Pulling his arm back, Noah freed himself from the weapon and quickly distanced himself from the knight.
A slow stream of blood trickled from the open wound, exposing tendons and bones.
The young man pulled a potion from his inventory and poured its contents onto his forearm.
"Good as new," he muttered, inspecting his arm.
Without wasting any more time, Noah got back into position.
His leg muscles, tense like coiled springs, were ready to propel him forward.
In a split second, his heels left the ground, followed by his toes.
Shoom
Like a black lightning bolt, Noah shot to Adephegia's side.
The knight reacted quickly, tracking his movement with the corner of her eye.
Using the shaft of his scythe, Noah brought it down on the monster.
Boom
Like the tip of an arrow, the shaft pierced through the armor and deeper into the woman's flesh.
With a swift motion, Noah pulled the weapon out of the wound, spun it behind his back, and passed it to his left hand.
His arm moved horizontally, poised to sever Adephegia's head.
However, the knight, unfazed by the injury, used her scimitar to block the strike just inches from her neck.
Shoom
Taking advantage of the situation, John concentrated his mana into his legs, burning through the space between them.
"You're mine, bitch!"
His hand shot up, slicing through the air from below.
Boom
His palm struck the knight's chin, snapping her head backward.
John's arms returned to guard.
An incredible amount of mana surged into John's right fist.
His foot planted firmly on the ground, his torso twisted, and his arm extended.
BOOM
And then came the impact.
To Adephegia, it felt like being hit by a wrecking ball.
The crunching sound of cracking bones echoed in her head.
A perfect strike to the sternum.
The knight struggled to breathe.
Seizing the moment, Noah raised the scythe above his head and brought it down on the knight's leg, aiming for the knee.
Splat
The blade struck, cutting through skin and tendons.
Damn. Not deep enough... something's wrong.
"It seems you've realized," Adephegia smiled beneath her helmet.
When Noah pulled the weapon from the wound, his fear was confirmed.
The severed muscles and tendons began reattaching themselves as if nothing had happened.
"I told you it wouldn't work with just your hands."
And it all became clear.
"John, we need to finish her now."
"Why?"
"She's absorbing our mana as we speak!"
"Damn... What do we do?!"
"Kill her before she consumes us."
_____________
Slowly, Isabelle began to approach the priest.
The cold of the room, once biting, was now extinguished by the heat of her aura.
"You know, this room doesn't appear on any official blueprints. For a long time, I wondered why—why build such a large chamber with an altar in the middle, when there's literally a church above us? And then I understood. If that altar is for God, this one must be for someone else."
Isabelle's steps quickened.
"Well, it doesn't really matter, does it?"
Father Jeffrey said, holding a dagger in one hand and Grace in the other.
Then, he did what he had to do.
For a moment, nothing seemed to happen.
The white skin of Grace's neck remained untouched, immaculate, without flaw.
But that moment soon passed, and the harsh truth came to light.
A thin, nearly imperceptible line appeared along the girl's throat.
And then red took over.
A spray of blood splattered across the floor.
Grace's lips quickly lost color, turning a shade of purple.
Her eyes widened for a brief second, as if they had understood what was happening even before her brain could process it.
And then, she fell to the ground in a series of gurgles.
"Graceeeee!!"
Isabelle screamed.
And everything turned as blue as the ocean.
______________
Noah's scythe sliced swiftly through the air.
Every step was followed by a thrust, and every thrust by a parry.
The blade clashed against the knight's sword once again.
"Sorry, but I've already consumed a swordsman and a samurai. Such predictable attacks don't work on me."
Adephegia moved with exquisite grace, effortlessly dodging Noah's strikes.
John, eager to help his companion, closed in.
The knight's sword rose into the air before coming down toward him.
Planting his feet firmly, John raised his arm above his head, using his forearm to intercept the woman's wrist.
With a fluid motion, his arm returned to his side, buying enough time for the other to strike.
Boom
His knuckles crashed into the knight's ribs, bending her over.
Seizing the moment, Noah darted to Adephegia's back.
In a flash, his hands locked around her, passing under her arms and gripping behind her neck.
"Strike now!"
"Magic Missile!"
The beam fired.
Pshoom
A blinding light filled Adephegia's eyes.
For a moment, everything turned white.
Splat
And then the abyss claimed her.
_____________
Isabelle's aura illuminated every corner of the room.
An unparalleled ferocity shone through her face.
"Light Sword."
At her words, the mana in the atmosphere rapidly condensed in her palm.
