Chapter 26: The situation has changed
Protect the Queen?
The hot air around them no longer simply pressed against their skin—it seeped inside, crawling beneath the surface like an unwelcome guest. Asher and Nimora felt the same weight settling in their chests.
A terrible feeling.
Worry.
Their own mother...
Melissa was the target of this attack.
Asher gritted his teeth, aggressively rising to his feet.
I should have known! That was the target all along...
This isn't just a battle—it's a game. And a twisted one filled with tricks!
Damn it! I fucked up! There isn't much time!
"Asher!!!" Nimora's voice ripped through the air, her body already lunging forward at full speed toward the monastery's exit.
Without hesitation, Asher followed.
And Fey trailed loyally behind them.
They sprinted with every ounce of strength they had left. Their lungs burned, their muscles screamed, but they didn't stop—couldn't stop—until...
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A wall of debris stood in their path.
The three came to a staggering halt.
The rubble wasn't just tall—it was steep, deliberately placed. Not to protect them from the horrors outside... but to trap them inside.
And that was when the realization struck them.
"Fuck!" Asher's grip around his sword's hilt tightened. His knuckles went white. "That bastard!"
Nimora, overcome with rage, drove a furious kick into the debris.
"Redrics! You bastard!!!"
The moment her foot connected, the unstable wreckage trembled violently, sending dust and loose stone cascading down.
One more reckless attack... and the entire mass might come crashing onto them.
This was the only way out—and it was blocked.
---
Meanwhile...
Redrics moved through the ruins of what had once been the proud Exorcist Town.
Left and right, civilians and exorcists alike fought desperately against the onslaught of Night Terrors.
And they were losing.
The civilians—though trained as exorcists—stood no chance against monsters of this level.
They were being slaughtered.
But as Redrics walked past the carnage, the Night Terrors didn't even glance at him.
They didn't need to.
Because he was one of them.
His face remained cast downward, as if ashamed—or consumed. His veins bulged grotesquely beneath his skin, dark tendrils creeping toward his pitch-black eyes.
And within his mind... a voice.
An alluring, commanding voice.
Kill...
Kill...
Kill the Queen...
The words weren't spoken—they slithered through his thoughts like a parasite, wrapping around his consciousness until he could no longer tell...
Was this truly his will?
Or was he being controlled?
But the more he questioned it, the more convinced he became.
"Yes... kill Melissa."
---
Back at the Oramon Monastery...
Nimora struck at the debris again and again. Every time her fists met the stone, her fury only grew.
She even tried climbing—but the moment she gained ground, she would inexplicably slip back down.
She wasn't as agile as high-ranked exorcists. None of them were.
Fey, seeing her struggle, stepped in to help. He clawed at the jagged rubble, using all his strength.
But the result was the same.
Failure.
Asher, however, stood still. A hand rested beneath his chin, his eyes flickering with deep thought.
Fey noticed and paused his efforts. He's brainstorming...
Nimora, in contrast, didn't stop—until, finally, frustration overtook her.
Damn it all!
She slammed her fist against the wreckage one last time before stepping back in reluctant defeat.
And then...
Asher exhaled.
A notification flashed before his eyes.
[You have successfully compiled all energy and learned how to activate your Soul Ability.]
His suspicions were confirmed.
Stepping forward, he let out a slow breath.
"Step back."
His voice was calm, but commanding.
Fey obeyed immediately.
Nimora hesitated.
But she knew. Everything she had tried had been useless.
With a reluctant scowl, she backed away.
Now, with no one between Asher and the rubble...
He clenched his right fist.
And unleashed his Mana.
A dark-red energy surged from his body like an untamed flame. The air thickened. The ground trembled. A powerful, suffocating aura engulfed the monastery—like the weight of an unseen predator pressing down on everything around it.
Even without realizing it, Asher's eyes began to glow.
Then—
A beam of darkness shot from his palm.
It tore through the debris in an instant, obliterating it in a devastating explosion that sent shockwaves ripping through the monastery.
Not just the blockade—but an entire section of the monastery wall was annihilated.
The moment the energy dissipated, Asher gasped.
"Kahhh! It hurts!"
His body staggered as a sharp pain surged through his arm.
Looking down, he saw his skin—burnt, discolored, numb.
Shit... My body's still that of a kid.
Infinite Mana without resistance...
But despite the pain, a grin tugged at his lips.
The destruction before him—the power he had just unleashed—
It was worth it.
Nimora stood frozen.
Even she, who had known Asher for years, was shaken by what she had just witnessed.
This was Asher's Soul Ability.
Untrained.
Uncultivated.
And yet, already this powerful.
A true genius.
But there was no time for awe.
Asher snapped his head toward them.
"Let's go!"
The two jolted back to reality and took off.
Nimora, with her superior physique, took the lead.
Fey followed close behind.
And Asher—despite the burning pain coursing through his arm—forced himself to keep up.
He couldn't afford to fall behind.
This wasn't how I planned for things to go...
But I won't lose her.
I won't lose my mother—or any family member—in either life!
---
Meanwhile...
The last of the Primordial Dark-Skinned Beasts collapsed.
Its massive body slumped to the blood-soaked ground, sliding off the tip of the blade that had pierced it.
Queen Melissa stood amid the carnage, her chest rising and falling with heavy breaths.
Sweat clung to her skin.
Her fingers—raw and aching—tightened around her sword's hilt.
Her muscles burned.
She had cut down over a hundred Night Terrors.
It had been years since she wielded a blade like this.
Asher... Nimora...
Please wait for me, I'm—
A voice interrupted her thoughts.
Cold.
Shaky.
And wrong.
"Uhm, Queen Melissa? Have you used up all your Mana?"
That voice...
Melissa whirled around.
And there he was.
Redrics.
But this... was not the Redrics she had once known.
His veins bulged across his face like writhing roots.
His blackened eyes pulsed with eerie malice.
His lips curled, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.
A grotesque grin.
He wasn't human anymore.
He was something far worse.
Melissa didn't hesitate. She pointed her sword at him.
"Even without Mana, you think you can defeat me?"
Redrics chuckled.
A deep, sickening laugh.
"Hahahaha... How proud of you, my Queen."
Then his smile twisted.
"But... who said anything about me fighting fair?"