Episode 273: The Devil’s Followers (Part 2)

Half of the devil’s followers were crushed.

But something was off. There was no blood, no torn muscles, no shattered bones as one would expect from a human body.

It was as if they were made of some sticky liquid. Seeing this, Gwangmyeong remarked with a hint of surprise, “Oh my, I thought I’d finish them off in one go. Looks like they’ve offered quite a lot to their demon.”

“You wretched woman!” one of the followers screamed.

“What have you done to us?” another cried out.

The upper bodies of the devil’s followers were stuck to the ground, as if pressed by an invisible force, slowly being crushed.

“You monster!” the leader of the followers shouted, extending an arm that had transformed into something resembling a centipede.

The centipede-like arm snapped its jaws at Gwangmyeong, but it didn’t get far before it too was pinned to the ground.

“You’re tougher than I thought. I’m getting bored, so could you hurry up and die?” Gwangmyeong pointed her finger at the ground again. The gravity intensified, and the followers’ bodies were completely pulverized.

All that remained was a pool of black liquid spreading across the ground.

“That was nothing,” Gwangmyeong said dismissively.

Just then, the black liquid began to flow together, pooling into one spot.

Soon, it transformed into a giant, rising to its feet.

-Ugh, aaah, aaah.

The giant let out a bizarre wail, its intelligence seemingly reduced to nothing.

“Even after being completely destroyed, it managed to merge. They must be serving a demon of considerable power,” Gwangmyeong mused.

At that moment, the giant swung its arm, which extended like a whip towards Gwangmyeong and her companions.

Gwangmyeong and Nokpung leapt away instantly. Damian grabbed Agnes and moved them to safety.

The giant’s arm struck the ground where they had been standing, turning the earth to dust.

“Impressive,” Gwangmyeong noted, lowering her finger again to increase the gravity.

Yet the giant stood firm, neither crushed nor pressed down.

Gwangmyeong’s eyes narrowed in disbelief.

“Nokpung, what do you think?”

“Even if they’ve merged, it’s absurd for mere devil followers to resist your power.”

Devil followers were disposable, like paper to the demons they served.

Yet here they were, resisting the power of one of the Five Great Saints.

Even if Gwangmyeong wasn’t using her full strength, it was still unbelievable.

“It seems the demon summoned here isn’t ordinary. As the main branch suspected, it must be a high-ranking marquis-level demon…”

“Nokpung, that’s not what I was asking.”

Was it just her imagination, or did Gwangmyeong’s voice grow sharper? The air around them seemed to chill.

“These heretics, consorting with demons, dare to withstand the divine power granted by God. Such blasphemy… it’s enough to make my skin crawl.”

Gwangmyeong pulled a small axe model from her pocket. As she infused it with divine power, it grew in size.

What was once a mere model became a real weapon. Gwangmyeong lifted the halberd effortlessly and declared, “Oh God, my great Father, I shall send one up to you right now.”

She charged at the giant, and a thunderous sound erupted.

With a swing of her halberd, the giant’s arm and shoulder were torn off.

The giant howled, swinging its remaining arm. Gwangmyeong caught it with her bare hands and ripped it off.

“She’s really angry now. No one can stop her like this,” Nokpung sighed, pressing her fingers to her forehead as if she had a headache.

“Damian Haxen, keep an eye on the surroundings. I’ll go calm my sister down.”

Nokpung transformed into wind and flew towards Gwangmyeong.

Damian couldn’t help but feel sorry for the giant, now facing two of the Five Great Saints.

“Both of them are quite combative,” he remarked.

“It’s the proper attitude towards heretics,” Agnes replied with a devout demeanor.

Damian glanced at her, reminded that Agnes was also a holy knight.

Just then, Damian sensed something.

He turned his head in the direction of the sensation, but all he saw were trees.

“Sir Damian?” Agnes asked just as Damian swung his sword, Dawn.

The aura blade split the ground, cleaving the forest in two.

From the split earth, a shadow emerged, transforming into a person mid-air.

“Oh, you noticed my presence,” the figure said, looking at Damian with a relaxed expression, confident in their abilities.

“I came because my subordinates sent a distress signal… I didn’t expect to find holy knights here. Tell me your names, and I’ll grant you a swift death.”

“No thanks,” Damian replied, sounding bored. The figure’s eyes twitched.

“No? You refuse? You insolent fool, you don’t even recognize the being before you.”

Agnes whispered to Damian, “It seems this apostle doesn’t recognize your face.”

“Or maybe he’s just an idiot,” Damian replied.

“What are you whispering about?” the apostle shouted, unleashing a burst of dark energy.

Damian watched with interest. The amount of dark energy was vast, but its purity was remarkable.

