Each time I pulled the trigger, a barrage of explosions rained down from the sky.
BOOOM──!
KRRRRRRAAANG!
Relentless flames and blasts surged upward.
A thick cloud of smoke blanketed the ground, obscuring the view.
Of course, that didn't stop me. I kept firing.
["Nice shot!"]
Esther cheered with a fist-pump, clearly enjoying the sight of the Church of Morte getting torn apart.
I found it mildly ridiculous, but didn't comment.
'There's no way it'll be this easy.'
The Church of Morte might be a cult, but that didn't mean they were uncivilized savages.
Sure enough, within moments, cultists began returning fire with an array of firearms.
["Master!"]
"I see them."
TatataTANG────!
TatataTANG!
Gunfire rained from the ground.
Their firepower wasn't even enough to scratch Horus's bone armor—but I didn't feel like just soaking it, so Horus began evasive maneuvers.
VROOOM!
WHOOSH!
But dodging forever wasn't a solution, so I prepared to strike back.
"Horus."
[Kihehet!]
"Wipe them out."
Following my command, Horus continued dodging while gradually descending.
Bullets swarmed around us but merely bounced off the thick bone plating.
CLANG—!
CLANG! CLACKANG!
We closed in—about 300 meters from the ground now.
At Horus's speed, we'd arrive in the blink of an eye.
Then, Horus whipped its tail in a wide arc toward the earth.
['Wave Sweep' has been activated.]
Wave Sweep.
Originally designed to fight aerial monsters—but nothing said it couldn't be used on the ground.
In fact, the effect was more than sufficient.
KRARARARARANG───!
A sonic boom slammed down, kicking up a violent gale.
It wasn't a lethal technique, but that wasn't the point—every Church of Morte cultist on the ground was incapacitated.
'Time to move in.'
We were now well within range of the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher and the ICE-54 Plasma Cooler.
I grabbed both weapons, one in each hand, and leapt straight into the fray.
With plasma weaponry, diving in and spraying at close range was far more effective than midair bombardment.
"Esther."
["Okay, there's bravery, and then there's this—"]
Ignoring her protest, I jumped.
I didn't even need to use the Wings of Ankelenth or the Z-74 Jetpack—just used the propulsion from the combat greaves to soften my descent.
FSSSSSH──!
Before I'd even fully landed, the dazed cultists had already started rushing me.
I'd been trying to mimic a Turncoat beast for intimidation—but clearly, it wasn't working on them.
"Graaagh!"
"Ki-ll!"
Hmph...
If they were that eager to greet me, I had no reason to hold back.
I pressed both triggers.
KRKRKRKRKRAAAANG───!
Red plasma surged out like divine judgment, bathing the area in destruction.
Cultists sliced in half dropped like sacks of meat.
No matter how tenacious they were, nothing could survive a clean bisection.
Well, almost nothing.
"Kill… him!"
Despite the devastation, the Church of Morte cultists kept charging.
And I kept pressing forward.
CLICK—
A wave of frost erupted, freezing the area.
The cultists tried to resist, but their frozen limbs shattered like glass.
"Ghhh…!"
CRUNCH—
CRACK-CRACK—!
Dozens of cultists who had charged without hesitation were wiped out.
But it didn't last.
More emerged—where from, I had no idea—but they quickly surrounded me again.
'There are a lot of them.'
It made sense.
Anyone living outside the Ark had to align with a faction to survive.
The Sandstorm Caravan, the Kronos Union, the Church of Morte, the Desert Wardens, and more...
Among them, the Church of Morte was the only one that welcomed vagrants and wanderers without discrimination.
'Well, doesn't matter to me.'
I tightened my grip on the BLT-47 and ICE-54.
If they wanted to come at me, I'd give them what they deserved.
Blasts of light and ice surged once again.
No matter how many charged, attacking me head-on now was suicidal.
KRKRKRRAAANG──!
The cave that served as their base collapsed, and part of the rocky hill was blasted away.
I kept firing until both the plasma launcher and the cooler were nearly dry.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!
BOOOM!
Corpses piled up. The landscape changed.
Still, I didn't stop.
"K-kill…!"
"Cursed one!"
Mangled cultists dragged their broken bodies toward me, some crawling with their legs burned off. It was grotesque.
