1037. Embraced with love
The Armadon is a type of magical creature created by a cult, and its name, written in an ancient language, literally translates to “Armed Monster.” It is the creation of those who mastered magical research under the command of the Promiser of Abundance, and the basic design involved transforming the skin and muscles of monsters like trolls and ogres into a solid mass of iron. The final version
is completed by increasing its size and permanently inscribing a few spells onto it.
“A single Armadon is comparable to a knight.”
These were the words of the wizard and archbishop who oversaw the research. He was genuinely delighted. Hadn’t he effectively created new life?
Indeed, accepting the demon’s offer back then was a great decision.
Thanks to it, he now receives an endless supply of test subjects and can conduct the research and experiments he desired to his heart’s content.
The number of monsters and humans who perished easily exceeds three digits. In return, he acquired forty-one armed monsters called Armadons.
In the context of a knightly order, this amounts to possessing a calamity of over forty knights. If failure is the mother of success, this was the price for losing and abandoning his mother one after another.
* * *
“Bring in Armadon!”
The cultist shouted again. Audin turned his gaze with slow movements. In the midst of the commotion, he met the eyes of a child who had woken from sleep. The child was as large as an adult human male. It was a giant’s child.
Judging by his flushed face, he was wasting away with a fever. Still, being a giant’s child, he must be holding on with all his might.
“Where did this bastard come from?”
The atmosphere was chilly because of a swordsman whose head had been blown off. Everyone looked at Audin.
Meanwhile, Theresa approached the wooden prison cell with movements unbefitting her size—that is, by cutting off her presence and making no sound.
Audin stomped his feet without ever looking in that direction.
thud!
It felt as if the earth shook at the light stomp of a foot. The ground cracked in a spiderweb pattern around Audin, as if an earthquake had struck.
The angry paladin opened his mouth with his eyes half-closed.
I have no ability to judge those who are not human.
It is a prayer to the Lord Father who has ascended to heaven. It is also a confession about why I am acting this way now.
Judgment is not my part, but the Lord’s; my job is to bring you to seat you before the Lord.
In short, it meant they would kill everyone. Since the cultists were a group that served a god in their own way, they readily understood those words.
He’s a madman. Kill him.
The Holy Land of the Demonic Realm, also known as the Adventist Church. Their goal was the demonization of the entire continent, and it is a religion with a clear hierarchical structure ranging from believers to the Pope.
However, they are merely a group that serves the Lord of the Demonic Realm, not a true God.
In Audin’s eyes, they are a group of false prophets, swindlers, and heretics.
While working as an Inquisitor, he had caught many of these bastards, but he could not eradicate them completely.
If asked why, he would say it was because of the crazy demon bastards who ultimately tempt, embrace, and cherish them.
Most of those present here were of priestly rank or higher. In fact, there were more bishops than priests.
It was only natural, as one would not be mobilized for the rituals taking place within the Demonic Realm unless they were highly recognized.
Consequently, there were several among them who could cast spells.
“Warrior’s Arm!”
“Huarin’s dog!”
With a few simple incantations, black arms and black dogs charged forward. Standing in place, Audin struck his fists with short, sharp strokes at a speed invisible to their eyes.
Thump, thump, thump—light in movement but heavy in sound—with a few punches, the approaching creatures burst and scattered in the air.
Against a backdrop of pitch-black dust, Audin’s eyes shone with a brilliant golden light. The light emanating from his eyes soon spread throughout his entire body.
The surroundings were bathed in light, as if dawn had broken within the demonic realm.
Stall for time.
Two cardinals remained leading the Magyeong Holy Church, and both saw the golden light that Audin was now showing off. One of them formed a hand seal, muttered, and chanted a spell.
“The chain of boils of the Gulag.”
A circle of blood and pus formed behind the back of the man who had cast the spell, and from within it emerged a chain of red, nauseating boils.
That chain also targeted Teresa, who was approaching from the side with Audin.
“Where.”
The Cardinal muttered. ”
The chain of boils bursts if touched or disturbed, spreading deadly toxins throughout the body. Just try laying a hand to stop it.”
The Cardinal glared at Audin, harboring such venom. To Audin’s eyes, the approaching chain seemed slow. That was how it felt. He pulled his fist back and extended it forward.
It was a silent punch. No, it was a punch that devoured sound.
ridge-
With the sound of air bursting, the approaching chain of boils burst upon meeting a golden lump.
