Her gaze was like that of a majestic raptor eyeing its prey.
Her bold and beautiful face exuded an almost intimidating aura.
Without any difficulty, she took in the sight of the bandits below, and with a burst of momentum, she began her descent toward the Holy Knight squad.
Leonard was not originally a Holy Knight.
He was a genius who had honed his magic, a Holy Mage.
A Holy Mage is a title given to those who have mastered both divine magic and elemental magic, a title that is accepted.
One who can understand the laws of this world, that is what a Holy Mage is.
However, Leonard served as a knight, wielding a holy sword in several operations.
Hiding his identity as a Holy Mage, he gained a higher reputation as the leader of the Holy Knights.
Eventually, he even attained the position of deputy commander of the Holy Knight Corps.
This was solely due to his skills.
Beautiful sword techniques. If Alno uses a powerful sword, Leonard uses a flexible one.
Their skills are evenly matched, but Alno has a slight edge. Most importantly, Alno's tenacity in battle is his specialty.
The evaluation of the strongest Holy Knight was based on this tenacity.
However, Leonard, as a mage, possessed a genius-level talent. That was his original combat style.
Although his sword skills were inferior to Alno's, his original combat style as a Holy Mage would never be outmatched.
No, not only would he not be outmatched, but Leonard believed he would surpass them with his power.
However, for a Holy Knight, the skill in 'Elemental Magic' is not part of the evaluation.
Among them, there are those who can fuse with their elemental spirits and cast high-level spells directly from their swords.
Still, true power lies in honing divine attacks, Leonard thought.
And the refined sword techniques eventually ascended to a holy peak, gaining the power to cut down any opponent.
This was his ideal, having received direct help from a "Hero" in his youth.
The Hero was strong.
Simply put, he was strong.
With a single swing of his sword, he could eliminate a horde of monsters.
Even demons several times larger than humans would fall with a single strike.
The hidden village where he lived, enveloped in despair, was saved by the Hero's visit.
From that day on, Leonard was captivated by the charm of the sword.
While honing his magic, he would recall the Hero's sword techniques and practice every day.
Having quickly reached the pinnacle of magic, he left the hidden village and headed for the Kingdom of Ingria.
There, he learned divine magic and gained the opportunity to move to the Holy Papal State of Ruberios.
Mastering divine magic to a certain level was necessary for an outsider to gain permission to move to the Holy Papal State of Ruberios.
As a result, he achieved a high level of divine magic and became a Holy Knight apprentice.
Next, the essential contract with a spirit for a Holy Knight, but the spirits he could contract with were "Light" and "Darkness."
Leonard, with a nonchalant expression, reported that he had successfully contracted with the spirit of Light. He had no interest in attributes like darkness, which seemed far removed from the Hero.
Thus, the Holy Knight of Light, Leonard, was born.
That nightmare-like existence fell from the sky.
The ground was lightly gouged, and dust flew around.
Leonard, without any anxiety, had already taken action and was giving orders to his squad.
They surrounded the target in a square formation, with two people on each side.
They were to deploy a temporary Holy Field.
He judged that it would be better to finish quickly and carry out Hinata's orders.
The presence he could sense was abnormally high, possibly even higher than an A-rank monster, suggesting a higher-level being.
Perhaps it was one of the higher beings in the monster kingdom, or even the Demon King himself, launching a surprise attack.
He had noticed that there were monsters in the area that could trigger his detection magic.
The other Holy Knights seemed unaware, but the flow of magic in this area was abnormal, with the concentration of mana reaching an unusual level.
The enemy in front of him was one of them.
Complacency could cost him his life. It would be better to dispose of the enemy quickly.
"Activate the Holy Field on the target!"
He thought there was no need to confirm the target and issued the order.
The Holy Knights immediately responded, deploying the holy barrier.
The activation of the barrier was perfect, and breaking it from the inside would be impossible.
However, it was not entirely flawless. After all, it was a temporary barrier.
The range was narrow, and there was doubt about whether it could block all attacks from the inside.
It was a square with sides of about 20 meters, but if the enemy cast a high-level spell before the mana in the barrier was completely purified, it could be broken.
The original barrier had a wide range for this reason.
Most importantly, in terms of blocking the passage of mana, it performed equally well, so there was no room for complaint in this case.
Leonard, without any complacency, instructed his two partners to deploy a defensive barrier.
It was impossible to kill the enemy within the purification barrier.
Attacking from outside the barrier was possible, but only after confirming the target.
If the enemy had a reflective property, attacking recklessly could expand the damage. Such a mistake could not be made.
As the smoke cleared, a single monster stood there.
A tall woman with a slender, lithe body and long, black hair that glowed purple.
Her long hair flowed gracefully down her back, and she had a beautiful face. However, she had two horns on her forehead.
Her white skin was visible through the kimono she wore.
Her appearance, clad in black armor, was striking.
She directed her purple eyes at Leonard and spoke.
