◈16. Annihilation for Justice
When more than ten magic sources are destroyed, the special effect attached to the mace is activated.
This was something I discovered while breaking items from soldiers in the count’s estate.
And the magic stones I just shattered, although small, were still a type of magic source.
Now, I had gone far beyond just ten—I had destroyed a total of 101.
‘If my memory serves me correctly, special effects that only activate under specific conditions don’t just stop at the first stage. The more conditions fulfilled, the higher the stages of special effects—level two, level three, and so on.’
This meant that exceeding the threshold of 100 destroyed magic sources was likely to trigger an upgraded ‘second stage’ effect, far superior to the one triggered after destroying just ten.
And, as I had anticipated, the mace’s special effect finally activated.
[You have struck down sources of evil magic more than 100 times! The item’s special effect, 「Annihilation for Justice」, has been activated!]
‘Annihilation for Justice, huh?’
While the name itself was disturbingly ominous, its performance left no room for complaint.
[Due to the item’s special effect, you will become desensitized to pain for 150 minutes!]
[Due to the item’s special effect, your guilt about violence will be suppressed for 150 minutes!]
[Due to the item’s special effect, your overall stats will increase when attacking a designated species!]
The effect I had seen before, 「Righteous Massacre Under the Moonlight」, which triggered after destroying eleven sources, was merely a decent buff.
Back then, the attack damage had increased by a mere 10%, and the effect had lasted only about 30 minutes.
But this current buff not only provided a comprehensive stat boost, but the duration was also significantly extended.
However, the specifics—what stats were increased and by how much—were not mentioned.
Fortunately, another message popped up.
[Select the species to be targeted by the special effect, 「Annihilation for Justice」.]
―Demon Race
―Divine Race
―Humans
―Elementals
―Spirits
It seemed that choosing a target species would also determine which of my stats would increase accordingly.
Given the situation, there was no need to hesitate.
I immediately selected ‘Demon Race’.
[You have selected 'Demon Race' as the target for 「Annihilation for Justice」. Your strength and righteousness exist to annihilate demons, and they will shine brightest when destroying them.]
―Increased attack damage against the Demon Race (200% boost).
―Increased resistance to curse skills (200% boost).
―Increased divine power (200% boost).
Attack damage, curse resistance, and divine power—these were precisely the stats crucial for dealing with demons.
With this, even those nightmares would be easy to crush. However—
‘The oracle specifically said to capture them alive.’
In other words, killing them was out of the question.
Fine, then.
I’ll just go far enough to leave them alive.
With that thought, I loosened my grip slightly on my weapon.
【Oh, what did you just do? That energy feels extremely unpleasant.】
【Oh, what did you just do? That energy feels extremely unpleasant.】
The dream demons, who had been casually watching me break the magic stones, asked this in unison.
They hadn’t attacked me at all while I was triggering the special effect; they just stood by and observed, as if I were putting on an entertaining show.
Their relaxed attitude, born out of sheer arrogance, made me want to knock them down a peg.
“It’s hard to explain. Why don’t you just see for yourselves?”
The moment I said that, I charged straight at the monsters.
Crunch—!
With just a bit of strength in my legs, the tiles beneath my feet shattered into pieces.
The powerful leap sent me hurtling toward the monsters, and in an instant, I was right in front of them.
【Ah.】
【Ah.】
A startled sound escaped from their mouths.
Realizing too late that I had closed the distance, they began to raise their arms, but it was already over for them.
Their arrogance had left openings, and my attack struck directly into those gaps.
Boom!
My mace smashed into one of the monsters’ collarbones with an explosion of light and sound, as if a bomb had detonated.
The attack landed perfectly, amplified further by the overlapping buff effects, causing the damage to soar.
Unsurprisingly, the monster dropped to its knees without being able to counterattack.
“How’s that? It’s easier to understand when you experience it firsthand, right, instead of just listening to an explanation?”
At my question, the monsters staggered as they tried to rise.
【…….】
【…….】
They stared at me in silence.
Just a moment ago, these guys were chattering endlessly, but now they had gone quiet.
Clearly, it had hurt.
A lot.
But that annoying smirk of theirs still hadn’t disappeared.
【…Wow, that surprised me. It’s been so long since I’ve been hit like that.】
【…Wow, that surprised me. It’s been so long since I’ve been hit like that.】
“Oh, so you mean, ‘It’s been so long since anyone could hit us because we’re so strong,’ huh? Bluffing, as always…”
Sure, sure.
