Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 153

Clang!

Aeil was thrown back by the powerful spear strike.

A long spear imbued with coldness.

It was the weapon of Agria, a high-ranking servant of Bahamut, and her spear’s path was filled with extreme cold, freezing everything.

Crackling!

Aeil rolled to avoid the freezing floor.

However, Agria quickly closed the distance and relentlessly pursued Aeil, stabbing dozens of times in succession.

Bang!

Aeil’s head snapped back from the strong impact.

Taking advantage of his focus on the relentless spear strikes, she had struck him with a punch.

The stun, which he couldn’t avoid, shook his head.

But Aeil immediately activated his status abnormality removal skill and quickly retreated.

After casting a continuous healing spell with the Healing Light skill, he barely managed to catch his breath.

There was no time to drink a potion unless he had a skill he could use immediately.

Clang!

The sword and spear clashed.

Even the white sacred fire blazing on Aeil’s longsword was subdued by the intense cold emanating from the spear.

[‘Mother of Life’ expresses concern about the current situation.]

[‘Secret Explorer’ urges you to take a step back.]

The deities sent messages as Aeil was relentlessly pushed back.

The battle, which initially seemed even, was rapidly tilting to the point where it was no longer sustainable, causing them to express their concern.

[‘Ruler of the Volcano’ breathes out fiery breath in frustration.]

[Shared Contribution +1,000]

In particular, Razaghal, who was on hostile terms with Bahamut, was even more agitated.

Hoping that he would somehow stop him, he even sponsored Aeil with contribution points.

But it wasn’t a situation that could be easily resolved.

‘This is no joke…!’

Facing a high-ranking servant of a deity in person, whom he had only heard about, was truly a deathly experience.

Moreover, it was a humanoid servant, not a monster.

The techniques she used, the ways she created openings, and even the psychological warfare she employed made it feel like he was facing a top-tier player rather than a monster.

But the problem was that the opponent exhibiting such movements had stats comparable to a boss monster, including health.

It was a disastrous combination from the perspective of the one facing it.

‘I thought I could handle it at first…’

Even in the early stages of the battle, Aeil had managed to successfully attack several times, reducing her health by 9 percent.

This was thanks to the servant who had appeared on the ground not yet regaining her full power.

However, as time passed, he felt that the opponent was rapidly growing stronger.

It wasn’t just a feeling.

Even when looking at the information window, she was only around level 100 when she first appeared from the monster’s belly.

But now, Agria’s level was already surpassing 140.

Naturally, all her stats were gradually increasing accordingly.

At this rate, if she regained all her power, she would easily surpass level 200 in the mid to late stages.

If that happened, not only his life but also the overall war situation outside would be in danger.

It was impossible for a single user to turn the tide of war, but with a monster like this, the story could easily change.

Bang!

Aeil was kicked and sent sprawling by a foot that suddenly extended from behind.

He had tried to use a reverse attack by digging in, but even that was easily seen through.

‘Should I… give up?’

Aeil frowned as he hit the end of the wall.

No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t see a chance of winning.

A high-ranking servant of the seven deities was not an enemy that a player could handle alone.

If he had stopped her before the ritual or defeated the monster before it spat out its main body, maybe.

But those opportunities were long gone.

“Don’t even think about running away.”

Agria, her dark eyes gleaming, extended her spear.

As if to alleviate his worries, the only exit was covered with solid ice, blocking it off.

From Bahamut’s perspective, Aeil, as an apostle of Ru, was a means of exerting great influence simply by killing him.

Moreover, he had been constantly interfering with the things he had planned, so he was an opponent that he could never let go of.

“Tch… !”

Crack!

Sharp ice chunks flew in from all directions.

Agria’s ability to freely use coldness even from a distance was extremely troublesome.

Just as Aeil barely managed to evade the attacks.

Whoosh!

Agria, who had flown in smoothly, swung her spear wide.

The cold, chilling blade of the spear quickly approached, aiming for Aeil’s neck.

But just then, the flow of time that had been flowing suddenly came to a halt.

[Abundant white light completely envelops the surrounding space!]

Flash!

“No way…”

Aeil looked ahead at the sudden situation.

Ru appeared with a brilliant light.

“Intervention during battle is troublesome, but the situation is not good. It can’t be helped.”

