The Healing Solaris Cleric

Chapter 188: Stomp to Death (4)

A sound that made Kai’s stomach churn rang in his ears.

Ding!

[You have used the Descent skill.]

[20 Benevolence stats have been permanently consumed.]

[You may now select the soul of a former Apostle to descend into your body.]

Ugh...!

Twenty Benevolence stats meant a total of 120 stat points across Strength, Stamina, Agility, Intelligence, Divinity, and Dignity were gone!

The sickening feeling made Kai think he might need to stick to eating porridge for a while.

And all of this...

Kai’s glinting eyes scanned the remaining Titan guild members. This situation was all Titan's fault!

As he swore revenge, a new window appeared before him.

[First Apostle, Shimizu of Guardianship (Activate)]

[Second Apostle, Cherantia of Rest (Activate)]

[Third Apostle, Patrick of Radiance (Inactive)]

So I get to choose from here?

Unfortunately, Patrick of Radiance was inactive, and Kai had a vague idea why.

Can I only summon the thoughts of the Apostles which I have sacred relics for?

That meant until he obtained the Holy Sword Prius, summoning Patrick was impossible.

Kai paused for a moment to decide whether to summon Shimizu or Cherantia.

As her title suggests, Shimizu is a defense-specialized Apostle.

This was evident from the relic she left behind, the Holy Pauldron Nike. The Hymn of Angels skill greatly boosted allies' defensive capabilities.

In short, her offensive power is unknown.

Then what about Cherantia of Rest?

As for the Holy Ring Petra, left behind by Cherantia...

It was tricky. Extremely tricky. The skill embedded in Petra, an Eternal Legendary grade ring, was Eternal Rest. It was a skill that could be used when benevolent NPCs gave their lives and died.

You can gain a portion of the NPC’s experience and talents. Additionally, you can reincarnate their souls as angels and form an Army of Light.

Unfortunately, he had never had the chance to use it since no benevolent NPCs had died nearby so far.

Cherantia seems like a better choice than Shimizu, right?

Just by size alone, Cherantia, with his muscular build, appeared far stronger in terms of attack power than the delicate Shimizu.

Though he contemplated for a while, his decision was quick.

“Second Apostle, Cherantia of Rest, descend.”

Ding!

[2nd Apostle, Cherantia of Rest, will descend into your body.]

At the sound of the notification, a light shot down from the heavens and pierced through Kai’s body.

“Gah...!”

“W-what the...?”

The overwhelming light forced the Titan guild members to shield their eyes and stumble backward.

When the blinding light faded, the aura surrounding Kai had completely changed.

What happened?

It doesn't seem like a... self-destruct skill.

His aura has changed a bit.

As the Titan guild members sensed the unfamiliar energy and hesitated to charge in recklessly, Kai also felt a strange sensation.

Something feels... off.

It was as if his entire body was floating in midair, similar to the moment right before falling asleep.

In that state, a voice echoed inside his head.

—Hahaha! You’ve got an eye for things, I see!

... Cherantia?

—That Shimizu. She’s probably gnawing on her sleeve and cursing you right about now.

The voice was rough and energetic, and it belonged to Cherantia of Rest.

Is this all the Descent skill does?

As Kai swallowed nervously, breaking out in a cold sweat, Cherantia continued speaking.

—If I were to mess with you a second time, you’d probably die of a heart attack. Listen up, hoobae.

In a surprisingly soft tone, Cherantia began explaining,

—Shimizu hated seeing people get hurt, so she created a powerful protective spell to ensure no harm would come to them. That’s why she was called the Apostle of Guardianship. Patrick believed that offense was the best defense. He annihilated his enemies, leaving no room for them to even think about threatening anyone.

Shimizu was defense, Patrick was offense. So, what about Cherantia?

—I wanted to guide the souls of those weary from their burdensome lives to a peaceful place. Remember this: I am the one who severs the regrets and burdens of the exhausted and redeems their souls. I am Cherantia, the Apostle of Rest.

At the same time, a notification window appeared.

Ding!

[Cherantia has descended into the user's body.]

[You can now use some of his restricted abilities.]

[You have temporarily acquired the skill: Army of Light.]

[You have temporarily acquired the skill: Wave of Purifying Fire.]

[You have temporarily acquired the skill: Sword of Oblivion.]

[You have temporarily acquired the passive skill: Cherantia's Body.]

“This is...”

Descriptions of the newly acquired skills surged into his mind! And that wasn’t all. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

[All stats increase by 300 due to passive skill Cherantia's Body.]

A 300 point increase in all stats! Even though it was only temporary and lasted for one hour, it was a shocking ability. Just minutes ago, Kai had been whining about losing 120 stats, but now, all his stats had jumped by 1,800 points.

Of course, it is temporary... But still, this is amazing. And this is what’s considered restricted power?

If that was the case, he wondered just how powerful Cherantia had been when he was alive.

Shivers ran down Kai’s spine as he glanced at the enemies before him.

My Stamina’s in great condition.

His entire body overflowed with strength, and he wasn’t sure whether it was due to the massive boost in stamina from the increased HP stat or because of Cherantia’s soul.

But... I am sure of one thing.

The certainty that he would not lose this fight was etched deeply into his bones.

Kai extended his left hand forward and said, “Wave of Purifying Fire.”

As soon as the word wave left his lips, a tidal wave of flame surged from Kai’s palm.

