Chapter 169

‘Outside…’

In that instant, the exact same thought flashed through the minds of Taewoon and the other two.

The Central Holy Sanctuary, which the Fourth Finger was said to be in charge of, or perhaps somewhere else entirely.

Could it be that while this operation, which had deployed a considerable number of personnel, was underway, another covert plot was unfolding on the outside?

‘But…’

Even if a significant number of Hunters had been deployed to keep Sharliaete in check, there were still countless Hunters outside watching the situation and monitoring the Gwangseong Church’s movements.

It was possible that all of this was nothing more than a lie intended to confuse Taewoon’s party.

“If that is what you think, it cannot be helped… but I have not specifically spoken any lies.”

“Hmph, we can just find out for ourselves once we execute you and go outside. Is there any need to keep flapping your mouth pointlessly?”

Judging that the opponent was merely stalling for time, Taerim fluttered her banner-spear and slashed the ground, creating a violent shockwave that tore through the interior of the Holy Sanctuary.

However, such a simple attack could not make the current Sharliaete even blink.

As a feast of feathers began to fill the air, the three clicked their tongues and began preparing to intercept them in their own ways.

‘Using the Final Rampart skill to block this… there are too many unstable elements!’

As long as they didn’t know the exact working principle of the opponent’s power, they needed to respond by preparing for the worst-case scenario.

Thus, Taewoon began to swat away the feathers using only magical power and technique without employing any special abilities, and Seoyoon and Taerim made the exact same judgment.

However, that was not a complete solution either.

“Hmm… it will be problematic if you think so simply.”

Though they had prevented their abilities from being sealed, the pure white feathers were surprisingly eating away at Taewoon’s party’s magical power every time they collided.

And the magical power stolen in that manner did not return or recover.

It meant that the maximum capacity of the magical power the three possessed was decreasing in real-time.

‘Damn it, if this repeats just a few more times, half of my magical power will be gone in one go!’

Yet, there was no way to escape the feathers that filled the space and relentlessly pursued them.

Even when Taewoon used the Red Man’s power to repeat high-speed movements, and Taerim summoned a guardian statue modeled after the mouth of a giant beast to suck them in, the result was not significantly different.

“…What a troublesome ability.”

“It seems we need to take a bit more of a risk. If we delay any further, we will reach a point of no return.”

Now was the time to put into practice the elder’s teaching that the best defense is offense.

Deploying Mitra’s Wings once again, Taewoon flew erratically through the air, batting away the pouring feathers with minimal effort as he began to aim for Sharliaete’s front, while Seoyoon and Taerim took advantage of the opening to narrow the opponent’s retreat from both flanks.

‘Even though I can no longer use Divine Authority Release…’

Even so, the attack power Taewoon currently possessed was sufficient to threaten Sharliaete’s safety.

Finally entering an effective range, Taewoon raised Keshatus high and began to strike down with the Lightning of Destruction, while Taerim fluttered her banner-spear and used her ability to instantaneously enhance Taewoon’s magical power.

“…Ugh.”

No matter how powerful Sharliaete was, she could not nullify an attack of that magnitude without any cost; for a moment, the generation of feathers stopped, and a tiny sliver of an opening appeared.

And Seoyoon did not miss that opening.

“…Blessing of the Holy Blood.”

Golden droplets of blood flowed from the Laurel Wreath on Seoyoon’s head, temporarily enhancing her abilities to a higher level.

Seeing this, Sharliaete flinched and generated new feathers to send toward Seoyoon, but Seoyoon, prepared for the sealing of her abilities, summoned Perdamante, blocked them all, and charged forward.

“…I won’t let you get away.”

The continuous struggle eventually pushed her unique enhancement ability to its peak, and finally, a strike containing all that immense power split the light emblem summoned by Sharliaete exactly in half.

“It was shallow… but this is enough.”

Having suffered a visible laceration, Sharliaete began to step back, blood dripping from her.

Seeing this, Seoyoon changed her sword into the form of an axe and immediately pursued the opponent to land a follow-up blow, but Sharliaete, with a faint smile, raised her hand and wrapped her body in a veil of light to block it.

A fierce series of consecutive attacks followed, but the veil absorbed all the impact, fulfilling its role without collapsing.

In that short interval, the wound Sharliaete had suffered was completely healed, and with a beaming smile, Sharliaete used Kalliedu’s ability once more to summon a wave of light, blowing Seoyoon’s body backward.

