Chapter 347: Chapter 347

A familiar human form, enveloped in a sunset-colored aura.

His nemesis, the one he had clashed with several times, stood before him.

‘The Master of Heaven’s Turn Society.’

A sharp sense of danger jolted Harris, his mind screaming in alarm.

He hadn't expected him to appear so suddenly.

And so casually, without triggering any of the formations he had set up.

He leaped back, putting some distance between them, his hand tightening around his bow, his senses heightened.

As a spirit archer, Harris’s specialty was long-range sniping, utilizing his mobility and stealth.

Facing such a powerful opponent at close range…

‘Wait, what’s that…?’

As his thoughts raced,

He hesitated, unsure whether to retreat or call for reinforcements… and then his eyes narrowed.

His star-shaped pupils, hidden behind his helmet, flickered as he analyzed the situation, searching for clues he had missed in his initial surprise.

Just a few seconds had passed since his attack was blocked.

And then, he realized the source of his unease and muttered softly.

“…That surprised me.”

The figure before him, wreathed in light, still had the Master’s form.

But upon closer inspection, he could see it clearly.

It wasn’t the Master himself, but a projection, a fragment of his consciousness.

‘A false alarm. A kind of holy magic, using divine power.’

He had been too tense, anticipating the Master’s potential appearance.

But that didn’t mean the situation was any less dangerous.

After all, that projection had effortlessly blocked his attack.

“Oh, my Lord! Your humble servant greets you!”

[“It seems you’ve encountered a nuisance.”]

“I-I apologize! It’s my fault…!”

A deep, resonating voice, a heavy presence pressing down on the surroundings.

Scribe, ignoring Harris completely, knelt before the projection, her head bowed in reverence.

It was just a fragment of the Master’s consciousness, a projection…

[“I’m afraid this isn’t a good time. My divine power is weakened, and Earth’s interference is stronger than usual.”]

“I’m truly sorry, my Lord. This is also a trial for me. I shall overcome it and prove my worth!”

The Master’s projection, a humanoid figure made of holy power, turned its head and looked at Harris.

A suspicious figure in a strange outfit, surrounded by numerous spirits, its aura hostile.

‘…Did he recognize me?’

Harris gulped nervously, observing the situation.

It wouldn’t be strange for the Master to recognize him, considering his involvement in their previous battle in Auterica.

Even though he had only attacked from a distance, never meeting him face-to-face, someone of the Master’s level could probably identify him based on his aura alone.

[“Maintaining this projection is reaching its limit. I don’t have much time.”]

But contrary to his expectations, the Master didn’t react.

Perhaps he was simply hiding his recognition, or perhaps the projection had limitations…

He turned back to Scribe, who was still prostrating herself before him, and spoke solemnly.

[“Adeline, my apostle. I shall grant you my essence. Eliminate the one who obstructs my path and offer his body and soul as a sacrifice.”]

“Oh, thank you, my Lord!”

And then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the projection dissolved into light, merging with Scribe’s body.

Harris, knowledgeable in holy magic thanks to Heinrich, instantly understood what was happening.

Scribe was the Master’s apostle, a priestess who channeled his divine power.

It was a ritual only a select few high-ranking clerics could perform, and her holy power surged, amplified several times over.

“Oh! I can feel my Lord’s presence! How glorious! How divine!”

A powerful wave of energy rippled outwards, and the holy artifacts she wore, forged from divine power, glowed with an intense heat, like molten lava.

Her aura, vastly different from before, made Harris frown.

‘I knew it wouldn’t be easy. Phase two, huh?’

Her holy power, both in quantity and quality, had increased dramatically thanks to the ritual.

And that was just her holy power. Her overall combat ability, including her other skills and abilities, would be even greater.

Scribe, now divinely possessed, was a formidable opponent, even for Harris.

But—there was one crucial difference between games and reality…

…He wasn’t the type to wait for his opponent to finish their transformation.

Harris’s star-shaped pupils gleamed as 「Watcher of the Milky Way」 detected a vulnerability in the Divine Possession ritual.

Of course, it was a high-level ritual, protected by powerful divine power… but it couldn’t completely fool Harris, who was also knowledgeable in holy magic.

「World Tree’s Champion」, 「Assimilation with Nature」, 「Call of Nature」, 「Natural Body」, 「Fairy Magic」, 「Melody of Harmony」, and even 「Gentle Eight Trigrams Secret Art (Modified)」…

All of his abilities, combined with the power he had been subtly accumulating since the Master’s appearance, were unleashed simultaneously.

…Towards Scribe, who was still in the middle of her transformation.

As Harris shouted, a massive stone wall erupted from the ground.

Not just ordinary stone, but a solid, unbreakable rock imbued with the power of nature, summoned by Hectare, the Earth Spirit.

It rapidly grew in size, blocking Scribe’s path…

…But it shattered instantly as a massive hammer slammed into it.

It had only served as a momentary distraction.

‘She’s tougher than I thought. And the formation is restricting my movements.’

Harris clicked his tongue and frowned.

He continued to retreat, his fingers moving rapidly, nocking arrows onto his bow and firing them at Scribe, who was charging towards him like a tank, her body wreathed in a reddish-gold aura.

