Chapter 504

“Alright, it’s time to meet your parents!”

I charged at him, crushing the ground beneath me. The distance closed in an instant. The blue blade, carrying the momentum of my charge, swung diagonally.

Belcus, with his longsword wrapped in dark energy, tried to block my strike—

– Kwaaaang!

He was sent flying, crashing into the wall of a house.

The intense impact caused the wall and ceiling to collapse, burying him mercilessly. Dust rose like a wave.

“Huh? Did we finish him off? Just like that…?”

Lacey, who had been tense, relaxed her grip on the cross spear, looking bewildered.

Instead of pointing out that she had just chanted a resurrection spell, I focused on the rubble where Belcus was buried.

“No. Even if he’s weakened, he’s a notorious demon. He won’t die that easily. He’ll pop out soon.”

For a brief moment, I thought I saw dark energy flare up when he hit the wall. He probably used it as a shield to absorb the impact, much like how I used the Life Force Technique.

…Though I can’t do that right now.

After Hersela woke up, the recovery speed of my Life Force Technique returned to normal, but it hasn’t even been half a day yet. It’ll take at least two or three days to fully recover.

Anyway, the chances of Belcus being taken out by that strike were slim.

– Kooong!

See? Just as I thought.

A black sphere erupted from the pile of rubble, scattering the debris.

Bricks flew in all directions, smashing into other buildings, and fragments of the roof soared high before falling in a parabolic arc.

From the swirling black sphere, Belcus, covered in dust, slowly rose.

“Just as I heard, you’re ridiculously strong… I didn’t expect to be sent flying in one hit.”

“Your body felt as light as a feather. Been working too hard on your affairs? Lost some weight?”

I joked as I approached him, glancing around.

Since there were no ambushes despite Belcus being sent flying, it seemed he hadn’t prepared any traps… So, did he really come to face me one-on-one with just a longsword?

Only a madman would do that.

Of course, Belcus is a madman… but even a rational madman wouldn’t attempt a suicidal act with no chance of winning.

“Wow. Up close, your face is completely messed up. What a shame, even your parents burning in hell wouldn’t recognize you like that.”

“That’s a nasty taunt. Unfortunately, I have no parents. I’ve never even seen their faces, so we won’t meet.”

“What, you’re an orphan? No wonder.”

I chuckled, mocking him.

So, the reason he enjoys ruining families and stealing other men’s women is because he’s jealous of the love and maternal care he never experienced?

“Of course. Giving birth to such a maggot, his parents must have been heartbroken. Throwing him into the sewer would have been their last act of kindness. No… maybe he tore through his mother’s womb and ate his father to survive.”

Lacey nodded, adding her own commentary.

…Not that I should say this, but is it okay for a Saint Candidate to talk like that?

Her words were more extreme than I imagined, leaving even me speechless. Well… he deserves it, but still.

“Blue-haired girls sure have loose tongues. Are you already drunk on victory?”

“Not as blue as your mother’s corpse.”

“……”

Belcus, perhaps realizing that arguing would only lead to more losses, didn’t respond. Instead, he gripped his longsword with both hands and plunged it into the ground.

– Goooooo!

The dark energy wrapped around his blade spread across the ground, casting a deep shadow. The shadow, alive and writhing, stretched toward me. Clearly, it was some kind of dark magic.

“People say that when someone can’t retort, they get angry. Guess it’s true.”

I kept an eye on the shadow’s movements as I charged at Belcus, while Lacey wisely activated her divine light to block the dark energy.

As I closed in, Belcus pulled his longsword from the ground. The distance between us was about twenty steps. Not too far.

Just as the shadow reached my feet, black hands burst from the ground, trying to grab my legs. Predictable. I saw that coming.

I jumped over the dark hands, leaping toward Belcus like stepping stones.

“Too obvious! Who’d fall for that?”

“Jumping around like a monkey…!”

Belcus clicked his tongue and thrust his left hand forward. A black sphere formed at his fingertips, shooting out like a beam of light. It was as fast as a bullet.

“Ha! Still sloppy!”

I laughed and swung Durandal at the black beam. The blue flash pierced through the dark energy, scattering it. Black sparks flew everywhere.

“Not yet!”

Next came a barrage of sharp tentacles. The dark energy tentacles stretched from Belcus’s back. Each one was black, thick, flexible, and sharp.

[I’ve seen this attack style somewhere before.]

‘Yeah.’

As Hersela said, Belcus’s magic was similar to how I used the Life Force Technique.

Probably because memories of being hit by such techniques in the game lingered in my subconscious. I guess I copied his style.

[Hmm. Were you two close or something?]

‘…Don’t talk nonsense.’

I’d rather die than be friends with that guy.

Ignoring Hersela’s joke, I lunged at the incoming tentacles. Since it was a familiar technique, countering it wasn’t too hard.

Only the tips of the tentacles were powerful, so if I got inside and slashed…

“Elpinel, hear me!”

At that moment, Lacey’s shout and a barrage of pure white light bullets shattered the dark tentacles.

“Lacey! I told you to conserve your energy! Focus on mental protection!”

I scolded Lacey while charging at Belcus.

Offensive miracles consume a lot of energy, so wasting power like that could leave her unable to activate ‘White Night,’ leading to a ridiculous defeat.

