CH 52

Siegfried and Shakiro immediately turned around and found a man in red robes sleazily smiling at them.

The man looked pretty suspicious. He had silver hair, red eyes, small slit eyes, and a red hue floating around his mouth. On top of that, his pale face and sharp nose made it seem like he could be easily mistaken for a vampire instead of a human.

“Herbert’s life’s work is the property of our church, so get lost,” said the red-robed man.

The red-robed man seemed pretty confident, even though he had no idea of whom he was speaking to. Siegfried was a low-level Adventurer, who shouldn’t really be in this dungeon, but Shakiro was a different story altogether.

How many people were brave enough to tell Weapon Master Shakiro of the Five Star Heaven to get lost?

‘Wait a minute… did he just say church? Could it be…’ 

A thought suddenly flashed across Siegfried’s mind, and he flinched as a result.

“Are you the Red Cardinal?” Shakiro said.

Surprisingly, it seemed that Weapon Master Shakiro was aware of the red-robed man’s identity.

“It’s a surprise to see the appearance of the man who had always been hiding behind a veil,” said Shakiro.

“Shakiro… If you know who I am, get lost,” the Red Cardinal retorted.

It was shocking to see that the so-called ‘Red Cardinal’ remained seemingly unfazed despite being aware of Shakiro’s identity.

“Get lost?” Shakiro muttered with a scoff, and then he growled. “How dare you—”

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However, the Red Cardinal cut him off and said, “You dying relic of the past.”

“You dare!” Shakiro lashed out.

“An elderly that could die any time soon shouldn’t be so active, don’t you agree?” the Red Cardinal sneered, and then he added, “Don’t you think you have to be a bit more conservative if you want to live your pitiful life for a bit longer? Right, Shakiro? Keke!”

“I told you to shut your mouth,” Shakiro warned the Red Cardinal.

The Weapon Master’s blue eyes shone red all of a sudden, and it looked as if a fire were burning within it.

However…

“Oh~ How scary~ I’m so scared that I’m trembling~ Kekeke!” the Red Cardinal kept on sneering despite the Weapon Master’s warning.

“I shall shut your mouth for you then,” Shakira said, and then…

Flash!

His saber flashed and flew toward the Red Cardinal.

Was it 0.1 seconds? No… it was more like 0.01 seconds. The Weapon Master’s saber flew at the speed of light, and an ear-splitting sound reverberated afterward.

Clang!

Siegfried stood frozen. He had just witnessed an unbelievable sight as well as the Red Cardinal’s sleazy smile.

Smirk.

“Too slow! Kekeke!” the Red Cardinal exclaimed after blocking Shakiro’s attack with a lengthy weapon resembling a spear.

“Hey, Shakiro. What are you trying to do with your ragged body? I heard you gave away all of your weapons to your disciples, too. Ha! Do you seriously think that you can do something against me with that piece of junk? Can’t you use your head for a second, you relic of the past?!” the Red Cardinal arrogantly taunted the Weapon Master.

‘I have to help…’ Siegfried thought. He sensed that things were going south.

But just as he moved his hand, Shakiro said, “Stay back.”

“But…” Siegfried muttered.

Shakiro gently pushed him back and continued, “He is an inquisitor from the Church of Osric. He isn’t someone you can fight so don’t worry and leave him to me.”

“Oh~” the Red Cardinal muttered while inspecting Siegfried, and then he said, “I thought you were familiar. I think it was a month ago? I received a report from the Sohoca Ruins, and it was quite amusing. The report said that a random greenhorn dared to disrupt an important event of our church. Perhaps…”

“…”

“I never thought of meeting that greenhorn here! How dare you disrupt our event? You shall pay for your transgressions with your life,” the Red Cardinal said as he extended his hand toward Siegfried.

Shwaaaaaak!

Red thorns shot out from his hand and flew toward Siegfried.

