Lilith's Mysterious Power
"We'll help you treat that woman, and together we'll hold off the Undead inside the barrier."
Manshir spoke. Hearing this, leklis glanced down at Julie cradled in his arms, considering the offer.
"The Church wants to cooperate with ?"
"This is a one-ti thing only."
Manshir replied. Leklis then looked over at the other Holy Knights.
"Aren't you going to ask what they think?"
eting Leklis's gaze, the wounded Holy Knight gritted his teeth and said,
"An evil undead mage who desecrates the light, we would never—"
"Is this really the ti to be hung up on such things? If we die here, what will happen to Lady Lilith?"
Manshir shouted, causing the captain of the Holy Knights to tighten his grip on his sword.
Seeing him fall silent, manshir imdiately turned to Leklis and said,
"We all agree."
"You..."
The wounded Holy Knight captain wanted to protest, but catching the pleading eyes of his companions, he chose silence.
With their agreent, leklis wasted no ti. The Skeletons charged outward, carving a path for the Holy Knights. Taking advantage, the Holy Knights dashed into the black ring, where the barrier's corrosion didn't reach and the pressure was much less.
Per their agreent, manshir began treating the unconscious Julie, while Leklis joined them in resisting the Ghouls' assault. But a problem now arose: the summoning ti of the Reaper Guardsman had ended, leaving only Bone Yan and the Skeletons for defense alongside Leklis and Pelam.
"Ten more minutes, just ten more!"
Leklis recited to himself. By this point, the number of Ghouls inside the barrier had reached nearly a hundred—he only needed to hold on those last ten minutes...
Seeing the resistance within the barrier grow weaker and finally cease altogether, quells' face broke into a triumphant grin.
"Looks like we'll soon harvest the fruits of victory."
"Yes, bishop Quells. As long as we capture the Holy Maiden, we're certain to rise to glory."
"Hmph, of course."
As Quells spoke, a glint of malice flashed in his eyes.
As a Bishop of the Church of Death, he considered himself to lack most vices—except perhaps for won. And if he could now capture the Holy Maiden, then...
As long as the hostage was kept alive, that should suffice. As for anything else...
At that thought, a different sort of smile crept over Quells' face. Astor turned to the barrier that trapped the Holy Maiden—inside, all had gone still, prompting him to ask in concern,
"Bishop Quells, there's no reaction inside—could it be..."
Astor didn't finish, but Quells already understood his aning. With Lilith ambushed and hit by a "forbidden magic curse mark," she was unable to use the power of holy light. Surrounded by so many Ghouls, if she died...
"Let's check inside—deactivate the nether barrier for now."
Quells ordered. In response, the undead mages temporarily deactivated the nether barrier; the black-purple faded from the shield, revealing Lilith and Serea inside, as well as—
—a gigantic statue.
"Huh? They deactivated it?"
Serea glanced outside. She was leaning against the bulwark in boredom, appearing perfectly fine, and although Lilith was wounded, she was largely unhard.
"Looks like our worry was unnecessary."
As he spoke, quells looked at Clark. The huge Gargoyle filled him with a sense of oppression—and judging by its size, it was undoubtedly a warbeast.
A warbeast appearing within the barrier could only an it had been summoned, and since there was blood flowing through its body, it couldn't have been Lilith's doing. In that case...
Quells turned his attention to the black-clad girl, who bore a striking resemblance to Lilith and was rumored to be her sister. He wasn't interested in why Lilith's sister appeared here—only in that power, and the beautiful maiden herself.
"What a masterful work of art."
Quells looked to Clark, his eyes brimming with greed.
"Thank you for the complint."
Serea smiled radiantly—a beauty that moved even Quells.
The young woman wasn't the Holy Maiden, but had the sa appearance. Lilith would surely be used as a hostage, but her sister...
For a mont, scheming ideas flickered across Quells' mind.
"Was this your doing, beautiful lady?"
"Yes. Why?"
"I'm just a little surprised."
Admitted Quells, entranced by Serea's beauty and power.
"You don't just want to praise , do you?"
"Heh, you're clever. So, shall we strike a deal?"
"A deal?"
"To be frank, you and this Holy Maiden may be sisters, but you've taken opposite paths—one a devout believer in the light, the other a herald of darkness."
"So, what's your point?"
Serea asked bluntly.
"Heh, I quite like you—both your power and yourself. So, may I be so bold as to invite you to join our Church of Death?"
As Quells spoke, Astor's eyes widened.
Could it be that Bishop Quells intended to use that power—the one they had prepared to control the Holy Maiden...?
"Did I hear you right? You actually want to invite to join you?"
"That's right! We have many like-minded companions here. You can share your power, and in return, gain entirely new strength from us."
"Heh, share? Is that the way you steal the 'power of the netherworld' from the hands of the 'Reaper'?"
Serea replied, noticing the Nether Crystals in everyone's hands. From previous exchanges, she roughly understood that the power these people used was the result of Leklis's research—the power of the netherworld.
And for Serea to expose it so bluntly left Quells a bit embarrassed.
"That's not the way to put it. We rely share and rge power, that's all."
"Sounds nice. But I'm not interested in working with a 'thief.'"
Serea said, her words full of contempt and causing veins to bulge on Quells' forehead.
"How dare you—!"
Astor started, but Quells waved him off and fixed his gaze on Serea, the smile on his face growing uncanny.
"So you refuse?"
"It's obvious, isn't it?"
"You don't seem to realize your situation. If I want, I could snuff you out right now."
Quells threatened, but then changed tack.
