The middle-aged Priest is not only holding Rexorem with one hand; he is also preparing something with his other hand. I try to pry Rexorem off his hold, but to no avail—his hold is too strong.historical

As I see his other hand glow in gold, I immediately know it is not a good news. The aura it is exuding alone is already terrifying, so I know if I got hit by it, it won't be pretty.

Whoosh!

Still, I have no other choice but to get hit by it. I can't afford to let go of Rexorem and lose it here just to avoid the attack—Rexorem is too precious to be lost like that.

"Luxia!"

"On it!"

Luckily though, I have Luxia that can do something to the Priest's Holy Power. Coating my body with Mana and deciding to trust what Luxia is capable off, I take the blow.

Boom!

"Kuhak!"

The Priest hits me square in the chest. I kid you not, I feel like he has just managed to punch my soul and my skeleton out of my body even though his punch is already weakened.

Followed by that is an episode of me flying away to the back while trying to not lose my grip on Rexorem. I don't lose my grip on Rexorem fortunately, but that is the only thing I can do.

I can't right myself in the air, so I land with my back touching the ground first. I roll helplessly on the ground, until I stab Rexorem to the ground—only then my body stops rolling.

"Fuuuuuck... I can't breathe."

My chest is still numb, but I can tell that some of the bones are fractured. Although I can't see what is happening to the skin, I am sure it has also turned black due to the punch.

The Priest's punch is not just an ordinary punch—it is a Holy power imbued punch. His punch can not only crush my bones, but also char my skin black—purifying the Demonic Mana in my body.

I can hardly breathe because of that, but luckily, I have a cheat—my Origin. Since the condition for my Origin to take effect has been fulfilled, I only have to endure the pain for, at most, 3 seconds.

Whoosh!

As the Power I have gained from surviving my enemy's blow enters my body, I am instantly revitalized. I don't feel any of the pain that I've got from taking the Priest's punch head on anymore, and I feel stronger than before.

Standing up, I pat the dust off my coat, and wield Rexorem with two hands. Facing the Priest with the same confidence as before, I dash at him, but instead of targeting him, I target the boy he is protecting this time.

Deciding to take a page from Millonia's book, I cast her favorite Spell on Rexorem—[Ignia Ferrum]. Fire immediately coats Rexorem, and it changes Rexorem's outlook completely.

I am not saying Rexorem looks plain before, but covered in fire, it looks even more impressive. Of course, style doesn't matter much, but looking intimidating is also important in my opinion.

"Skill: [Wave of Death]!"

Using one of the Skills I have invented—which is simply another application of Mana without using any Spell—I swing Rexorem horizontally at the kid.

As expected, the Priest immediately pulls the boy behind him, and moves his hand swiftly in the air to catch Rexorem. He doesn't look concerned in the least bit about the fire coating Rexorem, and it is understandable considering how strong he is.

Unfortunately for him though, thinking my Skill that is combined with Millonia's favorite Spell is only amount to that is a big mistake.

Boom!

The moment he catches Rexorem with his Holy Power coated hand, Rexorem discharges a Mana wave that is imbued with Fire Magic. The Priest immediately lets go of Rexorem because of that, and takes the kid he is protecting away with him.

I am slightly disappointed that I can't blow the Priest away with my Skill, but I have expected it to happen, so I am quick to move on. Seeing the bewildered look on the Priest at the fact I have managed to hurt him is already enough.

In fact, I am slightly surprised at myself, since I didn't expect myself to be able to scorch the Priest's hand this soon. Currently, after all, I have only possessed two tenth of his power, so I didn't expect the gap has already been reduced that much.

I might be wrong though—concluding the gap between us has been reduced quite much—since there is a big chance that I have managed to injure him just because he has underestimated me.

"You are a weird Demon..." I hear the Priest exclaim. "You are stronger than before, and I couldn't even tell the difference until I took your hit."

Instead of responding the Priest, I look around cautiously. I, after all, always talk to my opponent when I need to distract them, so there might be a chance the Priest is looking for an opportunity to land a sneak attack on me.

Of course, I am doing it discreetly, so as to not notify the Priest that I know what he is planning. My cautiousness, however, turns to be for naught, since the Priest just really wants to talk.

"I can't tell what you actually are, Demon. I can sense a familiar presence from you, but I am not sure if it is human presence that I sense," the Priest muses. "You are... Different from all of the Demons I have met in many ways."

"Why does it matter to you—what exactly I am?"

"I can feel a hurt soul, and I just want to save it." The Priest smiles. "Scars might never disappear, but wounds can always heal. As long as one opens one's heart, one will be able to pull through the pain."

"... It is very bold of you to assume that I have a wound that hasn't healed yet." I can't help scoffing. "Look, time might do something, but time doesn't heal anything. People have wounds—time heals their wounds. I have cancer—time makes it worse."

I don't know if the Priest can somehow figure out the meaning of the idiom I have just created on the spot, but judging from his reaction, he has already figured out that I am already a lost cause.

Shaking his head helplessly then looks at me with his forlorn gaze in the next moment, he prepares another Iudicum. Seeing that as a cue for me to also move, while also paying attention to my surrounding, I dash at the Priest.

I am intending to engage in a close range battle with the Priest, so I am using the same Skill that I have used to injure him—[Wave of Death].

When I am already 8 feet away from him, the Priest suddenly takes out his Lasso of Judgement, then whips it at me. The rope wraps around my neck, instantly suffocating me, but it quickly loosens as soon as Luxia intervenes.

Using Earth Magic, with my newly strengthened Affinity toward Earth Magic, I generate an earth spike and send it to the boy, who is just a few feet behind the Priest.

The Priest immediately cancels whatever Iudicum he is about to launch at me, and turns to the boy to protect him from my earth spike. With a wave of his hand, he sends a golden blade to my earth spike, cutting it even before it reaches the boy.

The boy is safe from my attack, but thanks to that, the Priest gives me a gap to exploit. Striking the ground in front of him with Rexorem, I blow it up to impair his vision on me momentarily.

Moving past him and stop right behind his back, I swing Rexorem with my Skill active all the time. The Priest senses it coming, unfortunately, so he turns around to block Rexorem just a second before it bisects him.

Crack!

Boom!

With Luxia's help, Rexorem manages to break through the Holy Power powered Barrier protecting the Priest. The Priest, however, also lashes his Lasso of Judgment at me, so both of us are hit by each other's attack.

I managed to make a cut on the Priest's chest, and the Priest managed to break my chest bone again. I am not thrown away to the back this time, but I still jump back regardless.

Technically speaking, there is no advantage in distancing myself away from the Priest. My injury will soon heal the moment I get my power up, thus keeping a close distance is the best choice.

However, there is something, or rather, someone waiting for me just a few feet away ... They boy that has brought these Priests here—the boy that the middle-aged Priest is protecting.

"Oh, no! Not the boy!"

"No, don't come near me! Uncle Priest, help me!"

"Stay away from him, Demon!"

As soon as I arrive beside the kid, I grab him by his hair. He shrieks in fear as he scratches my hand, thinking it will make me let him go.

I smirk at how pathetic the kid and how apathetic I have become toward the cry of an innocent child. Presenting the kid to the Priest dashing at me to further rile him up, I erect an earth spike on the ground, and slam the kid's head to it.

"Cancer is not healed—it is removed."

With his head pierced with my earth spike, I grin as I watch the kid stop making a sound.