[Danger!]
[Commander of the Church’s Holy Knights]
[Dozmek, Sword of the Goddess Lv. 85]
The Commander of the Holy Knights, huh?
I’ve caught a big one.
It seemed he was in charge of all the knights of the Church.
“You must be Han Israt. I’ve heard of your name.”
The middle-aged knight slowly drew his sword. A soft light glowed from his eyes.
“I am Dozmek Ryel, a Holy Knight who has pledged my sword to Tel and Ikar.”
“Where are the others? Why are you alone?”
“I have no obligation to tell you.”
“Hiding them somewhere? It’d be smarter to gather them all in one place. Your men are probably losing their heads down below as we speak.”
I chuckled as I spoke.
“You have neither kindness nor decency.”
“That’s not for you to say. If you’re close to the Saintess, you should know what Tel has done. Yet you still cling to your beliefs?”
The knight lowered his gaze.
“If the Saintess and I die... please spare my men.”
“No.”
I cut him off.
“Anyone with the Church’s mark will die here. Not one will be spared.”
“I don’t leave enemies alive. That’s my rule. Getting stabbed in the back would be troublesome.”
“Then... I have no choice but to eliminate you here.”
Dozmek lowered his sword.
A faint white light began to rise from his blade.
“Be careful, Han. If that sword touches you, even the Black Dragon Scales will be damaged.”
Srrrung.
I drew Bifrost.
This wasn’t an opponent I could handle bare-handed.
“I’ll take your head.”
With a fluid, water-like motion, Dozmek charged at me with his sword raised.
And—
‘If I hadn’t acquired the Dragon Soul, this would’ve been quite the ordeal.’
I twisted my sword.
A drop of red blood trickled down the blade, staining the leaves below.
Before me lay Dozmek’s corpse, his chest split open.
I felt no particular emotions.
He was just one of the thousands of people I had killed.
I flicked the blood off my blade and left the garden.
After walking down a long corridor, I arrived at a massive hall.
On both sides of the hall, marble pillars lined the way, with various statues of the Goddess carved in many places.
[Danger!]
[Blind Saintess]
[Irine Terarisa Lv. ???]
At the far end of the hall, on a terrace overlooking the city, stood a woman dressed in a pure white robe. She had her back to me.
Her voice echoed in my mind.
Hearing it always puts me [N O V E L I G H T] in a foul mood.
I frowned and approached the Saintess.
“Have you prepared your last words? Don’t even think about running.”
“Don’t be so cold. I never intended to flee from the start.”
Irine continued.
“So, it has come to this, as the Goddess foretold. We were born to be consumed by you. Do you think you’ll become stronger if you devour me?”
“I doubt it. I’d probably vomit it back up because it’s so tasteless.”
“Such responses aren’t helpful. You’ll need to be stronger if you intend to prevent the fall of Townia.”
Irine looked beyond the terrace, where explosions filled the sky.
“I can’t even remember when it was. Our Church tried its best to save Townia alongside His Highness the Prince. But we failed. Miserably. We couldn’t even put up a decent resistance. All we could do was run, and run...”
“Do you think things will be different for you?”
Irine lowered her gaze.
The Holy City of Delhive was burning. Mercenaries had breached the fortress.
“Do you truly believe you can save Townia?”
“That’s not for you to worry about.”
I drew closer to Irine’s back. There were no guards around her. She was completely alone.
“You’ve awakened the power of the Ancient Species... At this point, even if I use the Eye’s power, I won’t be able to defeat you.”
“You’re right.”
“But I still have another method.”
As I approached her, I was suddenly stopped by an invisible barrier.
‘This...’
It was a no-entry zone.
The boss was right in front of me, yet there was a restriction?
I scowled.
“Do you know? During the three years you were gone, I tried every method to open my third eye. Some of the things I did were what a demon would do. I bathed in the blood of young girls and sacrificed countless believers.”
Irine turned her gaze outside the city.
I followed her eyes and saw Pria, alongside Yoshua, entering the Holy City.
“This eye can only be used once.”
“......”
“This is the ultimate technique of the Demon’s Eye. It turns illusion into reality... the Devil’s Eye. Go ahead and try to break through. If you can, it’ll be your victory.”
Irine laughed loudly.
And then—
[“The Left Eye That Desecrates the Heavens”]
A massive violet eye appeared in the sky above the Holy City.
[“The Right Eye That Devours the Earth”]
Next to the violet eye, a burning crimson pupil emerged. The pair of eyes gazed down at the city below.
[Danger!]
[Saint Irine’s forbidden technique, ‘Eyes of the Reaper,’ is activated!]
Irine’s Demon Eyes were locked onto one person.
‘Pria.’
Crash!
I kicked the barrier in front of me.
But it didn’t budge.
‘...Damn it.’
This wall was unbreakable.
At least, until I surpassed the limits of a hero.
“Hyung!”
Yoshua’s urgent voice echoed.
“Her Highness clutched her chest and suddenly collapsed! What’s happening?”
“...Just leave her alone.”
“What?”
“I’ll take care of it. Just stay out of the way.”
A holographic message appeared on Anytng’s interface.
[Ding!]
[‘Eyes of the Reaper’ has been cast on special NPC ‘Priasis Al Ragnar.’]
[Her life is in danger. Drag and drop the screen to reach the NPC trapped in the illusion!]
Anytng quickly swiped across the screen.
[Slash!]
[A dimensional gate connected to the illusion has been opened!]
Whooooom.
A vortex of light appeared in the center of the hall.
‘So, you want to play, huh?’
I won’t refuse.
I gripped my sword tightly and stepped into the vortex.