Chapter 81
‘Wow. It’s Katarina’s new Skill…!’
I clenched my fists tightly and watched the screen shown by No. 7.
The dark red flames scored a direct hit on the vanguard of the monsters.
First, the two crawling at the front were engulfed in flames and died instantly.
That wasn’t the end of it.
Pop - ! Boom - !
As the fire spread to the sides, it caused secondary and tertiary explosions.
“Kieeeeeek!”
Having lived their entire lives only in the deep sea, they twisted their bodies in agony, perhaps tasting fire for the first time.
‘Crazy. That’s so strong!!!!’
To think it’s a Blood Explosion Technique.
The Blood Arts she had shown so far were cool enough, but this technique was on a different level.
However, thinking about it differently…
It also meant the opponents were tough enough that Katarina, who always used similar techniques, had to bring out a new one.
Last time, she hadn’t even used that technique when catching that boss Vampire, whether it was pureblood or pure-flesh.
“Oops, this is no time to be sitting around!”
With Katarina fighting so hard, I couldn’t just sit back and watch.
I quickly ran to the refrigerator and took out a bunch of congealed blood and raw meat.
“Kreung?”
Dark approached with interest, but I firmly covered the bowl with my hand.
“Uh-uh. Dark. You cannot have this.”
Because this wasn’t just a snack or food, it was an important strategic resource.
I had already lost 150 blood power from opening the [Gate of Darkness].
If the battle situation turned unfavorable and I needed to provide support with the [Book of the Dead] or [Life Harvest], I needed to recharge my blood power.
Chomp chomp. Nom nom.
With a resolute expression, I picked up a spoon and shoveled the raw congealed blood into my mouth.
My eyes remained fixed on No. 7's screen.
“Krrrrrk!”
“Kieeeek!”
Despite Katarina’s excellent bombardment, the deep sea monsters still survived in swarms and were applying pressure.
Slimy tentacles reaching out from all directions sliced through the air.
But Katarina lightly dodged and shaped her blood into blades, slicing the tentacles to pieces.
And the Saintess was also fending off the monsters' attacks with a confused face.
Judging by what she said earlier, it was clear she had a massive misunderstanding.
Even so, she didn’t pour attacks onto Katarina, who had obviously come to help her.
Instead, the Saintess deflected a monster’s attack and shouted urgently.
“Aren’t you a Retainer of the True Ancestor…?! Aren’t you definitely on the evil side? Why are you helping me?”
The Saintess is initiating a conversation while fighting.
Katarina seemed to focus only on attacking without replying.
Soon, she sent me Telepathy.
Liege Lord. Will you grant me permission to sew that profane woman’s mouth shut?
“Eek?!”
Calling me evil seemed to have really gotten on Katarina’s nerves.
Of course, I felt a bit wronged by being misunderstood like that too.
But… honestly, I had my share of the blame for drawing aggro in the Community to maintain my concept, so I couldn’t just blindly blame the Saintess.
For now, joining forces to clear out those ugly lumps was the priority.
Instead of doing something terrible like sewing her mouth shut, how about revenge by sending a bunch of Mosquito Retainers to buzz in her ears every night later?
“Pay it no mind for now. I shall deliver an appropriate judgment on my own later.”
- …Understood, Liege Lord.
Katarina looked entirely displeased, but she had no choice but to accept my command.
Instead, she snapped at the Saintess in a cold voice.
“Wench. Do not speak my Liege Lord’s name carelessly.”
“…W-Wench?!”
“Gasp!”
Goodness, she just blatantly called the dignified Saintess of the Church of Light a Wench!
…Well. But honestly, it is a bit refreshing. Hehe.
Anyway, even while bickering with each other, the two showed quite excellent teamwork on the Battlefield.
“Haaah!”
In particular, the Saintess wasn’t the Saintess for nothing.
I thought she was a typical type of Priest who just shot divine power from the back.
