Chapter 423
Chapter 423: Let’s Use the Most Powerful Force. (3)
Grrrr…
Equidema lowered its body. It looked as if it was going to trample and kill its target the moment it was determined.
Everyone was tense, eagerly awaiting Ghislaine’s next words. Feeling an ominous vibe, Piote cried out in a trembling voice.
“I-I’ll heal you!”
Ghislaine shook her head.
“No, you don’t have to heal me. But don’t strain yourself.”
“Huh? Why?”
Alfoy approached the confused Piote.
“You don’t like me, do you?”
“N-no way.”
Piote shook his head. How could a priest of the goddess say he disliked someone else?
Though Alfoy always tormented him, Piote prayed every day to forgive him so as not to hate him.
But Alfoy smiled and said, “It’s okay, you can hate me.”
“What do you mean…?”
“If not me, who will go to hell!”
“Huh?”
Thunk!
Before Piote could respond, Alfoy grabbed him by the collar.
And before Piote could react, he tossed him toward Equidema.
“Yaaaaah!”
Thud.
Piote screamed as he fell right at Equidema’s feet. Even Equidema flinched in surprise at the sudden situation.
“W-what? Why me… uh…”
Piote fell into a panic. As fear overwhelmed him, Equidema’s terrifying eyes approached his face.
Grrrr…
Piote saw the hatred-filled eyes of Equidema. He had never faced such hatred and foreboding up close in his life.
Piote shut his eyes tightly, tears forming involuntarily.
‘He threw me as bait! Why is that jerk Alfoy picking on me! Why is everyone just standing there!’
He felt frustrated and wronged. Not blaming others was a fundamental attitude of a priest and Piote’s personality, but whenever it involved Alfoy, he felt like he was going mad. It was impossible not to blame someone.
Hatred for Alfoy, distrust in humanity, obsession with life, and fear of death—all kinds of emotions wrapped around Piote.
However, it was not the time to point fingers.
“Grrrrrr!”
Equidema lifted its front paw and roared. Belinda shouted in surprise.
“Young Master!”
Others flinched and tried to rush to help Piote. But Ghislaine stopped them.
“It’s okay! Just watch for now!”
Even without channeling with the goddess, Ghislaine had her own confidence.
People watched Piote and Equidema, tense with anticipation.
No one was coming to help. Finally, in a state of sheer terror, Piote clenched his eyes shut and yelled in desperation.
“O-Goddess!”
Grrrr…!
Suddenly, dark clouds gathered in the sky. At the same time, Piote’s hair turned silver, and immense divine power began to emanate from his body.
At the same time, Equidema’s massive front paw swung down towards Piote.
Boom!
A sound like something bursting echoed. It was a colossal monster with superhuman power.
If an ordinary person were to get hit, their body would explode.
However, something astonishing occurred.
“Graaaah!”
Equidema recoiled and let out a monstrous scream.
Zing!
Equidema’s front paw, crashing against the powerful divine power, was being scorched.
Unlike the Cracked Beings suffering significant hits from divine power that wasn’t permitted in this world, Equidema brushed off ordinary levels of divine power with its immense strength.
Yet even Equidema couldn’t escape harm from the overwhelming divine power pouring out of Piote.
“Uh?”
Seeing his body unscathed, Piote had a puzzled expression.
Even if his divine power caused damage to Equidema, his body shouldn’t feel alright after taking such a powerful hit.
Since he had been attacked before even connecting with the goddess.
Grrrr…
The clouds that were about to shed light dispersed and vanished. This was because Piote’s wish had momentarily weakened.
Ghislaine smirked upon seeing this.
“Oh, this isn’t easy.”
If he had succeeded in channeling this time, even momentarily, he could have stopped Equidema’s movement.
She had wanted to turn Piote into minced meat in the meantime, but it seemed his wish hadn’t soared to the heavens.
“Y-Young Master? What is happening?”
Belinda asked nervously.
Equidema’s attack was truly fearsome. Just the shockwave from its strike on Piote had the potential to burst the surrounding Cracked Beings.
Yet here was Piote, managing to withstand that attack without even connecting with the goddess. No matter how quickly and powerfully his divine power increased, it shouldn’t have been possible at his current level.
Ghislaine answered casually.
“I have a sacred relic.”
“A sacred relic?”
“Yeah, a real sacred relic.”
Piote was wearing the ring known as “Juana’s Blessing.” It was given to him by Ghislaine after she got it from Bishop Porisco.
If one had divine power, it provided an absolute barrier. The caster didn’t even need to be aware of it.