"But don't worry—I'm not so cruel. Since you're the Holy Maiden's sister, why not stay with her? That way she won't be lonely..."
As he spoke, quells conjured a cluster of pale blue energy in his hand, and Serea gleaned the skill's information.
Enslavent Brand (Tier 3): Allows the user to place a brand on the target, granting control if the target is extrely weakened or severely wounded. There's a chance the control can be broken. No more than three targets can be controlled at once.
Upon seeing that fiery cluster, a cold glint flashed in Serea's eyes.
"Intending to use that trick to force control over ?"
"Exactly. Originally it was ant for the Holy Maiden alone, but now—you've caught my eye. So both of you..."
At those words, a lascivious light flashed in Quells' eyes.
"I'm just afraid you won't be able to handle it."
With that, Serea set a "kill-on-sight" marker on Quells in her heart.
"That's for to worry about. For now, you're powerless to resist."
Seeing the venomous look in Serea's eyes and Lilith's expression of fury, an odd thrill stirred in Quells' heart. Sisters—today really was his lucky day.
With that, quells prepared to reactivate the barrier. The gargoyle warbeast was powerful, but at full magic the barrier would surely wear it down. Once they were wounded and helpless, then... Heh heh heh...
Strength and beauty—soon to be his!
"The way you eye without sha is starting to anger ."
"And what are you going to do about it, bite ?"
"No, I'm just going to ask you to die."
There was a suppressed fury in her voice, but upon hearing Serea's words, quells fell silent for a mont—then burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, what did you say? Care to repeat that?"
Faced with Quells' mockery, Serea ignored him. Sensing Little Black and the others, she walked over and helped Lilith up.
"Here."
"Huh?"
Lilith was confused as Serea helped her onto Chips's back. Since Lilith was wounded and weak, Serea had to sit behind her, wrapping her arms around Lilith's waist to steady her on Chips.
Feeling Serea's soft body close, lilith couldn't help but think back to the old days when they were the closest of sisters. It was in those days, taught personally by Serea, that she learned to ride.
Lost in the mories, lilith smiled sweetly—a smile she hadn't shown since leaving Otto Kingdom after stabbing Serea...
"Hold tight."
"Huh?"
"We're leaving."
Serea pulled Lilith out of her reverie, and seeing the sisters' preparations, quells sensed sothing was wrong.
"What are you planning?"
"Nothing much. Just going out to bash your mangy head in."
Serea was seething—part from Quells's insult, part from this body's protectiveness toward Lilith.
Faced with Quells crossing both of these bottom lines, how could Serea not be furious?
"Utter nonsense, you—"
Quells didn't finish. Suddenly, he felt a murderous aura envelop him, chilling him to the bone.
"Who's there?"
Quells spun around in terror, only to see the dark dense woods—no sign of any presence.
But he knew—sothing had to be out there. His spiritual senses never lied.
Quells wanted to send out ravens to scout, but realized his connection to them had sohow been lost.
"Hmm?"
He turned, only to see a raven's corpse on the ground not far away, several black raven-like monsters feasting on its remains.
Noticing Quells looking over, the ravens stopped eating in unison and turned to gaze back at him—
Pairs of red eyes glimring with a magical aura...
"Gah!"
The first cry rang out, and an alarm blared in Quells's mind.
"Gah—gah—gah!"
The ravens all took flight, their cries echoing in the woods—miserable, cold, horrifying, and desolate—overwhelming everyone with negative emotions.
The sa cries penetrated into the barrier. Noticing the negativity rising within their minds, Serea quickly covered her ears.
But Lilith was a mont too late. In an instant, all her worst mories flooded back—
Betrayal, abandonnt—waves of images assaulting her spirit. Suddenly, sothing within her surged to the surface, a power she couldn't hold back.
"Ugh!"
Lilith gritted her teeth in agony. Holy light sigils surfaced across her skin; her eyes turned pale gold.
Seeing this, Serea rembered—when Lilith was angry before, similar patterns had appeared.
"Hm?"
This ti, Serea watched closely.
Child of Light (Tier 5): Increases all attributes by 50%, and amplifies the effects of Holy Light magic by 20%.
"Ahhh!"
Lilith seed to be in great pain. Serea quickly covered her ears, wrapping her arms tightly around her.
Embraced by Serea, lilith cald down, and the holy light sigils gradually faded—though the anomaly subsided, it left Serea alert.
What was this strange power, and why did it erupt when Lilith lost control of her emotions?
Serea had no answer, but since Lilith's holy light power had just broken out, the curse mark again began to corrode her body.
"What did you do?!"
Quells covered his ears as the caws of the ravens echoed through the woods. A single raven's mind-attack was negligible, but the Raven "Murderous Flock Screech" was a stacking skill—much more than "1 1=2" when used in unison.
Under the flock's influence, the undead mages' chanting grew disrupted, and the nether barrier beca unstable.
He couldn't allow the ravens to keep interfering. Sothing had to be done.
Realizing this, quells raised his staff, gathering a thick mass of death energy.
"Die!"
He was about to unleash Death Shock when suddenly, several arrows shot his way.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
"What?"
Sensing the danger, quells tried to dodge but couldn't—the arrow struck his palm.
"Ah!"
Quells scread. anwhile, Astor and several undead mages used magic to disperse the flock.
"Bishop!"
Astor called, but before he could check Quells's injuries, a resounding shout split the air.
"Loose!"
In an instant, a rain of arrows blanketed the ground, the dense volley leaving no escape for anyone.
(To be continued...)
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