Light in 'Desperation'

When 'Bondoni' dragged Beverly away and vanished, Marlow shouted,

"Beverly!"

But the only response that came was an old, resentful whisper.

"How dare you trespass in this king's domain? Prepare to face my wrath!"

That voice sounded imposing, but it couldn't change the fact... he had only run off from fear, and as Serea listened, she muttered to herself,

"Oh ho, looks like we're in trouble."

No sooner had Serea spoken than a stone gate suddenly dropped to seal the passage's exit, trapping them inside.

Immediately after, the skulls in the circular chamber lit up with blue soul-fire, and the skeletons all rose to their feet.

Swords and blades in hand, Serea gazed around at these skeletons; many of them were mediocre, level 7 or 8 at best, but among them were a few who stood out.

Profile: Skeleton Warrior (Undead, apprentice Warrior)Level: 10Status: GoodSpirit: DStrength: BAgility: C+Endurance: DConstitution: CCharisma: DLuck: BSkills: Heavy Slash (Rank 1), charge (Rank 1)Description: Undead from the abyssal depths of the Netherworld!

"Behold the elite soldiers at this king's command! Resist, wail, and then delight me with your blood and death!"

'Bondoni's' voice echoed through the underground chamber. Looking at the skeletons converging from all directions, even though these were mostly low-level fodder, their numbers were overwhelming—there were more than thirty.

There were at least a dozen Skeleton Warriors among them, which were apparently the 'elite soldiers' that voice had spoken of.

At this, Serea was inexplicably amused; she very much wanted to respond,

What a coincidence, so do I!

But Serea restrained her urge to make a quip; as satisfying as it would be, she decided to keep a cool facade.

After the skeletons and Skeleton Warriors rose, they began to surround Serea, Marlow, and the others. At the same time, the holy cleric Camilla—nemesis of the undead—furrowed her brow.

"This is bad. We've been tricked. The enemy isn't just mindless zombies. Our real foes are advanced skeletons—and there are Netherworld undead among them!"

"What?! Netherworld undead?!"

Hearing Camilla's trembling voice, Marlow gripped his sword and looked around.

Indeed, there were many figures just like she described among the ranks.

They wore tattered iron armor and wielded corroded longswords, advancing on the group step by slow step, as if intentionally holding back.

Just as the voice had said, he merely wanted to savor his pleasure from blood and death; he wasn't in a rush to send his undead swarming all at once.

"Stand behind me!"

As a warrior, Marlow instinctively took the front, shielding Camilla so she could safely use her holy magic.

"Great God of Light, please shield your faithful—Holy Light!"

Radiance gleamed from her staff, and a burst of white light shot out, instantly knocking down two skeletons.

"Very good, nicely done! I'll hold them off—take out those skeletons, and we can break through!"

Marlow tried to encourage Camilla, but she shook her head, frowning.

"No, I can't. I need time before I can use Holy Light again. Until then, I can only heal you."

"I see..."

Marlow's expression turned a bit bitter, but he still assured her,

"No matter. Stay behind me—I'll protect you!"

Camilla glanced at Marlow, then nodded and unconsciously edged closer to him.

"Hehehe, quite touching. But how long can you last?"

The voice mocked them, but Marlow ignored it.

Heavy Slash!

Swinging with all his might, Marlow's blade crashed into a skeleton.

Crack!

The skeleton shattered, but more kept coming. He could only keep hacking away, but the skeletons would sometimes block his attacks, making things tricky.

Suddenly, a Skeleton Warrior clad in battered iron armor stepped before him. Marlow slashed.

Clang!

His sword struck the Skeleton Warrior's armor; the skeleton staggered, but was otherwise unharmed.

"How is that possible?!"

Marlow gasped, a clear sign of his inexperience as a new adventurer...

Why strike the armor when the neck is exposed? Unsurprisingly, the next moment, the Skeleton Warrior seized his sword in a death grip.

Against the skeleton's superhuman strength, Marlow couldn't wrench his sword free.

Just then, another Skeleton Warrior moved in, slashing Marlow across the shoulder.

"Aargh!"

Marlow screamed in pain, clutching his shoulder and stumbling back. His sword was snatched away by the first Skeleton Warrior.

"Holy Light!"

In a panic, Camilla cast Holy Light again, the blast forcing back two Skeleton Warriors—but it could only buy them a moment at best.

"Captain Marlow, fall back!"

She quickly dragged Marlow backwards; any time they could buy was a blessing—but survival still seemed out of reach.

Camilla glanced at the four mysterious girls who had just repelled 'Bondoni.' Their battle prowess must be extraordinary, perhaps...

But as she looked, Camilla spotted the hand of Celia, now corroded by the power of death.

A curse!

Heavens—Death's Curse! The girl was doomed, and their victory a moment ago had only been a stroke of luck.

At that moment, the skeletons and Skeleton Warriors were already closing in, and to Camilla, the four girls looked like they'd be lucky to save themselves, never mind intervene.

Just as she thought this, Celia's hand flashed with golden light.

Divine Grace!

A radiant, godly light poured down, illuminating the underground chamber.

Under Divine Grace, the negative curse on Celia vanished instantly, and all her attributes were vastly enhanced.

Holy Light!

Drawing her silver longsword, Celia's blade flashed with dazzling gold. Though also Holy Light, compared to Camilla's mere spark, Celia's Holy Light burst forth as a blinding golden beam.

The golden radiance swept through the crowd of skeletons; wherever it shone, the skeletons fell, never to rise again.

"Div—Divine Grace! That's Divine Grace!"

Seeing the golden motes swirling around the girl, Camilla was left utterly dumbfounded.

In the Church of Light, divine Grace was known as a skill reserved for high-ranking clergy above candidate Saintess—how, how could this girl use it!?

"Could she be one of the Twelve Candidate Saintesses sent by our Church on a journey?"

The thought crossed Camilla's mind. But with Celia wearing a mask, she couldn't see her face, and even if Celia had been unmasked, Camilla would not have recognized her.

For a lower-ranked cleric like Camilla, there was no chance she would ever meet or recognize any "Candidate Saintess."

(To be continued...)

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