A large number of belbokes were climbing up to the roof of the main chapel where Zenbe pointed at with his Titania. It seemed more twenty for sure. Once getting on the roof, they spread their wings and flew towards the plaza.
It was strange. Belbokes were crawling out from inside the building.
“It is so weird.”
“It is not the time to be idle. We need to help them before suffering more damage and casualties.”
“Well, I think you’re right but…”
I partly agreed with his opinion. The troops and Holy Knights at the Saint Euroa Temple definitely had their hands full against more than twenty Belbokes. It’s nearly time for me to take another job from a new client.
“But what?”
As he asked, I looked at the remaining half of my bread with sad eyes.
“Can I keep this for later?”
“Hey!”
“Okay, okay. You’re so hot-tempered… Huh?”
As soon as I put the bread down and drew my Yojo, one Belboke circled around in the air and started coming down towards us quickly. She must think that we’re easy prey since we’re not running away.
When she came very close and tried to attack us with her claws, I stepped on Zenbe’s shoulder and jumped into the air with one leg. Then I sliced off her head.
The Belboke with her head cut off crashed against the ground and then the wall of the temple before she stopped moving. But her head still tried to bite us with its beak.
Since the Chaos Piece was in her left eye, she was still alive. I immediately poked her eye with Yojo and took out the piece inside.
“A coin?”
Surprisingly, it was a copper coin instead of the Chaos Piece. While looking around with his wary eyes, Zenbe also saw that I took out a coin from a Belboke’s eye.
“It is a Demon Summon Skill.”
Demon Summon Skill was the magic used to summon demons. As the human world defined demons as absolute evil, it was forbidden to use that magic. Those who learned how to spell that magic would be executed in the name of God upon discovery.
Also, there was one difference between demons summoned by the magic and other demons that were controlled by Chaos Piece. In fact, summoned demons were controlled by the magicians who summoned them. That’s why summoned demons had some kind of metal pieces that could absorb and deliver mana more efficiently instead of Chaos Pieces.
So obviously, the current incident was caused by someone on purpose. I pointed at the Emir and her guards.
“Hey uncle, go there quickly and protect our client first!”
“Our client?”
“I am talking about the Emir. It seems she’s the target.”
“Oh really? What about you?”
I looked at the roof of the main chapel where those Belbokes came out from a little earlier. Over the building, three Belbokes were flying and patrolling without attacking other people as if they’re protecting someone.
Given the current situation, I thought I should go over there. We’re being attacked so unexpectedly and we still didn’t know who our enemy was. There’re a lot of unpredictable factors so I felt uneasy about sending Zenbe to that building.
“I will take care of the summoner. This is a better solution.”
“Okay. I got it.”
“And uncle, don’t forget to do the last thing.”
“What are you talking about?”
Looking at Zenbe’s innocent face, I deeply sighed. I should give up asking him to do the sales.
“Never mind. Just wait and don’t let our client run away until I come back. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“I got it.”
After hearing his answer, I ran towards the main chapel and Zenbe hurriedly headed to the Emir.
Queeeek! Queeeek!
I heard Belbokes’ cry from behind. As it sounded louder and louder, some of them were targeting me for sure.
Just as I expected, the summoner seemed to be somewhere inside the main chapel. Otherwise, Belbokes would not try to attack me all at once as soon as I headed to the building.
I broke a window and entered the building. Those Belbokes chasing me could not enter through the small window. So they rushed to the front door and pecked at the tightly closed wooden door with their beaks.
After buying myself some time, I looked around the center lobby.
‘Two routes?’
In the lobby, there were doors that led to the Grand Chapel on the first floor and spiral staircases to the second floor on both the left and right sides. But it didn’t take long for me to make a decision. The Grand Chapel was quite whereas a swarm of two-legged, snake-faced demons was coming down from the stairs.
“Snakers? That’s good. I can use them as my guide.”
Snakers were weak demons whose danger level was between 10 and 20. They were a little bit smaller than humans. One Snaker was as strong as a well-armed soldier.
Without delay, I smashed the skull of one Snaker rushing towards me and started climbing up the spiral staircase while wielding Yojo hard to the left and right.
Keeahhh! Keeahhh!
Spreading Snakers’ blue blood everywhere, I slowly went up the stairs. Snakers kept screaming and rushing towards me but soon lost their legs and necks by my Yojo. Their bodies fell to the bottom of the stairs as if flowing down the river.
The Snaker’s weak point was her forehead. But I only sliced off their heads because they’re weak anyway so I didn’t need to target their weak points.
Their heads rolled over the ground with mouths wide open. I crushed their heads with my feet and went up to the second floor.
‘Hmm…’
The second floor was quiet. It seemed that I killed all the Snakers at the staircase.
I scratched my head.
“Did I kill them too soon? There are no Snakers left so I can’t use them as my guide anymore.”
On the second floor, the main staircase leading to the third floor was at the center and there were small chapels on both left and right sides.
It seemed that the summoner was not on the second floor. If dozens of demons came out from the second floor, at least a few doors should be open or even broken but all the doors were sealed shut. But only after I checked every small chapel carefully as well as the Grand Chapel on the first floor, I headed to the third floor.
Obviously, I would be in serious trouble if enemies came out from behind after I went up to the third floor.
‘Huh?’
When I climbed up half of the staircase towards the third floor, I stopped because I could feel a strong mana effect from above.
