The bloodthirsty monsters instantly discovered a new, far more tempting and easier target.
Like sharks smelling blood in the water, they swarmed madly from every direction.
“But I… broke that precedent.”
She murmured, unsure if she was speaking to Movira or to herself.
Yet Movira still heard her.
She remained right behind Dekalorin, dealing with attacks that the other woman had failed to notice.
The first to pounce were several skinned hyena-like creatures, each sporting three eyes that constantly oozed pus.
They moved with extreme speed, leaving afterimages in their wake.
Dekalorin channeled magic power into her left hand.
True to her title as a “berserker,” she threw a seemingly simple straight punch that directly blasted the head off the lead creature.
Its body had not even registered the death yet.
“As you can see, I am still standing before you…” Her voice continued between heavy breaths.
This time it seemed directed at the monsters in front of her.
More monsters surged forward.
There were Evil Eye Demons floating in the air, pulsating like enormous rotting lungs.
There were conglomerates formed from countless agonized human faces that crawled out from the ground.
There were also giant stone statues dozens of meters tall, swinging rock-like fists!
They came in all shapes, yet all were equally hideous, radiating the purest malice.
“My life… has not yet fallen silent!” Dekalorin weaved through the horde of monsters.
She didn’t know exactly where she was heading, only that she needed to draw them farther away from the church… much farther!
She abruptly drew her sword and charged toward one of the stone statues.
The statue roared as it brought down a massive fist wrapped in the winter chill, powerful enough to flatten steel.
Dekalorin knew she couldn’t meet it head-on.
She dropped low and rolled instantly, while her greatsword, empowered by her strength, hacked viciously into the statue’s ankle.
Bang! The sound of shattering rock rang out.
The statue lost its balance and crashed to its knees.
But the recoil from its hard body split open the webbing between Dekalorin’s thumb and forefinger.
The sword nearly flew from her grasp.
She staggered back several steps and spat out a small mouthful of blood.
More monsters rushed in to fill the gap.
The magic power in her body grew increasingly scarce, and her greatsword felt heavier with every swing.
A giant fly-like creature ambushed her from behind, its sharp proboscis stabbing toward her back!
Dekalorin barely managed to turn and block with her blade, but another hidden monster whipped its tentacle viciously into her side.
The pain caused her vision to darken again, nearly bringing her to her knees.
“I am… the Saintess from a hundred years ago!!”
She let out a hoarse roar with the last of her strength.
It was her final declaration, a stubborn adherence to her ideals and beliefs, and a defiant howl against a tragic fate!
Holy light erupted once more.
No longer gentle, it drew forth a fragment of the dazzling, blazing divine light from a hundred years ago in the river of history!
Yet it felt like nothing more than a final, fleeting flash of life before the end…
She was still too close to the church. Not far enough!
Gripping the greatsword with both hands, she abandoned all defense and charged forward like someone rushing to her death.
This was likely her final assault!
Wherever her sword light passed, limbs flew in all directions, but more wounds appeared across her own body.
The last of her divine light was being consumed at a terrifying rate, and her life force was draining away rapidly… Her vision blurred, and the monsters’ roars and howls grew distant in her ears.
At that moment, a shadow that was not particularly fast suddenly shot out from her blind spot.
It was an ambusher that had been lurking nearby—a centipede-scorpion hybrid! It seized the instant Dekalorin slowed down.
Puchi!
The barbed, venomous scorpion tail pierced straight through the arm holding her sword with cruel precision!
This was no mere graze—it was a complete penetration! Dark, potent venom flooded in along with it.
“Ah— Ah!!”
She let out a short, agonizing scream.
The greatsword could no longer be held and fell from her grasp, embedding deeply into the ground.
The force also yanked her forward.
Her pierced arm hung limply, blood gushing out like a spring and instantly dyeing a large patch of the ground red.
On a battlefield where one was surrounded, losing one’s weapon meant losing one’s life.
Fate seemed to have seized her by the throat.
The surrounding monsters let out excited roars and swarmed forward, intent on tearing this stubborn prey apart completely.
This was the end…
It was over… The Saintess who should have retired a hundred years ago, in the end…
“Enough! Dekalorin, the game of playing savior ends here!”
