Acolyte Jerea (3)

The sudden appearance of a third party made the prefects wary.

'That is… the power of the black eagle.'

'How can a beast spirit follow a human?'

'It doesn't follow the woman. It is being controlled. You mean to tell me that the power of the gods has been corrupted?'

Even if they are lowly beasts, their connection to the gods is not something to be taken lightly.

But how is it possible for a mere mortal to do so?

However that question was answered when she put away her cotton sack.

The high bridge of her nose, her slender face, and her slightly parted lips reveal a faint smile, strongly flavored with the colors of womanhood.

There's something about the way she carries herself and the bewitching look in her eyes that's not just mesmerizing… it's corrupting.

"What the…!"

Realizing the true nature of her power, the prefects each cast a mental barrier spell.

<Nullify Mental Interference>

<Mind Power Double>

The creatures of the land could barely escape it after the successive mental strengthening and interference-blocking spells were cast. Even the Lionheart Relic convoy and…the chimeras.

"How rude. To have the power to seduce men like a courtesan. You have no pride as a mage."

Even as he spoke, a cold sweat broke out on his spine and his pores glistened.

Despite all the mental barriers he wore, the soldiers were almost mesmerized by her magic. If even the soldiers were as mesmerized as that black eagle, they'd be in trouble.

It has a curse-like power that corrupts men…nay, life.

"I apologize for that, but it's in my blood."

"Hmm…!"

The wizards didn't believe her. This much magic, this much corrupting power. It could almost be called a 'magical phenomenon', and it was possible to do it just by looking good?

If there is such a thing, isn't it a magic power that the evils of pleasure and corruption covet?

'But before that…her abilities as a mage are not ordinary.'

The spell that nullified Dean Staudt's Thunderbolt of Lamantha.

Magic beyond High Elemental Destruction, which dissolves even the most mundane laws of the land, is astonishing even to the archmages themselves.

"By the way… That chimera was made by mages after all, wasn't it? It was so crude that I suspected it was an orc."

"Crude?"

For a moment, the hot-headed Law King frowned.

The use of the word "crude" in reference to a chimera, the crown jewel of the Imperial mages' biotechnology, was a point of contention.

But even under that intense stare, Beatrice smiled.

"Yes, overly promiscuous and…undignified. That's the kind of thing you'd use to torture demons."

"Ha…! A wizard so obsessed with appearances."

"I am royalty, after all."

Beatrice glanced at the chimeras and the orcs at the rear of the convoy.

'Poor beasts, composites of all manner of creatures.'

Beatrice frowned at their grotesque appearance and unfortunate fate.

"To have to use such lowly beasts… it speaks volumes about the quality of the magicians of this world."

She gestured and suddenly, a dark purplish aura poured toward the chimeras.

-Kuik?

In an instant, a cloud of mist enveloped them. Smelling the smoke, the chimeras dropped their heads groggily, then lifted them with bleary eyes.

The orcs instinctively sensed danger.

"Kill them──!"

Their instincts were spot on as the chimeras began to pounce on the orcs.

"Chit…did you notice."

Law King clicked his tongue as he watched.

Chimeras are certainly capable of great physical prowess, but they lack intelligence and antimagic powers. They are especially vulnerable to powers like mind control.

"You've revealed your hand. The Cult of Dreams and Death…no, the High Priestess."

"Kingdom bastards. I thought they only sent one Holy Knight, but I can't believe they have a saint hidden away."

"That's odd. The High Priestess of the Great Fle was supposed to be a man, but she's not on the Intelligence Ministry's list of important people."

Ha-ri's presence alone was a surprise, but they hadn't expected a High Priestess.

However the Imperial prefects still had time. There was only one opponent against two archmages and a knight of the highest rank, Division Commander Wolfhard.

Against three of the Empire's strongest forces the addition of a mere cleric would make no difference.

"It would have been better to take them by surprise."

