“I did grow up while hearing praises from others calling me a genius, but it would be difficult for me to face you alone in this situation.”

Rosenkreuz smiled bitterly and swallowed Clipport's fruit.

Shortly thereafter, his pupils shrunk and his irises instantly turned purple.

“You do know that Aleister Crowley made that drug, right?”

“Of course I do. However, we have created a neutralizing agent that can suppress the side effects. Through that, many pagans were granted forgiveness for their sins.”

The Holy See's task force, Castineon, was secretly conducting human experiments.

That was why p.r.o.noia's power was recently soaring.

Their logic stated that as long as they stayed committed to the church, using the Clipport’s Fruit was not an evil act.

“I see that you now interpret the doctrine as you want.”

“When fighting against hordes of evil, be prepared to become a martyr. It is clearly stated in the doctrine. So please don't sell me short just because I took the Clipport's fruit.”

“Aleister Crowley is the head of the Witch Cult. He is also the head of the Golden Rose Society.”

“So what? I didn't get Clipport's fruit directly from him. We just took it away from them, like some kind of loot.”

Aleister was circulating the Clipport's Fruit through the executives under his command to plunge the Holy Aperian Empire into chaos.

When Rosenkreuz noticed this, he sent out the special agency Castineon to seize the Clipport's Fruits.

Thanks to this, the quant.i.ty they had was more than enough to be used by Castinion and p.r.o.noia for a while.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself, even though you’re dancing in the palms of Aleister Crowley."

“Dancing in his palms… Well, that might be the case. But he will be burned by my hands one day, as long as I recover the Holy Grail and the Forbidden books that Eteria Rodinus stole!”

One bean-sized sphere appeared in Rosenkreuz's hand.

Afterwards, it was shot into the air and it unfolded into a huge magic circle.

[Divine Storm].

It was a wide-range magic spell that could only be used if several high-ranking priests cast it at the same time.

“This is madness. Are you trying to turn this place into a wasteland?”

“I need to do at least this much to bring you down. Five wis.e.m.e.n and one saint. Isn't that more than enough to beat a Demon King?”

Hundreds of spheres of light appeared in the air.

Afterwards, they raged like a storm and created a huge vortex.

"hahahahahahahaha! Why don’t you become a martyr now, Mr. Saint!”

Rosenkreuz laughed like a madman as he watched the wis.e.m.e.n gathered together as they held together the barrier protecting them.

Boetius watched for a while before lifting up his crystal staff.

“A martyr? I refuse.”

“Ugh…!”

Rosenkreuz's body was lifted into the air.

Afterwards, his limbs and joints bent in wrong directions with bone-cracking sounds.

“Aaaagghhh!!”

“It is my fault for not leading you down the right path. So, even if I have to over-exert myself, I have to take this opportunity to end things once and for all.”

Eradication.

Boetius didn't want to see his disciples degrading themselves endlessly.

When he approached Rosenkreuz and tried to finish him off,

“Got you.”

As the surrounding s.p.a.ce crumbled, the boundaries between objects began to blur.

[Astral Illusion].

It was a divine spell that put the subject into a state of spiritual hallucinations.

“I didn’t think you would use an ancient tome like this.”

“I don't share your hobby of acting cla.s.sy all the time. That’s why I was chosen as an inquisitor of heresy who cleanses the world by burning the pagans!”

Divine Storm narrowed its sphere of influence and approached Boetius.

Before long, a series of deafening sounds with a dazzling flash were heard.

b.o.o.boob.o.o.booboom!!!

b.o.o.booboom!

b.o.o.boob.o.o.boob.o.o.boob.o.o.boom!!!

“Lord Boetius!”

"Oh my goodness!"

The wis.e.m.e.n covered as horror filled their eyes.

After a while, the flash died down, and everyone's attention was focused on the two.

“Hoo, so you endured that. Your stamina is quite impressive.”

“Ugh…”

Boetius groaned, removing the barrier protecting.

But that only lasted for a moment.

He immediately corrected his posture and lifted his staff.

“It's my turn this time, Rosenkreuz.”

A pure white magic circle spread on the floor where the two stood.

Soon enough,

b.o.o.booboom!

b.o.o.boob.o.o.booboom!!!

b.o.o.boob.o.o.boob.o.o.boob.o.o.boom!!!

A barrage of spears of light appeared in the air and poured onto Rosenkreuz like heavy rain.

[Saint Paul].

It was a wide-range holy spell that could only be cast by dozens of people in the Spiritual Society.

Cracks formed on the protective barrier and soon enough, it shattered as it couldn’t withstand Saint Paul's formidable power.

Afterwards, dozens of light spears ruthlessly devastated Rosenkreuz’s entire body as he floated in the air, his arms dangling on the side.

Stab!

Stab!

Stab!

Stab!

The flesh was gouged out and red blood poured.

Rosenkreuz looked down at Boetius like a saint being martyred on the execution platform, screaming in pain.

"Aaaarrrrgghhhhhhhhh!"

“I hope that in your next life, you will live as a good human being who won’t dip his fingers in religious craze.”

Boetius lowered the crystal staff and drew the sign of the cross with his other hand.

As the duration of Saint Paul ended, Rosenkreuz, whose head was dropped, began to chuckle in a low voice.

“Keke… Kekekek...”

“You won’t say that this was all according to your plan, right?”

“An excellent answer, Saint.”

“…Hm?"

Having noticed something odd, Boetius tried to cast a barrier again.

