Chapter 34

Level Up Heresy Inquisitor – Chapter 34 (34/227)

Chapter 34: Ruins (3)

Cr-cr-crack!

Ail and Lisa cleared away the debris blocking the large door gap and emerged from the second passage.

As expected, in the maze, demon-shaped statues scattered everywhere sprang to life as monsters.

But thanks to the effect of the invisibility potion, they managed to slip through the passages without any hassle or encounters.

It wasn’t until later that they realized the statues couldn’t hear sounds, leading them to suffer unnecessarily.

Both being invisible, they struggled to communicate while navigating the maze and had no choice but to hold onto each other’s arms to stay close.

After finally figuring out the statues’ weakness, they were able to talk and find their way more easily—but it was still quite a headache.

Had they not figured it out, they would’ve been paranoid about making noise while clearing debris from the doorway.

“Is this the last passage…?”

Ail looked around after stepping inside.

Based on prior intel, this was supposed to be the third and final passage. But upon entering, it looked less like a passage and more like an expansive circular hall.

The faded decorations gave it an ancient feel, with cracked floors and impressively arranged columns throughout.

But what caught their eyes first was the towering giant statue standing in the center of the room.

Though not as massive as the boss Gahar they faced earlier, it was still twice Ail’s height—who himself was already tall.

Like the others in previous passages, this statue was broken apart, with its head completely missing.

“This doesn’t feel good…”

Ail muttered, sensing impending doom.

And sure enough, his suspicion proved correct.

Cr-cr-crack!

The seemingly frozen giant suddenly opened its eyes and began moving its arms.

Unlike before, even though there was only one, it radiated an ominous presence.

Level 26 Broken Ancient Giant Statue.

Checking the status window revealed that this foe was significantly higher level than them.

Without testing how much health bar would drop when attacked, it was hard to estimate precisely, but it was clear this wouldn’t be an easy fight.

“Let’s just avoid it and move on.”

Lisa whispered cautiously, and Ail nodded in agreement.

Realizing she couldn’t see him, he silently grabbed her arm to guide her.

Though unlikely, the awakened statue might also have been unable to hear sound—better safe than sorry.

There’s no harm in being cautious.

Thus, Ail and Lisa quietly tried to sneak past the giant statue by carefully circling around it.

But the groaning statue suddenly turned and smashed its fist down toward them with incredible force.

“What the…!”

BOOM!

The statue’s powerful punch gouged a deep crater into the floor where they had just been.

Reacting instinctively, both narrowly avoided getting caught in the attack, realizing it had clearly targeted them.

As if they were perfectly visible to it.

“Why…?”

Ail murmured, drawing his longsword.

They hadn’t made a sound to give themselves away, so it didn’t make sense how the statue detected them.

It was highly improbable it heard their brief whisper, and a broken statue shouldn’t have such heightened senses.

That meant the creature likely possessed some detection-related abilities—though such traits were rare for monsters at this level.

Detection skills typically only appeared in monsters after reaching higher levels.

“Huhk…!”

Just as Ail was pondering this, Lisa suddenly yanked him back, causing him to let out an odd sound as he stumbled backward.

KRAAAASH!

At the same moment, the statue swung its fist again, shattering one of the nearby pillars. The debris rained down toward where Ail had been standing.

Thanks to their quick reflexes, they managed to evade the attack.

Ail had momentarily let his guard down, assuming the statue’s punch would miss, nearly paying dearly for it.

He hadn’t anticipated the statue using shattered pillar fragments as weapons.

“Looks like we’ll have to fight.”

With invisibility ineffective, evading the statue seemed impossible.

Even if they tried to escape deeper into the ruins, the statue showed no signs of backing off.

Swish-swish.

In sync, both canceled the invisibility potion’s effect.

Since the statue could apparently see them clearly anyway, staying invisible only hindered their ability to coordinate.

Just then, the giant statue began smashing everything around it, sending shards flying.

Most attacks headed straight for Lisa.

A strategy targeting the healer first—an unexpected amount of tactical thinking for something without a stone brain.

But Lisa skillfully dodged all the incoming debris, weaving through the chaos effortlessly.

With some distance between her and the statue, the random debris posed no real threat to her.

