CHAPTER 123

South Chapel of the Saisha Temple.

Numerous monsters were flooding into the building. It was Sephedes' squad.

While the main forces of the cult were attacking the west side of the temple, this group was attempting to infiltrate the dungeon.

However, they couldn't reach the basement. They were stopped on the first floor of the chapel, thanks to the desperate resistance of two clerics.

The spacious chapel, where dozens of worshippers had been offering their prayers, was now overrun by snarling monsters. Their target was the small door leading to the dungeon, but it wasn't easy to reach.

The path to the door was a narrow corridor, fiercely defended by Alius and Belton.

"You won't get through, you bastards!"

Belton shouted as he continuously swung his mace. The heavy, holy-enchanted weapon crushed the skull of an approaching orc with a sickening crack. 

Thwack!

A gnoll charged forward next, slashing with its sword. Belton pushed it back with his shield, disrupting its balance before delivering another powerful strike.

"Hyaaah!"

Like most clerics, Belton had also mastered a fair degree of martial arts. He hadn't had time to don his armor due to the urgency, but he was skillfully using his mace and shield to fend off the encroaching monsters.

Alius, too, was engaged in a bloody battle, wielding both a longsword and a wand. He slashed at a charging wolf monster, forcing it to retreat before raising his wand and chanting a holy spell.

"May the Holy Spear of Hatoba purify this land!"

A blue lance of light materialized in midair and plunged into the ground, creating a whirlwind of holy light. The wolf monsters caught in the vortex howled in pain, bleeding as they were forced back.

"Keaaak!" 

"Grrrrr…."

Alius' face darkened.

'Tch, it's only this effective?'

Though he had managed to repel the monsters, none of them had been killed. If they were undead, this would have been enough to turn them all to dust. However, because they were living creatures, the power of his spell had been diminished.

Belton, eyeing the mass of monsters, muttered in dismay.

"Dear Goddess, what in the world is happening…?"

They had been in the dungeon, discussing future plans, when suddenly the outside had grown strangely noisy. Rushing to the surface, they found that all the guards had been killed and the monsters had breached the chapel.

Frantically picking up the fallen soldiers' weapons, they drove the monsters back and were now holding the entrance to the dungeon.

"Hah… hah…"

It had only been a few minutes since the battle began, but both of them were already gasping for breath. Seeing them struggle, a necromancer taunted from the back.

"Foolish dogs of the goddess, how long do you think the two of you can hold out?"

Unfortunately, he wasn't wrong.

Alius quickly tried to think of a solution.

"Damn it, how can we send a message…?"

All the guards were dead, and they were trapped inside the building. How could they call for Karnak's group?

'That's it!'

Suddenly, Alius aimed his wand at the ceiling of the chapel.

"Hatoba, grant me your radiance!"

Boom!

An explosion erupted from the ceiling. However, it wasn't very powerful, only shattering some windows.

"…Mr. Alius, what are you doing?"

Belton was momentarily dumbfounded, wondering why Alius would break the temple's windows.

"This should be loud enough for them to hear from outside, right?" Alius said.

Belton's expression brightened. He, too, started casting a holy spell aimed at the ceiling.

"Even if the windows are expensive, they're cheaper than lives!"

With a crashing sound, the stained glass windows of the chapel's upper floor shattered one after another.

Sephedes, realizing their plan, hastily commanded the monsters to move.

"Go, servants of darkness! Slaughter them all!"

***

They fought. They fought with everything they had.

But there were too many monsters. They had no time to rest.

Thud!

Eventually, Belton dropped his mace. His grip had weakened to the point where he couldn't hold it anymore.

The necromancer sneered.

"Didn't I tell you? You won't last long."

It felt like they had been fighting for an eternity, but in reality, it hadn't even been five minutes.

"Damn it…"

Alius cursed, trying to summon every last bit of his strength.

Clang!

Suddenly, with a loud crash, shards of glass fell onto the heads of the monsters.

Something was smashing through the stained glass ceiling of the chapel.

"Hah!"

With a sharp shout, a red flash zipped through the monsters.

In the blink of an eye, five orcs were dismembered, and a large knight landed gracefully on the ground.

Alius exclaimed with delight.

"Sir Baros!"

Right after, a beautiful woman with red hair descended from the air as well. As she landed, she spun in a dazzling arc of light, cutting down all the surrounding monsters.

With the area cleared, Serati turned and asked, "Are you both safe?"

Belton let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks to you, Dame Serati."

"What about the dungeon?"

"It's still secure."

"Then we just need to take care of these monsters."

The monsters hesitated and began to retreat. The intense aura emanating from the two warriors' swords was so overwhelming that the monsters instinctively recoiled.

Taking advantage of the moment, Alius helped Belton sit down near the entrance and then tightened his grip on his wand.

"Catch your breath for a moment, Priest Belton. We'll take care of things from here."

A single priest alone isn't much of a force in battle, but with strong warriors guarding them, they can perform at their best.

"Hatoba! Grant your blessings to your children!"

The goddess's blessing enveloped Baros and Serati.

Without wasting a moment, the two warriors charged forward, causing blood to rain throughout the chapel.

"Aaagh!" 

"Graaaagh!"

With the assistance of a first-tier inquisitor, the power of these two aura users was truly immense.

