At the square where a cross stood with horrifyingly crucified beasts… an hour earlier.
The mysterious priest stood calmly, gazing at Elianora and Emilia. Emilia whispered softly as she spoke to Elianora:
"This person is not to be underestimated. He possesses a terrifying and heavy latent aura."
Elianora spoke in a calm tone while holding her Phantium Card, saying:
"That's right. From his terrifying presence and the calmness he maintains, he's clearly an opponent not to be taken lightly."
The mysterious priest placed his hand on the cross, where a beast was crucified. A red aura emanated from his hand as he spoke calmly:
"Look carefully at these beasts, and be certain they were once humans… but committed a grave and unforgivable sin."
The red color from his hand flared up violently until the crucified beast evaporated, leaving the cross standing in horror, now with a face looking toward the broken sky, devoid of any expression.
Shock was evident on Elianora's and Emilia's faces. The mysterious priest continued speaking:
"And gold is but a worthless thing if there is no one worthy of it. Likewise, a sword is merely iron unless its wielder is brave and strong."
"You seem like a good person. Why don't you let us pass, and we will spare your life," Emilia spoke lightly but with an underlying threat.
The priest turned his head toward Emilia. Without delay, the priest appeared right in front of them, moving his head slowly toward the broken sky.
"Bravery is beautiful… but fear is also a blessing. Your way of speaking is deceptive but quite clear," the priest spoke with extreme calmness.
Elianora placed her Phantium Card onto the four holes and drew her sword, placing it at his neck. She spoke sharply with a smile:
"Priest, save your sermons for somewhere else. We don't need your empty words."
The priest moved his head toward Elianora's blade. He smiled — a mysterious, terrifying smile that made Elianora feel slightly afraid.
"Raising a sword this way is quite rude."
Emilia placed her two daggers against his chest and said with a clear, threatening tone:
"Like Elianora said, save your sermons for elsewhere."
In a terrifying burst of speed, the priest moved his hand, releasing a red wave that pushed both of them violently backward until they slammed into the walls of the cross square.
'What was that? That fast? I couldn't even notice the movement,' Elianora whispered to herself as she clutched her stomach.
'What a terrifying monster. I couldn't even see his movement clearly,' Emilia acknowledged the priest's overwhelming power.
The priest appeared in front of Elianora and struck her head with his fist, slamming her onto the ground twice with terrifying force. Emilia, seeing this, moved quickly with her daggers, but the priest was holding the blade and dodging it at the same time.
"What…?! He's holding the blade while dodging it at the same time," Emilia was stunned by the priest's bizarre skills.
Elianora appeared behind the priest, blood covering her face. But the priest struck Emilia's face with his elbow, breaking her nose and sending her stumbling backward. Then he swiftly turned toward Elianora, grabbed her ribcage, and slammed her down onto the ground with full force.
Elianora spat blood from her mouth, gritting her teeth tightly. She muttered through the pain:
'Couldn't even hit him? Does he predict every move? Or… is he relying on his senses? Is he blind?!'
Elianora started to think strangely, suspecting that the priest might be blind. Meanwhile, Emilia was clutching her broken nose, bleeding heavily.
The priest moved his head slowly between Emilia and Elianora. He smiled faintly and spoke with chilling cruelty:
"You look like insects stuck in honey, moving unbearably slow."
Emilia got up and tried to place her dagger against his throat — but she found herself stabbing only air. The priest was now behind her.
"Doga…" the priest uttered this word in a terrifying tone, unleashing a red wave that tore through the very sound itself, crashing into both Elianora and Emilia.
Both of them were hurled against the wall with the sound of bones shattering echoing across the square. The priest appeared before them and simultaneously drove a cross through both of their bodies.
A crimson light flashed beneath his blindfold, and the cross exploded, causing a horrifying blast that carved a massive crater into the ground.
Fortunately, Emilia managed to escape that bloody, insane blow, though Elianora's arm was heavily injured — yet she could still fight.
The priest slowly turned around, the red light under his blindfold flashing with tremendous intensity.
"How can we stop this monster? It's like facing a nightmare no one can stand against," Elianora spoke angrily while clutching her injured right hand.
"That's right. Any sudden or fast move — he anticipates it as if he sees us moving in slow motion," Emilia said wearily, staring at him with one functioning eye.
Both looked at each other in shock. Elianora smiled strangely:
"So this priest has a terrifying ability: he sees us moving slowly. That's how he keeps up with every move."
Emilia smiled back with a terrifying, calm demeanor:
"Let's kill the priest."
