The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 364: Knight of Ruin (3)

While Vulcan and the members of the Warriors guild were trapped in the maze of unknown walls, Goliath was being dragged across the rough ground on his back like a sled pulled by a well-trained dog.

“Guh, ugh! Ugh!”

A scream burst out every time his back struck the ground. He wanted to stand up, but he couldn’t as the thick Holy Chain was wrapped tightly around his neck. Even Dark Barrier that had blocked Vulcan’s full-powered strike failed to stop that Holy Chain.

“Hm. I think this is far enough.”

Kai, the owner of the human sled, glanced back and then flicked the chain forward.

“Gah!”

Tied to the end of the chain, Goliath crashed to the ground with a groan. He still hadn’t made sense of what was happening.

What is this... How did... Huh?

He was the Butcher of Darkness. A player with the highest Mythic-class in MID Online. If not for Kai, he would have ruled this game as an absolute ruler—the chosen one. And yet here he was, being dragged around like luggage.

How insolent...

Goliath spat out the sand in his mouth and sat up. He wiped the blood by his lips and glared at Kai.

“So we finally meet.”

“I’ve been wanting to meet you. You’re the one who’s been scurrying away like a rat all this time.”

“Hah, is that so?” Despite the insult, Goliath kept a composed expression. “There’s something I’ve wanted to ask you. May I?”

When Kai gave a nod, Goliath asked without hesitation, “How is a Cleric, of all things, that strong?”

The expression on Goliath’s face showed that he thought he had landed a blow. Just imagining Kai’s face hardening soon filled him with a joy like chugging a bottle of soda in one go.

“Beats me.”

However, Kai didn’t seem taken aback contrary to expectations. If anything, he didn’t seem to care whether his class was revealed or not. Rather, it was Goliath who was caught off guard.

“What... Why are you so confident? Haven’t you been hiding the fact you’re a Cleric all this time?”

“I did in the beginning. But now there’s no need to.”

He had hidden the fact at the start of the game because if people found out he was a Cleric, it could interfere with gameplay. But now it didn’t matter. There was no one left who would dare pick a fight just because they knew he was a Cleric.

“And what you should really be worrying about isn’t whether I’m a Cleric or not.”

Kai lowered his stance and began wrapping the Holy Chain around his foot, like tying a shoelace.

“You should be figuring out how you’re going to escape from me.”

“Escape, huh... Alright, I admit it. There was a time I avoided you.”

“Just one time? Pretty sure it lasted at least six months.”

“But that ends today.”

Goliath’s eyes gleamed and streams of dark divine energy from the Church of Muldine surged from his body. It was a murky black aura that felt repulsive just by looking at it.

“To defeat you, I lived in hiding, away from the eyes of others.”

He, who had always trampled over others and ruled above them, had built up his power by crawling through miserable and shabby places. Each passing day felt like a scratch to his pride—a series of humiliating days.

But now that he’s in front of me... I can’t take it anymore.

Sting said it was still too early to go after Kai, but Goliath disagreed.

Kai is merely a Cleric, and his power is directly opposite of mine.

He received double damage from the holy power of the Solarian Church, but the same applied to Kai. Kai also took double damage from the Church of Muldine’s divine power. In other words, they were capable of inflicting immense damage on each other.

All things being equal, the one decisive factor is... skill.

Naturally, he had the upper hand as a combat class rather than a support class like a Cleric.

A Cleric’s attack skills are bound to be predictable.

Moreover, he had fought Kai twice before.

I already know most of his skills.

And Kai had beaten him both times. Being human, Kai was bound to let his guard down.

Thus, today would be different. Goliath was fully prepared, and Kai knew nothing about the Knight of Ruin. That difference would snowball the moment the fight began.

This fight is already half mine.

Goliath began walking toward Kai full of confidence. His steps quickened little by little. Soon, he moved so fast his legs were practically invisible. It was a speed that easily outdid Vulcan’s full power.

But he’ll react.

Goliath didn’t relax. He knew better than anyone just how strong Kai was. Therefore, he acted on the premise that Kai would respond to his movement.

The first strike is a fake!

Whoosh!

His massive gauntlet broke the sound barrier and burst forward, but it was nothing more than a decoy. Whether it hit, missed, or was dodged didn’t matter.

Yet Kai simply kept his eyes fixed on the gauntlet and reached out his hand.

He actually fell for it?

Goliath expected Kai to read the fake and dodge or parry. But instead, Kai extended his hand straight forward.

Did I overestimate him?

Perhaps he had started to idealize Kai after losing to him twice.

If that’s the case... I’m disappointed, Kai.

But regardless of his disappointment, Goliath wasn’t the type to miss a chance once it presented itself.

“Die!”

He grinned as he saw Kai’s small hand make contact with his gauntlet.

I won—!

Just as he was about to let out a cry of triumph, his world flipped upside down. At the same time, his vision blurred, his head spun, and a sharp pain surged through his spine.

“Argh...?”

He had no time to grasp what had happened. Before such a trivial question, a single thought filled his head.

I have to get up!

He instinctively rolled over and stood before even regaining his senses. Or rather, he tried to.

