“In that case, having Aro and the dual swordsman wait outside earlier seems to have been the right call.”

From the very beginning, Naimes had kept Aro and the others from appearing openly, leaving their status as “unknown.”

At least, that was how the old priest saw it.

When the fight began, Naimes also didn’t let the underpowered village guard enter the field.

The guard was brought out only so the old priest would be absolutely certain—Lia, who was about to undergo the whale transformation, was in his custody.

Because of that, Naimes could predict some of the old priest’s moves at critical moments.

“Go join up with Aro and the others, then follow my orders.” Naimes controlled the Oath Rope and relayed the command to the village guard.

After Naimes’s Contract Artifact acquired the Ultimate Control trait, he could directly pass certain information to targets through the Oath Rope.

Not like before, when at long range the rope could only trigger signals, forming orders that were basically “read my cues.”

Knowing this, Naimes realized that from now on, the real test of his abilities was beginning.

The old priest would not be careless;

he would most likely restrain himself during this period and extract Lia’s information from him as quickly as possible.

Or, he might simply kill him outright! Google seaʀᴄh N0velFire.ɴet

“Naimes, you evil being—now I begin your judgment!” The old priest was suspended by the golden threads in midair and began chanting rapidly.

When Naimes’s mobility was restricted, a high-powered spell was the best way to end him.

Jacques, who had attacked Naimes earlier, now retreated and took a protective stance around the old priest, guarding against possible strikes from Tangs, Pur, and the feather-air snake.

With no one to interfere, the spiritual fluctuations on the old priest intensified.

“Faceless God bear witness—”

“Gaze upon this body of sin, this agent of chaos, thief of primordial energy.”

“In your name, descend the commandment’s verdict: let his blood be sinful blood, his body sinful body.”

“Destroy his blood, destroy his body, with this annihilate chaos!”

“May your power eternally revolve!”

Divine Art — Extermination!

This divine art required the caster to be at least bishop-level and to have undergone at least one baptism of the gods.

Its effect was to call down divine power directly onto the target, executing the most fundamental annihilation and reducing the target’s existence to the most basic particles.

Even resurrection-type abilities were useless;

this art also prevented revival.

Countless high-ranking demons had died under this divine art.

After finishing his chant, the old priest breathed heavily, but the spell did not release immediately.

“Insufficient spiritual activation…” The old priest knew the reason and could only continue guiding the divine art’s operation.

Naimes felt the intense divine fluctuations and narrowed his eyes.

Right now, Pur and Tangs were temporarily held back by Jacques, and Op’s magic could barely defend with only the Green Sprite Embrace to preserve a whole corpse for himself.

Self-rescue was the only option.

Naimes shifted the sword in his hand slightly.

Only four paces remained;

it would be hard for him to escape the divine art’s range.

Beyond that, other sword techniques also had little effect against such a high-power spell.

Naimes’s mind raced. Under pressure he felt exhilarated, with not a trace of fear.

“So my only choice is to use the power of my demon form?” Naimes liked challenges.

Just as he wanted: one perfect, once-in-a-lifetime surge.

To wager his life on a fight worthy of it.

To fight the tide, to battle the world, and to battle himself.

“Although this wave is not perfect, at least let me rehearse a little.” Naimes lifted his sword, then crouched slightly. With his movement, the surrounding seawater rippled, reflecting glittering light.

“The divine art is only a means to kill me, and during that process the old priest must have other arrangements to ensure the art will hit.”

“Where would that be?”

Even now, Naimes still hadn’t fully figured out how to counter the divine art in human form, but his mind was full of the old priest’s tactical choices.

The old priest’s eyes narrowed;

the nearly complete divine art was already descending toward Naimes.

The Extermination moved at extreme speed, then would reduce the target to nothing.

“It’s an illusion!” The moment the light shifted, Naimes discovered the old priest’s trick.

The light faded and the illusion dissipated.

The true outside scene emerged.

Night had long fallen;

no stars or moon, no village lamps.

Everything was pitch black.

From light to darkness in an instant—Naimes’s eyes couldn’t adapt in time.

He had completely lost any visual field;

whether the Extermination had already been cast, and when it would land on him, he couldn’t learn from sight.

His heartbeat seemed to stop for a moment.

Then came an extremely sharp sound, like countless sharpened objects scraping against each other.

This was the Extermination’s effect: the faceless, invisible force destroyed things, turning them into basic particles, and the process of disintegration produced those piercing noises.

It was also accompanied by flickers of fire.

The old priest’s senses were keen;

even a single spark let him instantly see the situation.

Naimes’s original position was empty;

only a sword stood in the water, rapidly disintegrating.

“A holy rune longsword—your means to locate and control me at a crucial moment, right?” Naimes’s voice came through. “It’s harmless most of the time, but at the key moment you can activate your hidden hand to perceive and constrain me.”

The old priest quickly looked toward the source of the voice.

Naimes was rising out of the water.

“You used dispelling the illusion to interfere with my perception, trying to use one change in sensing to cover another.”

“That sword was activated at that moment.”

“Too bad, at the exact instant the light shifted, I already guessed your plan…”

“I’ve seen that sword trick before.”

“You borrowed my illusion…” The old priest now understood what had happened and looked at the sea surface that was still gently rippling.

“When the illusion is dispelled, the altered spatial displacement restores to normal.”

“That visually changes your true position and distance.”

“You threw the sword, secretly kicked the water to change the ripples, and submerged yourself.”

“You used my last illusion to create the image of you on the water beside you.”

“When I dispelled the illusion I also lost sight, so instinctively I attacked according to the sword’s sensory feedback…”

“Refraction—pretty amazing, right.” Naimes reached out, his fingers twitching as if manipulating a puppet.

The next moment, a sword appeared behind the old priest and swung down toward his neck.