Immediately,

“Cough…”

A terrible pain that could not be endured spread through Boetius' body.

As he knelt down, vomiting blood, Rosenkreuz spoke with a gleeful expression.

“Mirroring impact. It is a new ability that I gained after eating the Clipport's Fruit. Damage received for up to an hour can be returned to the opponent as is.”

"You cunning b.a.s.t.a.r.d…”

“I feel bad for using something like this. However, I had no choice but to use it to defeat a monster like you. By the way, I am in a state where my abilities have increased several-fold due to the effect of Clipport’s Fruit. I also casted a recovery spell in advance, so I won't die even if I receive this much damage. But we can’t say the same for you, right?”

“…”

Red blood constantly dripped down Boetius' mouth.

He had received the damage Rosenkreuz had acc.u.mulated over time all at once.

Ibn Rusud rushed towards Rosenkreuz with the other wis.e.m.e.n as they couldn’t let the situation continue as is.

“Rosenkreuz, I will definitely kill you!”

“How dare you do that to Lord Boetius!”

Before long, a brilliant magical barrage took place.

b.o.o.booboom!

b.o.o.boob.o.o.boob.o.o.boob.o.o.boom!!!

b.o.o.boob.o.o.booboom!!!

All of the casters were wizards who have acquired the t.i.tle of sage, so every one of them was powerful!

However, Rosenkreuz shouted and blocked all of the attacks with a barrier.

“Are these puny attacks everything Eteria Rodinus can do? According to some ancient records, each one of you is supposed to be strong enough to defeat a demon king... It appears to have been an exaggerated rumor.”

“Shut up!”

Ibn Rusud lost his temper and rushed forward to strike at the barrier with his staff.

Clang!

Sparks flew and fissured appeared at the point of impact.

“Now that the saint is in no shape to fight me, you people can no longer defeat me. The power of Clipport's fruit is bottomless.”

Rosenkreuz's purple eyes flashed for an instant.

Immediately, a shock wave erupted and Ibn Rusud flew into the distance.

“Arghhhhhh!”

“I am an inquisitor of heresy of the Holy Aperian Empire. I bet that there is no magician who can beat me on his own except for great wis.e.m.e.n who have risen to the ranks of saints.”

That was true for normal situations, but since he had eaten the Clipport's Fruit, a demonic stimulant, no matter how big of a group of wis.e.m.e.n gathered, they would definitely struggle against him.

As the situation worsened to an extreme, the members of Eteria Rodinus supported Boetius and took emergency measures.

“It would be better to fall back for a while and endure until the effect of the Clipport's Fruit ends.”

“I agree. Rosenkreuz may say that, but the wounds he suffered a while ago are deep. If we leave him be, he will gradually lose his strength.”

Everyone's opinions were the same: to s.h.i.+ft into a defensive formation.

As a large barrier formed through their unified casting, Rosenkreuz cried out.

“It's useless. Do you guys think you can endure that long? If you really think so, then show it to me!”

A pure white magic circle spread beneath Rosenkreuz's feet.

[Divine Storm].

It was the wide-range holy magic spell that was previously cast to defeat Boetius.

Swoooooos.h.!.+

The storm of light danced around the barrier and tried to strike Eteria Rodinus.

b.o.o.booboom!

b.o.o.boob.o.o.booboom!!!

b.o.o.boob.o.o.boob.o.o.boob.o.o.boom!!!

The surrounding s.p.a.ce was shaking from the power of each hit.

However, the wis.e.m.e.n did not go down so easily.

They continued to chant without letting the distraction bother them, and although some cracks appeared on the surface, the barrier did not get destroyed.

Eventually, as the duration of Divine Storm ended, the wis.e.m.e.n sighed in relief and restored their magical power.

“We need to kill that b.a.s.t.a.r.d right now!”

“Be patient, Ibn Rusud. Lord Boetius is in a serious condition right now.”

A blonde woman stopped Ibn Rusud, who was grinding his teeth.

She was casting a healing spell on Boetius, who had lost his consciousness.

“Dammit…!!”

“Kuhahahahahaha! Are you finally realizing your position, you foolish pagan? No matter how great of a saint he is, if he faints he’s nothing more than a deadweight. If you attack me on your own, the others won't be able to withstand my magic and they will all die.”

Ibn Rusud alone could not destroy Rosenkreuz's barrier.

In other words, all he could do now was to chant spells like the other wis.e.m.e.n.

On the other hand, Rosenkreuz was able to unilaterally cast area of effect magic spells.

“ROOOSENKREUUUUUZ!”

“My body is gradually recovering. So the next spell I cast will be much stronger than before. I want to see you people being shredded to pieces!”

Of course, he didn't really intend to kill them immediately.

Once their barrier broke, they would be subdued one by one and dragged in front of the Pope.

Their deaths would be suspended until all of Eteria Rodinus’ secrets were revealed.

'Finally, the Holy Grail and Lemegeton will be in my hands!'

Once he had sealed Lilith and obtained the 72 Demon King under his command, Rosenkreuz would have no one to fear in the world.

He would become superior to the Pope, and everyone would kneel before him, including the Emperor of the Holy Aperian Empire.

As Rosenkreuz made an expression of satisfaction, a familiar voice resounded in the air.

“How arrogant of you to put down your guard as victory approaches you. Ah~ Right, you are spreading the sin of Pride throughout the world.”

“…You?!"

The air froze instantly.

Aleister Crowley.

He was staring at everyone with a grotesque expression from the entrance.