Volume 6, Chapter 56 – A Monster That Devours Magic Power?

“Evelyn, use your magic!” Without even looking at the ‘angel’ that had been sent flying, Yisi waved her hand, using an air current to blow away the dust that was obscuring their vision. “Don’t hold back!”

“Cough, cough, what was that…”

Due to the sand that had flown into her throat, Evelyn clutched her chest and coughed violently. She slowly approached Yisi, preparing to find an opportunity to chant a spell, but a sense of unease from the side made her vigilant.

If one were to prick up their ears, they could hear the sound of the wind flowing, at a speed that was astonishingly fast.

I have to dodge.

While leaning back her upper body, Evelyn turned to the side. What met her eyes was a monster with livid skin and long, sharp claws.

A monster.

They had already become strong enough to dare to appear in broad daylight.

The hair on Evelyn’s forehead was cut by the monster’s nails, and the monster that had launched the surprise attack passed between Yisi’s back and Evelyn.

“They’ve learned to coordinate.”

Turning around, Yisi took advantage of the monster’s inability to turn in the air and, just like before, sent it flying. However, this time she was much gentler, not making it smash a hole in the wall. The first blow had been her mistake; due to the suddenness of the event, she had not controlled her strength well.

Of course, although she said that, Yisi still slowed down a bit at the end. Otherwise, that one blow would have sent the monster to hell.

Reaԁ οn ΚаtReaԁіnɡCаfе

Having temporarily resolved the danger, Yisi let out a soft breath.

“They’re not dead yet. They’ve become stronger than before.”

The levels of both angels were above thirty, and their bodies had also become exceptionally tough. With the speed and coordination they had just displayed, even if the church’s hunters were to come, there would be no guarantee of victory.

“Mm.” Evelyn nodded, then glanced at Yisi in surprise. “I didn’t expect you to be so strong. Your reaction speed just now was at least at the level of the Inquisitor General.”

GAAAAAA—

Letting out a beast-like low roar from its mouth, the angel that had been beaten against the wall like a sack of potatoes got up from the ground. The angel that Yisi had sent flying out of the house also walked back in. Although the limping posture it had when walking exposed that it was already injured, it was only to the extent of being injured and had not lost its ability to fight.

Like humans fighting side by side, the two monsters crossed the fallen shelves and gathered together, confronting Yisi and Evelyn. Anyone could see that these two monsters were no longer the weak existences that could be slaughtered at will, as they were at the beginning.

“Eek, eek!”

Seeing the true appearance of the monsters, the manager and the shop assistant beside him turned pale. As if seeking shelter, they timidly hid behind Yisi and Evelyn.

“Lady Evelyn, wh-what is that thing!?”

“An evil creature… Manager, we should run. This thing is more evil than the harpies I saw in my hometown!”

“You two, get out of here quickly. Go and inform the paladins patrolling the streets. Have them call all the hunters from the church! This is an emergency. This is an order from the next Pope, Evelyn Anna Ymir Shalu!”

Reаԁ οn ΚαtReαԁіոɡСαfe

“O-Okay!”

Hastily agreeing to Evelyn, the manager and the assistant fled through the hole created by the monster in a panic. And the two monsters, as if they hadn’t seen the fleeing shopkeepers, fixed their gazes entirely on Yisi.

They were looking for a weakness.

Evelyn, who was standing behind Yisi, felt her heart sink. Humans were able to defeat monsters by relying on a certain level of strength and overwhelming intelligence. And once a monster possessed a human-like mind, humans would be in an extremely passive situation.

Although these monsters were only the height of a seven or eight-year-old human child, the extremely oppressive aura they exuded made Evelyn feel as if it were difficult to breathe, as if the air had become much thicker. Evelyn had only seen this feeling in a very few people, and they were all upper-level powerhouses of the church.

And this was just two of them. If there were more, and the other few also launched a sneak attack, what kind of pressure would that be?

“They’re coming.”

Yisi’s low voice made Evelyn tense up. She gripped the Staff of Divine Retribution in her hand and took a deep breath.

