Chapter 196 196 – The Greatest Archer

Alain winced in pain. His hands began to blister, and his clothes began to disintegrate.

“Are you really okay doing this?” Raymund asked again.

“I told you, shut up, god.” The archer chuckled as his giant arrow grew brighter. “I’m doing this not only to restore the divinity of your servants. Just imagine if the giant monster reached another settlement.”

Raymund was about to argue, but he said, “Good luck, then.”

The archer grinned. The light from his arrow was now so dazzling that it engulfed his body. Lynn, who was still watching, could only protect her eyes with her hands.

The arrow from the man shot fast and exploded as soon as it hit the giant monster’s body. Thick gray smoke formed.

Lynn lowered her hand, staring at the plume of smoke. A few seconds later, she saw almost the left half of the demon’s body had disappeared. Half of his head is also gone.

The gigantic monster collapsed, giving a giant thud and sending strong winds in various directions.

Lynn covered her face again with her hands, this time to protect herself from the wind and dust.

She saw something was wrong. “Alain?”

The woman looked around because she only found black marks on where Alain had been standing. She then jumped into the place and found a lot of ashes scattered on the roof.

“Alain!?” Lynn screamed, starting to panic at the thought of what had happened.

“What happened?” Gina, already on the street near that location, asked.

“He’s gone.” The god of hope’s low voice confirmed Lynn’s thoughts. “His body was destroyed because of what he did.”

Lynn gasped when she saw a piece of cloth dropping in the air. The fabric color was exactly the same as the color of Alain’s clothes.

“Shit…” Lynn snarled and looked down as she clenched her fists. Her gaze was straight on the piece of cloth that had landed on the roof.

“I know how you feel, Lynn.” Gina sighed. “We’ve only met Alain not long ago, but he’s still a part of us. However, we still have work to do.”

Lynn wiped a tear from her eye, then looked at the castle from a distance.

Yes, they have to infiltrate the building to free Raymund’s servants’ divinity.

“We have a problem.” Raymund sighed, trying not to think about what would happen to Lauren once she found out Alain was gone. “Lord Levi just did an analysis. The magic barrier used to protect the castle is so strong…. Even that arrow of light like Alain’s would not be able to destroy it.”

Lynn widened her eyes and stopped breathing. Despair filled the woman’s heart again. Even after all this, with so many victims falling, they couldn’t do anything about it. It’s all in vain.

“Well, actually, the ones who have cool moves aren’t just Taka, Olga, and Alain.” Even though her body was shaking, Gina puffed out her chest. “I have one too, and it’s much more powerful than Alain’s.”

It took a while before Raymund could answer. He couldn’t imagine a move crazier than the archer’s. “I’m listening.”

“Even though I might die because what I’m about to do is greater than Alain’s?” The mage laughed, took a deep breath, and smiled, then pointed at the overcast sky. “Did you know that there are rocks up there? I’m not talking about this sky that we can see, but far above. Since long ago, I can sometimes feel them. After my abilities were amplified with divinity, I could feel them more clearly.”

“Asteroids?? You’re going to attract an asteroid just to destroy that magic barrier???” Too surprised, Raymund forgot that no one in Levidna knew about the term.

“So, the names are asteroids?” Gina nodded. “Yeah, I’ll pull that thing from a location above the sky.”

“Even Lord Levi doesn’t believe you can do it.”

Gina folded her arms across her chest. “Do you have another solution? You gods can’t come down directly to destroy the barrier, can you?”

Raymund fell silent again. Lynn then jumped down and came to the mage.

“So, you want to do something like Alain did?” The naked woman asked.

“Honestly…” Gina choked. “This might be more dangerous…. Maybe my suffering will be more severe and longer than Alain’s.”

“If you want to do that….” Raymund spoke again, but his voice sounded dispirited. “Go as far away from the village as possible.”

“Wow, you already know how big the impact will be, sir?” Gina chuckled. “Even I didn’t know about it myself.”

