Sachsen spoke with a smile, but the weight hidden within that smile felt heavier than ever before.
“Restoration, purification, and protective holy arts are easy to learn. Their purpose is entirely centered around healing and protecting the user. But Extermination of Evil is different. Because it combines countless offensive holy arts into one, its nature is extremely violent and dangerous. Even for someone like me, if I lower my guard, I can lose control of that power.”
“You make it sound as though Extermination of Evil is a sentient technique, like protective holy arts.”
“Sentience... yes, that’s correct. But that sort of will does not exist only within protective holy arts. Restoration and purification possess similar qualities as well. In the end, they all respond to the user’s intent. And in that sense, Extermination of Evil does not simply react because the target is demonic or evil.”
“Then what does it react to?”
“The moment the user recognizes the target as evil, Extermination of Evil begins rampaging like a furious beast that no longer cares about consequences so long as it destroys the enemy.”
“Ah?”
Suddenly, Ruinberg came to mind.
Paladins were beings who identified evil and executed judgment upon it.
At the same time, he remembered Roland as well.
At some point, the Paladins had lost sight of their original purpose, allowing the means to become greater than the end itself.
Perhaps Extermination of Evil was a monster born not only because of Sachsen’s request, but also because that atmosphere had spread throughout the Paladins.
Sachsen continued speaking.
“It is somewhat amusing that a holy art used by Paladins contains the word evil in its name... but that is precisely why Extermination of Evil is such a vicious holy art. Once activated and infused with the user’s will, it becomes extraordinarily difficult to stop.”
“And if someone still wanted to stop it?”
“They would have to accept damage return.”
Damage return.
It sounded absurd.
A sacred holy art possessing risk.
“You’d have to use it carefully.”
Sachsen laughed.
“As the saying goes, seeing once is worth hearing a hundred times. Would you like to experience it personally?”
“Myself?”
“All the holy arts you will learn possess similar qualities, but Extermination of Evil in particular is something I would recommend experiencing directly at least once.”
“If you insist that strongly, then understood.”
Once Su-ho nodded, Sachsen swung his greatsword.
[ You have temporarily received permission from Master Sachsen to use the holy art Extermination of Evil. ]
[ Extermination of Evil is now available for use. ]
Extermination of Evil.
Even the name itself sounded grandiose.
Su-ho summoned the Blood Sword into his grasp.
Watching him, Sachsen lifted his greatsword and said,
“If you wish to test a new technique, then naturally you require a suitable opponent as well.”
With those words, he swung his sword.
SHWAAAAK!
The empty air split apart, and from within the rift, a pitch-black hand forced its way through space.
What emerged from the tear in space was a completely black creature.
Its body burned with a dark radiance like smoldering flames, while its crimson eyes glowed ominously. It was impossible to even guess what kind of lifeform it was.
“A creature formed from demonic power and evil itself. There could be no better target for testing Extermination of Evil.”
“Is it real?”
“This is a place of trials. Nothing here is unreal.”
“Well, damn.”
Meaning he could actually die.
Then again, surely Sachsen would not hand him a test dummy he had no chance of killing.
“It is called a Malice Beast. I brought it here from its seal. You should remain on guard.”
He really should stay alert.
Looking into Sachsen’s eyes, it genuinely felt possible that he could die here.
Su-ho nodded and raised the Blood Sword.
He had no intention of using any other skills.
This was solely a test for Extermination of Evil.
Thinking that, he invoked the skill in his mind.
[ Extermination of Evil has been activated. ]
CRRRRZZZZT!
Because he had never seen Extermination of Evil before, Su-ho did not picture any specific form for it.
So he simply activated it the same way he would any ordinary skill.
At once, his sword erupted with blinding white light while violent sparks burst outward like raging electrical currents.
‘So this is Extermination of Evil...!’
Just from looking at it, it felt dangerous.
At that very moment, the creature Sachsen had called the Malice Beast reacted violently to Extermination of Evil and lunged straight toward Su-ho.
Su-ho reflexively swung his sword.
The instant he did, white electrical currents exploded from the trajectory of his slash and swallowed the Malice Beast whole.
CRRRRZZZZT!!
The sound resembled thousands of birds taking flight all at once.
The deafening roar startled him slightly.
But even more shocking than the sound was the fact that he had never consciously intended to unleash a slash. Extermination of Evil had burst forth on its own as though it possessed a will of its own and independently attacked the Malice Beast.
Struck by Extermination of Evil, the Malice Beast was violently blasted away and slammed into the ground, pinned there while the holy art continued mercilessly frying it.
It was a terrifying sight.
That overwhelming destructive power...
And that stubborn, obsessive desire to attack.
Su-ho watched the scene with his mouth slightly open.
His mana continued draining away.
Because Extermination of Evil, like a living entity, continued pulling mana from him on its own.
And then, after some time—
“Kieeek!”
The Malice Beast suddenly let out a dying scream before collapsing.
[ You have defeated the Malice Beast. ]
A brief notification.
