How the Cult Saves the World-Chapter 171

"Church Leader!"

"Master!"

At the suddenly unfolding situation, not only I but also Zain and Troy rushed to me with shocked faces. I wanted to tell the two of them that I was okay, but it wasn't easy to do so.

'If it weren't for this guy, I might have really died this time.'

It was difficult to take my eyes off Terdius, who was blocking Zarkel's attack right in front of me. I had constantly expected that this guy was strong, but I never imagined he'd be this strong.

'I thought Grandmother could be on par with Terdius.'

That was clearly my miscalculation. Terdius, who was blocking the attack of the Demon God's Second Child, Zarkel, right before my eyes, was nothing short of a monster.

'Even though he's the Third Apostle, he wasn't at this level in the original.'

That meant his current combat power had become stronger than the original Terdius's stats.

'I thought he was strong in the original too, but this world is different.' 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

I couldn't help but swallow. After blocking Zarkel's attack, Terdius didn't stop and immediately charged at Zarkel. The battle between the two had begun.

And Terdius wasn't being pushed back by Zarkel; they showed an evenly matched aspect.

I watched that sight and stepped back. Then I suddenly saw Khalid engaging in battle.

'That is......'

On the opposite side of Khalid was a female-form high-level monster. Pale skin, long curly hair, yellow eyes, and a thorned whip held in her hand.

'The Demon God's Eighth Child, Hellin.'

And standing opposite her, Khalid also held a whip. Seeing them glare at each other so intensely, it seemed they had recognized their own kind.

'If it's Khalid, he should be able to handle Hellin.'

This side would also have quite a tight battle, but it should still be manageable.

"So you're my opponent."

The next moment, a voice made goosebumps rise all over my body. A large-framed man suddenly appeared from somewhere. Upon confirming him, I flinched and trembled.

A pure white muscular body, black sclera and yellow pupils, short black hair, and a black sword hanging at his waist. This guy was the Demon God's Ninth Child, Kenshi.

I couldn't help but swallow.

'Is this guy really my opponent?'

At that moment, Kenshi's lips twisted up and a low voice was heard.

"Oh ho, so you're the one who killed Keren."

Though we were clearly meeting for the first time, this guy knew about me. That fact alone made tension spread throughout my entire body.

"Did you come for revenge?"

I wanted to get out of this situation immediately, but I didn't back down. And I stood before Kenshi and spoke.

Although I currently had no Administrator Buff, I couldn't retreat. Here, I was the third strongest. Even if it was to protect Zain and Troy, I had to step forward.

"Well, it's not exactly revenge. I wasn't close enough with that guy to seek revenge just because he died. It's just that Father doesn't look favorably upon you."

Kenshi continued rambling. I didn't miss that gap. And I communicated telepathically to Zain and Troy.

'Zain, Troy. Run away from here right now. I'll handle this guy.'

At that moment, the gazes of the two guys beside me simultaneously turned to me.

'What do you mean? Run away?!'

'That's right, Church Leader. That can't be done. We can all fight together!'

The two guys fiercely resisted my words. But I had no intention of backing down. If something went wrong, I wouldn't be able to protect these two. In the worst case, I would lose both of them.

So I told the two again with unwavering, resolute eyes.

'Zain, Troy. Get out of here right now. This is an order.'

'But......!'

'Ch-Church Leader!'

'Are you planning to disobey my order?'

When I spoke firmly, the two guys' expressions hardened. But soon I saw them move their steps according to my command.

Kenshi didn't move even as he watched the two run away. His target seemed to be only me.

'That's fortunate.'

I was able to send Zain and Troy away safely. In fact, I had also considered calling other senior members after sending the two away.

'No...... that would only increase the casualties.'

Even if I brought more senior members, I couldn't be certain of victory.

Kenshi, the Demon God's Ninth Child, was that strong an opponent. Just facing him made it difficult to breathe properly due to the strong pressure.

'He's a single-digit number, after all.'

Currently, there was no one in the Kyros Church who could face this guy. I could tell with my whole body even without entering battle. That meant even I couldn't defeat this guy.

However, at least I could endure longer against this guy than the other senior members. Because I had the holy power received from Kyros.

Since I had become Kenshi's target, I couldn't run away anyway. So I decided to endure as much as possible.

'If I don't use holy power for attacks and use it all for defense......'

I should be able to endure to some extent. And in the meantime, I had to hope that Terdius or Khalid would defeat their enemies and then help me.

I was confident that Terdius would help me, but Khalid......

'Still, he does seem to like me quite a bit, and the Diego Church hates the Rizes Church.'

I could only hope that Terdius and Khalid would quickly defeat their enemies.

