The crimson thunderstorm poured streams of light through the window.
As the deafening [Boom] echoed in my ears, the strange wail of the monster filled the air, and each tremor that shook the ground was accompanied by an eerie voice crying, “It hurts…!”
Olaf, staring at the suffering beast, showed signs of true surprise for the first ti.
No one had ever dealt significant harm to that creature before. If I recall correctly, even Rowen hadn’t been able to scratch it in the novel.
That monster was a fragntary existence that nullified all attacks.
It would be hard for soone to understand how damage could even be inflicted on such a creature—after all, it was basically considered a gift from God.
But I had no intention of enlightening them.
-Limits have pushed ‘Tirbing’ to test its boundaries.
That’s a corporate secret.
I let out a quiet sigh and turned my gaze toward the old man in front of . Looking at his sturdy body, which seed too well-built for soone his age, I took a slow, steady breath and spoke.
“You’ve gone senile, I see. And you have so rather twisted tastes.”
“How dare you harm a holy angel blessed by God…”
“An angel?”
I sneered and ignored the hatred burning in Olaf’s eyes. No matter how you looked at it, that thing was more of a demon than an angel.
“An angel without wings? What kind of angel is that? It’s disgusting, not to ntion dirty.”
“Do not mock God’s ssenger.”
“God wouldn’t want such a ssenger.”
I clicked my tongue, deeply annoyed by the old man’s misguided pride.
“Why don’t you ask God yourself what He thinks?”
“…You refuse to seek rcy?”
“I’ve tried asking, but turns out, I wasn’t worthy enough. Guess I didn’t pay the full tab.”
Olaf chuckled as if amused by my flippant response, shaking his head slightly.
“You speak so freely. It seems you do not fear the wrath of God’s judgnt.”
Much like a small dog baring its teeth at a tiger, Olaf seed to think that I didn’t grasp the difference in power between us.
Olaf laughed, his shoulders trembling with mirth.
“Pffft. Pfff-hahaha… You’re quite the funny one.”
“…”
“If you were rely grain, I’m sure the Lord’s angel would be pleased as well.”
Olaf’s eyes remained fixed on .
Though his back was slightly hunched from laughter, his upward gaze pierced with deadly intensity.
I squinted as I t Olaf’s sharp glare.
“Is dentia setting in?”
“Heh.”
As a cold chuckle slipped from Olaf’s lips, an alarm slowly began ringing deep within . The tolling bell echoed inside, signaling a threat, as Olaf’s fierce gaze bore down on my heart.
Olaf clasped his hands together and looked up at the sky. In a soft voice, loud enough for the heretic followers around us to hear, he began to speak.
“Brothers and sisters, show rcy… to this poor young man.”
Gradually, the shadows of the heretics closed in around . Perhaps deciding that Jas was no longer a threat, they left him behind and began walking towards .
I silently counted as I glanced at their heads.
‘One… Two… Six.’
With a light movent, I swung Tirbing.
I didn’t have the luxury of listening to the backstory of every small fry. Without even bothering to introduce myself, I cut through their necks.
With a ‘shrrip,’ blood sprayed onto Olaf’s face, staining the floor a deep crimson.
“…”
There wasn’t the slightest hint of shock as the heretics dropped dead. Olaf, wearing a calm smile, looked at with benevolence plastered across his face.
“You refuse to show rcy.”
I raised my middle finger, extending a sincere gesture of respect toward the old man.
“I don’t have ti for rcy, not while I’m busy trying to survive. Who has ti for that?”
“To the very end, you deny rcy.”
Olaf lifted both hands and looked towards the sky. As if tattling to God, he raised his hands in a prayer-like gesture toward the dark, cloudy night.
“Oh God, what should I do with this lost lamb?”
I rolled my eyes. Just kill already, right? I an, that’s what you’re planning anyway.
I ignored the rambling old man’s prayer and focused on the corner of the room, where I saw the trembling form of Jas.
I first had to finish one thing before moving on. Getting Jas to safety was the priority.
“Are you alright?”
Jas nodded weakly, though it took all his strength to do so.
“Thank you, kind guest. I’ll repay this debt with a… date with my daughter…”
“Shut your mouth.”
“Urk…”
As I supported Jas, I clicked my tongue in frustration at the sight of his heavily bleeding abdon. His injuries were worse than I thought—there was no way he could walk on his own.
But what choice did we have? If he wanted to live, he’d have to walk.
-Ah… Truly, dear Lord… Grant your judgnt upon those who show no rcy…
I shot a glance at Olaf, who was muttering frantically to himself, and I whispered coldly into Jas’s ear. I told him he would have to walk, even if it hurt. He wasn’t the only one suffering, and if he wanted to live, he had no choice but to keep moving.
Fortunately, Jas seed to understand the situation and nodded.
“Nnngh… I’ll stand up.”
“Good. Now, just keep moving forward.”
“What about you, guest?”
“For now…”
-Whoosh.
Just as I helped Jas reach the stairs, an axe whistled through the air, narrowly missing us, embedding itself into the wall with a sharp [Thwack].
I shoved Jas down the stairway as I turned my gaze towards him, smiling slightly as our eyes t.
“Run.”
And in that very sa instant—
-SHHHHOOAARRR!!!
A fierce whirlwind erupted.
*
Olivia stared blankly at the inn.
Blinking at the monstrous figure rising from the ground.
Blinking at the inn’s roof flying off.
Blinking at the man struggling to erge from the inn’s front door.
“Hey.”
