[TS] Became a Peach Saint – Chapter 206

“Kill.”

Creak!

The shadow, upon receiving the command, lets out a strange laugh and instantly sinks into the ground.

“What, what the!”

A brown-haired woman with freckles panics as she watches the shadow disappear before her eyes.

Thud!

“Huh…?”

A sharp bone, resembling a scythe, bursts out from the woman’s chest.

“AAAAAH!!!”

While another man screams at the top of his lungs, a man in white armor watches the scene with an expressionless face.

“P-please, spare…!”

Thunk!

The man’s head, which had been screaming until the end, falls to the ground with a dull thud.

The shadow dispatches the two in the blink of an eye and then dissipates like a shadow once more.

“Light.”

Creak.

As the man in white armor mutters softly, light erupts from his body, and the shadow is swiftly repelled from the figure’s shadow.

“A necromancer?”

A deep male voice fills the narrow room.

“A saint.”

“…Nonsense.”

“I am a saint. Who are you?”

“I have no name to give to evil.”

“Fine.”

The figure silently draws a sharp, silver-white sword resembling armor from his waist.

Snap!

Upon seeing this, I snap my fingers, and the shadow disappears once again.

〈Summon Followers – Black Metal Skeleton〉

Crack!

A hand made of pitch-black bones bursts through the wooden floor.

Clang! Clang!

The sound is entirely different from the shadow’s teeth. It’s like metal clashing against metal, a sound that could tear your ears apart.

The Black Metal Skeleton, rising from the ground, emits a crimson glow from its eyes.

The figure, watching this, emits a white aura.

“Kill him too.”

Clang! Clang!

Despite the narrow room, the Black Metal Skeleton lunges forward explosively, showing no hesitation in its movements.

Klang!

The skeleton’s pitch-black bone sword clashes with the figure’s white sword, producing a sharp sound.

Even though it was just a tutorial, it was filled with people who were quite skilled. Yet, even they were cut down dozens of times by a few Red Metal Skeletons. But this guy is different.

The difference in combat power between Red and Black is incomparable.

Yet, the fact that they’re fighting on equal terms means this guy is no ordinary foe.

Klang! Klang─!

“Why!”

Klang!

Even in the midst of the chaos, he suddenly shouts, as if something is deeply unfair.

“What.”

“Why, as an undead, are you unaffected by holy power!”

The typical weakness of undead, who are dead yet not dead, is holy power.

Yet, the reason they’re feared as immortal monsters is that holy power itself is rare.

Even Teacher Hwang at the academy said so. The ability to heal through magic and the power gained through faith in a god are separate things. And that power is still an unknown force under research.

The reason people make a fuss about me being a supporter is probably because of that.

Klang─!

“Ugh…!”

It seems he thought he had the upper hand due to the elemental advantage. If I were to continuously emit holy power, and the opponent were undead, I’d be brimming with confidence too.

But unfortunately, my bone buddies are summoned using my own energy, not mana or black mana.

Klang!

“Damn it!!”

It must have been incredibly frustrating to engage in a life-and-death struggle with a skeleton, as his eyes suddenly flare with anger.

He draws out the power of the Tao.

Kaang—!

Even so, the skeleton casually blocks his sword.

This is why I summoned a Dark Metal Skeleton specialized in close combat by inserting a Shadow.

The Shadow, having already revealed itself once, failed in its ambush and doesn’t have good compatibility with him.

—Chik, chik.

“Phew—”

They’re really going at it in this cramped space.

It’s like they’ve met their mortal enemy.

The only saving grace is that despite the skeleton’s intense movements, it still has plenty of energy thanks to the item the Star Maiden gave.

“Haa—”

With no place for the cigarette smoke to escape, the small room starts to fill with a hazy fog.

“You monster, just die already!”

Kaang!!

As he swings his sword blazing with white energy, the Black Skeleton casually deflects and counters.

No matter how you look at it, his strength isn’t at a level that players who just cleared the tutorial and are challenging the first floor can handle.

Even if individual strength varies, if we take the average tutorial players who struggled against Red Skeletons, this guy’s power far surpasses that.

“Phew—”

Another unfortunate thing is happening.

Combat requires exerting extreme strength at every moment, so stamina drains in an instant.

