Chapter 917. Sera (17)

“

Aaaahhh!

”

“W-What the...”

Booooooooooooom!

“Lady Violet!” Marilyn shouted.

“Lady Marilyn?” I[1] questioned.

“Miss Jung Ha-Yan! Miss Jung Ha-Yan!”

“

Huh?

W-What about oppa... Is he okay?” Jung Ha-Yan asked.

Kabooooooooooooom!

“We need to leave for now,” Han Sora urged.

“I-I-Is he okay?!” Marilyn yelled.

“Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle!”

“Oppa! Oppa!”

“It’s the Holy Knights! I-I’ll join the... No, come this way, Miss Jung Ha-Yan,” Marilyn said.

“O-Oppa!” Jung Ha-Yan shouted.

“This way, Miss Jung Ha-Yan!” Han Sora yelled.

“L-Let go of me! Let go!” Jung Ha-Yan shouted.

“Damn it! Jung Ha-Yan! Hurry up and come this way!” Marilyn yelled.

“

Ahh!

”

“Listen to me!” Marilyn urged.

“Wait... get away...!”

A massive light made out of holy power engulfed us.

Wooooooooo!

The rumbling noise sounded bad to me.

‘Huh? Am I going to die?’

Many different thoughts popped up into my head.

My feet—no, my body wouldn't move. It was like they were frozen.

I looked to the side and saw Marilyn shouting at me, “What are you doing, Lady Violet?!”

“Stand behind me!” Marilyn instructed.

Boooooooooooom!

A deafening explosion echoed, and I saw someone’s massive back profile.

“

Uh...

”

“Ha-Yan noonim!” Park Deok-Gu shouted.

“O-Oppa... Oppa is!” Jung Ha-Yan stuttered.

“I know! Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle!!! Get into formation! Hurry! Hey! Shiro! Alps! Come this way!” Park Deok-Gu ordered.

“

Woof! Woof!

”

“O-Okay! Belier! Come with me,” Alps instructed.

“Yes, ma’am!” Belier answered.

“We’ll split into groups. Ahn Ki-Mo, Sun Hee-Young, Han Sora, Hwang Jung-Yeon, Belier, Alps, and Elena will protect and evacuate the people,” Jo Hye-Jin instructed.

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

“Kim Ye-Ri, Park Deok-Gu, Kim Chang-Ryeol, and Yoo Ah-Young will come with me. Rescuing the sub guild master is our top priority. The enemies are believed to be monsters capable of wielding holy power.

"Miss Hwang Jung-Yeon will support using her spells, and Mr. Park Deok-Gi will tank as usual—”

“So you’re telling me to be a meat shield?” Park Deok-Gu interrupted.

“I’m sorry for making an unreasonable request,” Jo Hye-Jin said.

“It’s fine. It’s my job,” Park Deok-Gu replied.

“He’s right,” Kim Ye-Ri chimed in.

“Let’s go,” Jo Hye-Jin said.

“O-Okay!”

‘It’s the members of the Blue Guild.’

I was definitely staring at the members of the Blue Guild, and I saw them move busily after assessing the situation in the proverbial blink of an eye.

The turn of events was so sudden that I had no idea what was going on, but it seemed like the chaotic situation was calming down. I could no longer hear screams and panicking voices.

I looked around and saw people casting their spells or using their holy power. They secured an escape route to ensure that the people could escape starting from the back while protecting the people waiting for their turn to evacuate.

A few priests and adventurers were calming down the nervous people.

'Are we really safe now, though? W-we should be safe. We’re in the Vatican, after all.’

The Sacred Democratic Country had its own independent armed forces.

The Sacred Democratic Country was as strong as the major guilds throughout the continent, and they had been fighting against demons and heretics for centuries. They were the ones who had raised up their holy swords and took the lead on the continent’s prophesied day of destruction.

I had never heard of monsters invading the Vatican, but they could definitely handle this.

The top-ranking members of the Blue Guild and powerful adventurers were here as well, so I was sure that we would be safe.

However, I still couldn't stop myself from trembling in fear.

“We’ll be safe, Lady Violet,” Marilyn reassured.

I calmed down upon hearing her voice.

“A-Are you okay, Lady Marilyn?” I asked.

“I’m used to it,” Marilyn replied.

“What?”

Marilyn nodded at my question, and I was confused for a moment, but I eventually understood why she said that.

‘Lady Marilyn... is from Castlerock.’

Castlerock was practically right in front of the Republic. It was so close to the border that I was sure there was constant conflict. Moreover, Castlerock often experienced monster waves, which was the reason why Castlerock was categorized as a dangerous place.

Lady Marilyn had grown up in such an environment, so I was sure she had experienced this kind of situation many times in the past.

She was born to a military family, so she had to have received swords and magic training. Her confidence was what made her the person she was today, and she was completely different from me, who knew nothing but to cower in fear.

“The adventurers and the Holy Knights will take care of this, and we have Miss Oscar with us,” Marilyn reassured.

“I see...” I said.

“They’re securing an escape route from the back, although it might take some time...” Marilyn informed me.

“R-Right?” I stuttered.

“We also have the Blue Guild here. We’ll be fine... but I’m not sure if Father Lee Ki-Young is safe...” Marilyn mumbled.

“

Ah!

N-Now that I think about it...”

“Mr. Rafael is with him... but I don’t think we're dealing with ordinary monsters here. I’ve never heard of monsters wielding holy power...” Marilyn said.

“Y-You haven’t?” I asked.

“At least not that I know of or seen. Adventurers say that dungeons have unique creatures, but I think this is different from that... The fact that they have those wings and the fact that they even entered the Vatican.

"I think they have another goal...” Marilyn deduced replied.

“What if...”