Olivia turned her head and addressed the man standing next to her.
“How long are you planning to keep here?”
“…”
“Ricardo went in there, but he hasn’t co out. He must’ve gotten lost. I need to go find him…”
Her words received no response. The man rely stood there, trembling, his lips tightly pressed together in silence.
“Hey? I asked you.”
Whoosh. The swirling wreckage of the building was blocked by Hans’s barrier, dissolving into dust upon impact.
Staring absentmindedly at the vanishing debris, Olivia spoke again.
“I told you, Ricardo is in there.”
“…Sir Ricardo ordered to stay and protect you, my lady.”
“Ricardo?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“…”
Hans couldn’t answer Olivia’s questions. After all, these were rely the orders he’d received.
Hans knew fully well.
He understood exactly what it ant to face an Apostle. He knew just how deadly they could be.
That’s why he remained here, unable to do anything but follow his orders. He knew that any rash assistance on his part would only get in the way.
-I’m going to fight the Apostle.
-What do you an by that?
-Just what it sounds like. I’m going to fight the Apostle.
-You can’t! Absolutely not! No matter how strong you are, an Apostle is beyond—
-I’m going to win.
Hans clenched his fists, doing his utmost to protect Olivia. Ricardo’s order was clear: ‘Guard the lady.’ With a voice strained by frustration, Hans reaffird his command.
“It’s an order.”
“…”
“I must follow it.”
Olivia placed her hand on the unyielding barrier, looking up.
“…Ricardo.”
Slowly, the darkness began to rise.
*
-Clang.
A heavy blow struck Tirbing as axes materialized out of thin air, continuously sprouting from Olaf’s sleeves, each one aiming for my blind spots with brutal precision.
“So damn fast.”
Despite my foul language, I knew in my heart that it was manageable.
Indeed, Olaf’s power was fitting for soone called an Apostle. But his attack patterns were simple. Once I got used to them, I could handle it. Though his strikes were deadly, all I had to do was block them.
-Clang!
Deflecting another bone-chilling blow, I gradually closed the distance between us, taking deep breaths as I condensed my aura even further.
“Hoo.”
Olaf observed the gathering aura with a sinister smile, his eyes locked on my sword. He smiled quietly, as if finding my actions amusing.
“I’ve offered sacrifices who wielded aura before, but this is quite interesting. Perhaps this, too, is a tribute from our Lord.”
Olaf remained collected.
He was taking his ti, leisurely offering prayers even while facing . Like a butcher weighing a piece of at, Olaf spared glances at my hands and feet, grinning all the while.
‘Now.’
I knew it.
That this wasn’t the full extent of an Apostle’s power.
There were countless hidden moves and unimaginable abilities lying in wait. I was keenly aware of this. But I also knew sothing else.
Even an Apostle has their monts of carelessness.
I was waiting for that mont, seizing it like a hunter locking onto prey.
It was this very vulnerability, shared even by the Imperial Sword, that I was aiming for.
I knew the Apostle’s abilities.
What kind of magic he used.
What habits he had.
I knew them all too well.
The problem was dealing with it despite knowing. But in my mind, I already had a strategy for overcoming him.
The only way I could defeat this Apostle was by exploiting his habits—catching him off guard in a single, decisive strike. It was the most effective, efficient thod I had.
I knew that if we engaged in open combat, I’d be at a disadvantage, so I continued to endure Olaf’s attacks, biding my ti as I gathered my mana.
-Limits have pushed past the ‘Strength Limit.’
-Limits have pushed past the ‘Mana Limit.’
-Limits have pushed to test ‘Swordsmanship Lv. 6.’
.
.
.
Olaf’s yawns betrayed his boredom, even as blood dripped from his hands.
The crimson rivulets pooled onto the floor, painting a black magic circle that began to spread out across the ground.
Olaf gazed at the magic circle covering the second floor of the inn and smiled.
“Hehehe…”
“Don’t laugh. I might actually care about you.”
“God loves you, after all.”
Olaf continued to spout ridiculous nonsense about God’s love as I prepared for the mont when the real battle would begin.
I gripped my sword firmly.
I wasn’t kind enough to wait for him to finish his transformation. I aid for the perfect mont, while he was still basking in his arrogance, to strike.
Now, while he was busy pontificating about the love of God and not using his full power, was my chance to pour everything I had into one attack.
‘Hanna would’ve loved to see this.’
With that thought, I thrust forward with Tirbing and whispered softly.
“Cut. [Genesis].”
I opened the door to my sword’s true form.
But then, the blade ca to a halt—a single finger had effortlessly stopped it.
“Pffft-hahaha…”
Olaf laughed. He was laughing as he held my sword still with a single finger.
“Genesis? Puhahaha! What are you even saying?”
He mocked .
Scoffing at how I had dared to na such a pathetic slash. Belittling the audacity behind attacking him with such a move.
“Ha… Truly, it seems that I must show you rcy after all.”
Olaf held my sword, now frozen mid-air, and whispered softly to .
“Receive the weight of your sins.”
His ability is reflection.
Commonly called Athena’s Reflector.
It reflects any attack back to its sender while transferring all collected damage to a monstrous creature.
“…Cough.”
I knew this.
I knew that Olaf wielded the power to reflect all damage, rampaging unchecked as a berserker on the battlefield.
But so what?
“Genesis [開闢].”
Even as I coughed up blood, I smiled.
-Limits push the hands of restoration to their breaking point.
Because I’m still going to win.
End of Chapter.
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