Martinez stepped forward. Even facing the horrific-looking masses of flesh that could have been the entrance to hell itself, he showed no fear at all.
-Whoosh!
His weapon made of sacred alchemy burned through the darkness of night, shining brilliantly. The entrance that had been trying to block the enemy's intrusion reacted violently as if having a seizure to that sacred power.
At first it seemed to shrink back due to the opposing force, but soon it revealed intense killing intent and shot tentacles toward Martinez.
Martinez saw this and planted a large cross into the ground.
-Crash!
The cross pierced through the paved road and blocked all the tentacles like a shield. The tentacles that bounced outward quickly circled around trying to target the back of Martinez's head, but Martinez charging forward came first.
-Crash!
The massive mace struck the entrance. The entire mass of flesh shook greatly and swayed, making a satisfying sound. The building's entrance, which seemed like it would never be breached, wavered greatly from that single blow and lost its momentum.
'It didn't penetrate properly.'
At the moment of striking, countless bone spikes had protruded from the flesh mass, offsetting his attack. The mace made of sacred alchemy instantly crushed and eliminated such bone spikes, but it failed to deal damage to the main body.
But it didn't matter. If once wasn't enough, he could just swing twice, three times.
It was just as Martinez was about to take his stance again.
———!!!
The entrance shook greatly, then with a buzzing vibration, part of it became jelly-like and melted down. It wasn't just the entrance. The entire Trinity Building shook greatly as if an earthquake had occurred.
Some soldiers watching this scene were amazed.
"Incredible. To shake the entire building with just one strike."
"I thought the sacred power seemed extraordinary, but what exactly is his identity? Is he an archbishop from the Holy Kingdom?"
"But are there any archbishops with such a small build?"
They seemed to be misunderstanding something, but Martinez couldn't correct them. Because at that moment, his attention was caught by the hot flames that flickered briefly in the middle floors of Trinity Building.
Those flames were close to golden like the sacred power Martinez wielded, but were far more destructive. They appeared only for an instant before disappearing, so it was more like he felt them rather than saw them.
'This power is...'
Martinez's thoughts didn't continue long. Because a path leading inward opened as the jelly-like substance flowed down.
As the building's vibrations subsided, the melted flesh wall showed signs of trying to regenerate again. If that regenerated again, the tedious offensive and defensive battle to breach the entrance would continue.
Martinez had no intention of just standing by and watching.
-Whoosh!
Purifying flames that burned wicked things arose. The rippling golden sacred power covered the half-melted flesh wall and blazed fiercely.
-Kieeeeeek!
Indeed, was this a living creature? The moment it touched the sacred fire, it screamed in pain. It was a bizarre sound, neither human nor beast.
The screaming didn't last long. Because resistance subsided and the entrance consumed by sacred fire was instantly opened.
"Finally!"
"Everyone prepare for entry! And first try to contact any survivors inside!"
"We must prevent that from regenerating! Burn it with fire, or freeze it with liquefied mana water!"
The waiting Tirna soldiers and agents moved quickly, stabilizing the opened entrance and expanding it further.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, we were able to overcome a major crisis."
"Even without me, you would have broken through eventually."
When the person in charge offered thanks, Martinez answered humbly. Seeing this, the person in charge shook his head with a somewhat tired smile.
"That's not what I meant."
"If that's not what you meant...?"
"If it had taken us longer to break through that entrance, then greater reinforcements would have come."
"What does that have to do with a greater crisis?"
"That would mean the fighting wouldn't end as this kind of localized battle."
From the gravity in that voice, Martinez could tell that this man considered this matter very important.
"Right now, we're in a position where we need to resolve this situation with minimal damage and minimal consumption. If this really was something important that needed to be dealt with, the city government would have mobilized the entire district defense force."
"Wouldn't that be fine?"
"If we did that, the Trinity Building would certainly be erased without a trace."
"Then..."
"Along with District 17."
"..."
Martinez realized that those words weren't simple exaggerations, that he was really stating facts matter-of-factly.
"Because the moment we fail to resolve this, the alert level will rise to a war situation. The moment that happens, the district defense force's all-out war will begin."
"You mean completely erase and incinerate the entire district?"
That concept wasn't particularly alien to Martinez. It was one of the methods he had used when dealing with heretics before coming to Tirna.
Burn everything related to heresy. There was no law saying Tirna's city government couldn't take that approach.
However, if what he did was merely in the realm of individual action, even for a superhuman, In Tirna's case, it would be purification work on a level comparable to a nation.
"If that happens, the economy will fluctuate and the damage to the city will be great. That's why we need to finish this matter at our level as much as possible."
Blocking roads around the area and controlling people from approaching was also for that reason. Since it had already happened, there was nothing they could do about it, but they needed to handle this incident as quietly and quickly as possible.
Of all things, this situation had occurred inside the city, in District 17, one of the most important sectors. This meant the incompetence of the city called Tirna, and the moment this spread outside, they would certainly be criticized by the international community.
Perhaps even external enemies who had been intimidated by the massive city of Tirna might take this opportunity to see them as easy targets and bother them again.
In such a world where all sorts of complex and various interests were entangled, the situation in District 17 was no different from a very serious tumor.
Tirna had to remove this tumor somehow, even if it meant using the extreme method of cutting out the entire area if necessary.
"Tomorrow morning."
The field supervisor said that.
"If we can't handle that by then, the district defense force will start moving in earnest."
"...The time isn't that long."
Less than half a day remained. They had to root out all the heretics in that time, but realistically it didn't look easy. Because he had gotten close to the building, he could feel it. That thing was no longer a building, but had become a demon realm.
