Chapter 270: Holy Nail

Chapter 270: Holy Nail

This strike was the strongest and fastest one Shinji had unleashed tonight.

This strike combined Shinji's physical strength, the enhancement of the relic, the amplification from gravity, and the instantaneous boost from the mana burst.

This strike, both in terms of timing and angle, was executed perfectly.

In Shinji's opinion, Riesbyfe could only block this attack, even though it was likely to put her at a disadvantage for the first time.Fôllôw new stories at novelhall.com

However, would reality go as smoothly as Shinji thought?

As the distance between Shinji and Riesbyfe grew closer, a vague sense of unease suddenly emerged in Shinji's heart, as if a great crisis was approaching.

Almost simultaneously with the sense of crisis, there was a faint clicking sound, as if some kind of switch was being flipped.

Before Shinji could even think about what could have made that sound, he saw Riesbyfe releasing the stance of holding the shield at the top. The shield, which was fixed on her left hand, retracted towards her waist. The pointed end of the gourd-shaped shield pointed downwards, with a circular opening at the bottom facing upward, as if she intended to strike together with her left fist.

Wait, the opening at the bottom of the shield!

Shinji's expression suddenly changed.

No, that is--

Accompanied by a loud impact, a pale green cone, with a diameter of over five centimeters, shot out from the opening at the bottom of the shield. It whistled as it collided with Shinji's strongest left hand.

The tip of the cone emitted an unusual glow, silently declaring to Shinji that his left hand couldn't block it.

This was Riesbyfe's conceptual armament, the true form of the Holy Shield Gamaliel. It was not only a shield engraved with holy words and possessing extraordinary defensive power but also a weapon with tremendous destructive power.

Beneath the peculiar gourd-shaped shield, there was a mechanism that housed holy nails made of sacred silver.

This holy nail, like the holy shield, is blessed by God, but not with "protection" but rather with "destruction" towards the targets it harms. Without exception, anyone injured by the holy nail will be marked with the concept of "destruction." This is one of the trump cards prepared by the Holy Church to exterminate vampires. Since being entrusted to Riesbyfe, many dead apostles have been marked with indelible scars by the holy nail and have even fallen beneath its power.

If the holy nail had truly pierced through Shinji's palm, it would have meant that he would lose at least thirty percent of his strength, and it could potentially be permanent. That would drive anyone who desires strength mad.

If this straightforward Shield Knight hadn't shown even a hint of killing intent from the beginning to the end, Shinji wouldn't have simply brushed it off with a single sentence.

"Excessive?"

Upon hearing Shinji's words filled with coldness, Riesbyfe, who had just pulled herself out of the ground, looked up at the sky in confusion and then glanced at her own hands.

Hmm, no problem, no injury, and the holy shield...

"Ah—holy nail! I used the holy nail! Oh no, oh no, oh no, that's a weapon that can only be used in an execution battle! This is bad, this is bad, Cardinal Gessebarne will be mad! I will be in confinement!"

Shinji was dumbfounded by such a bizarre response. Fortunately, through their previous interactions, he had gained some understanding of Riesbyfe's thick-skinned nature, so he managed to maintain his balance and didn't fall from the sky.

To avoid further mental attacks, Shinji coughed heavily to show his presence.

"I say, let's talk about confinement later. Don't you care if I'm okay or not?"

"Oh, right." Riesbyfe realized belatedly, "Are you okay? If you're injured, you have to speak up. The injuries caused by the holy nail are difficult to recover from unless treated with another special conceptual armament."

Riesbyfe's sincere attitude and genuine reaction dispelled Shinji's last doubt. He descended from the sky and waved his left hand in front of Riesbyfe.

"Fortunately, I reacted in time and didn't get injured. Otherwise... hehe~"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Riesbyfe lowered her head apologetically, "I accidentally forgot that you're not the target that needs to be eliminated."

"Forget it, you didn't seem to do it on purpose. Just be more careful in the future." Shinji sighed.

Originally, this battle was Shinji's fault. If he hadn't hung Hideo Hayama on a cross for no reason, he wouldn't have provoked Riesbyfe. If he hadn't been curious about Riesbyfe's strength, they wouldn't have fought. With the feathered Shoes, he could have easily left. How could a "short-legged" warrior catch up to him?

More importantly, the gains from this battle had exceeded his expectations. It wasn't worth dwelling on a slight accident.