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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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Chapter 30: Campbell Incident (2)
Summoning fiends from the demon realm into this world might seem like an apocalyptic feat, but the process is far from simple.
The demonic fiends of the demon realm are called ‘Demonic.’ It means beings equal to demons, but with stronger bestial nature.
Unlike true demons, they cannot form pacts to grant mana or spells, and without specialized incantations, they cannot be controlled.
Once summoned, they’re little more than living bombs, unleashed to wreak havoc until they perish alongside their targets.
But there's always a way if one looks for it.
Luca looked down at the fiends that had burst through the bellies of the Sun-Moon Cult members.
Kiaaaaa--
The fiends, forcibly grown through spells and fed with the flesh and blood of the pagans, were already larger than adults and beginning to develop multiple limbs.
"Tsk! If only I had more time, I could've drawn more Betas."
Maybe even an Alpha.
No matter how random the fiend lottery is, if you draw about ten thousand, you're bound to get a winning ticket.
But because of some strange guy's interference, he couldn't secure enough specimens.
"Campbell's population is 300,000. If I had devoured even half of them, I could have secured several Alphas."
This was a grand endeavor. How much money and effort had gone into it? And that guy ruined it all.
This ‘city devouring’ was a project prepared over several years.
He infiltrated the core of the city hall, tolerated the Sun-Moon Cult, built up their power, and weakened the Solar Theocracy.
The policy of greatly reducing the armament level of each faction, citing concerns about religious conflicts, was also an achievement that took a long time.
But just one guy specifically, one guy with unreasonably good intuition ruined everything.
That cocky young priest.
He arrived in Campbell, performed all sorts of bizarre acts, and then showed intuition worthy of a saint?
Thanks to him, the delivery plan was disrupted, causing Luca no small loss.
"Ah, this pisses me off, really pisses me off. I can't even break even, what the hell is this?"
Still, since he couldn't back out now, he might as well get what he could before the Holy Knight Order arrived.
Just as Luca was about to move with the grown fiends.
Grrrr--
Luca saw the Alpha bound in chains.
The beast bound in chains growled.
"You don't need this anymore."
Luca gestured to release the Alpha from its restraints.
As the powerful spell disappeared, freeing the Alpha, it looked at Luca with eyes full of hatred and anger, and.
Kaaaack--!
It trampled Luca with its hideous bulk.
***
(Recommended BGM: Fear Nothing)
「Fear nothing!」
「The Lord, my Sol Invictus, protects me.」
「Don't be surprised~ Don't be afraid~」
「The Lord watches over me~」
「When my heart is tired and weary, the Lord watches over me. 」
「Even when the harsh storms of the world rage, the Lord watches over me.」
「The Lord is my fortress. 」
「The Lord is my stronghold. 」
「The Lord is my hope. 」
「Sol Invictus, who is my strength~」
The hymn echoed through the high ceiling of the church.
The singing was loud enough to drown out the terrible screams and wails from all around, loud enough to guide those who were lost and wandering.
"Over there! If you go there, you can survive!"
"The monsters can't invade the church!!"
People fled toward the sound of hymns, toward the place where monsters couldn't invade.
This was what Ray Anderson and the priests of Campbell Church had aimed for.
"Don't stop the hymns! Keep singing! That's how the bishop's barrier stays up!"
There were two reasons why Bishop Yuna's 〈Power of Protection〉 extended to the church and the surrounding land.
First was the church as holy land.
Even the smallest church where hymns and prayers are exchanged regularly is imbued with holy power.
This is why holy water is produced there and evil spirits cannot invade.
But this alone isn't enough for one bishop to protect a vast area that can accommodate tens of thousands of people.
The second was the Ability of Hymns.
The Ability of Hymns demonstrates its true strength through choir singing.
It's about bestowing the sum of power through the choir of many people centered around the one with the Ability of Hymns.
Ray reinforced the sanctification of the land with his Ability of Hymns and the choir of refugees gathered in the church.
The church as the holy land; power and sanctification through the choir singing.
