My World is.... (8)
There are many kinds of weakness.
Even someone with a strong body might have a weak mind, and conversely, someone with a strong mind might have a weak body.
But the priest could say with confidence.
There was definitely no such thing as a "weakling" here.
The opponent he had been fighting was a powerhouse who lacked neither in body nor in mental strength.
No—if one were to call a superhuman weak, then who in this world could possibly be considered strong?
The priest grabbed Ghislain's hand and asked,
"Wh-Who are you talking about.... I think there's some kind of misunderstanding...."
Ghislain tilted his head back once and said,
"That guy. Him. The one who's on the verge of death fighting you right now. He's weak in body, and even weaker in spirit. He's tried to play sick and run off from training more times than I can count."
"......"
The priest couldn't believe it. Just from hearing that, it really did sound like the guy was some kind of fragile wimp.
Then what the hell kind of monster had he been fighting all this time?
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. The one who had appeared before him gave off a far more dangerous vibe than his previous opponent.
The priest began drawing up his energy. He had only been caught off guard by the sudden attack, but he didn't believe he was actually the weaker one.
Drrrrrrrr!
He grabbed Ghislain's arm and poured his energy into it. He intended to break it entirely.
But Ghislain scoffed and said,
"What, you want to try brute force?"
Ghislain was also in quite a worn-out state. He had fought fiercely with Rahamod, and his stamina and mana were nearly depleted.
But the priest he was grappling with was no different. He, too, had been weakened from the shock of the holy power and Kyle's final attack.
Ghislain drew up his remaining mana and pressed down harder on the priest's neck.
Crackkkk!
"Kehk!"
The priest couldn't even come close to breaking Ghislain's arm—he was too busy trying to withstand the immense pressure crushing his neck.
In a voice barely escaping his lips, he asked,
"Wh-Who are you...?"
"His guardian."
"Y-You're insane...."
The priest was dumbfounded. Even hearing it directly, he couldn't believe it.
What kind of superhuman has a guardian tagging along?!
But Ghislain was being sincere. Whether it was Yulian, Deneb, or Kyle—even if they had awakened, they still weren't enough in his eyes.
To fight against the Demon Realm and save the world, they needed to be much stronger. So from Ghislain's perspective, he still couldn't let his guard down.
It was like leaving children by the water's edge.
Hearing that, Kyle chuckled and collapsed to the ground.
"Damn it… I'm a superhuman now, too."
Kyle said that and flopped onto his back.
He had thought he was done for—but then Ghislain appeared.
That alone was enough for him to lie down in peace. That's how much unwavering trust Ghislain inspired.
So if Ghislain claimed to be his guardian, he had no argument.
'Still, I am a superhuman now. I've gotta be stronger than Yulian at least.'
Kyle closed his eyes and smirked. He finally felt like he had won their rivalry.
'Maybe I'll take the captain's seat next?'
Ambitious thoughts floated to mind. With that cheerful notion, Kyle slowly drifted into sleep. His body was far too exhausted to hold out any longer.
Ghislain glanced back and smiled.
"Good work. Take a rest."
At those words, Kyle completely relaxed and passed out.
Now that Ghislain was handling things, everything would be fine.
The priest clenched his teeth. He hated that they were acting so relaxed right in front of him.
But the opponent seemed quite strong. For now, he needed to create distance and get a proper measure of the guy's power.
A mediocre effort wouldn't break free. The priest drew out his energy without holding back and fired it straight at Ghislain's face.
Fwoooosh!
Ghislain tilted his head to dodge. Taking advantage of that moment, the priest broke free from the hold.
The two stood off. Ghislain ignored the sword strapped to his waist and pulled a staff from subspace.
Gramdir was excellent, but it was more effective against someone like Rahamod—a true powerhouse. Against the weak(?), it felt much more satisfying to beat them with a staff.
The priest, having created distance, didn't stop and kept firing off energy.
BOOOOM!
Black energy split the earth.
The explosion-like energy that burst from the priest's fingertips spread outward like a massive tidal wave.
Shattered boulders, earth shooting into the air, cracks forming in the ground.
But Ghislain dodged it all with remarkable precision.
"Is that all? That'd only work on weaklings."
Ghislain dashed forward. The priest gritted his teeth and waved his hand at the approaching Ghislain.
FWAASH!
Black energy gathered around him and formed a massive curtain-like barrier.
Ghislain's eyes gleamed. He was observing the pattern of the curtain. As soon as he identified the threads, he swung his staff at the barrier.