‘Keuh! I won’t be able to avoid it…’ Siegfried realized that it was going to be difficult—no, impossible to avoid the attack. He couldn’t avoid the needle-like thorns flying toward him.

However, Shakiro stood in front of Siegfried and shouted, “How dare you!”

Chwak!

The Weapon Master fiercely swung his sword and created a ferocious stream of air that blocked the red thorns.

“Are you trying to prove that you still have your molars left despite losing your fangs?” the Red Cardinal asked with a smile.

“I thought that you were nothing but a walking corpse now, but—” The Red Cardinal flinched and could not finish his words.

Shwiiik!

Shakiro’s weapon suddenly changed, and he swung a whip at the Red Cardinal’s face.

And thus, the battle started…

***

Weapon Master Shakiro and the Red Cardinal of the Church of Osric. The battle between these two could only be described as awe-inspiring. Shakiro constantly switched weapons, living up to his title as the Weapon Master while the Red Cardinal spread a sinister-looking red energy around him while thrusting his spear.

Meanwhile, Siegfried could not properly observe the battle. “Keuk…!”

No, it was more appropriate to say that he could not stand the overwhelming pressure they exuded amidst their fight.

“W-What kind of pressure is this…?!” Siegfried exclaimed in awe.

The shockwaves emitted whenever the Weapon Master and the Red Cardinal clashed were so powerful that Siegfried was having a hard time withstanding it. However, Siegfried tried his best not to miss a single moment of the battle.

‘This is a fight between Masters. It’s not something that you can watch even if you pay a huge sum of money. I have to watch them and learn…!’ 

He steeled his resolve as he withstood the overwhelming pressure.

It was true that there was no way to watch a fight between Masters since there were currently zero players at the Master level. As such, Siegfried considered himself lucky to be able to watch, listen, and feel the battle between these two Masters.

‘Will I also be able to do such movements upon becoming a Master…?’ he wondered while observing their movements.

While Siegfried was intently observing their fight, Shakiro’s sword finally managed to dig deep into the Red Cardinal’s abdomen.

Puuuuk!

Chwak! Chwaak!

In addition, the Weapon Master immediately wielded a nunchaku and unleashed a barrage of strikes at the Red Cardinal’s face.

“Keuuuuaaah!” the Red Cardinal screamed in agony.

‘As I expected, Shakiro-nim will win…’ 

Siegfried was convinced that Shakiro would win, but the next scene caught him off guard.

‘Huh?!’

He didn’t expect it at all.

Kwachik!

The Red Cardinal grabbed Shakiro by the neck.

How was this possible when the Red Cardinal’s abdomen had a sword sticking out of it, and he had just been beaten to a pulp by the nunchaku?

“…!” Shakiro was just as surprised as Siegfried.

“Keuk… Keke… Kekeke!” The Red Cardinal burst out into laughter with a hint of madness on his face before saying, “Weapon Master Shakiro… You forced me to become a beast… you walking dead…!”

“Euk!” Shakiro groaned when the Red Cardinal tightened his grip.

“I shall… rip you… into pieces… Keuhehehe!” the Red Cardinal exclaimed as he laughed sinisterly.

Then, the Red Cardinal transformed. The Red Cardinal’s pale complexion slowly turned dark-purplish, and his eyes slowly turned black. His barely-visible blood vessels bulged throughout his body, and his feeble-looking physique slowly grew larger.

The Red Cardinal’s new appearance resembled a ‘beast’ just as he said a while ago, and it seemed like he was transforming into Bruce Banner from the Marvel comics, the Hulk.

‘That’s…! That bastard is the one Master told me about!’ Siegfried exclaimed inwardly when he ‘instinctively’ recognized the Red Cardinal’s true identity.

[Alert: Quest – ‘Master’s Regret’ has activated!]

[Master’s Regret]

[Type: Quest]

[Details: Find and crush the seven successors of the people known as the strongest eight on the continent five hundred years ago.