It felt like a magic item. The energy of life fluctuated vigorously yet I could feel only the steady trace of mana.
‘A magic item? But then how come the energy is so strong? It’s even stronger than the energy of my Zet-Black Crescent Horse.’
At that moment, one Belboke came out and attacked me with her wings folded. Dodging her beak attack easily, I climbed up the wall and sliced off her head.
Belboke’s danger level was between 50 to 60 but when she’s on the ground, she became weaker than a demon whose danger level was less than 20. Her attack was so simple and her movement became so slow.
Yet, she still could be dangerous so I took a copper coin out of her left eye to kill her completely.
‘Dammit. I just killed a Belboke and the only byproduct I can get is a coin worth 10 riffs of copper. What an unprofitable hunt.’
Finally, I went up to the third floor and it was the top floor since the main chapel of the Saint Euroa Temple had only three floors.
I carefully looked around and entered the hallway.
On the third floor, there was a long prayer room as well as an outdoor sky lounge. The prayer room and the lounge were separated by a hallway and a circular, arch-shaped pillar. Outside the lounge, I could see the vast Lake Kara.
“Hohoho. It’s you? What an honor for me to have Kara’s celebrity here.”
Out of sudden, I heard a young woman’s voice from somewhere. It was quite an attractive and distinctive voice. I kept turning my head to the left and right.
But I couldn’t see her anywhere. What worried me, even more, was that I couldn’t feel her energy nor any trace of mana.
She must be a very skillful assassin for sure.
“Who is it?”
“By the way, I think you’re so slow. I know you killed all the Snakers a while ago. And now you’ve arrived here? I was trying to find you so I sent a Belboke. It was unnecessary.”
“Why don’t you show yourself? I don’t really like a blind date.”
“Well, if you say so.”
At last, a human shadow appeared on the ceiling of the far right side of the hallway. She must have been hiding by using Transparency Magic.
She softly landed on the ground and walked slowly towards me while showing off her long legs.
‘Damn, she’s beautiful.’
This mysterious woman was wearing a tight black full-bodysuit. Under the black hood that shaded the whole face half-covered with a red mask, I could see her pale white skin.
Also, she had dark eyelids and jet-black eyes. Unlike her long legs, she had a very small upper body and a slim jawline. Yet her boobs were big and firm. Her waist was so narrow that I could probably hold it in one arm.
Her face was half-covered by the mask but still, I could tell she’s a very beautiful woman for sure.
But the weird thing was that she’s holding a strangely large Essence in her hand. It was as big as a melon and complicated magic spells, intertwined with each other, were drawn on its round surface. The energy which I felt on my way up to the third floor was probably from that ball.
“Is there another summoner?”
“Ease your mind. I am all by myself.”
“Then who summoned the demons?”
She slightly shook the ball in her hand.
“This is called ‘Jade Magic Ball of Great Sin’ and it’s quite useful.”
“Yeah, it looks like good stuff.”
“Not so perfect though. There’s something better.”
As she smiled, I could see sharp things over her mask. It was the fangs of the Blood species.
The Blood species could live for 1000 years. After enjoying their youth until the age of 950, they would get old in the last 50 years of their lives and die. What a blessed species. Yet, there were always both upsides and downsides for everything. Obviously, the Blood species also had their greatest weakness.
They could not withstand light.
They could not see anything and got rashes on their skins when they’re exposed to sunlight directly.
‘A female Blood Assassin… I hope she’s not Evelyn Socos but I know that’s a stupid hope. Only Assassins who can show themselves after they find out who I am would be either Evelyn or that crazy bitch.’
Evelyn Socos was a mid-rank Assassin Master. She’s the most expensive Assassin to hire in the Prosia Continent and known to be very vicious.
Yet there’s one good news. She’s a very beautiful woman. Any man who saw her beauty could not get out of it.
“Like what?”
“Zelsa, the Bizarre Sword.”
Then she put down ‘Jade Magic Ball of Great Sin’ on the floor and took out a pair of bone-daggers in her waist. Those double daggers had hilts which seemed to be made of grinded thighbones. On their blades, agonizing images of humans in the flames of hell were engraved.
But the color of the daggers was bizarre. It was glossier than a normal dagger and five different colors were shining over the entire surface of its blade.
“Orichalcum, the God’s Metal…?”
“Ooh~ you know this? You’re pretty sharp-sighted.”
Of course, I knew it. Unlike other people, I had seen the Seven Sacred Weapons many times. I had been to the Hall of Divinity, where people were allowed to enter once in their life, twice. Moreover, I saw Dalahan and Talatas every morning and night.
I got tensed up.
“Let me ask one more thing. Are you Evelyn Socos?”
“Wow, you even know who I am? You’re definitely not a fool.”
I smoothed down my face.
“Damn… I’m in serious trouble.”
“It will be fun for sure. I wanted to test my Zelsa anyway and now I’ve got a pretty good opponent right here.”
I drew my Yojo. I had no choice but to fight. Since my opponent was Evelyn, my fast movements were meaningless. I was a fake Assassin who learned the skills only useful for my survival. On the other hand, she’s the world’s best Assassin.
If I showed my back against her, I would be a dead man in no time.
As she lifted her hand slightly, the 30cm-length Aura Blade popped out of Zelsa. Dammit. She’s definitely Evelyn.