The staff held in both hands cut through the air with a mighty roar.
BOOOOOM!
Ghislain's staff tore through the curtain of darkness, revealing the priest once again.
"Th-That's impossible."
The priest was shocked. He had poured a considerable amount of energy into defense, but it had been shattered so easily!
And the opponent didn't even seem to be using much strength.
He tried to gather energy again, but in that instant, Ghislain vanished from sight.
"...!"
The priest instinctively turned around—
—and Ghislain's staff came flying in from behind.
BOOOOOM!
"Guhk!"
The blow to the face sent several of the priest's teeth flying into the air. His body was thrown and rolled across the ground.
"Kugh! You bastard...."
The priest stood up, spitting blood.
Ghislain clicked his tongue and muttered,
"Looks like I am pretty drained."
Since he wasn't infusing enough mana into his attacks, the opponent was holding on better than expected. He was still using a bit of his willpower ability, but he didn't think he could use it many more times.
The priest stretched out his hand and unleashed another storm of black energy.
Ghislain boldly swung his staff at the approaching storm.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM!
Each swing of his staff shredded the storm, scattering it into the air.
The priest stepped back in shock.
"Wh-What? What the hell is that?!"
His opponent wasn't using strength to destroy the energy. Somehow, he was disrupting it with minimal power.
This was definitely… similar to that final attack the unconscious one had used. No—this was on an entirely higher level.
As he stood dumbfounded, Ghislain had already closed the distance.
WHOOSH!
The priest barely twisted his body to dodge the incoming staff. It narrowly missed him and slammed into the ground.
BOOOOOM!
"Huh?"
The shockwave sent the priest flying. Before he could regain his stance, Ghislain's staff slammed into his side.
THUD!
"Guhk!"
The priest, befitting a superhuman, unleashed energy even as he was being flung.
But a haphazard attack wouldn't work on Ghislain.
He easily dodged and drove his staff into the priest's abdomen.
THUD!
The priest, bent at the waist, flew back and rolled across the ground multiple times.
"Khuhk...!"
Coughing up blood, the priest rose, his face pale.
No. This is someone I can't beat.
Just from the aura, it seemed like a winnable fight. Both of them were clearly exhausted.
But in actual combat, he couldn't even graze his opponent's clothes. The way the guy moved was on another level.
Even without those strange powers, the sheer skill on display was unfathomable.
What the hell is he? Who is this guy?
His clothes were in tatters, and his face pale. It was clear he had just come from an intense battle—yet how could he move like that?
Wait… if he got here after fighting—
Suddenly, a dreadful thought crossed the priest's mind.
He reached toward the approaching Ghislain and shouted,
"W-Wait!"
"What? I don't accept surrender."
"Who are you?!"
"Astion."
"Th-The Crazy Mercenary Mage?!"
The priest gulped.
He was well aware of the Yulian Mercenary Corps. Once this situation was over, they were one of the groups the cult had scheduled for elimination.
They had interfered with the cult's operations far too many times.
And yet, to think those bastards were interfering here as well!
The priest cautiously asked,
"Who, who were you fighting just now?"
It was obvious he had just come from battle. And he had appeared from the direction of Valskrum's royal capital.
That place housed two Prophets. So the priest asked, just in case.
Ghislain gave a faint smile and replied,
"Rahamod."
"....."
"And there was also that Tagmah bastard."
"Wh-What became of the two of them?"
"They died. Cleanly. They were incredibly strong."
"......"
"They got their heads cut off by the Saintess's holy power. You felt that holy power too, didn't you?"
"L-Lies..."
The priest trembled. He didn't want to believe it, not even a little.
But he couldn't deny it either. Otherwise, a monster like Astion wouldn't have shown up here.
And there was another undeniable reason.
Could that holy power have been…
That sudden sweep of holy power that had passed through the region.
It had only lasted a moment, but its intensity was overwhelming. And it had clearly emanated from the direction of Valskrum's center.
If such immense holy power had struck close range… it wasn't impossible that the two Prophets had been taken down.
Now, the priest could piece everything together.
The Prophets had truly died, and this monster—this man with bare hands—had come here to assist.
His face pale, the priest turned around.
He had to run. The other high-ranking priests and dark mages were likely all on the brink of death by now.
But before he could even take a step, Ghislain blocked his path and swung his staff.
The staff slammed into his body once again.
BANG!
"Kehek!"
With a sickening crack of his ribs, the priest was hurled away.
