289th Episode
Liam gazed at Vargan.
It seemed the Spirit wasn’t just mimicking anything.
“Vargan….”
Liam, in a daze.
He never expected to see this guy here after four long years.
Yet Vargan shrugged it off like it was nothing.
“You seem to have a lot to say, Liam.”
“…….”
“But this is not the right place. It’s too noisy here for a conversation.”
Vargan looked around.
Suddenly, reinforcements had arrived, surrounding the location where only Liam and his team of five were present.
“B-Bargan…! It’s the traitor Vargan! Vargan is over there!”
The reinforcements requested by Emily.
Two teams.
Ten Heroes appeared, radiating aura and mana, quickly surrounding them.
Liam felt infected by those who were hostile toward Vargan.
He now stood completely in opposition to his former ally, sword pointed at him.
He had many questions to ask.
Many answers he wanted to hear.
But there was a clear stance between them.
From the moment he joined the Goddess Church, he was no longer an ally—he was an enemy.
“Kahaha! Can I kill all of them?”
Blurans, who was facing Liam, grinned widely.
A sinister purple current sparked from his spear.
“Y-yeah, that’s enough! Let’s go, Blurons! I can’t stay here any longer, I’m scared!”
Cyclamen, pondering where it was safer near Blurons or Vargan, quickly fled to Vargan’s side with shaky legs.
Although he couldn’t catch the Saint, he had accomplished his first objective by severing the Holy King’s neck. Now he just wanted to return to a safe nest.
Blurans subtly glanced at Vargan.
Though they were both Archbishops, Vargan held a different position within the Goddess Church.
“Since things have come to this, let’s wipe them out. I want to have a good brawl after a long time…”
“No, this is enough. We’re pulling back.”
Vargan firmly commanded.
Blurans looked quite displeased, but reluctantly followed orders while clicking his tongue.
Crash—.
A massive monster’s maw opened wide behind Vargan.
Beled’s power, transporting space, manifested with tremendous pressure, bearing down on the Heroes.
He rushed in.
Cyclamen hastily entered.
Blurans was trying to move slowly.
Then,
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
Liam moved the trembling tip of his sword to block Blurans.
The other heroes also began to resist.
“The enemies are trying to escape! Don’t let them get away!”
Among the heroes, the more advanced reinforcements charged forward, each wielding a sword or a staff.
Blurans let out a snicker. Barghan stepped forward beside him.
Blurans asked Barghan,
“Are you really thinking of having fun all by yourself?”
“Of course not.”
Barghan chuckled softly.
Then,
“Ughhh!”
“Ahhh—!!”
Eight out of ten charging heroes screamed in terror.
Gaba, Erlich, and Emily collapsed as if they lost consciousness.
The veterans who had experienced life and death dropped their weapons to the ground, trembling in fear.
The legs that bravely advanced towards the enemy froze and touched the ground.
Liam understood why this was happening.
‘Is it Barghan’s unique spell?!’
A spell that he couldn’t even guess when, where, or how it was used.
That made it even more frightening and deadly.
“It’s been a while, you bastard!”
Arha used her reflection magic.
She squeezed out her last bit of strength and dashed nearest to Barghan.
Her fist filled with energy swung towards him.
She aimed to hit Barghan in the face, but
“…What the hell. Something weird has grown in the meantime.”
Crack—!
A little girl suddenly appeared to protect Barghan.
The mana barrier she created forcibly neutralized Arha’s magic.
“Damn it.”
As the magic was released, Arha took some distance.
Then the other two heroes also cast spells, but they vanished into nothingness against the mysterious barrier made by the girl.
Arha surveyed her opponent.
The girl looked about ten, almost not human in her mystery.
Her hair, skin, and even pupils were pure white.
It seemed she wasn’t using typical magic, but it felt distinctly different from divine power.
As Arha tried to guess her identity, she asked,
“Could that be a familiar?”
“A familiar… something like that.”
“To nullify magic? Where on earth do you get such an outrageous entity?”
“Is this really the time to ask for explanations?”
Barghan grinned slyly.
As Arha’s head spun, she realized her weary body could no longer resist the unique spell.
“Damn it. This is faster than I thought.”
Thud—.
Arha collapsed.
Soon, the remaining two heroes fell into a hallucinatory state where they could do nothing.
The only one left was Liam, quietly observing the situation.
Showing hostility, Liam looked at the white girl and asked,
“Could it be… the Twelve Divine Beasts?”
“Oh, you’ve got quite the eye now, Liam.”
“I already ‘know’ about that ability.”
“Right, as you guessed, it is one of the Twelve Divine Beasts. Though it hasn’t fully matured yet, she carries the respectable ‘name’ of Haoulisk.”
The egg obtained from Rikeion.
It hatched the Twelve Divine Beast Haoulisk within.
She followed Barghan as if he were her parent, continuously supplying her with mana.
She followed Vargan, who continuously supplied her with mana, like a parent.
As Vargan patted the head of the girl who had fulfilled her role, he suddenly said,
“Well, it seems you’ve developed quite some patience while I wasn’t looking?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Are you trying to play coy? While the other comrades are fighting desperately? No, haven’t you been preparing until this very moment?”
Vargan understood why Liam wasn’t moving.
He was focused on that single, perfect strike.
Mana and breath. Five senses and timing.
Everything was for that moment of optimal conditions.
