Became the Weapon Monopolist of the Gods-Chapter 86: Gaia’s Garden (5)

“It's amazing. Even though it's midday, moonlight is pouring down from the sky.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen such an occurrence.”

Adel, holding the prophecy book, along with four other Executors of the Church, looked up at the sky in awe.

The gentle moonlight was cascading down from the clear sky.

Had it been a normal day, they would have been cautious and would not have gotten close to such a phenomenon.

Since the existence of ‘awakening abilities,’ it was natural to stay alert whenever there was any suspicious sign, no matter how small.

However, the Executors did not feel any particular caution toward the moonlight.

“It’s just as written in the prophecy.”

Adel, the owner of the prophecy book, interpreted the moonlight as a good omen.

The soft moonlight that poured down seemed almost sacred.

“It’s Diophany.”

“It seems so.”

In the Church, this kind of mysterious light was called ‘Diophany.’

The Executors walked along the moonlit path through the forest, feeling at peace.

“This seems to be the place.”

Adel stopped in the clearing where the moonlight was shining brightest.

“If we wait here, we should be able to meet the Saint.”

They sat down in the clearing, waiting for the Saint to arrive.

They basked in the moonlight, enjoying its soft glow with their whole bodies.

There are two paths in the Garden of Gaia.

The swamp where the remnants of the Hydra dwell, and the path guarded by protectors made from Gaia’s clay.

The path guarded by the protectors was much shorter, so we chose that path.

As we passed by, we threw the clay bull of Creta and defeated the occasional protectors.

“Hm?”

When I stopped walking, Jeanne asked in confusion.

“Seo-jun, is something wrong?”

“I think someone has entered.”

I felt the presence of unfamiliar beings entering the sacred hunting grounds.

If someone with the ‘light attribute’ entered the hunting grounds, I could sense it.

This wasn’t a big deal. Light attribute hunters, while rare, sometimes showed up.

What was strange, though, was that they had positioned themselves on the path we needed to take.

It was odd, but not something I needed to be overly concerned about, so I decided to ignore it and kept walking.

After a while, we discovered a group of bishops in the clearing.

The problem was that their attire was from the ‘Eastern Orthodox Church.’

The Eastern Orthodox Church was the organization responsible for the terrorist attack at Yeomyeong's Constellation Guild.

But...

‘What is that?’

I looked at the bishops in disbelief.

They were basking in the moonlight, as if it were some divine light.

─It’s disappointing that my apostle doesn’t think of my light as sacred.

“It’s impossible, isn’t it? There is nothing more sacred than Artemis’s moonlight in this world.”

─Flattery is excessive, but I like it.

Although I knew it was flattery, Artemis didn’t seem to mind as she showed a satisfied expression.

“Seo-jun.”

“Of course, Jeanne is also the best.”

“I didn’t mean to hear that...”

While Jeanne, who was smiling despite trailing off, moved behind me, I kept my gaze on the bishops who were still enjoying the moonlight.

Although Artemis’s moonlight was sacred, it had nothing to do with them.

The gods worshipped by the Greeks and the Eastern Orthodox Church were completely different.

But, judging by how they were enjoying the moonlight, they seemed to think that anything sacred must be good.

‘Is this the skull water of Wonhyo Dae-sa?’

I couldn’t help but think it was ridiculous, but I left them to bask in the moonlight.

Since the Eastern Orthodox Church had previously carried out a terrorist attack, they most likely did not come with good intentions.

It was better to be cautious, just in case.

‘I shouldn’t use the moonlight’s mark just yet.’

If I designated the bishops as prey and used the moonlight’s mark, they wouldn’t be idiots and would likely sense something was off.

But, even without marking them, it didn’t matter.

21% 22% 23%...

If I stayed within the sacred hunting grounds and soaked in Artemis’s moonlight, the moonlight would gradually fill up without me doing anything.

Although it filled up much slower than when I actively used the mark.

‘It should be fine.’

Since the bishops seemed to have no intention of leaving the clearing, I began to focus the moonlight on them, narrowing the scope of the sacred hunting grounds.

