Chapter 644
While Alice was fighting Velus,
a fierce battle was unfolding where Teresa was as well.
Vwooom!
Blinding lights pierced the clouds and fell in succession.
Kukukukuku… KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAKWANG!
Beautiful stars rained down one after another. Unknown and the two Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who had been attempting a surprise attack, were caught in a sudden area-of-effect bombardment.
The ground became a wasteland, and the surroundings filled with meteor craters.
“It’s as impressive as I’ve heard.”
“I agree. She’s the most troublesome Saintess I’ve dealt with.”
The two Horsemen who governed disease and death adjusted their grips on their swords.
Saintesses—messengers of God.
Over thousands of Saintesses had made names for themselves under Eden’s Radiance within the Tower of Trials, but Teresa du Laurentia was undoubtedly among the very best.
With the lone exception of Joan of Arc, who had risen to the ranks of a great hero despite being only human.
“Indeed. She’s worthy of that human taking her as a companion.”
Unknown licked his lips at Teresa’s fierce spirit.
He had expected Alice to be several times harder to deal with, but both sides were equally troublesome.
However.
No matter how strong they were, they were not Jinhyuk.
Outstanding talent. Overwhelming skill.
No matter how many flowery words were piled on top… it still only reached the realm of genius.
To become a true master, something beyond that was needed.
‘Still, it’s true she can serve as wings for Jinhyuk, so I need to cut her down before she grows any further.’
Leaving even a small variable went against his nature.
Unknown intended to carry out the orders given to him, to the letter.
Shing!
Crimson energy surged from Crimson Lotus and Barnard.
At the same time, Unknown moved in with the two Horsemen.
[Unique Ability ‘Shadow Killing Art’ is activated!]
“Gasp!?”
Boom!
Teresa hastily raised a shield infused with divine power, blocking the front.
But Unknown’s penetration speed was several times faster.
After completing his short-range movement, he drove into the gap before her divine power could fully unfold.
Kakakakang!
Sparks flew, and the clash of metal rang out.
With Grave of Swords fully activated, Unknown couldn’t be completely stopped by ordinary shield techniques.
…Sharp.
The two Horsemen of the Apocalypse were overwhelming opponents on their own, but Unknown was several times more difficult than either of them.
Teresa’s eyes moved rapidly.
The speed at which her sword and shield responded had already crossed from prediction into something closer to foresight.
Even so…
Papat! Slash!
The wounds on her body continued to pile up.
Now there were more strikes she couldn’t block than strikes she could.
The more blood she spilled, the more her consciousness blurred.
Just then—
-Leave it to me.
A sweet voice whispered into Teresa’s ear.
It was a dark voice, a corrupted version of herself.
“No!”
Teresa rejected the temptation at once.
Another self that always surfaced whenever she was cornered—more than anyone, she knew that if she answered that voice, she would sink deeper and deeper into the abyss.
-How foolish. Shouldn’t you live first? Only then can you keep your reason… and offer prayers!
The corrupted personality pressed again.
This time, the voice sounded even sweeter, even more seductive.
However—
“……”
Teresa clenched her lips and shook her head.
“Talking to the air in the middle of a fight. Were you arguing with your other personality again? Personally, I’d recommend listening to it…”
“I won’t give in. For myself. And for everyone.”
“Hmph. The choice is yours.”
Unknown swung Balmung with the arm of Tomb Grave.
Unlike a dagger, the greatsword carried heavy mana that felt as though it could split even a mountain—and he had the body to make that power real.
The blade swept horizontally.
She avoided a direct hit by a paper-thin margin, but she couldn’t fully shake off the impact.
Thud!
Teresa was hurled far to the side.
Her balance collapsed completely.
“The openings are getting bigger.”
“This doesn’t look like the beginning anymore.”
The Horsemen of disease and death unleashed their worst Unique Ability without giving her a moment to recover.
[The two Horsemen activate the Unique Ability ‘Sword of the Apocalypse’!]
Swaaaaa…!
Blades imbued with the power of death and disease devoured the last divine power she had gathered.
“This is what it means to fight in sync.”
Unknown added the final push into the gap created by the two Horsemen.
A light strike that was never truly light, from the strongest martial artist.
[Demonic Martial Art – ‘Abyssal Flash’ is activated!]
Black energy condensed into a single point.
The surge that shot upward as if to pierce the heavens split into dozens of ominous lines and tore forward.
Geugeugeuk… BOOM!
“Aaaagh!”
A sharp scream rang out as terrible pain swallowed her whole.
The bedroom shattered, and Teresa was blasted away, smashing through multiple walls.
And there…
…stood Alice, being pushed to her limit.
⁕⁕⁕
“You idiot Saintess! Are you okay!?”
Alice shouted at Teresa.
“……”
No matter how much she called, there was no response.
Teresa, unconscious, was clearly not in a normal state.
If she took even one more hit, she could die.
But Alice wasn’t in any position to focus only on Teresa either.
