Chapter 108 : Chapter 108

Chapter 108

“Lord Pantera……?”

Pierre's voice was flustered, and Killian was just as bewildered.

‘This is trouble. If Pantera descends here…….’

In the ancient battles, Pantera had done his utmost to subdue him, and his mana had left considerable wounds on that bastard.

‘This is dangerous.’

It wasn't a complete manifestation, but just the appearance of his will doubled the divine power in the area.

It reached a level where I couldn't guarantee I could overwhelm him even if I released all the mana from the sword and its sheath.

‘No, at this rate, even if I use the pendant……’

Even as Killian racked his brain, Pantera's voice continued.

[Killian…… Eurasia…….]

Faint, but Pantera's voice was clear.

[You are…….]

“O, God…… speak to me…….”

Pierre, kneeling on one knee, bowed his head.

The scales held in his hand trembled violently.

He tried to carefully place the scales on the floor, but his hand wouldn't move.

It was because Pantera's will had manifested using the Chief Priest's divine power and the scales as a medium.

In the meantime, Killian's reflux grew progressively worse.

‘This bastard, he's trying to kill me.’

It was already difficult enough to handle Pierre's divine power, which had been enhanced by the divine object.

Even though Pantera hadn't fully revealed himself.

‘In this body that has yet to even reach 8-stars, I cannot face him.’

[Wh……y…… is…….]

Pantera's words were cutting off.

‘I can't give him any more time.’

I tightened my grip on the sword.

“Fine. Let's do this.”

“Killian Eurasia! You dare commit such insolence before a god!!”

Paying no heed to Pierre's shout, Killian materialized the mana from his mind's eye.

“Carpe Illusion.”

The mana spewed out by the fully drawn Aether swirled.

“Total Solar Eclipse.”

A space where four spheres floated was manifested.

Rumble.

The released Haki pressed down on Pierre.

Screeeech. Screech.

The scales shook unsteadily, making a sharp noise.

“You bastard…… you finally…… cross the line.”

“Let's see this through to the end, Chief Priest.”

Letting out a laugh like that of a madman.

Cough.

Killian coughed up a mouthful of blood.

At this rate, it seemed I would die from blood loss faster than from the Mana Heart's reflux.

[……mas…… sia…… you…… why…….]

“O, God……. Do not worry. I shall dispose of the non-believer myself.”

[……sia…… dama…….]

“The god is quite talkative!”

Bam.

The thrust-out Aether was blocked by Pierre's shield.

However, Pierre, who had blocked the sword, was not unscathed either.

“Kahak…….”

For the first time, blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

Their mana and divine power placed on the scales grew even larger.

“Prepare for divine punishment…… Eurasia…….”

Pierre's voice became rough.

‘It's better to make it explode at this rate.’

The divine power acting upon Pantera's appearance grew stronger, but on the other hand, the strain on Pierre also increased.

‘If I'm to break through, that's the only way.’

Swoosh. Swoosh.

The spheres of mana and divine power that emerged from the two men's bodies rapidly grew in size.

“Keuk…….”

“Kaak…….”

It was when the power struggle between the Sword Master and the Chief Priest reached its peak.

Rumble.

Suddenly, Pierre took out a cross from his bosom.

His blood-soaked lips parted.

“Potestas de Pantera.”

Boom!

Killian's mana, which had been in a tense deadlock, wavered greatly.

‘Another divine object……?’

The four spheres floating in the space of the Total Solar Eclipse began to distort.

Just then.

Fwoosh.

The pendant hanging around Killian's neck emitted violet mana.

Whoosh.

The mana formed a Shik on its own.

[Grrr~]

Hazard appeared.

Hazard, having absorbed the surrounding mana, had released his Polymorph on his own.

[Yoooong~]

Killian's blue mana and Cornelia's violet mana assimilated.

And then.

[Yoyoyong. Yoyong.]

Ssssss.

The swirling violet mana created a new Carpe Illusion.

Cornelia Style, Violet Magic Tower.

The power source emitting infinite mana enhanced the Total Solar Eclipse.

Eurasia Style, Total Lunar Eclipse.

Kwa-gwagwagwa.

Haki raged throughout the area, tearing the divine power to shreds.