Dum-du-du-dum!
As the air burst, this time not only the ground but the atmosphere itself trembled. With a crashing sound, the upper body of the Cardinal standing in front vanished.
Some of the internal organs remaining above the waist dripped down, and the creature, left with only its lower body, knelt on the ground.
In the meantime, the horde of Armadons the cultists had been eagerly waiting for arrived. There were twelve of them at first.
The remaining Cardinal was a man of sufficient ability to be called an Apostle; he was a man who had mastered spells to brainwash and control monsters.
Kill him. Wrap around him and pounce on him in one swift blow.
Following his will, twelve Armadons swarmed around Audin. Then, a bizarre scene unfolded before his eyes.
The one that had clearly been in the center slipped aside, yet not a single one of the Armadons—led by a troll and an ogre—could chase it.
Having slipped to the side, Audin grabbed one by the shoulder, pulled it closer, and punched it.
Poop.
The troll Armadon, struck on the head, staggered backward.
What power.
Even so, you will not be able to kill Armadon with a single blow. Hasn’t that already been proven?
The raider, the paladin with golden sand flowing from his entire body, looked at his fist once and then looked back at Armadon.
You’re tough, you little monster.
Calling a monster “brother” is a luxury. Especially since it is not even certain whether they are sisters or brothers.
Of course, even if the gender were known, a monster would still be treated as befitting a monster.
“How dare these bastards chase us all the way to the Demon Realm? That is the very Armadon, the battle escort of our religion!”
In reality, it was a military force built for war preparedness, but isn’t it easy to just make up a story?
The Cardinal shouted, veins bulging in his forehead, and Audin kicked a stone caught at his toes.
With a loud bang, the stone flew and shattered the bastard’s head. It was a futile death.
Basically, the majority of the Holy Land believers filling this seat were spellcasters. That is why Audin’s physical power was a nightmare to them.
Next to the Troll Armadon, who had endured a punch to the head just moments ago, an Ogre-shaped Armadon lunged. It had horns on its head, and it swung them like swords.
Its fighting style was peculiar. Audin spread the edge of his left hand to block the horns, and in the meantime, when the Ogre raised its knee, he spread his right hand to deflect it.
By blocking like this, the Ogre’s two hands were effectively spared. The muscles in its arms swelled abnormally.
Thanks to the engraved spells, pitch-black soot rose from its arms. The soot intensified, turning into black flames, and the ogre crossed its flaming fists toward the human standing before it.
Had it taken that direct hit, would even Audin have been unharmed?
Whatever the case, Audin dodged. He leaped backward. Although there had clearly been no opening while blocking with his knees and horns, his movement was light, as if he had stepped back after playing a game.
And where he stepped back, the body of the monster known as an Armadon, which originated from the ogre, was split vertically.
With a loud crack, golden flames blazed between the split parts of the creature’s body, burning its flesh.
It tumbled forward. The crash was deafening. Acrid smoke rose over the dead Armadon before ceasing.
I embraced you with love.
Audin spoke in a muttered tone, but to the nearby believers, it sounded like the utterance of a true lunatic.
What love? It was as if someone even crazier than themselves had arrived.
Well, Audin had simply spoken with sincerity. The name of the gauntlet on his left hand was Love, and he had just ended the life of a pitiful monster and sent it up to the gods of the heavens.
Come on, come on. I will give you heavenly joy instead of a sorrowful life.
Creatures driven solely by combat instinct charged forward. From trolls with blue skin and protruding fangs to two-headed ogres, and even bull-headed monsters with axe blades instead of hands between their heads.
Audin dodged, struck, slashed, cut, pushed, and slammed them.
Theresa, seizing the opportunity, joined in to match his rhythm.
“There are many.”
“Yes, I see.”
Their conversation was concise, and their fight was even more so.
Eventually, even a Manticore approached and attacked, but Audin was a man who once beat a Manticore to death atop the castle walls. Moreover, his skill level was clearly different now compared to then.
If the enemy had become an Armadon, Audin had become a Mad Knight.
“love!”
With a shout, Audin spun his body on his right foot and extended his left hand. The straight punch shattered the head of the modified monster, the Manticore-shaped Armadon, in a single blow.
He hadn’t been able to kill it the first time because he didn’t know how tough it was, but that wasn’t the case now.
Right beside him, Theresa snagged the Manticore’s neck under her armpit and snapped it open.
