The effect of Caius' [Void Blast] magic was devastating. The treacherous guard was knocked out cold, and the four high-ranking church officials, along with the remaining two guards, were struggling to move their bodies, let alone put up a fight. Their control over magic was severely weakened, and they were left wondering how a priest from the church could use magic that went against Caius' holy element. The confusion and fear in their eyes were palpable as they tried to make sense of the situation.
As the group of church officials struggled to move, Fernis watched from a distance, clad in light blue armor with her bow drawn. Suddenly, she released an arrow that flew with incredible speed and accuracy, passing through each of them before shrinking back down and hitting the treacherous guard square in the chest. The arrow was no ordinary arrow, but a skill she had mastered called [Piercing Arrow]. The guard
As the guards continued to overwhelm the attackers, suddenly the ground shook and a rift appeared, unleashing a group of monstrous creatures that charged towards the guards. The creatures were summoned by Akhem's magic and they quickly began to overpower the guards.The creature was unlike anything that the church guards had seen before. It was massive and appeared to be made of pure energy, with an otherworldly aura emanating from it. It was clear that this was not a creature from this world, and the guards struggled to keep up with its movements.One of the creatures was a massive golem made of stone, towering over the guards and crushing them with its massive fists. Another was a group of small, fast-moving creatures with razor-sharp claws and teeth that sliced through the guards like a hot knife through butter.
As Harlequin stepped into the room, he saw a figure cloaked in white standing before him. The person's voice was smooth and calming, yet there was an underlying tone of danger. As Harlequin's eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, he could see that the person was tall and slender, with pale skin and piercing blue eyes that seemed to glow in the dark. Long, silver hair cascaded down their back, and they wore a flowing white robe adorned with intricate gold embroidery. Harlequin could feel the power emanating from the figure, and he knew that this was the Oracle he had come to meet.Harlequin smirked and replied, "I don't need to pretend to be anything, Oracle. I am who I am, and you are who you are. But let's cut to the chase. The Clowns have come for you, and we won't leave empty-handed. Surrender now, and we can end this peacefully."The Oracle chuckled softly, th
The Oracle Priest and Harlequin stood facing each other, their eyes locked in a fierce stare-down. The air around them crackled with energy as they prepared to unleash their magic upon each other. The Oracle Priest was a master of holy magic, while Harlequin was a dark mage who wielded the power of the shadows.The Oracle Priest raised his hands, and a bright light shone forth from his palms. It was a holy spell, one that would purify and cleanse any darkness it touched. Harlequin sneered and countered with a blast of dark energy, which collided with the holy spell and caused a massive explosion. The force of the blast sent both combatants flying backward, but they quickly regained their footing and continued the fight.The Oracle Priest summoned a powerful beam of holy light, which he directed at Harlequin. The dark mage responded with a wave of shadowy tendri
Harlequin stopped abruptly and dispelled all of his illusions, leaving only one standing casually as he stared at the Oracle who struggled to stand up straight."Are you feeling sorry for me, Oracle?" Harlequin scoffed."It's not interesting at all," he continued, emanating an overwhelming aura that forced the Oracle to shield her face and take a step back.Harlequin became a bit more serious and revealed that he had only been using one-third of his strength in his non-grimoire mode. "Come forth, Dimension Linker," he muttered.As Harlequin muttered, a tome suddenly materialized in his hand, emanating an ominous aura. The Grimoire, named "Nexus Arcanum," was bound in black leather with golden clasps that formed intricate patterns of interconnected lines and symbols. The
Archie and the two Clowns, Akhem and Harlequin, were not here by chance. Harlequin had a grand plan to perform a world-changing ritual from this very dimension."It's going to take a long time to extract a Grimoire-type power from a bloodline. Plus, I need a large amount of holy power to do it," Harlequin explained to the others."That's why I've been ordered to hunt down owners of above-average holy power. It can't just be any priest or fake priestess. Their level of holy power would distort the purity that Harlequin requires," Akhem added from behind.As they discussed their plan, Archie watched on, observing the situation. He remained indifferent to the Oracle's screams of pain as they grew fainter. Though his human heart may have struggled with the sight, Archie had steeled his mind from the start.
Harlequin made a dismissive gesture. "Never mind. Akhem made you a promise, didn't he, Archie? Well, here it is." With that, Harlequin strolled over to the Oracle, which was now fully wrapped like a mummy.Suddenly, a bright beam of light shot out from the chest of the mummified Oracle and stopped in front of Harlequin. "This is the third ownerless grimoire," the Oracle declared. "It is the key to all our plans."Harlequin reached out and took the grimoire from the beam of light. He opened it carefully and flipped through its pages, nodding in satisfaction. "Excellent," he murmured to himself. "With this, we can finally move forward."Archie and the other members of the group looked at Harlequin with anticipation. "What's our next step?" Archie asked.Harlequin didn't re
Harlequin admonished Archie for his desire to resuscitate a woman whose powers they had once taken, but then handed him a grimoire that emitted a bright white light - the same light that had previously appeared from the mummy Oracle's. Without moving any closer, the beam seemed to be directed towards Archie. "How do I use it?" he asked."You'll find out," Harlequin replied cryptically, before returning to his two light grimoires, one of which flew towards Akhem. "Each of us will possess one of our own and one owner-less grimoire. Note that this does not come to you for nothing," he warned.Although an owner-less grimoire was the same as having the full power of the grimoire itself, it was still somewhat useless without access to maximizing the grimoire. But Archie was hopeful that the owner-less grimoire of the Light might fill the void in Lady Elashaa and his
As they continued on their way, a sudden gust of wind and a bluish-white light descended from above, catching the attention of the guards, bandits, and everyone else. It was Archie, who had slowed down so he could be seen clearly. Upon landing, Archie flung some of the bandits that were attempting to attack the guards, sending them flying a considerable distance."We have a bigger enemy to face than these crooked bandits," he advised. "If you want to capture a criminal without killing him, that's your choice. But keep in mind that while you're playing around here, there are countless innocent civilians who will become victims. There will be hundreds and even thousands affectedThe guards and bandits stared at Archie in surprise, unsure of how to respond to his words. But before anyone could speak, a deafening roar echoed through the city.