"Bad news! Fire Shield!" Veronica swiftly pulled out a scroll from her bosom and tore it open. Red flames formed a protective barrier around her and Ryan.
"Such trivial flames, such trivial flames, can't possibly harm me!!!" The Fallen Hunter's roar echoed throughout the orphanage interior, shattering the Fire Shield with a single axe blow. Ryan immediately swung his warhammer, engaging Belter in combat once again.
"You... cut through the flames?!" Veronica's eyes widened in disbelief. She quickly retreated, pale but ready to cast another spell.
"My lord has not forsaken me!" With a whirlwind slash, Belter forced Ryan back, laughing maniacally: "What a splendid battle, my lord has noticed me! From today on, there is no Belter, only the Tyrant Champion, the Harbinger of Doom!"
With that, Belter, his body charred, showing burnt wounds and exposed viscera, suddenly extended his longsword, slicing open a wound on his left rib.
Then, he made another cut on his right shoulder.
Blood inexplicably surged from the two wounds, enveloping Belter in a dance of blood.
Ryan moved to attack, but Veronica quickly held him back: "No! Ryan, that thing is full of explosive energy!"
"Damn it! Belter's actions have indeed caught the attention of the Blood God!" Ryan had to stop.
Within seconds, the explosion subsided, and the blood receded.
Iron-grey skin replaced his original complexion, two massive horns protruded beside his head, and a bone spike emerged from the center of Belter's head, rising high with the skull of his mentor — the Demon Hunter Jacob — hanging from the spike's tip.
His aura had ascended from legendary mid-tier to legendary high-tier.
One of Belter's hands transformed into a massive sharp claw, the other wielding a giant axe taller than a man. His muscles bulged as he swung at Ryan, the axe breaking the sound barrier and striking Ryan's warhammer. Just as Ryan prepared to continue the fight, Belter halted.
The Fallen Hunter Belter, no, the Tyrant Champion, proudly declared: "The path to glory is bloody and long, every battle a step towards the summit. The reward at the end of the road is beyond the imagination of mortals, only those brave and blessed by the Blood God deserve it, not you, only I do!"
"Mortal, do you desire power like mine? Do you wish for endless glory and blessings? I offer you a chance, if you join my lord's embrace, I can spare you and this witch."
Ryan remained silent, then whispered to Veronica: "Step back a bit, Veronica."
"Ryan?" Veronica nodded slightly, exchanging a knowing look with him.
Is it time to use that?
Yes.
Thus, the Garen Witch slowly backed away, and Ryan reached for the hilt of the single-handed longsword behind him.
Veronica's beautiful almond eyes were filled with the silhouette of a man.
Ryan appeared to weigh his options, and the Harbinger didn't attack immediately. The Primordial being took out the potion of holy water given to him by the Lady of the Lake, which immediately took effect, creating layers of mist in the subspace, obscuring the vision of the dark gods.
"The endless rifts of subspace and the surging chaos are the eternal nightmare of the material world. The dark gods and demons tear through the fragile veil between chaos and reality with fear. The great Emperor foresaw that if left unchecked, countless beings would suffer terribly, and countless glories would turn to ruins. The dark gods will return to the world, bringing an endless eternal nightmare." Veronica softly recited a passage in Gothic in her mind.
This passage recorded secrets about Ryan's origin and his surname.
"In the darkness, the Emperor found his most loyal servant — Magus-Makado. The Emperor's most faithful servant broke through numerous blockades to complete this impossible task."
"The Grey Knights were born, like a light piercing through darkness. They are humanity's last and ultimate salvation, the Emperor's final gift."
"Ryan-Makado."
With his supreme will driving him, Ryan grasped the sword hilt, and the longsword unsheathed, the blade and scabbard producing a pleasing sound.
"I've always hesitated to use this sword because I felt unworthy of it, believing it brought burdens too heavy for my shoulders to bear," Ryan murmured, as if speaking to the Harbinger.
"So, you've decided to fight?" The Harbinger knew Ryan's choice.
The longsword, now unsheathed and held in Ryan's hand, was about 1.3 meters long, entirely bright silver, covered in mysterious runes, sacred and majestic, and enveloped in nearly transparent white flames emitting a pale blue glow.
