84 – Incarnation of Evil (7)
Asti simply watched, as Prach and Ruslan fought against Este.
She recalled Prach’s words before this battle happened.
“No matter what, don’t come forward unless I ask for help.”
“It could be dangerous.”
“I know. I understand that. This time, the goal is not just to improve Ruslan’s abilities. I also need to learn how to fight against formidable opponents in advance.”
“Do you really need to?”
“Yes. Simply training alone countless times won’t improve my abilities. Battle experience is important. Even if you have received magical power, it’s meaningless if you can’t use it properly.”
“But you are already using it well.”
“It’s not enough. Asti, you should know better. What fate awaits the lazy ones. Even among angels and demons, there are those who meet such endings.”
“….”
Prach’s words were correct. Experience was important as much as the magnitude of the power one possessed. In other words, experience was the most important process in building up skills.
Among angels and demons, there were some beings that possessed overwhelmingly strong powers. Asti herself was an example. However, none of them became a high-ranking angel or a high-ranking demon.
Those who couldn’t use their power properly always ended up dying at an early stage, either due to carelessness or not properly understanding the opponent’s strength.
On the contrary, there were often cases where those with weak power became stronger by accumulating experience and skills.
Prach was cautious of that point.
Every creature becomes stronger the more battles they experience.
Whether it be angels, demons, or humans, the power they wield gradually grows in response to their experiences.
It is to break the limits placed in front of them in order to survive in this harsh world.
Like breaking a wall.
That was what Prach aimed for.
“Okay. Instead, I will come forward if it’s dangerous.”
“That’s enough.”
Asti sighed at that moment, respecting Prach’s intentions.
I wondered what kind of confidence it was. Although I had recently been instilling confidence in myself, somehow it seemed like it had become a poison. Of course, there was also concern about Prahl, whom I recently started to favor.
* * *
Should I call it the Light of Purification?
When I saw the dark-stained sacred magic, the Light of Purification, I felt a distant sensation. It seemed like a visual that could be called the Light of Corruption.
Of course, it was right to put away unnecessary delusions. The situation now could be dangerous if I made a mistake. As I firmly told Asti, he would not help me unless I asked for help using chlorination.
So, from here on, I have to rely solely on my abilities. Of course, Ruslan is here too… but I was a little uneasy considering the current situation. His eyes were filled with confusion.
I clicked my tongue. I wouldn’t be able to fight properly like this. Come to think of it, Ruslan was a fairly faithful guy too. It might be a test of faith for him.
The majority of the imperial people believe in the young deity Deos of the Holy Empire. Naturally, the influence of the Holy Empire is strong.
So it’s not surprising that Ruslan’s reaction is a bit strange. The thoughts of the Holy Empire, which I believed in since I was a child, are gradually being shattered.
Of course, I won’t fully accept Esthe’s words… but once doubt starts to creep in, I will have to face inner turmoil.
There was nothing I could do. I just hoped that the guy wouldn’t die from the corrupt beam.
Yeah. He’s also a protagonist, so he will at least do his part. That’s why I have been making him stronger by doing all sorts of things, and he has actually become quite strong.
While I was lost in thought, Esthe’s gaze was fixed on me.
It seems like she’s paying attention to me, so I have to be careful.
Then, the corrupt light flew towards me. For now, there was no problem in avoiding the attack.
It was difficult to simply think that this was all the power Esthe possessed. At best, it was just the Light of Purification… No, if shooting the corrupt light a few times was the end, then she wouldn’t even be the final boss of Chapter 1.
Of course, the corrupt light was said to be a distorted form of the highest holy magic, but a skilled inspector can avoid it.
Just like how Ruslan and I were dodging Esthe’s corrupt light without any damage.
Perhaps this is not the end. For now, it was just being shot as a means of restraint. Even just looking at this, I couldn’t find an answer. Was this how the highest holy magic went wild?
Anyway, the situation was far from optimistic.
Furthermore, the corrupted holy magic was very, very powerful.
It corroded everything it touched, and the trees and other things exposed to the corrupt light were gradually decaying and crumbling. If it hits even once, I will immediately become unable to fight.
I could still heal it with holy magic, but looking at the state of the priests, there doesn’t seem to be a situation where I can immediately heal. And there seemed to be no one with strong divine power to purify the damage caused by that immense corrupt light.
In other words, Ruslan and I must not allow Esthe’s attacks to hit us.
I clenched my teeth. I held my sword and surrounded myself with a barrier of magic power. It would probably be fine to just shoot magic, but using only magic would not be very effective. The opponent is someone. The “holy maiden” Esthe.
She was someone who could be considered a master of combat. Would she just obediently take the attack with only magic as her means?
Absolutely not.
I had to break through Esthe’s defenses with every means I had.
Esthe seemed to be aware of that as well and wrapped a dim aura around her body. Was it a magic power barrier? It seemed like it.
In addition, due to the harmful substances surrounding her body, her physical resistance would also be considerable.
