Chapter 136 – Stopping

In the darkness, Zodiac, who was intoxicated by the taste of blades, belatedly recognized his identity.

The jet-black knight.

It was that Inquisitor who had visited the Dharma Mage Division alone and taken Kaiser away.

-It’s that Inquisitor.

The swords of the two did not stop, clashing continuously to create a series of sparks that lit up the darkness.

-Even though I could execute him with intent alone.

As Zodiac drew out his power and released his intent,

his murderous clones sprinted through the darkness and began to fiercely rush at Rashid.

After piercing through this with his extra-sensory intuition,

Rashid also projected a sword of mana crafted from intent and sent it rushing into the empty air.

The two intents collided with a ferocious momentum, and seeing this, Zodiac let out a faint exclamation of admiration.

-You know intent?

Zodiac released another power of his.

-Kneel.

The power of the Dragon’s Eye struck Rashid, but

the Dragon’s Eye was already a broken power from the start.

‘No way.’

Rashid overcame the power of the Dragon’s Eye, and Zodiac felt an even greater interest.

-An opponent who does not submit to the Dragon’s Eye. It has indeed been a long time.

The Dragon’s Eye.

A power that subjugates the opponent with overwhelming fear.

However, it was a power that did not work on those who possessed the same power or the same status.

“Yeah, you are mistaken if you think the Dragon’s Eye is omnipotent.”

There were three ways to overcome his Dragon’s Eye.

Either they wore the Evil Eye Killer,

or their invisible power level was somewhat similar,

or otherwise, the spirit stat had to exceed 15.

Here, Rashid did not wear the Evil Eye Killer, but since he met both of the remaining conditions, he was able to resist his Dragon’s Eye without difficulty.

-To think there was someone like you here.

-I thought there were only bugs who couldn’t even resist.

“Sorry for disappointing your expectations, Zodiac.”

Zodiac stopped his next action and was surprised.

-How do you know this seat’s true name?

It was a name he had never told to anyone.

He had not even told it to Kaiser.

Let alone an Inquisitor who had absolutely no point of contact with him.

“Is that important? What is important is the fact that you are a World-Destroying Sinner.”

Zodiac gathered back the released power of intent and drew out power for the next move.

The surrounding area shook as if an earthquake had occurred, but Zodiac’s interest was focused on him, who knew his identity.

-Surprising. To think you even know such things.

-Could you perhaps be a minion sent by the Evil God?

“No way.”

Rashid infused mana into his blood sword to create the shape of a giant sword.

The sword strike splitting the earth targeted Zodiac, but Zodiac, who parried it, stepped onto the empty air and soared up vigorously.

A thick thundercloud spread over the area, and as he then emitted murderous intent, dozens of figures stretching from his body began to fiercely rush at Rashid.

Not wanting to be outdone, Rashid also sprinted through the thunderclouds, striking down his incoming intents.

At the end of Rashid’s sprint, Zodiac’s true body stood as if waiting for him.

Like that, the two clashed swords again, and the area shook once more as their powers collided.

The power of intent continued to clash, and the two kept trying to execute the opponent with willpower alone, like an inexhaustible spring.

At that moment.

A portal opened, and the Grand Dharma Officer revealed himself.

The Grand Dharma Officer spotted the jet-black knight clashing with Zodiac.

-It’s that Inquisitor.

Recognizing the situation, the Grand Dharma Officer donned his demonic clothing.

Having even shed his skin, he had transformed into a giant gorilla monster wrapped in iron armor, landing on the ground.

Boom!

Zodiac, who was intoxicated by the taste of blades, sent him a transmission.

-Save the gate first.

“The gate first, you say?”

Even at this moment, Zodiac was fiercely clashing with Rashid.

-The gate is priority.

Having received his command, the Grand Dharma Officer changed his mind and materialized a massive magic formula in the air.

Object Memory.

The power of magic that Luna had previously shown to recreate a crime scene,

the Grand Dharma Officer also attempted to materialize in the same way.

The gate that had miserably collapsed began to return to its previous memory.

The torn and blown-away structures returned to their places, and before long, began to take the shape prior to the explosion.

It was indeed an astonishing power.

‘As expected of the Grand Dharma Officer.’

It was a gate he had already collapsed.

He could not let it be restored again.

‘I should target the Grand Dharma Officer first.’

Rashid abandoned Zodiac and began to sprint toward the Grand Dharma Officer.

Sprinting rapidly as if folding space,

he tried to target the Grand Dharma Officer who was rebuilding the gate, but unfortunately, Zodiac was not one to stand still.

-You must not forget that your opponent is this seat.

Zodiac blocked his way.

Rashid, who was putting in his full effort, tried to overcome him and pass by,

but instead, it was he who began to be pushed back.

‘Damn, am I slowly being pushed back?’

The power that seemed equal was actually the result of Rashid overexerting himself.

Mana was not infinite, and as a result, the power that had dropped compared to before brought about the current outcome.

Rashid felt himself being pushed back without realizing it.

‘I thought it might work, but… I have no choice but to implant it.’

In the end, a situation where he had no choice but to implant the Immortal Heart.

‘If I implant it, I will definitely win, but if I’m unlucky, there is a 5% chance of instant death.’

If it was to this extent without even implanting the Immortal Heart,

the chance of winning would be 100% if he implanted it.

Just in case, Rashid searched for her, who was not present, with his extra-sensory intuition.

Her presence was felt in the distance, but judging from the fluctuating flow of mana, she seemed to have entered battle with the Dharma Officers.

‘I can’t count on her.’

Even if she had come here, it was questionable whether she would be a match for the Grand Dharma Officer.

‘If so…’

The moment his resolve was made,

Rashid’s gaze suddenly directed toward the sky.