Bluffing to establish dominance is the basics of any fight.
I laughed at their obvious lie, but surprisingly, they responded quite seriously.
【It’s not a bluff, Hyung! Really, it’s been almost 400 years! We’ve been alive for quite a while, you know.】
【It’s not a bluff, Oppa! Really, it’s been almost 400 years! We’ve been alive for quite a while, you know.】
“…If you’ve lived that long, could you stop calling me ‘Hyung’ or ‘Oppa’? At least pick one and stick with it so it’s less confusing.”
Why in the world were these ancient beings treating me like some elder relative, calling me ‘Hyung’ or ‘Oppa’?
Their childish tone was oddly unsettling… Do their mannerisms reflect their appearance?
Then again, using a weathered, mature tone with those youthful faces would’ve been equally strange.
The monsters must’ve thought the same because they completely ignored my comment about their honorifics and continued speaking.
【【Was it about 400 years ago…? We were watching a volcanic eruption, and one of the pyroclastic fragments randomly struck us. It hurt so badly back then—】】
Their lips curled into a sinister smile as they added:
【【This is the first time we’ve been hit this painfully since that day.】】
Their story was oddly detailed for a lie.
Could it be true?
If so, these guys were monsters that had survived volcanic debris strikes and lived to tell the tale…
I shook off the random thoughts forming in my mind.
Distracting myself with ominous speculation wouldn’t help me in this fight.
“Well, isn’t that great? Getting hit once every few centuries probably makes it hurt even more.”
Initially, my attacks had been a bit flashy.
Thanks to the item’s special effects, my strength had surged so much that controlling it was difficult.
But after that earlier attack, I’d started to get a feel for it—
Tap.
The sound of my leap was almost silent now.
And it felt even faster.
With lighter, swifter movements, I closed the distance to the monsters and swung my weapon.
Whoosh—
My moves had definitely improved.
But they weren’t idiots, either.
Having been struck once, the monsters weren’t so willing to take another hit, and my swung mace slammed into the empty floor with a resounding crash.
Without wasting a second, I immediately swung the embedded mace upward, smashing it into the monster’s jaw.
Crack—!!
This time, I landed a clean hit.
The monster failed to dodge the successive strikes and staggered backward, clutching its jaw in pain.
Of course, I wasn’t foolish enough to let the opportunity slip by.
Thud! Smash! Crack!!
Lost in the heat of battle, I swung my weapon relentlessly.
At the moment, it seemed as though I had the upper hand, but this was entirely thanks to the buff effects.
Unfortunately, if it came down to pure ability, these creatures were far superior to me.
That meant I had to act quickly.
‘I need to finish them off before the buff runs out!’
A fleeting sense of unease washed over me, as if I were missing something important, but I dismissed it.
It was just a feeling.
Right now, I don’t have the luxury to dwell on it.
My focus was solely on taking down the monsters in front of me.
‘What on earth is he doing in a place like this? This isn’t exactly a scenic spot for a casual visit…’
Luciana clenched her teeth as she arrived at the Count Filma’s villa.
Thanks to Bliss’s skill, she had pinpointed the location and flown in on her familiar, arriving relatively quickly.
Even so, this place was far from the temple.
It was definitely not somewhere the Pope should be visiting in the dead of night.
Moreover, according to what Bliss had gleaned, Nikellus was currently facing some kind of terrifying presence here.
Confronting Nikellus about his actions could wait until later.
For now, Luciana urged Bliss to hurry.
“Let’s go inside. It could be an emergency, so activate the combat skills beforehand—”
“Wait a minute, you guys!”
Just as they were about to enter the villa, Luciana froze at the sound of a childlike voice.
From a distance, a small white bundle of fluff was flying toward them.
It was Rubin, who had been lingering nearby while waiting for Nikellus.
Upon spotting Luciana, Rubin immediately soared in her direction.
Rubin recognized Luciana, having met her at the ancient temple earlier, but the reverse wasn’t true.
‘What is this white fluffball…?’
“It’s me, Rubin! We met earlier today!”
“Rubin…? The spirit from the ancient temple? I thought you were dead. So why are you here? And your appearance—your color and form—have changed.”
“I didn’t die! I just moved to a new body! And I’ve officially retired from my role as the temple guide!”
With that, Rubin began summarizing the events that had occurred.
From how Nikellus had transferred his essence to a new body to the reasons they ended up at this villa.
Of course, Rubin didn’t forget to mention the most critical point—that this villa was a trap set by the seers.
