Chapter 62: Wouldn’t it be boring if you knew that? (3)
I put my finger in my mouth and whistled.
Beep!
“Everyone to the left! Sir Permed, to the right!”
“Yes, sir! Surround him!”
Sir Permed and seven security officers all gripped their spears tightly and rushed to the right. And the eight of us moved to the left. Thus, a siege was formed at the intersection.
He rushed in immediately. Even though the front was completely blocked, he ran straight into the center, letting out a bizarre laugh.
“Khihihihihit!”
“Lucy! Namia!”
Can we synchronize?
Lucy and Namia each began to use magic and holy spells. In the midst of it all, he was still running towards the encirclement with that bizarre laughter.
In the center of the encirclement was Joey.
“Joey-!”
“Uh, y-yes!”
Joey gripped his spear and tensed his shoulders. Not knowing how he would react, Joey held his spear in a middle guard stance. But I could see his hands trembling. He seemed terrified.
Ah! That’s right! Joey has no real combat experience against humans! Damn it!
“Khihihihi!”
Getting closer and closer!
10 meters……! 8 meters……! 6 meters……!
“Binding Hand!”
“……And so the light binds the hordes of darkness!”
Lucy’s magic and Namia’s holy spell activated almost simultaneously. Lucy grabbed at the air, and light emerged, wrapping around his body. His movements momentarily halted.
The next moment, he growled.
“Kerrrrrrrr!”
Snap!
With a bizarre sound, Lucy opened his hand wide, and Namia’s holy spell, made of light, scattered.
Anti-Magic Barrier?! Is he really an ordinary human?!
“Haaaat-!”
From behind, Levidian kicked off the ground with a shout, leaving a dent as if the ground would cave in, and launched into a lightning-fast thrust. The sword, sharply cutting through the moonlight, seemed as if it would pierce his heart at any moment…… but wouldn’t it?
“Kerrick?!”
Wheezing!
He ducked and then straightened up. Then, as if an invisible force lifted him, his body flew forward.
Not human movement!
“Joey! Spear!”
“Uh, aaaaah!”
Joey hurriedly raised his spear and tried to strike the man passing through the air, but he grabbed the spear and thrust it straight at Joey. Frighteningly agile!
“How dare you!”
Whizz!
Jay’s daggers flew through the air. The man, who was about to saw through Joey’s log-like neck, let go of the spear and stepped back, and at that moment, I ran towards his landing spot with my sword raised.
“Eukikiki!”
With a bizarre sound, as soon as his feet touched the ground, he slightly shrugged his shoulders. Then, his body slid sideways as smoothly as flowing water, and I, who was running towards that spot, ended up facing Levidian with our swords crossed.
Clang!
“Ugh?!”
“Risel?!”
Whoa! My arm is numb! She must have struck with all her might because for a moment, I felt a pain as if the muscles in my arm were detaching from the bone. Uh oh, there’s a scratch on my sword! I would have been dead if it had hit me!
“Huff!”
Old Man approached the man with his rapier raised. Truly nimble movements for a middle-aged man with graying hair.
Clang! Chang!
However, the man blocked the attack with his saw. No, he counterattacked.
“Old Man, get back!”
“Hmm!”
Jay threw daggers repeatedly as he stepped forward, and at that moment, Old Man stepped back. And the man swung his left hand.
Thud!
Jay’s daggers were embedded in the two heads the man was holding. Jay groaned at the relentless movement.
“Ugh!”
Taking advantage of that short gap, Levidian stepped forward again. I followed behind her a step later.
“Chaaat!”
Crack!
She brushed past him first. The saw blade and the sword blade grated against each other, creating terrifying sparks. As she passed, he aimed for her back, but I was behind her.
“Hup!”
“Khihihi-! Hi-!”
Clang! Crack!
With a rising voice, his saw collided with my sword. And for a brief moment, I could clearly see his face.
The corners of his eyes were raised incredibly high, beyond belief for a human.
His irises were bloodshot, as if made of blood.
His lips were bright red against his pale white face.
And within them, his strangely pointed teeth flashed white.
And dark blue blood vessels bulged all over his body.
“He’s a monster!”
“Kideuk?!”
“Haap!”
