Chapter 35 Possessed
Chapter 35 Possessed
With the crimson-black hilt of the newly awakened Murasame resting comfortably against his side and an astronomical attack power boosting his stats, Rael felt like he was walking on clouds. He unbolted the heavy oak door of Vhal’zhar’s guest suite and slid it open with a light, cheerful mood.
Outside in the carpeted hallway, the contrast between the two guards standing at his door could not have been more absurd.
Vhal’zhar stood tall and proud like an immovable mountain, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes brimming with absolute satisfaction. Beside him however, Vespara was collapsed entirely onto her knees. Her legs were trembling like weak twigs, her face pale as a sheet, and cold sweat dripped from her chin onto the polished floorboards.
Rael blinked, stepping out into the corridor. "What happened to you, Vespara?"
Vespara slowly lifted her head. Her eyes were wide, bloodshot, and completely unfocused. Her jaw worked uselessly as her mouth babbled incoherent fragments.
"W-Wh... Wh-Wha... What... h-h-happened... i-in... in that room?!" she stammered, her voice shaking violently. "T-The... the pressure... the primordial terror... I thought... I thought the sky was collapsing...!"
Rael scratched his cheek, instantly connecting the dots. "Ah. You must have been stunned by the aura leaking out when I opened the flask of Tiamat’s Blood, right?"
Vespara stared at him, her brain completely short-circuiting. "T-Tia... Tiamat...?"
She clutched her arms tightly around her chest, shivering as if thrown into a blizzard. In her mind, whatever nightmare Rael had just performed behind closed doors was something far beyond mortal comprehension. She didn't know who or what Tiamat was, nor did she ever want to find out. The sheer horror that had seeped through the wooden cracks moments ago made her feel like a helpless ant standing before something an ancient being.
Ignoring her existential terror, Rael turned to his loyal demon commander with a bright smile. "Good work guarding the door, Vhal."
Vhal’zhar immediately stood even straighter, a deep, proud grin. "Thank you, Master! Serving as your shield is my highest honor."
"Haah, life is good," Rael sighed happily, stretching his arms over his head. Having secured a god-slaying weapon with over four million attack power, his chest felt lighter than air. He looked back "You both must be exhausted standing guard out here. Come on, let's go get a nice, heavy meal around the city."
Vhal’zhar’s broad smile twitched slightly. A tiny flash of disappointment flickered in his dark eyes. In his mind, he had envisioned a peaceful outing with just him and his Master. The fact that Vespara was being invited to join their personal time made his inner demon groan. However, Vhal’zhar would never dream of questioning his Master's generosity.
"Thank you, Master," Vhal’zhar bowed respectfully.
Meanwhile, Vespara remained rooted to the floorboards, her knees completely locked in fear. "M-Meal...? W-What...?"
Rael looked down at her pathetic state and felt a pang of pity. Right... her mental stat took a massive debuff from the divine chaos aura. She won't even be able to walk like this.
Deciding to fix the issue, Rael focused his intent. He drew a thread of dense, highly concentrated mana from his core, pulling it up through his diaphragm and channeling it directly into a verbal command.
"[Indomitable Spirit]."
The moment the words left Rael’s lips, he expected a simple, localized single-target mental buff to wash over her. Instead, because Rael’s underlying stat pool was utterly absurd, the spell detonated out of his mouth in a brilliant, dazzling wave of golden light!
WHOOSH!
A radiant, warm aura erupted from Rael’s chest, spreading rapidly through the entire second-floor corridor of the Smaragdus estate. The golden light washed over the walls, the velvet carpets, and the hanging chandeliers, filling the hallway with a soothing, sacred resonance.
"Whoops," Rael muttered, watching the golden wave vanish down the adjacent stairwell. "Did not mean to expand the area of effect that much. Oh well."
Down on the floor, Vespara was completely engulfed by the divine radiance.
