“Capture the heretic!”

“Execute the demon worshiper immediately!”

Obviously, Ito Sota wasn’t going to let them tie him up; no, even if he didn’t resist from the beginning, it was still going to be difficult for him to turn this case in his favor, so for him, the choice was obvious. The priests here were filled with that much madness.

‘Pffft!’

Basically, he had no other choice but to resist.

“Receive judgment, you demon worshiper!”

“Shit!”

It only took a moment for the two people near him to get captured and Ito Sota easily broke the constraint around his wrist. It seemed like from the beginning, they hadn’t tied him up properly and I was certain that a few of the imperial knights were on his side as well.

“Capture… Capture that demon worshiper immediately and execute him!”

“Get him! You heretic! Bring that heretic here immediately! Helena! Bring me his head!”

“Understood.”

The place became chaotic, no, chaotic wasn’t enough to describe the situation. The problem was that those people didn’t have the ability to harm Ito Sota, but they continued to fill the court - it was completely absurd. Ito Sota had to make a decision.

‘Fight or run.’

Gandhi, who preached non-violence, would have been forced to wield a sword in this situation to protect himself and in the end, I heard someone from the holy knights screaming. While Ito Sota was trying to block the sword flying toward him, he injured one of the knights.

“Ahhhhh!”

“You dirty heretic!”

Lee Ji-Hye glanced at me and quietly mumbled, “Oppa, I think it’ll be dangerous if you stay here.”

“No, it’s not that dangerous so we can just stay here and watch. I think the situation is going to get interesting,” I told her.

“Ohh… you’re right,” she said after letting out a soft gasp.

A few people had already left the court and the high-ranked people were being protected in the arms of the imperial knights in case something dangerous happened to them. Father Basel’s side was a bit interesting because it seemed like his sense of duty to save the Holy Empire from danger was causing him to act this way.

“Bring him here this instant! Heresy Inquisitor Helena! How dare you act so rudely during a holy religious trial? I’m certain he’s a heretic! He’s definitely a demon worshiper!” Father Basel yelled.

“Yes, sir!”

“No, I’ll go there myself. I’ll beat him myself! Bring my mace immediately!” He ordered.

“Father Basel, you shouldn’t get involved in this,” Helena suggested.

“Capture him right now, then!!” Father Basel yelled.

Father Basel couldn’t even walk properly, so seeing him act this way was scarier than funny. As expected, a warrior that had received the goddess’s revelation was different.

The situation became more serious when Helena got involved.

‘She’s strong...’

Even though she couldn’t be compared to Victor Hart or Cha Hee-Ra, she was strong enough to be the leader of an armed group. If I had to give an example, she was on Lee Sang-Hee and Hwang Jung-Yeon’s level.

The way she ran while holding the mace made her look like a holy warrior participating in a holy war. Sister Jessica sprinkled holy power, activated a shield, and buffed the holy knights as they chased after Ito Sota once again.

“Ahhhh!”

‘It’s a great sight.’

Ito Sota was in a situation where he couldn’t resist them, but he also couldn’t not resist them. For now, he was trying to stop the people that were chasing after him but it was difficult to tell how long that would last. I thought he wasn’t going to last long, however his agility of 99 points was beyond what I had imagined.

‘Still, he probably won’t last long...’

Ito Sota ran toward the back after seeing dozens of knights chasing after him and of course, the person in the back was a knight that came to capture him. After pushing away the knight, he blocked the flying sword. Being able to dodge all attacks in this situation was definitely amazing, but when Helena got involved, I noticed Ito Sota frowning. This entire situation was my creation and I couldn’t help but laugh because the urgency in his voice was like a catalyst for my laughter.

“Father Basel! I have been framed!” Ito Sota exclaimed.

“Silence! You dirty heretic!” Father Basel yelled.

“It’s all a misunderstanding. Please… make them stop!” Ito Sota requested desperately.

“Shut that dirty mouth of yours!”

“Sister Helena, you know better than anyone that I’m not that kind of person!” he pleaded. 

“Don’t say my name, you demon worshiper!” Helena retorted.

“Sister Jessica, please say…”

“What are you doing? Are you just going to let that demon worshiper keep talking? Hurry up and silence him!” Jessica ordered.

