Chapter Ninety-Five: I Am Also a Magic Enthusiast

Hush. Don’t speak. I’m fishing—Stuart, stop fidgeting and just stand there.

Louis stared into the darkness of the hall. The true body of the fallen angel was hidden within those omnipresent shadows; so long as it did not reveal itself, it would be everywhere in every shadow.

But this thing, deprived of reason because it had not yet awakened, was already growing unable to restrain its hunger for souls. It was indeed far too ravenous. It was starving. It needed to grow, to revive, to complete the mission entrusted to it by the Lord of Alia.

Thus, a scythelike colossal shadow of a claw had already been quietly gliding through the darkness for a long while. Its target was Stuart, pale-faced, sweating coldly, trembling all over. Among those within easy reach, he looked the tastiest.

This damned thing can see me? Hurry up and eat Bishop John instead, not me. That sanctimonious fraud looks far more appetizing than I do!

The fallen angel did hesitate a little. That grandly mannered Bishop John smelled difficult to eat, for his heart was filled with terror. Yet he also seemed, in some strange way, to be the most delicious of all.

Bishop John seemed to sense the unseen gaze of the god of death as well. The trousers already wet beneath his holy robe became wet all over again.

And yet he kept a calm expression, stroking his beard as he wet himself, and said evenly to Louis, who had “accidentally” come beside him, shadow-claw in tow: “There is no need to be nervous, child. That fallen angel has already realized that its end is near. Though it is cunning and dares not reveal its true form, it is all futile. Once the demon-sealing array is complete, that will be the end for it.”

“Mm.” Louis nodded, still watching the shadow on the floor.

Heh heh heh... Damn priest, who are you? Who exactly are you? Don’t think you can protect him. Give him to me, and we can each go our own way!

Seeing the bizarre woman in the hall, as if a slide had suddenly shifted from the left web to the right, Bishop John’s eyelids twitched wildly, and another few drops leaked out.

“Don’t be afraid, child. I’ll protect you. Just stay by my side.”

Old John’s words were already trembling. His body went weak, and he nearly leaned against Louis.

He felt his fear suddenly intensify. Clearly, anyone with even a little ability could sense the danger.

His little finger began to tremble wildly. In a moment of possessed impulse, he threw an arm around Louis’s shoulder and took a half-step back. “Heh, that sly thing—it was just trying to drag your soul away. Don’t worry, I’m here.”

After speaking, Bishop John even granted Louis a blessing of Heavenly Armament. Then he cast a Heavenly Protection blessing upon himself.

At that instant, Louis suddenly felt an unparalleled surge of strength flood his body, while his magic power began to drain away gradually—as if all his magical attributes had been transferred into raw power.

What had originally been a little over thirty in strength instantly swelled to more than ninety.

Just then, a hand landed on Bishop John’s shoulder, startling him so badly he nearly jumped.

“Gentlemen, if you have nothing to do, come inside with me. Sir James, you should come as well.”

Mr. Red-Stockinged Ron had somehow already arrived, carrying a book in his arms. Smiling, he said that the demon-sealing array had apparently been completed.

Then Ron looked solemnly toward the depths of the hall. “It seems to have sensed the power of the sealing array and no longer dares to emerge. But we must draw it out.”

As he spoke, Ron patted the item held close to his chest—a shabby cloth doll. “Rest assured, I have with me a sacred relic left behind by Anthony, the god of magic. With this here, that thing will not be able to harm you.”

Clearly, Ron was being ironic, and Louis had already seen it: the moment Ron patted the doll against his chest, that thing grew unbearably hungry. Within it lay the countess’s final attachment to this world—her daughter.

The thing hidden in the countess’s shadow wanted to swallow Ron and the doll in a single bite, to complete its final transformation and awakening.

But what it did not know was that the entrance to the demon-sealing array had already been inscribed upon Ron himself. The moment his soul was hooked by the scythe, the demon would be dragged into the array!

Ron: It seems I was right. I can feel that something has already come. I don’t know what exactly it is afraid of, but with this thing here, it will definitely take the bait!

At that moment, Bishop John suddenly saw a ferocious and terrifying claw shoot out from the floor. But a hand snatched it up at once.

