Debuff Master-Chapter 907

The Fallen Angels flocked from all over the city.

”O Angels! I have repented! I will no longer dabble in idolatry and serve false gods!”

The traitor paladin prostrated on the ground and groveled for his life at the Fallen Angels.

“I served a false god my entire life, but I deeply regret doing so! He was always silent! Not once did he help me when I was going through hardships or illness! I no longer wish to serve a false god!”

The paladin threw away everything he believed in and lived for just to save his own life.

Siegfried had nothing bad to say about the paladin.

‘Well, it’s understandable...’ he thought.

If he looked at it from the paladin’s perspective, his decision was somewhat understandable. The main temple of the religious order he served was destroyed and burned down by the Fallen Angels.

Not only that, angels had completely occupied the city devoted to the god he had been serving his entire life, and its citizens were being slaughtered like livestock.

Despite all of this, the God of the Sea, Neptune, remained silent.

The paladin most likely felt betrayed, understandably, after seeing the god he had been serving for decades turn a blind eye to their plight.

Also, the crippling fear of not knowing when the Fallen Angels would find and kill them probably messed with his judgement too.

‘But don’t expect me to spare you,’ Siegfried thought.

He could understand the paladin’s reason for betraying them, but that did not mean he had any intention of accepting that justification.

The traitor had to pay the price.

However, Siegfried was not given the chance to deliver that punishment himself.

“O Angels! Please forgive me for—!”

Puuuk!

Just as the paladin knelt and fervently repented, one of the Fallen Angels threw their spear, piercing the paladin's skull.

“...!”

And just like that, the paladin paid the ultimate price for his betrayal and lost his life.

Promises made to humans were worth less than scraps of paper to the Fallen Angels, so they felt no obligation to honor their words.

“Tsk... Serves him right. I told you they were lying.” Siegfried clicked his tongue at the paladin.

However, there was no time to sneer at a dead traitor.

“Over there!”

“There they are!”

“Kill them all!”

“Exterminate them all!”

The Fallen Angels circling above Marine City dove down and started their assault.

“Argh! Damn it!” Siegfried grumbled and tightened his grip on his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp.

At this point, there was no turning back.

The only option left was to fight the Fallen Angels until his last breath.

***

Just like that, a battle began.

For the first time in a long while, Siegfried had to fight with all of his strength.

With nearly ten thousand Fallen Angels attacking all at once, even he had no choice but to go all out just to hold his ground against the onslaught.

Bam! Bam!

He swung his +16 Vanquisher’s Grap like a possessed man, unleashing all of his power without holding back.

“Ack!”

“Argh!”

The Fallen Angels were obliterated, their bodies torn apart beyond recognition.

[Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!]

[Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!]

[Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!]

(omitted...)

[Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!]

The angels gave a ton of Experience Points.

Shwiiiik! Shwiiiik!

Siegfried wasn't the only one killing the Fallen Angels.

Gosran also picked off the flying angels with pinpoint accuracy.

Bam! Bam!

Yong Seol-Hwa swung around the Legendary hammer that she had forged personally, bashing angelic skulls left and right.

“I’ll gather them up!”

The party’s tank, Daytona, used a skill that pulled the Fallen Angels into one place.

Rumble1

He then cast a self-buff skill that explosively increased his defense by a staggering one thousand percent. Seizing the opportunity, the Head Crusher Guild members unleashed all of their area-of-effect attacks on the enemies now clustered around Daytona.

[Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!]

[Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!]

[Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!]

(omitted...)

[Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!]

Siegfried and his party wiped out over a thousand Fallen Angels in the blink of an eye.

Unfortunately, this was their limit.

“Huff... Huff...!” Siegfried gasped for breath as he looked up at the sky.

Despite slaying more than a thousand, there was an overwhelming swarm of Fallen Angels still flocking toward them.

“Die!”

“Filthy humans! You will pay for this!”

“All those who serve the false gods will pay with their lives!”

“Death to all heretics!”

Hamchi, who had grown even more massive thanks to Mochi’s love, was frantically swiping his front paws, knocking away the Fallen Angels.

“Kyaaaaak! Kyaaaah!”

He swatted dozens of Fallen Angels away, but there seemed to be no end to them.

“Kyuuu! Hamchi is tired, owner punk! There’s too many of them!” Hamchi cried out in desperation.

‘This isn’t good. We can’t continue like this,’ Siegfried thought.

At last, he came to the inevitable conclusion that this was not a battle they could win.

There were simply too many enemies.

Thanks to a single paladin’s betrayal, the Fallen Angels scattered across Mariny City had all converged in one place, and there seemed to be no end to them.

‘We need to retreat,’ Siegfried decided.

Fight when you can and retreat when you must.

Retreating was the only logical move when the odds were stacked against them.

“Everyone! Scatter and get out however you can!” Siegfried shouted.

Right after, he transformed his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a saber and—

Swoosh!

He swung it toward the sky with all of his strength.

Then, a dazzling silver was drawn across the sky.

One, two, and three!

S-Shwiiik...!

Hundreds of Fallen Angels were slashed in half, and their corpses pelted the ground.

This was the ultimate technique of Sword Emperor Betelgeuse, Heaven Splitting Slash, and Siegfried split the sky with it.

“Move! Now!” Siegfried shouted.

Without hesitation, he grabbed Nereus, the High Priest of the Church of Neptune, along with several senior clergy members, and bolted.

