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The Leaping Apostle.

As I collided with the monster, a tingling sensation coursed through my entire body.

I had heard plenty about how dangerous a leaping Apostle could be.

An Apostle that ascends to the surface, filled to the brim with the power of the Demon Sovereign.

It was said such an Apostle’s strength could shake the very world.

Now I understood those words.

The one in front of me was a natural-born predator—a monster.

Apostles grow stronger by devouring humans.

If one like this ever made it to the surface and began feasting on humans, the land would be reduced to rubble.

‘Right now is when this thing is at its weakest.’

Which means one thing—

We must defeat it here.

The Apostle looked at me and opened its massive jaws.

“Aisha!”

At my call, Aisha appeared behind the Apostle.

Putting all her strength into her greatsword, she struck with full force.

BOOOOM!

The Apostle, hit squarely by Aisha’s greatsword, was launched into the air.

But it casually flipped mid-air and landed without issue.

That was Aisha’s strength—blessed directly by the Saint.

Her blow could crumple steel like paper, but the Apostle didn’t even show a broken bone.

Still, we had gained time.

Seron and Midra quickly took Hannon and Solvas to safety.

“Senior, that thing’s soft.”

“It has a constitution-changing ability.”

It had changed its body’s texture to absorb the force of the impact—softening itself.

I realized this when I saw its body bend unnaturally mid-flight.

If it had that ability, then blunt-force attacks wouldn’t work.

“Aisha, stay back and guard the rear with Seron.”

But slicing or piercing attacks—those might still work.

“Ban, Isabel, Eve.”

At my call, the three moved at once.

I shot forward alongside them.

Ban’s aura and Isabel’s divine wings blazed with radiant light.

As the two charged in, the Apostle’s arms came flying toward them.

Fast.

Too fast for the eye to follow.

But our side wasn’t planning to take the hits lying down.

Thud—

Eve and I slammed our feet into the ground.

Azure flames flared from Eve’s sword.

Ashen flames erupted from my palm.

Without hesitation, Eve and I swung—her sword and my hand slicing through the air.

The flaming strikes collided with the Apostle’s arms, stopping their advance.

Seizing the opportunity, Isabel and Ban’s swords slashed toward the Apostle’s chest and flank.

Slash!

Even with its ability to change its form, the Apostle took damage.

But the wounds were shallow—only minor grazes on its thick hide.

Its natural armor and muscle were far too tough.

And the Apostle had more than just arms.

Its gaping jaws lunged toward Isabel’s head.

Just before it could bite her—

The divine wings behind Isabel surged forward.

CRUNCH!

Her wings pierced straight into the Apostle’s mouth,

Then unleashed a blinding white explosion.

BOOOOM!

Smoke rose from the Apostle’s head.

Just as Isabel was about to swing again—

The Apostle, mouth still blown open, lunged forward with its head.

“Ugh!”

Ban collided with Isabel, pulling her back just in time.

And I stepped forward to fill the gap.

Clenching my fist, I swung from below with all my might.

CRACK!

My punch landed squarely on the Apostle’s jaws—its constitution shift too slow this time.

And it didn’t end there.

The ashen flames in my arm exploded forth,

Engulfing the Apostle’s head in a roaring blaze.

Fzzzt—

Then, a crackling sound reached my ears—I stepped back quickly.

KRAKAKAKAKAKOOM!

A searing beam of radiant light fell from the sky, swallowing the Apostle whole.

It was Sharin’s attack magic.

The Apostle thrashed in the intense heat, then slammed the ground, shattering the terrain.

It tried to escape through the cracks in the earth.

But we weren’t done.

Black hands surged up from beneath its feet, grabbing its legs.

Valencia’s binding curse magic.

As the Apostle swung its arms to shatter the curse—

A whirlwind of flame-laced wind swept in.

KRAKAKAKAKRAK!

The Apostle’s body was shredded in the storm of wind and fire.

A united elemental attack from Foara and Beaquirin.

This was the apex of Zerion Academy’s combined assault.

Even an Apostle would be reduced to a wreck from that.

“I’ve healed them.”

Just then, we heard Saint Sirmiel’s voice.

Hannon and Solvas had been safely treated.

That side was secure now.

All that was left was how to finish the Apostle.

THUD!

Just then, the Apostle burst out of the wreckage, its fur scorched pitch-black.

“Grrk!”

It exhaled black smoke from its broken jaws and its many red eyes lit up in unison.

This damned monster.

That combo attack should’ve annihilated any normal Apostle.

But it had withstood it with its bare body—and hadn’t lost any fighting spirit.

The Apostle slammed the ground—

And vanished.

High-speed movement.

The moment I realized it, it had leapt toward the rear.

Fast.

Too fast for the frontliners to catch.

Magic and elemental fusion were serious threats to the Apostle.

It knew repeated hits from those would be fatal.

“Aisha! Seron!”

At my shout, Aisha and Seron sprang into action.

They met the Apostle charging at them with incredible speed.

The one faster than sound arrived with a delayed sonic boom.

Aisha’s muscles bulged to their limits.