It was as if she was bound all over her body, but to put it differently, that very binding was like armor protecting her body.
In other words, it meant that she would correspond to both magic and physics. How could she penetrate that?
It was a headache. Even if the holy maiden became the final boss, I felt that as long as there was a candle, I could somehow manage it. But now, the candle had been stolen by Estelle, and with the power of the candle, she couldn’t even harm Estelle.
The part that I did not anticipate was trying to destroy all of my plans at the moment.
Is there any solution? I had to think. Can I break through Estelle’s defense with my magic and swordsmanship?
It was a desperate situation. But I couldn’t give up. I would soon face stronger opponents than this, and I couldn’t rely on Asti every time.
Furthermore, as time goes on, even stronger monsters will emerge. Like the Lord of Hell, Baal, or some crazy lunatics.
It was not just Hell that was the problem. There were also radical individuals among the angels. Like Micael. It was natural for my brother to have become corrupted, but that guy hated both the human world and Hell horribly.
In the end, he was even willing to kill humans… If a conflict arises among the angels in the future, it means that it is not just Estelle that I should fear.
A countermeasure to salvage the situation.
Nothing comes to mind. Then, I can only collide head-on.
I moved my magic power. At the same time, I also opened my magic power. The moment I saw the same world as Estelle, I felt that time around me was gradually slowing down.
I could see the flow of power emitted by Estelle. It was not just the light of corruption, but I could also see Estelle trying to cast other sacred magic. Perhaps she was considering stopping the suppression and launching a full-scale attack.
It was dangerous if the flow continued like this.
But then, Ruslan moved. When Estelle was about to launch a full-scale attack, he appeared in front of her in an instant and swung his sword.
Estelle blocked Ruslan’s sword with a dense energy surrounding her body. At that moment, I heard a strange sound. Wait a minute.
Where is this sound coming from?
-aaah!
Then, suddenly, a loud scream began to resound around Estelle. It was the dense energy surrounding her.
Oh my goodness.
I sighed.
The identity of the dense energy surrounding her body. It was the Order of the Oxidized Holy Kingdom, which had sworn revenge against the Holy Kingdom.
Her desire for vengeance against the Holy Kingdom was strong enough, but did she also summon the spirits of the deceased Holy Knights who died with her back then?
The spirits she surrounded her body with formed a shape and stabbed Ruslan with a sword.
From Noble mtl dot com
The awe-inspiring appearance that matched the description of an embodiment of evil caused astonishment to burst out from all around.
Would magic work against it?
No. Let’s get rid of pessimistic thoughts. It’s time to do something.
I condensed my magic power and created magic. I must first erase those spirits. After all, Asti said that in terms of firepower, there was nothing that could match the element of fire in magic.
The advice of a magician that would not be an exaggeration to call the best in the world. When there is something that needs to be destroyed, he said to throw a fireball first… I am just following his words.
I condensed my magic power. Continuously condensing, I struck the basic fireball with magic power as if I were crazy.
There is no need to worry about magic exhaustion. The majority of my magic is made up of Asti’s magic. In other words, if we simply look at the amount of magic, it could be said that I am the strongest in the human world.
Although high-level fire magic boasts excellent power, I currently do not have enough time to form such large-scale spells.
So, I forcefully pour my magic into simple spells to increase firepower.
Whoosh!
Countless fireballs around me began to shoot up. It felt as if I had become the embodiment of fire. I could feel the intense heat. With this, I should be able to inflict some damage on those disgusting remnants.
The problem is undoubtedly Estaine… I’ll deal with her first and think later.
“Attack. Rulsran.”
After telling Rulsran to leave Estaine with chlorination, I raised my finger and pointed at Estaine.
Instantly, a path of magic was formed, and countless blue fireballs floated around me, accelerating along the path of magic and pouring toward Estaine.
Bang!
And at the sight of the revealed scene, I slapped my forehead.
“Damn. Nothing’s easy.”
Although all the remnants surrounding Estaine had disappeared, a blue light was emitting from her armor.
The true nature of that blue light was antimagic.
As a result of her life as a saint, it absorbed into her remains and granted her the power to resist abilities other than divine power. I wondered if, no matter how much I struck her with magic, I couldn’t break through Estaine’s antimagic.
…That’s why I needed a scapegoat.
The only thing that could break through that power was ironically the power held by the scapegoat in Estaine’s arms right now. It resisted abilities other than divine power, which meant it was effective against antimagic.
The problem is… that divine power must surpass Estaine’s divine power in her lifetime.
And the only thing that possessed that level of divine power was the scapegoat in this place, besides the divine power.
Damn it.
I sighed, but I didn’t give up. I couldn’t afford to. I had a clear reason to become stronger. If divine power and magic didn’t work, there was only pure physical strength.
Rather than using magic to empower the sword, I would enhance my body with magic. That was the only solution. As the sword strike itself without magic was pure physical strength.
I surrounded my body with magic and dashed towards Estaine.