"But now, I embrace my destiny!"
"I am the Primordial! I am the Grey Knight, Ryan-Makado!!!" Ryan raised the longsword towards the sky.
The heavens and earth changed color.
The longsword resonated, as if responding to Ryan's words, its white flames growing more vigorous.
Outside the orphanage, Schultz and Audrich awaited the battle's end, sensing the enormous energy flowing within the orphanage's ruins. "Ryan, what an incredible young man," remarked the Grand Duke of Marlinburg.
"Yes, his talent is unmatched in the old world... Do we need to help him?" Audrich still worried for Ryan's safety.
"No need, he can handle it," Schultz rejected the idea, having absolute faith in Ryan.
Ryan was a child of the gods.
Unnoticed by them, in the distance, Amelia, dressed as a maid, hid behind a tree, secretly observing the interior of the orphanage, her expression complex.
"Indeed, that sword is the Goddess of Vengeance."
Amelia felt her own single-handed longsword restlessly moving behind her, so she embraced it tightly: "Is that so? Do you feel it too?"
"I'm so sorry! I'm really sorry for making you suffer with me," she cried, large tears falling on the cloth wrapping the sword: "But no matter what, I can't let you fall into others' hands."
The sword ceased its trembling as if calmed by the girl's tears, and she hugged it tightly: "Let's go home, back to our home."
...
"What does it matter if you use a sword or a hammer? I will burn this city and take your skulls!" The Harbinger, having had enough of Ryan's "performance," thought Ryan was just bluffing.
"I am the Blade that Breaks Demons!" The Goddess of Vengeance swung, its dazzling white light illuminating the ruins of the orphanage, leaving a deep mark on the Harbinger's axe.
The Harbinger was shocked; even the axe blessed by the Tyrant couldn't withstand the sword's might?!
The white flames barely touched the Harbinger's body, leaving excruciating, bone-deep burns. For the first time since devoting himself to the Blood God, the Harbinger felt such pain, increasing its frenzy as it launched continuous attacks on Ryan.
"I am the Light of Dawn!" The silver blade swept across the Harbinger's chest, leaving only white flames in the air, evaporating the blood.
The Harbinger retreated in screams, a deep, bone-visible wound
on its chest, overlaying a previous wound inflicted by Jacob in a desperate strike before his death. Even as the Tyrant Champion, Belter's wound had not fully healed.
"Screaming in agony, the Harbinger felt its soul being scorched by the white flames, clinging to its wound like a relentless disease. Despite its pain, the disciple of the Blood God refused to concede, rising once again to engage Ryan in a fierce battle.
Ryan's swordsmanship was astonishing. The single-handed longsword in his grasp danced like a silver dragon, continuously spewing its breath. This sword was too powerful; every strike Ryan made felt perilously dangerous to the Harbinger. The holy energy attached to the sword continually scorched its soul and destroyed its body. The Harbinger dared not face it head-on, for even the axe blessed by the Blood God couldn't withstand the might of the Goddess of Vengeance.
Holding the Goddess of Vengeance, Ryan felt a bond of blood. This was his sword, a token of the Emperor's favor towards him. Few Primordials received such fatherly love from the Emperor; Horus was one, and he was another. This sword was crafted specifically for him by the Emperor, and the Makado surname was a gift from the Emperor himself.
The warhammer was merely Ryan's secondary weapon; the sacred sword Goddess of Vengeance was his primary.
With Ryan's steady advance, the Harbinger's space to maneuver was severely limited, realizing it was doomed if the fight continued this way.
"Death's Dance!" The Harbinger unleashed its strongest battle technique, axe and claw striking together in a rush towards Ryan.
Ryan calmly drew his shotgun, pulling the trigger. The shotgun's powerful blast interrupted the Harbinger's technique, the explosive mercury bullets forcing it to retreat repeatedly. Caught off balance and weakened, the Harbinger was momentarily stunned.
"The Net of Amintok!" Garen Witch's spell arrived, white magical threads extending from Veronica's graceful form, seizing the opportunity to tightly bind the Harbinger.