She layered buffs on herself, then charged in bare-handed, unleashing a tremendous hand-to-hand combat display as she smashed the monsters with punches and kicks.
The monsters' flesh exploded wildly against her glowing fists.
‘We can’t lose either!’
Having eaten my fill of congealed blood, I wiped the bloody water from my mouth.
Fully charged with blood power, I timed it and activated an item at just the right moment.
[Activating the item, “Book of the Dead”!]
Vwooom-!
Instantly, a red aura surged and bloomed around Katarina’s body.
A fraudulent buff that explosively increased an Undead Retainer’s stats by a whopping 50%!
Katarina’s movements became incomparably faster than before, and the destructive power of the Blood Art she used was on a different level.
“What in the World is this…”
The Saintess could not hide her shock at Katarina’s martial prowess.
Slaaash!
Every time a blood-red slash swept through the alley, the Deep Sea Monsters were sliced away.
The floor was completely muddy with the slime and dark blue blood spilled by the monsters, and there were only a few monsters remained.
The Apostle of the Abyss Cult, who was watching this situation, ground his teeth as if he were in a very difficult spot.
“Keuk…! This isn’t right…!”
As the situation turned in their favor, a strange sense of camaraderie even began to flow between the Saintess and Katarina.
“Do not misunderstand…! This doesn’t mean I’m joining hands with a Vampire! It is merely to overcome the immediate crisis before us!”
“You talk too much. Spend that time guarding your own back instead of spouting nonsense.”
They spoke to each other with such thorny words.
But whenever one was attacked from a blind spot, they covered for each other sharply.
Watching that scene through the screen, I felt my heart swell with pride.
“Fufufu… It is a Temporary Alliance, Saintess!”
I shouted, clenching my fists on the bed in my Home Base.
I had always wanted to say this line at least once in my life.
But it was then.
“The Will of the Abyss will not be broken here…!”
A torrent of ominous, murky light erupted from the dice the man held up in the air.
“Uh-oh, that looks dangerous.”
Soon, the man’s body began to undulate and squirm.
Crack, crunch!
Along with a terrible sound, the man’s form completely collapsed.
Before long, the man mutated into a bloated figure covered in glistening scales, with countless disgusting tentacles hanging down like a beard below his chin.
Something like torn bat wings sprouted from his back.
“Grrrrr!”
Dark blue energy swirled and gathered from the center of the man, who had completely become a monster himself, as if to suck in even the surrounding air.
“…It’s coming; prepare yourself!”
The Saintess shouted, bringing her two hands together.
“I know!”
Katarina also focused with a serious expression, gathering blood energy in her hands.
The holy white light shooting from the Saintess’s fingertips and the blood-red light drawn up by Katarina intertwined into one, creating a massive beam of light.
Pwaaaaang - - !
The dark blue energy wave spewed by the monster and the red and white combined energy clashed head-on in the middle of the alley.
The outer walls of the surrounding buildings were blown away, and the asphalt on the ground was flipped over.
The two massive forces continued their power struggle evenly, without yielding an inch.
“Is it now…!”
The moment when a joker card was needed to break this tense balance arrived.
I immediately summoned the EX-rank Divine Artifact: Death Scythe from my Inventory.
I gripped the heavy scythe tightly with both hands and swung it widely into the air.
“[Life Harvest] - ! Dieee!”
Of course, since I was casting it remotely beyond my line of sight, it didn’t produce overwhelming power.
However,
Shaaaa - !
Although it was only for a split second, I was able to momentarily steal a bit of the monster’s life Force.
“Geureuk?!”
The monster flinched.
There was no way top-tier powerhouses like Katarina and the Saintess would miss that microscopic opening.
“Disappear!”
“Die.”
The white light and blood light completely pushed back the dark blue wave and finally reached the monster.
Booooom!!
A massive explosion occurred, turning my vision completely white.
It was in the spot where the dust cleared.
