Chapter 268: Soul Transfer Ritual [2]
Chapter 267
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Episode 69 - Soul Transfer Ritual [2]
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"Aah!"
Julien rushed out of the Great Holy Hall the moment he heard Adel’s scream.
Without wasting any time, he searched through his pockets until he found a small sphere.
Using his Mana, he poured it into the sphere and then shouted:
"Kill them all and raise the Illusion Barrier, now."
At the command he issued through the sphere, an enormous invisible barrier rose from every corner of the Holy Church within seconds.
It was so enormous that it towered above the clouds and completely surrounded the entire structure of the Holy Church.
The Illusion Barrier had been set up beforehand, approximately three hours earlier, when Julien first encountered the intruder.
One of his orders had been to erect the barrier and disperse his subordinates throughout every corner of the Holy Church.
The main plan was to ambush every member of the Holy Church.
At that moment...
Clank! Clank! Clank!
The clashes of swords and magical explosions echoed from every direction.
Within seconds, the smell of blood filled Archbishop Julien’s nostrils.
As he stepped out of the hall and looked down both sides of the corridor, he saw countless corpses of Holy Church members covering the floor.
Several hooded and masked figures moved swiftly, attacking every enemy they encountered along the way.
Archbishop Julien’s heart raced.
’I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Please, God, let everything go well.’
He apologized over and over in his mind.
They were heartfelt apologies.
He wasn’t apologizing for the killings taking place before his eyes.
Every member dying at that moment was not someone who deserved to wear those robes, bear those titles, or follow the teachings of the Holy Church.
Julien wasn’t apologizing out of mercy.
He was simply someone who couldn’t bear seeing so much blood so easily.
He raised his gaze toward the black sky, where a violet and dark blue Moon shone brightly.
Then, the memories of the Great Holy Hall covered in the corpses of dismembered children, forming veritable mountains of bodies, returned to his mind.
That very night would probably be a night Julien would never forget for the little time he had left to live.
***
Boom!
The two Cardinals attacked at the same time.
Their figures disappeared, only to reappear in front of me.
In an instant, time became extremely slow.
Then...
"....!?"
Whoosh!
Swinging my sword, I blocked their combined attack.
My feet sank deep into the ground as the marble cracked and exploded into thousands of fragments.
The combined blow of two Nine-Star Awakened was devastating.
The entire Holy Church was rocked by a massive earthquake.
The next second, the walls, ceiling, and pillars began to shake violently.
An extremely powerful vibration coursed through every corner of the structure.
’Even with Eyes of the End, these two are really tough.’
Gathering all my strength, I moved my sword from various angles, creating different forms through complex and precise trajectories.
Boom!
Cardinal Abraham swung his greatsword and blocked every one of my attacks.
Then, Cardinal Julius clenched his fist and threw a punch directly at my chest.
"....!"
At that moment, Mana surged from my heart.
Channeling an enormous amount of Mana into my arms, I swung my sword, and then...
Boom!
Cardinal Abraham’s body was sent flying with a powerful explosion, smashing through the thick walls of the Great Holy Hall.
At that very instant, I moved my body fluidly and spun on my heels.
Then, thanks to my senses and Weakness Detection, I perceived the trajectory of Cardinal Julius’s punch and dodged it.
Boom!
The air twisted as his fist passed by.
However...
Cardinal Julius moved his body and, in a blur, disappeared.
Whoosh!
Countless fists covered in a thin layer of Mana appeared in front of me.
Boom!
Using the back of my right hand, I deflected and dodged each of his blows.
Then, I swung my sword and muttered:
"Third Form: Intention."
".....!"
Cardinal Julius’s expression twisted, and he quickly retreated.
Then, in the spot where he had been standing just an instant ago, countless invisible slashes emerged from every angle.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The slashes tore apart and reduced everything in their path to fragments in the blink of an eye.
"Second Form: Time."
"First Form: Space."
Boom!
I appeared in front of Cardinal Julius and swung my sword.
Countless black blades pierced through space, while cracks appeared so close to Cardinal Julius’s vital points that he barely had time to react.
