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Chapter 264 - Paying the Price (10)

Grumpy’s attack had worked perfectly. A spear struck Viram in his forearm, leaving his hand bloody and limp. Because of this, Viram would no longer be able to maintain the illusion barrier.

Despite his best efforts, the illusion barrier broke, and at the same time, the screams of the terrified civilians filled the air. Only a few of them were still standing.

“So that’s where you were.”

There were around thirty people where the barrier had been, among them young wizards of Shahatra, priests, maids, and palace guards. Most of them were already dead or on the verge of death.

The queen and her mother hadn’t been fortunate enough to escape Grumpy’s spears.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Wake up!”

Viram was extremely lucky to have gotten away with only an injured arm. He could still move relatively well, so he rushed to Herarion, who had been stabbed in the back along with his wife, and shook him to prevent him from passing out.

“Vi...ram.”

Herarion had sustained a critical injury and was spitting out a lot of blood.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Stay awake!”

If Herarion died right here, right then, the Khan dynasty would die with him, since he didn’t have any heirs.

Herarion was overcome by a repulsive coldness, despite the fact that it was a bright, sunny afternoon in Shahatra.

‘I can’t believe this is how it’s going to end...’

Herarion tightly hugged Selene’s dead body and held her hand, determined never to let go. The screams, Viram’s voice, who was desperately trying to keep him awake, the whistling of the desert wind... Every sound grew increasingly fainter.

Herarion felt helpless, worthless. He couldn’t imagine facing his dead ancestors after such a pitiful death.

“How uninspiring.”

Grumpy was now quite close to Herarion. He looked down at the group of people screaming for their lives, his gaze cold and indifferent, as if he were looking at a swarm of ants he was about to crush with his foot.

“Your Majesty!”

Viram paid no attention to Grumpy even though he was almost right next to him. Keeping Herarion alive was more important than any threats to himself. However, this offended Grumpy. No matter how distressed Viram was, the fact that he paid no attention to Grumpy infuriated him.

However, unlike the other apostles, Grumpy didn’t resort to violence right away to express his anger. Dracan had taught him that a few words were sometimes capable of inflicting more pain than force.

“How pathetic,” said Grumpy.

Viram stopped at Grumpy’s words.

“Is this really all the power of the god you worship?”

Grumpy was referring to La, the other god they worshiped. He proceeded to utter outrageous blasphemies, which would’ve heavily offended any religious person, because he knew it would hurt their pride the most.

Hearing the egregious insults, Viram’s fingers started trembling, but Grumpy’s verbal attacks didn’t end there.

“Arthus, the only god I worship, has deliberately entrusted me with this kingdom because it’s full of cretins who worship a piece of shit god that shouldn’t even exist.”

“How dare you?!”

Viram couldn’t stand the blasphemies any longer. He turned around and glared at Grumpy with blazing eyes.

“You’re High Priest Viram, I see,” said Grumpy.

Grumpy sensed a great deal of divine power from Viram, which was comparable to that of Herarion’s. He was a bit distressed by the thought that Viram might have more divine power than himself.

Grumpy’s mouth curled up into a nasty smile.

“Don’t worry Viram, I’ll make sure to re-educate La’s followers and turn them into the followers of the great and almighty Arthus, the true god of this continent.”

“HOW DARE YOU?!”

As his anger peaked, Viram raised his unharmed hand and grabbed Grumpy by his neck, trying to choke him with all of his force. However, the strength of a ninety-year-old man with one functional arm was just like that of a child.

Moreover, Grumpy was so much taller than him that he could barely reach his neck.

Grumpy was about to laugh, considering Viram’s efforts ridiculous, but then...

“Argh!”

The grip around Grumpy’s neck suddenly got stronger. Grumpy didn’t understand where this sudden strength was coming from, as there was clearly nothing in front of him other than Viram’s feeble hand.

However, it didn’t take him long to realize what the source of this power was.

‘So that’s what it was.’

The sudden strength was coming from an illusion.

Viram had squeezed out the last bit of strength he had left in him and focused on creating an illusion that had a physical effect on Grumpy. This was proof that Viram’s divine powers were far greater than Grumpy’s.

However, Grumpy, as Arthus’ apostle, had also been blessed with divine powers. In addition, he was an evolved Chimera who had emerged from the brink of death multiple times.

Grumpy concentrated his divine power in his brain.

No matter how much divine power one had, the battle between divine powers was not simply a matter of who had more of it. Besides, the divine power from a dying old man wasn’t all that intimidating either.

Once Grumpy realized that the secret to the strong grip was an illusion, the pain in his neck slowly subsided.

When Viram’s illusion was dispelled, Grumpy once again looked down at him with ridicule.

“You...!”

However, Viram didn’t lessen his grip in the slightest, rather, he tightened it so hard that he was about to break his fingers.

Grumpy smirked and said, “How unsightly.” He was fed up with this little game.

Grump raised his hand, ready to dispose of this pesky priest. He would swing his arm downward in a diagonal line to behead Viram with the edge of his palm.

“Go and prepare to serve your emperor ahead of time, High Priest.”

“You fucking-!”

Grumpy swung his hand before Viram could finish cursing him.

Gush!

Blood splattered in the air, along with chunks of flesh. The gore stained the sand.

However, it was Grumpy who was hit, not Viram.

“...!”

Viram still had his head on his shoulders. It was Grumpy’s hand that had been sliced off and that lay on the ground.

