Chapter 135. Grand Archbishop of Desire, Laktasia (1)

“…And who are you?”

Laktasia, who finally noticed my presence, turned her head leisurely.

“Hmm.”

Laktasia scanned me from head to toe as if appraising an object.

After thoroughly examining my face, Laktasia clicked her tongue as if her interest had waned.

“Ugly.”

“……”

The direct hit struck a nerve.

‘No.’

It’s not like I’m comparing myself to Yuren, but I’m not someone who would be called ugly anywhere.

As I swallowed the words rising in my throat and tried to soothe my wounded pride.

“What did you say, you witch?”

A fierce voice came from behind.

“Who are you calling ugly?”

Iris glared at Laktasia with a twisted expression and shouted.

“Mr. Dale isn’t ugly, he’s uniquely handsome! What do you know to talk so carelessly?!”

“……”

Wait.

Did I just hear something really hurtful?

“Oh my, was he your boyfriend? Sorry~ But you have to admit the truth. Compared to the cutie next to him, he is ugly, right?”

Even a decent face can look like a pathetic squid when compared to a ‘real’ beauty right next to it.

In fact, there aren’t many men on the entire continent who wouldn’t look like a squid next to Yuren.

“That’s because you’re comparing him to Mr. Yuren! Look! Mr. Dale doesn’t fall short compared to Mr. Yuren… well, maybe a little! But he has his own charm!”

“…Iris.”

Please…

“And judging a man by his looks alone! What matters is not the appearance but the inner self! What’s on the outside isn’t everything!”

Stop… stop it.

‘My heart hurts too much.’

I usually don’t care much about my appearance.

But as a human, it’s natural to care about how you look.

Especially in front of a past lover.

“…I think you’re hurting him more.”

Even Laktasia seemed to think this was too much, looking at Iris with a bemused expression.

Iris turned to me with a startled look.

“Huh…! M-Mr. Dale…! I didn’t mean that your looks are lacking…!”

“…Enough.”

I grabbed her shoulder with trembling hands and squeezed out the words.

“I get it… just stop.”

If she said any more, I might get wounds that even the Blessing of Resurrection couldn’t heal.

“Kyahaha! Kids these days are so fresh and cute~!”

Laktasia laughed, holding her stomach.

But it was only for a moment.

“Well, that makes it even more.”

Her eyes gleamed ominously, and a thick killing intent swept through the cavern.

“Tearing your throat out would be fun.”

“…Laktasia.”

“Oh my, do you know who I am?”

Laktasia looked at me with surprised eyes.

“Yes.”

“Hmm. What should I do~? More and more reasons not to let you live are piling up~?”

“It’s the same for me.”

Slowly gathering magic power, I measured the distance between her and me.

“Heh.”

Laktasia sneered as she saw me preparing for battle.

“Seeing how you took down the Guardian of the ruins, I can tell you’re confident in your skills…”

Her eyes glowed with a sinister red light.

“Do you think that will work against the ‘Grand Archbishop of Desire’?”

Rumble!

The wide cavern… no, the entire ruin shook as a terrifying amount of magic power surged.

“Fufu. Come on out, my cute pets.”

With a flick of her hand, a group of men walked out from behind her.

Each one handsome, their eyes glazed as they raised their weapons.

“D-Dale!”

Yuren urgently drew his sword and ran to my side.

“That woman… she called herself the Grand Archbishop of Desire, right?”

Yuren looked at me with eyes asking if she was really the Archbishop.

I nodded slightly instead of answering.

Yuren’s expression hardened.

“We need to find a way to escape…”

“No.”

I shook my head quietly and looked at Laktasia.

Grand Archbishop of Desire, Laktasia.

In terms of pure combat power, she’s at the bottom among the Archbishops.

But with her beautiful appearance and seduction magic, she lures male heroes, plays with them until she’s bored, and then uses the Blessing of Exploitation to drain their last bit of life before killing them.

This was a chance to kill Laktasia, who would sacrifice countless heroes before being killed by Yuren in the future.

‘If I can kill Laktasia here, it might be an even greater windfall than the legacy of the Iron Fist.’

So.

“Yuren. You take care of the puppets with the kids.”

“Dale, are you really…?”