[Progress: 0%]

[Descendant of Thunder God Vajra 0/1]

[Descendant of Sword Saint Murcièlago 0/1]

[Descendant of Great Sage Sieghart 0/1]

[Descendant of Blood Master Berserk 0/1]

[Descendant of Enlightened King Maugris 0/1]

[Descendant of God Arrow Windforce 0/1]

[Descendant of Supreme King Braum 0/1]

It turned out that the Red Cardinal from the Church of Osric was the descendant of one of the people whom Deus did not get the chance to beat. He was the descendant of the Blood Master, Berserk.

[Vladimir]

[Type: NPC]

[Race: Human]

[Level: 301]

[Affiliation: Church of Osric]

[Position: Inquisitor]

[Title: Red Cardinal]

[Additional Information: The descendant of the devil known as the Blood Master, Berserk, who painted the continent in blood in the past.]

The Red Cardinal—Vladimir—turned out to be one of Siegfried’s Quest objectives.

***

Vladimir was as powerful as he looked in his ‘beast’ form, and he was able to overpower and push Shakiro into a corner. No, it was more appropriate to say that he managed to push Shakiro one-sidedly into a corner, and the Weapon Master couldn’t put up much of a resistance.

Kwachik!

Vladimir grabbed Shakiro’s face and slammed him into the ground.

“Keuhak!” Shakiro screamed in agony for the first time since the battle started.

“I shall rip you… into pieces… Kehehe… I will chew on your limbs, and after I’m done… Kekeke!”

“You bastard…!”

“Die! Kruwah!” Vladimir shouted and swung his fists toward Shakiro, unleashing a barrage of vicious punches.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! 

Vladimir’s fist rained down on Shakiro.

“Keuh! Kuwaaah!” Shakiro screamed in pain.

‘I have to help him!’ Siegfried thought. He could no longer just stand by and watch. He knew it would be futile, but he could not simply stand by and watch Shakiro die.

If he was a true man, he couldn’t just stand around and watch like a coward while Shakiro was dying, right? Moreover, Vladimir was the descendant of Blood Master Berserk, so he would eventually have to crush the Red Cardinal as well.

There was no reason he shouldn’t intervene.

Wooong!

Siegfried activated Circle of Mortality, Circle of Weakness, and Speed Restraint on Vladimir before charging at him—no, he tried to charge at Vladimir.

Flash!

A bright light manifested all of a sudden, and a sword surrounded by a blue aura appeared in a flash. The sword was not made out of metal. It seemed to be made out of mana, the energy of nature, and it seemed that a human’s will materialized it. In addition…

Flash! Flash! Flash!

A weapon constructed from mana appeared every time there was a flash.

A saber, spear, shield, mace, scythe, greatsword, etc...

Every weapon that could be found in this world had appeared.

‘What the hell are those?!’

Siegfried was astonished to see the weapons constructed from mana.

While Siegfried was standing there in a daze, the ground started shaking as the weapons made out of mana started spinning around the battlefield.

Wooooooooong…!

Smirk…

Shakiro suddenly smirked.

“Kruoh?” Vladimir tilted his head in confusion. However, he noticed that something was off when he saw the Weapon Master’s smile.

Shwaaaaaaa!

The weapons rained down on the battlefield. However, it was more accurate to describe the scene as a ‘storm’ of weapons.

***

Siegfried didn’t manage to witness the end of the awe-inspiring skill. Other than how the weapons rained down on the battlefield, he didn’t manage to see much because…

[Alert: Status ailment!]

[Alert: You have been stunned!]

[Alert: 29 minutes and 59 seconds until recovery…]

[Alert: 29 minutes and 58 seconds left…]

[Alert: 29 minutes and 57 seconds left…]

[Alert: 29 minutes and 56 seconds left…]

Tae-Sung’s game character Siegfried couldn’t withstand the explosive mana that burst from the storm of weapons and was knocked out by the storm’s sheer pressure.