NOVEL NEXT chapter 147 - Defe...?eat
All the corpse soldiers flooding into the shelter exploded simultaneously and vanished without a trace.
It didn’t even take multiple shots.
It all happened with a single blast from John’s mutated shotgun.
No reloading was necessary.
As long as divine power remained.
As long as Ponemkin’s divinity resided within John.
That shotgun would never run dry.
It was exhilarating.
Overwhelming.
And that only deepened my sense of helplessness.
“Saint.”
Cecilia must have sensed my trembling, as she clung tightly to my side.
I should have done that too.
I should’ve moved, wielded my authority, saved people, struck down enemies.
But what was I now?
Reduced to a limp observer, powerless to do anything but watch.
[Everyone. Head to the other shelters.]
There was no longer the greatsword of Hero Karim.
Only that massive shotgun, clad in weighty divine armor, transformed as if it were a living being.
From behind the helmet of that armor came John’s voice—divine speech intertwined with human tone.
[I will hold the enemy back. Please protect the Saint.]
“I will do that.”
Priest Mathieu stared at John with a trembling voice.
He was crying.
“Lord Ponemkin… Ahh…”
John stepped outside.
With the rattling of steel, the mass of corpse soldiers and the Rotting Legion outside hesitated, flinched, then recoiled.
John spoke no further.
He didn’t need to.
His brutal, overwhelming violence spoke volumes all on its own.
The thunderous blast of the shotgun rang out in succession.
With a single shot, it shredded dozens of corpse soldiers—and the pavement beneath them.
Even an entire building was torn apart and reduced to rubble.
And the ones killed by that shotgun blast were, in a way, the lucky ones.
Those corpse soldiers that tried to approach John, reeking of pus and rot, were suddenly engulfed in blue divine flames.
They began to burn.
Their agonized screams echoed—then nothing. Not even ashes remained.
The ones that endured the pain and kept approaching were effortlessly torn apart by John’s bare hands.
Swinging divine fire and that shotgun, he continued the massacre.
And during that time—
“Goddammit! Get on my back!”
Cecilia hoisted me up.
She had torn her skirt into a makeshift mini, and even while carrying me, she was running just as fast as the others.
“Ce… Cecilia…”
“I’m going to save you. No matter what. No matter what happens, I’ll make sure of it. So just stay quiet.”
She smiled.
“Knowing you, you probably pushed yourself to the limit and got all busted up somewhere down in that damned labyrinth. You did great. Now it’s our turn to protect you.”
Beautiful words.
But they filled me with unease.
Could she really protect me?
What about the others?
Surrounding me were only those deemed unfit for combat—elderly, children, the sick.
No way they could protect me.
The Gold Company?
The elite Hunter Guild members I risked everything to send back alive?
They’d surely rushed to the frontlines the moment the assault began.
They likely didn’t even know I’d returned.
“Priest Mathieu! How far to the next shelter?!”
“Not even 100 meters! Just around that corner ahead!”
Then why did I feel so uneasy?
Would it really end if we just quietly escaped to another shelter and waited until the awakened John wiped everything out?
Why did it feel like…
Something worse was waiting for me?
I wanted it to be just paranoia.
After all the shit I’d been through recently, it would make sense.
Maybe it was just habit, a learned anxiety.
But the moment everyone in the shelter rounded that corner—
I saw my fear become reality.
Everyone stopped.
“I’ll try to hold them off! Everyone else—go to—!”
“Shhh.”
The portal closed.
From within it, Valram stepped out, raising a finger to his lips.
Valram and the Bicorn, Kardak, looked utterly ruined.
But no matter how broken they looked—
They were nothing compared to the one standing behind them.
Lucifer.
The horn on his forehead, made from a dragon’s horn, had been completely shattered.
One of the Dragon Hearts embedded in his body—specifically, the lower one—was broken.
Only the heart in his chest still held Lucifer’s divine presence.
As Kardak’s bicorn horn began to glow, the eyes of everyone in the shelter went glassy and vacant.
[You sons of—!!]
Kon, strung around my neck, hastily deployed a psychic shield—but only managed to protect Cecilia and me.
“Amayel. Our Saint Amayel. I must admit—opening a portal from the 6th floor to the surface… it’s a massive strain. It cost more divine power than even subduing my father. Honestly, I respect that you shouldered that burden to save the expedition.”
Valram limped forward.
Mathieu raised his rifle at him, but Valram shook his head slightly, as if to say: Don’t.
“Put the gun down, Mathieu. I don’t want to fight you. Do you want everyone behind you to die?”
As Valram spoke, Kardak stomped once—and in that instant—
Everyone in the shelter silently drew their pistols and aimed them at their own heads.
“You coward!!…”
“To break someone as gentle as the Saint… there was no other choice. You value others’ lives more than your own, don’t you? So this is the only way.”
Valram flicked his hand.
Up to that very last second, Priest Mathieu’s rifle never fired.
Instead, it twisted into scrap metal in his hands.
His body floated into the air, then was dragged toward Valram.
Even as a veteran, Mathieu was still just a priest—and there was an insurmountable gap between him and Valram, a being forged from a fragment of Lucifer’s divinity.
“Saint. Let’s stop this tiresome struggle. I had a rough time subduing my father. I’m exhausted. Hand over the power of the Goddess of Life. Do that, and the people around you won’t die.”
A smug smile tugged at Valram’s lips.
I knew exactly what he was thinking.
I know your personality well.
You’d never let others die because of you.
You’ll give it up.
You always do.
“Saint, you have to run. All these people here—and even my life—none of it matters more than yours.”
Cecilia spoke the truth.