Several conditions worked together in synergy.
"Those who have memorized the hymns, please rotate!"
The church's clergy had the arriving citizens memorize hymns first.
This choir can only function if the hymns continue uninterrupted.
The moment the hymns stop, the fiends surrounding the area will rush into the church.
"Team 3 rotation! Continue singing the hymns! We must maintain the protection barrier!"
Citizens rushed in as instructed and continued the hymns.
They were desperate, knowing that if the barrier disappeared, the fiends would overrun the church.
"Brother Ray, you should also switch with Sister Idora."
"Huff... I can sing more."
"It's been over five hours already. Conserve your strength."
Fortunately, there were other priests with 〈Ability of Hymns〉 at Campbell Church.
It would have been problematic if there weren't any in the church choir.
"Huff... I wonder if everyone has memorized the hymns."
Although they had spread the hymns over the past two weeks, many of the refugees were visiting the church for the first time.
While choir singing exerts powerful strength in manifesting the Ability of Hymns, faith, proper procedure, and vocalization were also important.
Those who had just memorized the hymns or weren't Solar Theocracy members to begin with would have reduced effectiveness.
Ray drank the water given by the nun, hoping their mistakes would be minimal.
"Is there enough food? If this becomes a prolonged battle, we'll need to conserve our strength."
"We haven't been providing meals for recent visiting believers. Thanks to that, we have surplus food from our orders. This is all thanks to Brother Ray."
"It's due to the bishop's grace for approving the budget."
Ray bowed his head and went to the team members who were busy working.
"Build the barricade! Henry! There, bring the chairs too!"
"Yes, sis! But what about the entrance for the refugee citizens?"
"Make a doghole under the barricade!"
The two were building barricades to block monsters in case the power went out.
Premium holy water, holy relics, and physical walls. But how long could even this hold if the fiends rushed in?
"Is everything going well?"
"Did you rotate?"
Ray nodded at Aaron's question.
Soon Aaron's gaze turned to Bishop Yuna at the center of the sanctuary.
"You and the choir can be replaced, but the problem is the bishop."
"She's been maintaining her power for ten hours already, right?"
"Yes, and the bishop can't be replaced."
Bishop Yuna was the only priest with 〈Power of Protection〉 at Campbell Church.
Even with backup from 〈Ability of Hymns〉 and choir singing, maintaining power for hours on end is no ordinary feat.
It's barely possible because she's a bishop-level priest.
The four felt awe at the power of the high-ranking priest, but there were limits.
"For now, only Delta Demonics are appearing, but as time passes, higher-ranked fiends will emerge. Though unlikely, Beta might appear..."
"Demonics? Delta? What are you talking about?"
Aaron looked at Ray, who was tilting his head in confusion, then seemed to understand.
"I forgot you're an uneducated commoner. But if you've joined an armed organization, you should do some advanced studying."
"Sorry for being a country deacon. Please explain kindly, young master."
"Tch... Generally, fiends share the same nature as demons. At their core, they're no different."
Except they lack reason and are as ferocious as beasts. Though that's a big difference.
"They're broadly classified into five ranks: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon."
Epsilon are pawns barely worth distinguishing. They're too weak to even be summoning targets, apparently.
"The ones rampaging outside now are Delta Demonics. They have strength equivalent to armed soldiers."
Gamma Demonics, the next higher rank, are equivalent to holy knights.
Betas apparently require an entire unit to face them.
"What about Alpha Demonics?"
"They're on par with successfully descended demons. If one appears, only a saint or sword master could deal with it."
Alpha Demonics were legendary beasts said to cause a city's destruction the moment they appeared.
Moreover, they're impossible to control, so they've been summoned even less frequently than demons, apparently.
"Let's hope there are no Alpha Demonics."
"Words become seeds. Restrain yourself."
Ray looked at the fiends gathered outside the church.
Delta demonics clawed at the barrier sustained by hymns and holy power.
Kyaaaack!
