Chapter 52: Fatal Blind Spot, The Shattered Defenses

Saile remained on his hands and knees in the bloody sand. Thick, dark blood dripped constantly from his mouth. His completely ruined forearms were screaming in pure, absolute agony.

The pristine white holy fire had violently melted his skin.

It had burned entirely through his dense muscle, exposing his Diamond-Tier bones to the hot desert air. The holy magic acted like absolute poison to his dark EX-Rank core. It was actively fighting his passive healing, preventing the Endless Devourer from stitching his flesh back together.

"Give me control," Naicul whispered coldly in his mind.

The ancient God’s voice was completely devoid of any human empathy. It was heavy, dark, and highly demanding.

"You are going to die right here, kid," Naicul warned. "Let me drive the blade. We must fight as one."

"No," Saile choked out, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the rocks.

If he surrendered full control to the Fallen God, the Sync Rate would skyrocket instantly. Naicul would completely possess his physical brain. Saile knew exactly what that meant.

A full override meant his soul would be entirely erased. He would never see Avery again.

"Burn the Heretics!" the taller Paladin roared loudly from across the canyon.

The two Diamond-Rank holy knights raised their glowing broadswords high into the air. They did not immediately charge at Saile. They turned their lethal, blinding weapons directly toward the massive Remnant army hiding in the shadows.

"Purify the filth!" the second Paladin yelled.

They swung their heavy swords downward in a wide, synchronized horizontal arc.

A massive, roaring wave of absolute white fire exploded outward. The holy blast washed completely over the canyon floor like a violent, burning tsunami.

It slammed directly into the front lines of the Remnant soldiers.

The destruction was completely instantaneous and utterly horrific.

"Aghhh!" hundreds of soldiers screamed in pure, blinding agony.

The holy fire did not just burn them. It violently melted them. Their heavy iron armor turned to glowing, boiling slag right on their bodies. Their flesh literally bubbled and dissolved under the extreme, searing heat.

Men fell to the ground, clawing desperately at their melting faces. Their bones turned to fine white ash in a matter of seconds.

The Remnant army was completely helpless. Without Saile’s Mythic-Grade Domain to suppress the Paladins, the gap in raw magic output was entirely too high.

"Hold the line!" Mrog roared loudly over the screaming.

The giant warlord slammed his heavy hammer into the earth. He pulled up a massive, thick wall of solid rock to block the incoming holy fire.

Alis stood right beside him, hurling volleys of S-Rank hellfire over the rock wall.

It was completely useless.

The holy tsunami slammed directly into Mrog’s earth wall. The thick stone instantly glowed bright white and completely exploded.

The violent kinetic shockwave blew Mrog and Alis completely off their feet. They crashed heavily into the remaining soldiers, their bodies severely burned by the holy backlash.

Saile forced himself to stand up.

His legs were shaking violently. His burned arms screamed in absolute pain as he gripped the Calamity Fang. The dark blade felt ten times heavier in his ruined hands.

"You are next, Demon," the tall Paladin stated coldly.

The knight completely vanished in a flash of blinding white light.

Saile’s Diamond-Tier senses flared wildly. The Paladin was using a holy teleportation skill. The knight reappeared directly in Saile’s blind spot, raising his glowing broadsword for a clean, brutal decapitation.

Saile tried to turn, but his damaged muscles were entirely too slow.

Before the holy blade could strike his neck, a blur of dark purple magic shot into the open space.

"Get away from him!" Lady Vesper screamed loudly.

The Diamond-Tier warrior threw her body directly between Saile and the lethal Paladin. She thrust both of her hands forward, creating a highly compressed, solid shield of pure gravity.

The glowing broadsword slammed violently into the gravity shield.

Clang!

The heavy impact generated a sharp, deafening sonic boom. Vesper gritted her

teeth, pouring every single drop of her Diamond-Tier core into the defense.

"A pathetic Heretic," the Paladin sneered with complete disgust.

