The entire cathedral was steeped in the atmosphere of a last stand—the final, desperate moment of life and death.
When Lan Qi, at the most critical instant, revealed two more orange epics as though toying with the Saintess of Destruction, the executioner, paladin, and male guardian—who had already prepared themselves for death—suddenly felt as though the sun itself had risen again. With furious roars, their fighting spirit blazed higher than ever!
Before Lan Qi—
“Ahhh…”
The Saintess of Destruction widened her eyes, horror filling her gaze. In her twin pupils, only the reflection of those deadly orange cards remained.
Orange epics were unimaginably powerful—but precisely because they could never be unbound once equipped, nor swapped to fit tactical needs, each one had to be chosen with utmost care. Each orange epic, each pink divine card, was the very core of a mage’s system.
Especially orange epics—unlike the pink divine, which at least had some slim chance of removal, orange epics were a lifetime binding, never to be undone.
Adelice, the Saintess of Destruction, could never have imagined that beyond the Great Love Poet, Lan Qi still possessed two unused orange epics!
Even without knowing their exact effects, she could already feel it: any card Lan Qi played would surely mean torment, humiliation, and pain without end.
And at that moment—The fear and rejection flooding Adelice’s heart suddenly outweighed even her humiliation and rage.
She would rather die than use her own body to test Lan Qi’s remaining cards—let alone his two ultimate epics!
When her burning fury was smothered by overwhelming terror, only a desperate will to survive remained.
Almost instinctively, she glanced toward the cathedral’s doors.
Her body trembled as she pushed herself up with her magic sword, legs still half-paralyzed, and staggered toward the exit.
“Cowardly wretch!!!”
With a furious bellow, the executioner’s axe carved a silver arc through the air, the paladin’s blade flared with holy radiance as he swung for her waist, and the male guardian lunged from the shadows, his dagger flashing like a viper striking at her ankles.
But—
Because she had chosen to flee rather than fight, they were still one step too late.
Scarlet flames burst from her body in expanding rings, her sword trailing a searing arc. The ground erupted outward in waves of crimson fire, blasting the three men back.
Adelice’s retreating figure became a streak of black lightning, streaking across the empty nave toward the doors.
Even though the three warriors pursued with all their might, she regained her monstrous speed, widening the gap. Wrapped in shadowy fire like a vengeful specter, she shot through the cathedral gates and vanished into the dark jungle.
Moments later, at the entrance—
“Damn it!”
“Stop. We can’t chase her.”
The three, standing breathless at the threshold, were utterly spent, their battle-will burned to ashes.
The guardian pulled the executioner and paladin back from pursuit.
If they chased into the forest, they’d almost certainly be slaughtered.
And if they left the cathedral unguarded, Adelice might circle back and massacre the unprotected rear.
Worse still, night was falling. Once darkness fell, there was no hope of catching her.
“If we don’t catch her now, we’ve lost our best chance!”
The executioner hammered his fist into the door, knuckles splitting, blood dripping down his clenched hand. His axe had long since slipped from his grasp, his voice raw with hatred and despair.
The paladin collapsed onto the cold stone floor, utterly drained, his face twisted into a bitter smile.
They had been so close.
And now the Saintess had escaped. When she returned to attack in the coming nights, the next four and a half days would be sleepless torment.
By day, hunting her in the jungle was suicide. That terrain favored her, and she could pick them off one by one.
Beneath the rose window’s light, the warriors stared at the empty cathedral doorway, their eyes full of grief and defeat. Even the bravest could not resist the wave of weakness and despair that washed over them.
Though the rear guards knew they had survived this night, letting the Saintess escape was nothing but poison in the cup—perhaps it would have been better to end it all here in a final battle.
“What if she comes back tonight?”
The clerics, the guardian’s younger sister, even Huperion who stood at Lan Qi’s back—all were anxious, turning their gaze toward him.
Now, only he could offer an answer.
And all the others were bewildered: why hadn’t he used those two orange epics?
“……”
Huperion’s face twisted with hesitation. She wanted to explain, but couldn’t find the words.
She knew well: those two third-tier epics were indeed powerful—but they would harm their own allies too.
In this kind of team fight, they were only useful as intimidation.
Had Lan Qi gone all-in, even if they’d subdued or killed Adelice, the executioner, paladin, and guardian would almost certainly have died.
He couldn’t bring himself to sacrifice comrades he now considered family.
So instead, he chose to frighten the Saintess away.
Even Huperion couldn’t decide if that was right or wrong.
But Lan Qi only smiled faintly, stretched lazily, and strolled toward the kitchen—as though the workday was done, and it was simply time for dinner.
His reaction left everyone speechless.
…
Meanwhile, deep in the dense forest—
Ancient trees towered skyward, their canopies blotting out the sunset, leaving only dim, shifting shadows. The wind whispered through the leaves, rustling like the breath of unseen spirits.
The Saintess of Destruction stumbled through the trees like a wounded beast, her hair matted red, her armored skirt snagging on branches, leaving a trail of blood across the black earth.
I’ll kill you…
I’ll kill you all!!!
Her expression twisted, muttering in madness, already thirsting for the moment she recovered—to slaughter every challenger who could only cower within stone walls at night.
But she failed to notice—
Just beyond, behind a tree—
A tall, broad-shouldered figure emerged in silence.
He carried a heavy crossbow, the stance of a hunter who had finally found his prey.
The shadows clung to his face, but in the darkness, his violet eyes glowed cold and clear.