A bolt of lightning, descending from the sky, was blocked by her shield, and the flames that had engulfed her were pushed back by the force of her hammer swing.

The sharp wind blades only grazed the surface of her holy armor.

She was like a divine warrior, her body radiating a brilliant light, relentlessly pushing forward, overcoming all obstacles.

‘Tsk, it’s still manageable… compared to what I expected.’

It was all thanks to his surprise attack, launched during her Divine Possession ritual.

As expected, the ritual was protected by divine power… but it couldn't completely negate his full-powered attack.

It would have been perfect if it had ended there, but that would have been too much to ask for.

“How dare you! How dare you! I’ll kill you, infidel!”

Scribe, her face red with rage, her voice filled with fury, roared at him, abandoning all pretense of politeness.

Harris shook his head at her outburst.

“Why don’t you calm down a bit? It’s not good for your health…”

“You dare interrupt my sacred ritual! I’ll burn you alive and offer you as a sacrifice to my Lord!”

“Well, I thought you were confident enough to ignore me and proceed with your ritual in broad daylight. That’s a bit… reckless, don’t you think? If it’s that important, you should have chosen a more secure location…”

“Shut up! Shut up! I’ll rip out your tongue!”

He calmly pointed out the flaws in her logic, protesting her unfair treatment… but she wasn't listening.

Her eyes were bloodshot, her face contorted in a mask of rage.

Well, he had mostly been trying to provoke her anyway.

‘This isn’t good. This is taking too long. Even Divine Possession has a time limit…’

The problem was that he might run out of time before the ritual was complete.

Objectively, he was a terrorist who had attacked a high-ranking member of Pantheon.

He had already pushed it, staying here for so long.

‘I’ve concealed the traces with nature-based formations, but…’

It wouldn't last forever.

The formations would eventually collapse under the accumulated stress, or they would be discovered by the search teams.

It was only a matter of time before the US Guardians arrived.

‘…I can’t let that happen. I can’t miss this opportunity.’

This was different from Yulryeongja, who had been operating in the shadows, or the Duke and Doctor, whom he had lured into a trap.

Scribe was a public figure, a high-ranking member of Pantheon.

If she decided to play the victim card, he wouldn't be able to touch her without causing a public relations disaster and potentially fracturing the alliance he was trying to build.

“Oh, my Lord! Grant me the power to judge this infidel who obstructs your divine plan!”

And then, Scribe, having finally broken through his defenses, swung her massive hammer at him.

The restrictions on spirits had been weakened by 『Dimensional Barrier Weakening』, but it wasn’t enough to completely negate her amplified holy power.

Holy power was inherently superior to elemental energy.

But the massive warhammer, tearing through the air, didn’t hit its target.

Its trajectory, a wide arc, was subtly altered by Harris’s outstretched hand, its movement unnatural and fluid, as if guided by an invisible force.

The hammer struck the empty ground, creating a massive crater.

Harris, dodging the blast of holy power that erupted from the impact, frowned and retreated, massaging his wrist.

‘…That was heavy. Even after deflecting it with softness and fluidity…’

He had mostly been using 「Gentle Eight Trigrams Secret Art (Modified)」 to support his spirits and manipulate nature’s energy… but it was still a martial art.

And a high-level one at that, an S-rank technique, considered one of the best in Auterica.

It wasn’t difficult for him, who had experienced the essence of martial arts through Hugo’s 「Convergence of Ten Thousand Techniques」, to apply its principles.

‘It’s not very efficient, though.’

But the situation had only strengthened his resolve.

She was this powerful even with her abilities restricted.

If he let her go, she would definitely come back for revenge.

“You’re quite nimble. But how long can you keep running?”

Scribe, seemingly having calmed down, spoke, her voice regaining its composure.

Her tone was polite and measured, but her words were laced with a chilling threat.

“This barrier… it’s based on formations, isn’t it? I know it’s derived from Murim martial arts, but it’s strange to see a spirit summoner using it. It’s not common to see two such different magic systems combined…”

She frowned for a moment, as if pondering the question, then shook her head and chuckled softly.

As if it didn’t matter anymore.

“Anyway, it’s over. Even the most elaborate formations have their limits. It was surprisingly resilient, but it won’t last much longer.”

Harris’s expression hardened at her confident words.

She was right. The formation was weakening, cracks appearing on its surface from the accumulated stress.

He had immediately begun repairing it, but a broken defense was a broken defense.

“Ten minutes, at most. Pantheon and the Guardians will have completely sealed off the area by then. It’s a shame I can’t crush you with my own hands… but it’s just a matter of time.”

She smiled, her face radiant with holy power, her words chillingly casual.

She looked more like a demon’s minion than an apostle of God.

But Harris, unaffected by her threats, simply nodded slowly, observing the surroundings.

“It’s a bit tight, but… Hmm, that should be enough.”

Scribe’s face twisted in a grimace, her previous composure gone.

But then, she quickly regained her calm, a mocking smile playing on her lips.

Her eyes gleamed with a cold, arrogant light, as if she found him amusing.

But unfortunately for her,

He wasn't overconfident.

“Khahaha! It’s been a while! I’d like to savor this moment, but I’m afraid I don’t have time!”

“…Let’s not waste any time. Five minutes.”

…something he truly believed in.

A time-honored tradition, passed down through generations of heroes.