The air inside the temple remained heavy with tension.The crimson cracks along the floor and walls had begun to fade,but they had not vanished entirely.
And yet, there was a far greater problem.
BOOOOM!
The massive gates of the temple burst open with a thunderous roar,a blinding light pouring in alongside an overwhelming wave of holy energy.
The Punitive Paladins.
Clad in armor etched with sacred emblems,they marched in with the weight of judgment in every step,filling the temple with their oppressive presence.
At the front stood a commander—his hand gripping a radiant holy sword.
He scanned the interior of the temple with a cold, expressionless gazeand spoke, his voice cutting through the silence:
"We are here to judge heretics and outsiders."
1. Clash with the Paladins – "Purge the Heresy"
Leonel stepped forward.Though he wore the same emblem as the Punitive Paladins,his face was clouded with unease.
"What are you doing...?""This is a temple, not a battlefield of holy war!"
But the paladin commander simply looked at him—with the eyes of a man who had already passed judgment.
"Leonel.""The mere fact that you stand among heretics places you under suspicion."
It was a warning, plain and sharp:If you do not fight with us, you are one of them.
Leonel clenched his teeth.He had come here to uphold his faith.But now, his own comrades were turning their backs on him.
There was only one choice.
"…Then I can no longer follow your faith."
He drew his blade.And stood beside Damian.
2. Battle Begins – Clash Against the Punitive Paladins
Two forces collided in the sacred hall.
⚔ Punitive Paladins vs. Damian's Party & Leonel
The paladins struck with swords wrapped in light.Each swing was not just a technique,but a blow empowered by divine energy.
These were not ordinary knights.They were warriors in the name of the divine—their strength, incomparable to mere mortals.
But Damian was no ordinary foe either.
His blade glowed with a blue aura,parrying the paladins' strikes with precision.
"Is this really… your god's will?"
He spoke quietly.
But the paladins gave no answer.They fought not with reason,but with unwavering faith.
Then—
BOOM!
Raean chanted a spell,and a massive burst of flame surged forth,blasting back several paladins.
But they rose again.
Their defenses were beyond imagination.
⚡ "Blessing of Light!"
One of the paladins cried out.In an instant, divine energy enveloped them—healing and empowering them all at once.
Cain gritted his teeth.
"At this rate, this battle will never end."
They were growing weary.But the paladins kept rising, again and again.
Then—the temple itself began to change.
3. Runaway Fissure – The Unexpected Turn
Suddenly, red light surged up from the floor.The air twisted.And then—
BOOOOOM!
A violent explosion erupted.
The cracks reopened—or rather, something was forcing its way through them.
The paladins' divine energy had clashed with the temple's essence,causing an uncontrollable reaction.
Some of the paladins cried out in agony—unable to contain the divine force coursing through them.
⚡ "Aaaaargh!!"
Their bodies warped,their forms twisting beyond recognition.
They were no longer holy knights.They had become something else—beings of uncontrolled, unnatural power.
And then—
"Do you even realize what you've done!?"
A furious voice echoed through the temple.
***
Chapter : End of Chaos – Caio's Intervention
The temple doors burst open,and a lone figure stepped inside.
Caio.
He had already learned that something dangerous was unfolding in the templeand had followed Damian here.
But the situation—was far worse than he had expected.
His gaze fixed on the crimson fissures spreading across the temple floor.His jaw tightened.
"This isn't just a crack…"
But there was no time to analyze it now.
Before him were paladins, overwhelmed by rampant divine power.And the Inquisitorial Paladins—still refusing to halt their assault.
If this fight continued,the temple would be destroyed completely.
1. Caio's Intervention – Restoring Balance Amid Chaos
Caio acted without hesitation, invoking his shamanic powers.
⚡ "Ritual: Seal of the Earth!"
As he drove a totem into the ground,the red energy coursing through the temple was momentarily suppressed.
But not entirely.He turned to Damian and shouted:
"We have to stop this fight—now!"
Damian surveyed the temple.Too much had already been lost.This battle… meant nothing.
But—the commander of the Inquisitorial Paladins didn't look ready to let go.
"We act by divine will!"
They were still poised to fight.
Then—
A radiant flash erupted,and a single paladin stepped forward.
"Enough!"
2. Sacred Mediation – The Start of a New Fracture
The paladin thrust his glowing sword into the ground and declared:
"We serve the will of the divine.""But is this truly His will?"
His voice rang with conviction.He, too, was part of the Inquisitorial Paladins—but his faith followed a different path.
He turned toward the crimson fissures of the templeand whispered, barely audible:
"This… this is beyond what we can bear."
He then used his sacred powerto begin stabilizing the corrupted paladins.
But—
His actions stirred anger among the other inquisitors.They glared at him with fury.
"You dare defy the divine order?"
But he remained firm.
"I follow the will of the divine.""But when I begin to question what that will truly is…""Then I must follow my conscience."
3. Escape from the Temple – A New Conflict Begins
The battle, for now, had ended.But the rift had only deepened.
Damian and Leonel knew they had to leave the temple.
The confrontation with the Inquisitorial Paladinswas not the end—
It was the beginningof a much greater war.
From this point on,they could no longer walk the same path.
**
Chapter : Cramped Space, Countless Foes – The Ones Who Turn the Tide
Deep within the temple—A narrow, suffocating corridor.And the enemies… were closing in.
"Eliminate the outsider!"
The commander of the Inquisitorial Paladins bellowed.At his command, armored paladins surged forward as one.
Tight space. Numerous foes.A worst-case scenario.
Damian's group realized it instantly—There was nowhere to retreat.If they were pushed back by sheer numbers in this narrow hallway, it was over.
But—
Ian's mind was already racing ahead.
