned white.

“Around 40 wyverns are flying from the direction of Nerman. It is an incredible force with a Black Wyvern in the lead and even Gold Wyverns!”

“!!! F-Forty wyverns?!”

He was defending the national border, but the Havis Kingdom had poor military strength as a whole. There were only 15 wyverns under Count Urhans’ employ.

“How long will it take for the enemies to arrive here?!” asked Paladin Havestrian in alarm.

The paladins had thought that once they crossed the border, no matter how mighty the Lord of Nerman was, he wouldn’t be able to chase them. But things had gone awry. A mere territory lord daring to cross into another nation’s borders, not just a neighboring territory, was something outside the bounds of common sense. However, such a nonsensical matter was occurring right now.

“They are said to have just crossed the border, so they will arrive very soon. My lord, please give your command.”

The Chief Knight answered the paladin and requested the lord’s command at the same time.

If things went wrong, it could very well lead to war between two nations, and with the Great Bajran Empire, at that.

“It must be something the lord bastard decided on his own. The Bajran Empire would have never permitted an attack by Nerman, a territory they pretty much abandoned.”

Paladin Havestrian’s words startled the Count out of his daze. “T-Then what can we do?? Lord Kyre is rumored to be invincible in the sky!!”

Urhans’ confidence from when he said to go without worries just now was gone, replaced by pure fear. He was frantic from the national invasion that he himself would never, ever dare to attempt.

“Send a report to the Royal Family at once and request assistance from the neighboring territory. Even with 40 wyverns, they will not be able to do a thing to this fortified castle. A few soldiers may be injured, but that will be no great loss to you. Also… if this matter can be settled well, I will specially put in a word for you in the temple and have another 100 bottles of top-grade holy water sent to you. No, as long as this goes well, it will be possible for you to receive reparations for this national provocation, Your Lordship,” coaxed Havestrian with urgency.

As long as they could sneak away Priestess Aramis, not just 100 bottles, but even 1,000 bottles would pose no problem.

“T-That is true. Huhu… No matter how outstanding a Skyknight he may be, he won’t be able to do anything to this fortress.”

“Correct. Moreover, if we paladins and the temple confirm the invasion of the Nerman bastards later, the Bajran Imperial Family won’t be able to say anything, either.”

“Ohh! If you could do just that, how could I ask for more? The castle has 3,000 well-trained troops. If we request reinforcements from the Royal Family and the neighboring territory, we should soon be able to repel 40 wyverns or so,” said Count Urhans, won over by Havestrian’s sweet coaxing.

“Havince, relay my command to the entire army, immediately prepare for battle. Also, use the magic communication channel to quickly request help from the Royal Family and the neighboring territory!”

“As you command!” shouted the Chief Knight before running out the office.

“A wise decision, Your Lordship.”

“This is the duty of a noble, is it not? A mere territory lord has fearlessly invaded the national border, so standing by is not something a vassal of His Majesty should do. Hahaha.”

His fear dissipated, replaced by pride and desire.

He would receive an additional 100 bottles of top-grade holy water from the temple. Additionally, he was guaranteed to receive war reparations.

Urhans knew just as well as anyone that the Bajran Empire had already given up on the Nerman Plains.

‘Huhuhu. You stupid lord. Today, I will take everything you own!’

In order to prepare for invasions from monsters and demi-humans, Calvaron Castle had been constructed with sturdy fortifications. It was one of the very few fortresses that could be counted on one hand in the kingdom. Attacking such a fortress with Skyknights alone, without the help of siege infantry, was folly.

Elated by the assurance of victory, Urhans wondered how he should use the reparations.

The lump of luck that came rolling into his lap…

He would be the world’s biggest idiot if he refused it.

* * *

‘Aramis….’

Nearly 40 wyverns sortied from the covert.

There were a few more wyverns left, but unfortunately, we didn’t have enough Skyknights.

And then, we flew without rest and crossed over the national border.

Clang clang clang clang clang!

An emergency bell clamored loudly in my ear.

‘So you want to see blood.’

After crossing the national border, we spotted a huge fortress. Built atop a protruding hill on the plains with sturdy stones, the fort looked like a giant lump of granite. Atop the castle walls were thousands of soldiers. Their bows were drawn, and hostility was burning bright in their eyes.