The claw lashed wildly several times, trying to break free, but it was like a chick in a hawk’s grasp; no matter how it struggled, it could not escape.

Bishop John slowly lifted his head in a daze and followed Louis’s hand, looking at Louis.

Stuart’s mouth also fell open as he stared at his boss. Indeed, only the boss could truly be the source of calamity!

“There’s no need to waste any more effort, Ron. Let us see your new spell.”

Louis smiled pleasantly, and like a roll of paper, he began winding the shadow in his hand.

His words made Ron pause slightly. Looking toward the hall in the distance, he pressed his lips together.

Trust again. This was everyone’s trust.

At that moment, he felt the burden on his shoulders grow heavier still, pressing so hard he could hardly breathe.

He knew that thing was not something ordinary people could handle, and even the priests were helpless before it. The only way to deal with it was with the demon-sealing array, and with spells that might suppress its aura and drive it into the array!

Those spells had to exist, because magic had not vanished!

Then Ron suddenly saw the little priest beside him yank hard outward. Instantly, from within the hall, there came a burst of desperate shrieking and the scratching of claws against stone. Many of the ropes had been torn apart in the demon’s frantic struggle.

Immediately after, Ron, the bishop, and everyone else in the distant circle behind them, including Crawley, saw the entire hall suddenly engulfed in an overwhelming blaze of pure white holy flame.

Damn priest! Who are you? Who exactly are you?!!

A gigantic demonic shadow suddenly bulged forth from the hall’s darkness, thrusting its hideous claws straight toward Louis.

But at that very moment, Louis raised the staff in his hand, and in the hall hundreds of golden thunderbolts suddenly flashed down, striking the shadow. Then came hundreds more enormous light blades, piercing the monster’s body.

For an instant, the hall burst with brilliance, as though a newborn sun had suddenly risen within it. The room rang with cry after cry of tearing anguish.

Seeing the holy flames, golden thunder, and blazing sun filling the hall, Bishop John’s mind went blank. He fell back onto the floor, mouth agape, pointing at Louis, unable to speak.

Stuart was the same.

Boss... how am I supposed to write this report... Am I supposed to have Polster write a script to fool the Ministry of Magic?

Amid those howls, all the shadows in the hall suddenly gathered into the shadow of that bizarre woman and hid there. At this moment, the hall seemed to have no darkness left at all; everything had become a pale gray.

The woman suspended in midair shrieked without end. Her shadow was vast and monstrous, covering the entire floor, like a gigantic spider demon.

Louis yanked hard again, dragging the demonic shadow out by force. Then, glaring with fury, he swung the staff in his hand viciously at it.

In an instant, a world-shaking explosion rang out! Immediately after came piercing screams and pleading cries. Dust billowed through the hall, and the shadow was smashed brutally into the cracked bluestone floor.

From afar, Count Crawley, Kate, the butler, and the others were so shocked their eyeballs nearly fell out of their sockets.

Before anyone could react, the little priest swung the staff again.

With each blow, earth-shattering booms echoed through the castle, sounding as though a hundred-meter dragon were battering its walls.

This time, the countess in midair could no longer even scream. She drew in a couple of ragged breaths, and her whole body began to convulse. The claws within her shadow twitched wildly as well, like a dying spider kicking its legs.

When the final blow fell, the staff, forged from everlasting gold, had been bent completely out of shape, and the shadow began to collapse, surging into the woman’s body.

Soon, the woman sank into obscurity as though swallowed by black water, and could no longer be seen.

Seeing Ron and the others still standing there, craning their necks like dazed geese at him, Louis smiled and said, “Oh, don’t misunderstand. I’m also quite fond of magic, so using a few light spells with the bishop’s divine staff just now was perfectly reasonable.

“Besides, as I said, I’m a priest, so using my personal weapon to protect myself—and to finish it off with one last strike—is also perfectly reasonable.”

Bishop John, Count Crawley, and the others rolled their eyes hard, cursing inwardly.

Damn it! I have never seen such a powerful paladin in my life!

No wonder he wears a holy robe! You’re not a priest at all—you’re a throne knight of the Sacred Statue Tree! An archangel!

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