“Battle commence.”
The sound of machinery and metal grinding together. Amidst the charge, a cacophony of clashing metallic noises mixed with feminine mechanical sounds. Simultaneously, a massive figure lunged forward.
Aslan watched as the colossal machine charged toward him and drew his flaming longsword diagonally. The radiant white light of the sword pointed downward.
Angie hesitated for a moment, considering whether to draw the axe strapped to her back, but instead raised her fist. Ereta withdrew two short swords and spun them once in her hands.
Aslan stood still, maintaining his calm posture with dual swords hanging loosely, and whispered.
“Phey.”
“Got it!”
Ignoring the charging giant, Phey lightly bounced off the ground and leaped into the forest.
Vanishing from sight by kicking off tree trunks, Phey disappeared into the woods within moments, leaving no trace behind.
Aslan raised his sword, glowing with purity, and deflected the blade aimed at his forehead.
Clang!
Sparks flew. The blade touched by Aslan’s sword seemed to glow red as if burning away.
Aslan recalled the traces he had found in the logging village. The marks left by heated weapons that had devastated the village were evident, yet none of the corpses hanging from ancient trees bore such marks.
The Duke’s soldiers must have returned here. They would have come back to check whether the loggers had moved or remained.
Aslan understood what had happened.
The Duke’s soldiers had been completely annihilated and turned into materials.
There was no way to estimate how many lives had been stolen by the forest keeper who had lost their mind.
Thus, the task at hand remained unchanged. Clutching the vibrating hilt, Aslan channeled his determination as fuel to incline the blazing fire.
Crash!
The sound of grinding chunks. The heated blade swiping through the air. Aslan dodged the forest keeper’s attack slicing through the air with white flames and immediately corrected his stance.
The forest keeper swung their arm immediately after missing. Flames spewed from the nozzle attached to the elbow, accelerating at a speed impossible for Aslan’s eyes to follow.
But Aslan did not stop. The two swords simply followed the trajectory Aslan’s eyes had drawn.
Even if it was invisible, it could be countered. Enhanced perception utilized all of Aslan’s five senses to predict the attack.
The trajectory Aslan’s eyes had drawn allowed him to evade the attack without harm.
Clang! Clang!
Two sharp metallic sounds. Aslan created those sounds and swiftly turned his body. With his crimson longsword, he deflected the heated blade and struck the arm with his other sword to alter its trajectory.
Although the attack veered off course, it left deep scars on the ground.
Aslan coughed up dirt while observing the overturned earth and the scarred land, his eyes quickly darting around.
The approaching giant figure, the swelling arm, the flames spurting from the nozzle, the heated blade.
Calculations were complete. Aslan stopped while trying to create distance, gripping his weapon in reverse.
Boom!
Lifting the weapon held in reverse, Aslan lifted his foot off the ground. A tingling sensation ran down his spine, prompting him to instinctively shield his head with purity and reinforce it with his other weapon.
Simultaneously, a violent shockwave surged over the swords.
Ka-a-a-ang!
The wires severed due to the edge set for defense. The wires revealed between the sparks shone with the distinct gray hue of metal.
At the same moment, the forest keeper rushed toward Aslan, raising their blade high and accelerating while emitting flames from the nozzle.
Targeting both ends, Aslan discerned the trajectory using skill and experience, then stepped aside after withdrawing the crossed swords.
A chilling stab. The heated blade carved deeply into the ground with a motion different from a guillotine before withdrawing cleanly without stirring any dust upon retraction. Seeing another blade extending, Aslan bent deeply and shook off the crossed swords.
Tseeeeng!
An overwhelming force even when enhanced by mana-powered strength. Direct contact would melt both flesh and metal with its scorching heat. To avoid direct contact, Aslan pushed away with purity.
The pinnacle of swordsmanship. Even while the swords were touching, the artistry was so refined it could disrupt the opponent’s center of gravity. The forest keeper’s body wavered under this artistry.
Just a fleeting moment. But it was enough. Angie sprang forward as if waiting for this opportunity.
She leapt forward, ascending into the air while channeling all her strength into her fist. Her flight was extremely swift and powerful.
Kwa-a-a-ang!
Angie’s straightforward punch slammed into the forest keeper’s head, causing its body to tilt significantly. Despite weighing several times more than Angie, the forest keeper’s body violently shook, and its joints creaked.