At the same time, Extermination of Evil deactivated as well.
POP! POP! POP!
The crackling currents burst apart like overloaded circuits before scattering into the air and vanishing.
“......”
Silence filled the surroundings.
All that remained were the charred remains of the Malice Beast, the smell of burnt flesh, and stillness.
The destructive force had far exceeded his imagination, leaving Su-ho staring blankly.
‘This is Extermination of Evil?’
Now he understood why Sachsen recommended it.
If Su-ho himself had been forced to choose only a single holy art from the Paladins, he probably would have chosen Extermination of Evil as well.
‘If I could control it properly, I’d use nothing but this.’
Though honestly, it felt far too violent to use recklessly.
It seemed like something best used only when absolutely necessary.
No, it truly had to be used only when absolutely necessary.
Sachsen had said there would be risk involved if one drew upon Extermination of Evil but failed to carry it through to completion.
At that moment, as though reading Su-ho’s thoughts, Sachsen spoke.
“You seem troubled.”
“Ah... I was thinking about the issue of damage return.”
“Heh heh. I expected as much. In that sense, however, it is not impossible to eliminate the problem of damage return entirely.”
“There’s a way?”
“At least for me, it was never difficult. Because I was an avenger blinded by revenge.”
Su-ho immediately understood what he meant.
Because once Sachsen resolved to become an avenger, there came a point where his sword no longer possessed even the slightest hesitation once it was drawn.
Which meant that once he unleashed Extermination of Evil, he never sheathed it without cutting something down.
“It is a holy art created specifically for me. Therefore, there could be no regret in using it. At least, that was how I lived.”
“I understand exactly what you mean.”
“Then are you accepting my recommendation?”
After a brief moment of thought, Su-ho nodded.
“If Extermination of Evil is truly the greatest holy art of the Paladins, then naturally I should accept it. Though more than simply accepting {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} it, I’ll also need to train until I can control it properly.”
“A fine mindset. You will not regret my recommendation.”
“But I do have one question.”
“Hm?”
“You’ve been recommending the holy arts of each field for the sake of focus and efficiency, correct?”
“That’s right.”
“But there’s always the matter of hypotheticals.”
“Hypotheticals?”
“You are recommending the most efficient techniques, Master Sachsen. But theoretically speaking, if someone learned every technique contained within the Stones... or at least all the highest-tier skills in each category... wouldn’t that provide even greater versatility?”
At those words, Sachsen laughed.
“Based on everything I’ve explained so far, then yes, theoretically you would be correct.”
“So far?”
“The Crusader Stone still remains. And after I finish all my recommendations, I shall explain the true reason behind them.”
I see.
Apparently, even outside Korean, people’s words still needed to be heard to the very end.
Su-ho nodded awkwardly, and Sachsen continued.
“Then let me ask you this. Clerics are restoration, Monks are protection, Paladins are offense... so what are Crusaders?”
“Crusaders are...”
His eyes narrowed.
Recalling his experiences, he searched for the defining trait unique to Crusaders.
The answer came easily.
“Curses?”
“You are half correct and half mistaken. Strictly speaking, it is closer to weakening than curses.”
“Aren’t those basically the same thing?”
“Well, when you put it that way, I suppose I can’t argue. To be honest, even I don’t really know the difference. Of course, there are some people who foam at the mouth insisting they are completely different things... but from the perspective of an avenger, does that distinction really matter?”
“It doesn’t. As long as it’s useful.”
“Exactly. Which is why some people misunderstand. They say Crusaders are merely half-baked beings who can use a little bit of every class’s power. But as I’ve said before, the true power of Crusaders lies in weakening the enemy.”
“But why weakening of all things?”
“It evolved naturally. Since every class already possessed their own symbolic powers, the Crusaders carved out a territory that did not overlap with the others. It all began with the words of a certain Paladin. ‘Do I really need to become stronger? Wouldn’t it be enough if the enemy simply became weaker?’ That was the beginning.”
“That’s a strangely ironic way of thinking. It sounds more like the mindset of a dark mage.”
“There is a story behind that as well. As Your Holiness has personally experienced, Crusaders have long suffered disregard and discrimination from the priests of the other classes. Evil was punished by the Paladins, healing and relief were handled by the Clerics, and protection belonged to the Monks. So they constantly asked, ‘Then what reason is there for you Crusaders to even exist?’”
“So to establish their own identity, they evolved toward weakening opponents?”
“It would be more accurate to say they evolved in order to survive. Because, to put it bluntly, Crusaders lacked any true foundation of their own. They borrowed and shared holy arts from the other classes. But do you think those same people who mocked and discriminated against them were eager to teach them their signature holy arts?”
“That explains everything instantly. So what exactly are your recommendations?”
“This time, there are quite a few.”
“Quite a few?”
“How many do you think?”
Quite a few.
Up until now, the maximum had only been two.
After considering it briefly, Su-ho answered.
“I think there will be three.”
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