[If you give it up, all of humanity is doomed! You know that, Amayel! You have to run. The people here… it’s tragic, but you have to leave them behind. I’ll protect you, no matter what. Just this once, let’s run!]
Kon, too, was telling the truth.
But what Valram said—was just too true to ignore.
“Can you really stand by and watch Priest Mathieu and everyone else here die? Are you really ready to do that?”
Valram sneered at me.
Bloodied and torn, his clothing shredded in places from fighting Lucifer, but the force he exuded—was still razor-sharp.
No—if anything, there was a trace of madness in it now.
He had fallen.
As long as he lived, he had become someone who would forever covet the power of the Goddess of Life within me.
Even if all his limbs were severed, even if only his head and torso remained, he would never give up.
“Saint, I’m sorry, but this is the right thing to do.”
Cecilia tried to run, carrying me on her back.
But it was impossible from the start. Valram was watching us—clear as day.
“Kardak.”
[You son of a bitch!! Don’t!!]
Kon tried to resist.
But the difference in psychic power was far too great.
As Kon clashed with Kardak—
Valram, who had closed the distance in the blink of an eye, was suddenly standing in front of us.
He reached out his hand.
And seized not me—but Cecilia.
“—Kuh!”
She gasped and choked in pain.
Valram hoisted her into the air, then gave a slight nod toward Kardak.
Her eyes rolled back, and she let out a scream so sharp it cut to the bone.
“It’s a psychic torture. One of the things you can do if you tame a unicorn. They’re among the strongest of the psychic beasts, after all… Saint.”
Blood trickled between my clenched fingers.
“Because of the divine strain, your body is useless. And I know all too well… how unbearably gentle your heart is. Tell me, do you really want to watch the woman who loves you—Cecilia—fall apart like this? Just so you know, Priest Mathieu is next. I’ll tear his limbs off one by one. And if you still resist, I’ll start crushing the rest of the people here.”
Valram gently stroked my cheek.
“And that thing you call Kon—that amplifier holding the unicorn’s mind? I could violate and shatter it right in front of you. Would you be able to endure that? Honestly, Saint, you’re just not mentally fit to wield that authority in the first place.”
His eyes gleamed.
As one born of the Demon Lord of Arrogance, his gaze shimmered with subtle madness, narcissism—
And the utter arrogance that he could do anything.
Cecilia’s screams rose to a piercing crescendo.
The residents of Labyrinthos, still standing inside the shelter, slowly cocked the hammers of their pistols aimed at their own heads.
“Saint! You mustn’t give in! You have to run—ugh!”
With a flick of Valram’s hand, Lucifer stepped forward, slowly grasping Mathieu’s arms.
With the lightest pressure, a sickening snap came from the priest’s arms.
He didn’t scream—his endurance was beyond human.
But if that endurance continued… it was obvious what would happen to him.
“You’re weak, Amayel. But I? I’ll really do it. So give it up.”
[Amayel.]
Kon’s voice trembled as he called to me.
I said nothing.
I simply stared at Valram.
[Amayel, you insane bastard. You’re seriously insane. For real.]
That was what Kon said—utter disbelief in his voice, because he alone could sense what I was thinking inside.
Sorry, Kon. I’m an idiot, but this was the best I could do.
[I’ve known you were an idiot for a long time.]
You’ll help, right? I can’t do this without you.
[When have I ever not helped?]
With Kon’s permission, I asked one final question to Asmodeus.
Asmodeus. What you just told me—was all of it true?
The answer came immediately.
[All of it is true. You are extraordinarily special, Saint.]
I had a thousand questions.
But there was no time for answers.
This idea of “special.”
I wasn’t sure I even believed in it.
But right now, if Asmodeus—of all beings—said I was special, then maybe… it was time to trust in it.
The hesitation ended.
It was time to gamble.
Slowly, white chains appeared in my hand.
I held them out in front of me.
“Let the children and the elderly go.”
Valram’s lips curled into a grin of uncontrollable delight.
“Kardak!”
At his word, the dull eyes of the Labyrinthos residents regained clarity.
They hurriedly lowered their pistols from their heads.
I looked back at them.
“Go to another shelter. Rest there.”
“S-Saint…”
“Go. That’s how you help me.”
For a moment, they hesitated.
But they had no choice.
Children and elders ran past Valram, Kardak—
And even Lucifer—to reach the next shelter.
Valram didn’t stop them.
“Priest Mathieu and Cecilia. Release them too. I’ll hand it over the moment you do.”
But Valram shook his head.
Blood, still dripping from the fight with Lucifer, spattered the ground as he moved.
“No can do. I’ll need to keep those two as hostages.”
“I’m giving you the Goddess of Life’s authority.”
“Insurance. They’re insurance. Especially those two—you care too much about them.”
“S-Saint!! No, you can’t!!”
Mathieu shouted with all he had, but I shook my head.
“Valram. You’re right. I’m indecisive, stupid, and a coward. Even now, all I can think about is saving as many people as possible.”
“If you give it up, Cecilia and Priest Mathieu will be spared.”
“...Can you promise me that?”
“I promise.”
It was a lie.
I knew that.
Even so, I held out my right hand.
The white chains clinked faintly.
“Take it.”
I smiled pitifully.
No—
I tried my hardest to smile as pathetically as I could.
“The authority of the Goddess of Life is yours now.”
Valram, grinning like a child, took the chains from my hand.
And then—
[All skill usage disabled.]
[Skill authority is being transferred to another being.]
[Are you sure you want to transfer? YES / NO]
A red status window popped up before my eyes.
There was no hesitation.
I pressed YES.