The lightning whip that had lashed out with such force was blocked.
Countless members of the church had lost their lives, but even more had come to take their place.
At the cost of countless lives, they had finally adapted to Jun’s [Lightning Whip].
Then.
As if it were a lie, the lightning whip disappeared.
In its place, a new spell took over.
A storm began to blow.
Winds gathered and swirled, forming a sharpened blade that tore through flesh.
[Fast Casting]
[Wind Cutter]
The compressed wind blades flew toward the enemies with deadly intent.
There were still many spells left.
This was why he struggled, why he spent sleepless nights tearing at his hair.
They even analyzed [Wind Cutter]?
What would come next would be scorching flames.
Under the blazing fire, countless more lives would be consumed once again.
But Jun’s body, his talent, wouldn’t allow that.
“Hoo…!”
Hot steam escaped from his mouth.
The magic circuits running along his veins glowed a deep purple.
No matter how many times he experienced it, he never got used to the pain.
“Damn it… Are the giant war golems not finished yet?”
Even so, the chanting of the spell did not stop.
The enemies still hadn’t made much progress beyond the entrance to the city square.
All because of one person.
Just when even the blades of the wind were no longer able to penetrate the enemies’ shields.
Rumble――
Wooooooong!!
Along with a sound like a mountain’s final, desperate cry.
The last of the giant war golems collapsed.
“At last, the evil witch’s puppets have fallen!”
“Ooooooh! The Bishop is coming!”
“He will open the new heavens for us!”
The fourth phase began.
The relentless forces of the church pressed forward, only to form a circle and drop to their knees in unison as they began to pray.
In the middle of a battlefield littered with their fallen comrades, they suddenly held a prayer meeting.
If you’re going to go mad, at least have some sense.
Yet Jun didn’t interfere with them either.
The fourth phase was the most difficult, but at the same time, it was also the key stage in clearing the dungeon. There was no need to create unnecessary variables.
Soon…
The bishop would arrive.
Just as expected, from the sky where the church members had been praying, a faint halo of light began to form a staircase.
In the empty air, the halo gathered, and soon, a figure appeared in its place.
It was Bishop Ahraham of the Erbonach Church.
The wrinkled old man, dressed in a robe with elegant patterns, made his entrance.
“My faithful servants, your devotion has summoned me to this place――.”
“Spare me all the talk.”
At the moment of his appearance, Jun’s magic circle activated.
[Ice Break]
The instant Jun’s will and initiating magical power were infused into the magic circle inscribed on the ground, the area around him was transformed into a land of ice.
It was a binding spell from the fourth-circle magic, one that had a wide-range immobilization effect.
And that binding spell was cast ten times at once.
The paladins and crusaders belatedly raised their shields to block, but before the ice magic, they were utterly powerless.
“Aiden!”
At that signal, Aiden who had been waiting for his moment revealed himself.
[Detecting Target]
Aiden leaped toward the coordinates Jun had set.
The target was Bishop Ahraham who was now suddenly isolated.
At the same time, while the church members were offering their prayers, Jun channeled the magical power he had gathered into a spell.
[Ice Spear]
What came to mind was a ballista firing across a white snowfield.
Following that image, a huge ice spear materialized beside Jun and tore through the air, flying straight toward the enemy.
“H-How dare you…!”
Rage suddenly rose over the kind old man’s face.
Yet he couldn’t effectively counter either Aiden, who was charging toward him, or the ice spear.
Just like the game.
The bishop’s appearance might seem like a boss monster’s dramatic entrance.
But in reality, it was accompanied by an extremely rare “teleportation” skill even within Blackout.
It was a cheat-like skill that allowed you to immediately join your allies no matter how far away they were.
However, there was one drawback.
Right after teleporting, the user would be unable to exert their full strength for a brief moment.
That was why Jun had stalled for time during the difficult third phase, and it was the only breakthrough he had considered for clearing the dungeon.
“Graaaah――!”
[Charge], [Bash]
In a flash, Aiden’s figure disappeared from the air and slashed across Ahraham’s chest.
Right after, the huge ice spear pierced through the bishop’s heart.
“We did it!”