On the blood-red ground illuminated by the blood curtain in the sky, a dark shadow appeared.
It moved at a speed that surpassed all limits, sweeping up Dekalorin’s near-death body and swiftly carrying her away from the battlefield before throwing her back inside the church’s extremely weak protective shield.
Dekalorin crashed onto the cold floor of the church, coughing violently.
Each cough brought up more blood mist.
Before she completely fell into darkness, her lips trembled slightly.
Her weak voice seemed capable of piercing through space to reach the heart of her hated yet respected “enemy.”
“It’s already… chaotic enough… one more thing… won’t matter…”
“Lady Dekalorin!” Everyone around her rushed over.
What happened next was no longer something Movira could interfere with.
Back in the bedroom of the distant manor, Movira’s main body lying beside Seraphina vanished instantly, crossing space to converge in the shadows outside the church.
Sorry, Seraphina. Wait for me!
First, she raised a human magic barrier that wasn’t particularly strong but was sufficient.
It enveloped and reinforced the original shield that had been on the verge of collapse, preventing those inside from seeing what was happening outside.
“If the cleanup isn’t handled properly… I’ll be the one taking the blame again…”
Once the aura of Demon Realm magic was detected, human historians would have even more evidence to pin this crisis on the Demon Realm…
However, she was prepared!
The space beside her was invisibly torn open.
A bottomless black rift quietly bloomed.
From within it emerged a black longsword that seemed to absorb all light.
She grasped it in her hand.
The sword let out a buzz of extreme delight! It was clearly thirsting for the bloody slaughter that was about to begin!
Movira didn’t even make any visible movements. Three rings of pitch-black sword light rapidly expanded outward with her at the center.
Wherever the sword light passed, space itself groaned under the strain!
The monsters that had been pouncing forward, thinking they could replicate Dekalorin’s tragic fate, had their movements completely frozen regardless of shape or size.
Then, as if all the color in the world had been sucked away, countless heads shot into the sky. The cuts were so smooth they looked like mirrors!
Their bodies were instantly vaporized by a terrifying force, turning into black smoke that swirled around the sword!
With nothing more than her entrance, Movira had cleared out a blank zone of death in a perfect circle around herself!
Her gaze did not linger on these small fries. Instead, it fell upon the greatsword stuck in the ground not far away—Dekalorin’s sword.
Movira stepped forward and reached out to grasp the hilt, which should have rejected her with righteous fury.
Buzz—!
The moment her fingers touched it, the greatsword trembled violently.
The ancient runes on its now-dim blade suddenly lit up, and a pure power erupted like the sternest warning!
“I know you despise me.”
She did not withdraw her hand. Her eyes swept across the restless tide of monsters surrounding them.
“But I hope you can make an accurate assessment of the current situation. I understand your concerns. I will use human magic to wield you.”
The greatsword’s trembling gradually subsided, as if conducting a brief evaluation.
In the end, it chose to acquiesce, forming… a desperate alliance!
Seeing this, Movira said no more.
Her right hand, gripping the Black Longsword, radiated deep purple Demon Realm magic power, while her left hand emitted the pure white of human magic as it tightened around the greatsword’s hilt.
It felt strangely cold, like holding a block of ice.
Clearly, the sword was far heavier in Movira’s hands than in Dekalorin’s.
But for Movira, being able to lift it was enough!
Holding one sword in each hand—one black, one white—she faced the surging monster tide in a nearly absurd state!
The real massacre had only just begun!
These monsters were nothing like those that could exist in the Demon Realm… Even the ugliest races in the Demon Realm were a thousand times better-looking than these abominations!
Since they weren’t from the Demon Realm… they belonged to the human side’s Abyssal Disaster!
But to Movira, it didn’t matter what they were right now.
Her goal was different from Dekalorin’s.
She needed to end this quickly and completely, then return to Seraphina’s side as fast as possible.
There was still a totem outside the manor!
She could already sense that the barrier she had set up around the manor was under attack!
There wasn’t much time left…
All the monsters seemed to be spreading outward with the old square at the center.
