Chapter 154: Zagoras and Echis (4)
After his skin was scorched by a high density of holy power his black horns could no longer be concealed and sticky magick oozed from behind his armor, shaped like a golden lion.
All of this pointed to Delion being a demon.
Delion/Zagoras dodged Bernice’s preemptive strike, which he felt was a waste of time even making small talk, and glared at Saint Bernice, who lowered her raised arms from a distance.
A Saint was one of a kind, chosen by the God Henrys, also known as the god’s agent.
Divine power and magick are inseparable, as are God Henrys and Demon Helgenas.
As such, the presence of a saint with such an overwhelming amount of divine power is a living terror to other demons.
Zagoras had only heard of the saint in words.
Zagoras felt the same “fear” as the other demons who had seen Bernice before him so he racked his brain desperately but he could vaguely feel it.
‘All-out war is a losing proposition.’
Zagoras remembered a story he had once told his subordinate about St. Bernice.
‘Brother Delion, is it true that this Great Saint cannot use mass healing?’
Zagoras had seen with his own eyes the mass healing of the previous Saint in the war.
Since it was a divine power, there was no way it could heal demons, but it was a large-scale divine magic that scattered healing light across the battlefield.
The healing power, far beyond that of a mere cleric, had the power to turn ordinary soldiers into something akin to ghouls.
At first, the human soldiers couldn’t get used to the strange sight of their legs being chopped off and reattached, but… humans are adaptable creatures.
It wasn’t long before a wave of insanity that forgot the word death came crashing down on the demons.
The result, of course, was the demon’s defeat.
Zagoras still couldn’t understand how he had survived that battle.
After all, most of the battles the saint fought were on a massive scale, and the demons couldn’t avoid taking heavy losses.
In the end, an elite group of the Legion Leader’s handpicked troops managed to assassinate the Saint, but in the process, they were all wiped out. It was an honorable death, but the damage had been done to both sides, and in the end, humans and demons were forced to call a truce.
‘What, a saint can’t use mass healing… Does that mean she’s a half-assed saint?’
A saint who couldn’t use mass healing, which could change the course of a battle, was a very strange thing but it was good news for the demons.
Zagoras mind was racing with the thought that for the first time in a long time, he had information that the General Staff would be pleased with, but he was forced to smile bitterly at his subordinate’s next words.
‘…Instead, a massive bombardment is possible.’
‘Bombardment…?’
‘Hmph, I suppose it’s the feeling of divine power raining down from the sky. Anyway, I heard that she specializes in combat rather than healing, and that the Saint’s specialty changes depending on the era…I wonder if Lord Henrys has war in mind… I hope there won’t be a war, at least not until after my death…’
‘Haha… Speaking of bombing… Do you have any solid information on that?’
‘Not really, I heard it from a priest I know.’
A massive holy bombardment.
In Zagoras mind, an irresistible beam of light rained down indiscriminately on the demonic army.
It seemed far more dangerous than the previous saint and it was also the moment when information that would have raised the corners of his mouth turned into information that would cause his head to spin.
He knew that something like mass healing would inevitably require many soldiers to fully utilize its power.
With enough soldiers, the damage to allies would be greatly reduced, and the enemy would be left with an undying army capable of inflicting great damage.
However, the need to lead a large number of soldiers slows down their marching speed. You’re powerful, but you’ll be caught out.
One of the downsides is that they’re easy to spot and deal with.
However, divine bombardment is a different story.
A single being can have the power of an army and not only are they harder to spot, but they’re also faster.
The moment a bomb lands on a demonic outpost… a nightmare will unfold.
After experiencing the power of such a divine bombardment for a brief moment, Zagoras felt his skin, which had been scorched to a crisp, gradually recovered.
Luckily he’s almost a black horn since a lesser trout would have been burned to a crisp in less than a second.
‘All-out war with a saint of such power…’
Zagoras was not arrogant enough to make such a foolhardy choice, and he knew his limits very well.
It was how he had survived this long and how he became stronger than ever.
Zagoras ran a hand through his hair and scanned his surroundings. A part of him thought about running, but the plains, with nowhere to hide, seemed like an easy place to be pursued.
This was a place designed for combat, after all.
They were facing a saint and a dozen Silver Wing Knights but he had only four of his own.
The only saving grace was that those four were the ones he trusted the most and knew their biggest weaknesses.
“Kveditsh, Gilmor, Amil, Blair.”
Slowly, Zagoras calls out their names.
“As you know, if I die, you are finished. There will be a massive investigation within the Order of the Golden Lion, and your sins will be exposed for all to see, so there is no turning back.”
The next part of his voice snapped them out of their panic.
“But she’s a saint…”
One of his men makes a weak sound.
He had a point.
No, he was right.
Their opponent is a saint, and not just any saint.
But Zagoras focused on the word “saint”.
Soon, Zagoras drew his sword from his belt and spoke.
“I will block the knights so I want you to charge at her and disrupt her as much as possible. Distracting her is enough. If you do, I may see a way to survive.”
“That may be true, Delion, but do you really think we can distract her?”
“…You mistakenly think you’re demons now but you’re ‘human’ after all. You can’t be hit by divine power like I can, and I’ve never heard of a saint killing humans.”
“…”
The members of the Golden Lion Knights nodded in agreement at Zagoras logical explanation.
It made sense.
As humans, they should be immune to divine power.
Moreover, saints were known to take escorts with them wherever they went.
If the saint was weak in close combat, it sounded like it could be a winning proposition, especially since there was no immediate threat from Bernice.
Eventually, the members of the Order of the Golden Lion donned their helmets and drew their weapons.
Bernice, who had been silently watching from a distance, tilts her head.
“Are you finished with your conversation?”
“……”
Zagoras pawed at the ground and drove magick into the ground in response.
Thud…
Black smoke rises from the earth, plunging the plain into darkness in an instant.
It was already dark, but the night was even darker.
Inés, next to Bernice, shouts to her troupe.
“Hold your breath, everyone.”
The helmets of the Golden Lion Knights had already been enchanted by Zagoras spell to prevent magick from entering, but the helmets of the Silver Wing Knights were not.
Magick is a toxin to humans.
‘It’s a trick,’ Bernice mused as she casually inhaled the magick smoke.
‘Why would he choose to do this when he knows better than anyone that it won’t work as long as I’m here?’
Regardless, it was time to erase it.
“I’ll do it.”
Bernice raised her arm, gathered divine power into her sword, and swung, blocking Ines’ attempt to disperse the smoke.
-Clack!
She raised her arm again and snapped her fingers.
Keying!!!
With one simple, easy movement, a massive surge of divine power erupted from her body, clearing away the smoke and disintegrating it.
When Bernice’s vision cleared and she was once again facing the bright moonlight, it wasn’t Zagoras who rushed toward her, but his human minions.
Zagoras was charging from the flank, lunging at the knights in the silver breastplates.
Bernice suddenly understood what Delion was up to.
A saint would not be able to kill a human.
She would be weak in close combat.
‘You wouldn’t think such a foolish thing, Delion.’
Delion’s men were charging at her, quite desperately but in the midst of all this, Bernice took the time to speak up.
“Inés, tie his feet for a moment. Don’t kill him.”
“As you wish.”
Inés had never felt the need to protect Bernice.
Even though it was a matter of life and death she would be the one who would face the Zagoras on the flank.
It never occurred to Bernice that Inés would protect her, she had simply given the order not to kill.
Delion’s men were bewildered, but their feet were still pressing forward.
In seconds, their blades would be at Bernice’s throat.
Still, they were dismayed when Inés disappeared from their sight at breakneck speed.
Why wasn’t the Saint knight protecting her?