It was too sudden and too powerful to fully absorb.
The forest keeper’s head turned with a “krik” sound, following Angie. It recalculated the threat level. A girl capable of generating giant-like strength barehanded. Despite her small stature, her power was considerable and required immediate handling.
The priest automatically raised an arm and emitted flames from the nozzle to pierce and kill.
The piercing death. The intense heat capable of penetrating Angie’s solid flesh. That heat was deflected by a woman who appeared from the side.
Caga-gak, jjeong!
Appearing from the side, she simultaneously swung an axe and mace. Although even simple attacks would be hard for Ereta to block, deflecting them was manageable. Thus, Ereta deflected the priest’s weapon.
“Ugh, my wrist.”
Ereta’s wrist turned red, and the priest’s blade was deflected midway, slamming into the ground. Seizing this opportunity, Angie pulled her fist back sharply and unleashed an uppercut.
Bang!
The metallic head of the priest was forcefully knocked back. Angie’s punch, which made even martial monks tremble, was powerful enough to challenge even a priest under normal circumstances.
“Reassess threat level, immediate response necessary.”
Yet, the forest keeper endured.
Despite Angie’s powerful attacks and Aslan’s precise strikes, the priests of the predator proved to be even tougher.
This is why the priests of the predator were troublesome. They possessed decent offensive capabilities and diverse means, yet also exhibited high defensive strength.
Even with Aslan and Angie’s formidable attacking prowess, they only managed to scratch the surface—a defensive capability unmatched among all priests.
Ordinary attacks and weapons couldn’t leave a single mark.
Therefore, Angie wore an expression of frustration, and Ereta, wrinkling her fine brow, clutched her injured wrist.
‘Sufficient.’
Only Aslan moved forward without hesitation, rushing toward the forest keeper.
There were a few ways to kill an opponent with extreme defense.
‘Pierce the heart.’
One of those methods was piercing the heart.
When the longsword glowing with white flames flickered bluish-white, Aslan struck upward with it along a slanted line.
Dd-d-d-d-dek!
At the moment the longsword clashed with the forest keeper’s arm, what had previously only left a scratch now tore the arm off.
Along with the grating sound of forcibly tearing metal.
The unpleasant metallic sound accompanied the flying arm, and Aslan’s body moved.
Piercing the heart was such a technique.
A technique that increased penetration to pierce the hearts of monsters and fierce beasts with bare hands.
Its effect was simple, but the result was certain. When used with a weapon already proven to penetrate, there was nothing it couldn’t slice through.
‘It worked.’
But it was enough. A predator priest deprived of its left arm wouldn’t regenerate without securing resources.
Aslan gripped his weapon in reverse and called out.
“Phey!”
The next instant, a charging attack. A blade attack from the right arm. The heated right arm surged to tear through Aslan’s neck, and almost simultaneously, Phey leaped from the forest with two blades.
Ka-a-ang!
Aslan blocked and deflected the forest keeper’s sweeping attack from the side, and the heated weapon caused his own to glow red-hot, slipping from his grasp.
While Aslan reflexively drew his flail, Phey slashed the forest keeper’s hamstring with the blade. Two metallic sounds rang out simultaneously as the forest keeper’s body tilted.
As the forest keeper extended its right arm toward Phey attempting to leap back and offered its severed left arm to Aslan, wires were condensing at the cross-section. It was a move to strangle Aslan.
Simultaneous attacks. As Aslan and Phey lowered their stances, Angie and Ereta rushed out from both sides.
Ka-ang!
Ereta’s hurled mace accurately struck the cross-section of the left arm, tangling the wires with the mace as it rolled on the ground. Taking advantage of this, Angie charged forward.
Kwa-a-ang!
With brute strength disproportionate to her small frame, Angie drove her body into the torso. As the predator priest lost balance and stopped, Phey leaped again.
Kwajijik!
Phey’s leap was a thrust. A powerful thrust imbued with the unique leverage of elves, driving two blades into the hamstring and twisting.
Sparks flew as the forest keeper collapsed, reaching backward, but before it could do so, Aslan moved.
Jjil-lul-reuk!
Toward the descending hand, Aslan extended his flail, wrapping its chain around the wrist. The wrist, thick like an ordinary tree, halted momentarily under the flail’s grip.
