Chapter 1491 – 1491. Paladin: A Journey Of Eradication
The Pope’s eyes narrowed sharply.
His eyeballs bulged out. They didn’t fall out but instead rose upwards. The nerve bundles connected to the eyeballs were taut like muscles.
It was a repulsive sight. The Pope was already corrupted beyond redemption.
Kwaaaang!
A shockwave erupted from the Pope. I leaped to the side, dodging the shockwave. The ground where the shockwave had passed was a chaotic mess.
“You know what? The Goddess does nothing.”
“You spout nonsense. Goddess Herianne has made provisions for humanity. My existence is proof of that.”
“That’s all she does. The Goddess has done nothing except give revelations to Paladins and Saints. It was humans who built the Papal States, humans who developed the Holy Law, and humans who crafted the Holy Swords. Look at the Great Demons, on the other hand. They actively interfere in this world.”
“Do you truly not know that humanity still exists because the Goddess exists? You are merely blaspheming the divine to justify your own corruption. You, who have succumbed to demons and fallen, have no right to blaspheme the divine.”
“Haha. You are so devout. It’s sickening to watch.”
Hynes’ eyes spun. A shockwave flew towards me. I dodged it again, closing the distance to him.
‘Accelerate, Dash.’
[Acceleration is used. It lasts for 10 minutes. Remaining stacks: 6]
My legs moved faster. I gripped the sword hilt with both hands, aiming for Hynes’ neck. The distance closed in an instant. Hynes didn’t seem fazed at all. Just as I was about to pierce his neck, he suddenly vanished from my sight.
I stopped, bewildered.
-Hehehehehe.
I heard the Great Demon Arias’ mocking laughter.
I immediately understood what had happened.
‘It’s an illusion. Arias is already interfering…’
In the original story, the Great Demon Arias only began to actively interfere after Hynes’ death. But now, from the very beginning, things were different from the original plot.
‘That means she’s wary of me.’
It was understandable.
Originally, in the original story, there were many things to do at the Papal States. I ignored all of that and went straight to the Pope.
Kwaaaaaang!
A shockwave flew towards me. It was coming from the right. The distance was close, so it wouldn’t be easy to dodge.
[Moment(刹那) is used. Remaining stacks: 5]
Using Moment, I dodged the shockwave and leaped towards Hynes. My greatsword sliced through Hynes’ body. His body scattered like smoke.
“Where are you aiming? I’m right here. Your holy eyes can’t even distinguish between real and fake.”
Hynes mocked me from behind.
I turned around and smirked.
“Your body is mutating more and more. It’s hideous. Do you know? You’re turning into a worm that crawls through the dirt. Are you satisfied being a Great Demon’s pet worm?”
“At least I’m not the Goddess’s hunting dog. Do you know the fate of Paladins? There have been many Paladins, but none have lived out their natural lifespan. An average of 10 years. They die within 30 years at the longest.”
“I know what kind of nonsense you’re spouting.”
Paladins are human. They age. And when they age, their bodies weaken, and demons are always on the lookout for Paladins.
“Paladins are merely hunting dogs used by the Goddess. No matter how many enemies they bite, they are ultimately used and then die.”
“That’s because the Paladins until now were incompetent. One year. I will kill all the Great Demons within one year.”
“You? Arrogant.”
Hynes’ voice overlapped with the Great Demon Arias’ voice.
Why was the Great Demon’s tongue so long? The reason was simple. Arias wanted me to fall. The moment I showed even the slightest opening, she would abandon Hynes’ body and possess me.
“Arias. Your tricks won’t work on me.”
-Reveal your desires. Then every woman in this world will pant beneath you.
Another illusion appeared. Naked beauties danced, trying to seduce me. I took a deep breath and steadied my mind. The illusion shattered, and I saw Hynes standing in front of me. Hynes’ body had mutated even closer to a demon in that short time.
‘He’s moved into the second phase. It’s proof that Arias is using her power on the Pope.’
The situation was dangerous.
But it wasn’t all bad. The fact that Arias was using her power so actively meant she considered me dangerous.
And even a Great Demon’s power wasn’t limitless.
“Haha, hahahahaha!”
Hynes laughed. He was mistaking the immense power Arias was providing as his own.
At that moment, the surrounding space distorted, and ghosts appeared.
‘Is this also an illusion?’
I ignored the approaching ghosts and advanced. The important thing now was to cut off Hynes’ head. Only then would Arias reveal her true form.
“Kieeeeeeeeeeek!”
The ignored ghost chased after me and screamed in my ear.
My body momentarily swayed. Blood flowed from my right ear. I planted my greatsword on the ground to regain my balance. My wavering vision slowly recovered. Ghosts swarmed around me.
“Haha! I’ll give you one last chance. Abandon your faith.”
“I’d rather die than abandon my faith.”
“Then die.”
Something shot up from the ground. They were tentacles like tree roots. More than ten tentacles were aiming for me.