Demonics feeling the pain of their flesh burning upon touching the sacred power.
After testing the barrier a few times and realizing they couldn't break through, they retreated.
"There must still be people out there..."
"Enough. Unless you're planning a suicide attack, we can't save them with our power."
"I know, I know. For now, just drawing aggro from here is the best we can do."
The hymns echoing from Campbell Church attracted not only humans but also the attention of Demonics.
The more they gathered at the church, the safer the city's people would be.
"The problem is that warlock guy. Will he stay put?"
"He'll probably try something. But all we can do is protect this place."
There are only four people who can properly fight. With the entire guard units having evaporated, it was hard to hope for help within the city.
"What about other cults? The heretics must have their own forces?"
Do those guys also use powers like ours?
"I've heard rumors that Eastern heretics use corrupt powers. They say they use something similar to our powers. But this is a place that talks about religious freedom. Armed personnel couldn't enter in large numbers to begin with."
"So our only hope is the Solar Holy Knight Order."
If there's anything fortunate, it's that the request for the Solar Holy Knight Order to be dispatched to the religious country was made a week ago.
They should arrive soon, I assume. If we can hold out until then, it's a victory.
'It's a shame we can't beat the warlock, but we can't risk it.'
Ray would like to rush out and catch the warlock, but what could he do alone?
"Well, there's not much to worry about. fiends of that level can't break through the Power of Protection, and there aren't as many as we thought, so until the Holy Knight Order arrives, we can definitely...!"
"Hey, hey... that... over there."
Ray spotted something. The church entrance was wide open to let the sound of the hymns spread farther.
Beyond the barrier, where the beasts could only scratch and cast longing glances, a being that made one doubt their eyes was approaching.
Thud!
It's three or four times larger than the Delta Demonics.
But more than its size, its heteromorphic form creates a sense of dissonance.
Its many branches of limbs are thick and blunt like a rhinoceros while others are as delicate as a woman's hand, just enlarged.
And what about the head and torso?
The torso seems as blunt as a scorpion's, but with multiple eyes, while the part that could be considered the head resembles a knight wearing a helmet.
Biological design typically has consistency through evolution, but from the outer skin to limbs, head, and torso, everything was discordant.
A heteromorphic monster outside the normal ecosystem of this world.
"Alpha... Demonic?"
A monster that exuded danger at first glance. It picked up a Delta Demonic around it.
"Huh?"
The Delta Demonic struggled.
But the heteromorphic monster, without the slightest hesitation, swung its arm like a pitcher and lobbed it at the barrier.
Bang!
The barrier held. Physical force couldn't breach it.
But the impact rattled them.
The barrier held firm. It boasted absolute strength that couldn't be penetrated by physical collisions.
Nevertheless, gazes wavered.
The anxiety that maybe... made everyone focus their attention.
Kyaaaack! Kick! Kieek!
The monster grabbed two more. And the violent pitching continued.
An unbelievably fast ball was thrown from an arm that looked as delicate as a woman's hand.
Pow! Puk!
The sound of flesh bursting and blood spattering the barrier.
The impacts and thrills repeated again and again.
The monster tilted its head and realized.
It would be impossible to pass through the barrier. But the monster's next action made them doubt their eyes.
"It's climbing up the barrier!"
The monster climbed the protection barrier surrounding the church as if climbing a wall.
The monster ascended the sacred barrier, which burns the flesh of the unholy upon contact, burning its own flesh in the process.
"This crazy...!"
Ray exclaimed as he realized its intention. The beast was looking for a gap in the barrier.
The barrier is literally a barrier. It has a height limit, and if you climb it, you can cross over.
Of course, who could imagine a monster climbing a barrier dozens of meters high, which burns skin just by touching it, using only brute strength?
"Oh, it's coming!"
The monster that finally crossed the barrier toppled over.
When it fell to the ground with a thud, everyone realized.
It's coming.
"Kaaaaaack!"
The monster charged, sliding with a roar.
Kwaaaang!
The barricade set up at the entrance was meaningless.
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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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