I felt kind of bad for Ito Sota, but I was able to bring both Helena and Jessica to my side by having a heated discussion about Ito Sota and I didn’t even have to use the Sacred Wine on them.

I was sure Father Basel’s wrath created this situation and even though this exciting match was fun to watch, we needed something new. When I glanced over at Jung Ha-Yan, I noticed her reciting a spell.

“Magic Chain.”

Chain made out of blue-colored mana wrapped around Ito Sota, but the way he destroyed the spell with just a flick of his hand was ridiculous. Jung Ha-Yan seemed a bit disappointed, so I nodded and applauded to encourage her because compliments always made Jung Ha-Yan feel desperate for some reason.

“Wind Blade! Magic Chain! Wind Blow!”

I never imagined that she would cast three spells at once. She was being considerate of the people around Ito Sota so the spells weren’t that powerful, but as the main attacker in the Ito Sota raid, it was enough. I felt that I needed to do something as well, but since I couldn’t use my magic here, I thought using Juliena was the best choice.

“Juliena!”

When I called out for her, Juliena moved faster than any of the knights and she was currently moving toward Ito Sota. Since the heretic inquisitors and holy knights were the tanks, it made attacking Ito Sota easy for us damage dealers. Ito Sota himself also wasn’t in a position where he could attack the tanks and it was the same for me. I wasn’t sure whether he was going to attack me or not, but seeing him constantly state that he was innocent made me realize that I was safe. He didn’t want the conflict to escalate and he believed the madness would end if he continued persuading them.

“Geez… this has been going on for a while,” I commented.

“You’re right.”

“I never imagined he was this strong…”

“How about calling for the Mercenary Queen and the shaman?” Lee Ji-Hye suggested.

“No, I don’t think that’s necessary… since they need to protect the important guests in case something happens. Hee-Ra noona seems like she’s enjoying it right now and if something happens, I’m sure she’ll step in,” I explained.

“He dodged it! Concentrate,” she said.

“It’s not easy to capture Ito Sota even with Juliena’s speed. He’s really fast. I wonder if all the guild masters of large guilds are like him,” I said.

“I think it would be best to link with Miss Ha-Yan or try finding a different way to capture him. I heard the target gets cursed if Juliena harms them so instead of trying to capture him from the start, how about scratching him little by little? And didn’t you say Juliena has the power to curse them herself and can move black tentacles or something?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.

“I can’t use that right now. I think I can only use it when Juliena’s ego awakens,” I replied.

“That’s too bad. Another method is attacking mentally, so try talking to the group. If you initiate by commanding the heresy inquisitor and the holy knights, it won’t be such a bad idea,” she suggested.

Lee Ji-Hye, the strategy team leader gave me a great idea.

“We need to capture that dirty heretic. That heretic is strong because he has the power of the demons in him, so we must work together!” I yelled.

As expected, Ito Sota glared at me, but there was nothing he could do about it.

When I yelled out my command, I saw the group getting into formation. Just a moment, everyone seemed like they were filled with rage, but now, it seemed like they were getting into a basic raid formation.

“Okay! Let’s punish that demon, everyone!”

“Punish the heretic!”

“We can’t let him get away. If we block the doors and continue chasing after him, the dirty demon’s power that he has will disappear little by little, so let’s endure it a little longer, everyone! For the Benigoa goddess!”

Ito Sota was glaring at me and that was when Jung Ha-Yan’s magic landed on his arms. It was simple restraint magic, but Juliena took advantage of that opening and flew past his arm.

“Shit!” Ito Sota yelled.

‘Nice!’

I couldn’t help but make a fist.

If we were outside in an open area, his agility stats would have really helped him, but his movements were limited because we were currently in an enclosed space. There were so many people trying to suppress him so he couldn’t even attack properly and of course, as more time passed, he would start changing his strategy. I didn’t know whether he had finally realized that he had no hope or if he still wanted to tear me apart, but the important thing was that he was resisting with everything he had. During all of this, however, what stood out was his condition.

‘You haven’t fully recovered yet, right?’

The damage he had sustained from Cha Hee-Ra was still there and he had to fight Helena, who had received Sister Jessica’s buff, in that condition. Even Jung Ha-Yan’s magic was playing a big role in all of this.

