Immortal Paladin

038 Fallen Angel

"Vanquished? Me?" Lu Gao—no, the thing that had once been Lu Gao—scoffed. His voice carried a deep, guttural reverberation, layered as though multiple beings spoke in unison. "You are quite arrogant despite being this far from home."

Home? No, I had a feeling we weren’t talking about the same place.

I activated Holy Wrath.

The arena floor beneath me shimmered as a circle of blue and gold radiance flared to life. Ethereal feathers—burning, divine—rose from the ground in a slow, mesmerizing ascent. My armor resonated with the skill, pulsing with sacred light.

PvP mode. A mindset that I would always enter through when inside the arena.

The moment my skill went active, my mind shifted to combat analysis. The world around me slowed—not literally, but in that hyper-aware way, where every detail sharpened into clarity.

First, the wings. Black feathers, not leathery like a standard demon’s. A fallen angel, then. That explained a few things.

Second, the skin. Red, which was unusual for a fallen angel. But this could be a skill effect—maybe an augmentation rather than a natural trait. Berserk? Unlikely. A passive? Probably.

Third, the horns. A pair of them. That put him at ranked demon status. At least Level 100. But since he was a fallen angel, that put him above Level 150.

Now came the biggest problem.

This guy had a Second Realm cultivation. Which meant his actual power level exceeded Level 150 by a wide margin.

Then there was flight.

In Lost Legends Online, flight was represented as heightened movement speed and evasion. Hitboxes became smaller, making aerial opponents naturally harder to hit. But this wasn’t a game. He wasn’t bound by old LLO mechanics. Real-world flight meant real-world maneuverability. I’d have to keep that in mind.

I had only two spell slots left after Judgment Severance. Two ultimates I could throw out. I could burst him down now.

But was it worth it?

This guy survived a beheading.

And in game terms, I wasn't really big on DPS if it came to it.

I flicked my gaze toward the audience. The crowd was murmuring, stunned, uncertain. The Elders, the disciples—some had already drawn their weapons, but none of them understood the scale of what was happening yet.

And this so-called fallen angel? He remained aloft, his demonic feathered wings beating lazily, watching me with a smirk.

"Which God do you serve?" he asked. "You're probably not from the Lost faction, since you are so far away from home."

That phrasing again. Home. Lost faction.

He thought I was one of them.

Did it have a connection?

Lost Legends Online.

Maybe I should play into it. Misunderstandings could be useful.

He continued, "Or perhaps you are a local? But I cannot even see through your strength… Probably one of the bizarre techniques of this realm. Maybe you found a Legacy somehow in this world?"

Good. He had no idea what he was dealing with.

I tightened my grip on my sword. "My name is Da Wei, demon. How about you introduce yourself?"

The fallen angel’s smirk widened. He placed a clawed hand over his chest and inclined his head slightly. "I am Brukhelm."

Brukhelm?

Never heard of him.

A nobody, then.

That calmed me down a bit.

Long Xieren’s voice boomed across the arena. “To think a person from the prestigious Lu Clan would practice demonic techniques. This Long Xieren shall punish you!”

The Sword Canopy Sect cultivator brandished his weapon, his aura surging. He swung his sword, and in a single motion, dozens of ethereal blades manifested, forming a deadly storm aimed at Brukhelm.

He never got the chance to finish his attack.

Brukhelm disappeared from the sky. The next instant, a sickening crunch echoed through the arena. The demon’s boot was planted on Long Xieren’s face.

Stomped.

Crushed.

Blood splattered in every direction.

Long Xieren had been reduced to a broken heap in less than a second.

I didn’t even see what happened.

There was no doubt in my mind—Brukhelm had used a skill. A fast one. Too fast for normal human reaction time. Even high-speed combat in Lost Legends Online rarely reached this level of instant death.

Numbers wouldn’t work against him. Overwhelming him with attacks was pointless if he could delete people from existence before they could react.

I raised my sword and pointed it at Brukhelm.

Compel Duel.

A radiant halo appeared above my head—another forming above Brukhelm.

Normally, this skill forced PvP on fellow players in Lost Legends Online. It wasn’t designed for PvE since it wasn't really a good skill to control aggro, meaning monsters could still choose to attack others.

I felt Brukhelm’s killing intent shift entirely onto me. His demonic gaze locked onto mine, ignoring everyone else.

This meant two things:

One—He wouldn’t target any bystanders. That alone was a win.

