A large military jeep raced through the wilderness.
Inside, the mafia members froze in their tracks, watching Balud in the back seat.
Ever since the fight with Osian earlier, Balud had been in a bad mood, and it would be good for them to be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
But there was always someone who didn't realize it.
"Mr. Director, why did you let the witch out from under our noses?"
The question was asked by a newcomer who had just joined the organization.
Before the man behind the wheel could say anything in surprise, Balud spoke up.
"Is that what you want to know?"
"Yes? Yes. I mean, you let them go, but I didn't think it was necessary to leave the car behind."
"Well, you're right to wonder, since we just walked away without explanation, which is definitely out of character for me."Balud glanced out the window.
"I've been informed that there's a very dangerous man in the midst of the Holy Order of Petra's pursuit of the witch."
"A dangerous figure, you say, but we, the North Blinders......."
"It's good to have loyalty and trust in an organization, but sometimes you have to see things rationally, and this is one of those times."
When he said that, even the most clueless of them couldn't help but realize that something was up.
"Who the hell would.......?"
"One of the swords of the Church of Petra, a madman who burns heretics to death with golden flames. He's called the Purifying Judge, and he's the one who wiped out the scrap heap guys just now."
"What? You mean, the, uh, biker gang?"
Just because they were bikers didn't mean they were weak.
The special drugs they used enhanced their bodies, and some of them were beyond human through illegal modifications.
They were wiped out.
"The mages who participated in this mission have withdrawn. They know they can't fight against the Purifying Judge. That goes for us as well."
"Then why did we leave the vehicle behind......."
"It's bait for the Purification Judge to eat from as far away as possible. We'll go around in the meantime and make it safely back to Tirna."
The gang member at the wheel said.
"So the knifeman and the witch are effectively dead, then."
"They will be."
Balud added as an afterthought.
"No one has ever survived the hands of that creature."
*
Ena Grundt's face went pale.
It was him, a monster of the faith, sent by the Church of Petra to chase her.
It's okay to be chased by another paladin or priest, even if it was a high-ranking paladin or high priest but this one is different.
She should never have faced him.
"You've been waiting."
Osian's eyes narrowed as he let go of the wheel.
There were no fields like this on the road from Tirna to Sadnafal.
He'd seen them on the way.
But now, as if the landscape had changed, waist-high golden grasses of wheat-like color were blowing in the breeze.
It was all the result of the one man standing there.
'[Field of Gold], one of the Paladin's unique skills.’
The golden field wasn't a real plant, but a field made up of divine power used by the paladin.
It was known for its ability to grant various buffs to the user and party members.
‘The effect wasn't actually that great, and it cost a ton of holy power, so I just thought it was a pretty AoE buff.’
Hence the nickname pretty trash.
Look at the size of that field.
The golden field that filled the field of vision seemed to extend to the horizon and beyond.
In-game, the field was only a 30-meter radius around you.
This one, however, seemed to be at least 20 times that size.
'He's already known for his ineffective skills, and he's spreading them out like that?’
How much divine power could he possibly have?
Moreover, Ena's reaction in the passenger seat was also strange.
She was in despair.
She hadn't looked like that when she was being chased by the other pursuers of the Holy Order, or when she was surrounded by the North Blinders mafia, but now it was the opposite.
It was like looking at someone who had seen the sky fall before their eyes.
"Wait here."
With those words, Osian got out of the vehicle and slowly walked toward the golden field.
As he entered the golden field, which looked like it was about to be harvested, the plants around him scattered and oxidized into a golden powder.
Osian ran his fingertips through the powder.
Even though it was only a tiny fraction of the field, it was filled with divine power.
It sharpened his mind even more.
The paladin stared at him from behind his deeply pressed gray hood.
His eyes were so inorganic that it was hard to read what emotions they held.
Osian continued walking and stopped when he was twenty meters away from the paladin.
A gust of wind blew across the golden field, cooling the air.
"Since you've been waiting all this way, it's safe to assume you know everything."
"Hand over the witch."
The paladin said nothing more than that.
It was almost a unilateral declaration.
"And if I don't?"
Osian asked, but in reverse.
The paladin's eyes narrowed slightly, but sharply.
"I would consider you in league with the witch and judge you as a heretic."
"I don't believe in any other religion, and I've only been assigned to take the witch."
"It's a heresy if you accompany a witch, no matter who it is."
Osian gave a small laugh at the non-negotiable answer.
"You just want to believe that, don’t you?"
"Heresy. As a faithful servant, I ask you. Are you willing to repent?"
"If I’m willing to repent, are you willing to let me go?"
"At the very least, I can send you away without suffering."
‘Madman.’
Osian shook his head.
"That won't do, because I can't turn back after coming this far."
Osian drew the sword at his belt.
Sunlight and golden light mingled and scattered over the crystal-clear hilt.
"Then I can only purify you."
The Judge reached to his waistband and pulled out a sheathed blunt weapon.
It was a weapon called the Flanged Mace.
It was clean and simple in design, the kind of weapon a thrifty priest or paladin might use.
Osian and the Judge stared at each other wordlessly as the wind blew between them.
The hem of Osian's coat fluttered, and the cloak of the paladin's robes fluttered wildly.
A streak of pure white light shot from Osian’s sword, it was the unique trait of the Wandering Knight, the Starlight Sword.