I gritted my teeth and swung my greatsword, rotating my body. The tentacles were cut off and fell. The tentacles shot up from the ground again. The ghosts circling around me began to scream in unison.
“Kieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!”
I used Holy Aura.
The holy energy neutralized the ghosts’ screams.
‘Annoying. If I stay like this, I won’t even be able to get close to Hynes, let alone kill him.’
It wasn’t the time to conserve my abilities. I used the new skill I had acquired last time.
Descent (Lv. 1).
A portion of the divine power within me escaped into the void. The golden divine power drew a line in the void and then emitted a brilliant light in all directions. From within the light, an angel, a messenger of the Goddess and her servant, descended.
The angel with a pair of white wings wore armor and held a spear in its hand. Since the level of Descent was low, it was a low-ranking angel.
Also, the angel had no ego. The angel was merely a weapon manufactured by the Goddess.
As soon as it descended, the angel unleashed a Holy Aura and began attacking the ghosts.
“Paladin, you have summoned something hateful. But how long do you think that thing will last?”
It wouldn’t last long.
It was just a low-ranking angel after all. It was stronger than a fallen one, but weaker than an ordinary demon.
‘It just needs to hold out a little against the annoying ghosts and tentacles.’
That was the original purpose for choosing Descent.
Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) Gale Lightning (疾風迅雷).
Fzzzt.
Golden lightning enveloped my body. My physical abilities increased dramatically.
[Moment(刹那) is used. Remaining stacks: 4]
I closed the distance in an instant. Hynes retreated in panic. Perhaps it was because his body was already rapidly mutating. Hynes’ foot slipped on the ground, and he fell backward. It was a stroke of luck in this urgent situation.
‘Holy Sword!’
I thrust the holy sword, shining brilliantly with golden light, into Hynes’ torso.
“Kuaaaaaaaak!”
Hynes let out a scream filled with pain. Of course, I didn’t care at all. I moved the sword. I was going to cut through his flesh and slice off his head in one go.
‘…The sword won’t move.’
Hynes’ flesh stuck to the sword with a squishing sound. It stuck so strongly that it wasn’t easy to pull it out even with my strength.
‘Lightning!’
Fzzzzzzzt!
Golden current flowed through the sword blade into his body. But Hynes didn’t die easily.
“Lord Arias! Power! Give me more power…!”
Hynes’ flesh began to swell. It was beyond disgusting.
The flesh swelled rapidly. Judging it was dangerous, I let go of the sword hilt and tried to retreat, but the flesh exploded a step faster.
I was thrown backward, rolling on the ground with blood, flesh, and bone fragments. As if to prove it wasn’t an ordinary explosion, my armor was shattered. I forced my heavy body up.
‘Where is he?’
Hynes was standing, staggering. He was a gruesome sight. More than 80% of his body was gone, but he was barely maintaining his form with an unseen power.
Thump-thump.
His heart was beating. Blood vessels wriggled around the heart, barely forming a human shape.
“Is that the end of someone who has given everything to a demon? It’s so disgusting, I feel like throwing up.”
The mouth, which barely had any trace left, moved slowly. What came out of his mouth was a voice filled with pain, as if it were coming from hell.
“S-save me…. It hurts so much…. Help me… Lord Arias… A, aaaa…!”
“Did you think you were anything to Arias? You were just Arias’ toy.”
Hynes staggered and moved. It wasn’t Hynes’ will that was moving him. It was Arias who was controlling that body, which was too pathetic to even be called a body.
I stretched my palm forward. Blood dripped down. My body was also at its limit. The curse explosion from earlier was eating away at my body.
‘Holy Sword.’
I squeezed out divine power. Golden light gathered in front of my palm, taking the form of a sword. The holy sword, receiving my will, flew towards Hynes and pierced his heart.
Bang!
The holy sword caused a small explosion, delivering the final blow to Hynes. Hynes’ last remains fell to the ground with a thud.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
I heard the angel’s scream from behind. It had been unable to withstand the attacks of numerous ghosts and had died a glorious death.
The ghosts rushed towards the remnants of Hynes’ body, not me. The remnants of the body rose into the air, clumped together, and transformed into the shape of a heart. The ghosts screamed with joy and offered themselves to the heart.
The heart throbbed. Each time the heart beat, powerful magic spread in all directions.
“Great Demon Arias….”
A demon with a form, yet formless, revealed itself.
-Hehehe. It’s been a long time since I’ve stepped out like this. It’s really unpleasant.
-I need a new body.
-And there’s a perfect body right in front of me?
-Now, let’s become one.
The heart slowly flew towards me. Arias thought she had won. She didn’t know about my resurrection and complete recovery.
I checked my body’s condition.
My lower body was necrotic. I was leaning on my sword to stand, but even that was at its limit.
I had to die once. I didn’t want to die to Arias.
“Goddess Herianne, I offer this body to you.”
I sacrificed the last of my remaining life.
