CHAPTER 286: PURIFICATION

The powerful force pressed down, crushing Cesare’s body flat against the ground.

Cesare resisted strongly, pushing against the ground with both arms, but his hands trembled.

Eventually, the mighty pressure from above forced Cesare’s face into the ground.

Kwang-!

“W-What is this…?”

Cesare, pinned to the ground, was quite flustered.

Ethan clearly hadn’t done anything. He had merely said one word: kneel.

“A-A verbal command? No, no. This power is…”

Like the surprised Cesare, the bound archbishop was also greatly perplexed.

Cesare, the Great Demon of Madness.

He was a demon frequently mentioned when discussing the history of the Holylight Order, one of the six demons who had nearly brought the continent to ruin in the past.

Although said to be the weakest of the six demons, he was still undoubtedly a Great Demon.

He possessed enough power to overthrow an entire country single-handedly, and it was said that the Pope of the Holylight Order and the leaders of other religions had to exceptionally join forces to barely manage to seal him.

Because he had the power of immortality, they couldn’t kill him and had to seal him instead, but the seal was made so strong that it wouldn’t break even after eons had passed, so the demon himself couldn’t break the seal and escape.

That’s how dangerous Cesare was.

Yet now, this Cesare couldn’t even control his body properly at a single word from Ethan.

Seeing him humiliatingly pinned to the ground, the archbishop wondered if he was already dead.

“Cesare… being overwhelmed like this…? By just a single word…?”

Of course, Cesare wasn’t in his best condition currently. It was because he hadn’t fully resurrected. Nevertheless, the archbishop had been completely overwhelmed by this incomplete Cesare.

Yet he was being so easily subdued.

Seeing this sight, the archbishop couldn’t help but think he must surely be dead.

The situation Ethan had created was incomprehensible with the archbishop’s knowledge.

“Kuuuuugh-!”

Extreme humiliation.

Cesare squirmed, trying to resist Ethan’s order to kneel.

He tried to push against the ground with all his might, but to no avail.

Shaaaak-.

As Cesare exerted his strength, the miasma spread around began to be absorbed into his body.

“This… this is impossible. Even if my power hasn’t fully returned, this… doesn’t make sense…”

Cesare managed to barely raise his body only after absorbing all the miasma in the vicinity, and only then could he face Ethan head-on.

And soon, he noticed the power emanating from Ethan, and what was inside him, and was greatly surprised.

“The power to put spiritual beings under one’s feet… and the source of that power…!”

Cesare shouted in astonishment after seeing through Ethan’s body.

“The ritual for the ancient god… How can that power be inside your body!”

Cesare shouted.

“And how can you withstand that power… You’re clearly neither a god nor a dragon. You’re not even a sacrifice for a ritual meant for mixed races. And yet, how…”

“You’re enduring quite well indeed.”

‘As expected of Cesare. He’s not one of the six demons for nothing. Even though he’s not fully resurrected and seems to have just briefly manifested in a vessel, his power is tremendous.’

Cesare.

He was one of the strongest boss monsters on the continent that could be encountered in the continent destruction scenario.

Of course, since he wasn’t a simple monster, dealing with him was extremely tricky.

When the six demons that destroy the continent awaken, if you can’t kill these demons, the continent will be destroyed as is.

The fully resurrected 6 demons are so powerful that no one can stop them, so in that scenario, all people, regardless of country or group, barely manage to resist by joining forces.

‘The main quest was to help the Pope seal the demons one by one.’

But what’s also concerning is that when this six demon scenario progresses, the followers of the Moon don’t show themselves for some reason.

‘So I always thought they might be related.’

Seeing the six demon quest progressing right before his eyes made his heart race.

Despite struggling to survive, suddenly the continent destruction quest was about to progress.

‘Absolutely not.’

Kuuuuung-!

Bang-!

Cesare overcame Ethan’s Ghost Power and straightened his back. It seemed he was reabsorbing all of his power spread throughout the mine.

“Kuaaaaaagh-!”

Even the miasma that was binding the archbishop was released and absorbed by Cesare.

“I have no choice…”

Cesare’s eyes turned even redder.

“Even with an incomplete body, this much is enough for manifestation. I can inject my original power.”

Kugugugung-!

A continuous roaring sound arose. And then it suddenly became quiet.

All the miasma entered Bishop Rahim’s body and then spread throughout Cesare’s entire body.

“Damn it…”

The archbishop, who had fallen from the ceiling, realized that all the fallen bishops were dead. Cesare had sucked away their life force along with the miasma.

The archbishop turned his head to look at Cesare. There was no turning back now. Bishop Rahim’s body had become a vessel for Cesare’s resurrection.

“To think he’d resurrect…”

A powerful wave.

The archbishop’s holy power reacted to Cesare’s power, trying to resist somehow, but it couldn’t overcome Cesare who had manifested through the vessel.

“S-Sir Ethan…”

Suddenly, the archbishop thought of Ethan. He had overwhelmed Cesare just moments ago with some method, but it wouldn’t be easy anymore.

Everything was too late. Although it wasn’t a perfect resurrection, now that Cesare had intentionally resurrected, it would be difficult to stop him.

Cesare knew this very well too.

The tables had turned, and Cesare now looked down at Ethan with infinitely arrogant eyes.

