'Who told you to waste your time, idiot. Thanks for letting me have a rough estimate of your strength.' Benimaru scoffed inwardly but didn't say it out loud. He didn't want to rile up Belmuk anymore.
Because Belmuk had a higher vitality realm than him, the system didn't showcase Belmuk's information entirely.
But at that moment, a digital screen appeared in front of his eyes.
[ Ding ]
[ The system has detected that the host has encountered the boss of mission "Know My Name."]]
[ Boss encounter has been initiated ]
[ Urgent Task: Slaying The Corrupted Priest
Reward: A guaranteed skill drop based on the boss's abilities
Punishment: None ]
'Another urgent task. These things always come up when a certain strong character appears before me. But this seems a bit different.' Still, Benimaru readied himself to defeat Belmuk. The reward was too juicy for the current him.
Also, the punishment was none, but Benimaru could guess why the system put that in. There were two possibilities: he might die or he might escape.
'Let's not do either.' Smiling to himself, Benimaru pointed his sword at Belmuk.
"...After pulling everything in my way, I will slowly take control of this city and the surrounding places too. No one should order the church. I will make my goddess's influence bloom throughout the world." While Benimaru was pondering about the urgent task given by the system, Belmuk had suddenly begun to recite his dominance plan.
"Sir Belmuk, can we start?" Of course, Benimaru didn't listen to any of these.
"You…" Belmuk glared at Benimaru with pure anger. "You didn't listen to me. I again wasted my time explaining to you my glorious future."
Benimaru became a bit annoyed hearing this once again. "Sir Belmuk, do you need validation of your wrongdoings? Tsk, the ones who worship these strange gods and goddesses are sure maniacs."
Belmuk's eyes turned red, and his muscles started to twitch, along with the veins on his forehead. "Your dead!"
In a blink of an eye, Belmuk vanished before Benimaru's eyes. 'So fast!'
Quickly activating [ Enhanced Senses ], Benimaru was able to catch onto Belmuk's shadow. Pre-aiming at the spot where Belmuk might attack, Benimaru swung his sword.
'Huh?' Benimaru became surprised when his sword hit the vacuum. But he later sensed Belmuk behind him, making an uppercut. Benimaru wanted to turn around, but it was already too late. 'So fast!'
BAM!
The sound of a giant boulder dropping on the ground echoed throughout the cave, along with the cracking noises of bones breaking. Afterwards, Benimaru's body shot upward, smashing through the ground.
"Cough!!"
In the middle of the ground, Benimaru coughed out a mouthful of blood as he just felt the aftereffects of that punch.
'What an absurd strength!'
Bang!
Finally, Benimaru burst out of the ground. Smashing through a building, his body hit the giant walls, completely destroying them afterwards.
"AHhhh!! Run!"
"Mommy… Mommy… Where are you?"
"Father, don't let my hand go!"
Because the church was the second-strongest force in the city and was the goddess of nature, many people felt secure hiding behind it. So, when the demons or the evil forces causing chaos came after them, the church had to step up and protect them.
But little did they know that the church was now almost wiped out.
So, the aftermath of Benimaru's body destroying the walls led to many people getting killed. As the giant stones and boulders didn't have eyes, they fell onto anyone, not caring if it was an old man or lady, a baby, or a pregnant woman.
Dust scattered into the air, blocking everyone's sight. But that got blown away after Benimaru unfolded his wings and flew up into the air.
"AHHHHH!! It's a demon! It was the demon who did this. Because of him, my grandson died!"
An old man pointed his finger at Benimaru, who was hovering in the air. His eyes were filled with anger, yet the tears rolling out of them told a different story.
"He will kill us. He will kill all of us now."
"Who will save us now?"
"Please, someone. I don't want my only child to die!"
Benimaru glanced at the despair-filled people, who were looking at him as the vilest being in the world. He could feel the strong resentment they had toward him.
Benimaru contemplated seeing this. 'So, I have become a villain to the world now.'
Truth be told, Benimaru didn't want this path; he wanted to live peacefully and reunite with his daughter. But destiny told him otherwise, and to destroy this same destiny, he had to walk down this path. He was sure that to be the enemy of the gods, you had to be the enemy of the world too.
