Whiiish—!

The sharp sound of air being sliced hit my ears just as I dodged.

Where I had stood moments ago, something razor-sharp swept past like a blade—a claw transformed by the monster’s skill.

Shhhrkk—

The claw, missing its intended target, struck a nearby stone pillar instead. The poor pillar was neatly sliced in two, its surface smooth as though cut by precision machinery. The sheer cutting power was frightening.

If that thing had hit me, death wouldn’t just be instant—there wouldn’t be much of a body left to bury.

I took a cautious step back, reassessing the situation.

What the hell was that? Are their heads made of steel or something?

Looking closer, I noticed an ominous dark-blue aura wrapped around the monsters' heads.

I wasn’t entirely sure, but it seemed their magic had reinforced their skin and bones. Much like how divine power can strengthen a weapon, magic seemed capable of enhancing physical materials as well. But—

…Can it strengthen a living body like this?

I’d never heard of magic being used this way. And judging by the intensity, this reinforcement seemed significantly stronger than the enhancement of weapons—even stronger than my own mace, imbued with divine power.

Despite my momentary hesitation, the monster let out a disconcerting laugh.

"Oh, that was close. Almost got you there."

"Your heads are tough. What are you, the famous blockheads?"

"Blockheads? Don’t be ridiculous. You know it’s way tougher than that."

The monster smirked, pointing at my wrist, which still tingled from the earlier shock.

"You’re strong, no denying that. But we haven’t just been sitting idly by, waiting for the years to pass."

“…”

"We’ve developed our own ways to defend ourselves. What you saw? Just one of them."

Raising my mace, I aimed it squarely at them again.

"And you talk way too much," I shot back, provoking them.

But the monsters merely laughed, as if my words were some kinds of amusing joke.

Unfortunately, I didn’t share their sense of humor.

They’re not bluffing. Their defenses are way too strong. At this rate, my weapon might break first…

The tingling shock from earlier hadn’t fully subsided, leaving my arm feeling numb. Even with my overlapping buffs and item effects, the situation wasn’t looking good. If my skills wore off mid-fight, I’d be done for.

The only good news? Their technique didn’t seem sustainable either.

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Both divine power and magic were just raw materials to fuel skills. Using that energy for direct reinforcement instead of for actual skills was terribly inefficient.

Meaning they’ll run out of juice soon.

I decided to exploit that weakness.

With a burst of speed, I leapt to the second floor. The wide-open hall stretched all the way to the third-floor ceiling, so stairs weren’t necessary.

From there, I entered their blind spot and sprinted. Timing my descent perfectly, I jumped and landed behind one of the monsters.

"Huh?"

The moment it realized I was behind it, the monster redirected its magic, enveloping its back in a protective aura.

I swung my mace down.

This time, I held back my strength deliberately.

Clang!

The blow sounded like striking metal, but I didn’t care. I kept swinging, aiming not to deal damage, but to force them to move their defenses.

Neck, shoulders, wings—I spread my attacks across as many points as possible.

My goal was simple: exhaust their magic.

Finally—

Thud!

Instead of the metallic clang, the sound of flesh and muscle being struck rang out.

The monster flinched, its aura faltering. Its magic reserves were running dry.

"Damn… couldn’t block that one. Time to hurry things up."

Its tone shifted slightly, as did its demeanor.

With a snarl, it lashed out, claws slashing toward me.

Swish! Shhrkk—!

Despite its massive size—easily as large as an elephant—it moved with the agility of a mouse.

I couldn’t dodge in time. Its claw raked across my thigh, tearing through fabric and flesh alike.

“…Gah!”

Blood spurted from the gash, staining the ground. Even dulled by buffs, the pain burned fiercely.

Instinctively, I stumbled back and pulled out a healing potion.

Don’t lose sight of them—move fast!

Biting the cork off, I poured the potion onto the wound. My hands worked with practiced precision; I’d performed this same action thousands of times before.

The high-quality potion worked immediately, numbing the pain and knitting the torn flesh.

"What are you, a soldier? Rolling around in battlefields instead of praying? That’s no priestly behavior."

The monster clicked its tongue, clearly annoyed at how quickly I patched myself up.

Still, its irritation was a small comfort—it meant they were starting to tire.

"Why fight this hard? It’s pointless. Just give up and make it easy on yourself. Come here, and we’ll end this."

I laughed bitterly. "If you spent less time flapping your jaws and more time training, you wouldn’t be struggling like this against someone younger than you."

The creature’s expression darkened, its glowing red eyes narrowing.

The air grew heavy with a chilling malice.

"Enough games. Time to end this, little priest."

Unfolding its eight wings, the monster assumed a familiar stance, and my stomach churned.

No way…!

It was a stance I’d seen before—one monsters took before unleashing an S-rank skill.

Instinctively, I summoned Nerblocka’s Shield from my inventory, dove beneath the staircase, and prepared for the onslaught.

Above me, the monster released its devastating attack: "Raining Judgment (S)."

Like a storm of bullets, piercing strikes rained down relentlessly.

Shards of stone flew as the ground disintegrated. The once-pristine marble floor turned to dust, and the staircase above me crumbled away.

I crouched low, pouring divine energy into the shield to maintain its protective barrier. Each strike chipped away at the shield’s integrity, forcing it to draw more from my reserves.

Hold on… just a little longer…!

Blood trickled from my mouth as the strain took its toll, but I couldn’t let go. If the barrier failed, I was as good as dead.

Finally, the storm ceased.

"What? Still alive?"

The monster landed, incredulous.

I straightened slowly, popping a potion to recover. The look on its face as I stood made me almost laugh—almost.

"Well… I guess you really are the ‘favored’ apostle of your god."

“...What are you talking about?”

The monster tilted its head, then smirked.

"Don’t play dumb. You know you’re not just any apostle. You’re special—unusually so. Surely you’ve noticed?"

“What?”

It leaned closer, its voice low.

"If you weren’t special, you’d already be dead. You don’t think surviving that storm was pure luck, do you? Someone’s clearly pulling strings for you, giving you divine favoritism."

For a moment, its words stunned me. Then I frowned.

Favored? By whom?

I needed answers—but I wasn’t about to trust this creature to give them willingly.

“Enough riddles. Talk.”

The creature’s grin widened as if it held a secret I wasn’t ready for.

And I had a sinking feeling that I wouldn’t like what came next.