Letting Go

The world rumbled as a purifying sword of light crashed down, but it futilely swept through the air.

‘Hmm? Someone who could penetrate my ability to lock spacetime... Is that a legendary wizard or sorcerer?” Rafiniya turned very serious, looking at the uninvited guest.

“Priestess of the God of Massacre, Barbara, greets the Lady of Hope. This person is a follower of our master, so please hold back...” A native maiden wearing the robes of a priest appeared in front of Rafiniya, the holy light from a legendary priest exceptionally obvious as it emanated from her.

Beside her was a devil hunter with thick chains wound around his arms. The man with a dark aura had already caught Anya’s arm; he was the one who’d saved her from Rafiniya.

“You... you’re from the Giant Serpent Church...” Anya immediately realised the identity of the person who had saved her, a look of hope rising on her face.

“A person who makes use of the evil power of devils...” Rafiniya gazed at the devil hunter next to Barbara. He had numerous little plaits in his hair, and his tan, yellowish skin identified him as a native.

More important was that she couldn’t ascertain the strength of his aura. It seemed like she was actually looking at hell when she looked at him!

‘A legend! A legendary devil hunter!’ Rafiniya realised the identity of this person in an instant. Only someone of such strength could cause her to feel such fear.

Legendary strength, especially with devil hunters, was a qualitative increase in power. Devil hunters needed to seal legendary devils to reach that level of power! This person had legendary power himself, and on top of that he was supplemented by equivalent magic ability! Just having ascended he was equivalent to centuries-old high-ranked legendaries!

Such devil hunters were new to Leylin’s armies, having appeared after he took over three of the Nine Hells. Leylin had grabbed a bunch of devils who’d opposed him, using them to have a large number of devil hunters on the verge advance. The only issue was that there were few devil hunters qualified to reach such strength right now.

The person in Rafiniya’s way now was someone with such strength, and he was accompanied by a legendary priestess.

“Giant Serpent Church... Do you wish to help evil and go against justice?” Rafiniya looked serious as holy silver light appeared on the surface of her armour. She made a few secret hand signs to the paladins behind her.

“Don’t even try to contact New Silverymoon... Did you think we wouldn’t prepare for that?” Barbara spoke the language used in the mainland in a very articulate manner. Knowledge of all languages was an essential ability for priests.

“I’ve already altered the space here. Forget signals for help, even the power of faith will be slowed down...” The paladins’ expressions quickly changed, as if to accentuate her words. One of them pulled Rafiniya aside, whispering something to her that caused this legendary paladin to turn grim.

Hellfire! Claws of Confinement!

Large numbers of dark figures emerged from the surrounding forest, terrifying devil spells being launched from them. Even the celestial horses didn’t dare to touch the blazing hellfire, and the paladins who’d originally had the upper hand were now constantly being forced away.

“So many high-ranked professionals!” Rafiniya’s expression was very dark as she brought up a great screen of light that prevented many devil hunters from attacking.

She knew full well that the only reason she could persist to this point was that the other party didn’t want to take things too far. If not for that, she wouldn’t last long against that legendary devil hunter.

“Are you declaring war on our church?” Rafiniya questioned loudly.

“Hehe... An accusation like that is rather terrifying...” Barbara sneered, not the least bit afraid.

“Rafiniya... I remember you!” The priestess suddenly gazed at Rafiniya’s face, “You were the knight who once followed our master in the north. While his sacred and holy being has cut off all connections with his mortal self, you did serve him at one point. For that reason, you may leave...”

“Hmm?” Barbara’s words surprised Rafiniya greatly, especially when she mentioned letting them off.

“Damn it... are you insulting us?” A young blonde paladin’s face flushed red, and his neck seemed to bulge as he grabbed the hilt of his sword in preparations for a charge.

“Wait!” Rafiniya easily knocked this young and impulsive kid unconscious, and had an older paladin nearby grab him.

“This was a mistake in my plans. There’s no need for more pointless casualties... I brought you out of the city, and I shall bring you back.” Rafiniya took a deep breath, “Let us go!”

