Chapter 686: The Nuns

“You’re just in time.”

Kevin emerged from the ground.

As he rescued Joanna from the dust, he spoke.

His sudden appearance caused fifty-five girls and fifty-six nuns reciting prayers to fall silent and stare blankly at the altar.

Ah, correction.

To be precise, they stared at what used to be the altar.

Because the altar built over the nuns’ grave was destroyed when Kevin broke through the ground.

Additionally, the gold thread, pure white lace, and a jar of scented oil placed in front of the altar were all overturned and scattered across the floor.

It was no longer an altar.

The sight was so devastating that not only the girls and nuns but even Sister Delra, who had orchestrated everything, was shocked and questioned.

How on earth had Kevin managed to sneak in?

This was understandable, as a group of Holy Knights had been guarding the area.

These Holy Knights were particularly skilled at detecting hints of Dark Magic and even the faintest traces of any magic.

They were stationed there precisely to prevent any unauthorized intrusion during the sacred ceremony.

So how could a magician—a Red One at that—sneak in so easily? It was incomprehensible.

Sister Delra looked at the surrounding Holy Knights, filled with doubt, and they hastily gestured that they were equally unaware.

If they had known, they would have responded somehow.

However, Delra found it hard to believe that a mere magician could elude the Holy Knights. Just as she was about to press them further, someone spoke.

“A Spirit…?”

At those words, both Delra and the Holy Knights turned to where Kevin was standing. And they saw it.

A giant mass of light standing behind Kevin.

The mass of light had arms and legs that glowed green, and a body that glowed brown—it looked almost bear-like. But its most distinguishing feature was its presence, something vivid and almost otherworldly.

It was a Spirit. A Spirit of the earth in the shape of a bear.

Kevin had used the power of a Spirit created by divine hands to secretly infiltrate here, even tricking the eyes of the Holy Knights.

Not only that, but he was also using the Spirit’s strength to tear apart the black velvet wrapped around Joanna.

This velvet was so deeply influenced by the Duchess’s power that not even magic could unravel it.

Rip… rip…!

The velvet was slowly tearing under the Spirit’s massive paw.

Realizing this, Delra snapped out of her shock and shouted. If the ceremony didn’t continue, it might be stopped for good. That couldn’t happen.

“Holy Knights, stop him! Everyone else, keep praying!”

Delra’s desperate cry.

The over 100 people who heard her moved immediately according to her instructions.

The girls and nuns, who had ceased their prayers at Kevin’s sudden appearance, dropped to their knees, clasped their hands together, and resumed praying. Then, the torn velvet began to reattach itself, trying to bind Joanna once again.

It was a phenomenon beyond the explanation of any magic.

Meanwhile, the Holy Knights drew their consecrated weapons and charged toward Kevin.

They aimed to block the rescue of Joanna and at the same time eliminate Kevin.

However, Kevin remained unflustered and responded calmly.

He left Joanna’s rescue entirely to the bear-shaped Spirit and began casting a spell.

[Diastrophism]

A wide-ranging earth magic that distorts the entire terrain.

Centered on the ground beneath Kevin’s feet, mana spread out in a wave-like form as the land twisted and erupted dramatically.

Boom! Boom! Boom-boom-boom!

It was like a wave made of stone and earth.

That wave roared loudly and violently surged in all directions.

At this rate, not only would it hinder the Holy Knights’ advance, but it would also disrupt the prayers of the girls and nuns.

After all, how could they possibly survive a wave of stone and earth with just their fragile bodies?

However—

[Holy Light]

—the Holy Knights were not going to let that happen.

As soon as the Holy Knights, who had charged past the kneeling nuns and girls, saw Kevin use magic, they activated Holy Power.

A divine power that nullifies Dark Magic and significantly weakens the effects of normal magic.

As a brilliant yellow light glimmered in all directions, the earth’s wave, which had seemed ready to overturn everything, receded like a lie and fell still before the girls.

As expected, it was Holy Power. The very force that had maintained order among humanity for centuries.

“Die!”

But that was alright.

Kevin had already anticipated this much.

“Now.”

Splash! Splash-splash! Splash-splash-splash!

Kevin signaled to someone, calling for aid.

In response, small water jets frothing with white bubbles burst from the cracks in the ground.

Whoosh—!

The ice Spirit Kevin had summoned into the water pipes while moving underground had answered, and water gushed out, drenching the entire underground of the convent.

Originally, Kevin had wanted to flood the entire basement with a huge amount of water, but the pipes were too narrow to allow that.

But that was fine.

