The barrier exploded as my fist struck against it, destroying it entirely.
Golden shards rained from the air and shattered into golden dust that dissipated into the air as soon as they hit the floor.
Reginault swung his battle-ax at me, but his efforts were futile. I activated [Demonic Enhancement] and slammed the back of my fist against it, shattering the weapon into useless pieces.
"Should've kept running."
My hand shot out, faster than anyone in the room could perceive. Reginault could do nothing as my fingers closed around his neck and crushed it even through his armor.
It was pretty obvious why his tactic revolved around avoiding me and targeting the weaker of his adversaries. I was willing to bet that few humans were capable of moving around at such a speed in full armor.
I mean, I had 20 dexterity at the time and he was still faster than I was.
However, now that even his mobility was no longer an issue, he wasn't shit against me.
I tossed his limp body aside and turned to deal with the count, but it looks like there was no need for me to intervene.
A bolt of now-melting ice impaled the man's forehead, temporarily nailing him to the seat.
I breathed out a sigh of relief as I turned to Lucrezia. She was already starting toward Aurelia.
The moment Lucrezia had taken her latest step, I felt the most subtle shift in the air. It wasn't anything major.
It was more like a gentle breeze, really.
But with that breeze came the most overpowering feeling of dread.
I knew immediately what this was.
Killing intent.
"Lucrezia! Stop!" I shouted, jumping in front of her just in time.
The air in front of me abruptly split apart to reveal a shimmering black oval which spat forth a massive lance of steel which promptly embedded itself in my chest.
It was a portal.
I gasped in pain as I stumbled backwards. My head was now pounding, and Lucrezia shouting my name really didn't help.
I couldn't get mad at her for worrying though, and there were more pressing matters at hand.
I pulled the lance out while gritting my teeth. The pain was excruciating to say the least.
From the portal stepped a man wearing what looked like a far more ornate version of the Black Constellation's cultist robes. He carried himself with a distinct air of dignity that unmistakably marked him as a noble.
His slicked-back black hair was streaked with gray, and despite his age, I could tell that he had a pronounced muscular frame underneath his black robes.
The man held out his hand, gazing at us impassively while the portal closed behind him. The lance flew back into his hand.
For the first time since coming to this world, I felt fear. Instinctively, I knew this was not someone I could defeat.
His hard eyes were as black as the abyss, and he allowed them to linger on me for a few seconds before turning his attention to the corpse of Count Oswald.
Without hesitating, the man opened his mouth and inhaled.
I watched in horror as a black mass that resembled liquid shadow flowed out from the dead count's orifices and into the man's mouth.
"...Hm. As usual, the quality gets lower every time I visit."
He licked his lips, then turned his attention back to me.
Sensing the potential for confrontation, I healed my wound with [Devouring Healing].
"I assume that you are the one who annihilated the Twelfth Star and the Eighth Star? Now, you dare strike at the Sixth Star and even earn your victory. Tell me, what is your name?"
"What the hell do you want?"
"I am Archbishop Taunes of the Black Constellation. I come to extend an invitation toward you. You are strong and knowledgeable in Forbidden magic. As fellow devotees of Agunta, we need not be at the throats of one another."
"Hate to break it to you, buddy, but I don't worship your limp dick god."
I can't beat him, but Lucrezia's right behind me. I ain't gonna go out like a bitch.
Archbishop Taunes frowned.
"Very unfortunate. It seems like you will all have to die here, then."
I didn't wait for him to attack first. I immediately activated [Demonic Enhancement] and flung myself toward him.
Throughout our journey, I had been training and expanding my mana pool until doing so had become as natural as breathing. As a result, my enormous mana pool now allowed me to fire a massive spear of flames which surprised even Taunes.
I didn't see him block the attack, but I didn't see him go down either.
My leg shot out in a flat-footed kick toward the archbishop's knee and I felt it connect solidly, but the man barely budged.
In response, Taunes grabbed my leg and slammed me down onto the stone floor, smashing it into pieces.
It didn't hurt me as much as it hurt my pride.
I could see Antenora and Lucrezia launching attacks of their own, but the archbishop didn't even pay them any attention.
After throwing me around a few more times, the archbishop threw me across the room, causing me to crash into the wall.
Fuck... Is the difference between us really that great!?
I used [Complete Analysis] on him to see just what the fuck he was made of, but my eyes widened in horror when I saw his stats.
Strength 60, dexterity 55, constitution 50...
What the fuck was this man!? It just kept getting crazier. His mental stats weren't as high as his physical stats, but they were still far above the human baseline. On top of that, his skill list went on for several pages.
I didn't even level up after killing Reginault, and now we have to fight this monster!? What gives!?
Even though Archbishop Taunes was way above our abilities to defeat at the moment, [Complete Analysis] showed me that he still had a weakness.
"Lucrezia, Antenora! We have to run! Take Priya and get the fuck outta here! I'll be right behind you!"
"What about Aurelia!?"
"We'll come back for her! We need to get away first, or we're all dead! He can't chase us if we leave the castle!"
Archbishop Taunes' eyes narrowed as he began walking toward me.
"You're quite sharp, aren't you? I've changed my mind. Instead of killing you, I'll slowly torture you until you tell me how you figured that out."
"I'll pass, arch-bitch."
I dashed toward the double doors, but the archbishop continued to advance toward me slowly. It was clear that he was confident he could handle anything I threw at him.
That's where you're wrong, asshole.
As I passed Lucrezia, I stopped briefly and whispered my plan to her.
"Both of you join hands with Priya. When I give you the signal, jump. I'll get Aurelia outta here."
I waited a second for her to nod in understanding before I continued dashing to the doors. Once I reached the doorway, Taunes' form wavered and dissolved into shadow before reappearing in front of me as if rising from the ground.
During my analysis earlier, I determined that he could only teleport in one of two ways:
[Shadow Teleportation] and [Bound Portal]. The first skill allowed him to teleport to any areas of shadow which he could see and the second skill allowed him to teleport to locations where he had previously set up a "binding point."
However, there was also one very important thing that I saw on his statistic block.
Archbishop Taunes was suffering from a [Detriment] called a "Proxy Seal." This prevented him from exiting areas that the caster of the Proxy Seal designated.
As his Proxy Seal was designated as "Proxy Seal (Black Constellation)" it was probably safe to assume that he wouldn't be able to leave the castle.
Huh... What a strange seal. Is this how his sponsor controls him?
I didn't have too much time to dwell on the thought though. The moment he reached toward me, I jumped up toward the ceiling and threw my strongest punch, collapsing the part of the ceiling that was directly above them.
"Now!" I shouted with all my might as I landed.
Although Lucrezia was confused at the start, Antenora understood my intentions immediately and leapt upward with Lucrezia and Priya in tow.
The falling debris wasn't much of a problem as Lucrezia simply formed a wind shield around the three of them which also allowed them to fly out of the castle grounds.
"You...! You dare attempt this trickery against me!?"
The archbishop now abandoned all pretense of impassivity and now faced me with a snarl of anger.
I merely smirked.
"You know, I've got a nasty habit of underestimating my opponents and running into situations without thinking. That's just how I am, y'know? But you?" I wagged a finger at him. "A cult leader can't be so carelessly overconfident, you know."
"We shall see how long you can keep up that arrogance of yours, child."
Now, the only problem was getting Aurelia.