Fwiip! Fwip! Fwip!

When we flew towards the castle in crane wing formation, enormous arrows, a volley of bolts fired by a machine, came whistling towards our wyverns.

‘Foolish bastards.’

It was as futile as trying to break a boulder with an egg.

Swooooooosh.

Leading Bebeto, we charged towards the castle, front and center, easily dodging the arrows.

“Fire!”

Fwip fwip fwip fwip fwip fwip.

As we approached the castle walls, the readied archers fired their arrows.

GUOOOOOOOOOOO!

But Bebeto was not one to retreat in the face of mere arrows. With a furious roar, he rapidly swept past the archers atop the castle walls.

“Aaaahhhh!”

Dozens of soldiers stumbled, imbalanced by the wind from his enormous wings.

“I am Count Kyre de Nerman, Lord of Nerman! The lord here, come and face me right this instant!!!!!!”

Whirling above the castle walls, I called out the lord with a mana-charged shout.

I couldn’t attack a castle of the Havis Kingdom just based on the Information Guild’s words. Moreover, the relationship between Rosiathe and me was not insignificant.

“Attack! Leave no enemies who invaded the kingdom alive!”

Fwip fwip fwip fwip fwip. Fwip fwip fwip fwip fwip.

The soldiers ignored my warning, which was loud enough to have reached every corner of the castle. They fired arrows and bolts with willful ignorance.

Swish!

I pulled out a Blessed Spear.

When I did so, I glimpsed the Skyknights behind me doing the same.

“COME OUT!!!!!!” I roared.

Whiiiirrrr.

Igniting my mana, I poured mana into the spear.

Flash!

And then, I hurled it with all my strength towards one of the castle’s attack towers.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh!

Following my lead, spears cut through the wind.

BOOM! BOOOOOOOOOM!

Swooooooosh.

My spear punched straight through the attack tower that had been standing tall just moments ago, leaving a huge hole. Soon afterwards, a volley of spears crashed into various places of the castle.

“Gaaaaghhh!”

“Aaaaaaaah!”

The wretched screams of soldiers hit by spears or crushed by falling stones echoed throughout the castle.

“COME OUT!!!!!!”

My enraged shout ran through the castle a third time.

However, there was no response.

Flash! Flash flash flash flash.

Suddenly, around twenty rays of light flashed from within the castle and raced towards me and the wyverns like lightning.

‘Spears!’

Surprisingly, the knights of the Havis Kingdom were using spears from the ground.

“Shield!”

“Dodge!”

My Skyknights, who had covered the skies, hurriedly cast Shield.

Bam!

KWAAAAAAAK!

However, a few of the wyverns were hit in the wings by the sudden volley of spears and let out mournful cries.

There was no longer a need to settle things with words.

I threw up my hand, and mana began to gather according to my will.

“Fire Ball!”

Fire Ball had a much higher visual impact than any other spell. The Fire Ball formed in the air by my command looked like a shimmering sun.

FWOOOOOOSH.

And then, it crashed down on what could be called the life of the castle, the castle gate.

“R-RUN!!!!!”

“UWAAAHHHHHH!”

The soldiers atop the castle gates were no match from the very beginning. As the Fire Ball several meters large shimmered and blazed in the sky, they threw down their weapons and fled.

BOOOOOOOOM!

Unable to completely destroy the sturdy stone castle gate, the ball of flames caused a booming explosion and spread up in every direction.

Fwooooooooooosh.

The castle gate was turned into a sea of flames in an instant.

Flaaaash!

Just then, as if responding to my magic attack, ten spears came flying towards Bebeto and me.

‘Foolish bastards!’

The Skyknights most certainly thought that nothing could happen to them as long as they were hidden inside the stone walls. Thus, they hid like rats and hurled their spears. The soldiers couldn’t do much even if they were there, so the poor soldiers were likely sent out as cannon fodder.

However, they made a mistake.

The price for playing tricks in front of me, of all people, was something they would experience in the flesh.

“Fire Blaster!!!!!!”

The 6th Circle offensive spell I had memorized was cast towards the hurtling spears.