["Ugh… what is that?"]
Esther shook her head in disgust.
I wasn't thrilled either, so I raised the BLT-47 and put a hole in the cultist's forehead.
It wasn't a fight anymore—it was a slaughter.
Or rather, it never was a fight.
FSSSSSSHH…
The handles of both plasma weapons radiated heat.
To manage the temperature, I holstered them and pulled the Ark-34 Automatic Conversion Rifle from my back.
'So then…'
The number of cultists had plummeted to just a handful.
Practically none, really.
'But there's no way that's the end.'
I knew how persistent—how twisted—the Church of Morte could be.
If it were this easy, they wouldn't have earned such infamy.
Right on cue—
'There they are.'
One by one, more cultists emerged from hiding.
But these weren't just any cultists.
They looked different—clearly higher rank.
The Church of Morte's priests had finally entered the field.
Cunning bastards.
If they had shown up at the beginning, they would've been blasted apart by the BLT-47 and ICE-54.
But they waited—only appearing now, after the weapons had overheated.
'Doesn't matter.'
The size of this outpost now made sense. There were three priests.
"Blasphemer…"
They grit their teeth at the sight of me—furious.
I didn't bother answering. Instead, I raised the muzzle of the Ark-34.
BANG!───
Loaded with A-985 Explosive Rounds.
The shot exploded at point-blank range with a thunderous blast.
BOOOOM!──
A normal human would've been torn to pieces.
But these were priests of the Church of Morte.
Of course it wasn't enough. I kept firing.
BOOM!──
BOOM-BOOM!
Explosions rang out.
Then, through the smoke, a hand burst forth.
["Master!"]
Ether surged around me with Esther's urgent cry.
[Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave.]
[Don't come. Don't come. Don't come. Don't come. Don't come. Don't come. Don't come. Don't come. Don't come. Don't come. Don't come. Don't come.]
[Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.]
A multi-layered ether barrier echoed like a chant.
If Esther hadn't acted, that priest would've reached me.
"Grhh…"
The smoke cleared, revealing the priest—his skin covered in metallic scales.
'Blessing of Iron Scales.'
If the Serpent's Blessing enhanced regeneration, the Blessing of Iron Scales massively boosted defense.
This priest had taken a direct A-985 blast and looked almost unharmed.
'So, you can tank it, huh.'
A-985 Explosive Rounds could penetrate Iron Scales.
But any damage inflicted was just healed by the Serpent's Blessing.
Meaning, the Explosive Rounds alone couldn't break through both blessings.
'Only two real options.'
Overwhelm the Iron Scales with sheer force—or destroy them faster than they could regenerate.
I chose both.
Ssssss──!
I summoned the Spear of Ankelenth to my right hand and swung.
Even with the Iron Scales, nothing could withstand the Spear of Ankelenth's edge—not even a plasma sword rivaled its cutting power.
"You dare, unbeliever?!"
The priest roared.
But I didn't have the luxury to focus on just one.
The other two priests had flanked me.
'Slipped out of sight and waited until my firepower was busy, huh?'
It was now three-on-one.
But they'd overlooked something:
I wasn't alone.
'Janus.'
[Krrreeek!]
Summoned by my call, Janus unleashed its skeletal tentacles.
The priests recoiled.
"How does a blasphemer…!"
The Church of Morte loathed Skull Knights above all.
To them, a human wielding monster power was heresy incarnate.
That made me—a being similar to a Skull Knight—their greatest abomination.
"Blasphemous…!"
Infuriated, the priests rushed me in unison.
Revealing Janus must've provoked them.
'Idiots.'
I could summon two Spears of Ankelenth at once.
But I'd only drawn one.
Why?
'Now.'
I hurled the spear at the priest on my right.
Even a zealot wouldn't stand there and take it.
Sure enough, the priest dodged.
Just as planned.
'Checkmate.'
The dodge left him wide open.
I instantly summoned another spear in my left hand.
['Ether Imbuement' has been activated.]
Crkk… CRRKKK…
With a fluid motion, I reared back and launched the second spear.
['Bone Javelin' has been activated.]
The spear ripped through the air with a harsh sonic boom.
It struck home—piercing the priest's heart.