Chapter 1497 – 1497. Paladin: A Journey Of Eradication
I used the return stone to return to the Valenti Sanctuary.
As always, the Saintess was in the sanctuary. However, the atmosphere of the sanctuary was different from usual. She, who always maintained her composure, was moving busily, preparing something. There were unfamiliar objects around the sacred pond. They were like statues or jewels, imbued with divine power. In other words, they were sacred objects.
I approached her and said,
“Amelia. Things have gone wrong. I killed Colossus, but the Great Demon Bleart appeared, leading tens of thousands of demons. All the paladins except me are dead. This place is also dangerous. Bleart is aiming for the resurrection of the Great Demons. In other words, he will advance with his demonic forces to kill you and me.”
The Saintess was calm.
“I know.”
“You know…?”
“The Goddess has given me a revelation. The preparations for the purification ritual are almost complete. Please enter the sacred pond.”
“What are those things placed around the sacred pond?”
“There is no time, so we decided to use sacred objects for this purification ritual.”
I quickly took off my clothes and walked into the sacred pond.
As I did, I became worried.
Unlike in the original game, the purification ritual does not happen instantly. But right now, I was suffering from the souls of the Great Demon, as well as thousands of demon souls. If I were to proceed with the purification ritual normally, it could take at least a week.
“How many hours will the purification ritual take?”
“I brought sacred objects to reduce the time as much as possible. I will finish the purification ritual within a day.”
The Saintess said with a determined voice.
I lay down in the sacred pond. I felt my body relax. The corrupting energy that had been gnawing at my body weakened.
Above the clear water, I could see the Saintess praying to the Goddess Herianne. The immense divine power she possessed touched the holy water.
I forced my eyes shut. There was nothing I could do by being impatient here. The more urgent things are, the more carefully they must be handled. The first step was the purification ritual.
‘Fortunately, Valenti is far away from where the Great Demon Colossus was. Even if the demons advance without rest for a day, it will take them several days to arrive.’
There was still time.
•••
The purification ritual ended in a day.
I rose from the sacred pond. Around the sacred pond, I saw shattered sacred objects and Amelia collapsed.
I held Amelia, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion, in my arms. On her back, there was a lizard drawing, signifying the soul of the Great Demon Colossus.
‘I need to get out of here. Bleart will relentlessly target me and Amelia. Especially Amelia.’
Unlike me, Amelia had no combat power. If the Great Demon Bleart targeted her with intent, it would be hard for her to withstand it. But I couldn’t always be by her side either. The best thing to do was to hide from Bleart’s eyes, as the paladin of Jigolas had said.
‘A place to escape to… it should be a place as similar to a sanctuary as possible.’
Any other paladin would have been in a lot of trouble. But I had the information and knowledge from the original game. I knew a few special places that Bleart didn’t know about.
I gritted my teeth.
The demons would invade Valenti. The citizens of Valenti would be massacred by the demons. Knowing that, I didn’t like the fact that I had to run away. But there was no other way. There was too much at stake to make a dangerous choice just because I didn’t like it.
‘Demons can’t wipe out humans. Humans are their food.’
Human souls and bodies. They were all food for demons. Demons also had brains. There was little benefit for demons to wipe out humans. Bleart’s top priority would be to kill me and the Saintess and release the souls of the Great Demons. Secondarily, it would be to suppress the spirit of humans.
‘It won’t go as you wish, Bleart.’
[Name: Eugene
Class: Paladin
Level: 94
Strength: 85 Agility: 50 Stamina: 50 Divine Power: 75
Skills: Holy Sight (Lv. Ultimate), Holy Aura (Lv. Master), Divine Sword (Lv. Ultimate), Sprint (Lv.3), Holy Light (Lv.7), Divine Enhancement (Lv. Master), Resurrection (Lv. Master), Descent (Lv. 1), Sacrifice (Lv. 1), Perfect Body (Lv. 5), Wings of Dawn (Lv. 3).]
I checked my stats.
Just looking at my level and stats, it wouldn’t be strange to call it the best spec. It was a spec that would have been more than enough to clear the game smoothly in the original game. But reality was different. Even with this spec, I wasn’t sure I could kill Bleart.
‘Bleart isn’t being careless. The fact that he gathered demons is proof of that. He won’t be moving alone either….’
I used the heart of the Great Demon Colossus and the blessing energy to enhance my skills. The blessing energy had accumulated enormously.
[Name: Eugene
Class: Paladin
Level: 94
Strength: 95 Agility: 70 Stamina: 67 Divine Power: 82
Skills: Holy Sight (Lv. Ultimate), Holy Aura (Lv. Ultimate), Divine Sword (Lv. Ultimate), Sprint (Lv.5), Holy Light (Lv.7), Divine Enhancement (Lv. Master), Resurrection (Lv. Master), Descent (Lv. 7), Sacrifice (Lv. 5), Perfect Body (Lv. Master), Wings of Dawn (Lv. Master), Holy Fire (Lv. 5), Light Binding (Lv.3)]
It was the completed spec after using everything. My stats increased additionally as Perfect Body reached Master level.
