Chapter 268: Chapter 268: Barrier Activated

Chapter 268: Barrier Activated

"You bastard..."

The tall priest stared at Asagiri, who was blocking the fire escape door. Flames gradually burned where his eyeballs had been, and his already broad body expanded several times over, causing his crimson Roman robe to bulge.

The next second, he drew the silver revolver from his waist, aimed at Asagiri, and pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

A large caliber silver bullet, engraved with a certain holy mark, spun out of the barrel and struck Asagiri’s left chest, near his heart.

However, in the next instant, the priest and the three believers could not help but change expression.

"Is that all?"

Asagiri extended his left hand and caught the bullet that had fallen from his chest. He pinched it between his thumb and index finger, examined it briefly, then casually tossed it aside. After gently patting his left chest with his left hand, he looked at the priest and the three believers in the distance and said indifferently,

"A bullet with holy damage? Don’t bring out such childish tricks. Do you think this is playing house?"

The priest frowned tightly. The flames burning in his eye sockets flickered erratically from the shock in his heart.

"This man’s power is not merely Cursed... and the bullet itself cannot harm him..."

At this point, the priest made a decision.

"You three, go up and stop those Black Watch people. As for this man..."

The priest gritted his teeth, raised his right hand, and pierced his own chest. Then he pulled out a wisp of burning flame from within, shaping it into a broad, blazing two handed longsword.

His gaze locked firmly onto Asagiri and the Human Asura standing there as he said, word by word,

"It is time to offer our loyalty to the Lord!"

As his voice fell, the priest let out a roar. His entire body was engulfed in surging flames as he charged toward Asagiri and the Human Asura.

Facing the priest’s powerful assault, Asagiri quickly retreated, clearing the entrance to the fire escape.

"You three, go up!"

Only after the three Fire Clad Believers entered the fire escape did the priest finally let out a sigh of relief.

At this moment, with his entire body wrapped in flames, he no longer had his previous calm and solemn demeanor. Instead, he resembled a punishing angel sent down by a deity. A broad two handed sword of flame rested in his hands, flame armor covered his body, and raging fire burned in his eye sockets.

If an ordinary Player had been facing the oppressive aura radiating from the priest, they would probably have been drenched in sweat by now.

But Asagiri showed no tension whatsoever.

Instead, he looked at the priest with interest and chuckled.

"Your control over fire is much more refined than those believers. You can even form a two handed sword out of flames, making yourself look like an archangel descending for judgment. Very stylish."

"Hmph..."

The priest twirled the two handed longsword of flame, looked directly at Asagiri, and said in a deep voice,

"Under the power of the divine..."

Halfway through his sentence, the priest suddenly launched a sneak attack.

His tall body, nearly 1.9 meters in height, moved with extreme agility.

The tip of the greatsword carved a trail of fire across the smooth marble floor before being raised high and brought down vertically toward Asagiri’s head.

"Burn to ashes!"

"Bang!"

Asagiri quickly retreated, and the tip of the flaming greatsword smashed into the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust.

If it were an ordinary Player, they would have instinctively closed their eyes or turned their head to avoid the debris and dust splashing toward their face. But Asagiri had received professional training from Ashikaga Miwa.

Like a trained combatant, even when facing danger, he could suppress his body’s subconscious reactions and avoid creating blind spots where the enemy could launch a sneak attack.

And just as expected, the moment the dust rose, the tip of the flaming sword had already pierced through it, thrusting fiercely toward Asagiri’s chest.

As Asagiri dodged, the Human Asura beside him had already extended both hands, firmly grabbing the burning greatsword.

Although its hands began melting rapidly, it temporarily restrained the priest’s movements.

"Frost Spear!"

While condensing the Frost Spear, Asagiri threw the Rope Dart toward the priest’s head. Deadly attacks came from the left and right at the same time.

Seeing this, the priest immediately released the flaming longsword, attempting to dodge just as Asagiri had done earlier. However, his speed and reaction time were not as sharp as Asagiri’s.

Although he avoided the vital strikes, the Rope Dart still grazed his temple, leaving a bloody mark.

"You actually..."

Just as the priest was about to speak after dodging, Asagiri gave him no chance to breathe. He directly canceled the Human Asura’s summon, then instantly summoned an unharmed Human Asura again. Together, one in front and one behind, they launched a rapid attack.

Through his own senses, Asagiri also discovered something.

After the Rope Dart damaged the priest, what he recovered was mental energy. That meant this priest was not a biological entity, but some kind of existence similar to a spirit body.

