NOVPUBThere was a protocol for how to handle situations like the one with Reeva, but that all changed when lives were at stake. As a priest, his first duty was to save people.
"Check the woman!"
The lead priest shouted, his voice echoing through the chamber. But it was too late. What greeted him was a gruesome sight—one of his men impaled in the abdomen, blood gushing out and staining the once-pristine domain with filth.
"Fuck," he cursed, a rare slip from someone usually so composed. He dashed toward the scene, hoping to save whoever he could, but he wasn’t fast enough. The bride was too strong, far beyond what the normal priests could handle.
Realizing the bride wasn’t ordinary, the priests shifted into action, casting spells and raising their weapons to fight. But it was all in vain. Every time the white demon came into contact with a mystic force, it simply turned it into her own. The more they fought, the stronger she became.
The priests tried bombarding her with their mystic power, but it wasn’t enough. The white demon’s attacks were relentless. The only thing keeping the priests alive was the divine domain they had set up, which offered basic protection against mystic forces. But it did nothing to shield them from physical attacks.
Strength was quickly slipping away. The bride’s strikes were devastating—her punches ripped through flesh with ease. Without the ability to rely on their mystic power, the priests were little more than helpless targets, their bodies crumbling under her blows.
"Deactivate the shield!" the head priest commanded, realizing it was their only chance for survival. He wasn’t wrong. With the church’s divine barrier deactivated, the blood demon might target him immediately, but at least The white demon will also be target. And judging from before the white demon will likely lose in the blood demon domain.
The moment the barrier dropped, blood flowed freely once more. When the priests made contact with it, waves of excruciating pain tore through them. They were only human, and this pain was unbearable. One by one, they collapsed, incapacitated by the agony. Soon, the head priest was the only one left standing, protected by his personal barrier.
"What the hell...?"
he muttered, shocked by the speed of the carnage. He had spent his life battling demons, but his team of priests had been wiped out in mere seconds without the protection of the divine domain. Some held on with mystic power, but most fell, helpless. He couldn’t believe his people would fall this fast.
Rage boiled inside the priest as he watched the bride try to finish off all his men, ensuring their deaths even as they lay unconscious. The blood demon, too, continued its assault. With the divine barrier gone, the tendrils attacked once more, focusing their vengeance on the white demon.
But the situation had changed. The white demon had absorbed power from one of the dead priests, growing stronger with each second.
Despite this, she realized she was in no condition to face a full demon like the blood demon. Her descent into this world had been forced and incomplete. Worse, she couldn’t even be sure of her own identity anymore—Tula’s meddling had done something to her.
Gritting her teeth, she made a decision. She had to retreat. Her wedding dress fluttered behind her as she dashed toward the exit, but just before she reached it, a mass of blood tendrils appeared, blocking her path.
The blood demon still had the advantage of its domain, and it knew instinctively that if the white demon escaped, it would be over. Given enough time and resources, the blood demon knew it would lose.
The blood tendrils surged forward, attacking the white demon all at once. Forced to retreat, the white demon barely dodged the tendrils forming from the pool of blood. She attempted to absorb their power and convert it to her own, but the sheer volume overwhelmed her.
At that moment, the priest arrived, his face filled with fury at the sight of his fallen comrades. His fist glowed with holy energy, a pale yellow aura enveloping it. In a flash, he delivered a powerful blow straight to the white demon’s face. The impact shattered the blood-covered area and sent the demon flying backward.
"AGH"
It’s too fat for her to react. Before she could convert the mystic energy to her own, it had been clashing with her power. Disspateing both and causing her harm in a way that is not possible for a normal human being.
"Wow"
Even Reeva is impressed, the priest’s strength is praiseworthy. Not many people could exert such force that could send a demon flying.
The blood tendril doesn’t wait a moment before assaulting the weakened white demon. Thousands of them attach to the white demon all at once and deliver the pain, no being could take.
"AGHHHHHHHHH"
A shrill, guttural scream echoed from the bride’s throat. Her mouth opened wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth capable of draining life in an instant.
The priest smirked, satisfied by the sight of the demon in pain. But Reeva knew time was running out. He needed to get to Hilda before the white demon was completely destroyed. Draining Hilda’s power would only be possible if he reached her directly.
"Priest, help me get to the blood demon!" Reeva shouted, pointing toward the writhing red mass near the altar.
The priest looks around to find that his people are already unconscious, if not they could have done something about the demon. But with only himself, he needs to pay a hefty price to contain such a demon.
The priest scanned the room, noticing his fellow priests were already unconscious or too injured to help. He would have to pay a heavy price to deal with the demon alone. Following Reeva’s suggestion, however, might spare him that cost. Nodding, the priest created a divine barrier to shield them from the blood tendrils as they moved toward Hilda.
Inside the barrier, Reeva felt an eerie calm wash over him, the divine energy keeping the chaos at bay. But his relief was short-lived. The cold edge of a blade pressed against his neck.
"You don’t have to do this," Reeva said, eyeing the weapon.
"Precaution," the priest responded flatly.
"Fair."
The priest’s distrust was evident, but he kept a close watch on Reeva as they approached the altar together.
