Chapter 1486 – 1486. Paladin: The Journey Of Eradication
I slowly looked around the altar where the ritual had been taking place. The demons that had been near the altar were gone. Only the blood-stained altar remained. However, a sinister energy was overflowing from the altar.
It was more intense than any magical power I had ever experienced.
I walked confidently towards the altar.
There was no fear.
All I had was the conviction that I could kill the Great Demon.
Crunch.
I stepped hard on the corpse of Barbaroyaks in my path. There was no way I would detour around the corpse of a necromancer out of fear.
Before I reached the altar, a change occurred. The magical power gathered on the altar transformed into a lump of flesh and fell to the ground with a thud.
The lump of flesh wriggled as if it were alive. And it grew larger and larger, as if multiplying. It took less than five seconds to grow to three meters.
“Good, good. This feeling of being reborn… only beings like me can feel it.”
A heavy voice came from the lump of flesh.
The shape of the lump of flesh changed again.
Fingers.
Countless fingers twisted and intertwined. There were no eyes. No legs. No arms. Only fingers twisted and intertwined. Small fingers, large fingers, thumbs, index fingers, middle fingers, ring fingers, pinkies. Thousands of fingers transformed into a human-like shape. There were even wings. Of course, these were also made of fingers.
The Great Demon Suthon.
He had been resurrected here.
I took out the Holy Spear from my inventory.
Suthon’s gaze turned to me. Or rather, since he had no eyes, it would be more accurate to say that his consciousness turned to me.
“Are you the new Paladin of Valentier?”
“You are the Great Demon Suthon.”
“I heard that a new Paladin appeared in Valentier less than a year ago. But to already possess such power… impressive.”
“For a dead guy, you’ve got good ears.”
“Even if I am dead, my eyes and ears are still open.”
“A guy with no eyes or ears?”
“Do you think you need eyes to see the world, ears to hear sounds, and a mouth to speak? That common sense is the limit of you mortals.”
I approached the Great Demon.
The Great Demon stood still and said,
“I have a proposal.”
“What is it?”
“Become a demon and serve me. I will give you power. I will give you the chance to shed your mortal body. You are too good for that goddess.”
“I’ll consider it if you let me kill you.”
“A flat refusal. I see. Die here, servant of the goddess. You are too dangerous to be left alive.”
Suthon spread his wings made of fingers. An enormous magical power emanated from him.
‘Aside from his attack, I have to stop him from rising into the air.’
Fighting an enemy in the air was very troublesome.
‘Flash.’
[Using Flash. Remaining stacks: 3]
I threw the Holy Spear Rotis.
He didn’t react. Even though I used Flash, his complete lack of reaction was unexpected.
‘He must not be in his normal state since he just resurrected.’
In other words.
‘I’m lucky.’
The Holy Spear not only tore apart his wings but also cut off the flow of magical power that was about to rampage. That alone was more than enough, and there was still a large amount of divine power left in the Holy Spear.
‘Reverse Summon. Summon.’
I summoned the Holy Spear that was stuck in the wall back into my hand.
Woo-oong.
The Holy Spear vibrated. At the same time, a massive amount of divine power flowed into me.
The Holy Spear’s will was clear. The Holy Spear wanted to kill the Great Demon in front of it.
“My wings are torn. This damned energy is eating away at me… I can’t even recover right away… You’re making me feel bad from the start.”
“Do I need to worry about your feelings?”
The demon flicked his hand.
The space in front of me distorted. I reacted quickly like a cat sensing danger. A long finger popped out of the distorted space. If I had stayed still, my heart would have been pierced by the finger.
“Fast.”
His attacks continued. Front, right, above my head. The space distorted simultaneously.
[Using Acceleration. Lasts for 10 minutes. Remaining stacks: 2]
I started running. I avoided the fingers popping out of the space as much as possible. If I couldn’t avoid them, I deflected them with the Holy Spear. Clang! The fingers that popped out of thin air were harder than steel.
Clap.
Suthon clapped his hands.
Fingers popped out of the floor. The fingers surrounded me.
‘There’s no room to dodge.’
Holy Aura.
A divine energy spread out and shook off the fingers.
“That Holy Spear. It’s been bothering me since earlier.”
Suthon swung his arm. It stretched out like a whip and struck my body. I rolled on the floor. I was hit once, and the Stormbreaker armor couldn’t withstand it and tore.
‘If I get hit one more time, I’ll die.’
In other words, I just need to not get hit.
[Using Flash. Remaining stacks: 1]
I jumped up and leaped towards Suthon.
‘Shine.’
Light emanated from the Holy Spear. The light engulfed everything. The Holy Spear instantly took control of the space that had been filled with Suthon’s magical power.
The divine power that had accumulated in the Holy Spear for 200 years temporarily blocked the Great Demon’s power.
I could see Suthon panicking as he tried to react. It was natural since he could no longer use magic.
Of course, I didn’t let my guard down. Just because he couldn’t use magic didn’t mean his physical body was weak. Suthon could kill me with his physical abilities alone, without magic.