The giant monster stood frozen, with a gaping hole right through its center.
A gruesome sight, as if a massive steamboat had crashed into it.
“Vam-hahaha! Serves you right.”
I snorted in exhilaration.
Thud - !
Soon, the monster collapsed powerlessly, shaking the Earth.
Ha-Eun, who had been crouching throughout the battle, covering her head with both hands and trembling while crying “Hoeeeng!”, was also safe.
It was Thanks to Katarina and the Saintess taking turns to securely protect her.
I crossed my arms proudly as I watched the victorious scene through the screen.
The Temporary Alliance between the Saintess and Katarina made my heart swell.
And my perfect supporting fire came in at the decisive moment.
“Fufu. This is what happens when this True Ancestor gets just a little serious!”
While I was fully intoxicated by my own awesomeness.
A taut tension was once again present in the situation in the alley beyond the screen.
The Saintess glanced at the fallen monster of the Abyss Cult on the ground, then quickly turned her body to keep her Guard up against Katarina.
But instead of taking a Combat Stance against Katarina, she hurriedly approached her comrades lying on the ground.
The two men who had fainted were bleeding from their eyes and noses after earlier staring directly at that ominous dice.
“Brother Lucias, brother Tian, please wake up…! Please open your eyes…!”
The Saintess reached out both hands, emitting light as she urgently attempted to heal them.
However, the Saintess’s complexion grew darker and darker.
For some reason, it seemed their condition wasn’t improving even with her divine power.
“Huh?”
Just in case, I activated the [Appraisal Eye] once more.
Oh? The Appraisal Eye that hadn’t worked at all earlier was working now!
Was the Appraisal Block failing because it had suffered severe internal injuries and even lost consciousness?
But more importantly:
[Status: Severely contaminated by the Corrupt Energy of the Abyss. (Imminent Death)]
‘Eek! They’re going to die soon?’
Startled, I reread the status window in the air.
Both of them were in the same state.
Was the impact of being exposed to the dice’s Mental Attack too great at the beginning?
“Hmm…”
Even if they were a Hostile Force that came to catch me.
Just quietly watching people who weren’t villains die right in front of my eyes felt very uncomfortable.
Besides, hadn’t the Saintess and Katarina just been fighting together and building their own sort of camaraderie?
But is there any other way…
“…Is there?”
If they were contaminated by the Corrupt Energy of the Abyss, that meant they needed “purification” to wash it away, right?
In that case, I might be able to help.
To be exact, Dark, who is quietly wagging his tail beside me right now.
Because Dark’s [Holy Light] Skill definitely had a slight Purification Ability attached to it.
On top of that, if I granted him the Tier 2 Grace, [Rapid Growth], the power of the purification would definitely be amplified.
The problem was that the Skill would be forcibly terminated if the distance from the Retainer became too far, due to the penalty of the [Rapid Growth] Skill.
“In other words, I have to go there myself.”
Fortunately, the dangerous battle was all over now, so it would be safe if I just dropped by, quickly healed them, and came back.
‘Ugh… It’s a hassle, but let’s give it a try.’
People’s lives were on the line, so it couldn’t be helped.
Having made up my mind, I finished eating the rest of the congealed blood to fully replenish my consumed blood power.
Then I hurriedly ran to the closet, took out the A-rank equipment Riri had made for me, the [Blood Silk Garment], and started putting it on with some effort.
It was a Gothic Lolita dress that wasn’t easy to put on by myself due to the dangling frills and ribbons.
Still, Thanks to the know-how I had built up from wearing it a few times while going in and out of the Tower, I was able to put it on quickly.
After meticulously grabbing my parasol as well.
Finally, to hide my face, I put on the Fox Mask that Si-Yeon had bought before.
“Dark. We are descending.”
“Kwang!”
Fully prepared, I scooped Dark up into my arms.
It was time to go out into the outside World for the first time since my awakening!