Chapter 108

Ch.108 Apostle of the Goddess of War

The single ray of light dwelling within his heart.

No one knew what the black blade engraved in pitch darkness meant.

Even Sion himself could not understand its meaning, but one thing was clear:

He cuts down enemies with the Star Sword.

The stars were the very embodiment of the path Sion had walked.

When he reached toward the sky and grasped his belief, his power flowed into his hand.

The stronger his faith and conviction, the brighter the starlight shone.

A mere glimmer of light shining within endless, cold, hollow darkness.

Holding it tightly, Sion charged forward.

The Apostle of Blood was momentarily stunned and failed to react.

[What is this?]

The large-scale blood magic powered by divine power abruptly ceased.

It was because he had entered a domain where blood magic could not be easily manipulated.

His eyes locked onto Sion, who shot upward, unaware of any height limit, pushing off the ground with explosive force.

The swirling pool of blood lost its form, slowly dripping down from hair and fingertips like thick, viscous sludge.

[He keeps surprising me.]

A chill ran down his spine, and he straightened his back.

This was fear and discomfort he had never felt before, even after living as the Apostle of Blood.

Fwiiiik!

He couldn’t react in time.

The Star Sword sliced through his body and passed by.

He instinctively surrounded himself with demonic energy, narrowly avoiding a fatal wound.

However, one of his arms had been severed.

Recovery would not be easy.

This was the domain of a War Knight.

The power of the Evil God of Blood could not reach here.

Sion turned his body again. This time, he didn’t swing his sword—he assumed a stance as if about to throw a spear.

He reached into the air, grasped starlight, stretched it long, and shaped it into a lance.

[So he forges starlight into a weapon. Typical of him. An unimaginable technique.]

Twhoosh!

Sion hurled the Star Spear.

A galaxy shimmered behind the spear as it tore through the darkness.

Swaaaaaak!

If pierced, he would die.

The Apostle of Blood sensed it instantly.

At the same time, it was absurd.

When they first met, this boy had been insignificant.

Aside from deciphering and countering blood magic, he was just an ordinary human knight.

But look at him now.

His growth speed was monstrous.

It felt as though something that should not exist on this earth had been born.

Unless a goddess had disguised herself as a human, how could such a thing be possible?

He must not be allowed to live.

If he failed to kill this monster here, the bloody hopes of the exiled Goddesses of the Round Table would once again be crushed.

The Apostle of Blood clasped his hands.

——!

Above his head, the spiral vortex of blood, twisted like intestines, unraveled like intestines, and fresh blood gushed out like a flood.

In an instant, the Apostle of Blood began to invade Sion’s domain.

Tuwung!

The Star Spear failed to pierce the sea of blood and was swallowed whole.

The battle briefly entered a lull.

Splish, splash.

The blood rose to Sion’s knees.

The floor was a sea of blood; the sky was pitch-black.

The domains of the Apostle of Blood and Sion merged, creating spatial fractures.

It was a gruesome scene, like a visual depiction of clashing beliefs.

[I shall defile the child of the Goddess of War with the blood of my Goddess.]

Sion looked up at the Apostle towering in the sky. The Apostle stretched his arm, endlessly pouring out blood, as if trying to dye the entire world red.

Drip.

Blood flowed from Sion’s nose. He wiped it away with the back of his hand. Overload was beginning to set in.

Maintaining a mental realm this large and for this long was already exhausting.

To maintain it while resisting the Apostle of Blood, who had unleashed his full power, was pushing Sion to his limits.

And on top of that, he had to focus on wielding the power of the stars… Hoping his brain remained intact was wishful thinking.

‘My head is burning. Has it melted?’

The stronger the Apostle of Blood became, the faster Sion’s thoughts accelerated. He had to seize the clue to victory.

Even now, he was continuously blocking, dismantling, and defending against the blood magic.

The Apostle of Blood was using magic to extract the blood within Sion’s body.

‘Horrible.’

His head was burning.

He even began to think his brain might have partially melted.

Finally, the moment Sion’s face twisted in pain as he reached his limit, the Apostle of Blood moved.

Thwack—!