This would slightly increase the speed at which the moonlight filled up.

“Oh, oh.”

“The moonlight is beautiful.”

“I think we should rest a bit.”

The bishops continued to bask in the moonlight, unaware that it was filling them up. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

Artemis smiled coldly.

─I didn’t expect you to have a cruel side, my apostle.

“This is all Artemis’s power, so I must be starting to resemble her in some way.”

─That’s not an incorrect statement.

God’s abilities are closely tied to their nature.

This ability, which feels cruel, was also a part of Artemis.

She wasn’t just the merciful goddess of the moon, after all.

Most importantly...

“If they came for Jeanne, they’ll have to pay the price.”

I wasn’t going to just leave them be if they were targeting Jeanne.

‘This should be enough.’

After some time, the moonlight had accumulated to nearly 50% on the bishops.

It would be good if it went over half, but this much seemed enough, so I designated the bishops as prey.

Swaa...

Moonlight marks appeared on various parts of the bishops’ bodies—on their chests, necks, and foreheads.

“This is...!”

“Ugh!”

The Executors, who had been caught off guard, suddenly jumped to their feet when they noticed the moonlight’s mark appearing.

Though they had been caught off guard, they were still the Church’s Executors.

“This is an awakening ability.”

“We need to get away from here.”

The bishops decided to leave the moonlight and exit the clearing. Just as they were about to leave...

Taaang—!

A bullet flew past them and lodged into a tree.

The Executors’ gazes turned toward the direction the bullet came from.

Sssh— sssh—

Through the grass, a blonde girl in a robe appeared.

Adel’s eyes turned toward the girl, whose robe gave off a familiar aura.

“Just as the prophecy said.”

The blonde girl was the ‘Saint’ that Adel had seen in the pictures.

“We’ll have to change our plans.”

“We must bring the Saint to us.”

Adel’s words were followed by a nod from Executor Nicolas.

Though he felt uneasy about the moonlight marking his body, he couldn’t afford to miss the Saint right in front of him.

Nicolas stepped forward, respectfully opening his mouth.

“Saint, we shall escort you.”

“Get lost.”

The response came not from the Saint, but from the man beside her.

“Jeanne won’t be going with you.”

“Shut up, heretic!”

Nicolas swung his mace mercilessly at the man.

Whoosh—!

The mace, infused with light magic, seemed about to crush the man’s skull, but...

Thud.

The man caught the mace in his hand easily.

“!”

Surprised, Nicolas tried to pull the mace back, but it wouldn’t budge, as though it was trapped under a massive rock.

Then...

Crack—!

The mace was twisted like trash in the man’s hand.

“Se... Sacred relics...!”

Nicolas’s eyes widened in disbelief.

In the Garden of Gaia, where the myth of Hercules resided.

Thanks to the nearly 50% charged moonlight, I was able to wield an unreasonable amount of power.

It was the same power that had even stopped Ladon’s tail, so the Eastern Orthodox Church’s bishops were nothing.

“Zeruel!”

The astonished bishop threw away his mace and stepped back, pulling out a transparent, jewel-like relic from his pocket and smashing it.

At that moment, a white giant’s figure appeared before him.

With four wings on its back, the giant resembled an angel.

‘Zeruel?’

Zeruel was the angel from the myth that aided David in his fight against Goliath.

The bishop had summoned the mythical angel Zeruel.

‘It can’t be the real angel, though.’

It seemed like he had sacrificed a sacred relic to summon an illusionary form of the angel.

“Do you see it! This is Zeruel, the 4th-ranked angel!”

When I said nothing, the bishop, thinking I was startled, spoke with a triumphant expression.

“Zeruel! Judge that demon!”

With the bishop’s command, the angel known as Zeruel reached its hand out toward me.

The enormous hand, larger than a human’s, grasped Seo-jun, and his figure disappeared.

Zeruel’s grip tightened, and its immense force, as if it were a mountain, began crushing Seo-jun’s body.

It seemed like Seo-jun was about to be crushed like a fruit drained of its oil.

