Chapter 132 Your Own Words Will Be Your Undoing
Chapter 132 Your Own Words Will Be Your Undoing
A few minutes earlier—
Katherine had just separated from Iryoku. She urged the lizard mount forward, speeding through the shattered gates and past the city walls. Soon, they reached the farmlands.
The slaves were scattered across the fields, still working as if nothing had changed. Those who had escaped earlier from the prison stood nearby, trying to convince them to flee. There were no guards anymore—most had either run away or gone into the city to fight the demons.
“It’s true! The Death Tree is gone! It’s our chance—let’s go, everyone!” shouted one of the escaped prisoners, a young man with a broad frame and tusks jutting from his mouth. He carried a small child in his arms—the child missing one hand.
The air grew colder as snow continued to fall, soft flakes drifting over the fields.
But the slaves harvesting crops didn’t move. They kept their heads down, hands trembling as they worked. Most had been born here. They had never known freedom.
Even the children Katherine had freed from the cage—the ones who were going to be executed by the Death Tree—now stood among them, uncertain, mimicking their parents as they continued to labor in silence. Their small bodies shuddered from the cold.
Then—shouts erupted in the distance. More people—mostly human citizens—were running from the city, screaming in terror. They rushed past the fields toward the massive bridge, ignoring the demihumans.
The slaves froze for a moment, fear spreading through them… then they began working faster, muttering in panic.
“Please don’t hit me…”
“Keep working… keep working…”
Katherine dismounted from the lizard, her expression pained.
“Everybody, let’s go! We have to run—now!” she shouted, slashing through the air. Her sword shimmered with energy as she cut through the demihumans’ chains one by one.
A sudden gust of wind swept past—Orn descended in a flash, its wings slicing through the remaining chains before rising again into the dark sky.
The freed people looked down at their hands, stunned—then turned their eyes toward her, uncertain.
A demihuman… freeing them? The catgirl’s presence left them speechless.
Just as Katherine was about to speak again, a blinding light burst from the direction of the bridge.
Clash!
Everyone turned toward it.
Screams echoed. “Aaaaghhh!”
People fell from the bridge into the lake below as a formation of knights appeared—robes of white and black whipping in the wind. Some wore golden cloaks, their armor gleaming as they marched forward across the bridge.
At their center stood a young, androgynous priest holding a grand staff. His robe was pure gold, his expression alight with cold zeal.
“Repent, heretics! Animal lovers!” he thundered.
“Repent!” the surrounding knights and priests echoed in unison.
Before him, two towering knights—faces hidden beneath golden hoods—lifted several terrified citizens high into the air. Their movements were strange, almost mechanical. Then, with brutal force, they slammed the victims onto the bridge before the priest.
The wooden structure shuddered. Blood pooled and ran between the cracks.
A chilling chant rose from the priest’s lips.
Golden light poured from his body as the fallen humans screamed, writhing in agony. The glow consumed them, burning through flesh and soul until they withered into dust—vanishing from sight.
“For the Dominion of Light—burn with the light of the Creator!” the priest chanted.
His followers echoed in unison: “For the Dominion of Light!”
The demihumans recoiled, terror etched across their faces. Katherine stood frozen, eyes wide with disbelief.
The priest lifted his staff, golden eyes gleaming with divine madness.
“The Dominion of Light has arrived!” he proclaimed. “All sinners will be purified! All must atone before the holy fire!”
His gaze shifted toward the demihuman slaves.
“You lowly creatures… pretending to be human. You must be erased.”
As his staff extended toward them, golden energy gathered in it—forming a massive arrow of light that hissed with a sick, otherworldly sound.
“What the hell is the Dominion doing all the way up north?” Katherine muttered, dashing forward.
Meanwhile, in the lake below, the people who had fallen struggled to swim. The water rippled—something moved beneath.
Crunch.
Screams echoed as they were dragged underwater. Moments later, the lake turned red.
From the bridge, the chant grew louder:
“For the Dominion of Light!”
Bereket raised his staff higher. “The Light One has judged you all—heretics!” His golden eyes locked onto the demihumans at the shore.
Then he released the arrow.
Flash!
Katherine arrived just in time. She slammed her feet into the ground, gripping her sword tight. The blade blazed with energy as she focused every ounce of strength—Parade!
The golden arrow struck. Katherine met it head-on, twisting her blade at the perfect angle. The beam deflected upward, spiraling toward the clouds.
Crash!
A blinding explosion erupted across the distant mountains, lighting up the heavens in molten gold.
Bereket staggered back, eyes wide. “How dare a mere beast mock the power of the Creator!” he roared, channeling energy again. Another massive arrow began to form at his staff’s tip.
“Everyone—behind me!” Katherine shouted, panting heavily. Her body burned with fatigue; her stamina was almost gone. But she didn’t move back.
Seeing her—the demihuman warrior standing against holy power—sparked something in the others.
Footsteps thudded around her as the beastfolk began to step forward—elephant-folk, bear-men, and others, muscles tensing, fists clenched. The boar man holding the one-armed child stepped beside her, eyes burning with rage and grief.
They had endured too much at the hands of humans. Not anymore.
Most of them had never been trained for battle or magic, but their bodies carried the strength of a lifetime of labor—and now, that strength burned with purpose.
Children huddled behind them, silent, watching their parents rise for the first time.
Suddenly, the air split apart—energy crackling. A black blade shot down from above at immeasurable speed, followed by a streak of white light.
From high in the air, Iryoku’s voice thundered:
“Infinity Edge!”
His harpoon spun as he hurled it downward, the dagger’s edge coated in dense black energy.
Bereket and his followers turned, startled—
Clash!
The harpoon struck—
Both towering knights moved at once, their bodies engulfed in golden light. They swung their greatswords in perfect unison, intercepting the attack. The impact exploded with raw force, black and gold energy colliding. The air rippled.