The closer they were to the old square, the stronger they became!
Movira instantly realized there must be a massive entity being nurtured there, controlling these low-intelligence monsters.
This time, she was not clearing the area in wide sweeps. She was carving a straight, decisive path of total destruction!
A monster that tried to recreate the earlier scene had its head severed in an instant, nineteen wounds left across its body! Before its body could be erased, Movira drove Dekalorin’s greatsword…
The Black Longsword was an extension of her will.
When wrapped in Demon Realm magic, every swing carried the purest rule of destruction! Space itself trembled and shook.
The monsters didn’t even have the right to feel fear as they were reduced to powder in an instant!
The wide greatsword, although unable to display its true power in Movira’s hands, silently served as a shield.
Whenever a sneak attack came from the shadows—whether it was a spike or a poisoned arrow—the greatsword would temporarily leave her control, adjust its angle on its own, and block the strike.
On this dangerous battlefield, the two swords that should have been pointed at each other now formed a bizarre alliance of offense and defense.
As Movira advanced step by step, the strongest monster at the old square finally flew into a rage.
It was a horrifying entity formed by devouring a massive amount of life force along with the three fairly powerful mages.
Its body was as enormous as a mountain, its surface writhing with countless twisted, agonized human faces.
Its limbs were chaotic amalgamations of flesh and blood ending in sharp claws.
Its head resembled an enlarged, hole-riddled heart.
A massive crack split open in the center, letting out a sharp screech mixed with countless wails!
It no longer commanded its weak minions. Instead, it attacked personally!
The crack suddenly opened wide and spewed forth a deadly torrent!
Some parts freezing cold, others scorching hot, the storm rolled forward with unstoppable force toward Movira!
Space shuddered! Monsters that failed to dodge in time were sucked into the vortex.
The earth itself wailed in agony.
Facing an attack powerful enough to raze the entire square, Movira’s expression did not change in the slightest.
Her footsteps didn’t even pause for a single instant.
The attack that looked capable of devouring everything suddenly stopped dead ten meters in front of Movira!
Then, as if it had slammed into an invisible wall, the burning flames and absolute zero temperatures all lost their power and silently vanished!
“You may go no further!”
Any chanting of spells or flashy techniques were nothing but empty displays before Movira.
Everything happened in silence.
Movira finally stopped walking. She seemed somewhat distracted, not even bothering to look at the monster’s face twisted with fear and rage.
Then, she raised her right hand, lifting the Black Longsword.
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no complex preparation.
She simply swung the sword in a plain, horizontal strike toward the mountain-like monster’s head.
The black-and-white world appeared once more, but this time it was confined solely to the colossal creature’s head.
Beheaded!
It was like a thin line silently cutting through the air, slicing across the monster’s body and the totem behind it.
Just like that… they were erased.
The blood curtain covering the town also began collapsing at a visible speed, revealing the pure sky outside!
Afterward, Movira urgently tossed Dekalorin’s greatsword back toward the church, then turned and flew at high speed toward the manor.
The most urgent task now was to take Seraphina and flee immediately!
However, things did not go as planned. On the horizon, an extremely holy radiance began to rise…
A few minutes earlier, Seraphina had been jolted awake by the sudden feeling of emptiness.
Still half-asleep, she instinctively reached for the heat source that had suddenly vanished.
She sat up abruptly, then reached to her side, but failed to find Movira’s body.
“Sister?” Seraphina’s voice was soft and weak, swallowed by the deathly silence of the room.
No one answered.
A wave of fear suddenly rose in her heart.
She rushed out of the room in a panic, not even bothering to put on shoes.
Her bare feet stepped on the floor, and the cold touch combined with the chill from outside made her shiver.
But she couldn’t care about that now.
She pushed open every door one by one, all the way to the study at the end… There was nothing.
“Sister…?”
Seraphina’s voice carried a sob, creating faint echoes in the empty mansion.
She stumbled downstairs.
Maybe… maybe Movira was in the kitchen.
However, just as she passed the large arched window in the corridor, an overwhelming, abnormal pressure from outside that she had not yet noticed came bearing down on her with immense force!
This was not a color the sky should be!