Crunch.
Judging by the tearing force, one could clearly see why she was a giant hybrid.
Meanwhile, the Apostle of the Holy Land Cult, who had created the Armadons, approached leading all the remaining Armadons.
A troll, implicitly made a Colony Leader-class figure to lead them, stood at the front.
He was three times larger than Audin. His body was larger than that of a giant. His movements were not slow, either. He bent over, pushed off the ground, and extended his leg. He looked slow because of his massive size, but he was not.
With a thud as the ground burst, he had swung his tree-like leg at Theresa before anyone realized it.
“bout.”
Teresa let out a battle cry she hadn’t even let out when fighting Armandon, and brought her hands together to strike the guy’s foot.
bang!
Teresa’s body flew backward just like that. A cloud of dust rose above her as she hit the ground with a thud. Unlike the damp air, the ground was rough-feeling soil.
One for now.
The Apostle spoke with his hands behind his back, and Audin nonchalantly faced the leader and two Armadons charging from either side—heads resembling catfish and bodies as fat as pigs.
The creatures running left and right suddenly stuck out their tongues.
Their tongues extended and snatched Audin’s arm. He had been caught while reflexively blocking.
The Troll then extended its right leg backward toward Audin’s body and kicked him. The pressure pushing the air first filled the front of Audin.
Then, as the creature’s foot touched Audin’s body, golden sand clumped together to form a shape.
bang!
With a deafening roar, a mixture of golden light and black soot spread from the point where the two had collided. And Audin was not blown away.
A youthful golden light formed the shape of armor all over his body—it was the Holy Light Armor. He absorbed the impact by slightly twisting his waist.
He endured the remaining shock by tensing his abdominal muscles. The troll pulled back the foot that had kicked Audin in the abdomen. It was a movement based entirely on instinct.
Oh, love and mercy.
Audin muttered as he pulled his arm. Two monsters resembling catfish flew toward him. Audin extended his pulled arm, snatched the heads of the two creatures, and crushed them with a tight grip. It was as if he were smashing an apple.
Thump, thump.
With a noise noticeably quieter than before, the skull shattered, and black blood splattered in all directions.
Blood splattered onto Audin’s face and body as well, but it soon vaporized and vanished in the light emitted by the Holy Glory Armor.
“Bring it on, everyone!”
The apostle and the person in charge of this place shouted. All the children imprisoned in the wooden prison watched.
* * *
When Jordan opened his eyes, he realized that someone had kidnapped him.
He woke up. Put him to sleep.
She had heard such words countless times.
Since a giant’s body was born resistant to spells and medicine, she was given even stronger medicine. Yet, she regained consciousness time and time again, only to be forcibly put back to sleep each time.
When she finally woke up, she found herself inside the Mirror of Death. She struggled to breathe and had a fever. Naturally, she had survived only because those cultists had taken precautions to prevent her from dying; otherwise, the surroundings would have been full of people whose bodies would have already withered away in the air of the Mirror of Death.
Jornamund was, at least, somewhat better off. She was a giant, a species with innate strength, stamina, and resistances that were different from others.
‘hijacking.’
Lately, there have been a lot of lunatics raiding the village, and I was caught by them.
In the end, the entire village was engulfed in flames. I had seen that.
‘mom.’
Just because someone is a giant does not mean they are an adult. Jornamund was terrified and endured, sobbing.
He had seen children of other races dying, seen monsters, and seen groups of intelligent people no different from them.
‘scared.’
Stained by pitch-black emotions such as fear, sadness, anguish, and despair, she was discussing giving up when she came to her senses again and saw.
‘giant.’
It was a sight of someone single-handedly defeating all the monsters. The person was clad in golden light, and to her eyes, he was a hero of the Giants.
Jornamund recalled the myth of the Giants.
A warrior obsessed with battle, he was called the Hero Clothed in Light and Wrath because, when his Fury developed, he emitted light from his entire body.
Lucirator, a title given to a hero revered by the Giants.
“Lucirator, you’ve come to save me.”
While the feverish giant child muttered, all the monsters that had been a source of fear, despair, sorrow, and torment to her fell to the ground.
It happened because of her unrestrained punches. As she did so, the hero shouted.
I send you to the Lord’s side in a single blow; judgment is yours to bear. O Lord!
It was difficult for a young child to understand, so she simply cheered.