Levidian lunged at him again. He quickly pulled his body back, but there, Permed Hendi and the security officers were ready with their spears.
Swish!
Several spears surged forward, sharply cutting through the air. Blocking and dodging them, he displayed movements that were far from human.
“Is that human?!”
Jay raised his voice in a scream. Lucy and Namia answered.
“He’s mixed with something that’s not human!”
“A demon…… has possessed him.”
“A demon? Then it’s your specialty!”
Jay threw his daggers frantically. And Levidian ran again, and Lucy seemed to be about to use magic with his staff extended forward.
In the midst of the commotion, Namia touched her holy symbol and said.
“But he’s still human. And…… a considerably high-level demon. We need to bind him first……”
“How long do we need to bind him?”
Namia looked at me and calmly said.
“One minute. We need a strong holy spell. He can’t move an inch during that time.”
“Not an inch?”
“Not an inch.”
At Namia’s cold and composed answer, Old Man, who had encountered the murderer several times, approached us, backing away as he spoke.
“That seems impossible. Above all, it’s a demon that even Grand Sunshine couldn’t detect……”
“It probably detected it by now. It seems the seed has just awakened. It’s an incomplete seed, so it won’t last long……”
Her eyes wavered slightly. She clearly knew something, but it was the kind of look that said she couldn’t speak. Maybe this was the reason she interfered with Artshever.
I grabbed her by the shoulders and brought my face closer. A slightly surprised expression appeared on her expressionless face. I whispered in her ear.
“What did you do?”
“That’s……”
She shrugged slightly and spoke in a difficult voice. I gritted my teeth and asked precisely.
“Is that…… the reason you interfered with Artshever?”
“I……”
She couldn’t help but nod. She sighed as if there was nothing she could do and pulled on my sleeve. And she whispered.
“He was trying to synchronize a demon and a human. That’s not why it became a public matter. I noticed it beforehand by chance. Even Grand Sunshine didn’t know. I tried to stop it using a holy spell, but…… thanks to that, the synchronization ended in an incomplete form. The demon’s seed was left inside the human body, drawing out the darkness. Now it’s struggling to awaken. Thankfully, it’s much weaker now.”
“Is there a way to stop it?”
“As I said earlier, bind him for one minute and……”
I stopped whispering with her.
Bind him for one minute?
How are we supposed to hold down someone who’s engaged in an inhuman battle with Levidian, Joey, and Old Man, while also blocking Lucy’s magic, for a whole minute?
Feeling irritated, I asked her.
“Can’t we just kill him?”
“That killing holy spell takes one minute. The demon exorcism spell requires a 15-minute ritual, considering the enemy’s level.”
“15 minutes? Damn it. By that time, Achuni’s battle priests will arrive!”
Right. One minute would be better. If we just close our eyes and somehow bind him for 60 seconds, we can kill him, right?
I fiddled with the rope around my waist. Would this work? My eyes then turned to Lucy, who had just used another magic spell and was frustrated. Lucy, could you……?
“Lucy, don’t you have any strengthening magic or something?”
“Damn it! Wait! ‘Strengthening’ isn’t my specialty! I’ll pull out a magic spell that works! I swear on the name of Ol Keres Pendens! I’ll tear him to shreds!”
Lucy finally seemed to have lost his temper and pulled out his magic book. It seemed he was trying to use a spell he didn’t usually memorize. However, I remember hearing that such spells have the disadvantage of taking a terribly long time.
“How long will that take?!”
“Five minutes! We don’t need to bind his feet! Just need him to be a bit away! About 5 meters!”
Namia’s holy spell is fast, but it has the drawback of needing to bind his feet. And Lucy takes a long time, but as long as there’s distance, it doesn’t matter?
“Really…… we need to somehow bind him……”
I gritted my teeth in frustration. He was still engaged in a back-and-forth battle with Levidian and the others.
“Kyauuuu-!”
His voice was becoming more and more hoarse, deep, and bizarre. As the demon awakened, the man was changing.
Artshever, what have you done?! A demon this time?!
Namia swallowed and said with a tense expression.
“In another 5-6 minutes, the demon will awaken. We need to finish this before then……”
“I know it’s urgent! But there’s no way!”