In a fraction of a second, the suffocating terror, the paralyzing coldness, and the hyperventilation tormenting her heart vanished without a trace. Her erratic heartbeat stabilized, her mind cleared, and a surge of profound, artificial tranquility washed through her veins. It was such a violent, instantaneous mood shift that she gasped, blinking in utter shock as her body suddenly felt as light as a feather.
"What...? What just happened?!" Vespara gasped, looking at her hands. The terror that had gripped her seconds ago was completely gone, replaced by absolute mental clarity and vigor.
Rael offered her a warm, easygoing smile, extending his hand down toward her. "Alright, looks like you're cured from that frightened state. Let's go take a walk around the estate grounds and stop by the local market for some snacks, hmm?"
Vespara looked at his outstretched hand, still slightly dazed. "S-Sure...?"
She took his hand and let Rael pull her effortlessly to her feet. The buff was so potent that her mind felt entirely refreshed, as if she had just slept for three days straight.
"Lead the way, Master," Vhal’zhar said, walking slightly behind Rael's right shoulder as they made their way down the grand carpeted hallway toward the main staircase.
However, as they reached the grand central corridor of the Smaragdus estate, a group appeared around the corner.
Walking gracefully down the marble hallway was Saint Solenne, flanked by four high-ranking holy guards clad in silver plate armor. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her long robes rustled softly against the floor.
Rael’s eyes lit up, and he raised a hand, waving casually. "Hey! Perfect timing! Are you guys heading out, too? Want to go for a walk with us-"
Before Rael could finish his sentence, Vhal’zhar’s massive frame blurred forward!
With terrifying speed, stepped directly in front of Rael, planting his feet and shielding his Master with his towering body. Vhal’zhar’s muscle memory flared, his bare hand dropping toward the hilt of his weapon as his eyes burned with a primal, bloodthirsty crimson light.
"WHO ARE YOU?!" Vhal’zhar roared, his voice shaking the entire foundation of the building.
Rael blinked in surprise from behind Vhal’zhar. "Vhal? What are you-"
Vhal’zhar didn't answer Rael, his gaze locked entirely on the Saint. Through his high-tier senses, Vhal’zhar knew with absolute certainty that the entity standing before them was not Saint Solenne. The physical vessel was the same, but the soul animating that body had been completely overwritten by an overwhelming, primordial force.
Saint Solenne stopped ten paces away.
She didn't show surprise. She didn't raise her hands. Instead, her head tilted slightly, her eyes locking onto Vhal’zhar with an expression of cold, casual condescension that Saint Solenne was entirely incapable of making.
"You are not as strong as you used to be, brother," "Solenne" said smoothly.
Her melodic voice carried a subtle, multi-layered echo a resonance that sounded like the singing of celestial angels mixed with the humming of distant stars.
Without lifting a finger or channeling a single visible thread of magic, Solenne merely flicked her gaze toward Vhal’zhar.
BANG!
An invisible, absolute telekinetic force detonated against Vhal’zhar’s chest! The sheer magnitude of the kinetic impact was so insane that Vhal’zhar’s, near-indestructible body was instantly launched backward like a cannonball!
"MASTER! SHE IS NOT SAINT SOLENNE! SHE IS SOMETHING ELSE!!" Vhal’zhar screamed as his body hurtled through the air.
CRASH! BOOM! SHATTER!
Vhal’zhar’s body blasted straight through the thick stone outer wall of the Smaragdus estate, tearing a ten-foot hole in the structure before flying out into the courtyard beyond!
"Well... you really need to learn how to behave, brother," "Solenne" murmured softly, dusting off her silk sleeve as if she had merely swatted away a bothersome fly.
Behind her, the four holy guards collapsed instantly onto the floorboards, completely unconscious, their minds knocked out by the passive pressure radiating from her skin.
Rael’s eyes narrowed into sharp, dangerous slits. Every gaming instinct in his brain screamed in red alarms. This isn't a mortal spellcaster. This presence... it's a Divine Manifestation!