"My name is Sion. I am the top subordinate of Rimuru-sama.
Now, you all. My lord has said this:
'Will you submit or die?'
I believe a wise person would understand the meaning.
Quickly lay down your weapons and submit to me!"
She emphasized the "top" part proudly and declared it.
Leonard observed the enemy, assessing the skills of the monster she claimed to be.
Clearly, she was different. He judged her to be an Oni.
An Oni is a powerful individual among Ogres who has evolved over a long period.
Some Oni possess high-level abilities, capable of manipulating the elements to a degree known as "miraculous powers."
A named monster with the power of an Oni.
At this point, she could be considered a level of existence akin to a land deity.
However, the only god recognized by the Holy Papal State of Ruberios is the one and only god, Luminas.
The Hero, blessed with a kiss of divine favor, was believed to be a child chosen by the Holy Spirit.
Recognizing a land deity or a local guardian deity was absolutely impossible.
"Shut up! Evil monster. I will erase your filthy existence from this world!"
Leonard shouted and ordered the Holy Knights to fire their holy energy blasts.
If the target were of a holy attribute, the attack would be completely ineffective, but for a monster, it was impossible to nullify.
Unlike the natural elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, the attributes of light and darkness could not be nullified.
Except for celestial beings with a holy attribute, it was impossible to block the holy energy blasts.
Following Leonard's command, the Holy Knights launched their attacks.
Holy energy blasts rained down from all sides, enveloping Sion.
"Is that your answer? To kill me?"
She asked, as if wondering why they weren't listening to her.
While asking the question, she blocked all the energy blasts with a large sword that had appeared in her hand.
However, such a threat would not make him falter.
No matter how powerful a land deity-class monster, she was already trapped in the Holy Purification Barrier.
On their side, they would maintain the barrier while weakening the enemy to finish the job.
However, Leonard was impressed that even after being weakened, her sword skills were on par with his, a master-class swordsman.
The sword, which did not break even after receiving several holy energy blasts, was indeed strange.
At that moment, one of the Holy Knights groaned.
It seemed that the Holy Knight responsible for one corner and its attack had been hit by a reflected holy energy blast.
Receiving the holy energy with his sword and encasing it, he had redirected it as an attack.
This was impossible.
It was a high-level technique, a divine skill that could only be achieved with perfect timing.
Leonard, taken aback, ordered the attack to stop.
The Holy Knight who had been hit was shaken by the surprise attack but did not seem to have any serious injuries.
However, the unexpected ability to reflect holy energy attacks from within the Holy Purification Barrier surprised the Holy Knights.
They could not hide their shock.
Leonard, swallowing his shock, clicked his tongue and began to think of the next strategy.
Sion, on the other hand, was frustrated that her attacks were not bouncing back as intended.
Originally, she could attack from the outside but not from the inside.
This barrier allowed the passage of holy attributes but blocked other forms of attack.
Her recent experiment revealed that even "teleportation" was sealed.
Sion's frustration had reached its limit. She had a low tolerance for patience but was determined to hold back.
It was only a matter of time before she lost control.
"Hey... Hey, you all, if you come under me now, I won't kill you. How about it?
I might even treat you to my special dish. What do you think? It's a great offer. This is your final warning. What will you do?"
She held back her anger, forcing a smile as she asked.
Her tone was condescending, as if she didn't care about the Holy Knights, but she was genuinely serious.
However, the Holy Knights, of course, did not understand her intentions...
"One of you! You're trapped in the barrier, so don't act so arrogant!"
One of the Holy Knights replied.
The Holy Purification Barrier definitely weakened the trapped monster.
The reason was simple: it purified and eliminated the mana within the barrier.
As a mass of mana, the monster needed to use its abilities to maintain its existence, leaving it with only about 1/10 of its original power.
The lack of mana also meant that it could not use magic, elemental techniques, miraculous powers, or any special abilities that bypassed the laws of nature.
Even if it could activate them, the barrier would block the passage of mana, preventing any attacks from passing through.
Attacks from inside the barrier were almost completely blocked. The Holy Knights firmly believed in their superiority.
However...
While the barrier blocked the passage of mana, it allowed pure physical energy to pass through.
Leonard and his team, aware of this, were on high alert.
For example, if an explosion occurred inside the barrier, the shockwave and debris would pass through and hit the Holy Knights.
Therefore, they had thoroughly set up a physical defense barrier. It was natural to prepare for specific types of attacks.
Still, even with these precautions, Leonard felt uneasy.
Looking at Sion, the Oni, he saw her picking up a fist-sized rock from the ground.
He immediately knew what she was planning.
The Holy Knights, especially those in the front, were on guard, ready for the attack.
A loud noise echoed, and a small explosion occurred inside the barrier, hitting the Holy Knight in front.
Sion had thrown the rock with great force, and it collided with the physical barrier the Holy Knight had set up, causing it to explode.
The impact was tremendous.
Even with her abilities limited and weakened, she could still do this.