Grumpy’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“Let’s be real here. The one who needs to go to the afterlife and prepare for his emperor is you, not Viram.”

“...!”

Both Grumpy and Viram turned toward the voice.

The voice was none other than Henry’s.

“Archmage...!”

Seeing Henry, Viram was so relieved that his legs gave way, and as soon as he fell to the ground, Henry cast a spell.

“Fist of the Wind Giant.”

Boom!

Henry cast high-level wind magic, blowing Grumpy away into the distance and sending him into a collapsed building.

Thud!

Grumpy landed in the rubble. Being thrown like this into the ruins of a building was indeed humiliating for a creature as powerful as Grumpy.

“Are you alright, High Priest?”

“S-Sir Henry...!”

Henry examined Viram as he lay on the ground. The priest burst into tears as he could no longer contain his grief at the sight of Henry.

“His Majesty... His Majesty is...!”

At Viram’s comment, Henry turned his head and saw Herarion lying on the ground nearby, holding Selene in his arms.

Henry immediately got up and examined Herarion. His eyes were closed and he had lost so much blood that a huge puddle had formed around him.

‘No way.’

Henry quickly checked Herarion’s vitals and realized that he wasn’t dead.

‘He’s still alive!’

Selene was dead, but Herarion and Viram were still alive.

Henry rose to his feet and said in a low voice, “Klever.”

- Yes, Master.

“Move all the survivors of this place into the Chest right now and look after them!”

- Alright.

Ptzz!

At Henry’s command, Klever activated his abilities. At the same time, Henry shouted, “Sword on! Armor on!”

Znggg-!

Henry’s armor covered his entire body and his sword materialized in his hand. Soon, waves of light surrounded him, which was Klever’s ability.

The waves of light then swept through the ruins of the palace, and after they faded away, Herarion and Viram were no longer there.

Crack, crack!

After the light disappeared, Grumpy emerged from the rubble.

“How funny,” said Grumpy in a bitterly angry voice.

Crack, crack!

Grumpy cracked his neck and stared at Henry with an expressionless face. His hand had already regenerated.

Seeing his regenerated hand, Henry replicated Grumpy’s smile and said, “You’re the one who’s funny. Your hand... Are you a troll or something?”

“You must be Henry Morris. I thank the heavens for allowing me, out of all the apostles, to be your executioner.”

“You should resent the heavens, not thank them.”

Ptzz!

Immediately after their brief exchange, Grumpy vanished from the pile of rubble. In response, Henry quickly summoned a circle on the ground and fixed his stance.

Clank!

Grumpy had swung the edge of his palm at Henry’s neck with perfect aim, but the Archmage effortlessly blocked his attack with his basic stance.

Upon blocking the attack, Henry immediately stomped his foot on the ground.

Oong!

Henry cast Reverse Gravity, a one-time anti-gravity spell.

“...!”

Grumpy was suddenly lifted in the air, and he was awkwardly doing flips as he was trying to balance himself.

Henry turned slightly as he grabbed his sword from his scabbard. At the same time, he summoned his dagger made out of poison gold with his other hand and plunged it into Grumpy’s thigh.

As he thrust his dagger into Grumpy, Henry felt that the impact was strange; it felt more like he had stabbed a very thick bundle of paper rather than flesh.

However, this didn’t matter because his intention wasn’t to carve Grumpy up, but to get his poisonous blood into his system.

After stabbing Grumpy with his dagger, Henry flipped his sword in the air and grabbed it with a reverse grip.

‘Sharp.’

Henry cast magic to make his blade even sharper and plunged it into the back of Grumpy\'s hand as he struggled to correct his fighting stance in the air.

“How dare you!”

With his hand pierced, Grumpy tried to punch Henry as he twisted his body midair. However, he was awkwardly floating in the air, whereas Henry had his feet on the ground, which naturally allowed him to be faster.

Henry maintained his momentum; he stomped his foot on the ground again and cast another spell.

Oong!

Reverse Gravity was a 3rd-Circle anti-gravity spell. This spell had been created as a way to reduce the impact when falling to the ground, but Henry creatively incorporated Reverse Gravity into his swordsmanship, making it part of his sword dance.

Grumpy lost his balance again as he was turned upside down. He tried to summon the Spears of Judgement with a wave of his hand, but just as he was about to move his hand, similarly to how Henry snapped his fingers, he realized that his hand was numb.

‘What the...!’

Grumpy panicked as he realized that he couldn’t move his body like he intended to. With a puzzled and distressed look, he locked eyes with Henry.

“I’m not done yet,” Henry warned sharply. His sword dance didn’t end there.

Boom!

Raising Grumpy even higher in the air than before, Henry spread his legs wide and shifted his weight on his right leg. With that, the ground beneath him started cracking, and an emerald-colored Aura enveloped him entirely.

Henry activated his Magic Armor and drew his Colt Sword back to his left hip and crouched, poised to deliver death.

“You’re done for.”

Swoosh!

Henry swung his Colt Sword with lightning speed, releasing a vicious blast of wind from its tip and hitting Grumpy in the back with it.

Squelch!

There was an abrupt but terribly loud sound. The deadly gust of wind dispersed a faint emerald-colored Aura as it traveled through the ruins of the palace, spreading out like a crashing wave.

Sword Drawing.

This was Henry’s unique, ultra-fast Sword Drawing magic, which was supposed to mimic McDowell’s Blue Crescent.

Crack- Thud!

With that, Grumpy was sliced in half, his upper and lower body falling on the ground with a sickening thud.