“We need to punish that heretic, everyone!” I yelled.

“...”

“He’s the cancer of the Holy Empire; no, to the Free City! We need to get rid of people like him completely,” I exclaimed.

“...”

“Let’s work together, everyone!” I yelled once again.

“Sh-Shut up…” Ito Sota retorted.

“We’re almost there!”

“Shut up! Please, please shut up!” Ito Sota desperately cried out.

“The one that should shut up is you, not me, you dirty demon worshiper! The Benigoa goddess will punish you!” I roared at him.

“You… you bastard!” he yelled.

“It’s god’s punishment, you dirty heretic! Goddess of Benigoa, please give us strength!” I said.

He wasn’t approaching me, but that wasn’t the only thing. Not only was he noticeably anxious, but he was answering my words that he had intentionally ignored previously by cursing at me. He looked mad, but it wasn’t simply anger. It must be the curse Juliena had afflicted on him so I thought that provoking him a bit more would be a good idea.

“This is the power of the goddess!”

“Shit, shit!”

“Thanks to you all, the dirty demon’s power is starting to go away. I know it’s hard but endure it a bit longer. Let’s push a little more!” I said, encouraging the group.

“You… you weaklings! You’re all shit!” Ito Sota yelled.

“The demon is showing its true colors!” I pointed out, yelling.

“Shut up!”

“You’re finally showing your true colors, you dirty demon’s puppet!” I screamed.

As small scratches appeared more and more on his body, the way he raged was a sight to see. I couldn’t help but that Juliena and I were in sync.

In the end, he couldn’t contain his anger anymore as he looked at me.

‘Oh.’

Explosive magic started extending in all directions. He must have thought convincing Father Basel was no longer going to work, so he decided to do things his way. Actually, maybe he still couldn’t understand the situation because of the curse, but no one knew the truth. It could just be revenge toward me or he could have thought that making the holy knights unable to fight was the priority. But there was one thing I was sure of…

‘He’s really strong.’

He was stronger than I thought.

I heard screams all over the place and even though it was hard to see him from the beginning, the holy knights and the heresy inquisitors immediately moved back to the point that it was absurd. If Ito Sota had been wielding a sword, their limbs would have been cut off. Despite that, the court was filled with holy magic and even though it was helping the main force, I thought the only thing they could do was limit Ito Sota’s movement. Fortunately, the holy knights and the heresy inquisitors weren’t weak. They were considered the most powerful armed group in the Holy Empire and including Helena and Jessica—the few people here had exceptional stats. As such, I couldn’t understand how Ito Sota was able to endure it for this long.

‘He hasn’t even fully recovered yet and is without his gear. Is this for real?’

I finally understood why the Holy Empire treated people with this much power with respect. I felt it last time with Cha Hee-Ra, but there was a reason why they called others “below standard” other than these types of people.

“Get him! Ahhhh!”

“Don’t let him move! Surround him!”

“Sister Helena!”

“Don’t make room for him!”

“Everyone, please hang on just a little longer!”

Despite me giving them commands, they kept making room for Ito Sota and when I put down my guard for a moment, I saw Ito Sota charging toward me in a blur.

‘Ah!’

I was surprised, but I wasn’t in a panic because he still had to go through many obstacles to reach me. Before he could get close to me, Cha Hee-Ra quickly intercepted and kicked his side. 

Boom! 

As Ito Sota screamed, he slammed into the opposite wall. He managed to break through the first hurdle, but not the second one.

“Ack!”

“Capture him immediately!”

“Cough. Let me go! Let go! I’ll kill you all! Ahhhh… kill! I’ll kill you with my own hands. No matter what, Lee Ki-Young! Lee Ki-Young! Let go of me! Cough!” Ito Sota screamed.

“Tie his arms and legs!”

“Let go of me. Argh! I’ll kill anyone that gets close to me!” Ito Sota threatened.

Even though this wasn’t within my plans, the curse’s influence made him seem like he was really drunk on the demon’s power. He was spitting out blood after Hee-Ra noona kicked him and that sight really made him look like the demons’ comrade. This was a suitable ending for a person like him, who liked to pretend he was noble.

“Whoo… I feel relieved,” Cha Hee-Ra said after letting out a sigh.

I couldn’t help but nod in agreement.