Whiiirr! Flash!

The 6th Circle Fire Blaster, which was filled with mana quantity of the 7th Circle level, caused a whirr of mana vibration as mana particles were sucked up in the air for a moment. Then, with a flash of red light, an explosion of fire materialized.

Fwooooooooosh.

With incredible torque that made it seem like dozens of flaming meteors were bursting all at once, the Fire Blaster shot towards the place I directed with my will.

Boom boom booooom.

I saw the spears hurtling towards me flung away after hitting the flames.

‘Do not resent me.’

And then, the flames continued hurtling forward, right into the knights who were hiding within the darkness of the castle.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

As expected for a spell of a high circle, Fire Blaster had a different level of mana density. It punched through the stone wall concealing the knights and exploded.

“GAAAAAARGHH!”

“AHHHHHHHH!”

The moment it exploded, it burst into a successive chain of flames that flew into every direction. Engulfed in inextinguishable flames that clung to their armor, around ten knights came rolling out.

Fwooooooooooosh.

The 6th Circle spell with 7th Circle mana turned a space of dozens of meters into a blazing hell of flames within moments, exhibiting heat that no one could have ever imagined.

Bam!

I flung myself from Bebeto as he flew above a drill hall within the castle.

I couldn’t just recklessly continue to cast magic attacks.

It seemed I had to go find Aramis personally.

* * *

‘H-How can that be?!’

Peeping through a gap between the sturdy stones, Lord Urhans watched the battle occurring at the castle. His mouth ajar, he blankly watched his castle become a sea of flames.

It was a method of warfare he had never heard of before. He tried his best and craftily had his Skyknights fire spears from the ground rather than on wyverns, but the devil rendered all their attacks meaningless and was burning down the stone fortress.

“Hiccup! Hiccup!”

Urhans suddenly started hiccuping. His consciousness was going faint from fear.

“Come out! I am Count Kyre de Nerman, Lord of Nerman! The lord of this place, come and face me right now!!!!!”

A certain man was calling for him with an enraged, booming voice. The unhelmeted man had unique black hair that was gleaming in the sunlight.

“M-My lord….”

Chief Knight Havince called the lord with a fearful expression.

This was a method of battle unrecorded in the annals of continental history. For Skyknights, riding wyverns to suppress enemy wyverns or throwing stones or logs to attack the ground were considered the basics.

But this man completely smashed that Skyknight attack method to pieces.

Calling him a one-man army did not suffice. After flinging upper circle magic and destroying the morale of the soldiers, this time, he was looking for the lord with his sword drawn. And he was even standing confidently in the drill hall that could be called the center of the castle.

‘Dammit… This isn’t how it was supposed to go!’

If things had gone as planned, Nerman’s wyverns and Skyknights would have ended up wasting time hurling expensive spears from above the castle, but the Lord of Nerman had landed in the castle and was searching for Count Urhans in an unexpected turn of events.

Bam bam bam bam bam.

And that wasn’t all.

Five knights landed next to Kyre. Like Kyre, they wore no helmets, and ominous strength could be felt from their bodies.

“Burn Flare!”

“Lightning Field!”

“Inferno!”

“Wind Tornado!”

“Fire Field!”

And then came a volley of 5th Circle spells that was completely outside of Urhans’ expectation.

CRAAAAAASH. BOOOOOOM.

Fwhoooooooooooosh!

All of the buildings near the drill hall crumbled down, becoming ashes that scattered into the wind.

‘U-Upper circle battle mages!!’

Among the mages in the castle, Urhans only had a single 4th Circle mage.

His lips trembling from the fear raging in his heart, he stuttered a command to his Chief Knight.

“T-Tell him we surrender! NOW!!!!!!”

* * *

“Please put away your sword! S-Surrender! We surrender!!!!!”

After the magic show of the beastmen who jumped down after me ended, a single knight crawled out from who knew where and yelled to surrender.

‘Idiotic bastards.’

Things could have ended nicely with words, but they only surrendered after seeing blood and destruction.

“Master, just say the word. We can kill them all for you.”

As if unaffected by the excitement of battle, the beastmen were looking at the trembling soldiers scattered around us with bloodthirsty gazes. They really were prepared to exterminate thousands of soldiers with a single word from me.