The heart of the Great Demon was used to enhance Holy Aura.
‘Holy Aura is an area-of-effect skill and a buff skill. It has good versatility. It’s effective for sweeping away the small fry.’
The preparations were complete.
Next was to get out of here and hide.
I opened the door of the sanctuary and went outside. Outside the sanctuary, paladins, priests, and inquisitors were gathered.
They didn’t stop me. They cleared the way as if they knew everything.
“Paladin, do not yield to evil.”
“We believe that the Paladin will eradicate the Great Demon.”
“The Goddess will be with us.”
They had the eyes of those who had already accepted death.
I closed my mouth. Any words I carelessly uttered would be an insult to them.
“Paladin.”
The Archbishop of Valenti appeared before me. In his hands were a white cloak. The edges of the cloak were decorated with gold thread, giving it a luxurious feel.
“…Archbishop. What is that?”
“It is the Cloak of the Saint. It has the effect of concealing the wearer’s presence. It will be useful for avoiding the pursuit of demons.”
I accepted the cloak. I draped the cloak over my shoulders and hid Amelia inside it.
“There is a secret passage leading outside. You will be able to quickly escape out of the city.”
“We have prepared food. It will last for a week.”
“Do not worry about Valenti. Valenti will never fall to the demons.”
Before leaving, I said,
“I am grateful for your dedication. There is only one thing I can promise you. I will eradicate the Great Demon Bleart and destroy all demons in this world.”
“That is enough, Paladin.”
•••
After escaping from Valenti, I ran through the forest path with Amelia in my arms. The speed was much faster than riding a horse. It was because my physical abilities had surpassed those of a human.
While running through the forest path, I saw corrupted beasts.
I couldn’t just pass by the corrupted beasts. I slightly changed direction, kicked the body of a corrupted beast, and stomped on the head of the fallen one, crushing it.
‘They only realized they were being attacked right before it happened. The cloak’s effect is excellent.’
Kiiiiiiiiing.
Holy Sight activates, making me aware of the presence of corrupted beasts nearby.
I gritted my teeth. I wanted to find them all and kill them, but what was important now was to take Amelia to a safe place. I shouldn’t mistake the priority of things.
After running for two days without rest, I arrived at my destination.
A mountain.
And it was an active volcano with ongoing volcanic activity.
There were no demons here. Even demons would find it hard to withstand the intense heat emitted by the active volcano. Moreover, there were no humans nearby, who were the demons’ playthings and food. Above all, this was the domain of an existence that even demons couldn’t ignore.
‘There’s also a place underground that can replace the sanctuary.’
A long time ago.
Before the volcano became active, this place was one of the sacred sites of the Herianne Order.
I slowly walked around the volcano, looking for a cave. As soon as I found a cave, I went inside. In the deepest part of the cave, I dug into the ground with the Executioner’s Sword. Or rather, it felt more like cutting and splitting the rock. The ground here was made of solid rock.
After cutting and breaking the ground with the sword, a hole appeared. Without delay, I went down underground with the Saintess in my arms.
I landed on the floor about 10 meters down.
Normally, the temperature should be hot. This was inside an active volcano. But strangely, the temperature inside was more comfortable than outside.
“Krrrrrrrr….”
The howling of a beast echoed through the space. I firmly held the Saintess with my left arm and raised the Executioner’s Sword with my right hand, preparing for battle.
If I carelessly put the Saintess down on the floor, she might die in the worst-case scenario. Even if it was a bit uncomfortable, it was much better to fight while holding her.
‘Holy Fire.’
Golden flames flared up in front of me.
The dark space was illuminated, and not far away, there was a red beast. The huge beast, over 5 meters tall, resembled a lion.
Once, the beast, revered as a divine beast of Herianne, was drooling as it looked at me and Amelia.
The corrupted divine beast, Tegias.
‘Whether you’re a divine beast or not, if you’re corrupted, you should die.’
Feeling murderous intent, Tegias kicked off the ground and jumped. Its massive body fell towards me.
‘Sprint.’
I jumped forward. Tegias fell where I had been. I looked back. Tegias was running towards me, its red mane flying.
‘Light Binding.’
Light appeared and wrapped around Tegias’s body. The bound Tegias twitched in place. Light Binding doesn’t last long. Maybe it would work on ordinary demons. But Tegias was a monster that could chew up most demons.
‘It’s enough that I caught it for a moment. Wings of Dawn. Flash. Holy Aura. Divine Sword.’
I spread my wings of light and leaped towards Tegias. With Flash, my body became faster, and I stood on top of its head in an instant. Immediately after, I activated Holy Aura to enhance my abilities, enhanced the Executioner’s Sword with Divine Sword, and stabbed the Executioner’s Sword into the top of its head.
‘Divine Discharge.’
Kwaaaang!
Tegias’s head exploded.
The corrupted divine beast died like that.