As powerful as Equidema’s attacks were, Piote’s divine power was considerably consumed, but the amount used was nothing compared to the overwhelming protection the relic provided.
“Aaaah!”
Equidema let out another roar filled with rage and struck Piote again.
Boom!
Piote huddled down, covering his head. He still felt fine.
Seeing him, Ghislaine grinned and said, “Let’s go. While it’s focused on the bait, we’ll attack. The priests should continue to inject divine power into Piote.”
They had to capture Equidema before all of Piote’s divine power ran out.
Bam!
Ghislaine charged out with her greatsword raised. While Equidema was busy striking Piote, it couldn’t dodge her sudden attack, which pierced its head.
Boom!
“Graaah!”
Equidema turned its head in anger, but Ghislaine had already retreated. Taking advantage of the opening, Tenant targeted Equidema’s injured foot.
Slash!
Blue smoke and blood burst forth, clouding the vision.
Boom!
As the smoke cleared, Equidema lunged at Tenant. But before the monster could strike, dozens of daggers from Belinda flew towards Equidema’s eyes.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Equidema closed its eyes and shook its head. In that moment, Tenant withdrew, while Gillian and Kaor slashed at Equidema’s flanks.
“Graaah!”
Equidema roared even louder. With those tiny bugs constantly darting in and out, its anger reached a boiling point.
Everyone was only retreating and attacking, leaving Piote huddled up as the sole visible target. Even the divine power he emitted was a contradiction to the Cracked Beings.
Equidema felt endless hatred. In that moment, the other combatants disappeared from its mind.
So it aimed all that hatred at Piote once again.
Boom!
“Ugh…”
Piote shut his eyes and trembled. He didn’t know why it didn’t hurt, but it didn’t, at least not in a painful way. It felt like a gentle breeze was brushing against him instead.
Logically, a person should fall when hit forcefully. But despite being struck by that gigantic beast, his body didn’t budge.
The reasons eluded him, but he felt almost invincible at that moment.
So Piote realized what he needed to do.
‘I-I must stay here, even if I die.’
While he was being hit, others were fighting. So he couldn’t back down. Even if it meant he had to endure in this spot till death.
Incredible as it was, he was even still willing to sacrifice himself in this moment. He was fundamentally different from Alfoy.
Boom!
‘My divine power…!’
With each hit, he felt chunks of divine power disappear. The priests kept pouring their blessings, but it was so little it barely registered.
Before he knew it, his divine power had grown to an extent that couldn’t even be compared with the other priests.
“Graaah!”
Equidema, drenched in blood, kept letting out furious roars.
The small human in front of it wouldn’t die no matter how much it struck. It didn’t even budge. Like a tree solidly planted in place.
Since no physical shock reached him, Equidema wouldn’t know this fact.
Opportunity arose for the bugs, who inflicted countless wounds upon Equidema.
Grrrr…
The beast, increasingly soaked in its own blood, finally realized it was being hunted.
Before it stood the bait radiating maddeningly with hatred. Instinctively, it repeatedly lunged at it.
It felt almost like its mission.
To escape this unfavorable situation, it had to remove that bait before its eyes.
Graaah!
Equidema opened its huge mouth. It felt an instinctual warning against what it shouldn’t consume, but if it didn’t devour it right now, it itself would be hunted.
Even as Piote was on the verge of being eaten, the others distanced themselves farther away. It seemed they were trying to avoid something.
And when Equidema lowered its huge mouth towards Piote…
Whoosh!
A flash of red light burst forth, shooting a fiery beam from behind the group.
It was Vanessa’s magic, which she had been charging, waiting for the opportunity.
Boom!
“Graaah!”
The flame ray shot from Vanessa struck squarely in Equidema’s mouth. Equidema recoiled in shock, surprised by the hit that was meant for Piote.
But the magic didn’t stop there.
Zing~! Zing~! Zing~!
Dozens of magic circles spread across the sky.
Since there were many allies here, they couldn’t use Area of Effect Magic. So Vanessa focused her mana into each spell.
Soon, a powerful light burst forth from the magic circles and bombarded Equidema’s entire body.
Alfoy’s magic was also intricately mixed among them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Vanessa didn’t hold back any power. She wanted to finish it with her own strength as much as possible.
Countless spells containing the full magic of a 7th Circle Mage pounded Equidema’s body.
Boom! Bang! Boom!
The blue smoke emanating from Equidema’s mouth and wounds filled the space. The wounds from before were torn open even wider from the magic.
Alfoy’s magic also played a role in enlarging the wounds, but its effect was minimal.