“We can’t outrun them. We’ll hold our ground here and wait for the church’s support to arrive.”

“…We have to destroy them before they have a chance to grow up. If we continue to drag this out, even the hunters won’t be able to defeat them.”

“How do you know the hunters—”

“Shh.”

Reaⅾ οn КаtReаdinɡСαfе

Gesturing for Evelyn to be quiet, Yisi pointed in the direction of the monsters. During the time they had been observing each other, the two monsters had already divided their labor. One was watching both Yisi and Evelyn, preventing them from launching a surprise attack, while the other was facing the two of them, slowly retreating step by step, bending down, and picking up the sack Evelyn had dropped on the ground, which was filled with magic scrolls.

Immediately after, under Evelyn’s shocked gaze, the monster that had picked up the sack cut its skin with its finger. The black and cyan blood that flowed out, as if it had come to life, randomly wrapped around a scroll. As if it were devouring food, after the scroll flashed with a blue light, it turned the scroll into powder and then looked for the next one.

In Evelyn’s senses, she could clearly feel that the oppressive force flowing in the air had become a bit stronger.

Along with the fear, there was also a sense of enlightenment.

“I see…”

She had been wondering before why this group of monsters was looking for things rich in magic power, and why they were growing so quickly. Even humans, who had accumulated knowledge and knew how to level up the fastest, could not go from level ten to twenty in less than a week. No, the current aura should be said to be level thirty. They had even surpassed her, the next Pope, who had been constantly working hard to leave the Ymir Territory.

The reason they were growing so quickly was because of the blood she had just seen. These monsters could refine and assimilate the magic power in magical items, turning it into their own.

Evelyn took a deep breath.

Just as Yisi had said, they could not be given any more time. If the facts were as she had guessed, then this group of monsters was equivalent to having unlimited potential, and could even surpass Julius in a short period of time. In time, the entire continent would be destroyed by them. In that case, there would be no talk of any opportunity to display her talents.

“Damn it.” Cursing under her breath, Evelyn slammed the Staff of Divine Retribution heavily on the ground. “I’ll use magic to trap them here. I’ll leave the delaying to you, Yisi! I’ll come and help as soon as I finish chanting—”

GAA!

Seizing the opportunity of Evelyn’s distraction, the monster swung its arm at her through the air. A pitch-black blade of light immediately flew swiftly, with the force to split her in two.

Rеaⅾ оո ΚatRеaԁіnɡСаfе

“Don’t get distracted. [Mana Barrier].”

Blocking the pitch-black blade of light with a translucent barrier spell, Yisi held Gungnir diagonally and leaped towards the angel that had swung the blade.

But there were two monsters in total. The remaining one was frantically devouring the scrolls. There were two options before Evelyn. One was to continue chanting the spell as originally planned, sealing the entire house and letting the remaining monster assimilate the scrolls. The other was to give up sealing the house, go up and fight the monster, and prevent it from assimilating.

After a moment of hesitation, Evelyn chose the latter.

“…Indeed, it’s too reckless to let Yisi handle two of them alone.”

Even if Yisi was very strong, she should only be at the level of a half-monster. To hold off two of them at once without any support, she would be injured or even killed after just a few encounters. When facing two coordinated enemies, the difficulty was not a simple addition.

She tentatively considered Yisi as her only friend. She couldn’t let her take the risk.

Moreover, if she let that monster continue to devour the scrolls, who knew if she and Yisi could defeat them after she was free. At that time, the seal she had created would in turn become a cage to trap them. Evelyn would not allow herself and Yisi to die so easily.

Having made up her mind, she no longer hesitated. Evelyn lowered her body, her gaze fixed on the monster less than five meters away.

Perhaps because the strength Yisi had just displayed was too powerful, or perhaps because it didn’t even put Evelyn in its eyes, the monster that was devouring the scrolls didn’t even look at her, only focusing its attention in Yisi’s direction.

Although it was annoying to be looked down upon, this was an opportunity.

She would make it pay the price.