Namia gritted her teeth and lowered her head. It seemed she was trying to come up with something. And then Lucy’s expression brightened.
“Okay, I found it! You bastard! I’ll get rid of you!”
Lucy held his magic book in one hand and his staff in the other and began to chant a spell in a loud voice. Namia, seeing this, clenched her white hand around her priestly robes. Then, with a determined expression, she nodded.
“Every possible way. Ru Ikellainin.”
She approached Joey, who was in charge of containment along with Permed Hendi and the other security officers. Joey, holding his spear and ready to thrust it at any moment if the man charged, was startled by Namia’s approach.
“Namia…… High Priestess?”
“Just a moment……”
Namia stretched out both hands, trying to cup Joey’s face. However, due to the height difference, she ended up just holding her hands out, and Joey awkwardly lowered his head.
She held Joey’s cheeks, bringing his face close to hers, and touched their foreheads together, whispering a holy spell.
“Oh, great and merciful Lynin, grant your servant, the warrior you have acknowledged, the strength to overcome this trial. I pray that your blessings may be bestowed upon him, Ru Ikellainin.”
And she brought her lips to Joey’s forehead.
“Huh?!”
While Joey was surprised, a white light emanated from Namia and enveloped his body. Joey seemed surprised as he looked at his own body.
“Th-this is?”
“I’ve enhanced your innate strength. For the next five minutes…… you’ll have the blessings of the gods.”
And Namia approached me. Still with a determined expression, she stood before me and clasped her holy symbol between her hands, beginning to pray. It’s a bit different from before?
“Oh, great and merciful Lynin, here stands one who carries the light, ready to face the darkness. I beseech you to grant your servant’s wish. Grant him the will of light, the strength of light, and the love of light, so that he may vanquish the minions of darkness. Ru Ikellainin Do Mesicant.”
It was longer than the one she gave Joey, and the ending seemed more polite? Wait. Do Mesicant? That’s a famous saying, isn’t it? It’s ancient western language for ‘Forgive me.’
As I was wondering, she cupped my cheeks with both hands, just like she did with Joey. At some point, her white hands were enveloped in an even whiter light. I extended my forehead just enough not to be rude.
Namia brought her face closer and spoke in a small voice.
“Forgive my rudeness.”
“Excuse me……? Mmm!”
Instead of answering, she pressed her lips against mine.
Oh my god.
My thoughts stopped completely. For almost five seconds, until she pulled away, I couldn’t do anything.
The world stopped and then started moving again. No, w-what was with the sudden kiss? H-how did this……?
“W-w-whoa……?!”
Namia took a step back. She spoke confidently, even with her slightly flushed face.
“To match Joey’s strength, I had no choice but to directly inject a strong holy spell into your body. This should be enough.”
“Huh? W-what?”
I was speechless for a moment, overwhelmed by the immense power surging within me. An omnipotent power that felt like I could do anything was wriggling inside me. And the faint white light barrier surrounding my body felt incredibly warm and secure.
Namia held her holy symbol and bowed her head, saying.
“Now, I will begin preparing to construct the holy spell. I’ve used up too much of the divine power granted by the gods, so I only have one chance. I wish you the best of luck.”
“Ah, yes.”
With her orderly, logical words, I came back to my senses. I couldn’t even care that the chance for my first kiss had disappeared like the wind, nor could I think about how soft and warm it felt……
Ugh! Let’s not think about it!
“Joey, let’s go!”
“Ah, ah……! Yes, Hyung-nim!”
Joey, who had been dazed, finally came to his senses. Namia held her holy symbol and said.
“You can gain the upper hand. But you are non-believers. You cannot kill it. Keep this in mind.”
Joey and I nodded and approached Levidian and the others, who had pushed the man back against the wall.
*Krooooo-! *
Now he was shaking the space, not his throat, to scream. Thanks to that, lights started turning on in nearby buildings as people seemed to be waking up.
One fortunate thing was that most of them were shops, so not many people lived there. Since it was a busy commercial area, most merchants had their homes elsewhere.
“Risel, Joey, hurry up and help!”
Levidian, whether she saw the situation or guessed it, shouted as she quickly pushed the man back. But somehow, her voice felt a bit cold…… Was it just my imagination?
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