Velus—having pushed his speed to the limit through System Manipulation—was driving Alice into a corner.
“Oh, you’re all gathered here. So the Saintess hunt didn’t go well?”
“She had more fight in her than I expected, so it wasn’t simple. And it seems your side isn’t finished yet either. Surely it’s not because of the affection you’ve held onto for so long?”
“How could that be? I’m only being cautious because I’m hunting the strongest head of the family in history. But that will end soon.”
Unknown and Velus spoke casually.
As they said, the scales were heavily tilted.
Their side had almost no loss of stamina or mana. Four Horsemen and Shade Reaper had joined them.
There was nowhere to retreat, and no way to call for support.
Chun Yoosung, Lee Taemin, and Yoo Yeon-hwa had left after the festival to take charge of the fortress’s outer barrier.
Even so…
She couldn’t abandon this idiot Saintess.
Like it or not, they’d built a bond over time. She couldn’t treat her like a stranger anymore.
Even if she couldn’t escape, she had no choice but to share Teresa’s fate.
Alice stepped in front of Teresa as if shielding her.
“What touching camaraderie. I prefer you struggling to the end rather than surrendering willingly.”
Unknown pulled out strangely shaped flasks and glass bottles from his subspace.
Red blood and black smoke burned with an ominous aura.
“What is that…?”
“Hmm. How should I put it? Something that lets you set down that heavy burden of duty and responsibility… let’s call it a ‘happiness drug.’ You’ll be taking it soon, so don’t be too curious.”
“You think something like that will work on me?”
“It will. It’s much stronger than you think.”
“You arrogant fool. To speak so confidently.”
Alice summoned Blood Spears again.
At the same time, countless flowers made of blood began to bloom.
[Apocalypse of Revelation – ‘Blood Rose’ is activated!]
Vwooom!
A red halo flared, and a pair of wings spread wide.
One against many.
To overturn this, she had no choice but to unleash area attacks without sparing mana.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAKWA!
In an instant, a crimson wave surged outward in every direction.
The red tide tore apart everything in sight and engulfed the enemies.
As the surroundings were dyed red, Alice shot toward the weakest target.
The Horseman of Disease.
Unlike the others who specialized in one-on-one combat, he excelled at large-scale slaughter, which made him relatively vulnerable to sudden close-range pressure.
That was what she thought.
[The four Horsemen activate the special skill ‘Shared All Things’!]
The mechanism that compensated for that weakness was already in place.
Just before Alice’s spear could reach the Horseman of Disease, the others—sensing the threat—intervened.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAKWANG!
Her strike was blocked, and Alice’s position was exposed instead.
“Kieeee!”
Shade Reaper swung its long scythe.
A scythe with an ignore defense effect couldn’t be stopped even by a pureblood’s shield.
Alice barely avoided the blade, but Velus—moving at extreme speed—caught her from behind.
Pook!
A rapier pierced her shoulder and vanished.
“Keuk!”
Alice clutched the wound.
Regeneration should have begun immediately, but the injury refused to close under the influence of mana.
Shuuwoong!
From a distance, Unknown drew a large bow and fired mana bullets.
Since he had taken Heracles’s ability through Nemesis, the power packed into each shot was beyond imagination.
Boom!
Puppeopeong!
A direct hit would be difficult to survive.
Alice lifted Teresa with mana and moved evasively.
“Hey! You idiot! Wake up already! You’re not helping at all…!”
Alice pinched Teresa’s cheeks hard.
“Ugh… ugh… Ouch! It hurts! It hurts!”
Only then did Teresa open her eyes.
“Your plan to pick them off one by one failed! Wake up and blow them away with that divine power of yours!”
“S-Sorry. I still don’t have enough power….”
Unlike Alice, Teresa was running low on mana and still needed time to recover.
“You’re seriously a burden. Unnecessarily heavy! Go on a diet, you idiot!”
Alice ruffled Teresa’s hair roughly.
Just then—
Pachichik…!
A black hexagram formed under their feet.
[Shade Reaper activates the Unique Holy Spear ‘Trumpet Proclaiming the Covenant’!]
“Kieeeeeeee!”
A piercing scream rang out, and the thick blood mist vanished in an instant.
[The power of each individual’s Unique Holy Spear is reduced by 30%!]
[The basic stats of those who govern the Apocalypse ‘Covenant’ are increased by 15%!]
The final piece that completed the end.
“First, I’ll take your arms and legs.”
Velus’s rapier aimed for Alice’s thigh.
Timing. Speed.
Even the angle.
There was no way to block it.
⁕⁕⁕
But what rang out wasn’t flesh being pierced.
It was a sharp metallic clash.
Kaaang!
The rapier was stopped mid-air.
A gorgeous dagger glowing purple…
…and the master of the dagger holding it.
“Contractor!”
“Jinhyuk!” (T/N: Let’s fucking goooooooooo!)
Alice and Teresa shouted at the same time.
In a hellish situation that offered no path to victory, a more reliable ally than anyone had finally arrived.