That brief pause was enough. While blocking the hand, Phey leaped back to create distance, and the chain broke.
As soon as the flail broke, Aslan gripped his blood-stained sword with both hands and leapt.
Aslan’s agile feet kicked the stationary hand of the forest keeper and leapt again. Reversing his body mid-leap, Aslan landed on the predator’s shoulder.
Aslan gripped the longsword with both hands and pulled it behind his back, muttering briefly.
“Pierce the heart.”
Then the blade glowed bluish-white.
Kagagagak!
The blade, sparking as it penetrated, roughly severed the neck along with a jagged cross-section.
Goo-woong!
Dust rose as the heavy head and equally heavy body simultaneously hit the ground.
Aslan stood atop the kneeling steel body.
Holding the sword that burned white.
Aslan exhaled heavily, gradually stepping down from the priest’s body.
“Why…”
The spot where he stepped down contained a head. A severed head of the forest keeper.
“Why did it… end up like this? What did I do wrong? How should I have… acted?”
The voice lacked energy. Despite being mechanical, the emotion conveyed was one of frustration.
“Lui, Dennis, Ella…”
The head lying on the ground repeated names. Aslan could guess who these names belonged to. They were undoubtedly family names.
The oil smeared during the rolling of the severed head resembled tears.
“Sorry…”
Thus died the man who became a forest keeper priest. The silence that settled and the motionless head confirmed it.
Aslan closed his eyes while standing on the ground.
Though composed entirely of machines and scrap metal, it was far from resembling a corpse. Yet, watching it evoked an odd sense of discomfort akin to viewing a corpse.
But one couldn’t look away in reality. Aslan had killed the priest who didn’t want to die. He had killed the man who merely asked to be sent off. He had killed because he couldn’t tolerate the murderous acts the forest keeper, turned predator priest, would unleash.
Now, this man’s soul would become a mere data bundle, reaching the predator’s flagship, destined to endure eternal torment.
Aslan sighed deeply and calmly said,
“Sorry.”
Aslan picked up the fallen weapon and returned it to his waist. Bitterness filled his mouth.
At that moment,
“Primary ■■ entity removal failed. Issues occurred in operation execution.”
A voice sounded.
Delicate like a woman’s, yet somehow metallic.
The voice emanated from the forest keeper’s torso.
Aslan glanced at the torso, and the voice continued dispassionately.
“The empathy strategy targeting the primary ■■ entity was ineffective. Reevaluate tactics.”
Upon hearing this, Aslan stiffened.
This statement meant one thing.
The predators had deliberately kept the forest keeper’s personality to hunt Aslan.
To evoke pity and induce carelessness, then strike.
Realizing this, Aslan gritted his teeth and raised the longsword he was about to sheathe.
Kwaddeok!
The voice coming from the cross-section ceased as the longsword plunged in, and the mechanical body grew colder.
Aslan’s thoughts remained unchanged despite the scattered mechanical remains, the gruesome scene, and the accompanying emotions.
Rather, he became even more resolute that the priest had to die.
To prevent this terrible tragedy from spreading wider and further, it was unavoidable.
All evil deities must die, Aslan believed.
Still, he couldn’t confirm whether this choice was truly correct.
He wondered if solving the issue with purity might have been possible, and the belated regret made Aslan’s hands tremble.
This was a common tragedy.
Not a rare catastrophe.
In Geladridion, such incidents occurred countless times and would continue to happen.
Having witnessed it numerous times already, Aslan knew it would persist.
Yet, he couldn’t dismiss it as just another common tragedy.
Because he believed that if he were to break, there would be nothing left.
The moment he forgot the sentiments and compassion of a modern person, Lee Hyun-woo would die completely, leaving only Aslan.
Nevertheless, despite such thoughts, Aslan couldn’t suppress his bitterness and anger.
His trembling hand eventually led him to raise his head and shout.
Filled with sorrow, anger, and indignation, the yell resonated through the forest, and the animals that hadn’t fled during the fight finally scattered en masse.
In the corner of Aslan’s vision, a message flashed.
[Completed Sub-Quest]
[ ! Defeat the Predator Priest]
The system message, appearing at an unknown time, classified even this tragedy as a common sub-quest.
