TL: Yul, xLordFifth
PR: Gort
*****
They were coming.
Teresa clattered her teeth together. The creeping sense of fear that crawled up her spine was both unfamiliar and terrifying.
She wanted to flee, but the thought that she must not caused her to grip her trembling shoulders tighter.
“Are you okay?” Scarlett’s telepathy echoed in her mind.
“What’s wrong?” Lloyd, who had been silent until now, asked.
“I’m….”
fine.The words stuck in her throat, refusing to come out. Teresa swallowed hard. This type of fear was not something she was accustomed to.
Even as a child, she had never believed in the existence of ghosts. When she was summoned to this world and unable to hear the voice of God anymore, unlike other clergy, Teresa did not despair or feel fear.
Even though she could no longer hear God’s voice, she had unwavering faith in the existence of God in another world.
Having always received divine grace, she had rarely felt fear.
Even knowing of the end of times, Teresa clung to hope instead of despair.
It might have been considered arrogance. Teresa faintly believed that as long as she was present, this world would never meet its end.
Because she was a saint.
But now she was afraid. So scared that she could barely stand it. She wanted to scream and run away.
Teresa gripped her rosary tightly. Oh, God. She called upon the name she had repeated countless times.
Yet, the voice of God still did not answer. Teresa staggered but managed to stand up.
She wiped away the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand and checked the image.
[What’s going on? Have they come?]
Scarlett’s worried face appeared. Despite being engaged in her own battle, she tirelessly communicated with Teresa, trying to ease her anxiety.
[Don’t overdo it.]
Lloyd, with a stern expression, was also visible. I won’t run away. Teresa mumbled to herself, pressing the rosary against her chest.
She watched Baek Sogo and Black Dragon pressing Chen and Kuhn. Teresa’s gaze lingered on Black Dragon.
Staring at Black Dragon’s face for a moment, Teresa lifted the hood of her priestly robe that covered her head.
Rubbing her pale cheeks with both hands, she slapped her face with a sharp sound. Feeling the stinging pain, Teresa bit down hard on her lower lip.
“They’re here.”
She gripped the rosary with determination. Checking the image right in front of her, she saw Geniella leisurely walking towards the lakeside.
From this distance, they still couldn’t spot Geniella with the naked eye. By the time she came into view, it would be too late. Perhaps Geniella was already looking at Teresa.
And indeed, she was. Geniella saw Teresa standing in front of the lake. Geniella parted her lips and stuck out her tongue.
She licked her lower lip, craving that girl; she must be the Saintess.
Despite having a face that seemed eager to flee, the Saintess did not.
“How admirable.”
Geniella chuckled softly.
A sharp noise pierced the air.
The space vibrated. A sudden burst of light banished the darkness. Geniella halted her steps.
The brilliant light of a barrier blocked the path to the lake. Far more solid than the barrier that had enveloped the entire forest.
Geniella reached out her hand toward the wall of light just before her.
Crackle!
The moment she touched it, the holy fire burned Geniella’s hand. She shook off the fire with a wry smile.
The charred hand regenerated in an instant. Forcing through with her own body seemed undignified. Geniella took a few steps back.
Roarrr!
Red mana surged from Geniella’s body. She gathered the energy that enveloped her body onto her right hand.
The mana she emitted was as red and viscous as blood. The energy gathered on her right hand formed a spherical shape. Slowly, she threw the sphere from her palm.
BOOOM!!
A large explosion shook the entire space. The mana released from the shattered sphere breached the barrier of holy power.
“…Ah…!”
A suppressed scream escaped from Teresa’s mouth. She clenched her teeth and strengthened her wobbly legs.
She couldn’t collapse just yet. Teresa swallowed the blood filling her mouth and reinforced the barrier.
“Argh!”
BOOOM!!
Geniella’s mana struck the barrier once again. Teresa screamed in pain.
Her legs, which she had desperately tried to keep steady, gave way and she collapsed to the ground. Blood trickled from her trembling lips.
Please. Teresa grabbed her rosary with trembling hands. She barely lifted her eyes to find the figure of Black Dragon.
“…Please help…”
Her trembling plea wasn’t heard.
Again. The barrier was shaken. Black blood dripped from Teresa’s eyes and nose.
God… Teresa opened her quivering lips to call out to Him, even though she knew no response would come.
Bang!
An incomparably heavier shock shattered the outskirts of the barrier. Coughing, Teresa couldn’t hold back and spat out the blood that filled her mouth.
The dark blood splattered to the ground. With despairing eyes, Teresa looked at the blood she had vomited.
She needed to endure longer…
Someone grabbed Teresa’s shoulder.
She turned her head to look behind her. Lee Sungmin gazed sympathetically at Teresa, who was now bleeding darkly from her eyes, nose, and mouth. Lee Sungmin pressed his hand on the acupoint of her bleeding spot.
“You’ve done well.”
Teresa, in her fading consciousness, heard those words. Could she really afford to rest like this?
Just before losing consciousness, Teresa felt that anxiety and fear.
Lee Sungmin lifted Teresa’s limp body into his arms. He entrusted Teresa to Oslo, who was behind him.
“Please take care of her.”
“Understood.”
Oslo nodded and carefully took Teresa into her embrace. She approached the lake and gently laid Teresa down.
Droplets of the lake’s water enveloped Teresa’s body. Under the surface, tiny fairies with worried expressions received Teresa.