Crackle—.
Liam slowly exhaled.
Red currents enveloped his entire body.
His arms condensed with muscle.
Hongjeongaekgyeol (紅電開血).
The utilization form.
“Vargan, I won’t draw even a bit of power from my sword.”
Hongjeonggaebyeok (紅電開闢).
With one single strike that opens the world, he would split the enemy in two.
Liam immediately swung his sword.
An immensely destructive current flew forth as a single sword strike.
Kwahahaha—!
A thunderous explosion and shockwave shook the air.
Vargan didn’t dodge but took it head-on.
With his own hands, he received that blow while carrying the familiar.
A tremendous force.
The massive power shone red, making Vargan stagger.
Tzuzuzu…….
And soon, he lost his form and vanished.
Vargan had effortlessly blocked the maximum strength Liam could currently muster.
“…It seems it’s no good.”
Liam chuckled as if in dejection.
As if time had come, his eyes began to droop.
He examined Vargan.
He tried to understand the nature of the power he was using until the very end.
‘Has he now become capable of embodying the Twelve Divine Beasts…?’
The Twelve Divine Beasts that had been with Vargan became his attire.
Wearing a white suit, Vargan bore no soot.
‘There’s so much I want to confirm with you… This can’t go on.’
Under the unique spell, Liam’s eyelids grew heavy, and he collapsed as though the air had become laden.
*
“…Ugh. Dad.”
Vargan heard the sleep-talking of the white fairy that was in his jacket pocket.
Just moments ago, the girl who was only 10 years old seemed to have shrunk to barely 10 cm.
Maybe it was due to her remarkable efforts, but she had fallen fast asleep and showed no signs of waking.
“…….”
The three of them moved on, riding a large eagle familiar.
They were on their way to the next destination.
To ensure Cyclamen became the Archbishop, more significant accomplishments were needed.
『Is it okay to just drop by after reuniting with a comrade after such a long time?』
Blurans laughed heartily, clearly amused.
It was a kind of sneer, directed at Vargan’s humanity, considering he had left the heroes unharmed in their vulnerable state.
『Kahaha! No matter how much you pretend to be Altife, blood cannot be deceived. Wasn’t it because you couldn’t kill the heroes you once fought alongside?』
『B-Blurans, please stop. Vargan, who has pledged loyalty to Lady Beled, wouldn’t do that. Have you forgotten? Vargan destroyed the Academia, didn’t he?』
『Cyclamen. That’s a different story. It’s more troubling to kill animals with a sword than with a bow.』
“It’s more troublesome to kill an animal with a sword than to just kill it.”
“…Is that so? It seems to me that it’s to hide your own accomplishments.”
“Tsk tsk, Cyclamen. What do you know, being cooped up in a dungeon? You’d probably just scream if you tried.”
“…….”
Cyclamen looked displeased.
Suddenly, just before she was about to leave, she recalled the power she felt before Beled’s authority closed, and a shiver ran down her spine.
“By the way, there was a hero charging in frighteningly fast, right? …Was her name Alicia? I didn’t see her directly, but my legs were shaking.”
Even Cyclamen, who had moved to support the Familiar beforehand, could feel the pressure.
The story of Alicia had spread beyond Beled’s power.
Blurans related to those words.
“That girl single-handedly took down two top-tier foes. I thought we could drag it out longer, but it seems she’s grown beyond what we assumed.”
“Right? Right? Ugh, in the end, I’m glad we left first! It’s so scary! How can we fight against such things…! I absolutely hate pain and scary stuff… Ack!”
Blurans, who had playfully hit Cyclamen on the head, then looked at Vargan.
“Speaking of Alicia, she was your servant, wasn’t she? What do you think? Do you feel anything different? She was supposed to be a candidate for the Goddess Church, right?”
The situation with Vargan facing trial in the Goddess Church was conveyed without fail.
Alicia was recognized as a talented individual that Vargan had raised to wield a sword and planned to turn into a devout follower of the Goddess using Curse Magic.
Vargan replied in a detached tone, “I have no regrets about a failed product.”
“The problem is that this failed product is growing out of control… Well, for me, it’s good since the number of opponents is increasing.”
Blurans chuckled.
While observing the surroundings, Vargan decided it was time for the next briefing and began to speak.
“Although we couldn’t kill Saint Emily, we took the head of the Holy King of Rose. Also, with the removal of three competing top bishops, we can say that we now have a 1v1 situation with the remaining top-tier.”
Vargan planned to elevate Cyclamen, the talent he had discovered in the Goddess Church, to Archbishop.
To further solidify Cardinal Beled’s power.
To raise his own status.
“Currently, it’s true that Cyclamen has an advantage in selection, but we must not be complacent. So, we’ve decided to target another major city.”
“An… another city?! Wasn’t Rose the end? I want to stop fighting… Ack!”
“Shut up. Now, keep talking.”
“The next city is where Archer Tauro, ranked 6th among heroes, and his teammates are stationed. Blurans and I will minimize our involvement again. Cyclamen, your mission this time is to steal.”
Horrified at the mention of Tauro, Cyclamen froze.
Regardless of her reaction, Vargan continued to lay out the mission details.
“Breach extreme vigilance and steal the outliers. If you do, the empty Archbishop position will be yours.”
Vargan was radically expanding his influence and reach within the Goddess Church.
