◈ 6. Blasphemy!
Had I been too blatant? A pang of regret struck me for a moment.
Luciana looked excessively startled, after all.
It made sense.
Saying something like, “I’ll handle this, so stay back,” was something the original Nikellus would never have said.
If I was unlucky, she might start finding me a little suspicious.
Still, I decided not to back down.
‘I’ve already given up living like a reckless troublemaker.’
If I kept that up, it would take me even further from the peaceful life I desired.
More than anything, I didn’t want to see that look of disdain Luciana had just shown me again.
‘This time, I need to act decisively competent. Half-hearted competence won’t cut it.’
With that resolution, I tightened my grip on the sword.
It was then that a monster, half-decayed like a corpse, clawed its way out from beneath the ground.
[Groooaaar…]
With dried, shrivelled skin stretched taut over its protruding bones, it was a grotesque sight.
Beneath its pronounced brow ridges, its jaundiced eyes rolled unnaturally as they scanned its surroundings.
Its appearance alone was horrifying, and to make matters worse, it was enormous.
‘Look at that thing…’
Fortunately, thanks to my extensive experience hunting countless virtual monsters while playing <CRW>, I wasn’t particularly fazed this time either.
I simply read through the newly displayed monster information screen in silence.
[Cursed Gatekeeper of the Temple (A)]
―A thief from the distant past who tried to steal the relics of the Crimson Moon Temple.
Cursed by an ancient god, they were doomed to guard the temple for eternity.
As I expected, its name included the prefix ‘Cursed’.
Monsters with descriptors like ‘Cursed’, ‘Corrupted’, or ‘Evil’ in their names generally had one notable characteristic: they were vulnerable to divine power.
In other words, it meant this monster was an exceptionally easy target for someone like me, whose specialty was attacks based on divine power.
[Groooar…]
As I sized up the creature, the monster also scrutinized me, a prospective new ‘member’ of this conflict.
It rattled the shackles chained to both its wrists and gripped a massive scythe in its clawed hands.
[Kill… me… now… I don’t… want this… anymore… Free me… from this curse…]
Before being possessed, I wouldn’t have been able to understand the monster’s speech.
But now, their words were translated clearly, thanks to my newfound abilities.
Their language was ancient—just like that used by every other monster in <CRW>.
Why they all spoke this tongue was something I still didn’t know.
Had there been some ancient human who decided to teach language to monsters?
‘Well, if it’s asking to be killed, it’d be rude not to oblige.’
Without hesitation, I activated my newly unlocked attack skill: ‘Blasphemy! (S)’.
I immediately felt the surge of a new power pulsating within me.
At the same time, a small notification message appeared at the bottom of my vision, detailing the skill’s effects:
“Blasphemy! (S)”
―Increases attack damage (Damage boost: +300%)
―Increases critical hit probability (Critical rate boost: +300%)
―Allows for long-range divine energy discharge when activated.
Duration: 30 minutes
Special Effect: 10% chance of increasing the faith and loyalty of witnesses upon activation.
In short, it was both a buff and an offensive skill that allowed me to output three times the power Nikellus originally possessed.
The moment I activated the skill, an overwhelmingly potent energy surged through me, almost dangerously so.
That power immediately concentrated into the brilliant white blade of my holy sword.
When the divine buff effect of the sword itself was added to this, a burst of radiant light, as intense as the sun, erupted from the blade.
The dazzling display quickly caused a commotion among the priests and knights nearby, their murmurs spreading like wildfire.
“What is that?”
“An item effect?”
“I’m not sure… could it be a skill?”
Everyone kept glancing at me, squinting against the bright light radiating from my sword.
Eventually, Luciana, who was the closest, stepped forward to represent the group and asked hesitantly.
“Your Holiness? That sword… is it…”
“I used a skill. The divine energy amplified by the skill is what’s making it glow like this.”
I explained calmly.
“A skill…? Did you just say you used a skill?”
“Yes. So, don’t worry. This isn’t just a pretty, sparkling light show.”