There were plenty of ways to make use of even a small amount of water.

Proving this, Kevin asked the water Spirit, a blue-green mermaid-like creature that had appeared beside him, to freeze the entire basement.

Hearing Kevin’s request, the mermaid-shaped Spirit gestured, and in an instant, the interior was covered in white ice crystals.

Crack-crack-crack-crack!

Horrifying sounds of flesh splitting and cracking echoed as the entire basement was engulfed in ice.

Naturally, everything inside the basement was frozen as well.

Nameless gravestones, coffins, and even the praying girls, nuns, and the Holy Knights blessed by Holy Power.

“What, what is this?!”

A young Holy Knight gasped in shock, exhaling white breath.

Disbelief was clear on his face, as he seemed surprised that the ice hadn’t vanished, even though he had used Holy Power.

But it wasn’t surprising.

If the ice had been created by magic, it would have disappeared. But this ice was real, born from a combination of water and the power of a Spirit.

In other words, it was pure, natural ice.

So, it was only natural that Holy Power couldn’t erase it.

To escape from this ice, the Holy Knight would have to use his blessed body to break it with sheer strength—it couldn’t be undone simply by using Holy Power.

“Everyone, break it with your strength! This ice—”

—Thud!

However, Kevin had no intention of waiting for them to figure that out.

With movements so swift that it was hard to believe he was a magician, Kevin quickly formed several tomahawks out of the surrounding ice and hurled them almost simultaneously.

The young Holy Knight, who had been preoccupied with escaping the biting cold and the ice that bound him, failed to dodge the incoming tomahawk, which lodged itself between his brows.

Thus, a group of Holy Knights fell to a single magician.

All thanks to a meticulously crafted plan, Spirits that played to Holy Power’s weaknesses, and the magician’s own nimble responses.

An eerie silence fell over the ice-covered basement as the girls and nuns all turned their gaze to Kevin.

The Kevin who held the power of life and death over all of them.

After briefly observing them, Kevin averted his gaze and approached Joanna.

Given that the nuns had risked everything to secretly bring Joanna here, it was clear that she was the key to the ceremony.

Considering the nature of his mission, it was logical to prioritize her. Besides, she was also acquainted with Xenon.

In any case, Kevin decided to leave the girls and nuns behind for now and focus on Joanna.

Rippp!!

Perhaps because the velvet had frozen or maybe because the prayers had ceased, the living-like velvet that had been regenerating was easier to tear than expected.

“Are you alright, knight?”

Kevin inquired about Joanna’s condition.

She staggered but thankfully seemed to be fine.

“Yes… I’m alright, no need to worry. Thank you for your help.”

Kevin listened to Joanna’s words and checked her condition.

Her face showed signs of injury, but aside from that, she seemed mostly unharmed.

“Hmm? Knight, the Holy Power…”

As Kevin was examining Joanna’s condition, he noticed something odd.

There wasn’t a trace of Holy Power left in her body.

“…It was taken.”

Joanna answered calmly.

The loss of Holy Power, the core of a Holy Knight, was as catastrophic as the sky falling, but given the more pressing concerns, it was a reasonable response.

Kevin asked Joanna who had taken the Holy Power. He couldn’t fathom who could have stolen something as sacred as Holy Power, bestowed by the forces that govern the world.

When he posed the question, Joanna pointed ahead.

At the end of her pointing finger, there was nothing.

Bang!!

Suddenly, a golden sword descended from the sky.

Kevin, with the help of the Spirits, took Joanna and dodged backward.

As Kevin evaded, the golden sword slashed through the air, striking the frozen ground and scattering ice shards in all directions.

“Was that woman the one who took it?”

Kevin asked as he looked at Sister Delra, who held a sword made purely of Holy Power.

Joanna nodded.

“Yes…”

“How unexpected.”

Sister Delra pointed the sword, made entirely of Holy Power, at Kevin and said.

“I knew we would face interference, but I never expected it to come from a magician… Especially not one like you. It’s quite surprising.”

“There’s always something surprising.”

Kevin responded indifferently.

However, the nun simply echoed his sentiments with the same reaction.

“No, it really is surprising. I honestly thought someone like you wouldn’t interfere. Considering you are Experiment 162… I thought you’d have more resentment toward the world.”

She spoke as if she knew something, and indeed, she did.

Having served as Roderick’s assistant, she had learned a few things about the Archive. She even knew things about that disciple.

The tragic yet ironic background of an experiment subject from the Archive becoming its disciple.