Her greatsword swung to send the Apostle flying, just like before.

But the Apostle, even with the greatsword right in front of his eyes, reached out instead.

Crack!

The Apostle’s head caved in as the greatsword struck him.

A physical transformation.

But his hand didn’t stop—his claws plunged into Aisha’s shoulder.

Crunch!

Aisha’s shoulder shattered into cube-like fragments.

As her eyes widened in shock, Seron’s axe struck the Apostle’s side.

BOOOOM!

With a thunderous explosion from the axe, the Apostle's body twisted sideways.

With that, the claws embedded in Aisha’s shoulder were pulled out.

Immediately, Sharin and Dorara cast their spells simultaneously.

Dorara’s wind slash ripped the Apostle’s hide, and Sharin’s magic scorched him, blasting him away.

“Ugh!”

Aisha collapsed, clutching her shoulder with her other hand.

Sirmiel and Joachim quickly moved to heal her shoulder.

It had merely been grazed by the claws, yet it shattered into cubic pieces.

“Don’t let your bare body touch the claws! They cause bodily disintegration!”

Weapons like swords are fine, but if flesh touches them, the body breaks apart into pieces.

That Apostle didn’t leap like that for no reason.

He possesses all kinds of troublesome abilities.

The Apostle, blasted away by magic, flattened himself against the ground and dashed, dodging the spirit bombardment.

Having been overwhelmed in close combat once, he stuck to high-speed movement.

Because of that, Sharin frowned and aimed her staff.

At that speed, even her magic wouldn’t easily hit him.

On top of that, he also had ultra-regeneration.

While moving at high speed, the wounds he received earlier began to heal rapidly.

Meanwhile, we kept draining our strength.

We can’t let this battle drag on.

“Eve, stick close to Sharin!”

If we’re breached again like with Aisha, it’ll be dangerous.

With Eve’s azure flame, he wouldn’t dare try that again.

“Sharin, can you lock him in space so he can’t move freely?”

“I’ll do it.”

Our top priority is stopping his high-speed movement.

If hitting him with magic is hard, we need to at least reduce his range of motion.

“Valencia, keep casting curses. Anything’s fine—as long as it slows him down even a little.

Dorara, same to you. Use wind magic to bind his legs as much as possible.”

I took a deep breath and raised my hand like a blade.

“The rest—Isabel, Ban, and I—will pin him down in the front.”

With Ban’s reflex speed and Isabel’s Divine Wings, we can manage.

“If you fight that thing—”

“I’ll be fine.”

The bodily disintegration effect doesn’t work on mystics.

My entire body is made of mystic energy.

I’m actually his perfect counter.

“Beaquirin and Foara will handle the firepower.”

As I finished speaking, a massive barrier began to descend from above.

It finally touched the ground and formed a dome.

Thud!

The high-speed Apostle slammed into the transparent barrier and stopped.

He slashed at it in frustration, but his claws just bounced off with a soft thunk.

A mocking smile formed at the corner of Sharin’s lips.

She had clearly decided: If we can’t defeat you now, we’re never letting you leave.

Typical of all-rounder Sharin.

The Apostle turned toward us.

While he paused, curses kept latching onto him one after another.

We could see Valencia chanting continuously, casting curse after curse.

The Apostle’s fur and muscles swelled.

He was clearly enraged.

He stomped the ground with a crack and launched forward.

Just like before, he was aiming for a rear ambush.

As he approached with high-speed movement, trying to target the back line—

I intercepted him right in his path.

If you know the direction, you can block him even at that speed.

Most importantly, the curse is taking effect.

Unlike before, he’s slower now.

Fwoosh!

“Goddess!”

Behind me, Sirmiel began casting blessings in earnest.

And he wasn’t the only one.

Isabel’s Divine Wings also gathered everyone’s power with a blessing.

It’s an innate buff skill of the Divine Wings.

Curses and blessings.

Sharin’s blockade and Dorara’s support.

With all this, we can chase him down.

The Apostle’s claw shot toward me.

It was brimming with bodily disintegration.

But I didn’t hesitate and clashed my hand-blade against it.

Clang-clang-clang!

Sharp metallic sounds rang out.

The Apostle snarled and bared his teeth in frustration.

He had realized that bodily disintegration doesn’t work on me.

“Thought you were invincible, didn’t you?”

Slaughtering the other Apostles and our allies must’ve been fun for you.

Scales began to emerge on my face.

My body’s strength began to surge beyond its limits.

The remnants of the ancient dragon roared fiercely.

The roar pounded through my body, drawing out its power.

Crack!

My bones and muscles filled with a strength on a whole different level.

My pupils turned golden and draconic.

Ashen flames from the branded fire dragon’s magic engulfed my entire body.

Now, I was the one pushing back the Apostle’s claw with sheer strength, my eyes blazing.

For the first time, I saw confusion on the Apostle’s face.

Ashen Dragonform.

A fusion of ashen flame and ancient dragon magic.

“You picked the wrong opponent.”

The Apostle who had never been stopped before.

I’ll defeat him right here.