“Well done, Aiden!”
Ahraham’s body was impaled by the ice spear. He spurted blood and gradually froze over.
The sight resembled a red rose blooming on a human body.
But Jun still watched Aiden with a tense expression.
“It’s not over yet. Let’s go.”
Just like Jun said, there were still plenty of enemy forces remaining.
“The bishop has fallen!”
“Kill those evil demon’s servants!”
“Our justice still lives! Prove it!”
Even beyond the enemies bound by [Ice Break], paladins and crusaders continued to pour in from the rear.
“The giant golems holding them off outside have all fallen. From now on, they’ll swarm us like bees.”
Moreover, the bishop was not dead yet.
Once the effect of the [Ice Spear] wore off, he would absorb the life force of the surrounding believers and resurrect.
Time was on the enemy’s side.
When he heard the explanation, Aiden looked at the bishop trapped in ice with a hint of dread.
“Let’s head to the cabin!”
“Yes!”
It had been quite some time since they last heard any sounds from the bounty hunters in the city.
Surely, Maya must have already gathered all the materials needed to clear the dungeon.
The two of them crossed the city and headed for the direction of the cabin.
“Is Maya… still not here?”
The cabin sat desolate in the center of the city.
But there were no signs of anyone else.
“Aiden, keep watch outside. The Heavenly Church will likely start moving soon.”
“Ah… understood!”
Time was running out. Any interference from the Heavenly Church would be fatal.
Even at the last moment, Jun remained on edge and cast a detection spell.
Immediately, he sensed two presences inside the cabin.
“Damn it, Bernard! Get a grip!”
The scene inside the cabin was a wreck.
Most of the furniture had been destroyed and lay scattered across the floor, and on the one intact spot, a bounty hunter lay collapsed while drenched in blood.
Upon closer inspection, the hunter’s body was completely bound by blood-red vines and he was unconscious.
“What happened?”
“The Heavenly Church! That curse mage ambushed us!”
Weyrn stood helpless in front of his fallen comrade.
Behind them, the entrance to a hidden underground passage was exposed where the fireplace had been.
It seemed they were ambushed right after discovering that spot.
“His heart’s still beating! Sir Mage! Help him!”
Weyrn cried out desperately, but Jun remained cautious to the end.
As he stepped a little closer to get a better look at Bernard, he could definitely sense a curse at work.
“Is the curse coming from the wound?”
“Y-Yes, it started right after he was stabbed with that bastard’s dagger――”
The moment Jun took another step closer to examine Bernard.
Swish――!
Weyrn’s sword came slashing toward Jun’s head.
***
Meanwhile.
[Charge]
Aiden’s figure, who had been standing guard outside, merged with the wind as he swiftly moved from his position.
A sword struck the spot where Aiden had just been.
The dark red aura clinging to the blade showed how wise Aiden’s decision had been.
If he had raised his sword to block, he would have been cut down with it.
No matter how powerful the Meteorite Sword was, it couldn’t block the aura.
“Tch, sharp instincts.”
The man who appeared with the sword was the one whose face had been wrapped in bandages earlier.
The scorched marks all over his clothes clearly showed that he hadn’t escaped Jun’s magic unscathed either.
“Heavenly Church….”
Aiden was startled by the sudden appearance of the enemy, but he quickly assumed a defensive stance.
He realized that the situation was clearly unfavorable for him.
Can I really take this guy on?
Against aura, no defense was meaningful.
This meant that Aiden’s available options were also cut in half.
On top of that, the enemy’s movement just now was on par with Ginovan, the commander of the Black Forest Fortress.
At least, he was in the middle of level 4.
The only silver lining is that he’s injured from my senior’s magic.
Though the man tried to hide it, his stance was slightly off.
Realizing this, Aiden glanced briefly in the direction of the cabin.
The fact that the enemy was here meant that the curse mage must be nearby as well.
“You’re acting so calm. Let’s see how long that lasts!”
The fact that Aiden’s gaze had shifted elsewhere seemed to wound the man’s pride and he moved first.
Aiden immediately widened the distance.
In a sword fight, especially against an aura user, one could never afford to give up space carelessly.