Everywhere Baros and Serati passed, rivers of blood flowed in their wake.

In an instant, the swarm of monsters was pushed back, all the way from the corridor to the opposite side of the chapel.

"Ugh…"

"To think there were warriors of this caliber still remaining in the temple…"

The necromancers controlling the monsters recoiled in shock and retreated. At that moment, three swordsmen clad in light armor stepped forward.

"Aura users?"

"Then it's our turn."

Serati frowned. The enemies' swords glowed with a dark, pitch-black light, and faint black smoke rose from their shoulders like a heat haze.

"Dark battle aura…"

Baros smirked slightly, recognizing the familiar energy and sight.

"Dark Knights."

***

The Dark Knights were knights who, unable to awaken their own aura, used the power of necromancy to wield a form of artificial aura. 

They were essentially living versions of Death Knights, warriors who had not yet fully succumbed to undeath. Baros himself had once walked this path.

The dark knights sneered coldly as they pointed their black aura swords.

"A Red Knight, huh."

"You seem skilled, but…"

"You're no match for those blessed by Tesranak."

Their words couldn't simply be dismissed as arrogance. Dark aura, due to its nature, made it difficult to gauge the opponent's level, but from their sheer presence, it was clear they were formidable. 

All three were on par with Serati at least, likely even above the level of a Red Knight.

'They're not going to be easy,' Serati thought as she tensed, flexing her fingers in preparation.

"Ah, so you're all dark aura users." Baros suddenly spoke up.

"But why didn't you step up until now?"

"Huh?"

The Dark Knights were momentarily confused by the question.

"Over there, you know… the dungeon." Baros pointed toward the entrance leading to the basement.

"If you'd stepped up earlier, you could have completed your objective before we even arrived, don't you think?"

He wasn't wrong. If the three Dark Knights had attacked from the start, the priests, with no real protection, would have been swiftly decapitated.

"So, why were you sitting back all this time?"

After a brief hesitation, one of the knights responded, "...We were simply staying behind to guard our allies, just in case."

"That's a lie," Baros snorted.

"You just wanted to make a flashy entrance."

Having once been a Dark Knight himself, Baros knew exactly what they were thinking. He had the same thoughts back in the day when he hadn't earned his power through his own effort but borrowed it from others.

"You were waiting for an aura user like us to show up so you could make a grand appearance, isn't that right?"

"W-what nonsense are you spouting?!"

The knight's face flushed red, clearly revealing that Baros had struck a nerve. Even the other necromancers gave them a look as if to say, "Wait, is that really the case?"

"It's okay. I get it," Baros continued his taunt.

"You lived a pathetic, lower-class life, swinging your sword all your life but never mastering aura. Then, all of a sudden, you got power, right? Of course, you'd want to make a dramatic entrance, wielding your aura sword like one of the naturally gifted knights. I understand, really."

"Sh-shut up!"

The Dark Knights, their faces now red with rage, lunged all at once.

The Dark Knights swung their swords infused with dark aura, lashing out in furious rage.

"You arrogant fool!"

"I'll cut off your limbs and make you beg for mercy!"

Watching the dark aura fly from all directions, Serati inwardly admired the situation.

'So this was the plan.'

She had wondered why Baros was taunting the enemies so much in the face of battle, but now it was clear. The Dark Knights had lost their composure, and their swordsmanship had become as shaky as that of novices.

With just a few words, Baros had brilliantly unsettled their focus.

Serati unleashed her own aura and swung her sword in response. Red and black aura swords clashed in midair.

Though the Dark Knight's aura was stronger, Serati had the upper hand. Their overexcitement had caused them to lose control of their aura flow.

"Haaah!"

Serati deflected the force of the descending blow and used the rebound to launch a counterattack. Her fierce slash cut deeply across the chest of one of the Dark Knights.

"Graaaagh!"

As he collapsed, bleeding heavily, the fallen Dark Knight muttered in disbelief.

"You... you damned heretic..."

Baros, on the other hand, was having an even easier time.

"Tsk tsk, the first one to lose their temper is the first to lose the fight."

The dark aura swords flew at him from both sides, but the flow of their aura was irregular and full of gaps.

With his vast experience, Baros didn't miss those openings. He swung his sword lightly, as if it were a whip, and deflected the attacks.

Boom!

With the sound of aura clashing, their blades vibrated in midair. Baros had wrapped his own aura around the dark aura, causing it to backfire.

For an ordinary aura user, this wouldn't be a big problem—just a momentary disruption in breathing. But for the Dark Knights, it was different.

'Dark aura isn't exactly healthy for the body,' Baros thought.

Both Dark Knights coughed up black blood simultaneously.

"Urgh!"

"Hack!"

As they staggered, Baros moved in and delivered a mighty slash.

Crash!

With a thunderous sound, the Dark Knights were sent flying into the wall. 

Though they weren't dead, the impact had clearly taken a toll on them, and they slumped to the ground, unable to move.

The necromancers, who had been watching, stared in disbelief.

"How could the Dark Knights fall so easily?"

"This is impossible! They're warriors on par with aura users!"

Turning toward the necromancers, Baros let out a faint chuckle.

"They didn't fall because they were weak. They fell because they were stupid."

His eyes then grew cold as he stepped forward.

"Now, it's time for a little talk with you lot, don't you think?"

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