“Listen well, for I will only say this once. Be afraid. I am the Nameless One, chosen by the demon as an apostle!”

“Apostle?” Damian repeated, and the apostle’s face lit up with pride.

“Foolish as you are, it seems you know of apostles!”

“Of course. They’re the bastards who get a little too cozy with demons.”

The apostle blinked, then his face flushed with anger.

“How dare you insult me… and my master… like that!”

The dark energy around the apostle surged, rivaling that of a great evil.

“I’ll rip out your tongue and offer it to my master!”

The apostle charged at Damian, transforming his hands into monstrous claws with dark energy.

He swung the monstrous hands, aiming to tear Damian apart. Damian retreated with Agnes.

The monstrous hands struck the ground, and something strange happened.

Not only did the earth shatter, but it also turned a sickly green.

It wasn’t the fresh green of nature.

It was much darker, oozing and foul. The entire ground was decaying.

“See this? This is the power granted to me as an apostle. Anything this hand touches rots. Living things decay, and objects corrode!”

Apostles were those granted not only power but also abilities by demons.

Though they couldn’t wield these abilities as freely as demons, they were still formidable.

“You’d better be careful. Even a touch will cause you to rot away.”

The apostle transformed his monstrous hands again, sprouting sharp blades.

But Damian showed no interest in the apostle’s display of power.

“I needed information, and this is perfect. An apostle should know quite a bit, right?”

“Insolent wretch!” the apostle shouted, lunging at Damian with his monstrous hands.

Damian swung Dawn to cut down the apostle. The apostle sneered at him.

“You’re more foolish than I thought! That puny weapon is useless against the power bestowed by my master…”

Dawn clashed with the monstrous hands. Contrary to the apostle’s expectations, Dawn did not corrode.

Instead, it sliced through the monstrous hands, like a hot knife through butter.

“Argh!” the apostle screamed, clutching his half-severed hand as he staggered back.

The wound inflicted by Dawn continued to burn, the holy power within the sword eradicating the demon’s influence.

“So that’s why the church sent such a young knight… you’ve been granted an extraordinary holy sword!”

The apostle began to envelop his body in his power, covering everything but his face.

“Fool! You should have aimed for my neck!”

The apostle launched himself at Damian, intending to crash into him with his power.

At that moment, Damian swung Dawn.

In an instant, his form blurred, and flashes of light sliced through the air.

The apostle’s limbs were severed. The detached limbs decayed rapidly due to the apostle’s own power, and as he lost his balance, his power dissipated.

The apostle, now limbless, fell to the ground, his eyes wide with disbelief.

“W-what just happened…?” he gasped.

Damian placed his foot on the apostle’s chest.

“Don’t even think about regenerating your limbs. Unless you want to be left with just your head.”

With the apostle’s vitality, he could survive for a few hours with just his head.

That would be more than enough time to extract the information he needed.

“I have a few questions for you. It would be wise to answer them truthfully.”

“Don’t talk nonsense! Do you really think I’d betray my master?”

Despite being cornered, the apostle showed no sign of backing down. If anything, his defiance only grew stronger.

“Kid! Do whatever you want! I will never surrender!”

“Oh, you’ve misunderstood. I’m not the one who’s going to interrogate you. We have someone far more skilled for that.”

At the mention of an expert, a flicker of doubt crossed the apostle’s face.

“Sir Damian? What on earth is going on here?”

Just then, Gwangmyeong and Nokpung approached from behind. Despite the commotion, not a speck of dust marred Gwangmyeong’s clothes.

“Who’s that man over there?”

“He’s an apostle of the devil. He just attacked the two of us.”

“My, my.”

A smile played on Gwangmyeong’s lips.

The moment the apostle saw that smile, a chill ran down his spine.

“Gwangmyeong, you used to be an inquisitor, didn’t you?”

“Ah, so you know. It was a truly meaningful time, carrying out the will of the divine.”

Gwangmyeong’s smile deepened, and with it, the apostle’s fear intensified.

“Would you mind showing us your skills once more?”

“With pleasure.”

Damian stepped back, allowing Gwangmyeong to move forward.

“I’ll answer truthfully! So please—”

“Shh.”

Gwangmyeong raised a finger to his lips. His face was strikingly beautiful, but the apostle had no time to appreciate it.

“In my experience, heretics always start with lies. That’s why I like to begin with a moment of repentance.”

Gwangmyeong pressed his foot down on the apostle’s head, channeling divine power through his sole.

“Aaaargh!”

The holy energy began to sear the apostle’s skin, and he screamed in agony.

“Let’s take this time to confess your sins to the divine.”

Gwangmyeong’s face was serene, almost reverent, as he spoke.