Not only did it look impressive, but it was also an S-rank skill that tripled my attack damage.
Whether the ancient monster understood this or not, it hesitated, clearly unnerved by the radiance.
[S-stop…!]
The creature let out a wailing screech, writhing as if in pain.
Then, as if deciding that the source of its agony—me—had to be eliminated, it shifted its strategy.
Clang! Thud!
As it raised its weapon, the heavy chains binding its skeletal wrists clattered noisily to the ground.
The monster then hoisted an enormous scythe above its head—a weapon so massive it looked even heavier than the chains it had just cast off.
And then—
Bang!
The scythe came crashing down onto the spot where I had been standing.
A massive plume of dust exploded into the air, blanketing the surroundings in a hazy grey.
Amid the chaos, panicked screams erupted from all directions.
“Ahhh!”
“Get out of the way!”
“Damn it, stop pushing!”
The priests, untrained for battle, scattered in disarray, frantically trying to avoid the aftermath.
Luciana and the other holy knights seemed to need more time to calm the panicked priests and ensure their safety.
Meanwhile, I slowly approached the monster through the cloud of dust, drawing its attention toward me.
“Monster! Look at this!”
It only took a few swings of my sword, brimming with divine energy, to catch its focus.
The creature raised its scythe toward the sole shining light cutting through the murky air.
The movement was the same as before—but not entirely.
Saaahhh—
A dark aura began to seep into the scythe, and moments later, a system message appeared:
[The monster “Cursed Gatekeeper of the Temple” has used the curse skill “Inescapable Terror (S)”]
[Due to the curse skill, your movement will be restricted for 5 seconds!]
Seeing the message, I tried moving my legs.
‘It really won’t budge. A skill meant to immobilize the target, huh?’
Since I didn’t have any curse-resistance items on me, I was immediately affected by the monster’s skill.
Of course, I could have easily broken free using another skill of mine, ‘Holy Inviolability Pact’.
‘Let’s just leave it. It’ll wear off in five seconds anyway.’
There was no point in wasting a skill to escape a curse that would lift in mere seconds.
Instead, I remained where I was, locked in place, and raised my sword.
“Your Holiness!!”
Seeing me stand my ground as if I intended to block the attack head-on, Luciana urgently called out to me.
She seemed convinced I wouldn’t be able to withstand it.
Even though I was an S-rank Awakened, her concern was almost amusing.
Not only did she call out to me, but she started running toward me in a panic.
But the monster had already lifted its weapon high into the air—
Bang!
The monster’s scythe, steeped in malevolent energy, came crashing down toward the top of my head with deadly precision.
Had I not raised my sword to block it, I might have been split clean in two.
[Grarg?]
The monster let out a confused sound, seemingly bewildered that someone so much smaller could stop its scythe.
Luciana, who had been running toward me, froze in place, staring at the scene in disbelief.
I took a moment to test my legs—
‘Ah, I can move again.’
Five seconds had passed.
Using that opening, I deflected the scythe and leaped high, aiming straight for the monster’s head.
[K-kill… me…!]
Despite begging for death, the monster tried to block my sword with the shaft of its scythe.
A foolish choice.
Unlike the blade, the shaft lacked the durability to withstand my attack.
Sure enough, my sword, imbued with divine energy, sliced through the scythe with ease, splitting it cleanly in two.
Without losing any momentum, the blade continued downward, cutting the monster’s skeletal body in half just as effortlessly.
[Kraaaahhh!!]
The overwhelming divine power, enhanced by stacked skills and item effects, surged through me.
Combined with the monster’s natural vulnerability to holy energy, the battle was decisively in my favour.
The fight ended in an instant.
“What… It’s over already?”
The priests and knights, witnessing Nikellus’s—or rather, my—combat prowess for the first time, stood in stunned amazement.
At that moment, a system message appeared:
[The special effect of the skill ‘Blasphemy! (S)’ has been triggered! The faith and loyalty of those who witnessed your battle have increased by 15%!]
I hadn’t expected the effect to activate, given its low probability.