“Where is the lord,” I said flatly.

“P-Please just wait a moment. He will come out soon,” said the knight who approached me.

A short while later, accompanied by around ten knights, one plump man appeared with urgent footsteps. The lord clearly had “I’m a terrible lord” written all over his face.

“F-For what reason have you come to our territory? Is the young gentleman not aware that his actions right now are threatening the peace between the Empire and the Kingdom?”

Unable to draw near, the lord struggled to maintain his composure at a distance of 10 meters, his lower body trembling uncontrollably.

I wanted to stick a spear into his fat belly.

“Huhu….”

I met his words with cold laughter.

Gulp.

He swallowed audibly at the bloodthirst coming from my body.

“Do you want to die….”

My sentence cut through the air like a quiet dagger.

Cla-cla-clang!

“Impertinent!”

Like the pathetic knights they were, the knights drew their swords in front of the lord.

“Grrrrrrr.”

“Grarrr…..”

The bloodthirsty growling of the beastmen followed.

“S-Stay back. I will give you everything that you want.”

He was stupid, but quick to catch on. He knew that his knights wouldn’t be much help in preserving his life.

“Where is she….”

“She…? Wh—Gurk!”

Bam!

Even before he could finish feigning ignorance, I reached the lord’s side in a single breath, as if teleporting.

“Urgh….”

“Ngh….”

Having failed to protect their liege, the knights groaned.

“From now on, if you say a single word of nonsense as a reply to the things I am about to ask, your head will fall from your shoulders.”

My sword lay upon the thick rolls of fat at the lord’s neck.

“P-Please ask.”

The crafty light in his eyes dimmed, filling with a fear of death.

“Where is she?”

“S-She is in the underground cellar over there,” said the lord, pointing towards the dark interior of the castle with a trembling hand.

“I truly pray you aren’t lying.”

“I-It is the truth! This humble one swears it upon the name of the God of Truth, Siportyne!”

Perhaps muddled by his fear of death, the lord spoke as if talking to a king. I could tell he wasn’t lying.

“Kill them all if they resist.”

“Alright, my liege.”

I left the lord and the knights to a few of the beastmen.

‘Aramis, wait a little.’

Because of my mistake, Aramis had suffered.

My thoughts filled with her as I ran towards the cellar, sincerely praying that she was safe.

* * *

“W-What?! The Gold Wyverns that disappeared appeared in Nerman?!!!”

“Yes, Your Excellency. The Information Guild relayed that with certainty.”

BAM!

“T-THOSE BASTARDS!!!!!!”

One of the five dukes of the Laviter Empire, Yanovis, crashed down a fist so hard it nearly destroyed his sturdy oak desk. Thankfully, they were able to save the Second Prince, but if he had died, the ducal house of Vermilion, which had been carried on for hundreds of years, would have been extinguished under the Emperor’s rage. No, he knew that even now, his political enemies were censuring him with the loss of the Gold Wyverns and for putting the Second Prince in danger as a pretext.

However, he had caught the tail of the enemies who had threatened to kill the Second Prince.

“The information is almost entirely certain. Not just Gold Wyverns, but the scores of wyverns that disappeared along with His Highness have appeared in Nerman as well.”

“These orc shitheads! They dare to disdain the Empire and me…. Argh!!”

Duke Yanovis ground his teeth as fury blazed from his eyes. He was old, but with a hale build 190 cm tall and sword skills that reached Master level, he was unrivaled even within the empire. Moreover, his personality was as fiery as none other. The phrase ‘flipped his lid’ could not even begin to express his rage.

“My liege, what do you wish to do?”

“What do you mean! Of course, we have to strike back! Gather all of the Skyknights, at once!”

Fuming like a blazing fire, Yanovis ordered that the Skyknights be gathered as if it were a matter of course. The wyverns in the duchy alone numbered over 100, and if the nobles of neighboring territories were incited, that number would quickly swell to 300 wyverns. For most kingdoms, it was a force that could cause a large-scale local war to break out, if not full-scale war.

“My liege, please calm your rage for but a moment,” said one of the duchy’s retainers, Count Davesyen.

“….?”