With a metallic shriek, the harpoon was deflected away.
Iryoku landed hard in front of Katherine and the demihumans, dust swirling around him.
Ahead, the two towering knights stepped forward, positioning themselves between Bereket and Iryoku. Their bodies glowed with the same blinding light pouring from the priest, their movements stiff, almost mechanical.
Both lowered their greatswords in perfect synchrony.
Bereket’s expression twisted in fury.
“You… heretic of shadow! So it was true what the late High Priest told us…” His voice trembled with rage, golden energy flaring violently around him.
“Where is Blaze? What have you done with her? Give her back!”
Iryoku met his glare, fury mirrored in his own eyes. He raised a dagger toward the knights as his harpoon returned, hovering above his head like a scorpion’s tail—ready to strike.
“Didn’t your stupid religion teach you not to covet thy neighbor’s wife?” Iryoku growled.
Hell, if these bastards had shown up earlier, they could’ve been fighting Alexander instead—killing each other.
For a brief moment, he glanced up at the dark sky.
Then, under his breath, low enough that only Katherine could hear, he muttered:
“Get them out of the cocoons—now. If you don’t, they’ll die. The demon skeleton’s been resurrected.”
Katherine froze, eyes widening, then turned toward the lizard mount where the three flesh cocoons rested.
“I’ll hold them off. Use this to open them up—and run! We might need another way out!”
Iryoku hurled one of his twin daggers toward her. She caught it midair.
In the next instant, Iryoku vanished—dashing forward at maximum speed.
Behind Bereket, the priests began chanting, their voices rising in eerie unison. Golden light flared outward as Bereket’s aura surged across his followers, bathing them all in blinding radiance.
Iryoku reached the bridge, blades drawn—ready to strike.
The two towering knights lunged at him, impossibly fast.
“Didn’t I kill you already?” Iryoku hissed, twisting his weapons as light and shadow collided in a storm of sparks.
Before they could answer, a shadow fell from above.
A deafening screech split the air as Orn descended, wings spread wide. The giant wind bird’s beak opened, unleashing a sonic blast that shattered the priests’ concentration and ripped through their chants.
At that same instant, Iryoku clashed with the knights. Their greatswords swung down in perfect sync—he dodged both, his dagger flashing in counterattack.
But his strikes did nothing; their golden armor deflected every blow with a metallic snarl.
Above them, his harpoon shot forward like a bolt of black lightning, aimed directly at one knight’s chest. The blade cracked with black energy as it struck, piercing through the golden aura and embedding in the armor. The knight staggered back, forcing the power away—managing only to take a shallow wound to the shoulder.
Meanwhile, after catching Iryoku’s dagger, Katherine sprang into action.
“Everyone—move! Go around the edge of the island! Stay together!” she shouted.
She sprinted toward the lizard mount carrying the cocoons, channeling her energy into Iryoku’s dagger. The blade shimmered—its edge pulsing with freezing light.
Katherine’s lips curved into a faint, determined smile.
The group of demihumans obeyed. Adults hoisted children into their arms, pulling each other along as they ran.
“Protect one another!” the boar man roared.
Iryoku kept dodging the knights’ relentless swings, his focus sharpening with every move.
He countered again—his harpoon surged with power and slashed across the other knight, tearing through the armor and leaving a deep cut.
He blinked, surprised, then smirked.
“It really is you pair of assholes…”
In front of him stood Hak and Slash—the Dominion’s top enforcers. The same bastards Iryoku and the girls had killed during their escape from the cult.
Now, their massive bodies were laced with metal. Armor fused into flesh. One had an entire shoulder replaced by a mechanical joint; the other’s neck gleamed with metallic plates that shifted as he moved, like living prosthetics bolted into their skin.
Iryoku scoffed. “You really took that Primarch wannabe thing to the next level.”
“Arrgh—die, heretic!” Hak roared, voice hoarse and distorted.
Both knights flared with golden light again, moving in tandem. Their greatswords slammed down, missing Iryoku by inches as he darted aside.
The bridge groaned beneath the strain.
He glanced down—the nonstop fighting made the thick wooden and metal frame tremble, threatening to snap.
Another slash came. He rolled over the knight’s shoulder, landing lightly behind them.
A thought stabbed through his mind—my mouth really does come back to bite me—and he almost laughed at the absurdity.
He landed in front of Bereket and his shielded knights.
Behind him, Hak and Slash loomed like twin statues of light and hate.
“It doesn’t matter what you people do—my lord,” Iryoku barked, spreading his arms wide, voice booming across the bridge. “The supreme demon just revived. She’s on this island, and she’s going to kill every single one of you. So here’s my advice: run. Leave now—before you end up as her food.”
He spat the words like venom—half bluff, half challenge, pure survival instinct.
Then—danger. A sudden surge of power from behind.
Iryoku dove forward just as Bereket began chanting again, his golden aura flaring outward, light crawling across the bridge like wildfire.
A deep crack echoed through the air.
The bridge gave way.
Without hesitation, Iryoku leapt into the air, vaulting over Hak and Slash—his boots landing on their armored heads before he launched himself back toward the island.
The world behind him erupted into chaos.
In that instant of confusion, Orn let out a shriek that rattled the heavens.
The great bird dove, wings blazing with stormlight, and slammed into the collapsing bridge.
Wind and lightning burst outward as its colossal body struck the falling warriors.
Magic flared—feathers slicing through the air like blades—as Orn’s cry split the night. The impact sent Bereket and his priests tumbling, crashing into the water below.
Iryoku hit what was left of the bridge, rolling hard before coming to rest near the edge closest to the island. For a moment, everything around him was nothing but dust, wind, and the sound of the collapsing structure behind him.