Cardinal Julius covered himself with his arms and, gritting his teeth, shouted:
"Abraham...!"
"....!"
At that moment, as countless slashes covered Cardinal Julius’s body, Cardinal Abraham appeared in the blink of an eye and swung his sword.
"....."
With no time to block his attack, it struck my body.
At the last second, I created a Mana armor precisely where the blow would land.
Boom!
My body went flying, smashing through enormous pillars and thick walls.
Whoosh!
At that instant, Cardinal Julius appeared in front of me and began pummeling me with his fists.
Boom!
A barrage of punches rained down across my entire body. I felt my bones beginning to crack, and between the blows, I muttered:
"Gravity."
"....!?"
Cardinal Julius’s body was blasted toward the other side, right where Cardinal Abraham was.
Abraham barely had time to raise his arms before, in the very next instant, Julius’s body appeared in front of him and slammed directly into him.
Boom!
"Spatial Movement."
My figure disappeared, and in the blink of an eye, I appeared in front of the duo.
Without giving them time to react, I swung my sword in a wide arc.
A blade of Dark Mana burst from its edge and, slicing through space, shot directly toward them.
Abraham rose from the ground and, while gathering an immense amount of Mana, gritted his teeth and swung his enormous greatsword.
Behind him, Julius also gathered an equally immense amount of Mana before throwing a powerful punch.
The two attacks collided head-on with the Mana blade, triggering a gigantic explosion of energy.
Crack! Boom!
The impact was so powerful that the entire Holy Church collapsed in an instant.
The walls and ceiling came crashing down as a storm of dust rose dozens of meters into the air.
Black wings sprouted from my back.
I leaped from the ground, dodging the enormous debris falling from the ceiling, and finally ascended into the sky.
The cool night breeze and moonlight enveloped my body.
Then, I shifted my attention toward the ground.
’At all costs, I have to prevent them from activating their Domains.’
My primary objective was to force them to consume an enormous amount of Mana so that they would be forced to refrain from using their Domains.
A Domain was not something that could be maintained easily.
The amount of Mana required just to create one was already enormous, and keeping it active required even more.
Even for a Nine-Star Awakened, the Mana cost was considerable.
’Besides, a Domain is a last resort.’
It wasn’t something they could use lightly.
One of the main reasons was that destroying a Domain caused devastating chain damage to its owner.
The backlash could severely injure them and might even result in their death, regardless of their current condition.
’I used Gravity when the Holy Church collapsed. Those two must have spent a considerable amount of Mana protecting themselves.’
That meant my next attack would be the last.
’Sorry, Julien. If your brother survives this, it’ll be up to him.’
At that moment, I raised my sword.
Dark Mana began to cover its surface with a thin layer of dark energy.
Then, I utilized the power of Gravity, using 1% of the world’s Gravity, and concentrated it into a single sword strike.
I gathered 60% of all my remaining Mana into a single point and...
’This should be enough to kill them.’
I was certain of my victory.
Therefore, without further ado, I was about to swing my sword when...
".....!?"
Boom!
Suddenly, I twisted my body and looked up toward the sky.
A gigantic magic circle formed in the span of a single second.
And then...
"....!?"
A massive meteor pierced through the clouds.
It was so enormous that it seemed to cover a portion of the sky, its flames blazing with an intense dark blue light.
It was descending far too quickly.
Even with my flying speed, there was no way I could dodge it.
At the last second, I turned my head toward a certain direction and "looked" at an old man holding a staff.
His face was twisted with rage, yet at the same time, he wore a victorious smile.
Then, he moved his lips and sent me a message.
’I won.’
".....!?"
The Pope’s smile was so wide, and his emotions were so intense, that I could feel his confidence even from that distance.
’Damn it. He had a Relic this whole time.’
That staff had never been a simple staff for channeling Mana.
It had been a Relic from the very beginning.
And not just any Relic, but one that contained an exceptionally powerful Nine-Star Magic.
I cursed the damned old man as the colossal meteor reached me in the blink of an eye.
Boom!
The meteor exploded the instant it collided with me.