Sister, I Hit You Because There Was a Ghost Behind You - Chapter 53

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 53. The Fall of Pride and an Unfinished Hunt
A steel hammer wreathed in dense azure mana sliced through the air with vicious precision, surging upward in a ferocious arc.
At my savage leap, the Pride Demon clinging to Archmage Elian’s back writhed grotesquely, its thousands of crimson eyes blazing with malevolent fury.
[Insolent worm! How dare you look down upon me, the perfect crystallization of all knowledge!]
The Archmage’s voice twisted through the air in a contemptuous laugh.
“Did you truly believe such crude iron could touch one who has stepped into the realm of divinity?”
As he thrust his skeletal hands skyward, tens of thousands of ancient tomes swirling through the chamber converged into a colossal vortex, transforming into a towering book golem.
Sharp pages gleamed like steel scales, and the dense malevolent aura emanating from its core was so heavy and suffocating that breathing itself became a struggle.
The moment the golem raised its massive fist to strike, Kairik von Herzen—standing before me—roared with bestial ferocity.
“You bookish old fool! Stop your pretentious posturing! I’ll shred you to pieces!”
Explosive crimson mana erupted from Kairik’s body.
He launched himself through the air, his razor-sharp claws crossing in an X formation as he unleashed a devastating slash.
Crack!
With a terrifying rupture, the golem’s massive arm—constructed entirely of paper—exploded into countless fragments scattering in all directions.
Kairik pressed forward relentlessly, moving in savage arcs as he deflected the barrage of magical projectiles with his entire body and tore through them mercilessly.
Yet the Pride Demon was far from defeated.
The shattered pages coalesced once more, this time transforming into hundreds of razor-sharp spears that rained down upon Kairik and me like a torrential downpour.
Then, Demian Lyart—wielding a silver holy sword—burst forth in a blinding flash of light.
“Corrupted knowledge is nothing but refuse that clouds the world! Return to ash!”
As Demian swung his holy blade in a grand arc, a crescent-shaped sword wave carved across the Forbidden Library.
The moment pure divine radiance touched them, the razor-sharp paper spears were engulfed in pristine white flames, vanishing without a trace.
The path of light that Demian created and the physical breach that Kairik tore open.
Within that perfect harmony, I gripped my hammer tightly and succeeded in reaching the Archmage’s very face.
Through my spirit vision, the true form of the Pride Demon was viscously connected to a black jewel embedded in the Archmage’s forehead.
That was the crystallization of arrogance seeking to monopolize all knowledge—the core of the fifth calamity.
The demon, caught off guard, extended dozens of black tentacles and shrieked.
[You wretched creatures! Daring to covet my magnificent knowledge!]
I twisted my body mid-air, batting away the incoming tentacles with the broad face of my hammer.
With a crisp grinding sound, the extended tentacles shattered into fragments and scattered.
I turned toward the demon with a sharp, resolute smile and cried out.
“Don’t delude yourself! Your rotten pride isn’t worth a speck of my concern!”
The steel head of my hammer, brimming with surging azure mana, descended with ferocious intensity.
“Swallow this and seal your mouth forever!”
Crash!
My hammer struck the black jewel embedded in the Archmage’s forehead with perfect precision.
A tremendous tremor shook the entire Magic Tower as if it would collapse, and the Pride Demon’s core—which seemed unbreakable—split cleanly in two.
The demon released an ear-splitting death cry as it was torn from the Archmage’s back.
Thousands of crimson eyes convulsed in agony before transforming into a handful of black ash that dissipated into the air.
The murky, suffocating air of the Forbidden Library cleared as if by miracle, and from the shattered jewel fragments, a single clear, transparent crystal fell softly to the ground.
I landed lightly and grasped the crystal in my hand.
At last, the historic moment had arrived—the culmination of a long and tedious quest to reclaim all five calamities.
Yet the instant the crushing tension dissolved, the backlash from my forcibly opened spirit eyes and the venomous miasma of dark magic crashed over me all at once.
A sickening vertigo seized me, and my legs buckled beneath me as I began to collapse.
Demian, who had drawn near without warning, caught me with his strong arms, pulling me firmly against his chest.
“Violetta! You’ve pushed yourself far too hard. Take a deep breath at once.”
The moment I nestled into his embrace, my suffocating breath opened, and the cool, refreshing fragrance of a forest flooded my senses.
The pure and radiant holy power emanating from Demian’s chest flowed through my veins, washing away every vile remnant of malevolent spirits clinging to my body.
I leaned my forehead against his broad shoulder, my eyes half-closed in drowsy contentment, and murmured softly.