'I'm doubtful whether Terdius can defeat Zarkel though.'

Still, seeing him block that attack just now and continue fighting until now, there was clearly hope.

"Hmm, are you finally ready to fight?"

Then, Kenshi drew the black sword hanging at his waist. I quickly pulled out my mace from inventory. And I infused holy power in advance so the Guardian Barrier could activate at any time.

"Then I'm coming."

As soon as I pulled out my weapon, the smile disappeared from Kenshi's expression. Then he vanished from sight.

Clang!

Boom-!

Because his speed was so fast, I couldn't block Kenshi's attack. However, the Guardian Barrier that activated just in time properly blocked Kenshi's sword.

'......Will this be okay.'

I had only just blocked one attack, but I felt anxious. My heart raced rapidly and my breathing became labored.

The next moment, Kenshi showed movement as if to destroy the Guardian Barrier. I quickly dispelled the barrier and turned my body. Then Kenshi chased me.

Clang!

Fortunately, I blocked this attack with my mace. However, Kenshi's strength was considerable.

'Damn, dangerous.'

I barely managed to block the attack, but as Kenshi's attacks continued, I realized intensely.

'I need to become stronger.'

I had to gather more believers, find holy relics, and receive more power from Kyros.

Even during the Holden Territory defense battle, I was in a strengthened state having received the Administrator's Buff. Even in that state, I was only evenly matched with Keren, the Demon God's Tenth Child.

Now I was just desperately blocking Kenshi's attacks. Even though I was using all my strength only for defense.

Clang!

Once again, Kenshi's sword was blocked by the Guardian Barrier. At that moment, his expression twisted.

"This is really boring. Are you going to only defend all day? I want to fight like those guys too."

Kenshi looked at his siblings fighting with Terdius and Khalid with envious eyes.

'I'd love to finish you off too if I had that much strength.'

But instead of answering, I wrapped holy power around my entire body. Thanks to the Holden family's breathing technique, I succeeded in copying this guy's movements to some extent.

'From now on...... it'll be a bit easier.'

Although I couldn't cut this guy's breath with my own hands. For now, I was satisfied with just this.

Somewhere in a distant dimension, on a verdant meadow.

Kyros was anxiously watching the screen before him. There, Revelof was battling the Demon God's ninth child, applying holy power and the Holden family's breathing technique.

No matter how much he applied both powers, his strength couldn't even compare to Kenshi's. Though the difference between the Demon God's Tenth Child and Ninth Child was just one number, the gap was considerable.

Moreover, when facing the Demon God's Tenth Child, Revelof had a buff that made his strength ten times stronger, yet they were evenly matched.

In other words, defeat in the battle with Kenshi was essentially certain. However, Revelof didn't give up and devoted himself to defense.

With the mindset that somehow things would work out if time passed.

Knowing that heart well, Kyros didn't say anything to Revelof and just anxiously watched the situation.

'I'm enduring because That Person said it would be okay, but......'

With Revelof's current strength, he couldn't handle that guy. At this rate, Revelof could die at any moment.

'Damn it. What should I do......'

Though he was just watching according to 'That Person's' words, it wasn't easy to shake off the tension.

At that moment, someone who looked just as anxious as Kyros appeared in his view.

Even while facing the Demon God's Second Child, the snake's child with considerable beauty. It was Terdius.

'This guy......'

Kyros caught Terdius paying attention to somewhere else even while battling Zarkel. Intermittently, Terdius glanced at where Revelof was and continued fighting.

Upon confirming that sight with his own eyes, Kyros's lips rose slightly.

'Yes, as expected, you are......'

As time passed, Terdius became more anxious. Though Leviathan was certainly enduring well against the Demon God's Ninth Child, it kept bothering him.

If they dragged on longer like this, he didn't know when that guy would die.

'I need to finish quickly.'

Terdius caught his breath and glared at Zarkel. Befitting the Demon God's Second Child, Zarkel was a considerably strong existence.

'However......'

Terdius had no difficulty facing him. Though he would consume a considerable portion of his strength, it didn't matter.

As long as he could help Leviathan.

Of course, Khalid and Hellin were also evenly matched. However, Khalid was different from Leviathan. That guy always hid a trump card, so he would naturally win.

The problem was Leviathan. Right now, that guy was somehow blocking Kenshi's attacks, but Terdius knew well that it wouldn't last long.

To those who didn't know better, it might seem Leviathan was blocking Kenshi's attacks well, but Leviathan had long since reached his limit.

So Terdius planned to end the battle as quickly as possible and help Leviathan.

"Now let's finish this."

Terdius said while sweeping back his sweat-soaked hair. The next moment, the sword he was holding began to be dyed in a dark red light.