Immortal Paladin

061 Breaking the Shackles

Again, seeing how I slaughtered the demonic clone, I realized just how vastly different damage was calculated in this world. I still couldn’t let go of the mentality that this place functioned like Lost Legends Online. The numbers in my head weren’t adding up.

Anyway…

Ambition crumbled into dust, his spear vanishing with him.

Cruelty grinned. His spear crackled with dark energy, the single prong splitting into two jagged points. The air twisted around him as his aura grew denser, fouler. So he was the core.

Violence roared and lunged for Gu Jie, his entire body blazing like an infernal comet.

I clenched my teeth and activated Spell Resonance, a skill from the Spiritual Path sometimes shared with Mages, Shamans, Warlocks, or Druids. It allowed me to store a spell that could be instantly cast and couldn’t be interrupted.

Summon: Holy Spirit.

A golden sigil formed in front of Gu Jie, and from it, a warrior of light emerged, clad in brilliant silver armor with a tower shield and spear. My Holy Spirit, Dave.

Dave raised his shield and intercepted Violence’s charge with a Shield Bash. A holy force burst out, repelling the rampaging clone.

Of course, his appearance here meant my main body was left vulnerable outside... so I should finish this fast.

Dave turned his head toward me. "What’s the objective, My Lord?"

I didn’t hesitate. "Protect Gu Jie."

Dave nodded and braced himself, raising his shield to guard her.

I breathed in and out, steadying myself. This world played by different rules, and I needed to stop treating it like Lost Legends Online. And here I thought the fight with Brukhelm had been the exception. Damage calculation, mechanics, and even skill interactions had been unpredictable, but that didn’t mean I was at a disadvantage.

I summoned my sword from my Item Box as I activated Holy Wrath—a buff spell that empowered the next attack. Blue and gold radiance poured from beneath me, forming the shape of feathered wings that flared out and then dispersed into shimmering motes.

I didn’t stop there.

Blessed Weapon.

My sword pulsed with divine light, golden radiance trailing along its edge. The warmth of the spell coursed through me, and as was my habit, I recited its flavor text in my head:

“A blade bathed in light carries the will of the heavens. It does not waver, nor does it yield. With each strike, righteousness is etched into the flesh of the wicked, and the path of the just is made clear.”

I had long since learned that deeply understanding the meaning behind a skill’s flavor text could actually empower it. I would have dismissed them as fluff, but I had found something deeper in them. Call it immersion training.

The divine light brightened further, burning away the darkness around me.

Cruelty clicked his tongue. "Tch. This is getting tiresome."

Then he slammed his bident down.

The ground quaked. Malevolent energy pulsed outward.

Ambition reappeared, splitting Cruelty's bident into a single pronged spear. I watched as Ambition's form rematerialized, along with his spear. The same bastard I had blasted the skull moments ago, now fully restored.@@novelbin@@

I narrowed my eyes. "Now, that’s just plain gimmicky."

The trio of demons circled above, their bat-like wings beating against the thick air. Their voices dripped with venom as they hurled insults at me, their words barely worth processing.

"Arrogant fool!" spat Ambition, gripping his spear tightly. "You won’t get lucky, twice!"

Cruelty sneered. "Did you think righteousness alone could protect you? How naive."

Violence bared his fangs in a mad grin. "WE WILL RIP YOU APART!"

They gained altitude, their dark forms circling like vultures over carrion. Below them, Gu Jie remained silent as a mouse, staying exactly where she needed to be—at the center of our formation. I wasn’t sure if she was too scared to speak or if she trusted me and Dave enough to handle this. Either way, it worked.

Dave stood firm beside her, gripping his tower shield.

"Dave, any suggestion?" I asked.

"My Lord," he responded, his voice steady. "The enemy’s strategy is clear. They seek an opportunity to divide us. If we have access of our Ultimate Skills, we could end this now. For now, I can only offer defense to Gu Jie."

Holy Spirits had the innate ability to conjure weapons matching their class, and Dave used it well. Without hesitation, he discarded his spear. A second tower shield appeared in his other hand.

I almost let out a whistle. Dual wielding shields?

That would have been impossible in Lost Legends Online. Too impractical. Too inefficient.

But this wasn’t LLO.

