Chapter 93
“Halion! Halion! Halion…!”
The Archbishop, filled with vitality, swung a massive scythe in front of Halion, pushing and shoving.
Fortunately, he used the golden aura as a shield to block the attack, but it seemed challenging.
The message Barugan gave him on the way here.
“Halion, there is one more besides Frickanlisk. Please take care of that one.”
Was that opponent Archbishop Ami?
This is a fateful encounter, or perhaps an inevitable one.
Haileon faces the joy of the opponent whose arm he has just seized.
“Fifteen years have passed.”
“I wonder how much I missed you during that time? I was so hungry to taste all of your remaining flesh…! Every other taste felt like garbage and hell!”
But now, that is all coming to an end.
Hurry and let that matured delicacy touch my tongue!
“You look just like you did back then.”
Fifteen years ago, he recalled the time when he had just become a hero. The Ami of that time and the Ami of today felt no different in appearance and personality.
For Haileon, fifteen years was enough time to bring about changes.
“This place is not suitable for continuing our reunion. Let’s move.”
Haileon deflected the opponent’s sword with the reflection from his shield, then kicked the ground so hard that dust rose in an instant before swiftly moving away.
Ami chased after him, raising the corners of her mouth.
“hahahaha! Good. It’s this push and pull that makes the taste more enjoyable!”
Haileon, who had been running on the rooftops with his shield, realized he was being pursued.
He glanced at the remaining Vargan with serene eyes and flew away.
Meanwhile, Frickanlisk, who saw this, tried to follow them.
But she could feel the strength of the giant holding her back. Although she couldn’t see clearly, the use of force was evident.
It was the hand of a partially summoned Ogre.
“Frickanlisk. If you leave as well, won’t I be the only one left in this graveyard? Since ghosts might come out and scare me, please stay with me.”
Vargan spat out jokingly.
Frickanlisk glared at him coldly, shooting ice particles around them.
“There’s no time for you and your petty tricks to fit in.”
She exhaled the chilling mana she held within her body.
With a crackling sound, like cloth soaked in water, her green skin gradually turned to ice.
She had to act for revenge.
To kill her first target, Ami.
“I don’t know who you are, but if you keep getting in my way, I won’t stay quiet.”
She was serious.
Except for her husband, Aintern, all humans seemed despicable to her.
A species always spewing lies.
A weak species easily deceived and betrayed.
A race where betrayal was a daily occurrence!
That was her current view of humans.
“Well, then it can’t be helped. I don’t want to see my familiar getting hurt.”
Vargan shrugged and canceled the partial summon before she could break the familiar’s hand.
When control over Frickanlisk’s body was completely released,
She.
“Die.”
She pierced with a sword, a blade imbued with a chilling magic, as if summoned from hell.
It was a decision to quickly end the lives of those who had departed.
The blue-bladed sword met the shadows head-on.
The blade she had thrust was intercepted by a shadow servant just before it could sever Bargan’s neck.
“He was more troublesome than I thought.”
She, one of the twelve deities ruling over demons, could easily tell.
That the warlock contracted with this man, or rather the demons, was not to be underestimated.
Just dealing with this man at a distance required considerable effort and strength to make a physical impact.
“I miscalculated.”
It seemed it would take longer to end his life.
If she continued to expend more mana here, it was obvious that more heroes would join the fray.
Whether it was the sound of Frickanlisk’s head rolling or not, Bargan smiled and spoke.
He calls out to her.
“Iris.”
Not as the deity, but as Jinmyeong.
“…What did you say?”
She thought she hadn’t heard Bargan’s words correctly. Apart from Aintern, there was no one who knew her Jinmyeong.
“So now you show an interest in me. Iris.”
The tone shifted to a condescending one.
After calling her Jinmyeong, he wore a displeasing smile, fully revealing his original character.
“……”
Frickanlisk tried to hide her surprised eyes.
Upon hearing him call her name again, she realized she hadn’t misheard.
His words, laced with magic, were as sweet as honey.
Like a subtle fragrance rising, like a snake eyeing its prey.
Cautiously and calmly. The smoke enveloped the opponent’s body. The more it did, the more it found openings in the woman’s wounds and slipped through.
“Aid me in your revenge.”
***
In Dürtemund, the two who widened the street into a vast square continued their battle.
Haelion relentlessly unleashed devastating attacks without giving a moment’s rest.
It was so continuous that it seemed he wasn’t even pausing to breathe.
The basic elements intertwined, creating new forms.
What was simply fire transformed into boiling magma, and the waves he stirred up turned into a high-pressure current, becoming a storm that struck Amy.
If such a ritual had unfolded in Dürtemund, by now, that area would have been in chaos.
Amy’s movements were incredibly swift.
Despite his ruthless attacks, he only suffered minor damage. Most of the attacks were evaded.
Haelion, who was charging forward, and Ami swinging the sickle to avoid it. If someone were to witness their battle, it would be jaw-dropping.
Ami realized.
How strong he had become in the last 15 years.
How exceptional the growth speed of a human is.
Up to now, it was a battle that could be considered equal.
In reality, the wounds they inflicted on each other and the magical power consumed were similar.
However, there was a clear difference.
“Breathing becomes difficult.”
Ami was in a situation where he couldn’t fully demonstrate his current strength.
Even if he wanted to return to his original form through “Power Release,” it required a bit of “time” and “extreme focus” here.
A definite gap between 0.5 seconds and 1 second was required.