I was lucky.
Even better, the increase was a significant 15%.
Glancing back, I could feel it—the gazes of those watching me had changed completely.
The doubt and hesitation from earlier had been replaced with awe and reverence.
Even as the monster crumbled into ashes, Luciana never took her eyes off Nikellus—not even for a moment.
She looked as though she had just witnessed something beyond her wildest imagination.
It wasn’t his overwhelming strike that had shocked her.
She had always known about his strength.
What left her frozen in place was something else entirely—his words, spoken before the monster had appeared.
“Get behind me.”
The Nikellus she knew only used his power to punish those who irritated him.
He was not the kind of person to use his strength to protect someone else.
If it had been the Nikellus she remembered, he would have sent Luciana forward to handle the fight while he lounged comfortably behind her, watching the spectacle.
“…Nikellus.”
“You’ve changed.”
Her murmured words dissipated softly into the breeze.
To be fair, this wasn’t the first time Luciana had noticed something different about him.
When did it start?
About three months ago?
It was around then that Nikellus began displaying a strange, uncharacteristic competence.
Even so, Luciana hadn’t dared to trust him until now.
Whenever she extended trust or faith toward him, he would always find a way to return it in the form of disappointment.
But now…
“Your Holiness.”
She cut her thoughts short and called out to him.
Surrounded by an exuberant group of priests, Nikellus looked slightly uncomfortable as he turned toward her.
His golden hair, shining like sunlight, swayed lightly with the movement.
“Hmm?”
“Why did you step forward yourself? You hate dealing with things like this.”
Nikellus stopped in his tracks and gazed at her, as though carefully considering her question.
Then, instead of his usual response to her repeated questions over the past three months—“Because of the fever, I lost my memories, that’s all.”—he gave her a different answer this time.
“I just thought I’d start taking things seriously from now on. Just because I’ve been a scoundrel all this time doesn’t mean I have to keep being one.”
The wall of mistrust that had solidified in Luciana’s heart through countless disappointments began to crack ever so slightly, widening under Nikellus’s faint smile.
At that moment—
[Membership verification complete. Please input your registration details.]
A new message appeared on the screen at the entrance to the ruins.
Once again, the message was written in ancient script, difficult for everyone else, including Luciana, to read.
Nikellus stepped forward, tapping on the screen as he entered the required information.
― Username: Nikellus
― Password: *******
― Gender: Male
― Age: 20 (Physical age)
― Species: Human
― Reason for Joining: Interested in exploring the temple.
After finishing the input, he clicked <<Complete>>.
Once he logged in, the entrance to the ruins finally opened—a mysterious space untouched for thousands of years since the fall of the ancient civilization.
Nikellus began to walk slowly into the ruins, his steps deliberate and unhurried.
But then, as if something had just occurred to him, he stopped mid-step and turned to look at Luciana.
“Want to come in and look around with me?”
“You mean… me?”
“Yeah. From what I know, once you complete the membership registration, you can bring up to two companions inside. Besides, you deserve it—you’re the one who contributed the most to finding this place.”
Luciana was startled once again.
The ruins, accessible only after proficiently interpreting ancient script and defeating the gatekeeper that appeared afterward…
Nikellus was inviting her to explore this extraordinary place together.
It was essentially turning down the opportunity to monopolize the ancient items inside by entering alone.
Could he possibly be planning to use her as a human shield?
That suspicion briefly crossed her mind.
After all, she’d been let down by him far too many times before.
Yet, this time, Luciana’s legs moved without hesitation.
[The doors are closing. Please ensure no body parts or belongings are caught in the gap.]
― Number of entrants: (2/3)
Inside the Crimson Full Moon Temple, this system message appeared.
The doors that had been wide open began to close slowly.
They thought the only thing left now was to explore the interior together.
But just before the doors fully shut, a sharp ding! sounded, and the message on the screen changed.
【 Additional entrant detected. 】
― Number of entrants: (3/3)
Working hard on new years. it was fairly easy for him to make everyone believe he’s not a jerk anymore