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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 164: Saint Hill (7)
Kakakakakak!
The Wind Cutter, tearing through the wings with a ferocious sound, looked distinctly different from usual.
‘Ultra-high-speed… rotation?’
It spun wildly, like a rapidly turning gear.
In fact, sharp new grooves had formed on the Wind Cutter, maximizing its rotational force.
Serio’s pupils trembled as he witnessed this.
‘It’s piercing? My wings?’
The sole High Priest of the Salvation Church?
Just as he was about to feel the emotion of fear in this unprecedented situation—
Thud!
The fiercely spinning Wind Cutter suddenly stopped as if it had been a lie.
‘It stopped? Why?’
Serio instinctively turned his gaze toward his opponent, searching for the reason behind the halt.
“Hmm.”
The opponent looked slightly disappointed.
‘Disappointed… that means…’
It wasn’t that his opponent had stopped the attack.
His own wings had endured that rotational force, resisting it and forcibly stopping it.
Realizing this, a deep sense of relief swept through his body.
Wiping away the cold sweat on his forehead, he finally let out a faint chuckle.
“Haha. Of course. There’s no way my wings would be pierced.”
“You’re not all talk, I’ll give you that. Pretty sturdy.”
“Pretty? I think you need to relearn the proper use of adverbs.”
Serio wore a triumphant expression.
Watching him, Oscar crossed his arms and tapped one forearm with his fingers.
‘So just the rotation isn’t enough to break through due to insufficient energy.’
It had been a calculated move.
Wind Cutter was originally specialized in slashing, but he had modified it to maximize cutting power.
‘But if even this isn’t enough…’
From here on, things would get troublesome.
As that thought crossed his mind, Serio’s demonic energy restored the severed section of his shield.
“Well then, now that you’ve shown me all you’ve got, let’s end this, heretic.”
Kwaaang!
In an instant, the shield shot forward, piercing through the left wall and vanishing somewhere.
Oscar narrowed his eyes, spreading his mana across the entire floor to bring everything within his perception.
‘Now.’
The moment he sensed the mass of demonic energy approaching—
He crouched low and pointed a finger at his opponent.
『Acceleration』, 『Wind Bullet』
A wind bullet, twice as fast as usual, hurtled toward his opponent.
At the same time—
Kwaaang!
The shield that had torn through the wall passed just above his head.
Swish!
A few strands of severed hair fell to the ground, while the wind bullet arrived right at his opponent’s face.
‘Got him.’
His opponent’s shield was above his head.
In other words, Serio was completely defenseless.
“Ugh.”
But as if mocking that thought, Serio scoffed.
Boom!
The wind bullet, speeding through the air, suddenly collided with something and dissipated powerlessly.
“You’re smarter than I expected. But do you know how many like you I’ve faced?”
A new shield floated imposingly in front of Serio’s eyes.
“Did you know? Wings always come in pairs.”
“…So that’s why you insisted on calling them wings.”
“It’s not just an insistence. They are real wings. It’s written in our church’s scriptures, you heretic.”
Oscar let those words go in one ear and out the other, instead focusing on the two shields that had gathered in front of his opponent.
‘Two shields, huh.’
His opponent’s strategy was now obvious without even having to see.
One shield would always protect the main body, while the other would be used exclusively for attacks.
He must have felt a real threat to his life from the previous attack.
“Feeling helpless? Wondering how to counter this?”
Serio, convinced he had secured victory, smiled smugly.
“Don’t be too discouraged. After all, you’re up against me—the sole High Priest of the Salvation Church.”
“……”
Oscar silently snapped his fingers, conjuring another Wind Cutter in midair.
Seeing this, Serio snickered.
“That again? You should already know it can’t pierce my wings.”
But then, he nodded as if understanding.
“Ah, I see. You don’t have any other options, do you? I get it.”
“People must tell you that you talk too much.”
“……Shut up, you heretic.”
Scowling, Serio stretched out his hand.
“This time, die for real.”
Swish!
One of the shields hurtled toward Oscar.
Its speed was about the same as before.
Prepared for this, Oscar immediately completed his magic.
『Gust Hand』
Crunch! Crack!
Four enormous hands of wind formed, grabbing onto the incoming shield.
As its speed dramatically decreased, Serio poured more demonic energy into it.
“Tch, it’s useless!”
The shield, regaining speed, slashed through the fingers restraining it and charged forward.
Whoosh!
Oscar twisted his upper body, calmly dodging the incoming shield, then released his Wind Cutter.
Without even waiting to confirm the result, he turned to face the shield again.
Swish!
The shield, already returning, now aimed to sever his legs.
Jumping to avoid it, Oscar saw Serio’s face light up with joy.
“Haha! You idiot!”
Floating in the air meant he could no longer evade.
Serio directed his shield toward his airborne opponent.
“Die!”
“……”
Oscar, gazing steadily at the incoming attack, activated his magic circuit.
“Flight.”
Whoosh!
His body soared upward, easily avoiding the shield.
“What?”
Serio’s face froze in disbelief.
He had never expected Oscar to evade even in midair.
At that moment, Oscar calmly warned him:
“You still have time to look at me?”
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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“What do you mea—”
Before Serio could finish, a deafening sound filled his ears.
Kakakakakak!
The Wind Cutter had reached him, already carving into the shield protecting him.
“……!”
Serio flinched, but quickly regained his composure.
“Oh, it’s just this again.”
He already knew the outcome.
This wind would never break through his wings.
It would once again make a pathetic sound and stop spinning.
Kakakakakak!
“…….”
But something felt different.
The Wind Cutter seemed to be screaming far more viciously than before.
In fact, his wings were already 40% cut through.