“The people here seem to have… quite a promising future. But that level is nowhere near enough, you know?”

“What?”

“Since you have shown such steadfast will, I too must show a corresponding amount of sincerity.”

A subtle white radiance covered Sharliaete’s entire body, and the countless feathers that had filled the surroundings gradually gathered behind her back, transforming into four pairs of wings.

The moment it was completed, a massive pressure weighed down on the shoulders of Taewoon’s party.

And the three of them felt a bizarre sensation as a handful of light escaped from within them and was absorbed by Sharliaete.

‘What is this… I’ve been robbed of something without even realizing it!’

After observing his inner self for a moment, Taewoon soon realized that he could no longer summon the Remegethon or borrow Reje’s power.

The situation was likely no different for the other two.

“…What did you do?”

“Praises for Him do not always produce the same sound. Since the moment for the second hymn to ring out has arrived, is it not only natural to offer a fitting sacrifice?”

He didn’t know exactly what the principle was, but it seemed that the longer they spent inside this Holy Ground, the more powerful Sharliaete’s ‘rules’ became.

Right now it was only the Remegethon, but there was no time to guess what ability would be taken next, or what else might be plundered.

Feeling the danger of the follower of Kyurihi standing before them, Taewoon and the other two hardened their expressions and braced themselves for a fight to the death.

Somehow, they had to settle the match and land a decisive blow before the opponent grew any stronger.

If this situation continued, Sharliaete’s power would soon reach a realm that the three of them could not handle.

‘But… I don’t think we can completely suppress her just by succeeding with one or two attacks. If she took all of Kyurihi’s abilities, it’s right to assume her survivability is even greater.’

Kyurihi had shown immense miracles, regenerating most wounds in an instant and overcoming even fatal injuries that should have led to death.

In Sharliaete’s case, he didn’t think she would be any less capable; if anything, she might be more.

It meant that it was impossible to deal a critical blow through ordinary means.

‘Damn it, what means do I have to suppress her?’

Of course, skills like the Lightning of Destruction, Blazing Sword Judgment, and Soul Chasing Path Destruction were still Taewoon’s sharp weapons, but they were meaningless unless it was an attack that exceeded the opponent’s predictions.

In Seoyoon’s case, her attack methods tended to be monotonous compared to her outstanding abilities, and it was difficult to expect more capacity from Taerim, who had lost the Black Divine Army.

As Taewoon was blocked by the obstacle before him, a thought that was completely different from everything until now began to swirl in his mind.

‘No, perhaps… is this a fight where it’s meaningless even if I target her herself?’

To be honest, she was far too powerful an existence inside this Holy Ground.

Moreover, since she was continuously inflating that power and showing the supernatural abilities of even stronger rules, there was no doubt that Taewoon’s party’s chance of victory would vanish as time passed.

‘But, is this Holy Ground truly an absolutely invincible, perfect space?’

Thinking about it suddenly, he felt that it wasn’t.

After all, Taewoon’s party had forced the entrance open to get in here, and hadn’t his past experiences proven that a Holy Ground is a space that can be sufficiently destroyed?

This place was simply a slightly more powerful and sturdy Holy Ground.

In Taewoon’s opinion, the essence of it was not much different.

‘Right. What I should target is not Sharliaete herself…’

But the Holy Ground itself, which was constantly making her stronger.

Having finally reached a conclusion, Taewoon’s gaze quickly scanned the interior of the Holy Ground, taking the entire space into his eyes.

‘Aquila! Is there any vulnerability in this Holy Ground we just entered that’s worth exploiting?’

• It is not that there are no shaking parts, but overall, the structure is excellent and it is a very sturdy space. Therefore, I judge that it is difficult to find a distinct weakness.

‘Damn it. Anything at all, is there any information that could be helpful?’

After pondering for a moment, Aquila moved her characteristic hologram body and began to convey a piece of information to the agonizing Taewoon.

• This is a space woven by a certain set of rules. And by nature, rules belong to everyone present there; they are not unilateral or biased toward one side. If the power is this strong, there must be a corresponding price. Perhaps some rules favorable to the visitor are hidden.

‘Favorable rules?’

It was an idea he hadn’t considered, but on the other hand, it was certainly a logical judgment.

Staining the Wax Mask with blood once again and chanting the spell for the second Apostle Transformation, Taewoon began to observe the interior of the Holy Ground within a much broader field of vision.