“Sophistry!”
The Silver-Robed Inquisitor slammed his bone staff heavily against the air. Above him, the golden holy light, once sacred and peaceful, solidified. Like a towering mountain carrying apocalyptic doom, it crashed down toward the witch below.
“Whether it's sophistry or not, you know the answer best in your heart! It's just that your Holy Court is far too adept at giving the butcher's knives in your hands a gentle, pleasant name!”
As the terrifying pressure swept over her, Isolde's knees buckled violently. Her bones creaked under the unbearable weight, nearly forcing her to her knees on the spot.
Yet, relying on a near-masochistic sheer force of will, she stubbornly withstood the crushing force.
【You are subjected to high-tier holiness pressure.】
【HP decreased: 30%】
The crimson notification popped up, appearing in Isolde's vision like a death warrant.
The holy light pressed down on her, searing her skin until it was burning hot, making even breathing exceptionally difficult.
Looking down at her from on high, the Silver-Robed Inquisitor said in a cold voice, “Kneel and repent, heretic.”
The corner of Isolde's mouth curled upward.
“In your dreams.”
Her fingers suddenly clenched tight.
Dark red Soul Threads shot out from her sleeves, piercing into the floor like long, thin nails to prop up her body, which was on the verge of being crushed.
More Soul Threads wrapped around her calves, arms, and waist, as if stitching together a temporary suit of armor over her body.
She raised her head, kicked off the ground with explosive force, and shot toward the Silver-Robed Inquisitor, pulled forward by the traction of her Soul Threads.
She wasn't particularly fast; in fact, her movements could even be described as clumsy and desperate.
The Silver-Robed Inquisitor assumed she was trying to close the distance for a desperate melee struggle.
“Foolish.”
He swept his bone staff. The gathered holy light instantly transformed into a giant crescent blade, slashing heavily toward her shoulder.
The holy light tore through her flesh, exploding in a mist of blood, and the sheer force of the impact sent Isolde flying through the air.
【HP decreased: 40%】
【Warning: Left shoulder severely injured.】
【Warning: Holy light erosion deepening.】
The excruciating pain forced a sharp, agonized groan from her lips.
Yet, compared to everything she had endured in her past life, what did this minor injury amount to?
On the contrary, the sharper the pain, the more thrilled her soul became.
Just as the Silver-Robed Inquisitor thought this reckless witch was finally about to face judgment,
he caught sight of the faint smile curling on her face while she was still suspended in midair.
The Silver-Robed Inquisitor finally realized something was wrong.
In midair, Isolde twisted her body like a fierce, broken-winged swallow. Soul Threads shot from her fingertips, hooking onto the Mooncrown Lock not far away.
The Silver-Robed Inquisitor roared, “Stop!!”
Using the pulling speed of the Soul Threads, Isolde bypassed his line of defense and slammed the "Unicorn's Last Wish," brimming with the lingering will of the fallen beasts, onto the violently vibrating Mooncrown Lock.
The patterns of the mark unfurled in her palm, and immediately after, the final layer of the sealing array shattered and snapped.
Without the suppression of the sealing magic, the hypocritical shell of "sacrifice" and "holiness" was violently torn to shreds, exposing the long-rotted pus and blood beneath.
Boom—!!
In an instant, countless sharp, agonizing wails of despair transformed into a black-and-red storm, erupting frantically from the cracks in the lock core.
The once bright and peaceful prayer room was submerged in a cold, deathly aura. The bones lining the walls crumbled inch by inch under the lashing of the resentment.
The golden domain of holy light looked as though it had been splashed with ink, eaten away until it was riddled with holes, emitting an overburdened cracking sound.
The Silver-Robed Inquisitor was forced back several steps by the violent black-and-red storm. His robes were sliced with countless tears, and his proud, calm composure crumbled bit by bit.
Through the thick black mist, he roared at Isolde:
“Witch! Look at what you've done! You've unleashed a darkness that will threaten the world! You will become an unforgivable sinner!”
The black wind howled fiercely, whipping Isolde's long black hair wildly into the air.
She stood completely alone at the absolute center of the storm of resentment.
Half of her body was drenched in blood. Because her injuries were so severe, she even had to drive several Soul Threads into the ground just to barely steady herself.
The palm that had held the last wish was burned into a bloody mess.
Yet she seemed entirely numb to the pain. Instead, like a madman who had lost the ability to feel, she stood with her back straight against the howling storm.
She lifted her chin, looking down on the Silver-Robed Inquisitor with a smirk playing on her lips.
“Don't be so dramatic, Silver Robe. You call this a threat to the world?”
Her voice pierced through the ghostly roars of the countless unicorns, every single word striking the Silver-Robed Inquisitor's eardrums with perfect precision.
“This is merely the rotten sin you hid beneath your holy light all those years ago... Today, it finally gets to see the light of day.”
With those words, Isolde swung her sword with her right hand, completely severing the very last connection of the seal.
The resentment of the unicorn clan erupted.
The dark, shadowy figures materialized into roaring beasts. Carrying hundreds of years of accumulated pain and despair, along with the mournful wails of that snowy night, they lunged forward to tear at the Silver-Robed Inquisitor from all sides.
No longer able to spare any attention for Isolde, the Silver-Robed Inquisitor's face turned pale. He slammed his staff heavily onto the ground, pouring out his holy power without reservation in a frantic bid to erect a defensive barrier in front of himself.
“The Holy Radiance is eternal! Dispel the darkness—!”
But this time, the "Holy Radiance" he took such pride in failed him.
The unicorn horn core serving as the staff's center suddenly began to tremble violently within the storm of its kindred's resentment.
Before the Silver-Robed Inquisitor could even command it, this treasure of the Holy Court abruptly cracked open with a dark fissure, driven by the restitution of karma.
“What?!”
The light at the tip of the staff died out, and the Silver-Robed Inquisitor's pupils dilated in shock.
Even the weapon he used to judge heretics had been torn from the bodies of his victims. And now, the victims refused to grant their strength to the butcher any longer.
Without the magical amplification of the staff, the holy defensive barrier was effortlessly shredded by the black storm.
Countless black-and-red unicorn shadows, carrying the howling gale, slammed into him and sent him flying, crashing heavily against the ruined wall behind him.
The high-and-mighty inquisitor spat out a large mouthful of blood. His silver robes were eaten away into tatters by the darkness, leaving him in a wretched, disheveled state, completely stripped of his former holiness and nobility.
“Cough... Damn you... You heretic...”
The Silver-Robed Inquisitor glared deathly at the witch not far away.
Isolde looked at him, her voice crystal-clear and freezing cold:
“Look. This isn't the darkness of the world. It is the doomsday of the hypocrites.”
Just then, a system notification flashed:
【Target: Low-Tier Silver-Robed Inquisitor, Noth】
【Remaining HP: 20%】
【Status Effects: Fear, Betrayal (Weapon Backlash), Corruption】
Isolde walked over step by step to the immobilized Silver-Robed Inquisitor, looking down at him.
She raised a slender, pale finger and tapped the air gently. Dark red 【Soul-Binding Threads】 rose from the ground, wrapping around the Silver-Robed Inquisitor.
Under the stacking effects of multiple status ailments, the bind's success check soared to its absolute limit of a full 3 seconds.
Rate on N.U.
