Volume 1, Chapter 40 – Divine Punishment

After calling out to Yisi, Assef quickly trotted over to her. Despite Yisi covering her wings with her cloak, Assef still recognized her.

“I never expected it to truly be Lady Pescia. It was my fault for not visiting your estate as soon as possible.”

“Hmph, a human’s lapdog. Go entertain yourself with your boring hobbies.”

Without hiding her disdain, Yisi clicked her tongue. Since the other party seemed somewhat familiar with the eldest daughter of the Count, she had to respond with the appropriate attitude.

After speaking, Yisi strode deeper into the street. However, Assef didn’t give up. Instead, he quickly blocked her path again.

“Count Pescia is deeply grieved by your plight,” he said, glancing around as if wary of the paladins. “I never imagined you’d escape the Church’s blockade like this. If you don’t mind, may I escort you back to the Pescia territory?”

“If I could slip past the Church’s watch to get here, don’t you think I can leave Niru City the same way?”

“What do you mean?”

Assef waved his hand, signaling his soldiers to disperse the onlookers.

“I have my reasons for staying in the human world, and a lowly lesser vampire like you has no right to know. Get lost.”

“But—”

Sshhk.

Just as Assef was about to speak, a silver flash streaked past. Camilla pressed her cross shaped sword against his throat. Assef immediately raised his hands, but the surrounding soldiers quickly encircled Yisi and Camilla.

“Onee-sama told you to get lost.”

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“Back off, all of you! This is the eldest daughter of House Pescia—show some respect!”

Whether it was due to the threat of death or genuine loyalty to Yisi, Assef hastily waved his hand, ordering his soldiers to lower their weapons. After that, Camilla slowly withdrew her sword.

This is so troublesome.

Yisi hadn’t intended for things to escalate like this, but as the Count’s eldest daughter, using anything less than absolute authority would only arouse suspicion. As a result, the situation had spiraled to this point.

What puzzled Yisi, however, was that the Count’s eldest daughter had no prior connection with Assef. He wasn’t even part of the Pescia lineage, so there was no reason for him to be so enthusiastic. Moreover, Assef was a merchant. If he secretly escorted the Count’s daughter back to the vampire lands, he’d undoubtedly be branded a criminal by the Church, ruining his business.

Of course, Yisi considered that Assef might be acting out of solidarity among their kind or seeking to leverage the reputation of rescuing the Count’s daughter for personal gain. But given Assef’s peculiar tastes, she highly doubted he’d take such a risk.

In short, Yisi found Assef’s motives highly suspicious.

“Will you move aside now, Vampire Sage?”

Yisi’s cold snort made Assef take a few steps back and bow slightly.

“If Lady Pescia has other plans, I won’t disturb you further. But if there’s ever anything I can assist with, please don’t hesitate to call upon me. I reside in the eastern district—just ask around, and you’ll find my residence.”

“Well then—”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!

Before Yisi could finish, a series of explosions tore through the air. Shattered stones and dust flew everywhere as the gathered crowd screamed and fled in all directions. When the dust settled, the ruined street was now flanked by ten monstrous figures—each over three meters tall, with bulging muscles, twisted horns, and dark blue skin.

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“D-Demons!”

After a moment of deathly silence, someone shrieked. Panic spread like wildfire. The soldiers, forgetting they even held weapons, desperately tried to flee through the gaps between the demons.

What awaited them was only the crushing force that could pulverize boulders.

Without even a chance to scream, the fleeing soldiers were smashed into the walls one after another. For the massive demons, flattening humans was effortless. Once the troublesome soldiers were gone, only Yisi and Camilla remained in the street. Assef had apparently fled with the civilians the moment the explosions began.

“I was planning to investigate, but they came to me instead…”

Yisi couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. Though this was reality, she felt an odd familiarity. In Ragnarøk, demons had been the players’ greatest enemies. Yisi had slain countless demon generals, and the creatures before her—more like mindless beasts than intelligent beings—were nothing more than low-level fodder, the kind that loitered outside beginner villages. In fact, the Omniscient Map confirmed these were lesser demons.

Even if she stood still and let them attack, they wouldn’t be able to scratch her.

If this were a game, Yisi would’ve switched to the world chat to mock the absurdity of sending beginner mobs to test her.