The defenses of this beast, which had reached superhuman levels, were truly astonishing. Equidema bore all the magic with its body.
The others, except for Ghislaine, looked at Equidema with disbelief.
“Crazy… Even after being hit by so much magic, it’s still standing?”
“It won’t die even if we hit it until the end…”
“Our only option now is to beat it until it drops…”
The durability and stamina of that beast were indeed its true weapon, surpassing strength and speed. That’s why Ghislaine hadn’t targeted its mind through its eyes in the first place.
Vanessa gazed at Equidema in shock. She had leveraged all her power, nearly exhausting her mana.
Yet even after taking that assault, it was still alive! It wasn’t called the End Beast for nothing.
Of course, Equidema wasn’t in good shape; it wasn’t fine either.
Drip, drip, drip…
From its opened mouth, which was spewing blue smoke, an immense flow of blue blood began to pour out.
That fiery beam, which had struck at the right moment when it opened its mouth, had inflicted a grave wound inside Equidema’s throat.
Grrrr…
Blue blood pooled beneath Equidema’s head. It was indeed showing signs of severe damage.
Ghislaine extended her great sword forward and said, “It looks exhausted. We should be able to finish it soon.”
Gwooo…
Ghislaine’s great sword began to engulf itself in crimson energy. His body was cloaked in crimson fog.
Everyone poured their remaining strength into their weapons with mana.
Grrrr…
Equidema still firmly planted its four feet on the ground. Its eyes burned even brighter with hatred and intent to kill.
For a beast, there was a mission to fulfill. That mission was its purpose for living and value of existence.
If it couldn’t carry it out, there was no worth in being alive. Thus, it had to fight until death.
Graaah!
Equidema roared again, charging at the nearest being, someone radiating a strong desire to kill.
‘It’s me again!’
Piote hunched down. But this time, it didn’t attack.
Boom!
Ghislaine’s massive aura blade slashed at Equidema’s wounded side.
“Graaah!”
Equidema staggered to the side. In that moment, Tenant targeted Equidema’s injured ankle with his own aura blade.
Boom!
Gillian and Kaor unleashed their mana blades with tremendous force. At a glance, they became indistinguishable from aura blades.
Thanks to eating the fragment of Dragon Heart and training using the highest-grade Mana Convergence Circle, the two had an overflowing amount of mana.
They hadn’t yet crossed the barrier, but they’d reached just the stage before it.
As Tenant attacked, Equidema swayed unsteadily from the torso, ruthlessly cut by the two.
“Grrr!”
Equidema couldn’t regain its sense. Every time it tried to attack someone, it was met with resistance from the side. As it tried to change its target, it found itself retreating again.
With every wound, its strength waned. No matter how powerful it was, a beast’s head couldn’t resolve the current situation.
“Step aside!”
Dozens of daggers shot forth from Belinda’s body.
She, too, had absorbed a fragment of the Dragon Heart and steadily trained with her dedicated Mana Convergence Circle, becoming far stronger than before.
The dozens of daggers connected to her robe embedded themselves deeply into Equidema’s various wounds.
“Graaah!”
Equidema screamed in pain. The dozens of daggers released by Belinda tightly bound Equidema.
Thud thud!
Before Equidema could shake its body to pull out the daggers, Belinda severed the cord connecting her to them.
The daggers remained deeply embedded in Equidema’s wounds.
Grrrr…
With so many injuries, Equidema began to stagger.
It couldn’t defeat these hunters alone. It couldn’t attack properly at all. Equidema was slowly forced to retreat.
Ghislaine stepped forward and said, “Just a little more pressure, and we’ll finish this. Let’s strike and retreat a few more times.”
In her previous life, she had captured numerous monsters using this method.
While a few skillful individuals faced the strong monsters, the others dealt with relatively weaker opponents, which minimized losses.
Grrrr…
Equidema, cornered, retreated a little more. Even now, Cracked Beings continued to appear, but they weren’t of any help.
The Knights of Penris were tirelessly clearing the surroundings.
Grrrr…
Equidema had come to a clear realization.
It would die to those hunters. And it would not fulfill its mission.
As it retreated to the edge of the Rift, Equidema looked up at the sky and let out a loud cry.
“Graaah!”
Its roar was imbued with hatred and rage towards the hunters. It seemed to be asking someone for help.
Ghislaine and the others closed the distance to the monster a bit more. They felt like they could finish it off with just a few more attacks.
However, at that moment, something unexpected happened.
Whooo!
From the now wide Rift, big enough to fit several Equidema, a giant white hand suddenly reached out.
The hand squished Equidema in its palm, as if capturing a bug.
Boom!