This was the same for Zodiac, who was with him.

-Who is it?

The rough roar of a dragon reached the earth.

No, it was something that harbored a ferocity slightly lacking compared to a dragon.

Rashid, who was measuring this, belatedly realized its identity.

‘A wyvern?’

The cry of the wyvern, which sounded like twisting and tearing iron, resounded like a warning.

The appearance of a wyvern was not a big deal,

but their interest was actually focused on something else entirely.

‘It’s coming.’

Behind the wyvern’s roar,

there was something falling from the sky.

That which fell like a meteor landed fiercely on the earth and stood.

Immediately after the impact, a cloud of dust rose thickly, and inside, something revealing red pupils stood.

‘What is it?’

Rashid expressed doubt at the knight who fell before him, and it was the same for Zodiac.

-Who is it?

When the dust cloud cleared, what revealed itself before them was

a red knight.

Looking at the shape of the armor, it was Class 1 mana armor.

However, it was a mana armor that did not exist in Rashid’s memory at all, practically seen for the first time.

‘An enemy?’

Rashid and Zodiac focused all their attention on the newly appeared knight.

The red knight, who appeared out of nowhere, wielded the spear she was equipped with, took a stance,

and soon targeted Zodiac out of the two.

And surprisingly,

began to push Zodiac back with a terrifying momentum.

Seeing this, Rashid was astonished.

‘Pushing back like that against Zodiac?’

Zodiac was an opponent that even he found difficult.

Yet, that mysterious knight was not being pushed back at all against such a Zodiac.

Seeing this, Rashid had a strong doubt.

‘Who is it? There should be almost no knight who can deal with Zodiac like that.’

Even considering the Allied Kingdom, a knight of that appearance did not exist.

Declaredly,

it was a knight he had never seen in his life.

‘The mana armor she is wearing also looks like Class 1, so who on earth is she? If it’s a knight of that caliber, there’s no way I wouldn’t know.’

At any rate,

Zodiac was put in a somewhat difficult situation due to the red knight who suddenly intervened.

‘Could it be?’

A certain thought occurred to him, but

the Grand Dharma Officer rebuilding the gate was a higher priority than that.

While Zodiac was tied down,

the Grand Dharma Officer restoring the gate in the distance caught Rashid’s eye.

‘I can’t let him restore the gate.’

Temporarily forgetting Zodiac, Rashid’s body shot toward the Grand Dharma Officer before long.

Sprinting like a flash, he targeted the Grand Dharma Officer with the sword-qi he had manifested, and the Grand Dharma Officer also reflexively deployed a protective barrier, barely blocking his sword-qi.

‘You might not be Zodiac, but you’re easy.’

Soon after, Rashid, who sent swords of mana created from intent rushing, targeted the Grand Dharma Officer just like Zodiac had.

The rushing swords of mana tore through the Grand Dharma Officer’s protective barrier.

‘It’s that Inquisitor.’

The Grand Dharma Officer recognized the jet-black knight who was fiercely targeting him.

At the same time, his gaze directed toward him who was somewhere in the darkness.

‘Could it be?’

Fortunately, Zodiac was safe, but he was not in a situation to pay attention to the matters here.

Since he was blocked by another knight.

“Inquisitor, you are interfering again.”

Rashid stood confronting him.

The restoration of the gate paused for a moment, and the giant gorilla monster stared at him as if it would devour him.

“Do you even know what you are doing?”

The Grand Dharma Officer expressed doubt.

“This is making the path for that person to return.”

“No, you are making a clear mistake. That gate is not a device for that guy to return to his hometown.”

The Grand Dharma Officer was not one to take him at his word.

The Grand Dharma Officer thought he was extremely arrogant.

Rumble!

The gate, untouched by the Grand Dharma Officer’s mana, collapsed as it tried to return to its previous form.

Since the collapsed gate could be restored again, the Grand Dharma Officer, unconcerned by it, changed the area into an independent field.

At the same time the base field cleared and the independent field was erected,

the Grand Dharma Officer struck the earth with his tightly clenched fist.

Bang!

“Vanish.”

As magic bullets were fired wildly from the air, the Grand Dharma Officer began to manipulate the space where the independent field was unfolded at his whim.

However, since mana itself was not sealed,

Rashid’s power remained intact even in his independent field.

‘There’s no need to drag it out.’

Rashid released all his mana and crafted blades of intent.

While targeting Rashid by firing magic bullets, the Grand Dharma Officer briefly expressed doubt at the blades filling the entire area, but,

‘Magic should have been sealed? Could it be intent?’

The blades began to rush in terrifyingly.

Even with the demonic clothing wrapped in iron armor, the execution by intent could not be avoided.

In the subsequent strike, the Grand Dharma Officer was split in two and met his end.

It was truly a slaying of intent.

‘Thanks to that, he was easy to handle. In truth, clashing with Zodiac was the headache; if he was alone, he was no match for me.’

This was all thanks to him, who had temporarily tied Zodiac down.

Rashid looked toward the distance in the darkness.

He stared at the place where the knight continued to confront Zodiac.

‘Her appearance was definitely that of a female knight.’

It was not her who came with him.

Since her presence was being read elsewhere.

If so, the conclusion reached was only one.

‘Could it be the Empress?’

She was the only one who came to mind, but he couldn’t be sure of anything.

Since it was also the first time he had seen the Empress possessing martial strength.

‘If it’s true, it’s mind-boggling.’

Having kept her alive by force instead of killing her,

she was spewing the romance of catching Zodiac.

‘Is she not a magpie returning a favor, but an Empress returning a favor?’

At any rate,

Zodiac was still remaining, and now it was time to go clean him up.