However...

Shudder...

[!!]

Zeruel’s eyes widened in surprise as it let go of its grip, as though its hand had been touched by the chill of winter.

And then...

Fwoooosh—!

Zeruel’s hand exploded.

“Waaah—!”

Nicolas vomited a bucket of blood.

“W-what’s happening! The 4th-ranked angel...!”

When Seo-jun appeared unharmed, Nicolas was horrified.

Realizing the unimaginable strength of Seo-jun, Nicolas panicked and shouted.

“Z-Zeruel! Become a spirit!”

If the opponent’s strength was too great, all you had to do was turn into a spirit where physical strength no longer mattered.

Zeruel turned into a blurry form.

At the same time...

Slash—

Zeruel’s head was cleanly severed, and it vanished.

“!!!!”

Nicolas, who was at a loss for words, looked on in shock.

Spirits couldn’t be physically harmed, and they couldn’t vanish from a single strike.

But Zeruel’s head had been severed and it disappeared.

“W-what...”

Slash—

Nicolas’s head fell off as he was muttering in disbelief.

Thud.

“...”

Looking at Nicolas, whose head was gone, Adel, holding the prophecy book, had lost her words.

The woman with the scissors who had severed Nicolas’s neck looked directly at Adel.

“C-C-Caesar!”

“I understand!”

At Adel’s trembling call, Executor Caesar raised his magic.

His ability was short-range teleportation.

However, teleportation required time...

Slash—

“...Huh?”

Caesar scratched his neck, feeling an itch.

In an instant, a red crack appeared on his neck, and Caesar’s head rolled on the ground.

“Ugh, ugh! Semangelo...!”

Pale and horrified, Adel shouted as she destroyed the sacred relic.

Shush, shush, shush...

Anger, pride, and sorrow.

Three angels, each embodying °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° one of these emotions, appeared.

They were three, yet one.

The main body of the three angels, ‘Sorrow,’ formed a thick fog and blended into it, disappearing.

‘Sorrow’ could not be destroyed unless ‘Anger’ and ‘Pride’ were gone.

In effect, it was nearly impossible to defeat these angels.

“Teshios! The magic!”

“I understand!”

The last remaining Executor, Teshios, poured all of his magic into the three angels.

As Teshios’s magic entered, the angels’ wings began to glow, and their power grew stronger.

Swoosh...

As the thick fog created by Sorrow covered the forest, Adel and Teshios turned and fled.

The woman with the scissors was chasing them, and in panic, Adel screamed.

“Stop her!”

Slash—! Slash—!

Anger and Pride stood in front of the woman, but were sliced and regenerated.

Using the angels as shields, the two managed to escape.

And as they ran, heading toward the place where the moonlight did not reach...

Taaang—!

A gunshot rang out from behind them, and the thick fog disappeared.

Sorrow had vanished.

‘How?!’

Adel couldn’t comprehend the situation where Sorrow had disappeared.

There was no time to understand.

“Let’s go quickly!”

“Yes!”

The two of them ran desperately.

After a long run, they arrived at a dark swamp.

“Ugh, ugh. This is the Hydra’s swamp.”

The swamp was dangerous, but if they didn’t get caught by the remnants of the Hydra, it was relatively safe.

They carefully moved to avoid being detected by the remnants.

But their movements, though stealthy, revealed bright moonlight shining from their foreheads and necks.

‘This... this is bad!’

Adel hurriedly tried to cover her forehead, but the moonlight leaked through her fingers.

“Cover the moonlight! Quickly!”

“I’m trying!”

The two desperately tried to cover the moonlight, but it kept leaking out and illuminating the swamp. And then...

Sssssss...

From the darkness, hundreds of pairs of bright yellow eyes appeared, reacting to the moonlight.

Looking at those eerie eyes, Adel remembered the prophecy she had read.

[In the black earth, where hundreds of yellow eyes are watching, the moonlight will shine upon you.]

‘So this was what it meant...!’

─Aaaaah!

A series of screams echoed through the Hydra’s swamp.