<Ignition >, <Flame >──<Fireball >

A giant fireball thrown by the Law King hurtled toward Beatrice but Beatrice pulled on the reins of the black eagle and performed an evasive maneuver.

The speed of the fireball was considerable, but not enough to match the maneuverability of the flying beast.

"Hmph…!"

<Speed Up>, <Movement Guidance>, <Auto Track>, <Magical Shape Change>── Burning Gaze

At that moment, the fireball changed form and began to dart through the air like a slender beam of light. Its speed far exceeded that of a black eagle.

In response, Beatrice pointed her delicate fingers towards the Burning Gaze.

<Hexa Shield>

A transparent Hexa Shield is deployed by Beatrice to block the Burning Gaze. The fierce flames pummeled the shield, but her defensive magic remained steadfast.

"You've stopped it."

At that moment, Dean Staudt unleashed his magic as the thunderclouds, still darkening the sky, were about to unleash a torrent of lightning.

Almost simultaneously, Law King binding magic struck the black eagle.

"Hmph?"

He cast a binding spell on the black eagle and in the next moment, the lightning bolts of Dean Staudt struck.

Mega magic <Lamantha's Thunderbolt>

Great Magic <Super Elemental Cancellation>

Once again, Beatrice nullifies the thunderbolt but the attack doesn't end there.

Law King and Dean Stout both unleash their magic at the same time as great flames, beams of light, thunderbolts, and chunks of rock pummel Beatrice from all sides.

The two archmages unleashed spell after spell in a frenzy but Beatrice merely deployed them with a relaxed expression on her face.

Her Hexa Shields block the physical attacks, and she neutralizes the lightning bolts that fall from the sky or deflects them with her Lightning Rod spell.

It's clear they're on the offensive, but they're the ones who seem to be at a disadvantage as time goes on.

'What kind of ridiculous magic is this?'

'I can't believe she's single-handedly blocking both of our attacks!'

As they panicked, Beatrice started speaking.

"Holy Law is the power to enforce concepts. It's a manipulation of phenomena born of faith. Clearly, magic is an inferior skill to Holy Law."

"You bitch…! How dare you say such a thing as a proud mage?"

"Magic is in no way inferior to the Holy Law!"

That was the mantra of the mages of this world.

They had every right to be resentful.

This power, so emblematic of the wise, was no better than the holy laws used by the ragtag peasants of the streets, simply because they believed in God.

They could mix a rainy season with a dry sky and drop lightning bolts.

They could start fires with little oxygen, and they could nourish the parched earth to make crops grow.

But the followers of the faith that pervaded the land were different.

They could call down thunderbolts, start fires, make crops grow, and heal the sick by simply wishing just by wishing, just by believing.

Even the most mundane of things benefit from miracles.

How can one not be impressed?

Power and knowledge symbolize a person's worth.

It is natural for the wise to lead society, to control knowledge and its benefits, so why should their power be compared to the lesser things.

It is most disgraceful and unreasonable that those ignorant fanatics should be at the top of their own heads.

It was only natural for so many mages to cry out for independence from the divine.

"That sounds like a lot of hard work."

Beatrice was about to say something when she realized the reason behind her opponent's furious reaction.

Certainly, the power of the Holy Law was quite unreasonable from her perspective as a magician.

But──

"Magic… no, the magic in this world, it's no different from magic in my world, after all…I don't understand how you use it so 'casually'."

"What?"

If holy law was the power to bend the law, magic is the power to defy the laws

It uses the fifth element, magic, to create fire where there is none, to create waves in a calm sea, to manipulate particles to shoot beams of light.

In other words, it's an art that can do anything with theory and imagination.

"You're so obsessed with magic that you're blind to the possibilities of non-magic. As far as I'm concerned, you're the ones who don't understand."

The next moment, Beatrice stretched her hands out wide.

<Magic Circulation>

All the magic that had been unleashed, all the nullifying and defensive spells that had been deployed to stop it and the scattered energies are concentrated and recycled into one place.

