Her entire body was filled with pain as if she had been torn to pieces. But naturally, she knew that wasn’t true.
Sedi forcibly held on to her remaining consciousness. She knew that if she were to faint now, it would all be over.
Using the momentum of the attack, she rolled a few times across the ground before getting back to her feet.
Her sense of balance was in shambles. The sky felt like the ground, and the ground felt like the sky. She wasn’t even sure if she was still facing in the right direction.
In this state, there was only one thing she could trust.
Sedi launched herself backward, relying purely on the sixth sense that she had developed through countless battles.
Crash!
Tentacles once again sprang up from the spot where she had just been standing. She had been prepared this time, but the situation was still not good. The tentacles began to surge towards her from every direction, not just from the ground. It was as though hundreds of snakes were rushing at her at the same time.
Sedi spun the staff like a windmill, hitting the tentacles away.
‘I can’t see the big iron guy…’
His large physique would normally have been impossible to miss, but now, he was hiding behind the hundreds of tentacles.
For a moment, Sedi couldn’t help but feel that even another head would not be enough in this situation. It was already quite painful to focus on Sipakna’s numerous tentacles, but she also had to be mindful of Ugkas’ potential sneak attack.
Spurt!
Then, one of the tentacles shot out purple bodily fluid at her. (TL:…these tentacles are starting to get out of hand…)
Instinctively realising that it would be dangerous to let this fluid touch her, Sedi stomped the ground with her left foot.
Boom!
A large piece of rubble, which rose from the impact of her stomp, managed to serve as a temporary shield. Unfortunately, it didn’t last very long.
Tssss!
The fluid seemed to be extremely corrosive as it let off a hissing sound upon contact with the stone. This piece of stone, about 20cm thick, was completely corroded in only a few seconds.
‘It’ll be over if I let that touch me.’
She also couldn’t hit it with her staff. After all, despite its durability, there was no guarantee that the staff would be able to survive contact with the tentacle fluid.
In this situation, losing her weapon would only put her at more of a disadvantage, so she had to be cautious.
‘…there’s nothing I can do about it. Now isn’t the time to think about that.’
After thinking this, Sedi released her demonic energy.
Boom!
Despite her small stature, the demonic energy that exploded from her body spread out like a mist of death, immediately killing anything it came into contact with. Naturally, the tentacles were no exception.
“Demonic energy…?”
Ugkas’ face twitched slightly.
Contrary to Sedi’s worries, he hadn’t been hiding behind Sipakna’s tentacles nor was he looking for any openings.
The first charge attack that he’d displayed had been strong enough to destroy multiple buildings in one hit.
And yet, this little girl had managed to survive. Even if a group of Warriors who had trained their bodies for their entire lives were to form a line and defend together, they would not be able to compare to this small, lithe body.
Therefore, it was only natural that Ugkas had raised his vigilance against Sedi by a few levels as a result.
But now, Sedi was releasing demonic energy. The very same demonic energy that they used.
Thud!
Ugkas landed on the ground. The ground where he fell was immediately destroyed, and it felt like the entirety of the half-destroyed underground facility shook heavily.
“Girl, you’re using demonic energy, but you don’t appear to be a Demon. Are you a Demon… or are you one of those hybrids too?”
“Pfft.”
When she heard that, Sedi seemed to forget the situation for a moment as she let out a snicker.
“What’s so funny?”
“Your ignorance is amusing. Am I a Demon? I don’t want to listen to the bullshit of fools who don’t know their own origins.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You don’t deserve to know the answer. You can ask me again when you’re stronger.”
“…”
After saying that, Sedi provocatively waved her hands, but Ugkas maintained his cautious attitude and didn’t move.
‘This guy is no joke.’
It seemed that he also had a lot of combat experience.
Sedi forcibly stopped her fingers from trembling.
Although her organs were still throbbing, so far, she had no problems moving her arms, legs, or head.
In other words, as long as she ignored the pain, she would have no problem moving her limbs.
It was the only thing that could be described as ‘fortunate’ in this entire situation.
‘This reminds me of the old days.’
Her odds of winning were probably less than 10 percent.
And as she thought of that fact, the smile on her lips grew wider.
* * *
He didn’t know what happened.
Arid looked around in a daze.
Dust filled the air, and screams of pain could be heard from every direction.
The church building, which had seemed to be filled with a holy aura just a moment ago, was now reminiscent of the place his grandfather described as hell.
“Ah… Uhhh. Ahh…”
Reika stood there, desperately trying to hold up her drooping skin.
Arid simply stared at her, unwilling to get any closer.
“A-, Arid… g- give Grandma [Brilliance]… give me Brilliance.”
“…give you Brilliance? What does Grandmother intend to do with it?”
“What…?”
Reika blinked her eyes, unable to contain the surprise she was feeling at that moment.
This was the first time that Arid, who had always been obedient to her and Slei, had asked a question like this. Even his voice seemed to carry a strange emotion.
“D-, don’t you feel sorry for Grandma? Are you still asking me that after seeing how I look now?”
“I don’t feel sorry for you. That’s the way Grandmother is supposed to look.”
“Arid…!”
Reika’s expression became distorted like a Demon’s. A spiteful look flashed in her eyes, and coupled with her wrinkled face, it gave her the appearance of a spiteful witch. If this had been the past, Arid would have certainly cowered by now.
But now, it didn’t matter.
“How? How could you think of yourself in a situation like this?!”
Paht!
Following Arid’s shout, Brilliance erupted from his body.
Reika winced at the sudden burst of intense light.
“A lot of people were injured and even killed in that attack! Can you not hear their cries? If we, no, if I don’t help them, they might all die!”
“Th-. they are believers of the Church of Eternal Life… Even if they die, they will not truly die, and we will take care of their souls…”
“That’s just a hoax! It’s just as Mr. Soul said!”
It was then that Reika understood.
Arid had eavesdropped on the conversation between her and Lukas.
And he had realised.
Just how terrible what they were doing was.
Of course, Arid had always been deceived. Because of his innocence, he had naively listened to Slei and Reika’s lies.
Of… he forcibly covered his eyes to prevent himself from realising.
Because it was his Grandfather. Because it was his Grandmother.
He had always believed in them because they were the ones who raised him.
And this was the result.
In the end, it was Arid’s soft-hearted attitude that had caused his grandparents to become like this.
Ignoring Reika, who was staring at him in shock, Arid turned around.
“A-, Arid. Stop. Where are you going?”
“I’m going to save people.”
“You can’t! We have to run away! T-, there are two of the Five Dukes…! Your Brilliance is already exhausted, isn’t it? It’s suicide!”
“No.”
Someone was still fighting.
Arid walked to the hole that pierced through the entire building and looked down.
Like a sandwich that had been cut in half, he could see the cross-sections of the floors beneath him.
And at the very bottom, he saw a young girl fighting against the two Dukes.
…It wasn’t just this girl.
This time, he looked up at the sky.
He was looking in the direction that Lukas had flown off in.
The place where the monster who had destroyed the Korean Branch headquarters in just two attacks was.
Lukas’ expression flashed in Arid’s mind at that moment.
It seemed that he was prepared to risk his life.
Crunch.
He clenched his fist tightly. Then, he took a deep breath.
Arid finally made up his mind.