Knowing this well, the enemy charged aggressively.
As Aiden read the path of the wide horizontal slash and leaped backward, the tree behind him was cut down in a single stroke.
“Is running away all you can do?!”
The injury the man had sustained from Jun made his movements predictable.
His movements were large and exaggerated, which meant that any precise movement was beyond him.
Even so, approaching carelessly was difficult. Aura granted an overwhelming advantage in close combat.
But even that aura wasn’t invincible.
Maintaining it consumed a large amount of magical power, and if Aiden could just buy some time, the goddess of victory would smile at him.
However, time wasn’t on Aiden’s side.
Senior!
A commotion erupted from inside the cabin at that moment.
Something was happening.
Sensing Aiden’s concern, the bandaged man sneered and spoke.
“Even with death staring you in the face, you’re worried about others. In the end, nothing will come of it.”
“What…?”
“You people from the Old World are always the same. You only look ahead and never bother to look at the sky, the ground, or what’s behind you. You don’t even realize what’s happening there.”
“Nonsense!”
Driven by the urgency of the situation, Aiden made the first move.
Was it because of that brief conversation?
Aiden suddenly found himself able to calmly assess his own condition.
He had been intimidated by the sheer power of the aura.
Though he had become accustomed to fighting monsters, it was Aiden’s inexperience in battling humans that caused his mistake.
There was something Senior once said.
A month filled with relentless training.
Aiden had asked Jun a question in that month. To the senior who always calmly tackled dungeons and adjusted to unexpected situations.
-How can I always stay as calm as you, Senior?
Jun had answered with a somewhat bitter smile.
-It’s just experience. I’ve made enough mistakes in different situations to know.
When Aiden asked when such mistakes usually happen, Jun had given this reply.
-People often have a misconception. They think mistakes only happen in urgent situations. While that’s true sometimes, the opposite is also common. When you have too much time, mistakes happen just as frequently. Having time makes you overthink.
Jun’s words were spot on.
Aiden had bought time by concentrating solely on draining his opponent’s aura, but this focus on this idea had prevented him from reading his opponent’s movements as he normally would.
Once again, Aiden who was now fully focused noticed that his opponent’s movements had been overly large for some time.
At first, he thought it was due to the injuries the man had sustained from Jun.
But now, Aiden saw that wasn’t the only reason.
The man’s footwork was awkward and his ability to maintain the aura was unstable.
Even when he swung his sword, there were countless openings.
Though the destructive power within his aura surpassed that of Ginovan, the commander of the Black Forest Fortress, the precision was far inferior.
The urgent situation, with Jun’s life possibly in danger, had a calming effect on Aiden.
As his tunnel vision narrowed, his focus sharpened and he started to see the weaknesses hidden behind the aura’s power.
No matter how strong the attack, it’s useless if it doesn’t land!
When it came to speed, Aiden had confidence. He could read his opponent’s movements and had many ways to create new variables.
Seeing Aiden’s sudden change in movement, the bandaged man curled his lips into a sneer.
“In the end, that narrow vision of yours has blinded you to the entire world!”
He had assumed Aiden was moving recklessly out of desperation.
And it was understandable why he would think so.
The opponent was just a user stuck at a level 2 field.
The sword wrapped in aura swung exactly in the direction Aiden was moving.
In the bandaged man’s eyes, he could already see Aiden, with his head severed, collapsing with a look of despair.
After all, countless people had already fallen to his sword.
However.
“…….?”
Creaaaaaaak―!
Instead of the familiar sensation of slicing through soft human flesh, what he felt was the rough jolt of blades clashing.
“How?!”
The aura didn’t cut through. He couldn’t sense any aura from his opponent’s sword either.
Instead.
Instead of the unstable aura that was clinging to his sword, a vivid blood-red magical power had coated Aiden’s sword.
Though it was far weaker than aura, it was enough to deflect the bandaged man’s sword for just a moment.
The bandaged man’s eyes widened as if they would tear apart.
He had realized too late what that magic was.
“You…!”
But his words never finished.
Aiden’s sword was already aimed precisely at his neck.
Srrk―!
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