1. Improvisation – Plate Armor is a Conductor
Ian's eyes sharpened as he scanned the surroundings.The temple walls were hewn from solid stone.And the paladins?Encased in thick plate armor.
And that's when it hit him.
He turned to Lean.
"Can you create water?"
Lean hesitated, just for a moment—but she, too, understood immediately.Water was a conductor.And lightning was the most efficient follow-up.
But there was a problem.
"Like last time, if I conjure a large volume of water… I won't have enough mana left for lightning."
Her reserves were already strained.She couldn't cast both.
But Ian shook his head.
"You don't have to. We've got Caio."
Lean turned to Caio.Their eyes met—and Caio nodded, already grasping the plan.
"Let's do it."
Lean extended her hand and chanted.
2. The Water–Lightning Combo
💧 "Blessing of the Water Spirit!"
A wave of blue magic filled the chamber.Water burst forth, flooding the floor beneath the paladins' feet.
Their armor, though blessed with divine power,could not repel something as mundane as water itself.
"Hold formation!"
The paladins raised their shields and invoked holy barriers.
But Ian smirked.
"A shield doesn't stop water."
⚡ "Power of Thunder!"
Caio raised his blunt weapon high.Sparks crackled across its surface,lightning gathering like a storm.
⚡ "Judgment Lightning!"
With a mighty roar, he slammed it into the ground.
KRA-KOOOM!
The surge of electricity exploded outward—and the water now turned against its wearers,converting every armored foe into a perfect conductor.
"Aaargh!"
One after another, the paladins fell to their knees, paralyzed.Even their sacred barriers couldn't stop the shock.
The enemy commander panicked.
"Bind of Light!"
He tried to purify the lightning surge.
But—
3. Cain's Arrow – Sever the Sacred Flow
Whoosh—!
A sharp arrow sliced through the light—striking directly at the commander's wrist.
"Ghk…!"
Just as he was channeling divine energy,the flow was abruptly broken.
And someone seized that opening.
4. Damian Moves
A flash of blue.Damian shot forward, sword glowing with electric light.
💥 "Black Cloud Sword – Thunderflash!"
His blade blurred like lightning itself.One by one, the stunned paladins collapsed under his strikes.
Each slash was precise and overwhelming—and the chain of control the commander had tried to reestablish,was shattered.
5. Leonel's Shock – Unorthodox Warfare
Leonel stood in awe, eyes wide.
"I've never seen… a battle like this."
Even with all his experience as a paladin,he had never witnessed such flexible, synergized combat.
And he understood something then:
These weren't just powerful warriors—They were battlefield readers.Adaptable. Ruthless. Creative.
That—was what kept them alive,even under the brutal laws of strength.
But—
This fight was far from over.
The paladins still vastly outnumbered them.And they weren't going to back down easily.
Worse—
A greater threat was already on its way.
***
Chapter : The Descent of the Divine – Birth of a Demigod
1. Shock and Confusion
The lightning-charged assault paralyzed the paladins, and the tide of battle was completely overturned by Damian's group.
The enemies fell in stunned disarray.Victory seemed within reach.
But then—
A voice, like a tear through space itself, rang out.
"—You must be judged."
The sound reverberated through the air, carrying a will so strong it seemed to manifest physically.
At that moment, Leanne staggered from sudden dizziness.Her eyes began to glow faintly, and overlapping visions of the future flashed before her.
The light was coming.
"We… will face the light… and… ngh…!"
Even as she collapsed, she witnessed a powerful vision of what was to come.
"That light—it's heading for Leonel!"
2. The Radiance of Divinity – Leonel Is Chosen
Leonel clutched at his body, struggling to stay upright.
A radiant aura of divine energy erupted from within him.
"Argh…!"
The power surged from deep within, boiling to the surface.
Leonel was bewildered.He had only been a paladin, someone who studied the shrine and its mysteries.But now, his body was forcibly transforming under divine power.
The paladins of the Punishment Order gasped in horror.
They understood what was happening.
"A god… is descending."
But with that realization came confusion.
"Why him?!"
They were the ones who had followed the will of the divine, who had fought and judged in its name.And yet, the one chosen by the heavens—was Leonel, their adversary.
"Is divine judgment starting… with him…?"
3. Demigod – Remnants of Forgotten Memory
The light grew blinding.Leonel's body lifted off the ground, as divine markings surfaced along his skin.
At that instant—
A flood of memories surged through his mind.
He felt a strange, overwhelming sensation.
As if...
He had always known this power.
"This light... it's not foreign to me.""No… it's something I've always known. Like a whisper in the bones, a rhythm buried beneath my pulse."
"Did I forget it? Was it sealed away? Or… have I always been something more?"
"These markings… this power… it doesn't feel like a gift. It feels like something I was born with. Something I once abandoned… or was forced to abandon."
"Am I still human?""Or have I always been something between—a vessel not of choice, but of design?"
"Then who am I really?"
_"If this is what it means to be chosen, to carry the will of a god…""Then I want to know—was it ever my will to begin with?"
His eyes opened slowly—and in that instant, his gaze alone was enough to silence the battlefield.
The god had descended.
And Leonel's body was its vessel.
4. The Will of the Divine vs. Human Rejection
The atmosphere on the battlefield transformed entirely.
The Punishment Paladins looked on in horror.
"This… this can't be accepted!"
They had believed they were following the will of the divine.But the chosen one was not among them.
They wavered.Had their beliefs been a lie?Or had their entire path been a mistake?
And yet—They had shed too much blood to turn back now.
"We will obey the divine will!"
Some knelt.
"This is heresy!"
Others outright rejected it.
A new war was brewing.
A god had descended—but the conflict over that divine willwas only just beginning.