“Yes, I think their target is Father Lee Ki-Young. I’m not sure if they came here because his holy power attracted them, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that someone has orchestrated all this. They must've taken this prayer service into account because their timing was perfect," Marilyn explained.

“T-Then the incident back then...”

“I don’t want to overinterpret and say it’s going to be the same as the continent’s day of destruction...” Marilyn trailed off.

“D-Do you think that demons are behind this?” I asked.

Demons capable of wielding holy power... It sounded more unrealistic than monsters capable of wielding holy power, but the two ideas were both unrealistic to begin with. I was embarrassed because I felt like I had asked a stupid question, but Marilyn nodded.

“Things unknown to us often happen throughout the continent. To make matters worse, I don’t think holy power... is going to work on those monsters,” Marilyn said.

“What?”

It seemed that Marilyn was right, as I soon heard screams everywhere.

“Holy power isn’t working on those monsters! The priests should retreat.”

“Protection-type spells are useless.”

I was worried about the people at the front line.

I couldn't help but admire the Blue Guild as they rushed to the front that was filled with a hostile light and raised their shields to the sky.

They faced the hostile light and opened up a path for the people. Unfortunately, their transparent shield was slowly crumbled in the face of the hostile light.

‘Is it okay to enter the light that’s destroying their shields?’

Wooooooo!

“You bastards!”

A cracking noise echoed as a giant arm shattered the shield.

“O-Oppa!”

Miss Jung Ha-Yan jumped into the light.

When the monster with wings was about to crush her...

“You dirty bastard!”

A massive purple arm shoved the monster away.

“

Huh?

”

“Black magic?” I questioned out loud.

Then, an ominous black wave of black mana condensed, restoring the shields that were about to be destroyed. The ominous energy felt strange to me, and I could feel it slowly filling up the hall.

Rumble!

“S-Sora? I told you not to go!” Jung Ha-Yan shouted.

I saw Miss Han Sora sporting black wings in midair.

‘What the hell is going on?’

The energy was so ominous that I started feeling nervous at the sight of it. In addition to the terrified cries of the people, the situation became even more tense when pitch-black monsters rose up with their horrifying maws wide open.

They made screeching noises as they charged at the winged monsters.

Wooooooo.

What was I watching right now? Just a few moments ago, I thought I was in heaven, but now, I felt like I was in hell.

The monster that jumped up next to me was swallowed by a giant mouth that appeared from underground. The monster managed to escape the colossal mouth, but dozens of pitch-black spears were waiting for it outside.

“I told you to come this way! I’m sure the sub guild master is safe since he’s with Rafael,” Han Sora said.

“S-Sora...” Jung Ha-Yan stuttered.

“Don’t try to do anything. Right now, you...”

The pitch-black spears killed one of the monsters, but it got up again.

To make things worse, it pulled out the spears with its own hands, and it was.

‘It’s recovering.’

A giant purple hand had crushed it, but the winged monster still managed to stand up despite being covered in blood. It was such a horrendous sight that I couldn’t question why Miss Han Sora was using black magic.

The sight around me was so unrealistic that I felt like I was dreaming.

“I’m... I’m sorry... I...” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“Don’t apologize. T-There’s nothing we can do right now. More importantly, come this way!” Han Sora urged.

“Okay...”

“Miss Han Sora, will you be okay?” Hwang Jung-Yeon asked.

“It can’t be helped, Jung-Yeon unni. Holy power and my magic are opposites... This is the best option,” Han Sora answered.

‘She must’ve been hiding it.’

“Why is Miss Jung Ha-Yan—”

“She’s going through some stuff. I’ll explain later,” Han Sora interrupted.

“I’m okay, but she can’t avoid punishment. You remember that reporting your condition is mandatory, right?” Hwang Jung-Yeon reminded her.

“Yes...” Han Sora answered.

“I think it’s best to remove Miss Jung Ha-Yan from the frontline. Please stand next to Senator Marilyn. She’ll escape with Senator Marilyn once we've secured an exit route,” Hwang Jung-Yeon instructed.

I was standing with Miss Jung Ha-Yan.

I had no idea what was going on, but one thing I was sure of was that there was a problem with Miss Jung Ha-Yan right now. She was crying while being protected by a transparent shield.

When the light up ahead started to fade, she looked up and stared at the front line.

I was ignorant of what was going on, but I could tell that the situation was changing.

The hall was too bright for me to see anything earlier, but the spell that Han Sora had cast was making the holy power fade. The room soon became filled with an ominous color. I wasn’t happy to see that, but it was better than those monsters.

The black and white energy collided as the pitch-black monsters and winged monsters duked it out. The shield protecting the people was becoming stronger and stronger while the winged monsters were falling to the ground one by one.

Woooooooo!

Kyaaaah!

“Lady Violet! This way!” Marilyn urged.

“What?”

“Why are you just standing there? It’s our turn,” Marilyn said.

“

Ah

... o-okay!” I answered.

“Miss Jung Ha-Yan, go with them!” Hwang Jung-Yeon suggested.

“B-But...!” Jung Ha-Yan stuttered.

“Forget it. Let’s hurry and get out of here! Damn it! Belier!” Hwang Jung-Yeon shouted.

“Y-Yes?” Belier answered.

“Take Miss Jung Ha-Yan away...”

“Yes, ma’am! Come this way, ma’am! Everyone! Senator Marilyn! Miss Jung Ha-Yan! A-And... And! Anyway, come quickly!” Belier yelled.

“W-Wait... Oppa!" Jung Ha-Yan exclaimed.

“What?”

I turned and saw Father Lee Ki-Young in Mr. Rafael’s arms.

Father Lee Ki-Young was covered in blood.

1. Violet's POV ☜