Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 5] Chapter 133

[Vol. 5] Chapter 133: Tug of War

The defeat of the first demon beast did not instill fear in its companions. On the contrary, the pure holy aura of the Light Elemental Spirit ignited a deep-seated hatred in the demons, a loathing as if etched into their very bones by a force that opposed their nature. They are no longer observed or tested. Instead, they launched a fierce and all-out assault from all directions!

“Caw caw caw!!!!”

The monsters let out hoarse cries, reminiscent of a crow’s death call. At that moment, the blood-red runes carved into the cave walls suddenly seemed to activate, emitting over ten beams of blood-red light, each as thick as a human arm, shooting directly into the backs of every demon beast!

Their fierce, grey-black eyes were filled with blood-red light. The already muscular and armored bodies swelled further, claws extending, and under the surging blood glow, each demon beast became enhanced, their auras doubling in strength!

A blood-like glow, almost resembling a shield and flame, swirled around their bodies. This was clearly not a power they originally possessed.

“Oh?”

The priestess paused for a moment, her expression showing mild surprise.

These demons… had they been strengthened by the power of the blood ritual?

The amplified demon beasts, now more ferocious than ever, moved with speed far exceeding their previous state, charging directly through the beams of light continuously fired by the golden spirit.

Even as some of their comrades were cut into pieces, they did not falter, heading straight for the black-haired girl who was clearly being protected by the ball of light.

It seems that even they understand the logic of targeting the weakest-looking one first.

Unfortunately…

“Die.”

Just as the golden spirit’s light began to intensify in preparation to unleash a more powerful ability in response to the relentless, fearless approach of the enemies, the gray and white space suddenly froze. Accompanied by the girl’s cold, uncontainable voice, everything that was still moving, including the golden spirit itself, was instantly suspended.

It was as if, in the blink of an eye, countless golden claw shadows shot through the air, slamming into the cave walls with a perfectly synchronized and uninterrupted assault…

The dozen or so demon beasts, frozen in various positions, their drooling saliva suspended midair due to their craving for sweet blood, were instantly torn apart like ragged dolls. They exploded without warning into scattered pieces of flesh all over the ground.

“Hmph…”

The golden-haired girl, whose small hand had briefly transformed into a dragon’s claw, returned it to its original form, casting a disdainful glance as she turned to the priestess beside her.

“Apologies, Master, I simply couldn’t tolerate a few mere ants…”

“Mhm, mhm, it’s okay, it’s okay~”

In fact, the fact that the dragon girl had restrained herself enough to watch a bunch of small fry jumping around for so long was already a sign of great progress in her patience and self-control.

As expected, more than the ordinary demon beasts that were swiftly dealt with, what concerned Violet was the sudden injection of the blood-red glow that had enhanced them, as well as…

The girl looked up at the deep claw marks left on the distant stone wall.

After Xiao Guang used ?Super Temporal Rift? to immobilize the enemies and followed up with a long-range slash using her dragon claws, the attack, though not particularly powerful or executed with much force, still demonstrated the raw power and attributes of the dragon girl. Normally, even a small mountain could be pierced through, potentially causing minor collapses or landslides. But here…

Violet saw it clearly. The aftermath of those claw slashes had barely penetrated the rock wall to a depth of about one meter, cutting out a relatively small space. While this might sound extraordinary, for Xiao Guang, it was quite underwhelming and illogical.

No wonder Yuna had previously said it was impossible to tunnel through the St. Bergen Mountain, and that travel could only be done through the few natural ravines. Why is this mountain so unnaturally hard?

The black-haired girl silently stared at the claw marks left high up on the rock wall, and knowing her master’s personality well, the dragon girl dared not disturb her.

However, Violet understood the priorities. The most important task now was to deal with the forbidden curse ?Blood of the Inverted Cross?. As for the St. Bergen Mountain Range itself, no matter how curious she was, now wasn’t the time to slowly explore it.

For now, she would try to follow the method Yuna had provided and destroy this imprint base point to see what happens.

As for how to destroy it, that was simple.

A long, pure-white holy staff appeared in the girl’s hand. With a light wave of her weapon, crimson-gold flames surged forth.

Although there was likely some intricate method to stop this thing more “gently,” it was easy to guess that such a method would be incredibly complex. Since Violet had no understanding of such matters, the most convenient solution was simply to tear it apart completely.

The holy flames first ignited the blood-red pillar, engulfing the victims who were suspended upside down on the inverted blood crosses at the top of the stone wall, their blood almost entirely drained.

In an instant, the surging golden flames turned them into blazing fireballs. The blood-red pillar that had enveloped their corpses showed no response. Soon, their mortal remains were reduced to ash by the holy fire, and the eerie inverted crosses vanished as well, leaving only the charred remains of the stone wall.

Next, the golden tongues of flame defied the laws of physics, rushing downward toward the foundation of the blood-red pillar, toward the massive engraved array lit by blood!

But this time, the power of the forbidden curse ?Blood of the Inverted Cross? finally chose not to sit idly by.

In an instant, the blood-red light surged from the array, forming a vivid, intangible barrier that forcefully blocked the might of the 8th-tier magic ?Roar of the Holy Flame?!

“Oh, so this thing *is* alive, huh?”

Feeling the resistance from beyond the holy flames, the priestess muttered under her breath. Yet, she wasn’t particularly surprised.

After all, during the earlier battle with the demon beasts, this blood-red array had actively supported them, even timing its interventions with precise accuracy. Enough to reveal many things.

As one of the cornerstones of a “forbidden curse”, it wouldn’t be so easy to dismantle. Otherwise, a certain Saintess wouldn’t have been so troubled by it.

“However, if this is all it’s got… it’s far from enough!”

Like someone pulling on one end of a tug-of-war rope or standing on the left side of a clashing energy beam like a villain, the priestess’s competitive spirit was ignited.

She raised her staff again, unleashing an even fiercer and more intense surge of holy flames, which merged with the previous attack, pressing down with overwhelming force!

“Ssssssss…!”

Visible to the naked eye, the blood-red energy barrier crackled with dense red lightning, instantly being forced back by the golden holy flames. But as if refusing to give in, even more intense blood-red energy surged from the engraving below, pouring into the clashing energies above, causing it to grow even stronger!

“Sssssssssssssss!!!!”

The two vastly different powerful energies clashed violently in the confined space, causing cracks to faintly appear in the surrounding darkness.

While ?Roar of the Holy Flame? was only an 8th-tier spell and, in terms of rank, couldn’t compare to the forbidden curse ?Blood of the Inverted Cross?, the former was personally cast by the highly capable priestess, amplified by the weapon ?Eternal Scepter of the World’s Heart?. Even though she was at a disadvantage in rank, she managed to suppress the relentless counterattacks of the blood-red light, forcing it to merely maintain its position without gaining any ground.

And at a certain moment, this stalemate… began to shift.

The power of the forbidden curse roared violently beneath the blood-red sky!

The deafening explosion, though originating outside, echoed so clearly that even Violet, deep within the cave, could hear it perfectly.