The blood-coated apostle’s fist clashed against Sion’s sword. The shockwave caused the lake of blood to erupt like a geyser.

The vortex above continued to emit eerie mental waves.

The closer one got, the stronger the force. His mind felt dizzy.

‘Was it with this disgusting power that he charmed people?’

A faint light flickered in Sion’s eyes.

To instantly regain his scattered consciousness, he bit the inside of his mouth. The pain jolted his mind awake.

Whoosh.

The Apostle’s blood-stained fist was already before his eyes.

“Kuh!”

Sion quickly raised his chin, barely avoiding the punch. His jaw was grazed. A direct hit would have meant instant death.

With superhuman reflexes, judgment, and unwavering concentration, Sion countered the Apostle of Blood’s close-range assault.

Wuuu—!

Another mental wave gnawed at his mind. Sion gritted his teeth.

‘I have to deal with that disgusting intestine first.’

Sion’s cloak fluttered. After evading the fist, he spun his body, adding more power to the Star Sword. For a moment, it felt as if stars were raining down.

Sssshak!

The pressure of the swung sword overturned the sea of blood. It was as if a meteor had fallen from the sky.

Jjeoyeok!

The Star Sword clashed with the Apostle’s demonic energy.

The sea of blood receded entirely. The blood that had risen to his knees instantly drained down to the floor.

Wuuuuung!

The Star Sword was blocked by an invisible barrier, locked in a fierce struggle. It pushed, then was pushed back.

Jjeojjeok, jjeojjeok.

The longer the close combat lasted, the more cracks appeared on the floor. The blood remained receded, refusing to return.

Meanwhile.

Neither had the leisure to speak.

Even if it wasn’t obvious, both were at their limits.

‘I feel like I’m going to vomit.’

Sion wasn’t the only one feeling this.

The Apostle of Blood was in even worse condition than Sion.

His neck had already been cleanly severed in an unguarded moment. His body had been unstable to begin with.

Now, with a barely reformed, unadjusted body, he had unleashed his power.

Unleashing power with an incomplete body meant irreversible consequences.

The Apostle of Blood sensed the end.

A noble being who had enjoyed immortality would meet his end today at the hands of an ordinary human.

[……That cannot happen!]

The Apostle of Blood summoned his final strength.

The absolute wisdom bestowed upon him by the Evil God of Blood bloomed in his hand.

The ultimate wisdom that sucked in the blood and soul of every living thing it touched.

The final blood magic cast by Jinjo, accepting annihilation.

Doo—om.

Sion’s heart pounded once, violently.

‘Heart…’

It was freezing. His blood began draining away entirely.

His nasal bridge throbbed. In real time, he saw droplets of blood welling up before his eyes.

Eyes, nose, mouth—every orifice, without exception, began to leak blood.

[It’s over. Human.]

The Apostle of Blood grinned, tearing his lips apart in laughter.

I may fall gloriously here, but I’ll take with me the genius who would have ruined our long-cherished dream!

Thud!

The Apostle’s arm was suddenly seized.

“So it’s the same trick as before?”

Sion, his body drenched in blood, opened his eyes wide and laughed.

The pale white teeth revealed beneath his blood-soaked face were terrifying.

The Apostle of Blood felt fear.

His legs trembled.

He denied it immediately.

[The principle may be the same, but the power is different! Do you think you can overcome the difference between a copy and the original?]

“Yeah.”

Sion answered.

With unshakable belief.

“I’ll win even if it’s disadvantageous. No matter how strong the enemy is.”

[Impossible stubbornness! Belief alone can’t achieve this!]

Sion twisted the apostle’s arm and simultaneously reversed and cast the final blood magic the apostle had used.

Ssssslll!

The blood draining from his body reversed course, flowing back as if time itself had turned backward.

The droplets of life force that had surfaced returned to Sion.

And more.

“You’re not the only one watched over by a Goddess.”

With faith in her constant presence, even when not felt, Sion began absorbing the Apostle’s blood in reverse.

And miraculously.

‘My body feels warm. This energy… it’s the Goddess.’