Just look at modern mixed martial arts—it’s 3 minutes, 5 rounds, or 5 minutes, 5 rounds. At most, it’s 25 minutes, and even then, not many games go the full distance.

That’s why stamina is absolutely prioritized in combat.

“Huff… Huff…”

“Done fighting?”

“Monster… Huff… Like… Huff…”

He’s so out of breath that even speaking a single word seems tough.

Fighting a monster that doesn’t tire at full strength is just how it is.

Even the undead’s greatest weakness doesn’t work. This must be driving him insane.

Tick.

—Chik, chik.

“Phew—”

Lighting a new cigarette brings a brief moment of calm.

“Got anything to say before you go?”

“If I don’t make contact for a certain amount of time, the church’s armed forces will be deployed here.”

He grits his teeth and twists his words to beg for his life.

“Alright.”

“…Go to hell.”

“That’s where my uncle’s headquarters is, so say hi if you go.”

“What nonsense… Gah!”

A sharp bone spike shoots out from the shadow and lodges deep into his thigh.

Creak.

The Shadow has a mischievous side.

It’s always fascinating to see how each undead has its own personality.

Thud!

The guy who was trembling collapses on the spot.

Ding!

[Trauma begins to shatter]

A message pops up, and the fallen guys scatter into light.

The glowing orbs floating in the air move toward me and disappear.

It seems like I’ve regained a bit of strength again.

“Phew—”

On the table where they disappeared, there’s a pile of scattered papers.

───

Erene (800 gold) – Count Aitback

Hanna (1,200 gold) – Baron Andis

..

..

..

───

Next to the children’s names are large amounts of gold and names of unknown people.

Hanna’s name is there too, with a cute smile missing a tooth.

On the back page, some names are crossed out. Just looking at this, it seems like they were involved in human trafficking.

The crossed-out names likely mean those children have already been sold.

Tick.

—Chik, chik.

The cigarette, which had grown relatively long, now feels unusually short.

“Phew— Is our Baekseol doing well?”

“Yeah!”

Putting my hand in my pocket, Baekseol plays with my fingers.

“Ong nong nong.”

“That tickles!”

Baekseol squirms. The pocket is like a cozy bedroom.

While playing with Baekseol, I flip through the nearby bookshelf and find notes about the holy water they mentioned.

Lalilacho is a plant with narcotic properties, ground and refined to make, quite literally, a drug.

A device to instill dependency by enslaving children. In other words, a leash.

“Phew—”

My whole body feels itchy.

A disease I can’t resist when I see someone worse than me is slowly creeping up.

***

“Louis, eat a lot.”

“Okay!”

As Louis takes his bowl and moves aside, Hanna steps forward, her eyes sparkling.

“Here, Hanna, eat a lot too.”

“Okay! But my tooth hurts.”

“Oh really? Come here, let me see.”

Hanna walks around the table and comes closer.

“Ah.”

“Ahh.”

Looking inside Hanna’s mouth, I notice one of her baby teeth is loose.

“I’ll make it not hurt. Can you keep your mouth closed?”

“Ah!”

She opens her mouth wide but still manages to answer.

Pop!

With healing energy in my hand, I pull out the tooth, and Hanna blinks her big eyes.

She seems surprised but not in pain.

Looking closer, a new tooth is already growing behind the lost one.

“Baby teeth only fall out once, so keep it safe.”

“Okay!”

Hanna takes the tooth and smiles brightly.

With two teeth missing, her smile is twice as cute.

It’s a pity there’s no guardian to keep her baby teeth safe.

“Eat a lot.”

“Okay!!”

As I pat Hanna’s head, she grins widely.

The height difference, which was almost the same before, is now a full head taller.

Even though I’ve grown significantly, the kids still think I’m a magician and don’t say much about it.

Sometimes, some kids ask me to show them magic other than the cooking tools I occasionally pull out.

“Outside!”

While distributing food to the kids, Baekseol (White Snow) on my head taps me with her front paw.

Baekseol’s sharp senses must have picked up something.

“Kids, make sure to chew your food well. The pot is hot, so if you want more, ask Anna to serve you. Got it?”

“Okay!!”

Anna’s response is the loudest.