Switching her cross shaped sword for a staff, Camilla crouched low and asked warily,

“Onee-sama, which way should we break through?”

“Wait. The key player hasn’t shown up yet.” Yisi stopped Camilla from charging out, then deliberately adopted a lazy tone. “If you thought trash like this could weaken me, you’re sorely mistaken.”

No response came. The lesser demons—part beast, part human—only exchanged confused glances before roaring and charging at Yisi.

No ambush? Or are they just ignoring my taunt?

Her earlier shout had been an attempt to lure out any higher-ranking demons that might be hiding. While the Omniscient Map was powerful, it wasn’t omnipotent—some high-tier concealment magic could evade its detection entirely.

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But that was a concern for later. Right now, she had to focus on the fight.

Even if these were mere level 10 mobs, in a world where she didn’t yet know if death was permanent, she had to obliterate them without mercy. Especially since a higher-tier demon might still be lurking nearby.

“Camilla, don’t kill them. Just keep them busy.”

“Understood—[Mass Slow!]”

The moment Yisi finished speaking, Camilla unleashed her pre-prepared spell. A cyan breeze swept through the street, enveloping the demons in an instant. But to their shock, the demons’ dark blue skin seemed to repel magic—the wind simply parted around them, leaving them unaffected.

“Tch. It’s magic nullification.”

Switching back to melee combat, Camilla shot a glance at Yisi, who was now floating midair, before diving into the fray on the left.

Nearly three minutes passed.

“Still not showing up?”

During this time, Yisi had stacked almost every conceivable buff on herself. With so many spells layered, she now glowed like a multicolored sun hovering in the sky.

After waiting a little longer, Yisi looked down. With her gone, Camilla was struggling. Despite being only level 8, she was holding off ten demons of equal level. If Yisi didn’t intervene soon, things would turn dire.

“Maybe there really isn’t a higher-tier demon… I can’t wait any longer—[Spatial Leap.]”

Extending her right hand toward Camilla, a white magic circle flashed in Yisi’s palm. A second later, an identical circle appeared above Camilla, and in the next instant, Camilla was teleported right beside Yisi.

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Since Camilla would’ve plummeted otherwise, Yisi had to quickly teleport beneath her, catching her in both arms.

“Don’t move. Leave the rest to me.”

“Ah… y-yes, Onee-sama.”

Camilla’s voice suddenly grew softer. Assuming it was due to exhaustion, Yisi guiltily murmured an apology before locking onto the ten demons below. Having lost their targets, they were now frantically searching for Yisi and Camilla.

“This is the end.”

The moment she spoke, a sizzling noise filled the air—but strangely, it didn’t come from Yisi. Instead, it originated from the sky above the city. Visible to the naked eye, the thin clouds were torn apart by scorching sunlight.

Gradually, a golden barrier etched itself across the heavens. The massive circular outline eclipsed the sun itself, creating the illusion that the magic circle had devoured it.

Then, the golden circle began to rotate, its intricate runes glowing brighter with each turn. The air grew thick with the scent of ozone, and a searing heat prickled at the skin. Time itself seemed to freeze as every citizen of Niru City instinctively looked up at this divine spectacle.

“[Holy Light Array.]”

Finally, the rotating magic circle unleashed its power. Three blinding pillars of golden light lanced down, carrying enough heat to vaporize everything in their path. The beams struck the lesser demons Yisi had marked.

Without even a chance to react, the first three demons vanished instantly. Then, the pillars began to move, carving deep, bottomless trenches into the ground as they swept across the battlefield. Like an eraser wiping away pencil marks, another group of demons was purified. By the time the last demon realized its fate and tried to flee, it was already too late.

Once the final demon was eradicated, Yisi immediately activated Advanced Teleportation, reappearing far from Niru’s church district—deep within vampire territory. After using such a conspicuous spell in the city, staying would’ve been risky.

Of course, Yisi didn’t know that her divine-tier holy magic had just triggered a chain reaction. At this very moment, every follower of the Ymir Church—not just in Niru City but across the entire Niru Diocese and even the surrounding cities of the Hels Kingdom—dropped to their knees in reverence, offering fervent prayers and praise to their most revered goddess, Ymir.

As for the sudden surge in the Church’s following over the next year… that’s a story for another time.