BOOOOM!
The ground shook under Saturn’s onslaught.
How long had it been since he methodically dispatched the cultists and abominations charging at him with his overwhelming defensive power?
The enemy forces were rapidly dwindling.
Yet, despite that, the end was nowhere in sight.
The difference in numbers was staggering.
Moreover, those gathered here were the combat forces of the cult.
Facing a situation of hundreds against one wasn’t something that could be resolved with just a few swings of the arm.
It was during such a prolonged battle that Saturn felt a strange unease.
It wasn’t based on rational reasoning but an instinctive discomfort born of experience.
‘Too slow.’
The progress was too slow.
Focused on prioritizing the immediate threats, he hadn’t noticed it earlier, but when he finally took in the entire battlefield, it became clear.
‘…A war of attrition?’
The enemy was moving with a meticulous plan.
They were deliberately minimizing casualties while focusing more on providing covering fire from the rear.
At that moment, Saturn flinched, sensing danger—not to himself but to the purpose behind their actions.
If their objective had truly been to defeat him, they would have thrown themselves at him with full force, sacrificing everything.
Knowing the resilience and durability of white phosphorus, employing a strategy of ‘slowing down the attrition rate of their forces’ through attrition tactics was clearly not beneficial to them.
In other words,
‘They’re stalling…!’
Their goal was to keep him here.
There must be something they aimed to gain from doing so.
Saturn’s face darkened with frustration and anger.
BOOM!
The moment he realized it, Saturn charged toward the command center.
He grabbed the commander by the head and—with a deafening roar—smashed him into the wall, sending him flying.
The force of Saturn’s attack caused the wall to crumble.
The underground space beyond was laid bare.
“…!”
Saturn’s heart sank.
The innermost chamber held only the traces of some biological research experiment, with nothing else present.
In other words, in the center of the countless chambers and experiments, in the heart of the lab,
The space where something should have been lying was empty.
Saturn recalled the purpose of this facility.
‘An artificial witch…!’
At that moment,
Thud—!
Something grabbed Saturn’s ankle.
Looking down, Saturn was horrified.
Screeeech—
The thing grabbing him was the corpse whose head he had just smashed.
“A-Ah. We’ve been found out.”
The still-living cultists grinned in unison.
Immediately afterward, their heads exploded.
SPLAAASH!!!
Blood gushed out like a fountain, flooding the space.
The still-living abominations began to twist grotesquely, undergoing a transformation.
Gills and teeth sprouted from their forms.
The intertwined arms of what were once human turned into fins, while their legs twisted together, becoming the limbs of a quadrupedal beast.
They resembled a grotesque amalgamation of amphibians and fish.
A trap.
All of this had been a trap to separate Saturn from his main force.
[Aaah, we’ve been found out!!!]
BOOOOOM!
The abominations, wading through the pools of blood, charged at Saturn.
Grinding his teeth, Saturn threw a punch.
SPLAT!
“…Get out of my way.”
The white phosphorus shone even brighter.
He had to return.
The upper levels were in danger.
The actions from Usher’s side began as soon as the bell tolled, accompanied by vibrations rising from the ground.
“Move quickly!”
Usher, who barked orders at the panicking missing persons, positioned himself at the forefront of the group.
This was because he had the best memory of the path.
Bersia took the rear.
She was wary of any enemies who might realize their escape and attack amidst the chaos.
It wasn’t long before this arrangement proved to be the right choice.
SLASH—!
“AAARGH!!!”
Usher clenched his teeth.
He knew all too well the source of the sound coming from behind.
Bersia was holding back the enemies charging at them.
‘They found us too quickly. Did they anticipate this? No, that’s not it.’
It was their defense system.
Living in a complex cave meant they had to prepare for sudden incursions from anywhere.
Their system was designed to respond swiftly to any disturbances, no matter where they occurred.
If there was a silver lining, it was this:
Bersia was making full use of Usher’s physical abilities.
Her expression didn’t change as she fought, wielding only a single longsword, and her actions were akin to a massacre.
Usher steadied his resolve.
‘She’s doing well, just as she was taught.’
While she likely couldn’t use a “vision,” her general combat prayers were still more than sufficient.
After all, even if she couldn’t perform as Usher did, Bersia was also someone capable of crafting prayers that were almost perfect.
Moreover, in this situation, the versatility of Bersia’s prayers shone even brighter.
Unlike Usher, whose prayers focused on enhancing his physical body, Bersia’s prayers were mostly for medium- to long-range sniping.
She slashed at approaching enemies with her sword imbued with divine power and struck down those further away with bombardments, ensuring they couldn’t reach the missing persons.
The real issue was the stamina of the missing persons.
Most of them were in no condition to run.
“Rubena!”
“I know! I know already!!!”