“I’ll be outside for a bit, so good kids shouldn’t come out, okay?”

I wink at Anna, and she nods. The kids listen to Anna well, so she’ll make sure they don’t come outside.

Leaving the kids busy eating breakfast, I step outside, and my body tingles.

Even if Baekseol hadn’t warned me, I could feel it with my whole body.

I don’t know who’s here, but they seem desperate to kill me.

Walking out to where the laundry is hung, I see two people in white armor I saw yesterday, standing still and glaring at me.

“…A kid.”

One mutters, and the other nods slightly.

“We came to ask you something.”

—Click, click.

“Phew— What do you want to know?”

“…?”

“Speak, kid. What do you want to know?”

Confusion spreads across their faces.

“You have a foul mouth, brat.”

“Orphans are like that, what can you do.”

“Did you ever help an orphan?”

“Huh… What on earth is Sergio doing?”

A deep sigh escapes his mouth.

“Who’s that?”

Confusion appears on his face again.

“You live here and don’t even know the director’s name?”

“Director?”

Come to think of it, the guy who got his neck sliced by Shadow yesterday was the director.

“Oh, I killed him.”

The moment I say that, both of their hands move to the swords at their waists.

Snap!

**〈Summon Followers – Black Metal Skeleton〉**

“And, I killed your friend too.”

Crash!

A pitch-black skeleton crawls out of the ground.

“·····Necromancer.”

The two of them lock eyes and nod at each other.

One is looking at the skeleton, and the other is looking at me.

Even though my body is much weaker now, I should be fine against two of them.

I even trained with my PT instructor.

“Ughhh! Why do I have to do this?!”

“Because you’re weak.”

“But you’re strong.”

“If you’re strong, you get stronger.”

“Ugh, crazy. What are you even saying?”

Just recalling the short time I spent with my PT instructor makes my muscles ache.

The two guys in white armor seem to have finished coordinating and charge forward.

“Hoo—”

Tick.

As sparks fly from the cigarette I threw on the ground, I stomp the ground.

A technique created by the weak to oppose the strong.

But when used by the strong, it becomes even stronger.

They probably didn’t expect a mage to charge at a swordsman, so the guy is visibly flustered.

My body is too weak right now, and if I use the Cloud Technique, my whole body might tear apart.

Still, maybe because of what happened yesterday, I’ve recovered enough to move at a decent speed.

Thud.

Bang!

Condensed muscles fill my entire body with elasticity.

It’s like my whole body has turned into a spring.

As I close in on the guy, he swings his sword at me.

Crash!!

I slam my fist into the flat of his sword, and his body staggers heavily.

Even in this situation, he doesn’t drop his sword, so it seems he’s trained hard.

While his body loses balance, I condense my power and stomp the ground.

Bang—!

At the same time, my body starts spinning rapidly and lifts off.

The key to this technique is that the explosive rotation must be completed before the body completes a full turn.

Hercules-style Submission Technique – Head Scissors Whip

While maintaining the rotational force, I wrap my legs around his neck, and a gruesome sound echoes as his neck twists.

Crack—!

Thanks to his neck already having rotated once, his soul has gone to meet the underworld.

But I still need to finish the technique.

I redirect the remaining rotational force downward and slam him into the ground.

Crash! Thud—!!

His face smashes into the ground, and his neck bends into a “D” shape.

Since it’s a submission technique, I should’ve twisted his neck and pressed his carotid artery after slamming him, but he’s already gone to the afterlife.

Crash—!

Meanwhile, the remaining guy and the skeleton are still locked in a fierce battle.

Bang!

Even as I stomp the ground and approach him from behind, he doesn’t notice at all.

“Huh? Huh?!”

I grab his waist, put strength into my legs and hips, and flip him backward, slamming his head into the ground.

Hercules-style Submission Technique – Suplex

Crash!!

“What?”

His neck bends to the point of snapping, then dangles limply.

Ding!

[The test has been cleared in an abnormal manner.]

[Calculation for rewards has begun.]

No wonder the difficulty felt oddly high. Seems like the method was wrong.

《A macho man who cleans up cow dung says that if you’re strong, your head suffers less.》

“Is that so?”

《The Virgin of the Stars is horrified.》