“W-what the...!”

“Magic?”

“Damn it!”

The sudden attack even startled the rankers. Though their sharp reflexes allowed some of them to dodge the Wave of Purifying Fire, not all were so lucky.

“Agh! I got hit!”

“It’s fine. Our magic resistance is high, and we’ve got extra fire resistance. Plus, we’ve got potions... Huh?”

The two rankers hit by the Wave of Purifying Fire gasped in shock.

“Un-extinguishable flames...?”

“What the hell! This is on par with the Inferno skill?!”

Inferno was a level 350 Unique skill, which was for fire-specialized Wizards. The mere introduction of it online had led to auctions reaching billions for the skill book.

But Inferno is a single-target skill...

And we’re witnessing a skill with the same effect as that, but in an area-of-effect?

Without even casting time? That easily?

This can’t be dispelled unless it's done by an Archbishop class purification.

It was a situation that left them terrified.

Two of the rankers were eventually consumed by flames and logged out, while the others gulped nervously.

A cornered rat will bite the cat.

And that guy isn’t a rat or a cat—he’s a lion.

Move carefully. He still has strength left.

Just when they thought it was over, it wasn’t exactly. The eight remaining rankers cautiously closed in on Kai, tightening the encirclement.

...Now!

Waiting for his moment, Senji spotted a brief opening in Kai’s stance and charged forward. Senji’s spear twisted through the air like a dragon, elegantly darting toward Kai. When he was about five meters away, Senji unleashed his most powerful skill without hesitation.

“Spear of the Fire Dragon!”

Fwoosh!

Flames erupted from Senji’s spear and heated the air around it. It was an attack that ignored some of the target’s defense and dealt both physical and magical damage. Not only that, but if it successfully landed, it inflicted a burning debuff. Truly an amazing skill.

Not even you’ll be able to dodge this.

Senji was confident. After all, Kai was still slowly turning to face him, his sword yet unsheathed. However, a sense of unease crept over Senji when Kai extended his right hand toward him. And that unease soon became reality.

“Sword of Oblivion.”

A purple sword materialized in Kai’s once empty hand. Then Kai swung it without hesitation.

Slash!

“Argh!”

The blade grazed Senji’s shoulder as it passed by. Twisting his body at the last second, Senji had managed to avoid a fatal blow.

Damn it. I dodged, but the attack was too strong. I’ll use the Backstep skill to retreat and then...

Just as Senji was considering his next move, a notification appeared before his eyes.

[You have been hit by the Sword of Oblivion.]

[You have been afflicted by the Oblivion status effect.]

[You are unable to use any skills for 5 minutes.]

“W-what?!” Senji, who had naturally tried to use his Backstep skill by moving his leg backward, screamed.

When the Backstep skill failed to activate, his feet stumbled, and he fell backward.

I didn’t even take a direct hit. It just grazed me for a moment, so how...?

He wondered how a skill with such effects could even exist. But before he could find an answer to his confusion, the Sword of Oblivion pierced through his throat.

“Kurgh...!”

“I told you, I plan to see this through to the end.”

Senji wanted to argue back, but as his body collapsed, he couldn’t form any words.

Seeing their vice-master fall, the other rankers visibly panicked.

Senji is the strongest among us, aside from Goliath...

And he got logged out in just two hits?

What terrifying attack power...!

As their comrades—who were just as strong, if not stronger—continued to fall one after another, the remaining rankers became more hesitant in their movements.

Clang, clang!

This shift in their behavior played right into Kai’s hands.

Let’s push forward with this momentum.

Kai raised his right hand high into the sky.

“Skill activation, Army of Light!”

At his command, beams of sunlight descended from the sky and dozens of angels appeared.

So this is the Army of Light...!

Kai’s eyes sparkled as he watched them. With the power of the Holy Ring Petra’s skill, he could also summon an army of his own someday.

—In the name of Rest. Annihilate our enemies.

Dressed in white robes and shining armor with radiant wings, the warriors of light instantly charged at the enemies. Their attacks were swift and fierce. Moreover, their numbers far outmatched the remaining rankers.

As time passed, the Titan rankers’ HP began to plummet.

“Damn it! Just flying around is annoying enough...!”

“These guys... They’re skilled fighters!”

The angels’ combat abilities were comparable to world-class rankers.

Kai quietly watched their battle before approaching Goliath. “It seems like this is the end. The fight between you and me.”

“It’s not over yet.”

“No, it is,” Kai delivered a sharp remark to Goliath, who was in denial.

With that one statement, Goliath felt as if the tower of pride he had built had come crashing down.

“I lived one year like it was ten... Cutting back on sleep, skipping meals, all for this game. And yet... yet, you just took it all away in one day...!”

“You’re still playing the victim, huh.”

Kai drew his sword. By now, the Army of Light had already finished off the remaining Titan rankers and gathered around him, floating in the air.

“Any last words?”

“...Life is, at times, transient.”

“That’s because you’ve lived a transient life. Did you really think the end would be satisfying after stomping on others and stealing what was theirs?”

“I’ve never liked you.”

“That’s something we agree on. I can’t stand you either.”

“Hah, arrogant bastard.”

With those final words, Goliath clenched his teeth and charged at Kai.

That day, the sight of the Titan guild’s master losing a one-on-one duel to Kai was shown to the entire world through Kai’s live stream.