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~Chapter 42~
[Perfect success! You have evoked your father’s ‘deep emotion’!]
[Hidden Skill ‘Purification’ has been activated!]
I grinned as I watched the brilliant white radiance bloom before my eyes, visible only to me.
Come to me, experience points galore!
Dad, let’s level up together!
Derrick was reminded of a distant memory—the day he first became a Holy Knight at the age of fourteen.
The entire temple had called it a blessing. For more than fifteen years thereafter, he had wielded his blade for the Order, striking down countless foes and earning accolades from all.
But there was a moment he could never forget.
That first day as a Holy Knight.
—My child…
He had believed then that he heard the voice of God. Yet, perhaps it had been an illusion born of pride and circumstance.
But now… now that memory came flooding back.
Just moments ago, Nehemiah had whispered to him after sending all the team members outside and pausing the trial for a brief respite:
“Dad… later… when I call for you, the bindings will be released.”
During the trial, as her protector, Derrick had been unable to approach Nehemiah, who held the role of “defense attorney.” They had been bound, confined within the zone.
Nehemiah had said that if everything went smoothly, they would be sent outside without issue.
But the problem lay in what would happen if things did not go well.
“If that happens, Dad, the hostages won’t look human anymore. You must eliminate them first.”
And indeed, things had not gone smoothly. The instant those abominations shed their human façades and seized the child, Derrick’s eyes gleamed with cold blue light.
As he reached forward, dark azure energy coalesced into his cherished greatsword.
Reverently, he pressed his lips to the weapon’s pommel.
“O Lord… grant me the power to eradicate these abominations and excise all corruption.”
“…And if it comes to that, Dad, you must destroy the monsters that were masquerading as hostages first.”
“Let my eyes remain clear and unclouded by darkness, that only truth may dwell within them.”
Even as the ground and ceiling shook with violent instability, the force that had confined him no longer held sway.
“And this will be a battle against time. If this place collapses entirely, we’ll be trapped here… with the monster.”
From the moment Derrick had met Nehemiah, the child’s words had never once been wrong. He followed her instructions as if they were divine.
Thus, when she cried out—
“Dad!”
—he was already surging forward, greatsword in hand.
“…I heed your command, my child.”
Slash!
Nehemiah’s eyes went wide.
The arms of the monsters that had been restraining her were simply gone.
A heartbeat later, their anguished howls split the air.
—Kraaaagh!
—It hurts! It hurts! It hurrrrts!
Those who had spoken human language even as they mocked Nehemiah now shrieked in the guttural voices of monsters.
Nehemiah quickly retreated, noticing with awe the shimmering azure barrier forming around her.
She lifted her gaze, beholding the sight of Derrick’s back—his greatsword dripping thick black blood.
She swallowed hard.
His performance… is unbelievable.
In the game, Derrick had always been such a character: extremely difficult to manage and nurture, yet once trained properly, he could reclaim his former glory as a heroic protector.
And now…
Yes, this is exactly what I poured everything into.
Nehemiah glanced down at her own hands, her entire being glowing more brilliantly than ever before. Then she looked back to Derrick, whose body was now shedding its black miasma, leaving only a piercing, pristine blue aura.
She smirked.
I went all in, after all.
My body… feels light.
As Derrick swung his greatsword, the thought filled his mind.
It was no illusion.
Though Nehemiah’s Purification ability had cleansed him before, it had always been fleeting, momentary—enough to make life bearable, but never more.
But now…
The power engulfed his entire being.
He knew exactly why.
—Aaaagh!
—We won’t let you live!
He cut down another hostage-turned-monster, watching as the darkness dissipated further from his blade.
He could feel it—the corruption was being forcibly suppressed.
“And when my strength runs out… I’ll collapse. The power I’ve given to Dad will vanish too.”
The objective was clear:
Defeat the Judge before the space collapsed.
And before Nehemiah’s strength waned and she fell unconscious.
“Do you truly believe that is possible?”
“Yes. I believe in you, Dad.”
Was this what it meant to be a pope?
Derrick could not know. He had no right to question it.
“I will restore, even for the briefest moment, your prime.”
“…”
“Become a hero once more.”
The child’s radiant smile rose unbidden in his memory. At the same time, a divine brilliance, visible only to Nehemiah, blazed ever more brightly around him.
He wanted to protect that smile.
At last, the black miasma fled his body entirely, replaced by the resplendent glow of his blue sword aura.
His now-clear azure eyes fixed on the remaining monster—
The Judge.
—Oh…
—So you are that one’s child.
—A knight, are you?
Despite the eradication of all its subordinate monsters, the Judge remained eerily unshaken.
“Remember, Dad… it’s only for an instant…!”
—You cannot kill us!
—We cannot die!
Derrick paid the Judge’s words no heed.
Once, he had stood at the vanguard of every war.
Once, he had annihilated catastrophic anomalies far more devastating than this low-grade phenomenon.
Thus, for one brief moment—
He felt utterly unbound.
One strike. I will end it in a single blow.
Against beings beyond humanity, battles were always decided in an instant—by a single mistake or a single masterstroke.
“O Lord…”
And now was no exception.
Slash!
His sword cleaved through the Judge’s eye.
—Wha—?!
—Insolent wretch!
—Die!!!
Twisting in midair, Derrick braced, muscles taut with holy power.
“…Grant me the strength to break the very bounds of mortal power.”
His body moved with inhuman precision and explosive force.
BOOM!
It was his one, decisive strike.
As the monster’s bisected head struck the ground, Derrick staggered slightly.
The corruption…
For three seconds—five at most—he had been free of its taint. But that fleeting reprieve was all he needed.
—Aaaaagh!
—Aaaaaaaargh!
The Judge’s sundered form, its shadowy essence convulsing like a storm, erupted in a geyser of black blood.
[Incredible achievement unlocked! First-ever subjugation of a paranormal phenomenon!]
[Reward granted for the first subjugation!]
Wow… he’s insanely strong.
My jaw dropped in awe.