"Don't fetter, O child of the goddess." All of a sudden, a loud voice echoed throughout the area, making the panicked and despair-filled citizens shift their focus. They saw a tall, handsome man wearing the priest's cassock walking toward them. With his chest puffed up, he flashed a kind smile towards the people. "Children of the goddess, I, Priest Belmuk, will protect you and this city from these wicked demons. In the name of Goddess Ignia, I vow to purge these demons from the face of this world!"
Belmuk's heroic and Nobel-winning speech and posture captured the hearts of many, giving them hope.
"I didn't expect that it was Prist Belmuk. He looks nothing like before."
"He has received the divine blessing of the goddess. I can see the goddess's hand on his shoulders."
"Priest Belmuk, please save us from this demon. It killed my son. I beg you to avenge us!"
Benimaru watched the show calmly. 'This guy… he is using this as an advantage to gather everyone's hearts. Then, let me tag along with you.'
Belmuk completely forgot about Benimaru, as he was feeling like he was in heaven, receiving all these praises and pleading eyes. This was what he yearned most for. He had seen the priests of the bigger cities get showered by it daily, but not him. Despite keeping a kind and warmhearted persona, no one looked at him with these reverential eyes. They were only reserved for Arash.
"You lowly priest!" Suddenly, he heard Benimaru shouting from above. He saw Benimaru pointing his sword toward him and yelled with justice. "You dare to kill my pet beast and use him for your own benefit! I won't let you live properly and this town that you hold dear."
Benimaru raised his sword overhead with both hands and swung down in anger. "Now, face my wrath!"
A wave of purple fire rained at Belmuk, covering two hundred meters of radius and enveloping the citizens and Belmuk.
Belmuk was initially confused but later understood what Benimaru was trying to achieve. 'You asshole!'
'Hehehe… want to be a hero? Then let me see how many people you can save.' Benimaru silently gloated, waiting for the next show to unfold.
The hope that Belmuk brought to them once again crumbled into pieces. They looked at Belmuk, trying to see if he really was the savior they needed.
"Priest Belmuk, please save us!"
"Please save us."
"Priest Belmuk, save my father first!"
"Priest Belmuk, I don't want to die."
"Priest Belmuk…"
"Pries…"
Belmuk felt his patience was reaching his limit. A minute hasn't passed, and he has already begun to breed regret for playing the hero. He almost had the thought of abandoning them but he couldn't do it right now.
Winding both of his fists to the back, he took a deep breath, closing his eyes. Then his eyes shot open as he punched upwards, leaving hundreds of fist shadows. " [ Dance of the Wild Beast ] "
These fist shadows carried a strong wind and breath of life in them. They hit the clouding flames, which exploded upon contact.
BOOOM!
A loud explosion occurred that rumbled throughout the city and outside.
Hovering in the sky, Benimaru pondered. 'He can use the nature element with his beastly power. So he has strong physical strength and healing capability. Heh… he is no different from a demon now.'
Benimaru couldn't help but joke to himself, as he knew the upcoming battle would be hard to win.
At that moment, the familiar digital screen once again appeared before his eyes.
[ Belmuk(1st Stage Fleshcrafting Realm): Head priest of Migotanie City Church He has a strong desire to be recognized by others, and he also has a strong obsession to be recognized by his goddess too. So he would go to any length to achieve his dream. He has assimilated the heart of the silverback gorilla, which is a taboo placed upon it by the Goddess Ignia. Her taboo is also recognized by others. To commit this taboo is to announce your own death. ]
'You finally showed his information. Is it because he is a boss to be killed now?' Benimaru asked the system but got no reply in return.
However, Benimaru didn't care, as his eyes were now glued to the bottom information on Belmuk's status. 'He committed a taboo but is still so open about it. That means…'
Benimaru gave a weird glance at Belmuk, who was readying himself to jump at him. 'Even if I lose, his death is inevitable.'
Visit freewe𝑏nov(e)l.𝗰𝐨𝐦 for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience