Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 222

222. To the Top (3)

Kwa-gwa-gwang!

Two Rankers exchanged blows in a chaotic dance.
The intense combat drowned out the noise from outside, and Aile retreated sharply in response to Ixion’s attack from the left.

As he retreated, he activated a skill.

Chwaaaar-reureureuk!

As Aile clasped his hands together, white light erupted from beneath Ixion’s feet.

Chains of divinity burst through the floor, binding him tightly.

The Chains of Divinity, cast instantly without any casting time, possessed maximum durability thanks to the currently maintained Blessing.
Even a boss monster, let alone a user, couldn’t break free easily.

Kwaduk!

However, as soon as Ixion was bound by the chains, he immediately made a decision and used an escape skill.
He broke free from the chains in an instant and retreated to create distance.

‘Good.’

It was a shame that the Chains of Divinity had no effect, but he succeeded in forcing out all of Ixion’s escape skills.

Of course, the same was true for himself.

Having been hit by a combo and stunned, he had to use his only status ailment removal skill.

‘But if we continue like this, I have a chance of winning.’

For a brief moment, Aile’s gaze turned to the side screen.

His synchronization rate, displayed in the message, had already reached 165 percent.

It was constantly updating to the maximum as he fought Ixion, and it was definitely a noticeable increase.

Of course, the opponent was feeling it as well.

“Let’s end this here.”

Tsu-tsu-tsut!

Ixion had no intention of dragging out the fight any longer.

Black mists formed around him and flowed into Ixion’s greatsword.

“This time it’s not a buff, but an attack… and not a normal skill, so be careful.”

“Yes.”

Aile nodded at Lou’s voice.

He could tell even without her, a divine being, telling him.

Even to his eyes, an ominous energy was radiating intensely, and it was obvious that Ixion was about to use a Legend-grade skill.

Ixion had already accepted using a Legend-grade skill against Aile, and there was no reason to hesitate any longer.

“Then, Goddess, I’m counting on you.”

Aile said, glancing sideways.

Lou wasn’t flustered, knowing that he would eventually use a Legend skill.
She had to respond calmly, and Lou nodded calmly.

“This is the end!”

Ixion swung his greatsword with all his might.

Then, a jet-black aura was emitted from his greatsword, sweeping across a vast area and approaching rapidly.

The power of the Legend-grade skill was palpable just from looking at it.
No matter how much health and defense one had, being hit directly by such a skill would undoubtedly result in instant death.

Kwaaak!

But Aile didn’t retreat or cower.

[Special skill, ‘Goddess’s Authority,’ has been activated!]

Aile gripped his sword tightly and took a stance.

The ‘Goddess’s Authority’ skill, which could be used only once while the Blessing lasted.

Then, Lou appeared beside him with a brilliant light.

It wasn’t just a vision visible to Aile, but a clear manifestation.
The Goddess of Light stood right next to him, and they stood back-to-back, holding their swords.

Kwaaaaaaa!

Before the massive storm of sword energy that seemed to devour everything.

In that fleeting moment, feeling a sense of unity, they swung their swords together.

* * *

Pa-seuseu!

The room, which had been struck by a massive impact, was silent for a moment.

The opposite wall was blown open and collapsed, and the magic circle drawn on the floor vanished instantly.

Special skill, Goddess’s Authority.
A powerful, one-time attack skill with a special additional effect that devoured all of the Heretic’s attacks.

If the Heretic launched a strong blow, his skill would become even stronger, increasing in size and engulfing the enemy.

A technique with both offensive and counterattack characteristics.

Although the target was limited to enemies marked with the Heretic’s brand, Ixion was naturally a Heretic before he was even designated.

Teo-eong!

Ixion, unconscious, collapsed to the floor, his head hitting the ground.

His health was already completely depleted, and he could no longer move.

The battle was decided in that last strike.

[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
.
.
.
Rewards for the Heretic’s execution, quests, and sponsorships poured in, and various messages filled Aile’s vision.

It wasn’t just that.

In addition to the increased level and stats, there was the power to defeat Ixion single-handedly.

All of that combined caused Aile’s official ranking to soar to 2nd place in an instant.

Taa-ak!

After looting only Ixion’s items, Aile stepped outside.

Although the thrill of victory lingered, he had to join the fight without a moment’s rest.

However, with the destruction of the magic circle on the first floor that they had to protect, the battle between the Rankers was already over.

“Aile-nim!”

“Unbelievable, you did it!”

Loden and Lia approached, making a fuss.