Yanovis thought his retainer would naturally follow the command, so he directed a look of confusion at the noble.

“It is not a matter that can be decided easily. The Nerman Plains are a territory of the Bajran Empire, at least in name. They are not maintaining it as actively as in the past, but it is definitely still Bajran land. Moreover, nearly 50 wyverns are flying under the enemy’s banner. It is even possible that attacking will lead to failure.”

“W-What did you say? 50 wvyerns? Since when did Nerman have that many wyverns? I heard they had a few flights at most….”

Nerman, the territory of the Bajran Empire, was just over the Kovilan Mountains. Yanovis thought he was paying proper attention to it, but because it posed neither particular danger nor attraction, he didn’t pay that much attention. However, things were different if it had a troop of wyverns 50 strong.

“Additionally, the lord, a man named Kyre, is said to be an upper-circle magic swordsman. His exact skills are unknown, but it is confirmed that he is a Blade Master and a 6th Circle mage.”

“Geh… U-Upper-circle magic swordsman!”

Yanovis had lived his life unshaken by anything in the world, but he could not help but let out a cry of surprise at the mention of an upper-circle magic swordsman, a talent of legends. Being a magic swordsman was easier said than done—most were either low-circle magic swordsmen or fated to become cripples from the clash of mana within.

“It will not be too late to take revenge after acquiring a little more information. The Bajran Empire must have had some kind of meaning in appointing a man of such skill to Nerman.”

“Mm…”

Feeling his blazing rage cooling down, Yanovis let out a light groan before falling into silence. He may be impatient, but he was no fool. That’s how he had been able to maintain his political power up until now in the Laviter Empire.

“Find out everything there is to know about the man named Kyre. And… ensure the knights are at the ready so they can attack at any moment.”

“I shall do as you command.”

The matter could never be swept under the rug. If Duke Yanovis knew the enemy’s identity but did not avenge the Second Prince, he would certainly become the subject of mockery in the empire and offend the Imperial Family.

‘Kyre…. Kyre….’

Yanovis turned the name of Nerman’s lord, Kyre, around and around in his head.

His intense fury became bloodthirst and gleamed bright from within the depths of his eyes.

* * *

Crash!

The sturdy iron door that was the cellar’s entrance crashed open noisily at a kick from a beastman.

‘Paladins…’

The cellar was rather large. As expected for a cellar of a fortress, sturdy stone pillars were supporting the space. Hazy magic lanterns were lighting up the inside of the cellar, and around 100 meters into the warehouse, I saw people. Even from afar, I recognized the attire of paladins. The white paladin cloaks shining purely even in the darkness dazzled the eyes.

As I approached, they did not move.

There were a total of five of them. As if they had expected my arrival, they were watching me with unconcerned eyes as I approached.

“Halt. stay right where you are.”

I approached them carefully in order to look for Aramis, but with 20 meters between us, one of the paladins told me to stop.

“Where is she?”

‘Where is Aramis?’

I didn’t fear the likes of paladins. However, my heart was frozen stiff because I could not see Aramis anywhere.

“Whoever you are looking for, she is not here. Do not provoke Neran-nim any further and leave.”

“My liege, I smell her from that box over there.”

As soon as the paladin gave his warning, Hasifor’s twitching nose pointed me towards the black box behind the paladins.

“You dirty bastards….”

I lashed out with a curse towards the paladins who calmly spat out lies. I wanted to cuss them out with something worse, but it was a shame to waste a perfectly good curse on these bastards. These fruit flies were clueless to the true intent of the gods and lived while selling out God’s name.

But they were unaware that gods themselves would rejoice to see them die.

“I give you a final warning. Leave. Apprentice Priestess Aramis is a faithful servant of Neran-nim. If you leave, in the name of the gods, I shall forgive your crime of kidnapping the innocent Aramis-nim. However…. If you ignore my warning, you will become the enemy of every temple, including the temple of Neran-nim, and will die a horrible death. Not just you, but every creature living on the Nerman Plains….”

The paladin blabbered on with his ridiculous threat, saying he would kill not just me, but even the people living in Nerman.

“Huhuhu….”