Rubena’s face was streaked with tears and snot.
She screamed every time she heard the dying cries of the enemies behind them.
Yet, even in that state, she diligently carried out her duties.
WHOOOSH—!
She used healing prayers to bolster the stamina of the missing persons.
The unfortunate part was the inefficiency of her prayers.
Usher gained a realization.
‘Not every saintess has a lot of divine power.’
Unlike the extraordinary Bersia, Rubena’s divine power was average.
Her prayers were slightly better than those of a typical priest, but only just.
Apart from her ability to receive divine revelations, there wasn’t much else special about her.
It was clear she was struggling more and more.
Usher grew concerned that she might collapse at any moment.
And then,
Screeeech!
A new threat emerged.
“…Huh?”
Rubena, who had come to a halt, looked ahead with a bewildered expression.
Usher furrowed his brows as well.
‘An enemy.’
So far, the enemies had only attacked from the rear.
At least their path forward had remained unobstructed as they moved with the missing persons.
But now…
It was clear at a glance.
‘It’s one of those that can’t move from its place.’
In the straight corridor ahead, a dried-up abomination twisted its body while anchoring its tentacles to the walls with a screech.
Usher recognized the type.
A subspecies that couldn’t leave its designated space but was incredibly powerful within its territory.
To move forward, they would have to break through it.
Usher turned his head.
As he came to a halt, the missing persons stopped as well, and the flow brought Bersia to a stop in her tracks too.
The two exchanged glances.
Bersia, now at the front, caught sight of the abomination positioned behind Usher and hardened her expression.
Usher smiled even brighter on purpose and mouthed the words, “It’s fine.”
It seemed she understood.
Bersia bit her lip, turned around, and charged at the pursuing enemies.
She was likely buying time until the abomination was dealt with.
Usher took a deep breath.
There was only one left now.
“Huuuuh…”
He approached Rubena, who had collapsed on the ground.
Her trembling body, the tears streaming uncontrollably down her face, and her shaky eyes made it clear she was breaking down mentally.
But precisely because of that, she was important.
SMACK!
Usher slapped both of Rubena’s cheeks.
“Eek!”
“Rubena. Snap out of it.”
The blurry, unfocused eyes regained their clarity.
She looked up at Usher with a face that seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment, clutching at his collar.
“W-What do we do about that…?”
Usher tried to understand.
The position of saintess was, in the end, one given to immature girls who had risen to divinity far too young.
If the world weren’t in crisis, they would live sheltered lives and eventually return to the embrace of their god, eternal children.
To Rubena, who had lived like a flower in a greenhouse, this situation must be terrifying beyond words.
That was fine.
After all, if she didn’t know, she could be taught.
“We must do it.”
Usher stroked Rubena’s cheek and smiled warmly, trying to look reliable.
“We are saintesses, aren’t we? Shepherds who follow the will of the Father and guide His people.”
“Hic…”
“We can do this. He will surely protect us.”
Fear was not a flaw in a person.
Rather, because of fear, one could become someone greater than others.
Usher believed that.
Just as he trusted Bersia, he believed that courage in overcoming fear was the mark of someone who truly understood nobility.
“So, stop crying and try smiling. You have a pretty face—it suits you much better.”
Usher lifted the corners of Rubena’s mouth with his thumbs.
At the same time, he raised the corners of his own lips, smiling as if to encourage her to follow.
Rubena mumbled in a choked voice, “In this situation…!”
“Precisely because of this situation. We need to be the ones they can believe in.”
She glanced back at the trembling missing persons.
Her lips pressed together tightly.
Still trembling, her demeanor began to stabilize.
She was still scared.
But she wouldn’t flounder as she had before.
“Rubena, remember what I’m about to say and help me.”
Usher made his request to Rubena.
Then he stood and looked at the abomination.
Pulling a dagger from his belongings, he began walking forward, steadying his breath.
He closed his eyes and focused his mind.
‘It’s fine.’
Even with this short blade, it would be enough.
In fact, in this situation, a short blade like this was ideal.
Usher groped through the recesses of his memory, recalling a moment that had since grown faint.
He had never forgotten.
One of the parents who had raised him had already given him the answer.
-“Huh? Isn’t a dagger weak?”
-“Yeah! It’s short!”
-“You ignorant little brat! Watch carefully!”
-“There he goes again…”
-“Quiet! Listen well, Usher! This is the freest weapon in the world! It holds a subtlety those brutes can never replicate!”
The face, stubbled with uneven patches of a beard, came back clearly.
Yes, the man who said those words had been the freest person Usher had ever known.
The tension melted away.
A faint smile curved Usher’s lips.
The moment he opened his eyes,
Shiiing—
The blade of the dagger gleamed with a sharp, cold light.