Yuren, with a shocked expression, trailed off.

…It wasn’t hard to notice the question hidden in his words: ‘Are you really going to fight the Archbishop?’

I nodded quietly again instead of answering.

“…Alright.”

Yuren adjusted his grip on his sword and gathered magic power.

“Oh my, even your fighting expression is so charming.”

Laktasia smiled deeply as she looked at her ‘pets.’

“Capture him alive. The rest… you can kill.”

“…Yes.”

The puppets nodded with glazed eyes.

And then.

Boom!

The puppets charged simultaneously.

Their eyes were glazed as if intoxicated, but their movements were anything but.

“Iris!”

Yuren shouted as he charged towards the puppets.

“Yes!”

As if she didn’t need to be told what to do.

A white light emanated from Iris’s body and flowed into Yuren, Berald, and Camila.

Blessing of the Saint.

The fatigue accumulated from the battle with the Guardians washed away, and vitality surged through their bodies as if they had woken up from a pleasant nap.

“I’ll take the front!”

Camila was the first to charge forward.

She swung her sword at the oncoming group of men while chanting an incantation.

“O merciful seven gods! Shine your light upon the lost!”

A white light spread around Camila.

As the holy magic, which was the bane of those with demonic energy, unfolded, the movements of the puppets within its range noticeably slowed.

“Haap!”

Camila cut down the men charging at her.

But even with their movements slowed, she was no match for the onslaught of puppets.

“Ugh…!”

Camila was pushed back.

As a puppet’s sword swung towards her.

“Hraatchaa!”

With a powerful shout, Berald slapped the puppet’s cheek.

Crack!

With a sickening crunch, the puppet’s body collapsed like a broken string.

“Everyone, fall back!”

Berald charged forward, spreading his arms wide.

Dozens of magic power orbs formed in the air.

Berald slammed his arms together violently.

“Thunder Strike!!!”

Boom!

With a deafening roar, magic power orbs shot out in all directions.

Blue lightning flashed from the gauntlets on Berald’s hands, imbuing the orbs with electricity.

“Guh.”

“Kuh.”

“A, uh, aah.”

The puppets, swept up in the barrage of magic power orbs, trembled and fell one by one.

“Heh~ What’s this? I thought they were just kids, but they’re better than I expected.”

Laktasia watched the puppets fall helplessly and narrowed her eyes.

“But.”

With a deep smile, a purple demonic energy flowed from Laktasia’s body into the fallen puppets.

Crack, crack!

With eerie bone sounds, the puppets stood up.

“Aah.”

“For Laktasia-sama…”

“For desire…!”

“We will… sacrifice our lives.”

The puppets exhaled roughly, their eyes bloodshot.

“Oh my~ How admirable.”

Laktasia laughed brightly as she looked at them.

“Die for me, will you?”

“Ugh, ah.”

“Aaaaah!”

The puppets charged with a horrific roar.

Blocking the puppets charging mindlessly, not even caring about their own lives.

“Did I ever say I’d become yours?”

Yuren raised his sword.

“Sorry, but I’ll have to decline that offer.”

Yuren’s Holy Mark glowed, and a silver aura surged fiercely.

The puppets, screaming as they charged, were swept away by the silver aura and bounced off like marbles.

“I’ve already… sworn to give everything to someone else.”

Yuren glanced at me and smiled faintly.

He lightly kicked off the ground and charged into the midst of the puppets.

Clang!

Clashclashclashclash!

Yuren rampaged like a wolf amidst a flock of sheep.

Even the puppets enhanced by Laktasia’s demonic energy were no match for Yuren.

“Guh! Kuh!”

“Lak, Tasia… sama…”

With each flash of the silver aura, the number of puppets decreased.

“Hmm…”

As the number of puppets decreased, Laktasia’s expression, which had been relaxed, gradually twisted.

‘…What is this?’

The irritation rising from deep within.

It wasn’t just because her puppets were being helplessly defeated by a bunch of rookie heroes.

The puppets were always disposable tools, and there was a treasure far more valuable than these pitiful puppets before her eyes.

Yet, the reason she felt so irritated was simple.

‘I’ve been using seduction magic since earlier… why isn’t it working?’

Click.

Laktasia bit her nails nervously as she looked at Yuren.