"Ha!" The witch's spell only managed to hold the Harbinger for a brief moment. Its muscles tensed, and corrupt energy spread out, snapping the magical threads. Veronica's spell might have failed to hold the Harbinger, but it didn't mean she had failed. The greatsword, ablaze with white flames, had already sliced through the Harbinger's neck.
"Accept your judgment, demon!"
The Harbinger's head fell, its towering body collapsing to the ground, twitching twice before losing all signs of life.
A glass jar fell to the ground, shattering. The flesh within was vaporized by the holy flames, turning to ash.
Belter, the renowned Demon Hunter of over a decade, the shameless Fallen Hunter, the Blood God's Tyrant Champion, was officially consigned to history by Ryan's hand. His soul was shattered into pieces by Ryan's psychic energy, his entire past turned to dust.
The battle was over.
"Phew~" Veronica, pale and unsteady, leaned on Ryan's shoulder: "You should have drawn your sword earlier, then we wouldn't have had so much trouble."
"Many times, I've been avoiding it subconsciously, but I've realized now, the time for hiding is over. I will no longer conceal my true name; from today onwards, I will walk the world as Ryan Makado," Ryan sheathed the Goddess of Vengeance, his voice also slightly breathless. "Also, using this sword really drains my energy."
Ryan had often refrained from using the Goddess of Vengeance in many battles because once unsheathed, the sacred sword, like a bottomless pit, absorbed his physical and psychic energy. With his former strength, he could hardly sustain the sword's demands, which is why he hadn't drawn it against the four-armed demon or Bireg; because unsheathing it meant he had to kill in one strike, or he'd quickly run out of energy.
But now, he was different. After advancing to legendary mid-tier, his physical abilities had increased exponentially. With the blessing of the Holy Grail's mark, Ryan could now use the Goddess of Vengeance for longer periods.
Picking up Belter's head, Ryan removed Jacob's skull from the spike, allowing it to gently turn to dust under his pale blue psychic flames: "I'm sorry, Master Jacob."
Only the drifting smoke responded.
"The Cult of Aesthetics' president Aneda Klausner has been beheaded! The Tyrant Champion Belter met his end at the hands of the great human hero Ryan!" The Grand Duke of Marlinburg and the Archbishop of the Sea God entered, Schultz announced loudly: "Thanks to Mr. Ryan's assistance, I hereby officially declare Ryan as another protector of Marlinburg, in my capacity as the Grand Duke. Mr. Ryan will always be a friend to Marlinburg!"
"I am honored," Ryan did not refuse, immediately accepting. The Duke was using this method to help him continue building his reputation; the two had an understanding. To some extent, Schultz was serving him.
"The Ocean Church will recognize this justice," Archbishop Audrich also stepped forward to shake Ryan's hand: "We will now go to eradicate the remnants of the Cult of Aesthetics, completely eliminate this Chaos cult, and confiscate its assets, of which fifty percent will be rewarded to Mr. Ryan."
Ryan wasn't sure how much fifty percent of the Cult of Aesthetics' wealth amounted to, but he guessed it was a staggering sum. He felt entitled to it and bore no guilt.
The group left a portion of the army to clean up the battlefield, and the rest rushed to the Cult of Aesthetics' headquarters on Shield Coin Street. With the help of the Sea God Knights and the Iris Guards, the Cult's headquarters was immediately sealed off. It was clear the Sea God Mannanen was truly enraged; all who dared resist, whether merchants or artists, were executed on the spot by the Sea God Knights.
The nobles and merchants of Marlinburg turned a blind eye, tacitly consenting. They were the beneficiaries of this new purge and had no reason to fall out with the Ocean Church over such matters.
"What are you doing?! Stop!" A famous artist stood in shock before them: "Stop! You are destroying art! You are trampling on civilization!"
The Grand Duke of Marlinburg's indifferent and cold voice replied: "We are protecting civilization, sir. Step aside if you don't wish to die."
Faced with the choice between life and art, the artist bravely stood with art.
Schultz signaled, and Sir Robel swiftly beheaded the artist, the brutality of the act silencing the surrounding artists.
"Let's go in!"
Vote for us!
Some say the protagonist isn't tall and imposing enough, but that's because he is fundamentally human... A human who hasn't undergone genetic modification. And if he were really 2.3 or 2.4 meters tall... would you want the witches' lives?
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