Kai’s foot that was wrapped in the Holy Chain struck Goliath’s abdomen. Goliath’s body flew through the air and crashed into three trees before finally stopping.

“Kugh... urgh...”

Agonizing pain surged through him, so overwhelming that drool spilled from his open mouth. Yet, he widened his eyes and endured the pain that felt like it would melt his brain.

Just once... only once...

No more, no less. He could overturn everything if he could land just one attack. That was the only hope keeping him going.

Nearly half of his health had been blown away by a single kick but it began to recover rapidly. It was the effect of Rapid Regeneration, which was one of the traits possessed by the Knight of Ruin. His class was a close-combat type with numerous passive abilities—and that wasn’t all.

I also have the Evil Deed stat.

It was the unique stat of a Knight of Ruin that increased with malicious acts.

I killed thousands of NPCs over the past few months just to raise it.

He had been the culprit behind the infamous NPC disappearance cases. He steadily built his Evil Deed stat by targeting only residents of rural villages with relatively poor security.

A Solaris Cleric must have a similar stat system too.

But he was certain that it couldn’t be accumulated as quickly as his. In fact, all his stats were currently averaged around 1,000. That was the max limit of what could be achieved through Evil Deeds.

“I wish I could show him my stat window.”

He wanted to make Kai feel despair at the realization that he had no chance of winning. Afterall, Goliath hadn't used full power in the first clash

Sure, I did make a slight mistake just now. But that guy probably went all out. He moved fast enough to throw me off.

He wondered how tense Kai must have been to go all out from the very first clash.

“Hehehe...”

That fact brought Goliath joy because he was only now planning to draw out his true strength.

“Apostle Form.”

Dormant Dark Holy Power surged within him and shook the ground as he activated the skill.

Argh... it burns.

His entire bloodstream felt like it was boiling away. But rather than pain or fear, it brought a rush of exhilaration.

Fwoosh! novelbuddy-cσ๓

The divine power burst out through his skin like flames. It soon began to engulf his entire body in fire. However, he didn’t feel even the slightest trace of pain.

Ahh... so this is how it feels.

He rather felt incredibly calm once the fire wrapped around him. The flames of darkness surrounding his body gave him a sense of coziness and confidence. It was the composure of a truly powerful person, granted only by overwhelming power.

“It’s my first time using it, but it’s not bad.”

Apostle Form required consuming 50 Evil Deed stats. It multiplied his Holy Damage and increased all stats by 20% for ten minutes.

He glanced down at his arms and legs and murmured, “So this is what I look like.”

His body no longer resembled a human. He looked more like a demon from myth than any person.

“Interesting... This is very amusing.”

Goliath walked forward again with a smile on his face. Each step he took scorched and melted the ground. He shuddered from the overwhelming power surging through his entire body.

It feels like I could kill anyone.

The thought of being defeated even while possessing such power was utterly incomprehensible to him.

“Hm?” As he returned to Kai, Kai remarked on Goliath's transformed appearance. “Your body. It's on fire.”

“No need to worry. Or rather, maybe I should tell you to worry about it.”

He was planning to pour all the power he had gained through Apostle Form.

Goliath casually flicked his finger. At the same time, a thin line of blood ran down Kai’s cheek. Seeing that he didn’t even blink, it seemed he hadn’t noticed he had even been struck.

“Pfft... Bahahahaha!”

Goliath burst into laughter. He couldn’t hold it in as he watched the pitiful sight of Kai unable to react to his attack.

After laughing a while, Goliath finally stopped laughing and said, “You probably don’t understand what’s happening right now.”

“Well... I’m not really sure what’s so funny.”

Goliath muttered in a voice as sweet as a devil’s whisper, “Do you want to know how I gained such immense power in just six months?”

Before Kai could even say “no,” Goliath continued to say, “Have you heard of the NPC disappearance cases?”

“I saw it on TV while eating toast. Read a few articles about it after that too.”

“That was my work.” Goliath's voice sounded like a child desperate for praise.

However, Kai's expression hardened as he asked, “You were the one behind the NPC disappearances?”

“That’s right.”

“Where are the missing ones now?”

To that, Goliath tapped his chest with a finger. “They became my stats. It was probably an honorable death for them as well.”

“You killed them?”

“I did say that, didn’t I?”

“I heard the number of missing people was over a thousand.”

“I didn’t count precisely, but I’d say it’s close to two thousand.”

“Hah.” Kai let out a scoff without realizing it.

He stared at Goliath with a look of disbelief. “I really don’t swear often, but... you’re a real piece of shit.”

“You're swearing over a few deleted chunks of data?”

“So you killed people just to raise a few numbers in your stat window?”

“What’s the problem? They're not real people anyway. You, me, every player levels up by killing digital scraps of monsters. NPCs and monsters are just different-looking pieces of data.”

“You psychopath bastard.”

“I kill my enemies to survive. I trample the weak to grow stronger. That’s human nature—one of the most basic rules of society since the primitive age. I merely followed that rule.”

“If you truly believe that, that’s good.” Kai, who summoned and grabbed the Holy Sword in midair, said in a cold tone, “Then I’m sure you won’t mind being trampled by someone stronger.”

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