‘The divine object's rampage turned out to be a bad move!’

Eurasia Style, Wave.

Pushing back the pressing divine power, Killian approached Pierre.

And.

Aether, imbued with compressed mana, struck down upon the scales.

Eurasia Style, Yaswae.

Crack!

Pierre staggered from the impact, but the scales, perhaps because they were a divine object, did not break completely.

It was when Killian was about to draw a new sword.

[Yoong!]

Crunch.

Hazard rushed in and bit off a part of the scales.

‘There's no way it would break from that…….’

Crack-crunch.

The sight of the scales completely crumbling under Hazard's teeth.

Along with a pure white light.

Ssssss.

The remnants of the scales, combined with divine power, scattered.

[Yoong~]

The divine power was sucked into the mouth of Hazard, who let out a majestic cry.

***

“A dragon…….”

Pierre, who had coughed up blood several times, muttered with a shocked expression.

‘Was hiding him a mistake.’

Very few knew Hazard's true identity.

It would be troublesome if someone from a hostile temple found out.

There was a need to silence him.

‘Chief Priest Pierre, I'm sorry but you'll have to die here……’

I'll kill him here and now to eliminate any future trouble.

It was the moment Killian thought that.

Thud.

Suddenly, Pierre dropped to both knees.

“…….”

Before Killian could react to the unexpected situation.

“O, Pantera.”

Pierre, prostrating himself respectfully, bowed his head low.

“Your servant witnesses the manifestation of a god.”

“What in the world is this…….”

As if sensing Killian's bewilderment.

[Yoong~]

Hazard cried out as if responding to Pierre.

It was hard to believe he knelt to look for an opportunity; Pierre de Pantera's actions showed an intent of complete submission.

It was because the Scales of Domination had been broken by Killian's Carpe Illusion, which had resonated with Hazard, causing a malfunction in the authority's effect.

‘Is he perceiving Hazard as Pantera?’

It would have been better if he had recognized me as Pantera, but his hostility seemed to remain.

Killian was lost in thought.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity created by Hazard's intervention.

Right now, I could cut down the enemy without much effort.

If I failed to seize this chance, I didn't know what other variables might arise.

‘I have to swing Aether.’

I had to cut down the Chief Priest who was bowing his head to me—no, to be precise, to Hazard.

“…….”

But, if I cut down the Chief Priest here, what about the aftermath?

Not only would the plan to install a medium-sized Warp Gate in Eurasia come to nothing, but the Holy Nation would also dispatch its Knight Order to pressure Eurasia.

‘I don't think the current Eurasia would be easily defeated, but.’

If the Holy Nation completely banned the dispatch of priests to Eurasia, no one would dare approach Eurasia in the future.

For Eurasia, which was on the verge of war with the numerous feudal states positioned in the eastern frontier's mountain ranges and on the continent, it was no different from cutting its own lifeline.

Killian was not unaware of that fact.

‘I'll use this as an opportunity for dialogue.’

First, it was important to confirm the current situation clearly.

In the end, Killian sheathed his sword and held Hazard in his arms, leaving only his aura active.

Pierre's eyes trembled.

“Lord Pantera……. Please, come this way…….”

“How insolent, Pierre. Are you unable to accept the god's choice?”

“……!!”

“Is a mere insignificant creature like you doubting the will of a god?”

Pierre's eyes wavered more than ever before.

For a brief moment, his gaze repeatedly sharpened and then became dazed.

It was because he was repeatedly falling under and being released from the authority's brainwashing.

“The one Pantera has chosen is me.”

“That can't be…….”

[Yong!]

Hazard cut Pierre off, raising his voice.

It was just the cry of an obese lizard that hadn't even become an adult dragon.

“Ah…… Aah…….”

Pierre's body trembled violently as if he had been directly hit by Haki.

To him, it sounded like Pantera's scolding.

‘He's being completely dominated.’

It wasn't just that he was perceiving Hazard as Pantera; the Authority of Domination was now acting upon Hazard.

What if that authority had been applied to me?

‘I don't even want to imagine it.’

I felt a renewed appreciation for Hazard's existence and patted his head.

[Yohoong~!!]

Hazard laughed happily.

It seemed that his appearance resembled a master rebuking an insolent believer.