The concentrated power was so great that even the archmages were aghast. That much power, that much compressed power… it radiated through her pure white fingers.

<Death Eye>

Law King used his power.

Pure Concept <Barrier >

A miraculous power comparable to the holy laws passed down to the preceding generations.

This miraculous power, which the Archmages had tried and failed to produce for so long, kept Beatrice's terrifying attack at bay.

"It's nothing compared to His Majesty's Holy Law defense, but…if I can't pierce it, I can bypass it."

The black clouds of thunder began to pulsate with golden color and Dean Staudt was stunned.

"You can't be using my magic…!"

She utilized a phenomenon created by an opponent as her own.

As proof, the thunderclouds, which had flashed with intermittent crackles of lightning, were transformed into golden colors by the endless bolts of lightning.

<Brightening Heavenly Beetle>

Ring, space. Strike, thunderbolt.

Blossom, flowers of light.

Pour down the storms. Despite all the defensive magic and pure concepts deployed by the prefects, the power of natural disasters cannot be stopped by blocking only one side.

It was a terrible, terrible destruction.

Overwhelming destruction overtook the two archmages and the Imperial army.

* * * * *

Beatrice had limited the scope of her bombardment, not wanting to injure the holy convoy.

However, even the Holy Convoy could not help but grow weary in front of her, whose power and scale were beyond the comprehension of even the Holy Knights.

"Off...."

Jerea, who had been killed by the Law King's surprise, had become younger than before, now looking more like a middle-aged man than an old man.

Opening his eyes, he immediately assessed the situation. His alter ego already knew that he was his past self and that he was currently on a mission to escort a holy object.

The information he needed from his 'main body' had been sufficiently implanted.

"It seems the Empire has betrayed us."

"We were escorting a holy relic, and we were in danger of having it stolen by an Imperial conspiracy."

Kingdom Knight Stella approached, her wounded shoulder healed. She quickly explained the situation, and Jerea was convinced.

"But I don't think you need to worry, whoever she is, she'll defeat those self-indulgent Imperials."

No one disputed the words since Beatrice was completely overwhelming the Imperials.

[Hear that?]

It was then that message reached Jerea and the rest of the holy convoy.

"The Queen?!"

Ha-ri answered the voice in her head, startled as a chuckle sounded from beyond.

[Miss Ha-ri, and the rest of the convoy, call for reinforcements now]

"What? You're totally winning....right now."

As of now, Beatrice was single-handedly overwhelming the Imperials and the three prefects but she had other ideas.

[I can sense a strange strength from their warriors. If we go into a long battle, I won't be able to handle it alone]

"I see."

It was Jerea who replied, seemingly understanding Beatrice's message.

"Lady of Dreams and Death, I will do as you command."

Stella said.

"Lord Jerea, do you intend to return to the canyon?"

"No, it is too far and I don't know what's going on over there."

"Then...."

At that moment, Koo Dae-sung, who was double-checking the system messages, shouted.

"The kingdom's borders…! If we get there, something will happen, won't it?"

Despite his words, Koo Dae-sung was certain.

The main quest of this gate was to escort the holy relic convoy to the kingdom's border.

The quest to defend Lord Jerea's main body had already been accomplished. In other words, someone…whether it was Yappy or Leon, had cleared it.

In other words, if they succeed in this main quest, they would fulfill the requirements to clear the gate.

"But how do we get through them to the Kingdom?"

"I'll find a way!"

Ha-ri stepped forward. She was the goddess of Poma and Petos and her firepower was unrivaled here.

"Very well. Lord Stella, get the convoy under control. I do not have much time left."

"What? What?"

"Get them ready."

Jerea cleared his throat and raised his lance then turned his horse's head toward the Imperials, who were still reeling from Beatrice's magical bombardment.

"If we can only reach the border…He will be there."

That sums up the entire battle. If Beatrice can hold out until then, if the holy convoy isn't captured.

"Let's go!"

And so the procession resumes as dozens of horsemen set off.