Instantly, Rael let his relaxed posture drop. His inner mana pool surged, wrapping his entire body in a dense shield of invisible energy as he triggered his fastest escape skill.
"[Teleport]!" Rael cast mentally.
A flash of spatial light enveloped Rael’s body, preparing to shift his coordinates a mile away. But before the spatial fold could complete-
CLANG!
An absolute, invisible barrier slammed into Rael’s dimensional coordinates, shattering the spell before it could manifest!
"Ugh!" Rael stumbled backward, feeling as if he had just sprinted face-first into a solid titanium wall.
[Warning: Spatial Lock active in this domain!]
Rael’s heart dropped. Spatial Lock?! She locked down the dimensional coordinates without even casting a spell-circle?!
Realizing escape was off the table, Rael didn't hesitate for a microsecond. He raised his right hand, gesturing toward the possessed Saint, chaotic blue lightning crackled across his fingertips.
"[Lightning Chain]!"
Before Rael could complete the hand motion or unleash the spell, Solenne moved.
She didn't sprint. She didn't slide. She simply erased the distance between them. In less than a microsecond, her figure blurred, appearing directly in front of Rael. Before his brain could even process her movement, her small, delicate hand shot forward with terrifying precision, clamping tightly around Rael’s wrist!
Rael gasped, his eyes widening in pure shock. "What?!"
Her grip was like an absolute, unbreakable iron vise. Despite Rael’s astronomical strength stats, he couldn't budge his hand by even a fraction of an inch.
"Solenne" looked up into Rael’s eyes. A bright, mischievous, and intoxicatingly beautiful laugh erupted from her lips a sound that was completely wild, affectionate, and utterly uncharacteristic of the solemn Saint.
"Kuhuhu... finally, we meet!" Solenne giggled, her eyes sparkling with terrifying brilliance.
Standing nearby, Vespara finally snapped out of her stupor. Seeing Rael captured by the Saint, Vespara panicked, raising her hands to channel a fire spell to aid him. "Get away from him!"
Solenne didn't even turn her head. She merely rolled her eyes toward Vespara.
"Don't bother me, mortal," Solenne stated flatly.
FLING!
A casual wave of telekinetic pressure slammed into Vespara, lifting her entire body off her feet and sending her flying fifty feet down the hallway, tumbling harmlessly into a pile of decorative velvet cushions at the end of the corridor.
Back in the center of the hall, Rael gritted his teeth, pulling against the possessed Saint's grip with all his physical might. But her hold remained absolute, locked in place by divine authority.
"Solenne... I didn't know you were this strong," Rael grunted, his eyes flickering with a dangerous golden light.
He was done playing undercover. If a rogue deity had possessed Saint Solenne to ambush him, Rael was fully prepared to shed his human facade, unleash his max-level dragon form, and turn the entire district into a crater if that's what it took to survive. He began focusing his ultimate racial ability, his throat glowing with a deep, volcanic warmth as he prepared to release a point-blank Draconic Breath directly into her face.
I'll melt this spatial barrier along with-
Before Rael could unleash the catastrophic breath attack, Solenne suddenly let go of his wrist.
Instead of attacking, her slender arms reached forward, wrapping tightly around Rael’s waist. She buried her face directly into Rael’s chest, hugging him with a desperate, suffocating intensity that completely threw his combat preparations out the window.
A soft, tearful whisper escaped her lips, vibrating against Rael’s chest.
"I missed you so much... Master..."
Rael froze. The volcanic fire gathering in his throat instantly extinguished. The terrifying mana pulsing around his body collapsed into nothingness.
He stood there in the destroyed, windblown corridor of the Smaragdus estate, his arms hanging awkwardly at his sides, staring down at the top of the possessed Saint's head with a look of complete, unadulterated shock.
"...Eh?" Rael uttered softly.