There was human trash like this living in 21st century Korea as well, servants of the devil who lived while selling Jesus Christ or Buddha. They scrapped the love and teachings granted by God and only propagated a fear of death, making a fortune off of God’s name.

There was no need to leave bastards like this alive. Only after dying would they realize their every word, and every action was merely the flailing of bastards rolling around in a rubbish heap of sins.

“Kuku, you done yet? You evil sons of bitches.”

“YOU!”

At my harsh rebuke, the paladins who were acting like they were so noble and pure took off their masks, baring their shimmering rage.

“What, you mad? You damned bastards sucking demon ass, kukuku.”

“Die!”

Two paladins were unable to hold back and charged, wielding swords filled with clear, silver holy power, which was similar to mana, but labeled as sacred.

Whumpf!

I kicked off.

‘Go to hell!’

As expected for people called paladins, their attack was incredibly clean. Their sword movements aiming for my upper and lower body were impressive.

Flash!

However, that was all.

My sword, blazing bright with my furious blue mana, cut through the damp underground air.

“Guh!”

“Agh!”

Two exclamations rang out cleanly, and their bodies halted in the middle of running forward.

“God… c-curses….”

Pshaaaa!

The paladin wanted to utter a curse from god, but was unable to finish. A fountain of red blood burst out in the damp cellar like a water pipe blowing a leak.

Thud, thud.

And then, the two paladins were divided into four, cut diagonally from their shoulders to their lower ribs.

Clatter.

The two swords, the light of holy power having gone dim, clattered to the ground amongst the corpses like a death knell.

“V-Violent bastard….”

“Oh, Gods above…”

In the course of life, one ended up meeting a lot of truly laughable sops. Whatever they did was holy, but the actions of others were sinful. Like lines from a third-rate movie, for these weirdos, a certain action was a romance if they did it but an affair if someone else did it.

“Do you truly not fear the wrath of God?! Do you know what you are doing right now, you bastard?!!!!”

Of course I knew.

In Kallian, if you killed a paladin without reason, you would become an enemy of all the temples. That was the unwritten law of the temples that worshipped the children of the Great God Adeine as gods. Therefore, in recent times, their arrogance had reached a peak and they feared neither emperor nor king, simply because they were borrowing the name of the gods as a shield.

“That’s what I want to ask. You treat the love mentioned by God as cheaply as a penny thrown to a barmaid but seek God whenever you are in trouble, how come YOU guys aren’t truly fearful? So you mean to say the bible you read every day doesn’t say the only place for you guys after you kick the bucket is hell? Kukuku.”

“…..”

Unable to respond to my caustic remark, the three remaining paladins simply turned red-faced.

I walked towards Aramis.

“Alvatio…. saindatiun….”

As I neared them, the paladins began muttering in an indecipherable language.

‘Crazy bastards!’

It was the descent spell of the paladins, something I’d only heard of, the last-resort chant of the paladins where they offered their bodies to a god as a sacrifice. In exchange, they would gain incredible power for a few minutes through the descent of a god’s strength.

Whirrrrrrrr.

The damp mana particles fused in the underground air gathered around the paladins’ bodies.

‘As expected….’

On the outside, they were surrounded by a dazzling white radiance, but I could clearly see the otherworldly mana. As the chant of the paladins grew stronger, the otherworldly mana particles whirled around the paladins like crazy.

A kind god would never respond to their descent spell. The paladins whose eyes were growing red were currently unaware that the god answering their descent spell right now was not the god they served, but a god of hell and darkness.

“Kill him! Servant of the devil!”

“GAAAH!”

The paladins wore the explosion of sacred light radiating from their bodies like a mantle. The light of holy power burning intensely from the paladins would have convinced anyone else that a god had descended.

However, I could see it—within the bodies of the paladins danced a joyful festival of demons.

Swooooosh.

The three paladins approached, swinging swords 2 meters long bristling with evil power. They were swords from hell that could possibly pollute one’s soul the moment you were touched.

“Master, it is dangerous!”

“GRRRRRRR!”

Noticing the danger, the beastmen brought up their mana.

‘Pathetic fools, even your souls have been corrupted.’

Such damage could not be healed. Their brains had become polluted by the shit water of hell, something even a god could not repair.

Flash!

I leapt forward.