They both charged at the priest, moving quickly and launching bursts of fire at him. Despite their efforts, he easily dodged every attack — until Elianora appeared behind him and stabbed his back, and Emilia struck his head, sending him flying toward the wall.
Before crashing, he planted his feet into the ground to stabilize himself. Elianora appeared before him and fired a bullet that pierced his neck. He grabbed Elianora's head and slammed her to the ground violently, causing her to spurt blood.
But Emilia appeared behind him and cut off his right hand. He turned to her, and the crimson light under his blindfold flashed violently, forcing her to retreat until she hit the wall.
Despite the pain, Elianora stood up, grabbed the priest's head, and smashed it into the ground, unleashing a series of violent punches, her rage boiling inside her. She drove his head into the earth. Then Emilia suddenly appeared and shot him with a devastating bullet that pierced the ground itself.
A massive crater formed in the middle of the square. Emilia wiped her forehead and said:
"With sudden attacks and clever tactics, we wrecked him."
Elianora, bleeding heavily, clenched her fist and said with worry:
"Still… I don't think this monster will die that easily."
A crimson light appeared behind Elianora and Emilia. They turned to see the ground itself seeping with a dark, ominous red.
The priest emerged from beneath the earth, placing his hand over his blindfold. He stared straight toward the crater and said mockingly:
"There were some demons down below… unfortunately, their fight was not as good as this one."
Elianora and Emilia both felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness. Emilia swallowed hard and said:
"This is not a priest… it's a creature that surpasses terror itself."
Elianora's hand trembled — not subtly, but clearly and visibly. She spoke in a faint whisper to herself:
"Why do I see the ground breaking beneath him? Why does he keep looking up at the shattered sky? Could he be one of the Great Ones?"
The mysterious priest raised his hand upward, and from the broken sky, a strange crimson object descended toward the earth like a needle.
The priest grasped a sword shaped like a cross, its blade dripping with blood from the ancient ground. He held the sword tightly, grabbing the blade itself with his right hand, and spoke in a sharp, cutting tone:
"To be a hero… is mere nonsense."
He launched toward them at a terrifying speed, so fast that the ground shattered under the force of his movement.
In an instant, he stabbed Elianora through the stomach, taking her completely by surprise with the sudden attack.
Emilia reacted quickly, swinging her dagger in an attempt to cut off his hand.
But the priest tilted his head slightly and unleashed a crimson wave that forced her backward — severing her hand in the process.
The priest pulled the sword out of Elianora's stomach, grabbed her by the neck, and placed his hand on her chest, speaking with a heavy, dreadful voice:
"DogaAAAAA…"
A red light appeared and then shaped itself strangely before entering Elianora's chest.
She was hurled violently against the wall — both her arms were severed, a deep gash tore across her chest, and even part of her bone was shattered.
Elianora coughed up blood in torrents.
Emilia, despite being gravely wounded herself, stood up and charged forward, fury burning in her eyes as she swung her two daggers rapidly.
But the priest merely stood still, dodging her strikes effortlessly.
Then he stomped hard on the ground and, with a voice filled with horror, declared:
"To the King of the First Lords!"
He then pierced Emilia's stomach, broke her arm, and slammed her into the ground with such force that the earth exploded from the impact.
The priest stood amidst the chaos he had created, gazing silently up at the sky.
"It was not among the guilty to look upon the Emerald," the priest spoke in the tongue of the Great Ones — a speech that was not easily understood.
Elianora was utterly destroyed and horrifically exhausted; it would take her a long time to heal.
On the other side, Emilia was practically swimming in her own blood from the brutal strikes.
The priest stood before the horrifying massacre he had wrought.
He spoke once again in the speech of the Great Ones:
"I face death. And when a soul realizes that it is already dead, that is true, inevitable death."
He continued speaking in a strange, unclear tone, as if all the emotions once contained within his body — if emotions ever existed there — had evaporated completely:
"It seems the Massacre of the Cemetery of Red and Yellow shall soon occur. I shall go to witness it from afar, along with the other entities, to watch Prince Lundis."
The mysterious priest raised two fingers into the air — and then vanished in a horrifying instant, triggering a massive explosion that shook the earth violently.
"Elianora… Elianora… are you okay?" Emilia could barely speak.
Elianora, spitting blood onto the ground, answered:
"I… I am alive… but I need (spitting blood) I need some time to get up."
Emilia gave a broken, defeated, almost dead smile as she said:
"So do I."
And just before Emilia completely lost consciousness, she spoke weakly, coughing blood upon blood, her voice full of helplessness as she awaited healing:
"To be a hero… is mere nonsense. It's true… heroism is something so hard."