Suthon extended his finger towards me. I could feel the magical power condensed at the tip of his finger.
[Using Flash. Remaining stacks: 0]
I dodged the attack with Flash. I still had a full recovery left, but there was no reason to get hit on purpose.
‘Holy Sword.’
I used all of the Holy Spear’s divine power.
Golden divine power gathered on the blade, forming a sword body. The sword body quickly grew, easily exceeding 10 meters. The shaft of the Holy Spear became the hilt of the sword. I swung the Holy Sword, which felt weightless despite its size, towards Suthon.
Suthon’s body and even the castle were cut in half at once.
“That I would be… by something like this…!”
Suthon struggled not to fall. His body, cut in half, was forcibly sticking together, trying to recover. But the outcome was decided. The divine power of the Holy Sword was not just for show. It was the divine power that had accumulated for 200 years. Not even a Great Demon could withstand it.
Suthon’s body collapsed. The divine power began to melt Suthon’s body.
“Don’t think… this is the end…! I am an immortal being! This world will welcome me again!”
“No. That will never happen.”
[Level has increased.]
[Level has increased.]
[Level has increased.]
The Great Demon Suthon’s soul clung to me.
It wasn’t something I could avoid by dodging. I accepted the Great Demon’s soul.
A pain that felt like my body was breaking washed over me. The pain stirred my body wildly and then went up to my head. It was trying to invade my mind. However, the divine power remaining within me blocked the energy of corruption.
“Hoo.”
I sighed. The Great Demon’s soul was, as expected, extraordinary.
My eyes caught the Great Demon’s corpse as I was about to leave. The corpse was melting away due to the divine power. Before the corpse completely melted, I took out the Great Demon’s heart. I had already decided where to use the Great Demon’s heart.
‘The Holy Spear… has returned to its normal state.’
I had used all the divine power that had accumulated for 200 years. The Holy Spear had turned into just a solid spear. It would take decades for the Holy Spear to regain its original form.
Before leaving the Grand Hall, I looked up at the ceiling.
The sword mark left on the ceiling was etched even into the sky. The clouds floating in the sky were split in half. It looked as if the sky was misaligned.
‘200 years of divine power… it’s quite something.’
That was the end of my musings.
I turned and left the Grand Hall.
One Great Demon had died today. Three more remained.
•••
I entered the city of Valentier.
All the citizens were out on the main street. They cheered as they saw me riding a white horse and walking proudly. The fact that the resurrected Great Demon Suthon had died had spread to the citizens.
They showered me with flower petals as if blessing my path. The shoulders of the paladins and inquisitors following me were puffed up with pride.
“Thank you! Thank you! Paladin!”
“Glory to the Paladin!”
“Thanks be to the Goddess Herianne!”
The citizens, feeling joy, began to hold a festival among themselves. Some of the young women among them threw blatant flirtatious glances at me. I was about to shout that it was blasphemous, but I stopped myself.
‘With one Great Demon dead, the world has become a little more peaceful.’
The Great Demon Suthon.
He was the biggest headache for the city of Valentier. He was a Great Demon who constantly targeted the metropolis of Valentier. That guy was dead. It would take decades for him to resurrect. Of course, that was after the Great Demon’s soul was released from me.
‘Will this world become peaceful if all the Great Demons die?’
I could confidently say that it wouldn’t.
Humans would clash with each other. Perhaps the church and the nobles might even turn their swords against each other.
‘The situation after all the Great Demons are dead is none of my concern.’
My goal was to eradicate all the Great Demons.
That was all.
•••
As soon as I arrived at the sanctuary, I immediately immersed myself in the sacred pond.
The energy of corruption that had been eating away at my body and trying to pull down my spirit was purified.
The purification ritual lasted for three days.
It took a lot of time because it was the purification of a Great Demon’s soul. Even so, I couldn’t completely purify the Great Demon’s soul. Great Demons were immortal.
“The purification ritual is complete. We will now begin the separation ritual.”
“What do I need to do?”
“Just place your hand on my back.”
She knelt in front of the statue of the goddess.
I approached her from behind. Her attire was always fascinating. An outfit that exposed her back. In some ways, it felt suggestive.
I reached out my hand and placed it on her back, where the holy mark was engraved. My palm touched her back. It was soft and warm. At the same time, I could clearly feel her heartbeat.
Her holy mark began to shine.
The Great Demon’s soul that had been clinging to me moved to her back.
A winged cross.
The Great Demon’s soul was engraved below that cross. It was a picture of intertwined fingers.
“Paladin, you have worked hard. The soul of the Great Demon Suthon has been sealed within me.”
“It’s the soul of a Great Demon. Are you alright?”
“Please don’t worry about me. I will always purify myself in this sanctuary. The Great Demon’s soul cannot corrupt me.”
I nodded.
The Great Demon’s soul was sealed within her. Since it was sealed, it would be difficult for it to exert its power. Even in the game, there were cases of Paladins falling, but there was never a case of a Saintess falling.
“Then, it’s time to settle accounts.”