No matter how strong paladins became, as long as they could not use sacred magic, their brute strength was futile. My sword would not succumb to the likes of flailing from those who had not comprehended true sword technique. I advanced, breathing in the clear, purifying energy of nature as mana.

“Protect her!”

Flaaash!

When I was about to clash with the paladins, who were slowly losing their reason, I gave the beastmen a command, and they rushed towards her like the wind.

CLAAAAANG!

CRAAASH.

Ruuuuumble.

Sparks of mana went flying all over, and the underground cellar shook from the mana shock wave.

I did not give them particulars, but the beastmen rushed outside, black box in tow.

“GAAAAAARGH!”

The blood vessels in the paladins’ eyes must have ruptured, because their crimson eyes were bleeding as they charged towards the beastmen.

‘Not on my watch!’

I blocked the cellar door and met the swords of the paladins.

CRAAASH!

Perhaps an evil god was dwelling within them, because the paladins displayed incredible power. They were stronger than Master level. They offered their bodies to the gods, but because their souls were corrupted, evil gods were able to maximize their influence. The shell of white light had already disappeared from the paladins’ bodies—instead, they were now covered with a pitch-black aura of darkness.

‘It’s dangerous!’

The paladins probably didn’t expect this, either. They had only chanted the descent spell because they thought even if they died, they would be embraced by the goddess they worshipped, Neran.

However, a different god embraced them instead. The paladins exuded the intense stench of the Overlord of Hell and the God of Evil, Kerma, whose black maw had swallowed them whole.

Cruuuuunch.

Using my sword blazing furiously with mana, I cut stones from the ground and pelted them.

Boom.

The bastards sent the hurtling stones flying in an instant and closed in on me.

Flash!

However, the stones gave me a short moment to collect my breath.

“GO! EXPLOSION!!!!”

(PR/N: a Megumin fan i see)

I had just enough time to cast the 6th Circle flame magic I had memorized.

Whirr whirrr.

With the door leading outside at my back, I flung the flames of magic at the enemies.

“GAAAAAHH!”

“KYAAAAAAK!”

The final sparks of life blazed within the paladins, no, the demonic knights. They charged recklessly towards me with their swords aloft. Their souls, which had lost all reason, wanted to drag me into hell along with them.

“Ghost Meteor!”

Dragging out mana from my mana core, which had been sucked of mana from the spells, I peppered the bastards with a final blow, eight Blade Swords.

BAAAAM!

FWOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

Red flames exploded on the ground beneath their feet.

Fwip fwip fwip fwip fwip fwip fwip fwip!

And then, punching through the fire, eight Blade Swords punched through their bodies as they charged.

Babaaaam!

Though they may have briefly gained strength rivaling a Master, a Master was not determined by strength alone. Blade Swords unleashed by a true Master ripped their cursed bodies to shreds before disappearing within the flames.

“GAAAAAAARGHH!”

“AAAAAAGHHHH!!!!!!!!!”

As their bodies were cut into pieces, the paladins screamed as if the soul of the devil was finally leaving their bodies.

Fwoooooooooosh.

The heaving flames of mana quickly swallowed their bodies.

CRUUUMBLE.

And then, shaken by the mana shockwaves, the underground pillars lost their balance and began to collapse one after another.

I hastily ran out.

“UWAAHH! IT’S COLLAPSING!”

“R-RUN!!!!!!!”

With the central building of the formerly sturdy fortress about to collapse, the screams of soldiers were echoing everywhere.

GUOOOOOO!

Just then, Bebeto flew to my side.

Whumpf!

I leapt off the ground onto his back.

Holding the box with Aramis inside, the beastmen were already getting on top of a Gold Wyvern.

That was the moment marking the end of the short, but fierce battle.

CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!

Underneath me came the boom of the enormous stones crashing down, followed by a huge cloud of red dust that covered the fortress in an instant.

GUOOOOOOOOOOOO!

With the powerful beats of his wings, Bebeto flew into the skies.

Whooooosh.

The refreshing breeze of the skies embraced me, as if to erase the dirty memories that had occurred below.

“Haah….”

I let out the long sigh I’d been holding.

The only thing left to do was to return to my home, Nerman.

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