The game difficulty
is insane
The once-peaceful chapel of the Ursula Monastery turned into a battlefield in an instant.
“Kill the hypocrites!”
“Death to the Minies Church!”
“May the god Kalungod be victorious!”
Near the entrance of the chapel, dozens of Black Cult followers were fighting a single young knight girl.
Srrrng—
Shaaah—
Blades poured down, along with dark red, half-formed demonic energy. Yet not a trace of disturbance appeared on the girl knight’s face.
Chaeng—!
She calmly blocked the charging cultist’s attack, then swung her sword without a moment of hesitation.
Chwaaaak—!
“Kuaaaagh!”
Weak ordinary believers were helplessly swept away by the blade of a 4-star holy knight.
The one-versus-many battle ironically began to turn into a cold, emotionless massacre by the girl.
Watching the scene, the Prophet Beveluga let out a low murmur.
‘How savage.’
While infiltrating as the monastery’s abbot, Beveluga had experienced many kinds of Minies Church believers.
The devout, the fanatics, and even false hypocrites.
But that girl was different.
It felt as if she lacked something every human should naturally possess.
If anything, she seemed more suited to their cult than to the Minies Church.
‘Truly a desirable talent.’
But the girl was an enemy of the cult.
If left alone, she would become an emotionless puppet and slaughter every cultist present.
‘But the real problem is over there.’
Beveluga turned his head.
Chaeng! Chang!
“Keugh!”
At the center of the chapel, Bishop Maxillus was sweating profusely as he swung his halberd, while a gray-haired boy overwhelmed him with nothing but a single sword.
That situation was the real problem Beveluga faced.
‘To think he’d push Bishop Maxillus that far.’
The Black Cult was not a militant organization.
Aside from the cult leader and the seven prophets, most priests had terrible combat ability.
Even bishops, the rank directly below prophets, averaged around 3-star to just under 4-star strength.
But Bishop Maxillus was different.
He had once been a knight of the Minies Church, a man who had woven up to seven Rings of Sanctity.
Then one day, after meeting Beveluga and gaining true enlightenment, he destroyed all his rings and entered under the god Kalungod.
Though he no longer possessed his former rings, by receiving Kalungod’s blessing, Maxillus could unleash power approaching 6-star without even a single ring.
And yet, that boy was handling such a man with ease.
Dozens of cultists losing to a single girl, and a 6-star expert being pushed back by a boy of similar age.
Beveluga could not help but feel shaken. Still, he had to decide quickly.
‘The girl is weaker than the boy. Then I must help Bishop Maxillus and deal with the boy first.’
Beveluga hardened his gaze and slowly brought his hands together.
‘Though I am not well-versed in direct combat, I cannot simply stand by.’
The pure white priest robes of the Minies Church were stained with his dark red blood.
It was the moment he shed the guise of Abbot Lawrence and returned to being the Black Cult’s prophet, Beveluga.
Chang! Cha-jaeng—!
Inside the candle-lit chapel, sparks flew with repeated explosive sounds at its center.
Sword and halberd.
Though there was a difference in reach, ironically the sword held the advantage.
Chaeeeng—!
“Keheok!”
The halberd shaft barely blocked the sharply thrusting sword, but its owner’s face twisted in agony.
“You bastard!”
A frantic counterattack with the halberd.
But it failed to reach the sword’s owner.
“You block pretty well.”
The one holding the sword—
Glen—smirked.
Just saying such words showed how relaxed he was.
‘Sure, he’s skilled enough to hold out.’
Maxillus was indeed strong.
Using the halberd’s long reach, he maintained distance and pressured Glen, taking the initiative.
And in less than a minute, he even managed to destroy a good portion of Glen’s holy armor.
‘But that’s as far as it goes.’
From the moment Glen activated the Gray Ring, the tide turned easily.
In reality, there was a large gap between Maxillus and Glen.
Numerically, it was 7.5 stars versus 6.7 stars, but the actual difference was enormous.
‘There was a reason the three of us ganged up on Myuta back at the mansion.’
Just like when Glen, Tris, and Romina fought the 7-star demon swordsman Myuta, a vice-commander of a legion.
By numbers alone, it took at least three 6-star fighters to defeat a single 7-star.
Which meant Maxillus alone could never defeat Glen using the Gray Ring.
‘Alright, let’s finish this quickly.’
A sharp gleam filled Glen’s gray eyes.
Pa-aaang—!
He kicked off the ground and closed the distance with terrifying momentum.
Maxillus lowered his stance.
Timing Glen’s approach, he swung the halberd in a wide arc.
“Hup!”
Whoooong—!
The black halberd sliced through the air.
Glen lowered his body to evade, then kicked off the ground again.
He chased after Maxillus, who hurriedly tried to recover the halberd and regain distance.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
The opposing emotions in their eyes crossed.
At the same time, Einheria—imbued with deep golden holy power—tore through the air from below, aiming for a fatal blow.
“Keuk!”
Sensing danger, Maxillus twisted his body and sacrificed his arm.
The next instant—
Kiiiiing—!
A sudden ringing noise shook Glen’s mind violently.
“Ah!”
Chwaja-jat—!
Because of that brief hesitation, Einheria only sliced into Maxillus’s arm instead of severing it.
“Kuaaaagh!”
Maxillus cried out in pain and hastily retreated.
Watching his opponent escape incapacitation, Glen clicked his tongue.
“Tch. Of course.”
Trying to win too easily had been greedy.
“The effect isn’t great. Guess his mental fortitude is strong.”
From deeper inside the chapel, Prophet Beveluga glared at Glen. The ringing noise had been his doing.
‘Annoying. The Black Tongue of Kahash.’
Beveluga could not fight directly.
But he could use all kinds of mental interference magic.
‘The original game was always like this.’
Maxillus, the skilled fighter, and Beveluga, the irritating mental caster supporting him.
In the original story, players always had to overcome this troublesome combo at least once when facing the Black Cult.
‘I’ve blocked his brainwashing in advance with Haeju’s Ring, but… if the fight drags on, it’s still a burden.’
If Maxillus endured with Beveluga’s support until the Gray Ring’s duration ended, it would be the worst possible situation.
Sure, using the Primordial Mirror obtained from the god Mirmias in Veronia would allow Glen to activate the Gray Ring twice.
But if they still endured after that, Glen would lose.
Once those two combined, their strength would rival his.
‘Well, it’s not like we’re just sitting around either. Let’s stick to the plan.’
Glen hardened his gaze.
His goal was never to kill Beveluga or Maxillus.
His role was simply to stall them.
‘Honestly, I couldn’t say much with Tasha around, but she’s smart enough to catch on and move.’
Wishing for his improvised plan to reach the desired ending, Glen kicked off the ground again with all his strength.
Kiiiiing—!
“Keuk!”
At the same time, Beveluga launched another mental debuff.
Suddenly, Glen’s vision twisted, everything melting downward like spilled paint.
Nausea rose, and his entire sense of balance collapsed.
‘Dizziness, you damn…’
Like motion sickness, but as a status effect, its intensity was insane.
The only saving grace was that it wouldn’t last long.