Bbudeudeuk-!

Huge wings sprouted from Cesare’s back. They were pitch black wings that continuously emitted dark red miasma.

As soon as the wings spread, everyone except Ethan essentially found it difficult to maintain their sanity.

“Now I see. The source of that power in your body, that tremendous yin energy. I see it clearly. You, you were a sacrifice.”

“It seems your eyes see more than I expected.”

Ethan frowned as he looked at Cesare.

‘This guy seems to know something I don’t?’

He only learned about the true nature of Extinction in detail after reading books in the imperial library.

Not a simple disease, but a ritual to create a vessel to summon a god. That was what Extinction was.

Ethan slightly opened his mouth.

“Do you know about my disease?”

“Disease? Disease, you say? Hahahahaha-! Interesting. Interesting, human. To call that a disease. Truly amusing.”

Cesare started laughing cheerfully.

“It’s a ritual created to summon a mighty being. Since it’s forcibly trying to fit the body to a god’s standard, ordinary individuals can’t endure it. It’s not suitable for a human body, but ironically, there’s no body more suitable for a sacrifice than a human’s.”

Cesare said.

“I never thought I’d see a human who treats it as a mere disease. It’s also the first time I’ve seen a human who endured it and became so strong to reach such a high level.”

After saying that, Cesare suddenly seemed to realize something.

“Your blessed body, your heaven-given talent. If you weren’t a sacrifice, the world would have knelt before you. Ironically, it’s because of that overwhelming talent that you’re enduring that ritual with a human body. But in the end, that ritual is engraved in your body. And it’s not even a modified ritual, but the original one.”

Cesare clicked his tongue.

Then he clenched his fist.

Shaaaak-.

Kwaaaaaaang-!

“Then I absolutely can’t let you live.”

A dark red miasma explosion occurred from his body.

Yerica, Schudlen, and the archbishop, who had been barely maintaining their consciousness and enduring, fell forward at that explosion.

Only Ethan remained standing upright in his place.

“I’ve fully grasped your identity.”

Cesare, who had resurrected by absorbing all the miasma in the mine, possessed tremendous power.

‘He’s resurrected in a half-baked way, but it seems he has all his abilities.’

The reason why the six demons, including Cesare, were tricky was because they were immune to all conventional attacks.

Even a swordmaster who ruled the continent couldn’t harm them without holy power.

The same was true for an archmage. Holy power had to be mixed in to unconditionally inflict damage on those demons.

‘You need anti-demon energy.’

The source of that confidence was probably from the absolute resistance unique to great demons.

‘Even if you mix in holy power, it’s difficult with mediocre holy power. They have resistance even to considerable holy power.’

But Ethan wasn’t too worried.

Coincidentally, he now had a definite counter to deal with Cesare.

“S-Sir Ethan… That guy… has no physical form… You need to attack with holy power… Ugh.”

The archbishop, who had regained consciousness, spoke with a dying voice.

“I know. Don’t worry.”

Ethan reassured him.

Meanwhile, Cesare spread his wings and rushed towards him at lightning speed.

Swaeaeaek-!

In his hand was a sword made of miasma.

“Ghost-Slaying Sword.”

A simple sword made of Ghost Power appeared in Ethan’s hand. Unlike ordinary swords, its blade was very blunt, and the end was angled, making it look unsuitable for cutting anything.

But.

It was optimized for cutting spirits without physical form.

Kkang-!

Ethan cut Cesare’s sword in half. As the sword was split in two, Cesare frowned and swung his wings.

Pababababak-!

Feathers were discharged along with miasma. Ethan spun around, swinging his sword.

The Ghost-Slaying Sword, imbued with the subtleties of Ethan Swordsmanship, cut through the feathers, and Ethan, regaining his posture, opened his mouth.

“Stop.”

“Ugh!”

After all, it was an imperfect resurrection. Even though he had regained his power through a vessel, Cesare was also greatly affected by the power of Bihyeongrang.

At Ethan’s command, Cesare momentarily stopped his movement.

‘Impressive.’

The high praise from the Gumiho family and the dokkaebi.

And the confidence that Bihyeongrang had shown.

Ethan could now fully understand how amazing Bihyeongrang was.

The thousands of ghosts behind him must have been cut by Bihyeongrang’s sword and subjugated like this.

Slash!

At the moment of cutting, Cesare’s miasma rushed to block the Ghost-Slaying Sword. Of course, it couldn’t block it completely. The anti-demon power of the Ghost-Slaying Sword penetrated the miasma and was transmitted directly to Cesare, exerting a strong influence.

Cesare, whose attack was completely blocked, crossed his arms and then unfolded them.

Then, a powerful miasma beam was shot in a straight line towards Ethan.

Shaaaaak-!

Ethan took a step.

Then he swung the Ghost-Slaying Sword widely to cut the beam, and riding that momentum, he advanced forward and swung the sword once more.

Slash!

“…!”

Cesare’s body was cut in half by Ethan’s sword.

-The effect of Ghost-Slaying Sword is activated!

-You have cut an evil spirit. You have gained dominion over the evil spirit.

-Evil Spirit Dominion: 1 hour

-The dominion over the evil spirit will disappear after 1 hour.

“I have many questions for you, Cesare.”

Ethan grinned.

“Who resurrected you?”

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