Rei and Dell stood their ground as the Priest and the Paladin loomed over them. Hidden in the dense thicket nearby, the village chief and his elders watched with bated breath, their eyes wide. Rei, despite his blindness, felt their presence—their heartbeats were like drums in his heightened ears.
"Dell, charge," Rei commanded, his voice as steady as a mountain stream. "I'll handle the support."
"You didn't need to tell me twice!" Dell barked. His tattoos flared a violent crimson as his bloodline surged, and he launched himself forward like a cannonball.
The Priest sneered, raising his holy staff. "Not so fast, heretics!" He began to chant, his voice echoing with a divine, shimmering resonance:
"A holy man walked where shadows would stay,Bearing a lantern of quiet light's sway,Not all who begged were worthy of its grace,For truth must judge the heart, not just the face.
To the pure he gave warmth, a path clear and bright,But the false found their lies revealed in its light,For mercy is gentle yet never blind—The unworthy tremble when truth they find
Holy Man's Light for the Unworthy!"
A searing pillar of golden light descended from the heavens, engulfing both Rei and Dell. The Priest waited for them to wither, to feel their strength drained by the judgment of the light.
But nothing happened.
Inside Dell's bag, the Holy Sword he had salvaged acted as a lightning rod, drinking in the divine energy. As for Rei, the light didn't burn; it felt like a warm embrace. The Guardian Angel within him hummed, granting him absolute immunity to both demonic and holy extremes.
"But... how?!" the Priest gasped, his face paling. "That light judges the soul! It weakens the impure!"
"Maybe I'm just more 'worthy' than you think," Rei said with a mocking tilt of his head.
In the bushes, the elders whispered in awe. "They are apostles... no, perhaps they are gods in mortal form!" the chief breathed. "It is a miracle we didn't poison them. A curse would have wiped us out."
"Paladin! Kill them now!" the Priest shrieked in a fit of rage.
As the Paladin charged, the Priest cast a second spell:
"The Great Priest stood where the dawnlight falls,Hands raised high in the temple halls,Soft were the words, yet deep was their grace,Like sunlight settling on every face.
His blessing flowed like a quiet stream,Mending the torn, renewing the dream,For where his prayers in silence begin,Even the weary find strength within
Great Priest's Blessing."
A shimmering aura of strength wrapped around the armored warrior, doubling his speed.
Rei didn't move. "Hand Wind Lance."
Compressed air swirled violently around Dell's fists, forming invisible, piercing drills. When Dell's fist collided with the Paladin's glowing claymore, the shockwave shattered the nearby trees. Both fighters were thrown back by the impact.
Rei slammed his hand into the dirt. "Earth Dragon Devour!"
The ground beneath the Paladin exploded. A massive head of stone and soil rose up, snapping its jaws shut on the warrior's waist. The Paladin struggled to break free, but Dell was already airborne. "Eat this!"
The Priest desperately chanted a third spell:
"The saint stood firm where the shadows came,A silent prayer upon his name,Before the weak, before the fall,He raised in light a holy wall.
No blade could break, no darkness claim,The barrier burned with sacred flame,For faith alone had shaped its might—A shield of grace, a guard of light
Holy Wall of the Saint."
A translucent barrier of golden flame erupted in front of the Paladin. Dell's fists slammed into the wall, causing cracks to spiderweb through the light, but the barrier held.
As the Priest began a fourth chant, Rei's patience snapped. "Silent."
Rei manipulated the air around the Priest, creating counter-vibrations that perfectly canceled out the man's voice. The Priest's mouth moved, but no sound came out. He clutched his throat, his eyes bulging in panic as his "divine" voice glitched into total silence.
"Don't forget about the main event," Rei muttered. "Earth Maiden."
The stone dragon transformed, its body reshaping into a jagged, upright sarcophagus—an iron maiden made of earth—that began to crush the Paladin.
Desperate, the Priest tapped into the Holy Crystallite embedded in his staff. A raw beam of pure energy lanced out, shattering the Earth Maiden and freeing the Paladin. But it was too late. Dell had finally punched through the Holy Wall.
"My turn!" Dell roared.
His fists became a blur of red-tinted violence. Each strike landed with a sickening crunch, denting the Paladin's heavy plate. The Paladin tried to swing his sword, but Rei whispered, "Metal Spikes."
The metal of the Paladin's own sword and armor turned against him. The blade's edge melted back into his gauntlet, forming internal spikes that pierced the warrior's own arm. The Paladin screamed in agony. Dell grabbed the right arm of the armor and squeezed, the sound of snapping bone echoing through the woods.
The Priest fired desperate beams of light from his staff, but the Holy Sword in Dell's pack continued to protect him. Dell ripped the dented armor off the Paladin like it was wet paper and delivered one final, bone-shattering blow that sent the warrior crashing to the feet of the Priest.
Rei released the silence spell. "Speak."
"I... I underestimated you," the Priest hissed, though his legs were shaking. "The Church will make you pay! You are dead men!"
Rei sighed. "I was going to spare you. I really was. But people like you never learn. Dell, finish it."
Rei turned his back and walked away.
"No! Wait! Please spare me! I swear—" the Priest's plea was cut short.
Dell wasn't like Rei. He had no "no-kill" rule. He grabbed the dying Paladin and the terrified Priest. With a sickening duo of cracks, the threat was ended.
The villagers, seeing the battle concluded, slipped away silently into the forest. They understood the law of the world: the strong survive, and the losers are buried.
Rei stood under a tree a short distance away, his head hung low. He stared at his trembling hands.
I'm so useless, he thought, his heart heavy with a familiar self-loathing. Even now, with all this power, I don't have the resolve to end it myself. I'm just a coward hiding behind others.