***

One day has passed. The substitute servants and troops left the village as far as possible. They even went so far as to pack up their camp, though that made the soldiers wonder. After all, they couldn’t understand what the ‘stone from the sky’ Gina meant.

And no one can guess how big the impact will be.

Gina glanced at Olga, who was still on a stretcher. “Are you feeling better, though, girl?”

“Yes,” Olga answered while lying down. “And what about you?”

The mage laughed. “Not good at all.”

“Are you sure about this?” Lynn asked, walking beside Gina.

“Of course not.” Gina shrugged. “But what can we do?”

The atmosphere is quiet for a moment. There was only the clatter of exhausted soldiers, accompanied by the sound of the wheels of the chariots. Tamayo is repairing Taka in that vehicle.

“Hey.” The mage chuckled. “No one wants to cheer me on and comfort me?”

No one answered. Even the god of hope didn’t open his mouth.

“It’s okay.” The woman smiled faintly. “I don’t blame you guys. You guys don’t know how to talk to someone likely to die.”

“I’ve spoken to people who are about to die several times,” Olga responded. “But never this awkward. Maybe it’s because it has to do with saving so many lives.”

Gina laughed again, this time much louder. It even caught the attention of the soldiers who accompanied them. “I love your dry humor!”

Lynn shook her head. She couldn’t believe they joked like that after Alain’s death.

“Well, I hope I can pull this off. I’m on the side of goodness, after all.” The mage then looked up. “You also have to make sure I succeed, god. You are the god of hope, right?”

“You already know what I’m going to say, right?” Raymund sighed.

The mage laughed again.

“So, all this time, you feel on the side of goodness?” Lynn asked again.

“I don’t look like that, do I? With my pantsless appearance, I look like a bad person?” Seeing Lynn, who raised an eyebrow, Gina smiled. “I was just kidding. But it’s true, I’m on the side of goodness, Lynn. I’m the leader of an organization that fights drug trafficking.”

Lynn turned her gaze forward again. “Okay.”

“Hey, why are you just answering like that!?” Gina snorted but didn’t look really angry.

The naked woman shrugged. “I’m joking too.”

Not long after, they came out of the forest and saw another village where houses were more scarce.

“Ah, looks like we should stop here,” Gina said. “I’m not sure I can hit the mark if we go further than this.”

***

They built a camp near the village. It was night, and most of the soldiers were asleep. Gina sneaked out of the tent she shared with Lynn and Olga. After greeting several soldiers on patrol, she walked away from the camp carrying a torch.

“Where are you going, Gina?” Raymund asked, wondering why the mage was still carrying the communication device.

Gina shrugged. “I’ll do it now without attracting the attention of others.”

“Have you had enough rest?”

“Surprisingly, I’ve been able to sleep soundly since this afternoon. So, my body feels very refreshed.” Gina used her earth magic to stick the torch. She also felt calmer and at peace. Her doubts had disappeared.

She will make this work no matter what.

After taking a deep breath, Gina took out two glass bottles the size of a palm grip from her robes. The mage’s eyes fell on the cyan-colored liquid within the bottles.

They are all potions that can give you mana far above any mortal’s body’s capacity. Or in other words, it is a dangerous drug because it forces the body to exceed the limit. Of course, that is very much against her principles as someone who hates illegal drugs.

At first, she did not know why she kept those cursed objects. However, with the chain of events that had just happened, she thought it was all for this moment.

“Fuck it!” Gina opened the lids of both bottles, then drank the contents at once. As soon as she felt a burning sensation in her throat, the mage dropped the empty bottles, shattering them on the ground.

She felt her magical energy increase many times over, even more so than when she got the gods’ divinity.

“Are you okay, Gina?” Raymund asked in a worried tone. The mage did look very sick. “What are you drinking?”

“I feel really great.” Gina steeled her resolve, then raised her left hand up.