And Dave wasn’t bound by game mechanics anymore as much as I did.

He raised both shields, standing in a firm, immovable stance. His body shimmered with protective energy, a literal wall between Gu Jie and the incoming threats.

Good.

That meant I could focus entirely on the fight.

As the three demons circled above, I turned to Gu Jie. "What do you know about the Heavenly Demon?"

Gu Jie hesitated, her fingers curling into her sleeves. "His mastery of illusion techniques is unparalleled. Even the greatest sects struggled against him." Her voice wavered slightly, but she continued. "He wielded all kinds of elemental arts with deadly precision, his spearmanship was unmatched, his vitality terrifying. Near-immortality… he had myriad of abilities that made him such a fearsome demon… that even if he was so far in the archipelago, the biggest sects in the world still heard of him... and feared him."

I frowned. There was something in her tone—an unshakable reverence.

No matter how much she feared him, no matter how much she had distanced herself from him, there was still an undeniable attachment.

I sighed through my nose and glanced at my chest. The spear wound I had taken earlier was long gone, my healing magic having done its job. However, my armor still bore the hole where it had pierced through.

That was… concerning.

Back in Lost Legends Online, armor and weapons had durability. The only exception was legendary gear. That meant—

My Wandering Adjudicator armor I was wearing wasn’t the real thing.

The items I pulled from my Item Box were probably all replicas, conjured by this strange space.

That explained a lot. No wonder even I was starting to feel the pressure. Every possible handicap was stacked against me.

But so what?

I let out a breath and rolled my shoulders. I wasn’t going to lose here. This was a complete mismatch. A Paladin against a demon? The odds were as lopsided as they could get.

Losing here would be an embarrassment.

A damn shame.

I spread my arms wide, tilting my head back. A grin stretched across my face.

And then, I laughed.

It started as a low chuckle, then grew into full-bodied amusement. My voice echoed through this mindscape, rising above the tension.

The three demons paused mid-flight.

The wind stirred.

I raised my chin, eyes burning with conviction.

"Under heaven and earth, only I am the honored one!"

I had always wanted to say something like that.

“Radiant Dawn.”

I used another skill.

The golden radiance of Radiant Dawn condensed around me, pulsing with divine brilliance. The air shimmered in response, warping under the sheer intensity of the buff. Holy power surged in my veins, a burning flood of righteousness waiting to be unleashed. And yet, I wasn’t about to waste it on some half-measure.

I still had Holy Wrath active. The energy kept compounding, multiplying the potential devastation of my next strike.

So, naturally, I did the most sensible thing.

I pointed my sword at my own chest—and drove it in.

Gu Jie gasped.

Cruelty cackled in amusement.

Ambition frowned, wary.

Violence, however, reacted in the way I wanted most. His eyes burned with frenzied anticipation as he lunged forward, his spear wreathed in hellish flames.

Sacrificial Zeal kicked in, empowering me with every ounce of health I lost. The divine radiance around me flared even brighter, and the pain instantly converted into righteous strength. I gritted my teeth, and my memories of David_69 immersed me deeper into my battle instincts. The real Paladin in me didn’t just tolerate pain—he weaponized it.

I cast Retributive Restoration, fueling my next strike with the healing I was about to receive.

Violence’s spear plunged into my chest.

It hurt, but I endured.

I left both weapons—my sword and his spear—embedded in my body. Instead of removing them, I healed.

Great Cure.

Golden light enveloped me as my health skyrocketed. The force of the healing surged into Retributive Restoration, the divine overflow channeling into my next attack. I twisted my body slightly, turning toward Violence, and lifted a hand.

Then, I slapped him with Thunderous Smite.

The sheer force of the impact sent a concussive shockwave through the air. The divine energy expanded in an instant, swallowing Violence whole. He barely had time to scream before he and his spear disintegrated, his very essence obliterated by the surge of holy power.

I watched with Divine Sense as the remnants of Violence’s existence were drawn toward Cruelty. His spear, once single-pronged, transformed into a bident once more. His aura deepened, twisting with an unnatural presence.

I moved.

I activated Zealot’s Stride in conjunction with Flash Step, covering the distance between us in an instant. My open palm radiated scorching energy as I slammed Searing Smite into Cruelty’s face.