The holy knight simply pushed harder. The pure white light flared violently, completely overwhelming the dark gravity magic.

Crack!

Vesper’s gravity shield shattered instantly into a million purple fragments.

The glowing broadsword sliced completely through the defense. It plunged brutally deep into Lady Vesper’s chest, cleanly piercing her left shoulder and exiting right through her back.

A massive splatter of hot red blood painted the canyon wall.

"Vesper!" Saile yelled, his brown eyes widening in pure shock.

The Paladin coldly ripped his sword out of her body. Vesper collapsed instantly, her blood pooling heavily on the dirty stone floor. She was grievously wounded, completely out of the fight.

Saile’s mind completely snapped.

Pure, unadulterated fury violently flooded his core. The dark magic boiled like hot lava.

He lunged forward with absolutely everything he had. He swung the Calamity Fang in a brutal, blinding diagonal slash, aiming directly for the Paladin’s unprotected neck.

The holy knight merely scoffed.

The Paladin brought his glowing broadsword up and easily parried the strike.

Boom!

The clash of dark and light magic sent a massive explosion ripping through the narrow space.

Saile’s ruined arms completely failed him. He could not hold the heavy kinetic force. The brutal recoil blew his guard completely wide open.

The Paladin stepped firmly into the gap. He drove a heavy, steel-plated boot directly into Saile’s chest.

The visceral kick launched Saile backward. He crashed violently into the steep rock wall of the canyon, completely cracking the solid stone.

Saile slid down the wall and collapsed into the bloody dirt.

His health was dropping incredibly fast. His entire body felt completely broken. The Holy Church was simply too strong.

[System Warning: Critical Health Detected!]

[Immediate Healing Required!]

[Holy Nullification remains active.]

The second Paladin walked calmly over to join his partner. The two holy knights stood towering over Saile, looking down at him with glowing, remorseless blue eyes.

"The False God is dead," the second Paladin declared flatly. "You are nothing but a weak vessel."

They raised their heavy broadswords together, preparing the final, lethal execution.

"Do you see now?" Naicul whispered heavily in his mind.

The ancient God’s voice was completely calm. He was not panicking at all. He was simply stating an absolute, undeniable fact.

"You cannot win this with mortal strength," Naicul said coldly. "Your arms are entirely useless. Your magic is completely nullified. If you do not give me the wheel, we both die right here."

Saile stared up at the glowing holy blades.

His vision was completely blurring from the severe blood loss. His heart was hammering violently against his shattered ribs.

He knew Naicul was entirely right. The gap in raw elemental magic was simply too massive. He could not physically swing the Calamity Fang hard enough to break their holy defense.

"If I give you full control," Saile replied mentally, his voice shaking with absolute exhaustion. "My soul disappears completely."

"A necessary sacrifice to kill the Saints," Naicul stated without a single ounce of pity.

"No," Saile thought back fiercely.

Saile refused to completely die in this filthy dirt. He refused to abandon Avery to the terrifying hands of the Pope. He needed to survive, but he refused to lose his humanity.

He needed a highly dangerous compromise.

"I will not give you full control," Saile proposed quickly in his mind. "I will give you thirty percent."

Naicul went completely silent.

"You take thirty percent," Saile commanded internally, his thoughts moving at blinding speed. "You completely control my left arm. You control the sword technique. You control the blade."

Saile forced his bloody hands into the dirt, slowly pushing himself up onto his knees.

"But I keep the footwork," Saile finished. "I control the acrobatics. We split the physical vessel completely in half."

A dark, heavy pause filled his mind.

The two Paladins stepped forward, bringing their glowing swords down for the absolute kill.

"A partial override," Naicul finally purred. The ancient God’s voice was completely vibrating with dark, violent amusement. "Highly lethal. Highly unstable. If our minds clash for even a single microsecond, the holy magic will cut us completely in half."

"Then do not clash with me," Saile stated coldly.

"Deal," Naicul whispered.