“It’s fine! The duration of White Night’s blessing has been extended!”

Lacey reassured me.

I wasn’t so sure. A question lingered in my mind.

If the duration of the mental protection miracle has increased… does that mean the influence of the curse has weakened? Why?

As I deflected the dark scythes aiming for my sides with Durandal and dodged the black spikes shooting from the ground, I pondered the reason.

Was it because we killed Diraid? Or because we destroyed the demon’s heart?

…No, if that were the case, I would’ve felt it immediately. Why now?

The weakening of the brainwashing spell was good news, but without knowing the cause, I couldn’t relax.

“Curious?”

Belcus, now closer, swung his longsword and spoke. The black energy swirling around the blade aimed for my neck. I tilted Durandal to block his strike.

– Kaaang!

The dark vortex relentlessly struck the vibrating blade. Durandal shook like a self-defense tool.

A technique using rotating dark energy to deliver continuous impacts. Any lesser swordsman would’ve dropped their weapon after blocking. But not me.

“Thinking of telling me?”

I sneered, launching an ice blade that was caught by the dark chains. The chains were weak enough to break with a swing, but strong enough to stop my attack momentarily.

Belcus then thrust his blackened left hand toward me. The dark energy gathered in his palm pulsed dangerously. Clearly, he intended to grab my head and crush it.

I jerked my head back, dodging his grasp, and kicked his side with my right foot. The concentrated dark energy armor shattered on impact.

– Crack!

Belcus’s armor crumpled like paper. He slid several meters, blood dripping from his clenched teeth.

The newly formed dark tentacles stabbed at me, but two were sliced apart by Durandal, and another was torn apart by the ice blade.

– Kaaang!

The last one only left a scratch on my armor.

“Kuh…!”

Belcus, now far away, swung his left arm, and dozens of black spikes appeared in the air, raining down.

…Why isn’t this guy using his authority and fighting like this?

I dodged the spikes, still suspicious, while Belcus, free from the pain in his side, wildly swung his dark energy-covered sword in my direction.

The black longsword slashed through the air, and with each swing, sharp dark energy crescents shot toward me.

…I can’t do that. Kind of jealous.

Unlike my Life Force Technique, which extends from my body, his attacks were purely magical.

Essentially, it was no different from the wind blades Ophelia used, just powered by dark energy instead of mana.

“Tricks!”

I slashed Durandal at the incoming dark crescents, matching their trajectory.

– Kwaaaang!

The blade shattered the dark energy, scattering the crescents. The fragments left long gashes on Ryu-rik’s hide, but since they didn’t touch my skin, the attack was meaningless.

“Even using the dark energy that maintained the curse, I can’t land a single hit… You really are a monster.”

Belcus spat out a spent magical cigarette along with blood, grimacing. His thin eyebrows twitched.

I watched his face carefully. Was he wincing from the pain, or was he trying to open his eyes?

“Then I have no choice but to borrow his power!”

Belcus shouted fiercely, raising his head. No doubt about it. He was definitely trying to open his eyes!

I urgently turned and shouted to Lacey.

“Lacey! Curse defense! Focus on your lower abdomen, full power!!”

“Y-yes?”

Lacey, who had been watching our fight and waiting for an opportunity to support, was startled by the sudden command but faithfully followed my instructions.

As Belcus opened his eyes wide, Lacey’s pure white divine light shot toward me.

– Whoosh!

Immediately after, a black beam shot from Belcus’s eyes, piercing my abdomen.

—

The light faded. Despite being pierced by dark energy, I felt no pain, not even a wound.

As expected. The beam Belcus shot wasn’t a physical attack but a curse.

I glanced down at my glowing lower abdomen, where the white divine light and black energy mixed, checking for any abnormalities.

Aside from the swirling black and white light, there was no change in my abdomen. No writhing sensation or swelling.

I sighed in relief.

Good, we blocked it. The timing was a bit close, so I was worried.

Soon, the pure white divine light, having scattered all the dark energy, formed a cross and circle overlapping shape below my navel.

It resembled Elpinel’s holy mark, but it was just a sign that the curse defense miracle was working.

“How…? You blocked ‘Dark Conception’?!”

Belcus’s face twisted in shock. He hadn’t expected his authority to be countered.

Yeah, perfectly countering a hidden authority like I already knew about it would shock anyone.

‘Dark Conception’

While ‘Alpha Mail’ was an authority for dealing with men, this one was solely for women.

A curse that makes pregnant women give birth to black-skinned children, an enhanced version of Belcus’s unique magic, ‘Seed of Discord.’

In short… yeah, a pregnancy ray.

A curse that affects all women, not just pregnant ones. Any woman hit by the black beam from his eyes would instantly conceive Belcus’s clone. And the child would grow to full term in just five minutes.

…When I first saw it, I thought the creators were insane. I still think so.

But despite its absurd effect, this authority was quite combat-oriented.

If it only takes five minutes to give birth, that means the child reaches full term in five minutes.

The cursed woman’s belly would swell rapidly, drastically reducing her combat ability, and at the moment of birth, she’d be completely incapacitated.

Being incapacitated in front of Belcus meant becoming a slave to ‘Alpha Mail.’

Except for the five-minute delay, it was a more vicious authority than instant-death curses.

Well, we blocked it, so it doesn’t matter.