He managed to block by summoning an aura of ice, the opposing elements clashing violently upon impact. The resulting explosion sent cracks through the air itself, distorting the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Ambition dashed toward Gu Jie, spear poised to strike.

Dave met him head-on, dual-wielding his tower shields like a living fortress.

He would hold the line.

That meant I only had one job left.

End Cruelty.

I gripped Cruelty by the throat. His ice aura spread over my arm, sharp and bitter, but I didn’t mind. The frost crackled and spread, layering over my skin like crystalline vines, biting deep into my flesh.

I casually topped off my health with Great Cure.

The divine warmth surged through me, erasing the pain before it could even set in. I made sure not to let my health dip below 75%—a delicate balance to maintain purely by instinct. Too low, and I’d risk a genuine injury.

A challenge, but nothing I couldn’t handle.

I pulled Cruelty’s face closer to mine, letting the cold deepen its bite. My passive Reflect, empowered by Sacred Bulwark, steadily returned the damage back at him. It wasn’t just the ice aura either—the sword still embedded in my chest pulsed with residual energy, funneling more pain into my opponent than it did to me.

Cruelty struggled, his clawed fingers scraping against my gauntlet. He tried to speak, but I tightened my grip, silencing him.

“Tell me,” I mused. “Are you human?”

He couldn’t answer.

I enlightened him anyway. “Because if you are, you’d be my first murder. Quite the sobering thought, really.”

Cruelty’s body trembled. Whether from rage, pain, or fear, I didn’t care. I had enough of his theatrics.

I raised my free hand, divine energy surging into my clenched fist.

Divine Smite.

The light burst forth as I slammed my fist into his head.

Cruelty—and his bident—disintegrated into ash. The swirling remnants of his essence funneled toward Ambition, drawn in like ink bleeding into water.

Huh.

So Cruelty wasn’t the main body after all.

All three of them were.

I let out a breath, then dropped into a freefall. As I fell, I topped off my health again with Great Cure, keeping the cycle going.

Ambition—no, the Heavenly Demon—had fully reformed below me.

I landed right on his chest, my boot pinning him against the ground.

The force of the impact cratered the earth beneath him, sending cracks spiderwebbing through the battlefield. The weight of my divine power pressed down, crushing him inch by inch.

His shrieks filled the air as the reflected damage from Sacred Bulwark ate away at his body.

Slowly.

Painfully.

He clawed at my leg, screaming, writhing beneath my heel. His aura flickered wildly, no longer in control. His once-menacing presence had been reduced to desperate, undignified thrashing.

Pathetic.

I reached for the sword still embedded in my chest and twisted it, pouring more pain into myself—just enough to fuel my next attack.

Righteous Reckoning.

The holy power amplified the reflected damage even further. The Heavenly Demon convulsed, his screams reaching an unbearable pitch.

“Mercy!” he howled. “SPARE ME—!”

I pressed down harder.

And watched him suffer.

The Heavenly Demon’s screams had long since turned hoarse, reduced to broken, desperate wails. His body twitched beneath my boot, his once-menacing aura flickering like a dying ember. His hands, clawed and trembling, reached out in a final, pitiful plea.

I met his gaze—wide, terrified, utterly defeated.

"Mercy," he rasped, his voice barely above a whisper. "Please... spare me..."

I ignored him and turned to Gu Jie. She had remained still this entire time, silent as a ghost. Her face was pale, her hands clenched at her sides. Even without cultivation, she had seen everything.

"You’re free now," I told her. "From him. From your past."

She inhaled sharply but said nothing.

I turned my attention back to the writhing demon beneath me.

I clenched my fist. Divine energy gathered around it, golden light pulsing with righteous fury.

This guy had talked a big game. He had thrown his power around, split himself into three, hurled insults like he was invincible. He had tried to break me, tried to break Gu Jie.

And now, in the face of real defeat, he begged.

Pathetic.

I brought my fist down.

Divine Smite.

The holy energy surged through him, swallowing his body in golden light. His scream cut off instantly. His form shattered, dispersing into nothingness like dust in the wind.

And just like that, the so-called Heavenly Demon was gone.

Honestly?

That title was wasted on him.