With Teresa’s loss of consciousness, the barrier dissipated. Lee Sungmin took a deep breath and walked forward.
Far off, Geniella stood with a wide smile on her face. Just as Lee Sungmin saw Geniella, Geniella was looking at him.
[This is annoying.]
Heoju grumbled. Lee Sungmin tightly gripped his spear. Oslo stood behind him with a tense expression.
“Weren’t we supposed to negotiate?”
Geniella asked. Despite the considerable distance, her voice sounded as if she were speaking right next to them.
“If you came to negotiate, you shouldn’t have come like this.”
“If we’re pointing fingers, you were the first to kidnap Aine. So, how was it?”
Geniella bared her teeth in a grin.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“No.”
The thumping in his chest remained foreign.
“I thought you’d be angry.”
“Since I’ve come this far, there’s no need for you to keep the kid alive. Do you take me for a fool? I never thought you’d quietly return Aine if I came here personally.”
“Then why did you come yourself?”
“Because I can’t see the future now. I came to see for myself. Also, I no longer plan to overlook you.”
I’ve been lenient enough, haven’t I? Geniella shrugged.
“This is the end. Why didn’t you just run away?”
“Because fighting here is the best option.”
“Aha… You must believe in the power of the Fairy Queen?”
Geniella said, looking at Oslo. Oslo met her gaze with cold eyes. Geniella’s lips twitched in amusement.
“True. If today weren’t a full moon, fighting here would put me at a real disadvantage. But today is the full moon.”
Geniella didn’t underestimate Oslo’s power. Especially in this place where Oslo could exert her full strength within her domain.
“I wouldn’t have come if I wasn’t confident.”
Geniella began to walk. Gemini didn’t move. She looked at Lee Sungmin with a glum expression.
Inwardly, she hoped Lee Sungmin would run away. No matter how positively she looked at it, it was impossible for Lee Sungmin to defeat Geniella.
No matter how favorable the conditions, the full moon overshadowed everything.
‘It shouldn’t be like this.’
The murderous intent Gemini harbored towards Geniella was genuine. Though she loved Geniella, she also desperately wanted to kill her.
Especially since Geniella’s wish was the destruction of the world, Gemini felt she had to do everything in her power to kill Geniella.
That mad Vampire Queen desired her own death and enforced the destruction of the world and their collective suicide on all her kin.
But Gemini had no desire to die.
“What…?”
Prescan’s consciousness, which had been frozen as if time had stopped, began to move.
“Aine…wait, no… That can’t be. Aine…”
“She’s dead.”
Geniella answered without looking back at Prescan. Even Prescan’s despair was a source of amusement for her.
“Did you really think she might be alive? Were you hoping for a too optimistic turn of events? Think about it: there’s no reason for Aine to be alive.”
“Th… that… can’t… be… Queen…?”
“There was nothing to be done. If I had been there, I would have stopped it, but she died when I wasn’t around.”
“Ahhhhh!”
Prescan wailed. He collapsed on the spot, pouring out cries filled with despair and hatred.
To Geniella, the sound was like sweet music. She smiled with satisfaction.
“This time, you won’t be able to escape.”
“I’m not thinking of escaping.”
“Then are you planning on dying?”
“No.”
“Do you think you can win?”
“No.”
“What’s the meaning of that?”
Geniella chuckled. Her body was enveloped by a red sphere, floating gently.
“That would be boring then.”
Lee Sungmin watched Geniella rise against the backdrop of the full moon.
Is Gemini not moving?
It would be nice if she stayed still. Although he had hoped that Gemini would actively help, he knew there was no reason for her to do so.
Gemini always offered only as much help as she could afford. She wouldn’t entirely sever ties with Geniella now.
“I’ll support as much as I can.”
Oslo responded with a firm voice.
“I can’t support from the attack side. My attacks are weaker than your spear. Instead, my protection will guard you.”
“[Do not trust what your eyes and ears perceive. Geniella under the full moon is an immortal who reached the pinnacle of magical prowess. Trust your instincts. Believe in the experiences of all the battles you’ve fought till now. And trust me. What you can’t see, I will.]”
Heoju’s aura surged. Lee Sungmin’s body became enveloped in a purple force.
“[Don’t forget. The opponent is an immortal. Fight with the knowledge that she cannot die. Do not waste decisive blows. I don’t know to what extent you can endure, but don’t hastily use Martial End. If you become exhausted like last time, it’s over. You will die.]”
Lee Sungmin nodded. He must never forget that the opponent was an undying monster.
Even if he pierced her heart and shattered her head, she wouldn’t die.
“[There’s still a lot of time left until the moon sets. Even if you manage to hold out until then, it won’t matter much. Her demonic eye is what creates the full moon, after all. Haha! Even under such conditions, there’s no advantage for you.]”
He knew. He had imagined this moment countless times until today. In those imaginations, he always lost to Geniella.
Even in his imagination, it would have been nice to envision a victory at least once. But Lee Sungmin always pictured himself losing.
He knew well. He was weak. He couldn’t compare to the monstrous queen.
Even if he could break stones with eggs, Geniella wasn’t something that could be compared to a mere rock. Lee Sungmin stood on his tiptoes and leaped forward.
Even knowing all this, he couldn’t flee.
As he approached, Geniella grinned.
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