It would take more than half a day just to demolish that massive architectural structure that had made its name in District 17, so how could they handle it if it had been transformed into another world by the power of evil gods?
But Martinez had no intention of giving up just because he knew such a hopeless reality.
"Then we'd better move quickly."
He had discovered heretics. Then what he had to do was simple. Burn all heretics with purifying flames. Wasn't this what he had been doing continuously from when he learned to use sacred power until coming to Tirna?
"Then I'll assign people to you."
"No. Actually, I'm more comfortable moving alone."
Martinez said this and quickly disappeared through the opened entrance. He heard someone shouting something from behind, but he didn't care.
The inside of the building that had become another world was a horrific sight just to look at. It delivered a series of visually intense shocks that made one think this is what it would be like entering hell.
But Martinez calmly wrapped his entire body in sacred power and rushed quickly inside. He knew time was short, but hope wasn't completely gone.
The source of the flames that had blazed inside the building for a moment was very similar to the power of that man who had made him come to Tirna.
And if that man was here, perhaps like a miracle once again, he might be able to smoothly conclude this matter.
The solar flames that Osian created burned up all the corrupted beings and believers within range.
The surging crimson flames truly trampled the word resistance mercilessly. It was the same even if the opponent was a bishop. The bishop who had been fighting Krollakia also disappeared without a trace in Osian's solar flames, and the bishop who had been fighting Kudan also suffered great damage.
'This is...'
Kudan looked at the massive bishop's corpse that had half-melted in front of him and saw the yellow flames flickering before his eyes.
The wave of flames that had seemed like it would expand endlessly had quieted down, having fulfilled its role. But that didn't mean this situation was over.
Rather, the flames remained in place, burning quietly. Literally like the sun floating in the sky maintaining its position.
And naturally, the aftermath of those hot flames also affected Trinity Building, which had been completely transformed into another world.
"Damn it! How dare! You again!"
Cardinal Zaxilos immediately identified whose doing this pain inflicted on his body was.
It was agonizing, like having red-hot charcoal in his stomach. His internal organs were burning. He tried to regenerate somehow, but the solar flames Osian had created wouldn't allow it.
Because Zaxilos was linked with the space itself, he suffered the greatest damage from Osian's attack that burned the entire space.
Zaxilos was heated to the top of his head. Not only had he missed Delford and Basilio whom he had barely caught, but he was continuously feeling pain he had never experienced in his lifetime in real time.
It was the same not only for the avatar but also for the main body in another location. He also felt that the entrance that had been cut off from the outside had been breached.
The city government's dogs he had left alone were starting to rush in.
"What are you doing! Kill them quickly!"
Zaxilos gave the order. While sending thought waves that were transmitted only to bishop-level and above.
Replies saying they would do so immediately came back, but there were fewer voices than usual.
There was only one reason why bishops who swore absolute loyalty would choose silence to his angry command.
Due to the disaster that had just occurred, several bishops had died outright.
Death originally didn't exist for them who were immortal.
Even if they received fatal wounds, they would regenerate. Or if the body was damaged beyond regeneration, the spirit would return to the Red Eternity and literally live forever.
But if they were hit by Osian's attack, there was no such thing. Their very existence would be annihilated on the spot.
'He is our natural enemy.'
Zaxilos gave the order to kill Osian somehow. If that wasn't possible, to at least buy time.
And to catch the escaped Basilio, he gave a direct order to the archbishop. Somehow. By any means necessary.
Plimene, who had executed an escape at the moment of crisis, led the people back the way they had come. But this flesh maze where space itself was mixed up was completely different from the previous path even when retracing their steps.
The massive acid lake blocking their path was proof of that.
They couldn't cross this, so they had to detour. Just as she was about to give the order, the floor where people were standing began to ripple like waves.
"Aaaah!"
Some lost their balance and fell into the acid lake. It didn't matter how sturdy the protective suits they wore were. Because the green liquid corroded the protective suits and penetrated inside, melting even their bones completely.
Without time to grieve over such shocking deaths, the flesh walls shook and moved in all directions, terrifying the city government agents.
The space they were standing on shook. It felt like someone had put them in a container and was shaking it randomly.
Gravity flipped back and forth, and the already irregular passages became even more bizarrely twisted. Formation collapsed. People scattered in all directions and disappeared, swallowed by the waves of flesh that arose.
'What in the world is this...!'
Plimene tried to maintain her balance somehow, but it was useless. Her body tilted to the side, and she soon fell through a hole that appeared as if it had been waiting.
"Lady Plimene!"
An adjutant nearby reached out, but it was already too late. Plimene felt the slight impact of the fall and got up.
'The height I fell wasn't that high. But...'
Looking up, the hole she had fallen through had already disappeared. She was isolated alone in a place overflowing with enemies.
"Whew."
Plimene took out a dagger from her thigh and pulled out a pistol from her bosom, raising her vigilance to the maximum. Being alone in a place like a scene from a painting of hell where light barely entered, she wanted to collapse right then and there.
But without giving up, she slowly moved her steps. If she just stayed still, she would only become prey for the heretics.
'Something's coming.'
She felt signs of someone approaching from around the corner. Plimene took a deep breath, then aimed her pistol at the moment the enemy appeared and pulled the trigger.
-Ting!
"Ugh, what a surprise!"
Whether it was unfortunate or fortunate, the bullet she fired didn't hit the other person. Because in that split second, the other person sensed something and pulled their head back to dodge.
What surprised Plimene more was the identity of the person who suddenly appeared.
"Basilio?"
"Who the hell is shooting out of nowhere...Plimene?"