Meanwhile, during this time-buying maneuver by Lisa, Ail gained the opportunity to formulate a plan.

Numerous calculations raced through his mind.

Having settled on a course of action, Ail pointed his sword toward the statue and activated a skill.

A skill he’d never used before.

“Heresy Designation.”

Ziiing!

A sinister red mark flashed across the statue’s torso.

The seal of the Light Church, marking it as heretical.

Clearly, the giant statue confronting them bore no connection to heresy.

It didn’t defy church doctrine nor qualify as an undead evil entity.

Just a simple animated statue tasked with eliminating intruders. When they first met, it lacked the heresy designation.

However, given Ail’s unique Apostle skill—”Heresy Designation”—such distinctions became irrelevant.

As an Apostle blessed by the Goddess, Ail could arbitrarily designate anyone as heretical without consulting “Lu.”

Whether someone followed church doctrine or not, whether they were virtuous or wicked, mattered little.

Once accused by the Apostle, they became heretics.

“So it’s a boss monster designation…”

Ail thought to himself as the skill took effect.

If the opponent were a regular monster, it would be impossible to assign the heresy mark via any means. Thus, “Heresy Designation” could only be used against bosses, elite monsters, or players.

Now that the statue was designated as heretical, it would take additional damage, allowing Ail to proceed with his true plan.

Raising his sword high, Ail charged forward.

Instead of flanking or zigzagging, he moved straightforwardly, and the statue responded with an equally direct attack.

WHOOSH!

The statue’s massive fist swung toward Ail.

But this time, Lisa watched calmly without surprise.

POOF!

Suddenly disappearing, Ail reappeared behind the statue thanks to the rare skill “Reverse Play.”

His longsword, wreathed in white flames and enhanced by Reverse Play’s speed boost, slammed into the statue’s back.

CRACK!

Unfortunately, the satisfying sound he hoped for didn’t occur.

The statue’s defense was higher than expected, preventing the blade from embedding deeply.

However, the white flames attached to his sword—the Sacred Flame—could still deal significant damage to the statue.

Now marked as heretical, the giant statue forcibly acquired an “evil” alignment, making it vulnerable to holy attributes. The Sacred Flame, which simultaneously granted fire and holy attributes to his weapon, was chipping away at the statue’s thick surface.

More importantly, Ail had another intention.

KRAKK!

The Dagger of Lament pierced into the statue’s neck, and debuffs started stacking on its screen.

Dagger’s Curse.

While the direct damage dealt was similar to his longsword, the cursed dagger slowed the statue’s movements and increased the damage it received from Ail.

Combined with the potent Sacred Flame skill and the Blade of Hatred passive skill, which amplified damage against heretics, they created a strong synergy despite the level gap.

However, one thing stood out—this giant statue was more agile than expected.

Despite its bulky appearance, it quickly spun around, facing Ail once again.

Reverse Play still had a bit of cooldown left.

BOOM!

Smacked by the statue’s fist, Ail flew back and tumbled across the ground.

Even taking just one hit left his health dangerously low.

“Tch.”

Ail spat out blood.

Still so fast despite being slowed? Definitely not an easy opponent.

Had it not been for his inflated stats from the Madness stat and Goddess Favor buff, that single blow might’ve killed him outright.

Yet, amidst all this, a thought crossed his mind.

“Worth a shot.”

By now, continuous healing magic had restored his health above 60%, with sustained recovery rapidly replenishing him further.

Lisa, who helped heal him, was drinking a mana potion to prepare for the next round.

Based on the results from the two attacks and one hit they confirmed…

The damage inflicted on the giant statue suggested it lacked the absurd physical resistance seen in Gahar.

Though its level far exceeded theirs, fortunately, it wasn’t designed for a party of 26+ level adventurers.

Still, it wasn’t an easy opponent.

At least mid-tier specs even within its own level bracket.

Regardless of its relative weakness, a level 26 boss wasn’t something a mere level 18 duo could casually handle.

As proof, the giant statue still had plenty of health left.

But Ail had one more card up his sleeve—a secret weapon he’d been steadily accumulating while hunting.

[Apostle Exclusive: Contribution Point Shop is now open!]

[No regional restrictions apply due to Apostle privileges!]