“Goddess?”

“The situation is urgent, so I will be brief. It is impossible to withstand a high-ranking servant with the power of a player alone.”

“You came all the way here to say that?”

“Just listen quietly. This sanctuary is a place to honor the old gods. It was also the place where his legacy, the holy relic, was sleeping.”

“If it’s a holy relic, then the one from the legends…”

“Yes, that’s right. It would be more accurate to say that what was here was a fragment of the holy relic.”

Ru nodded and immediately continued.

It was a somewhat complicated story, but there was no time to explain it in detail in the current situation.

“But even if it’s just a fragment, the influence it brings is enormous. He has already used one, but another fragment of the holy relic is sleeping here. Find it. If it’s you, you’ll be able to understand even if I only tell you this much.”

“But…”

“I never thought Bahamut would be one step ahead and plotting this. Things have become bigger than I thought. Aeil, I trust you.”

Flash!

She disappeared with a flash of light before he could even reply.

The flow of time began to return.

Clang!

Aeil, who had snapped back to his senses, deflected Agria’s spear that had flown right in front of him.

As the weapons collided, fierce sacred fire and frost splattered on both sides.

‘Damn it, so that’s what happened…!’

Aeil gritted his teeth and knocked the spear aside.

‘Holy Relic.’

It was a tremendous treasure symbolizing the ancient chief god who existed in the distant past.

Unlike the current faith that had split into seven branches, it was also a symbol of the true monotheism that existed at that time.

He had thought it was just a symbol that existed in the legends of the Warlord background setting, but it really existed and would play an important role for the current deities.

‘I wondered how they summoned a high-ranking servant after setting up such a world event… so they borrowed the power of the holy relic.’

But there were still questions left in what she had said.

This place was a small sanctuary.

Even if it was specially structured, all it had was a corridor leading to the outside and this one room.

There was no place to hide anything else.

‘No, come to think of it…’

He suddenly remembered Neshuar warping into an unknown space.

Even the Bahamut monster he had first faced had followed him.

‘There’s no way they suddenly flew to the opposite side of the continent… so there’s something inside this place.’

Aeil hurriedly turned his gaze and looked around.

The room in the sanctuary was decorated with old ornaments, but most of them had been destroyed long ago due to the aftermath of the battle.

But strangely, there was a part that was particularly intact.

‘Could it be…?’

Aeil turned and ran straight to that wall.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Then, she frowned and shouted fiercely, trying to block him.

Normally, she would have launched a spear strike at Aeil, who had turned his back, and unleashed a cold attack, but she didn’t swing her spear, as if she was really conscious of the wall.

The place where they had tried to avoid hitting as much as possible while sweeping through the entire room.

‘A passage to another space!’

Flash!

Aeil slipped through the wall.

Then, just like when Neshuar had disappeared, the surroundings rippled and a completely different space unfolded before him.

A complex and vast sanctuary with corridors leading in all directions.

Moreover, when he looked around, a considerable number of Water Cult followers were searching for another holy relic inside.

“Don’t let him get away!”

Agria, who had followed immediately, swung her spear.

Aeil dodged to the side, but all the followers behind him were swept away by the cold and frozen solid.

Boom!

On the other side, the sounds of the monster and Neshuar fighting wildly could be heard, and Aeil began to run in the opposite direction.

Clang!

He smashed the bottles containing holy water.

The holy water was abundant on the floor and walls of the corridor, and Aeil ignited it by rubbing his longsword, which was burning with sacred fire.

Whoosh!

The flames grew uncontrollably.

The spear wielded by Agria, whose level had already surpassed 150, even froze the flames, but Aeil did not give in and ran away, setting fire to everything around him.

Aeil was not damaged by his own sacred fire, but others were different.

At least it would buy him enough time to find the item.

‘I need to find the holy relic to attack that guy. I hope Neshuar doesn’t burn to death before that… probably.’

* * *

Clang!

Agria’s spear became even stronger.

Aeil was thrown far away by the overwhelmingly heavy force that was impossible to handle.

At the same time, she plunged her spear into the ground.

Before Aeil, who had floated up, could properly regain his balance.

The coldness that spread from her spear froze the entire floor.

Crack!

The coldness froze Aeil’s legs solid.