‘Could it be…’
Would they actually break?
That creeping sense of unease and fear washed over Serio once more.
‘No. No way.’
He shook his head.
‘The gods only bestow trials that I can overcome.’
This was a test.
A trial meant to test just how immense his faith in god truly is.
That’s why his wings can never be pierced—
Slash!
“……Huh?”
A dumbfounded sound escaped his lips.
Slowly lowering his head, Serio looked at his left arm.
It was gone.
Below his shoulder, there was nothing but empty space, and blood was gushing out as if someone had turned on a faucet.
“Aaaaaaagh!”
The pain registered a beat late.
At the same time, dizziness from excessive blood loss and a shift in his center of gravity caused his body to collapse.
“Ah, it hurts. It huuurts!”
He clawed at the ground with his right hand.
He did it so violently that his fingernails bent backward and bled, but he couldn’t stop.
If he didn’t divert his attention somehow, he wouldn’t be able to endure the pain.
“G-God, ughhh.”
Tears welled up in his eyes, mixing with the blood dripping down.
Step, step.
Oscar slowly approached him, looking down at the pitiful sight before him.
“Y-You….”
Serio glared at him with murderous intent.
He still had one intact wing left.
Swoosh!
His wing shot out from behind, aiming for Oscar’s back.
“It’s useless.”
Clang!
A Wind Cutter shot from behind, slicing through the wing even faster than before.
Even after witnessing it with his own eyes, Serio shook his head in disbelief.
“H-How can a mere Wind Cutter… My wings are the strongest…”
“Because it’s not just a Wind Cutter.”
The projectile floating beside Oscar no longer resembled the original Wind Cutter.
Its edges were jagged, resembling the teeth of a shark.
“It would be more accurate to call it a Spin Cutter now.”
Based on its appearance and function, the new name suited it better.
“There are two reasons why this thing was able to pierce your shield.”
The first was rotation, a spiral motion.
The second was vibration, a linear motion.
To penetrate that thick shield, resonance was necessary.
‘Even I found it pretty difficult to pull off.’
Oscar had modified the Wind Cutter and infused it with high-speed rotation and vibration.
The prerequisites alone meant one needed to at least perform triple casting.
Not to mention, maintaining both the rotation and vibration required absolute mastery over mana control.
“In short, only a highly skilled mage could use a spell like this.”
“……Heh, hehe.”
Serio, who had been glaring at Oscar with hatred, suddenly started laughing.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Keuk, how could I not? I already won, yet you act like you're the victor.”
His face, once twisted with fear and pain, now held an eerie calm.
“The believers of our Salvation Church receive salvation upon death. In other words, even if I die here, I lose nothing. But you heretics, who don’t believe in salvation, are different. The moment you die, everything ends.”
“……”
“Keuk, seems like you still haven’t realized. By now, your friends should all be dead.”
“Bullshit. They’re strong enough. As long as they don’t face someone as strong as you, they can handle everything.”
Serio himself had admitted that he was the only High Priest of the church.
That meant there was no one stronger than him.
“Keuk, kahaha! How naive!”
Tears welled up in Serio’s eyes, but he didn’t bother wiping them as he continued.
“Sure, I’m the only High Priest. But the church doesn’t only have priests. We also have Holy Knights.”
“……Holy Knights?”
Even this cult had something like that?
Just as that thought crossed his mind—
BOOOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted from inside the laboratory.
* * *
Leaving Serio to Oscar, Fran and Veronica had rushed into the lab.
“Kilian! Kilian!”
“Hey! If you’re alive, answer us!”
Their loud shouts echoed through the lab as they came to an abrupt halt.
Inside, they saw priests manufacturing syringes for the patients.
Slam!
Veronica grabbed the closest priest and growled.
“If you don’t want to die, talk. Where’s Kilian?”
“O-Oh…! My salvation has finally…!”
Tears of joy streamed down the priest’s face, momentarily bewildering Veronica.
That’s when Fran stepped in, his voice calm and measured.
“You won’t die.”
“…?”
The priest blinked in confusion as Fran continued.
“I’m the youngest of the Sirius Merchant Guild. We’re rich. If you don’t talk now, I’ll make sure you’re fed elixirs every meal and surrounded by the best medical professionals, keeping you alive until you’re 130. You’ll never be able to die.”
“……!”
If he died, he would receive salvation.
But if he couldn’t die, there would be no salvation.
It was a perfect counter to the cult’s doctrine.
The priest trembled in fear.
“I-If I don’t die… I can’t be saved…?”
“That’s right. So talk. Where’s Kilian? Tall, scary-looking guy.”
“A-At the end of that hallway… in the isolation chamber….”
“Let’s go.”
Having gotten the answer they needed, Fran and Veronica sprinted down the long hallway.
“Uuuuugh…”
“Ughhh, aaahhh…”
The entire way, the voices of those who had lost their sanity leaked from behind the doors.
“……Damn bastards, how many people did they turn into this?”
“I don’t know. But now that we do, we have to stop it as soon as possible.”
Fran responded firmly as he reached the heavy metal door at the end of the hall and flung it open.
There, kneeling on the ground, was Kilian, his wrists bound in shackles.
“Kilian!”
“Hey! Are you okay!?”
The two ran toward him the moment they saw him.
Slowly, Kilian raised his head.
Blood dripped from his mouth as he struggled to warn them.
“Be… careful…”
At that moment—
BOOOOM!
A massive sword crashed down from above, aiming directly for Fran’s skull.
“O Lord, today I send another filthy heretic to you.”
Clank.
A knight clad in ashen full-plate armor slowly lifted his greatsword, murmuring a prayer.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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