Chapter 229
Hispenril, the Duke, ascended to the highest point and filled his chest with air until his upper body swelled.
Then he drew both fists back to shoulder height and thrust them forward as if firing.
“Sparrow Hunt!”
Kwoooosh!
Two streaks of Aura light diagonally cleaved the darkness of the sky.
<……!>
<Kieeeek!>
A total of five Shadow Monstrous Birds were swept away by the Aura.
Two that were directly hit melted away without a trace in the light, while the other three fell flailing, with only half their silhouettes remaining.
As the people on the ground dealt with the aftermath, the monsters crumbled into ash and vanished.
“Woahhh!”
“As expected of His Grace the Duke!”
“Long live Duke Hispenril!”
The knights cheered, shouting the Duke’s name. Morale was greatly boosted.
“I’ll take care of what you missed, Father!”
“Understood, Eltea!”
Eltea, a top-tier Expert, joined in, firing harpoon-like Auras, shooting down two more.
The father-daughter duo’s combined attack reduced the number of Shadow Monstrous Birds to six. But the remaining ones were tenacious.
As terrifying Aura beams and Aura harpoons repeatedly crisscrossed the sky, the Shadow Monstrous Birds gave up on attacking and focused on evasive maneuvers.
Duke Hispenril’s accuracy significantly dropped due to their uncanny aerial acrobatics.
Though the range was sufficient, the fixed linear trajectory acted as a weakness.
Moreover, fist techniques like laser cannons consumed an extreme amount of Aura.
Since he had fired such attacks in pairs dozens of times, it was inevitable that he would reach his limit.
Ultimately, the Hispenril father-daughter duo’s efforts ceased after shooting down one more Shadow Monstrous Bird.
The remaining number was five.
As Duke Hispenril’s primary attacks ceased, the means to counter the Shadow Monstrous Birds’ breaths also vanished.
The five Shadow Monstrous Birds opened their mouths wide as if they had been waiting.
<Kieeeeee-!>
Black flames formed from their abyss-like throats.
“My God!”
“Oh, no!”
If the monstrous birds’ breaths poured down like this, the flames in the square would grow even fiercer.
In the rear of the front line, there were still citizens who hadn’t evacuated to the outskirts.
The knights held their breath, their bloodshot eyes wide open.
The citizens cried out with faces full of despair.
“G-God!”
“Look down upon us…!”
Out of the faith that had spread since the church’s founding, the duchy’s people desperately called upon God.
Surprisingly, their God willingly sent down a savior.
A low female voice cut through the night air.
“Divine Retribution.”
Thunder and lightning obeyed the voice’s owner, responding to the summons.
No less than ten streaks of light slashed down the night sky.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!
<Kweeeek!>
The Shadow Monstrous Birds, pierced by lightning strikes, flailed like torn pieces of paper.
They tried to flap their wings and regain balance somehow, but they weren’t given the time.
Hwiriririk!
Seven Aura Blades traced sharp trajectories.
Every time the darkness was torn and light flashed, the monstrous birds’ screams echoed.
<Kieeeeee…….>
The last Shadow Monstrous Bird, shredded, plummeted towards the distant ground.
However, it didn’t crash into the ground.
A single Aura Blade, flying horizontally, mercilessly pierced through the monstrous bird’s body.
Pususeok!
The monstrous bird vanished as if it had exploded.
The Aura blades, having finished their aerial combat, were retrieved in perfect order.
Their destination was the roof of a three-story building.
There, a swordswoman with long, flowing pink hair stood. Everyone recognized her.
“Young Lady?”
“Aille?”
“Commander?”
“Unnie?”
“Noona?”
“Your Excellency?”
Though their calls varied, they all pointed to one person.
“I had a place to stop by, so I’m late. My apologies.”
Aillet Rodelain. She had returned.
“Aille!”
“Aillet!”
Aillet’s cherished people called out her name once more.
Their voices held both resentment for her delay and relief that she was safe.
Meanwhile, Eltea and Duke Hispenril gazed at Aillet, their fresh-green eyes widened to their limits.
The radiant swords unfurled behind Aillet were etched into their retinas.
“Our daughter…”
“Our granddaughter…”
The rest of the sentence came simultaneously.
“…became an Aura Master…!”
They didn’t know what had happened, but it was admirable and splendid enough that she hadn’t run away and returned safely, let alone that she came back as an Aura Master.