Two—If he attacked anyone else, he’d suffer a severe stat penalty (an effect of Compel Duel).

I’d love for the others to contribute from a distance. Not that it mattered. The others wouldn’t be able to contribute anything meaningful. They would only be a hindrance. If someone interrupted or joined the fight, Compel Duel would be dispelled. Moreover, this was a demon I was fighting about and they had lots of tricks.

Brukhelm narrowed his eyes, a flicker of curiosity in his expression. “So, are you done with your preparations?”

Idiot.

I wasn’t finished yet.

Blessed Weapon.

My blade ignited with divine radiance, golden light coiling around its edges. Sacred energy thrummed within the steel, anointed to cut through unholy creatures.

Designate Holy Enemy.

A reversed red cross appeared above Brukhelm’s head, marking him as a sworn adversary of divine power. His resistances against my attacks just dropped significantly.

Brukhelm scoffed, taking a casual step forward. “Interesting. You fight with methods I have not seen before.”

This guy recognized me as a Paladin, but not my skills.

Why?

I vanished.

Flash Step.

Reappearing right in front of his face, I activated another skill.

Stagger.

The simplest of PvP techniques. By stepping into an enemy’s immediate personal space at the right angle, their reflexes would momentarily falter. A mere 0.8 seconds of hesitation—more than enough.

Brukhelm’s wings twitched in surprise.

I followed up immediately.

Thunderous Smite.

Divine power crackled into my blade, laced with roaring lightning. The moment my sword connected against his hurried parry, the raw force surged through his body. My attack speed surged—I pressed forward, pouring strength into the swing.

Divine Smite.

Brukhelm tried to retreat. Tried to evade. Too late.

The moment of hesitation cost him.

My sword still connected.

A shockwave of divine energy exploded on impact. Brukhelm’s form blurred as he was launched backward, crashing into the manor of the City Governor. The entire front of the building collapsed in a storm of stone and debris.

The arena fell silent.

I tightened my grip on my sword.

I had a feeling he wasn’t dead yet.

I glanced at Long Xieren’s corpse. His body was mangled beyond recognition, crushed under Brukhelm’s heel like a mere insect.

Even a Phoenix Feather wouldn’t work on him.

Something like a game mechanic—if you were killed by someone at least a hundred levels higher than you, you’d be inflicted with a special penalty. Certain resurrection items wouldn’t work. A hard-coded rule in Lost Legends Online.

Still, I had something stronger.

It wasn’t like I had the luxury to experiment. I'd rather not waste a spell slot at this point, so I pulled out an Elixir of Resurrection from my Item Box and poured it over Long Xieren’s remains.

Light erupted. His body reformed, his flesh knitting back together in an instant. He gasped, eyes wide, looking around in utter confusion.@@novelbin@@

I stepped forward and addressed Ren Jin.

“Evacuate everyone. I will handle the demon. No matter what under any circumstance, do not interfere with the fight.”

Ren Jin, hovering above the arena, gave a sharp nod. “Chief Enforcer Liang Na!”

“Yes, my lord!”

Liang Na leaped into action, her authority cutting through the chaos. She began barking orders, directing the guards to escort the fleeing citizens. The crowd was already panicking, running amok. The once-excited spectators were now scrambling for safety, their shouts and cries mixing into chaotic noise.

SCREEEECH~!

An ear grating screech that broke glass and porcelain reverberated in the air. I couldn't put the name to the skill used, but I think I just suffered a debuff.

“What is that thing?!” someone screamed from the bleachers.

“Lu Gao was a demon all along?!” another voice gasped.

A merchant, gripping his robe, turned pale. “This isn’t part of the festival, is it? Right?!”

“Idiot! Run for your life!”

A disciple from one of the sects pointed at me. “The challenger! He—he’s fighting it!”

“He beheaded Lu Gao! And yet—!”

“That thing isn’t Lu Gao anymore!”

Some in the crowd had drawn their weapons in panic, but none dared to approach the battlefield.

A woman clutched her child to her chest, stumbling as she tried to escape. “The Governor must act! He must—”

A burly man pushed past her, cursing. “The Governor?! Screw the Governor! He’s not the one fighting that thing!”

One of the arena staff desperately rang a bell. “EVACUATE! ALL SPECTATORS, LEAVE IMMEDIATELY!”

A group of sect disciples huddled near the exit, torn between retreating and witnessing the battle.

A younger cultivator, trembling, turned to his senior. “Shouldn’t we—shouldn’t we help?”