For Luciana, who knew none of this, the chain of events was overwhelming and difficult to grasp in its entirety.
Yet there was one thing she could understand very clearly.
“So, to summarize, His Holiness knowingly walked into a trap at this villa?”
“Yep. And it really was a trap. As soon as Nike stepped inside, a barrier was activated. Now, no one can get in or out.”
No entry or exit.
Meaning Nikellus couldn’t be rescued.
Luciana, realizing this, couldn’t contain the anger bubbling up inside her any longer.
“That’s not bravery or anything remotely admirable! It’s sheer recklessness!”
If he had simply been sleeping off his troubles in a tavern, she wouldn’t have been this furious.
That would have been far less dangerous than knowingly walking into an obvious trap.
Unaware that Nikellus was acting on a divine oracle to capture the seers, Luciana found his actions—and the current predicament—utterly incomprehensible.
*Why does that man seem so intent on putting himself in harm’s way? And without giving me, his knight, so much as a word of warning…*
She felt bitter.
She worried so deeply for him, yet he seemed utterly oblivious, throwing himself into danger without hesitation.
As Luciana ran her hand through her hair in frustration, Rubin spoke softly, as if trying to comfort her.
“Don’t be too mad at Nike. He knew he was being reckless. He just had no choice but to go alone. He didn’t want to risk dragging others into harm’s way, even if it meant suffering through it by himself.”
“…”
Rubin vividly remembered what Nikellus had said as he walked into the trap.
—”Stay here and keep yourself safe. The ancient Polydroid repair centers are all gone now, so if you break, you won’t be able to get fixed anymore.”
Rubin was certain that Nikellus knew full well that bringing others along would have made the situation safer.
Even so, he chose the reckless path out of selflessness—a desire to protect others.
At least, that’s what Rubin believed.
“…”
Luciana clenched her teeth in silent frustration at Rubin’s words, then eventually let out a resigned sigh.
It was Bliss who broke the silence.
“Let’s wait. Once the power behind the barrier weakens, it’ll naturally collapse, and then we can go inside. More importantly—”
He abruptly stopped speaking, grabbing Rubin in one swift motion.
Startled and bewildered, Rubin squirmed as Bliss turned him over and inspected him from every angle.
“Are you really a spirit from the ancient ruins?”
“Argh! Stop pinching my cheeks!”
“I’ve never heard of a spirit leaving its ruins before… let alone one following a specific individual. Fascinating. Both this spirit and the person who managed to gain its loyalty—His Holiness.”
“Argh! Pull my tail one more time, and I’ll bite you! It’s detachable, you know! Yank it too hard, and—”
Pop!
With a soft noise, one of Rubin’s tails was pulled clean off.
This marked the unfortunate occurrence of one of Rubin’s ‘Top 3 Most Hated Acts’.
Bliss, unaware of the consequences, found himself sacrificing three of his fingers to Rubin’s sharp little fangs.
Head, shoulders, forearms, thighs—every visible part was battered relentlessly.
The monster occasionally retaliated—
Whoosh!
Its claws slashed at him with sharp precision, leaving no room for distraction.
Dodge, find an opening, strike.
It was a simple algorithm, executed with increasingly quick judgment and movements.
Then, in a fleeting moment—
‘Now…!
The monster left its upper defenses wide open.
If he struck now, it wouldn’t be able to block.
Its arms were still lowered from its failed attack moments ago.
Realizing this was a rare and possibly final chance, he poured all his strength into his weapon.
With a weight akin to a cannonball, he delivered a powerful blow directly to the monster’s head.
Clang!
“Huh…?”
A confused sound escaped his lips without his realizing.
He was certain he had struck its head, yet the sound was that of metal being struck.
The sensation through his hands confirmed it—an impact like hitting solid steel reverberated down the handle of his mace.
‘…What is this?
Realizing something was wrong, he instinctively leapt backward, quickly putting distance between himself and the monster.
This reflex, honed from countless battles with various enemies in the game, ultimately saved his life.
📌 Translator’s Note:
In this novel, Divine Power and Divine Energy refer to different aspects of supernatural force:
- Divine Power (신력) represents an unshakable, absolute force granted by a deity or higher being. It is often used in purification, blessings, and overwhelming supernatural authority.
- Divine Energy (신성력) is a measurable and manipulatable resource, often channeled or stored by individuals. It can be infused into objects, used in spells, or converted into attacks.
This distinction is why the translation switches between the two terms depending on the context.
Happy reading 😊