A long sword made entirely of Isabelle's aura quickly took shape.
Without waiting, Isabelle surged forward, shattering the stone beneath her feet.
Shoom
In an instant, she was only a few steps away from Father Jeffrey, delivering her judgment upon the man.
Shifting her weight onto her front leg, her arm extended in an upward arc.
Swoosh
The mana sword hissed through the air, nearing the priest's right arm.
Without moving from his spot, Father Jeffrey raised his dagger, allowing the sword to slide along the edge of his blade.
The two remained locked in place for a second, neither willing to give an inch.
"Shield Bash!"
Kevin suddenly shouted.
The boy's silver mana enveloped his shield.
With both hands gripping the handles, Kevin charged forward.
Boom
With all his might, the young man slammed into the priest, sending him flying a few meters.
"Kevin... that's not very polite," Jeffrey said, picking himself up from the ground.
A trickle of blood ran down the side of his mouth.
"Haven't they taught you it's wrong to resort to violence? Dialogue is the right choice."
The priest cleaned his wound with his hand.
"Well... maybe not always," he added, kicking the child's body away.
______________
Adephegia's body hit the ground with a thud. Slowly, the room around her seemed to retreat, absorbed by the knight's corpse. Like a stain retracting instead of spreading, the darkness that had infested the walls was drawn back, revealing the pure white beneath.
A chamber as white as snow greeted them for the first time.
At the far end of the room, a small hollow began to expand, growing large enough to allow a person to pass through.
"I guess we're supposed to go in there," John said, watching the scene unfold before him.
"Nothing gets past you, does it?" Noah retorted sarcastically.
Without looking back, the two left Adephegia's corpse behind and crossed the portal.
________________
A crimson aura enveloped the priest's body. Small sparks of electricity, generated by the friction of mana particles, shot out in all directions.
"At last, the ritual is complete."
Father Jeffrey's words echoed through the room.
"You will be the first to witness the form of an angel, mark my words."
A slight tremor ran beneath Isabelle and Kevin's feet.
And then a stronger one followed.
And then another.
And another still.
The two looked down for a moment, trying to keep their balance, then lifted their gazes.
But where the priest had stood moments ago, there was no trace of him.
No. He was there, half a meter above the ground, his arms spread wide.
Before him, a marble-sized sphere glowed with a blinding red light.
"Behold, this is what I sought. What I created. The culmination of the emotions those people felt before they died—fear, anger, regret... and now, the time has come. The time for my ascension."
The sphere slowly began to grow.
"You see... my God showed me what awaits us. A future of death and despair, where the strong prey on the weak, and where there's no place for anyone who cannot conquer others or their fears. And in His glory, He granted me the opportunity to sit by His side. But worry not... as Jesus did with His apostles, He has granted me the power to add servants to His flock. If you wish, we can feast together."
And finally, the sphere burst, spilling a black liquid onto the ground.
As if it had a life of its own, the sludge began to move, enveloping the man's body bit by bit until it covered him completely.
Two large wings began to take form behind the priest.
A dreadful sense of foreboding fell upon the two.
Isabelle instinctively gathered her energy.
"King Cross!"
She screamed at the top of her lungs.
Her blade shone even brighter.
With all her strength, Isabelle performed a vertical slash followed by a horizontal one, moving so fast it seemed like a single motion.
Shoom
A massive cross of bluish light appeared in the air, hurtling toward the enemy.
Boom
A deafening roar shook the church, raising a cloud of dust and debris.
___________
John and Noah stepped through the passage, leaving the fading darkness of the portal behind.
Before them, an enormous chessboard stretched into the void, each square glowing faintly beneath their feet. The pieces of the board were nowhere to be seen—except for one.
At the far end, standing tall in E8, a knight in shimmering silver armor stared at them in eerie silence. His helmet concealed his face, but the weight of his gaze was unmistakable. The air around him was dense, oppressive, as if it held the weight of centuries.
Above his head, words floated ominously, casting a chilling shadow over the space.
_________
SUPERBUS,
The Primordial Sin
__________
Superbus stood like a god of war, his towering form clad in intricately forged armor, every line of metal a testament to the sin he embodied. The dark silver plates seemed to ripple with life, pulsating as if hungry for the blood of his enemies. Jagged horns crowned his helm, and a faint, ethereal mist curled around him, amplifying the aura of dread that filled the air. His weapon, chained and menacing, looked as though it could tear through dimensions.
In that moment, his silent gaze spoke of overwhelming pride—a figure born to command, and destroy any who dared challenge his dominion.