"Running away? Now? If you were gonna run, you shouldn't have bullied the weak in the first place."
Ghislain swiftly closed the distance.
The priest weakly tried to get up, but before he could, the staff crushed his knee.
CRACK!
"Gaaaaah!"
His knee twisted and snapped. As his form collapsed, Ghislain brought the staff down onto the back of his hand.
BANG!
"Aaaargh!"
The priest's hand lost its shape. Ghislain didn't stop, slamming the staff into the priest's back.
BOOM!
The priest's body slammed into the ground, dust exploding around him. He was completely out of it from the pain.
M-Must run...…..
The priest didn't even consider resisting anymore. He was consumed by terror, thinking only of escape.
He had lost his will to fight—he didn't even dare consider self-detonation.
Ghislain looked down at him, raising his staff once more.
"Kyle nearly died because of you. You should pay for bullying the weak, shouldn't you?"
"W-Wait...…."
BOOOOM!
"Guuuuuh!"
Ghislain struck the fallen priest mercilessly. The blow was so powerful, it cracked the ground beneath the priest's body.
But Ghislain didn't stop.
"This one's for Yulian."
BOOM!
"This one's for Deneb."
BOOM!
"This one's for Dark, who vanished while fighting here."
BANG!
"This is for Osval… Lionel… Erenes… Rio… Andrew… Uh… and… yeah, Belinda… Gillian… Arel… Vanessa… Alpoi… Claude… Kaor… Jerome… Parniel… Elena… Piote… Wendy… Lumina… Lowell… Ascon… Galbarik… Rozalin… Gordon… Lucas… Forisco… Bean… Amelia… Bastet… Cain… Koko…"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Ghislain just kept swinging, shouting out random names of people he knew.
Of course, the priest didn't recognize a single one. He had no idea why he was being beaten on behalf of all these strangers.
And somehow, it felt like a few animals were mixed in there too.
"Gahk! Guhk! Kkeuhk!"
The priest screamed as he continued to be pummeled. His already-depleted energy was fading with each strike.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
As time passed, the priest's body flattened. Eventually, even his screams ceased.
Only faint, shallow breaths could be heard intermittently.
Each blow was strong enough to crack the ground. Even a superhuman couldn't withstand being hit like that dozens—hundreds—of times.
At some point, Ghislain finally stopped and wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Phew… mentally weak, this one. He couldn't even endure this basic(?) training."
He had prepared for the possibility that the priest might self-destruct like the others.
But the priest had completely lost the will to fight and hadn't even tried.
If the priest had been in full condition, it wouldn't have been so easy to drive him into a corner.
Caught in the shockwave of holy power and struck by Kyle's final blow, the priest had already lost most of his strength.
That's why, despite Ghislain's own exhaustion, he was able to overwhelm him with sheer technique.
And an opponent who's only thinking of escape isn't hard to handle.
No matter how powerful someone was—if they lost their fighting spirit, it was as good as defeat.
Ghislain turned around.
Kyle was lying unconscious, his body covered in blood.
He had been weaker than the priest. But he had never lost his will.
He had never given up. He had fought to the very end.
A man with overwhelming power, who tried to run away after losing his will to fight.
And a man who refused to back down, even when it meant collapsing in the end.
This battlefield was proving who the truly strong one was.
Ghislain wore a pleased expression.
He's grown up well. Even better than I expected.
Truthfully, Ghislain had thought it would take Kyle more time to reach the realm of the superhuman.
But in this battle, by throwing everything into it, Kyle had finally broken through the wall.
Ghislain had heard from Dark what Kyle's mindset had been during this fight.
And that resolve moved him deeply. As expected, someone destined to save the world was different, down to the core.
Turning his gaze back to the priest, Ghislain raised his staff.
"Let's finish this."
"S-Spare me...."
The priest murmured with a voice barely clinging to life. But Ghislain replied coldly.
"There's no such thing between us."
THUD!
Ghislain swung his staff with finality, shattering the priest's head.
With this, all the priests of the Salvation Church who had invaded Valskrum were dead. The enemies battling the dwarf warriors had also mostly been taken care of.
"Let's go."
Ghislain hoisted the unconscious Kyle onto his back and began walking toward the capital once more.
Everything had been resolved for the better. The invasion of the Salvation Church had been stopped, and even the powerful Prophets were dead. Grondal had promised to hand over the Sacred Stone as well.
But that didn't mean everything was completely over.
An important negotiation with Grondal still remained.
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