Facing the Human Asura and Asagiri’s attacks from front and rear, with no way to defend against both, the priest’s eyes widened in fury at the critical moment. The flames on his body suddenly expanded outward.

"Frost Spear."

Asagiri had already anticipated that it would not be that simple, and immediately condensed a chilling ice spear in front of himself.

He did not fire it. Instead, he used it as a barrier to withstand the intense heat.

"Boom!"

[Your Persona, Human Asura, has been destroyed. The characteristic "Regeneration of the End" has activated. Fire resistance has increased.]

A sea of fire erupted through the lobby, instantly engulfing the Human Asura’s body. Meanwhile, the barrier formed by Asagiri’s Frost Spear bought him a brief moment.

By the time the residual flames struck him, he had already retreated nearly twenty meters.

Feeling the burning pain in his arms and eyes, Asagiri’s expression did not change. He simply watched as the sea of fire dispersed, revealing the priest, whose body had completely transformed into pure orange flames. Mysterious patterns appeared across his face, making him look like a monster of fire.

"Compared to those believers, your flames are hotter, and you can use more abilities," Asagiri said indifferently. "So that’s why you’re a priest. I thought it was because you had some special preferences."

"You’re still not dead..."

When the priest spoke, sparks of orange flame even burst from his mouth.

"There is actually a monster like you within Black Watch... It truly is an organization not to be underestimated. But..."

The priest once again condensed a greatsword formed from orange flames.

Due to the extreme heat surrounding him, the entire First Floor lobby of the Hotel became scorching hot.

He pointed the tip of the greatsword at Asagiri, his voice filled with uncontrollable fervor and excitement.

"But precisely because of that, you can become an excellent sacrifice for the Lord! Come! Let us fight to the death!" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

To the priest’s surprise, facing his powerful declaration of war, Asagiri merely shook his head and scoffed.

"Crazy. Who’s fighting to the death with you?"

Immediately after, Asagiri said softly,

"Next, I’ll leave it to you, Violet. King’s Gambit."

The moment Asagiri’s figure disappeared, Yuuki Asuna appeared in his place, holding the rapier Gleaming Light. Her crimson cloak and shining light armor fluttered as she revealed a faint smile and murmured to herself,

"Leave it to me, Leader."

Seeing this, the priest’s expression changed, and even the flames around him began flickering erratically.

"How could this be... clearly..."

"Clearly, his summoned creature was just eliminated by you, yet he still used that ability to swap positions, right?"

Yuuki Asuna did not immediately attack. After all, her task was only to stall for time.

Moreover, by this point, the conjecture Iwanaga Kotoko had proposed earlier had already been confirmed.

What if the Fire Clad Believer’s spiritual turmoil earlier had not been caused by seeing his companions killed by Asagiri, but because these people’s spirits were connected from the very beginning?

It had only been a conjecture at first, but now there was decisive evidence.

On one hand, this priest had deliberately guarded against Asagiri’s ability. He only used that wide range eruption of fire when Asagiri and the Human Asura approached him at the same time, precisely to prevent Asagiri from using King’s Gambit to swap positions with a Persona and escape the attack range.

And the most crucial evidence was the name he had called out.

Black Watch Commander, Lelouch Lamperouge.

This was not Asagiri’s real name, which ruled out the possibility that the priest possessed some ability to detect a Player’s real name. Furthermore, the three Fire Clad Believers from earlier had not made any movements to contact the outside.

The only explanation was that these people’s spirits were interconnected.

"You people..."

Just as the priest was about to reply, he suddenly realized something horrifying.

That Black Watch Commander’s ability was not teleportation, but position swapping.

So, if this Swordsman in a crimson cloak had appeared here, then...

Where had that man gone?

The priest had already realized that if those three believers encountered the Black Watch Commander, there would be only one outcome.

After all, that man was a monster who could retreat unharmed even after facing the high temperature sea of fire he had unleashed at close range.

Thinking of this, the priest immediately made a decision. He no longer bothered with Yuuki Asuna in the distance. He turned around directly and rushed toward the fire escape.

Yuuki Asuna had already predicted his reaction.

Everything was still going according to plan.

"Now!"

Hearing Yuuki Asuna’s words, the Fox Mask Woman, who had been hiding in an inconspicuous corner of the lobby by relying on Kato Megumi’s special skill to reduce her presence, immediately raised her right hand. She held up her index and middle fingers, then gave a low shout like an exorcist performing a ritual.

"Barrier, open!"

.....

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