Scattering was their best chance at survival. And right now, survival was all that mattered.

***

“What? You’re telling me those wretched bastards managed to escape? Ha!”

Andariel seethed with rage upon receiving the report that the heretics had scattered and fled.

His fury was more than justified. After all, he had gone through the trouble of tricking one of the heretics into giving up their location and even gathered every angel spread across Marine City.

Despite all that trouble, they managed to catch none of the heretics. Every single one of them managed to slip through their hands.

To make matters worse, two thousand five hundred of his brothers and sisters were slain in that short battle.

The fact that he had lost so many of his brothers and sisters against the heretics made it difficult for Andariel to keep his fury in check.

“Every brother and sister who participated in this battle will have to reflect on their actions later!” Andariel roared in anger, his voice reverberating throughout the main square.

The Fallen Angels gathered at the square shuddered at those words. Having to reflect on their actions was one of the most terrifying punishments among angels.

It meant having to stand at the center of the Agora Plaza, the heavenly realm’s grand square, and publicly denouncing oneself before other angels.

In other words, they would be forced to lay bare their failures and sins before all their brethren.

The psychological damage of this punishment was so immense that all angels feared it, and the shame and humiliation they felt from this would be far worse than death itself.

“Haa...” Andariel let out a heavy sigh after passing judgement on the Fallen Angels.

Then, he issued a new command, “Brothers and sisters! Bring every single heretic in this city to the main square! Do not discriminate between men or women, young or old! They are all heretics worshiping false gods! Every last one of these vermin must be exterminated!”

“Yes, brother!”

“We will round them all up immediately!”

At Andariel’s command, the Fallen Angels dispersed across the city, hunting down any remaining citizens.

Meanwhile, Siegfried had taken refuge in a rundown tavern to catch his breath.

Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

He shared sips from the Infinite Flask with Hamchi to restore their depleted HP, Mana, and Stamina.

Nereus, the High Priest of the Church of Neptune, along with other high-ranking clergy members, were busy tending to their wounds.

At the same time, Siegfried did not let his guard down. Even while resting, he constantly monitored the movements of the Fallen Angels through Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance.

And what he saw made him click his tongue.

“Tsk...”

The Fallen Angels were everywhere, so stepping even a single foot outside the tavern was no different from suicide.

However, that was not the only problem...

Boom!

Krwaaaang!

The sounds of buildings being demolished and people screaming in despair echoed from all directions.

“Come out, you vermin!”

“Drag them away, brothers!”

“I smell heretics in here!”

The Fallen Angels had begun rounding up the civilians and herding them toward the main square.

‘Damn it... This is bad...’ Siegfried thought, studying the map in search of an escape route.

The nearest underground sewer entrance was five kilometers away from the tavern they were hiding in.

In other words, their only option was to stay hidden for now.

‘I guess we will have to hide here and wait for an opportunity to escape.’

Siegfried gripped his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp, transformed into a saber, and kept watch by the door.

If a Fallen Angel so much as peeked inside, he would silence them instantly before they could sound the alarm.

Meanwhile, Nereus was struggling to hold back his sorrow.

“Please do not worry, High Priest. All of my comrades are competent, so you can be rest assured that the rest of your followers will find a way to escape safely,” Siegfried said, reassuring him.

However, Nereus’ grief stemmed from more than concern for his followers.

“Daniel... He was a young man of unshakeable faith,” Nereus said weakly, his voice trembling.

“Daniel? Who’s that?” Siegfried asked.

“The paladin who betrayed us earlier... The one who betrayed Neptune and all of us.”

“Ah...”

“Daniel was born into the faith. Since childhood, he held the deepest devotion to our god, Neptune. As a holy knight, he carried out his duties flawlessly.”

“...”

“He would have risen to the highest rank among the holy knights in a couple of years if this tragedy had never occurred... It’s heartbreaking. It truly is...” Nereus continued as tears welled up in his eyes.

Siegfried remained quiet as Nereus weot.

He understood the priest’s pain—no, not really. He sort of understood in his head what the high priest was crying about, but he could not relate to him at all.

‘Sigh...’

Siegfried sighed inwardly while looking at the high priest having a mental breakdown.

It was then.

“Hear me, heathens!”

Andariel’s voice boomed throughout the city.

“How long do you intend to scurry about like rats?! You will all be discovered eventually! And when that happens, death awaits you!”

Siegfried gritted his teeth. He knew that Andariel was trying to break their spirits.

“That bastard... I swear I’m going to rip his damn tongue right out of his mouth once I get my hands on him,” Siegfried growled.

He despised Andariel’s tactics. Yes, he would not deny that it was brilliant, as psychological warfare was a very effective strategy.

But the problem was that Siegfried was on the receiving end of it.

Anyone on the receiving end of such blatant psychological warfare would gnash their teeth in anger, too.

“I have my ways to root you out if you insist on hiding like cowards!”

Andariel’s voice continued to boom throughout the city. Then, he suddenly made one suggestion that ground Siegfried's nerves.

“Come to the main square right now! Otherwise, I will execute one heathen every minute that passes! If you continue to resist, then I will exterminate every single heathen in this city! No one will be spared!”

A hostage situation.

It was cowardly, but Andariel had taken every citizen of Marine City hostage, leaving High Priest Nereus and the clergy with two choices—surrender or let the entire city be slaughtered.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr𝒆e(w)𝒆bnovel