The two were overwhelmed with emotion beyond words.
It was around that time that the situation took a drastic turn.
Whooooosh!
The Gate’s vortex began to spin rapidly and violently.
Everyone instinctively knew that this opening was about to unleash something ominous again.
Sleek.
A human-shaped being emerged from the Gate.
It was a male demon, with a coat draped over his shoulders like a cloak, and a fedora atop his blonde hair.
“Hmph.”
He tapped the ground with a gentleman’s cane and took a deep puff from a lit cigar.
A slightly hoarse, low voice, fitting his hollowed eyes. It resonated through the air with an imposing presence.
“I’ve come to find my lovely pigeons.”
The master of the space beyond the Gate appeared in the human world. ✠[
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Nazril leaped onto the roof. It was to meet my height.
“My apologies for the late introduction. I am Nazril, the head of the Wizaderun Trading Company, who sponsored this Walpurgis Night.”
When he took off his fedora, lion-mane-like blonde hair was revealed.
It was a gentlemanly gesture in its own way, but his red eyes with slit pupils couldn’t conceal their raw savagery.
A sharp gaze from those eyes pierced me from a distance.
“You seem to be the strongest among humans. Your name?”
“Holy Saint, Aillet Rodelain.”
“Hmm, so you are the Evil’s Bane Executor Lord Carpheios spoke of.”
“It seems you guys just call me that arbitrarily.”
“Then it must be true.”
Nazril took a deep puff from his cigar.
“They say that if you die by your hand, it’s not reincarnation, but annihilation.”
“If you’re scared, then run.”
“Scared? On the contrary, I’m excited.”
Demonic Energy surged from Nazril’s body. His wildly grown blonde hair stood on end in the faint updraft.
Nazril’s already tall body seemed to swell.
Gasps were heard from various places.
This was because people were intimidated and frightened by Nazril’s oppressive presence.
Just then, a gentle yet firm voice echoed in my ears.
<Don't be scared, Aillet. At most, he's only slightly stronger than Leviathan.>
It was Agnes.
My gaze instinctively dropped to the cross pendant on my chest.
“Scared? More importantly, when did you arrive?”
<Just now.>
“Welcome, Agnes.”
I gently clutched and released the cross pendant with my left hand, greeting her warmly.
Around that time, Nazril’s hoarse voice unpleasantly scraped against my eardrums.
“Do you know something? My profession is a slave trader. Looking at you, I’m curious.”
“……”
“How much could I get if I ‘delivered’ a Holy Saint to a black market auction?”
Nazril curled up the corners of his lips, playfully twirling his cane.
At such a ridiculous provocation, I merely scoffed, but…
<Aillet, destroy that bastard.>
Agnes uttered chillingly.
“Aille!”
“Commander!”
Familiar voices called out to me loudly.
It was as if my grandfather, mother, and knight order comrades were letting me know they were ready to fight alongside me at any time.
If I assigned each of them a role here, I had no doubt they would all perform admirably.
But my strategy was not that.
Rolling my eyes down to look, the ground where the battle with the demon army had not yet ended came into view.
I glared at Nazril directly in front of me and spoke to my allies.
“Everyone, continue what you were doing.”
“Hm? Young Lady?”
“Commander?”
I clearly stated my tactic.
“I’ll entertain him alone.”
Kwang!
A roar echoed beneath my feet. My two legs, imbued with Queen’s Super Strength, ran across the rooftop with explosive speed.
“No need for a health check on the product, it seems.”
Nazril flicked his cigar in front of his nose. The spreading ash grew in size, burning red.
They turned into fiery red masses and flew towards me.
Such a diversion could never work on me. Seven Aura Blades, serving me, quickly moved ahead to guard me.
In the night sky, white flashes ceaselessly traced sharp trajectories, and red flames burst like fireworks.
“Crazy, that’s an Aura Master.”
“Noona is amazing.”
It seemed I also heard the voices of Iphail and Ash from somewhere.
My approach speed towards Nazril didn’t decrease at all.
Realizing that his diversionary attacks weren’t working on me, Nazril changed his method to be more demonic.
“Then how about this?”
Hwarururuk!
As Nazril swung the hand holding the cigar widely, even more fireballs were generated over a wider area. This time, the target was not me.
Privilege for the Possessor