In response, the Judge's mace hovered with a golden stream of air, it was the holy power of paladins.
The two of them lunged at each other without a word of warning.
Across the golden field, they met in the exact center.
The starlight and the golden light of faith clashed with each other.
-Kaang!
With a tremendous impact, the field lurched outward in concentric circles, then rose again.
The divine power that made up the field was overwhelmed by the impact, oxidizing into powder and scattering golden hues around it.
The sight was dreamy and beautiful, like something out of a fairy tale, but no one paid attention to its beauty.
The first attack was a preliminary strike to roughly gauge the opponent's strength.
Osian applied just the right amount of force to his sword and the Judge's body began to be pushed back but he didn't feel stronger or relieved.
The reason came immediately.
"Father in heaven. Protect this Lamb by your holy mercy."
With the prayer, divine power began to hover over the Judge's body.
The gradual disparity in power soon became equalized.
Buffs that enhance physical abilities were the reason why paladins were called a melee class.
However, Osian, who already knew this, was not surprised and pulled his sword back slightly, twisted his waist, and spun in place.
Clang!
The two-meter-long starlight sword spun in a circle.
The golden spikes that touched it were sliced off and scattered like powder in the air.
The Judge, seeing the flying Starlight Sword, raised his mace.
Immediately, the golden divine power within the mace became clearer and took the form of a shield.
Boom!
The sword slammed into the top of the shield.
Unable to withstand the impact, the Judge was thrown backward.
A furrow was dug into the ground, a scar across the golden field.
But Osian's expression was not pleased.
For beyond the shield, the Judge was unharmed.
'No. The impact must have been transmitted to his body. But he recovered in real time.’
He can tell just by looking at the golden light that permeates the body, albeit little by little.
The Judge lunged at Osian. Osian watched the Judge's movements and swung his Starlight Sword.
In the beams of white and gold that clashed in the air, it was the white that dug deeper into the enemy.
-Aaaah!
This time, the blow landed.
Osian's sword had cut off the Judge's left arm starting from the shoulder.
The Judge stepped back, his expression unchanged.
Despite the loss of an entire arm, he showed no sign of hesitation.
It was easy to see why as the severed arm, along with its clothing, regenerated.
It was as if a ring of golden light had gathered around it, forming an arm.
‘This is why I don't want to fight paladins.’
Paladins don't excel in melee combat like barbarians and wandering knights.
However, what made them a close-quarters group capable of fighting on the most dangerous front lines was their tenacious vitality.
'They can always heal from wounds and health if you don't cut them off at once.’
They don't call Paladins cockroaches in the game for nothing.
It was a nickname given to them out of admiration and disgust for their tenacious vitality.
At that moment, the Judge moved.
The holy power that made up the shield was now transformed into a giant cross.
The Judge raised it and charged toward Osian, swinging it wildly.
Instead of parrying it head-on, Osian held his Starlight Sword at an angle to deflect the attack but the deflected cross changed form, transforming into a golden spear that shot toward him.
Osian, as if expecting it, dodged backward with a backflip.
Golden flames erupted where Osian had been, scorching the area around him.
'And the traits he's using are not just one or two, so he's a heroic class, not just an ordinary paladin after all.’
Paladins also exist as playable characters, and their traits change depending on the direction of their development.
A paladin's abilities are a type of prayer called Divine Chants.
These Divine Chants are divided into three main characteristics based on their discipline.
[The Eternal Golden Rule]
[The Rule of Divine Judgment]
[The Rule of Divine Protection]
They specialized in recovery, attack, and defense, respectively.
The chants used by the current Judge were a combination of all three.
The Judge retrieved his golden spear and replaced it with a large golden tonfa in each hand.
Seeing the Judge's posture, Osian muttered.
"Holy gold."
If wandering knights have starlight, paladins have holy light.
Whereas the starlight could only draw immense cutting power and strength in the form of a sword, the holy light could manipulate divine power into any form it wished.
While it is inferior to the starlight in terms of power output, it is superior in terms of situational awareness.
And a paladin with that much holy light would be a force to be reckoned with, at least in the eyes of the Holy Order.
"You know well. Our heavenly Father is the one who sanctifies us with His sacred blessings."
"The Holy Order has nothing to do since they sent someone of this caliber to hunt down a mere witch."
"It is my duty to hunt down and root out heresy in this world. No job is too big or too small."
He’s lost his mind.
In the army, a general with a star would go around the army and pick up cigarette butts.
Yet he pursues the behavior with unwavering conviction that it is right.
‘If I stall, I'll be at a disadvantage.’
Osian had fought paladins before, so he knew the opponent was a tireless monster.
If that was the case, he would have to make it a one-shot, short battle.
But is it possible to do that against a creature that uses not just one talent, but all of them?
Osian glanced to the side, then lunged at the Judge.
No fancy swordsmanship this time, just sheer brute force.
Osian was a natural melee fighter, and the Judge was slowly pushed backwards as he calmly went into defense.
However, it was an overly aggressive attack that didn't land a single effective hit on the Judge.
The Judge was about to call it a pointless move, but then he felt something and turned his head to the side.
-Bam!
And there it was.
The sight of a steam train rushing towards him with huge steel bellows.
Before the Judge could mutter a word the steam train smashed right into him.