“Ah… I feel like I might actually live. Without you, Demian, this wretched exorcism would have been impossible from the start.”
At my sincere praise, Demian’s ears flushed a delicate crimson.
He tightened his hold on me with careful tenderness and replied warmly.
“My holy power exists solely to protect and serve you. You may rely upon me whenever you wish, for as long as you need.”
A certain beast could not possibly allow such a peaceful and noble moment to pass undisturbed, and he approached with heavy, thunderous footsteps.
Kairik von Herzen shoved Demian’s shoulder aside with an irritated hand, inserting himself between us.
Kairik fixed Demian with a sharp glare and growled menacingly.
“Listen here, Knight Commander. If the purification is finished, remove those sinister hands, would you? I was the one who tore the Greed Demon apart—so why are you monopolizing that privileged position?”
Demian refused to yield, standing firm with icy composure.
“Cleansing the corruption of dark magic is far more urgent for Violetta’s wellbeing than treating battle fatigue. Your Highness, reeking of blood as you do, would be better served by maintaining some distance.”
Kairik let out an incredulous laugh and seized my wrist.
“Blood? That’s the glorious mark of a battle fought to protect you, you hothouse flower.”
As the two men pulled me taut between them in their childish contest of wills, I couldn’t help but laugh.
I gently grasped both of their steadying hands and smiled with grace.
“You are both irreplaceable to me. Demian’s purification was flawless, and Your Highness’s martial prowess is unmatched across the continent—so please, enough.”
At my praise, both men reluctantly released their grip, though their expressions remained reluctant.
Kairik grumbled and twisted his lips in defeat.
“Tch, when you speak so beautifully, I can’t even stay angry.”
Demian too gazed at me with tender eyes and whispered softly.
“Your peace is all that matters.”
I cast a cold gaze down upon Archmage Elian, who lay unconscious on the ground.
With the Greed Demon departed, he lay sprawled in a pitiful, withered state—as though he had aged decades in mere moments.
Then it happened. The four crystalline cores I had carefully secured within my possession suddenly began vibrating violently, radiating intense heat.
“What is this…!”
The instant I withdrew the pouch containing the cores from my embrace, even the fifth core I had just reclaimed rose of its own accord into the air.
Five transparent crystals resonated intensely with one another, erupting in crimson flashes of light.
Demian urgently drew his holy sword and positioned himself before me.
“Step back! The cores are fusing into one!”
Kairik too bristled with bestial fury, unleashing a ferocious killing intent.
The five crystals, rotating violently in midair, suddenly coalesced into a single, massive, blood-red cross.
And from the center of that cross, a voice emerged—far more terrifying and immense than the Pride Demon that had inhabited the Archmage—resonating throughout the entire Magic Tower with bone-chilling weight.
[Splendid, humans. To think you have gathered the five keys I scattered with such perfect precision.]
There was no anger in that voice—only a thick, sardonic satisfaction at how perfectly the plan had unfolded.
I grasped it instinctively then: the five calamities we had pursued so desperately were nothing but bait deliberately scattered by someone.
The cross-shaped figure blazed crimson in the void, transforming into a colossal compass pointing in a singular direction.
Its needle aimed toward the deepest subterranean depths of the Papal See—the sanctuary within the sanctuary itself.
Kairik von Herzen let out a hollow, incredulous laugh.
“Well, isn’t this something. We gathered all this, only to discover there’s a separate Mastermind who’s been using us. I never imagined the old men of the Papal See would be the Mastermind.”
Demian Lyart’s face had gone ashen with shock and devastation.
The revelation that all these horrific calamities had originated from the deepest recesses of the Cult he had devoted his entire life to serving was enough to shake a holy knight’s convictions to their very foundation.
Demian murmured in a trembling voice.
“The Holy Sanctuary I believed in and followed my entire life… was the source of all evil.”
I steadied him with reassurance, gazing at the crimson cross suspended in the void, and smiled—cool, sharp, and exhilarating.
“It doesn’t matter who the Mastermind is. They intended to use us as pawns on their chessboard, but instead they’ve handed us the perfect key to break down their own front door.”
I adjusted my hammer across my back and gave Demian’s shoulder a firm, encouraging pat.
“Come now, there’s no time for sorrow. Before they can reclaim this key, we’ll storm in first and completely dismantle that arrogant Mastermind’s lair.”
I had thought the hunt was over, but now the truly colossal prey revealed its hideous tail.
And I had no intention of letting it escape.
The real war for the continent’s fate was only beginning now.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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