Empowered by the almighty strength he hadn’t felt in so long, he delivered the final blow.

Drip, drip.

The Apostle of Blood’s ribs cracked. His chest bulged, and with a pop, his heart burst out.

[Ah.]

The Apostle sighed through mental waves. An uncharacteristic reaction from the usually composed Jinjo.

His heart slowly tore apart and disintegrated, flowing toward Sion.

Watching this, the Apostle finally gave up.

And acknowledged.

[You possess talent equal to the Apostle of Light who killed me.]

By now, both of their mental realms had vanished. Sion raised his sword.

Wuuung.

The demonic sword trembled, as if craving delicious blood.

“You’ll pay for your sins even in death.”

Ssschack!

Sion split the Apostle’s body in two. Not satisfied, he tore it apart into shreds.

The blood and flesh forming Jinjo transformed into demonic energy and were absorbed into Sion.

Then, purified by Sion’s divine ring, it became divine energy and was offered as a sacrifice to Achille.

“Phew—”

Sion steadied his breath.

An incredibly powerful, overwhelmingly dominant, supreme energy entered him—stronger than any demonic energy he’d ever absorbed before.

‘Incredible. This divine power… how far will it grow?’

It was so pure and refined it seemed impossible.

Was this the essence of blood magic? Even the noblest blood would have to acknowledge it.

It felt like the aura of the original being who first received and spread demonic energy.

‘It’ll take quite some time to fully refine and absorb this.’

It was an enormous gain.

Once he fully claimed this power, he would truly be able to challenge the Apostles of Evil Gods head-on.

‘This one wasn’t in perfect condition.’

But even so, this was no small feat.

At last, he had succeeded in his revenge.

Sion had slain the infamous vampire of blood, the leader of the Evil God of Blood faction.

An achievement that would never be repeated.

And, unbeknownst to Sion, a large engraving had been inscribed upon his star.

Slowly, the achievements Sion had accumulated were taking form, reaching a level where they could be used as tangible power.

There wasn’t much left.

Once he contacted Garfenn and his master guided him, it would be possible.

“Done. Time to go back.”

Just as Sion, dragging his exhausted body, was about to leave the hall—

Fwiiik!

The air in the hall changed. The gently flowing scent of blood vanished instantly, replaced by a pressure that crushed his internal organs.

“Un—unbelievable. Jinjo was defeated?”

Light, yet not light.

A maddening voice echoed through his bones.

Sion instantly drew his sword.

The insane killing intent was so sharp it felt like his skin was being sliced.

“Who are you?”

“You’re the one who should answer that.”

A being emerged through the shadows, throwing the question back.

“Who… are you?”

Kikikikik— Accompanied by a laugh that carried oppressive pressure, a woman appeared.

She was thin, with pale skin, nearly bald, and long, sparse hair that made her look nothing like a normal human.

Her behavior was even more grotesque.

She giggled, yet her eyes didn’t smile at all. Her laughter sounded forced, as if she couldn’t naturally smile—so she used her own hands to tear the corners of her mouth upward into a grin.

Sion thought,

‘A madwoman.’

But she was strong. The presence emanating from her was abnormal.

She was stronger than any enemy he had ever faced.

Even stronger than the Apostle of Blood.

If one had to compare, she was on par with the Apostle of Decay.

“Apostle of an Evil God?”

“The Goddess said I was mad. But she’s wrong. The Goddess made me mad. Isn’t that right? The mad Goddess’s hunting dog?”

Her words made no sense.

But the power of the madwoman hidden behind those strange words made Sion tense.

“The hunting dog must be eaten. That way, the belly fills. Eat until full, then hunt again. Right?”

“……”

The madwoman walked toward him, step by step.

Taaat!

Before he could react, she was already right before his eyes.

Too late to block.

He was too exhausted, too slow.

At that moment—the madwoman pulled back her fist and abruptly jumped backward.

“Aa! Aaa! No! No! No! I don’t want to!”

Then she began throwing a bizarre tantrum, glaring at one direction. Sion followed her gaze.

And—all strength left his body.

“Hey.”

It was the Commander of the Order of the Holy Sword.

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