The older disciple shook his head. “Help? Against that? That’s beyond us.”

Then, from the wreckage of the Governor’s manor, Brukhelm emerged.

His form had changed.

He now stood at least twice his original height. His muscles bulged grotesquely, his skin deepening into an even darker shade of crimson. His teeth, once sharp, now looked more like fangs. An elongated tail swished behind his back, thick and covered in jagged, bone-like plating.

His sword was already in tatters, so he simply let the broken weapon clatter to the ground.

Brukhelm’s lips curled into a grin.

“He he he~” His voice was deeper now, reverberating in the air. “I felt that.”

Combat in Lost Legends Online had always been done with a keyboard and mouse. Yet, fighting like this—moving in real-time, reacting on instinct—I felt perfectly accustomed to it.

The memory synchronization with David_69 probably had a role in it.

If this were back in LLO, I’d be crazily switching between skill configurations, scrolling from one to nine, trying to string combos together while adjusting my positioning, disrupting enemy skill activations, and countering hard. Each configuration had ten to dozens of active skills. There were just too many to micromanage at once.

But here, in this world, I didn’t need to navigate through a skill bar.

I had the freedom to refer to my memories directly, to draw upon them like instinct.

I activated Voice Chat with David_69.

“How confident are you in defeating this guy?”

David_69 responded immediately, his voice steady. “I will do everything in my power to do so.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Is that a yes or a no?” I was tempted to use the Divine Possession strategy, but...

“All of the skills you wield, my lord, have mutated since we arrived in this world.”

“I am aware.”

It wasn’t something I could explain in words, but it was felt. Instinctive knowledge.

For example, Holy Spirit had originally been a summoning skill, but for some reason, it had manifested as David_69 instead.

Another example was Divine Sense—it continued to evolve. It wasn’t a simple detection skill anymore.

David_69 continued, “From my observation, Divine Possession leaves the main body with halved stats.” He meant the physical body that was left behind, not the ‘me’ who entered the target.

That was a major drawback.

Still better than being left vulnerable and a feast for the demon.

“If I summon you, my Holy Spirit, do you know what the changes will be?”

“No.” A pause. “Do you plan to summon me, My Lord?”

“Not really. That would be strategically unwise.”

I could almost sense a pout of disappointment from him.

It was stupid for me to even ask. There was a saying in LLO, stats were KING and this fallen angel had them in spades thanks to his cultivation topping his already high stats as someone from the fallen angel race.

A split-second conversation in the mental link was all it took.

Brukhelm stretched out his clawed hand.

A greatsword materialized in his grip, wreathed in violet flames.

“My turn,” said Brukhelm.

A deep, guttural chuckle rumbled from his throat as he raised his newly summoned greatsword, the sheer weight of it causing the ground beneath him to crack. His wings flared out, dark feathers rippling unnaturally as if they had a will of their own.

The crowd’s panic had reached a fever pitch.

“What is that thing?!”

“That’s… a monster!”

“He just grew twice his size! How are we supposed to fight that?”

“Forget fighting! Run! Run, you idiots!”

“The City Governor will handle it! We need to get out of here before we get caught in the crossfire!”

“He killed Long Xieren in an instant! What can that nameless cultivator even do against that?”

"Follow the Enforcers!"

"Retreat in an orderly manner!"

"The Lord had given his orders! EVACUATE!"

Some cultivators tried to take to the skies, but the pressure in the air made flight impossible. The weaker ones fell to their knees, gasping for breath. Others, too prideful to run, watched in a mix of horror and fascination, their hands gripping their weapons as if that would make a difference.

Long Xieren, still dazed from his resurrection, gritted his teeth. “To think I was killed just like that…” He tightened his grip on his sword, but I could tell he wasn’t planning to rush in blindly. Even he knew he wasn’t fast enough.

Brukhelm ignored the commotion. His burning eyes locked onto me as he took a step forward, his massive frame casting a long shadow over the arena. “You’ve got fight in you, Paladin.” He grinned, exposing rows of jagged teeth. “I like that.”

I held my ground, sword steady. “I’m not here to entertain you, demon.”

He scoffed. “No, I imagine you’re not. But it doesn’t matter.” His wings flapped once, sending out a shockwave that sent cracks through the already damaged stone floor. “Because you won’t last long.”

Brukhelm moved—no, he blurred.

I barely had time to react before he was in front of me, greatsword already swinging.

This might be a tougher fight than I imagined.