Even the most zealous of paladins had learnt to compromise. That was a price Tyr had to learn to pay in the mortal world.

“I won’t see you off!” Barbara saluted her with a gentle smile, while the devil hunter nearby sneered.

......

“Why didn’t you keep them here?” Anya half-reclined on the devil hunter as the paladins left, her eyes on their backs.

The devil hunter completely disregarded Anya’s flattering behaviour, causing her expression to stiffen and become awkward.

“We could take them out with our strength, but it would have caused immense casualties.” Barbara answered in his stead, saving the situation.

“You’re being too presumptuous, Anya!” a stern voice sounded, causing Anya to turn back in surprise.

She saw a white-haired middle-aged man slowly emerge from the shadows, bowing towards Barbara and the legendary devil hunter, “My lords, please forgive my daughter for her ignorance...”

“Father... why are you here?” Anya asked, stunned. This was her father, the master of the Bane Family and manager of the Neon Merchant Group.

“Isn’t it all to take care of this mess? Quick, apologise to the two lords!” Fagus glared at his daughter. These were two legendaries, who had a true god church backing them!

He understood very well how terrifying such strength could be. Much more importantly, if the Giant Serpent Church were to be offended, the Bane Family would probably have no place to go in the north or even the entire prime material plane.

“Our Bane Family and the Neon Merchant Group have completely sworn loyalty to the Giant Serpent Church. From hereon, they are our benefactor...” Fagus reminded Anya.

“My apologies, my lords... I... I...” A blush appeared on her cheeks.

“Forget it! Even our master would forgive the mistakes committed by the youth...” Barbara laughed as she waved her hands, “Besides... the reason I did not keep them here is not primarily because she and the master are acquaintances. She is a legendary being after all, and the God of Justice will surely pay much attention to her. Since we’ve tampered with this space, there’s a rather large chance of Silverymoon and the God of Justice’s Church finding out the moment a battle breaks out... The other side has already gathered Elminster and a huge batch of high-ranked legendaries. With our current strength, we still can’t go head to head with them...”

“That’s why we need to leave as quickly as possible!” The devil hunter in command, The devil hunter commander, who had looked expressionless all this time, now spoke up.

“We shall do as the lords suggest.” Fagus smiled flatteringly, as if fawning on them. It caused Anya to feel resentful and relieved at the same time. At the very least, the serious responsibilities had been taken over by the Giant Serpent Church and wouldn’t be her problem anymore.

“What are you still standing there in a daze for? Pack up, we leave immediately!” Fagus yelled at the servants who had yet to move. Only now did they comprehend what had gone on, a look of disbelief in their eyes as they watched their master.

The events today were too damaging to their mental states. First was the paladins, and just when they thought they were in a pinch that was impossible to escape from their master had brought an even more powerful group that sent the paladins running. The Neon Merchant Group was only a middling business!

In that moment, they began to revere their master. The servants moved quickly, thankfully packing up all the fallen items. Fagus moved forward, taking all the blood essence made of flesh and soul and giving it to the devil hunters.

“The blood essence here is very pure, and its characteristics make it incompatible with spatial items. If it isn’t stored in dimensional pouches or other such storage items, it will soon lose its effects. It needs to be stored using blood-traced wood... If not for all that we wouldn’t have such problems...” Fagus sighed as he spoke.

“Mm. Let’s go!” After everything was collected, Barbara turned to leave, with the father-daughter pair of Fagus and Anya close behind.

The rest of the merchants followed the original route and hastened towards the next town. Whatever it was, they now had no taboo items on them, and would no longer be afraid of any checks.

In the eyes of Fagus and other higher-ups, they had to make the best of the situation. As long as the other merchants could take the attention off them even slightly, that would be good. What happened to all these people was not their problem.

......

Currently, within Leylin’s divine kingdom in Baator, the God of Massacre saw an avatar of Umberlee once more. The Goddess of the Ocean had an even denser aura than before, evidently growing more imposing after consuming the divinity of the Sharkmen.