“I don’t understand. Will you answer me? Why are you stopping me? You, who lost your family and friends right before your eyes because you’re a Red One, should be well aware of how broken this world is. I’m just trying to correct that. Or do you not know? Shall I tell you?”

“No, that’s enough. I’m not interested. I’m stopping you because it’s just part of my job.”

Kevin answered without a shred of hesitation, as if he truly had no interest.

Rescuing Joanna and disrupting Delra’s ceremony was merely his duty as a disciple of the Archive and a professor of the Tower of Magic.

He was simply fulfilling his duty.

“Ha…”

Upon hearing this, Sister Delra laughed softly.

Whoosh!

With a body enhanced by Holy Power, she closed the distance in a flash, swinging her sword horizontally at Kevin.

Kevin’s body was split in two at the waist.

However, the body she thought she had sliced turned out to be made of ice, with the real Kevin having relocated to a distance.

Kevin passed Joanna to the bear-shaped Spirit of earth and, together with the ice Spirit, charged toward Sister Delra.

Kevin approached swiftly, sliding over the white ice scattered around.

Sister Delra prepared to swing her Holy Power-forged sword again, but Kevin didn’t miss the timing. He struck the frozen ground, sending a barrage of ice shards and spears flying toward her.

Whoosh!

The piercing sound cut through the air.

Even though the ice shards had been created by the power of the Spirits, making them immune to nullification by Holy Power, Sister Delra calmly countered by erecting a glowing yellow barrier crafted from the Holy Power she had taken.

“How disappointing. Did you really think you could stop me with mere Spirit powers?”

Delra asked confidently.

Indeed, Holy Power was known to have a strong countereffect against both Dark Magic and regular magic, but that wasn’t all.

In addition to being effective against Dark Magic and regular magic, Holy Power also significantly enhanced the physical capabilities of the blessed, giving them tremendous physical force.

As proof, none of the ice shards Kevin had sent even managed to penetrate the barrier made of Holy Power.

Sister Delra didn’t stop there; she gathered Holy Power in the air and created several blades, which she then hurled at Kevin.

“Pierce.”

These blades were pure manifestations of Holy Power, created without the use of any weapons as a medium.

Following Sister Delra’s command, the blades flew forward.

A technique that no ordinary Holy Knight could even begin to mimic.

Those beautiful yet deadly blades sliced through the air, aiming for Kevin, who quickly asked a Spirit to form a massive ice barrier in their path.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Several layers of ice barriers rose from the shaking ground.

However, the Holy Power-forged blades easily pierced through them, targeting Kevin.

While Holy Power couldn’t nullify a Spirit’s strength, it could indeed overpower it.

Kevin manipulated the ice on the ground to alter the terrain and used his agile movements to narrowly dodge the incoming light blades.

It was at that moment that Sister Delra closed the gap again and swung her enormous Holy Power blade.

The ice and ground split as easily as butter. Rocks and ice shards scattered in all directions.

Fortunately, Kevin’s Spirit pulled him aside, allowing him to dodge.

“I see how it is!”

Sister Delra wildly swung her massive Holy Power blade like a stick, shouting.

“You’ve become a dog!”

Sister Delra’s movements, enhanced by Holy Power, were so fast that it was hard to believe she was a nun.

“Even after losing your parents, siblings, and people, you’ve been lured by the sweet position of a disciple of the Archive and become their dog!”

Thanks to this, the Holy Power-forged blades created afterimages like a storm of blades, all aimed at Kevin.

“Forget how to be angry, forget how to hate. You’ve just adapted to this broken world! Isn’t that so—”

—Bang!

As Sister Delra swung her blade and shouted, she suddenly fell silent and staggered backward after a dull thud.

For a brief moment, silence colder than the ice covering the underground fell over the area, and everyone stared at Kevin.

Kevin’s arms and legs were now adorned with ice bracers and greaves.

With just these minimal protective gear, he had predicted the trajectory of Sister Delra’s attack and countered.

He had overcome the frantic assault of Delra, blessed by Holy Power, with his own pure strength.

At that unbelievable sight, as everyone else remained stunned, Kevin opened his mouth.

“Let me say just three things.”

“…”

“First, the world has always been broken. In the ancient times, the Middle Ages, and even now, with pillaging, slavery, and wars… This world has always been full of wrongs, yet we’ve endured and overcome.”

“…”

“Second, I have neither forgotten my anger nor stopped my hatred. Of course, I plan to seek revenge, in my own way, on my own terms.”

“…”

“And lastly, the third thing. Do you really think you’re acting on your own will right now? Because I don’t think so.”