Even without checking his rapidly rising ranking, Ixion’s corpse was clearly visible beyond the blown-out wall.

“Haha… I’m still dazed myself.”

“You’ve done well.”

Alisa approached with a bright smile.

She was the one who had the most faith in him among the users here.

Looking around, not only Aile but everyone else was a mess from the aftermath of the fierce battle.

The number of corpses filling the hallway was also quite large.

Although Apollyon retreated first as the magic circle was destroyed, both sides had suffered considerable losses.

“But we’ve captured two of Apollyon’s executives, so the situation is much better, right?”

“You caught another executive?”
Aile asked, surprised.

Surprisingly, while Aile was fighting, they had succeeded in defeating Apollyon’s executive, Dagos, outside.

It was thanks to the massive blow that suddenly broke through the wall just now.
Dagos, who was in the middle of a battle, was caught up in Aile’s Goddess’s Authority skill, creating an opening.

Karin and Solos seized the opportunity and managed to subdue him with a joint attack.

Cheolkeong!

As they were talking, they succeeded in opening the inner castle gate from the inside.

While the infiltration team was moving, the remaining guild members and Rankers who had been drawing attention outside were brought inside, and a considerable number of people joined them.

“Thanks to you, we now have a chance of winning.”

Sirre, who had approached from behind, casually put his hand on Aile’s shoulder.

No one had imagined that he would single-handedly subdue an executive and jump to 2nd place in the rankings, which was an amazing feat.

Moreover, he had succeeded in destroying the most urgent magic circle, so it was needless to say that his contribution was enormous.

“By the way, what happened to the magic circle?”

“Unfortunately, destroying one side wasn’t enough to completely neutralize it. But thanks to one side collapsing, the magic power about to be activated in the upper magic circle seems to be tangled. So we bought some time.”

“I guess that’s a relief…”

It seemed that the magic power needed to activate the magic had already been gathered through both magic circles.

However, it would take time to stabilize the magic power again, and from their perspective, that time was a reprieve.

“What are you planning to do now?”

“We need to move up immediately. We can’t afford to be complacent just because we bought some time.”

Sirre nodded.

Another magic circle existed above the inner castle, and only by properly destroying that one could they truly stop the magic.

“What about the princess?”

“She’s already been given instructions.”

Now that the lower floors had been secured, Princess Seia, who had been hidden in the outer area, was secretly brought inside the fortress.

The range of the annihilation magic circle was limited to the outer area of Belhaven City’s inner castle.

Even if the annihilation magic circle was activated now, they could at least protect the princess and smuggle her out safely.

Of course, that didn’t mean they could just watch the magic circle activate and let everyone outside die.

Sirre intended to completely destroy Apollyon at this opportunity.

“Then we can’t all move up.”

“Yeah, they probably figured out this number of people. We also need people to defend.”

Some people would remain to protect the princess in case of an emergency.

Strong executives like Rucan and Silas were still alive, and they could be hiding elsewhere, moving in small numbers to target the princess.

For that reason, Karin, Solos, and several other Rankers were decided to stay below.

Only the leaders of the Six Great Guilds were at the level to stop those two executives.

Above all, there was nothing to lose since they could immediately request support and call them in after identifying the number of enemies guarding the last magic circle.

“Everyone’s recovered, right? Let’s move immediately!”

Sirre and many Rankers, including Aile and his companions, moved to attack the magic circle.

While they were going up the inner castle floors, they were not attacked even once.

It seemed that rather than ambushing them in the middle, they were gathering all their forces at the magic circle to defend.

However, thanks to the joining of the Rankers outside the barrier, the balance of power had shifted to a sufficient advantage.

Moreover, the situation was even more relaxed thanks to Aile’s performance this time.

At this rate, they had virtually secured the victory.

Kwaaaang!

They broke through the large door and entered the interior.
The location of the barrier on the top floor.

Beyond this door was where many of Apollyon’s Rankers were expected to gather and put up a defense.

But that expectation was completely wrong.

“What…?”

“This is…”

The Rankers who entered the interior stopped in their tracks for a moment.

It wasn’t because of the presence of enemies or traps, but because of ‘bewilderment,’ and everyone felt the same emotion.

Sirre, Alisa, and even Aile felt the same.

Teo-eong!

A long sword struck the floor, echoing through the vast hall.

Standing in front of the numerous Rankers was only one person.

In the center, Apollyon’s Guild Master, Kruger, greeted the Rankers who had come to find him.