Chapter 97
The first to move was none other than Esiocles.
“Saraswati! From now on, guide me!”
What he shouted with an unusual pose was none other than the name of his beloved spirit. Responding to his call, the sensual spirit revealed herself and clung to Esiocles’ back, gently caressing his trapezius muscle.
Soon, Saraswati transformed into a halo of light and merged into Esiocles’ body. As Esiocles accepted Saraswati, he shifted into another bizarre pose.
Gogogogogo
Everyone present, whether demon or human, experienced an optical illusion where Esiocles began to appear larger than he actually was.
The pressure from his muscles, filled with light power, rearranged themselves, momentarily pushing away the surrounding air and scattering light. Though it was a physically nonsensical and fantastical phenomenon, the sheer absurdity and muscle supremacy surrounding Esiocles made it an undeniable reality for everyone present.
At the same time, the demons felt all their attention and hostility inexplicably drawn to the bald, muscular man before them. His recently perfected technique, ‘Malicious Object of Malevolence,’ had fully activated, drawing all the hostility of the malevolent entities onto himself.
“Next is my turn.”
Sophia moved next. Her Heart Sword technique was such that the moment her mind was set, the sword would already cut down the target. Thus, no outward action was needed beyond raising the sword of her will.
However, unlike usual, Sophia half-closed her eyes and formed a sword seal. The task ahead required her to maintain some focus, so this was her own ritualistic preparation.
What happened next was astonishing.
Without any warning, a flurry of sharp, piercing trajectories appeared, tearing through the surroundings.
From around the horned, dog-like demons, simultaneous sword strikes erupted, sweeping through the area. The number of trajectories exceeded hundreds, with not a single one overlapping, all created by a single sword.
The Heart Sword technique, which skipped the spatial distance between the wielder and the target, as well as the process between cause and effect, had finally achieved the miracle of “a single entity existing in multiple spaces simultaneously.”
Sophia’s long sword remained sheathed at her waist, showing no sign of being drawn. This alone proved the level her Heart Sword technique had reached.
The swirling sword strikes were meticulously calculated to drive the demons in a specific direction. As each strike carved its path, the demons began to be herded.
The direction was none other than towards Esiocles, who stood firm in his bizarre pose. Having already drawn the demons’ aggro, herding them was not difficult.
Even if they could hide in shadows to evade the strikes, it was meaningless. If they tried to counterattack, they would have to materialize, and the space around them was filled with Sophia’s Heart Sword trajectories, leaving only the open area in front of Esiocles.
Hildegard’s task began when all the demons had gathered in front of Esiocles.
At this point, Esiocles was fending off sporadic attacks from the herded demons. The demons could move through shadows, and the spatial constraints of their numbers were more of an advantage than a weakness for them.
Despite the relentless onslaught, Esiocles stood firm. The golden light power coating his body gleamed, and his bulging muscles flexed as he sneered.
“Truly light. These attacks are nothing!”
His words carried the genuine sentiment of Esiocles, who was enduring the demons’ assault.
Though Esiocles lacked area-of-effect techniques or overwhelming firepower, his true strength lay not in momentary power or superiority. His unconventional resilience and cunning flexibility were his real weapons.
As expected, despite the demons’ sporadic yet overwhelming attacks, Esiocles stood his ground without faltering, controlling their aggression and keeping it focused on himself.
When all the demons were fully under Esiocles’ control, Hildegard finally moved.
“Celestial gods, behold! This is a place surrounded by holy curtains! Behold, the mythical land, the ancient divine site, shall now open!”
Planting her halberd into the ground, Hildegard chanted a hymn in a clear voice. For Hildegard, who communicated with specific gods to seek their blessings, this hymn was her unique, original creation—a new visionary knowledge only she had mastered.
The hymn’s name was Pantheon, a miracle that temporarily declared the land as a divine realm where celestial gods could reside.
As Hildegard’s hymn echoed, a massive pillar of light engulfed her. What followed was a scene so mystical it could be mistaken for a divine miracle.
The celestial bodies realigned as they had in ancient times when heaven and earth were connected. The ground was imbued with sacred energy, causing mythical flora to bloom, and the earth itself emitted light, driving away the darkness.
“Huh, so that’s what Hildegard was hiding.”
As the Pantheon unfolded and the barrier spread, Sophia immediately recognized its nature. It was no wonder. The essence of the space now unfolding was of the same lineage as the potion bottle she had used earlier in the spell tower to draw sacred sunlight onto Magek’s tray.
“The difference lies in the shielding and duration, perhaps?”
The potion bottle Sophia used was a completely shielded realm by the Vajra Mandala, and the Sephirot tree formula inside only created a specific environment within the potion.
However, the hymn Hildegard had just chanted was a barrier adjusted to the minimum necessary form, distinguishing space and filling it with overwhelming divine power in an instant.
There was no superiority or inferiority between the two methods. The difference lay in their purpose—one was a potion bottle for containment, the other a domain expansion for manifesting clear power.
“Perhaps there’s a clear limit to this barrier’s duration.”
Though the divine power poured into the domain was immense, it was finite. Given the barrier’s lackluster shielding performance, it was clear that maintaining it wasn’t the focus.
“But it’s more than enough for Hildegard’s purpose.”
The sheer volume of power poured into the domain meant its output and potency were overwhelming.
So much so that the power emanating from the Pantheon shattered the demons’ ritual grounds like pottery and distorted the natural laws, erasing all shadows in the area.
For demons who moved between illusion and reality through shadows, this was like a bolt from the blue. Suddenly expelled from their shadowy realm into reality, the demons’ faces were filled with confusion and panic.
As the pillar of light faded, Hildegard reappeared, still surrounded by a radiant halo. She looked as if clad in armor of light. Clearly, the blessings she received had intensified with the Pantheon’s activation.
Perhaps, within this space at this moment, she might not easily lose even to Sophia.
“Truly, it’s a feat only possible by layering blessings to an excessive degree and activating the Immovable King Wisdom Technique.”
Ordinary light power couldn’t harbor divine power. Only the light power purified to its limit by the Immovable King Wisdom Technique could contain divine power. Moreover, a mere blessing or two wouldn’t suffice to pour out enough divine power to fill the space as it did now.
In any case, having showcased this shocking miracle and blocked the demons’ escape, Hildegard finally raised her halberd and prepared to deliver their sentence.
“{Strength of Surraz, Tyranny of Enuwalios, Thunder of Perun, War Training of Andraste, Achievement of Sakra, Victory of Bahram, Military Authority of Inanna, Honorable Army of Mahesh’s Pure Land! Let me now punish the evil before me!}”
Each name mentioned was that of a powerful war god, symbolizing war and victory. As the incantation layered, Hildegard became the embodiment of celestial authority.
The halberd raised high now resembled a massive pillar of light rather than a weapon.
As the incantation ended, Hildegard, expressionless, brought down the halberd—no, the pillar of divine power. The overwhelming pressure descending from the heavens left the demons, trapped within the holy barrier with no escape, no choice but to helplessly accept their doom.