“Ah…… Aah…….”

Pierre trembled once again.

The stage for the long-awaited conversation was set.

“Pierre de Pantera, why are you hostile to Eurasia and helping the Empire? Wasn't the Holy Nation a place that professed neutrality?”

“Th-that's…….”

Pierre made a pained expression.

[Yong!]

Hazard added weight to Killian's words.

“Your god is asking you.”

Under the continued pressure, Pierre swallowed a groan and opened his mouth.

“It is because the signal with Lord Pantera had weakened…….”

“A signal? Are you talking about the connection with the gods?”

“……That's right. In addition, numerous other temples reported instability in their connections, which led the Holy Nation to suspect that Eurasia was involved in the incident.”

What is this nonsense again.

“Grotesquery.”

“…….”

Looking back and forth between Killian's hardened face and Hazard's cheerful one, Pierre continued.

“We only suspect that it is because of the remnants of the Grotesquery, of which only pieces now remain……. We haven't grasped the details ourselves.”

“…….”

It was an unexpected answer.

As I naturally recalled the battle with Agnil, Pierre's explanation continued.

“In the past, Edan Eurasia passed away while fighting a Grotesquery.”

Not long after that, the priests belonging to the Holy Nation began to lose their connection with the gods, one by one.

The Holy Nation had traced the cause for over a hundred years through holy magic and found out that it was related to the pieces of the Grotesquery.

“Eurasia's ancestor received some kind of curse.”

“…….”

The curse of the Grotesquery passed down in Eurasia and the piece of the Grotesquery in the Brussels Kingdom.

“The reason we acted as if we had joined hands with the Empire was to confirm that fact.”

“Ha.”

Killian let out a hollow laugh.

To think that those bastards, who didn't even show their faces during the war with the Grotesquery, citing danger, were now treating Eurasia, who had stood at the forefront more than anyone, like a disease.

“Hypocritical bastards.”

Hazard growled as if in response to Killian's words.

I was so incensed that I wanted to barge into the Holy Nation right now and grab the Pope by the collar.

‘No. Calm down, Killian Eurasia.’

The scales, the only divine artifact capable of manifesting Pantera, were broken, and the Chief Priest was being dominated by Hazard.

My thoughts did not linger for long.

“Pierre de Pantera.”

“What is it…….”

Killian extended a hand with a harmless smile.

“What…….”

Then, as he pushed Hazard towards the Chief Priest.

Pierre's face stiffened as he understood the meaning.

[Yong.]

Grasp.

Unable to withstand the pressure, Pierre grabbed Killian's hand with both of his.

“I welcome you joining hands with Eurasia.”

***

“You've decided to entrust the temple to Philip.”

“It's a rougher place than it looks. To manage it, one would need to be at least a 6-star.”

Serena showed me a letter sent from Cornelia.

After reading it quickly, Killian clicked his tongue.

“Mainz Kimbel. So he was alive after all.”

“It seems the war will begin soon.”

The war between Cornelia, which had risen to a kingdom, and Romero, which had served as the barrier of the western frontier and the continent for over a hundred years.

The Romero Kingdom's history was not as long as Brussels', but its military force could not be underestimated.

It possessed three Superhumans, and its national power, led by the king, was also not lacking.

On top of that, there was the support of the Second Prince, Isaac Heinrich.

This was the reason why Cornelia, despite possessing a Magic Tower, could not easily start the war.

“What will you do?”

Eurasia's Knight Orders cannot be moved carelessly.

“I'll entrust it to the Annihilation Squad.”

“…….”

Originally, Eurasia had agreed to send parts of the Blue and Yellow Knight Orders as support. It was a gesture of gratitude for the mages who had provided support during the war with Brussels.

However, they were not enough to turn the tide of the war.

“Surely you're not thinking of going alone? It would be better to take the entire Annihilation Squad…….”

“Serena, it has been said since ancient times that a single Sword Master is a match for an entire knight order.”

Especially with a dragon.

‘It's more than enough for support troops.’

On this occasion, I would also be able to confirm the identity of the strange energy in Cornelia that Pierre had mentioned.

“Send a message to Orchid Owl.”

Looking at her superior, who had already made up his mind.

“Understood.”

Serena replied concisely.

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