Eternal Master: Path to Godlike Status-Chapter 18: Master Anywhere Part 2

Alfonso looked up. A thin trail of blood ran from his ear.

That shackle served as a psychic and spiritual link; when it snapped, the backlash struck like a direct hit to the brain.

Pain made his vision blur, yet a wild, fanatical light still burned in his eyes.

"You... fool..." Alfonso coughed, a smile appearing on his face. "You think you’ve won because you broke a few links of light? You’ve given me exactly what I needed. Every priest in this room felt it!"

"The existence of a monster that the Light cannot burn. The main church will have the report by dawn."

Rain only smiled back. "Then they will be as disappointed as you are."

"Master Rain, we have to go. Now." Elisa stepped closer. She caught his arm and held on, her fingers trembling.

Eira was already at the window, her hand on her hilt, eyes scanning the street for the rest of the town’s garrison.

"Alfonso is a Master Rank, yes," Elisa explained as she pulled him. "But he is a Priest. His rank comes from his fate, not his ability to fight."

They burst out into the cool night air, the town eerily quiet as the commoners hid behind locked doors.

"The Church doesn’t just have Priests," Eira added as made their way to an alley.

Strangely, no one chased them.

"They have the Paladins. The minimum rank for a Paladin is Master Rank, and they’re combat types. They don’t just channel the Light; they’re full-fledged warriors."

Elisa added, "They’re trained from birth to hunt anything the Church deems blasphemy."

Rain didn’t speed up his pace. He walked casually, looking back at the tavern.

"Combat types," he mused. "Are they really that powerful?"

"Yes—"

Before she could finish, he suddenly moved, pushing the two aside. A split second later, a figure descended from the sky, swinging a sword.

He clenched his fist to intercept the blow, but to his surprise, the sword cut deep, slicing down to the bone despite his reinforced skin.

The attacker was a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes.

Her hair was neatly tied behind her back, and she wore a light silver armor covering her torso and legs—but leaving her arms free for mobility.

"You are declared heretics of the Church. I, Alexandra Benedict, will be your executioner."

Rain looked down at his arm. The silver blade was wedged deep, the holy light radiating from the metal making his muscle fibers twitch.

"Master Rain, get back!" Elisa shouted, her voice trembling. "That person is one of the most powerful Master Rank Paladins on the continent!"

Alexandra didn’t waste breath on a retort. Her blue eyes were cold, devoid of any emotion.

To her, this wasn’t a grudge; it was just another job.

She stepped into his space, her free hand glowing with concentrated white light, prepared to blast his chest at point-blank range.

Rain didn’t flinch. He didn’t even look at her.

He took a slow, deep breath. His chest expanded, and for a second, the air around him grew heavy.

Then came the thrumming—not a scream or a grunt of pain, but the wet thud of a heart beating with the force of a war drum. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Alexandra’s eyes widened. She felt the resistance on her sword change. It was no longer cutting through meat; it felt as though the wound itself was pushing back.

Slowly, the silver blade began to slide upward. The bone-deep gash began to close from the inside out.

The sheer pressure of his regenerating muscle was so immense that it was physically ejecting the heavy claymore from his arm.

The holy light hissed and sparkled, fighting to keep the wound open, but his superhuman biology was a tidal wave drowning a candle.

Clink.

The tip of the sword finally popped out of his skin. The closing layers of muscle squeezed the fluid out, leaving only a faint, fading pink line where the deep gash had been.

She didn’t hesitate. Her open palm, slammed into his chest.

"Holy Burst" she commanded.

BOOM!

The blast was so violent that the cobblestones beneath his feet disintegrated into powder, and the nearby tavern windows shattered from the sheer concussive force.

Elisa and Eira were thrown back, shielding their eyes from the solar-level brilliance.

When the light faded, a scorched circle remained on the street.

Rain was still standing, though his remaining clothing was vaporized, and the skin across his torso charred black.

Alexandra stood a few feet away, her claymore back in a high guard. She was breathing evenly, but her eyes were fixed on his chest.

"You should be ash," she stated, her voice finally showing a flicker of uncertainty. "No undead can contain that much light without rupturing."

Rain looked down at his chest. The charred skin didn’t just flake off; it began to bubble and boil.

Beneath the black crust, fresh, obsidian-strong muscle fiber surged forward.

In a matter of seconds, the blackened layer fell away like a discarded shell, revealing unblemished, reinforced skin that seemed even denser than before.

"That was a good attack... go ahead—try again."

He opened his arms, curious to see if this so-called holy light could actually kill him for good. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"You mock the heavens," she hissed, her blue eyes flaring. The pupils vanished, replaced by a blinding, holy radiance that spilled from her sockets.

"Very well. If you won’t burn, then I’ll just slice you to pieces."

She held the hilt of her sword with both hands.

Suddenly, a golden aura erupted from the cross guard, flowing over the silver blade.

It extended the reach of the claymore, turning the heavy metal into a jagged, shimmering beam of solidified light.

The aura was so sharp that the mere air displacement from her stance caused thin, red lines to appear on the wooden walls of the structures around her.

"Heavenly Slash!"