The reason why Haelion was attacking so fiercely was evident without looking. To not give Ami time and room for liberation.
While Ami continued to shoot magical blasts and sword strikes to create openings, Haelion easily blocked them and counterattacked.
It would have been better to release from the beginning…!
Was I too careless?
No, it was more due to not properly assessing the situation, like being distracted by delicious food after a long time.
Come to think of it, he mentioned that he was defeated in a similar situation. I should have paid more attention…!
“Our edible human seems to have become much stronger than expected.”
Aiming the sickle at Haelion’s face, Ami spoke.
Although he still had a wide smile on his face, it felt slightly different from before.
Haelion understood this.
“Indeed. Ami, I clearly realize when I see you.”
He put a sardonic smile on his emotionless face since he understood.
“Now it’s my turn to hunt you.”
Blood vessels appeared in Ami’s eyes facing that mocking look.
As if he would devour him soon.
“So you thought this was beautiful and now it’s crawling up?”
Kwaaang–!
A huge wave emanated from Ami.
It possessed a fierce power as if it could engulf everything around, and indeed, Haelion too furrowed his brow and was gradually pushed back.
Yet, the attack towards Ami did not cease.
Summoning a greatsword filled with sacred power from the void, it flew like an arrow.
As the radiant sword passed by,
the turbulent atmosphere turned into a calm sea.
The furious mana settled down peacefully.
At the end where the light sword was pointing, there was Ami.
Ami, with burst blood vessels in his red eyes.
Clang–.
He caught the blade with his bare hands and shattered it.
“I dislike this appearance because it’s so mediocre.”
Jagan, the younger sister who hates learning to the extreme, finds everything bothersome and just wants to have fun, unable to grasp it.
A certain level of proficiency is required.
“Haelion… You keep provoking me, so I had to show it to you.”
The typical appearance of a boy, Ami, disappeared.
In its place stood a warrior clad in crimson armor.
Ami’s skin had hardened to the extreme, resembling a full-body suit of armor. Thin layers adhered to the skin.
Even the shape of his feet was oddly twisted. A long tail was present as well.
“Incomplete Release”
Though not fully unleashed, a certain degree of power could be utilized. It was a mode reserved for emergencies.
The corners of Ami’s mouth rose to his ears.
He was prepared to devour.
Not only would he judge mercilessly from now on, but he would also ‘consume’ the souls contained in the bodies of all living beings he came into contact with.
Ami stuck out his tongue long, licking his lips.
His stamina had been restored beyond its original state, and his mana and strength were incomparable to before.
“Can you say the same thing now as you did just now?”
Ami inquired.
“If it’s to that extent, I believe I can handle it on my end.”
Haelion replied nonchalantly.
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He showed no signs of arrogance or pretense.
He only spoke the truth, desiring only favorable outcomes.
“hahahahaha! Alright, let’s give it a try. Will my neck be gone first? Or will you rot away first?”
Ami poised himself to attack.
Treading the ground like a beast.
He raised the sickle that had become part of his body, forming a tail intentionally.
Watching such Ami, Haelion, in the distance, at the center of Duertermund’s cemetery, sensed something.
“It’s turned into a big mess. This is why a Vargan student excludes others… We must quickly finish this and leave.”
He exerted his full power.
“I need to understand what kind of future he wanted to show me with such bizarre behavior.”
The atmosphere vibrated once again.
This was partly due to the intense mana created by the two beings.
⎯⎯⎯⎯!!
Far away.
A fully manifested dragon revealed itself at the communal cemetery of Duertermund.
The divine creature, Phrycanrisk, roared loudly to assert its presence, flying off into the mountains from the city’s airspace.
***
The aftermath also reached the Duertermund branch church.
“W-What on earth is happening…?!”
The man in the hood was bewildered.
There was no other way to react.
“Freaklisk… Why would he… No way. Did that guy create him like that?”
Even though they had a deal, he is an unstable man who holds the position of the archbishop of the Goddess Church. Did he end up like that by going against the agreement and behaving as he pleased…?
“No. No… I have my offspring here. It can’t be. It can’t be…!”
Freaklisk is well aware of how much he cherishes his offspring. She is definitely not a woman who would just run away like that. Why… It’s not even the designated time!
“Has someone intervened?”
The man in the hood quickly recalled his memories while his unstable eyes shifted and his brain worked rapidly.
He knows that the Halion team is in Dürtemund to carry out the mission of subduing Freaklisk.
Since his share is the largest in leading her, it is truly remarkable that he ordered the Twelve-Godess to be ‘subdued’ rather than ‘persuaded’.
How much did Archbishop Ami suffer from having villages destroyed blamed on her?
Then, did a member of the Halion team approach her about this?
…But, the mission is clearly to subdue.
When Freaklisk spread his wings and flew without any restrictions, it seemed as if there was no one to hinder him.
Lost in such thoughts.
Outside the city, another huge mana gave him chills.
Even before Freaklisk roared, he was already showing his presence, but now his power intensified.
One seemed human.
The other seemed foreign and ominous.
“Ami? Seems like Ami… Why is she there now…?”
In a moment of doubt.
After a few clashes, the two mana seemed to entwine.
Not long after, the foreign mana quickly retreated, as if struggling to survive.
“If, if this goes on….”
As the man’s hood came off, his face was revealed.
A warrior who mainly deals with warhorses. A senior member of Dürtemund.
Kraine’s familiar dark and gloomy voice was tinged with confusion.