BOOM—!
BOOM—!
The monastery in the Village of Irog, in the brightly lit chapel, was packed with villagers who had come to seek refuge. One by one, they huddled in the corners in fear, staring at the monastery door, listening to the terrible sounds outside.
The thin priest clenched his lips tightly. At this moment, he had no choice but to stand before the villagers. In the calmest tone he could muster, he said loudly, "The more moments like this, the more we must pray."
"This is God's test for us. Evil demons have descended, representing the sins of this village. Only through sincere prayer can this sin be washed away, and we be spared."
"Everyone, join me. Kneel on the ground, pray. Let God judge us. Let God govern our fate!"
The priest knelt on the ground, facing the white eagle-like cross in the chapel. He clenched his fists, raised his head high, and humbly bowed, reciting scripture.
But his brows were furrowed. Many doubts arose in his heart, but they were all suppressed by the teachings of the Holy See, in which he had always believed.
The villagers looked at each other. They were terrified by the horrible sounds outside. Many people knelt down together, following the priest's appearance and posture.
BOOM—!
Suddenly, the closed monastery gate burst open!
A large black arrow was shot into the chapel. Before anyone could react, it pierced the hall of the Holy See on the wall, smashed it, and embedded itself in the wall!
Hearing the commotion, everyone looked up. First, they glanced at the open gate, then at the symbol of the Holy See, shattered by the arrow. Their faces paled in fear.
Especially the priest, who looked up at such a blasphemous act. He was both angry and terrified.
The next moment, he forgot his anger and suddenly remembered how he had seen this huge arrow, shot by the "magic archer," recently destroy villages and towns, and how he had made the villagers cram into the monastery for refuge.
It's going to explode!
The villagers hadn't reacted yet. They just stared at the large arrow embedded in the wall with frightened eyes.
The priest almost unconsciously stood up, forgetting that he was supposed to be praying at this time. Instead, he took a few steps forward and shouted with spittle flying: "Run! Run!"
Some of the villagers reacted, understood something, and began to panic and run.
However, even more villagers remained kneeling, maintaining their prayer posture, staring blankly at the priest.
BOOM—!
Suddenly, the large arrow burst forth, using itself as the main shaft. Countless thin, long needle-like hairs shot out, piercing in all directions!
They were as chilling as the spikes in an iron maiden!
FWOOSH! FWOOSH—!
These needle-like hairs pierced everything around, naturally including the kneeling villagers. In an instant, they pierced them all and pinned them to the ground. The dense needles almost killed them all on the spot!
A burst of bloody mist rose into this small chapel and lingered for a long time.
Among the surviving villagers, some screamed in terror or grief!
The priest stopped, because right before his eyes, countless needles were aimed at him, just inches away.
If he had taken one more step forward, he might have ended up in the same situation as this group of villagers.
However, this could not absolve the guilt and regret in his heart at this moment.
When the "magic archer" first started shooting at the villagers of Irog, he had insisted it was God's test. A nagging sense of guilt had arisen, but it was suppressed by the faith he had always believed in.
However, his belief did not stop the "magic archer's" hunt. Again and again, the villagers died tragically under the "magic archer's" arrows.
Faith and instincts were constantly clashing.
This time, the situation was even worse. The "magic archer" no longer hid. He used his demonic body to enter the Village of Irog and kill, using the villagers as a shield, leaving the "berserker" helpless.
For a long time, he had doubted whether this was in line with the teachings of resurrection, whether it was in line with the tests of fate and God's will...
But seeing such a bloody and tragic situation up close, the priest felt something in his heart shattering, constantly shattering.
What the hell have I done?
I was wrong.
I was wrong.
If they hadn't listened to me and knelt to pray, but had decided to run on their feet, some of them would have survived... This is definitely not the time to pray...
BOOM—!
Another loud noise. The priest nervously turned his head and saw the "berserker" Guts, whom he had thought of earlier, fall from the monastery gate. His dark armor was stained with blood.
Guts gritted his teeth and struggled to his feet.
Puck flew beside him and quickly stopped the bleeding from the wound with scale powder: "Don't move! You're seriously wounded!"
Guts breathed heavily. His gaze swept over the priest, who stood motionless. He saw the terrible suffering in the chapel. His eyes widened slightly, and then he calmed down, turning back to the monastery door.
Whatever happened, he could only fight.
Puck was shocked by the tragic appearance of the corpses pierced by the needle-like hairs in the monastery. For a while, he couldn't speak.
At that moment, the sunlight at the monastery entrance was almost completely obscured by a huge creature.
It was a half-human, half-beast creature, covered in fur. Beneath the hair on its chest lay an old wound, left by Guts. Above its horns, it held its bow and arrow.
"This is incredible." The "magic archer" Owen said coldly. "You almost lost your life for these people. Obviously, if you ignored them and swung the greatsword in your hand, you would have a chance to kill me."
The large arrow above the horn, made from its curled hair, was drawn but not fired.
Guts held the Dragonslayer, panting like a bull, but said nothing, resolutely standing before the survivors in the monastery.
The current Guts was not the Guts who had lost everything in the original timeline. He had been a father for some time, and much tenderness remained in his heart. So, naturally, he couldn't watch people die without helping. But he had also fallen into Owen's plan.
"It seems you can't communicate anymore," Owen said.
He pulled the arrow back and aimed it at the villagers who were still alive in the monastery.
"So this time, are you going to pounce on me and bite, or block another arrow for them?"
Puck angrily waved his arms and legs in the air. "You despicable and shameless bastard!"
"Hmph." Owen looked at Puck with contempt, scaring Puck so much that he shrank behind Guts.
Guts gritted his teeth, holding the Dragonslayer in his hand, and did not move.
Creak... creak...
He felt the Berserker Armor on his body, which seemed to resonate with some of his thoughts, trying to attach itself to him.
But what the consequences would be after attachment, Flora had already told him.
He hesitated. He had already tried other methods. Did he have to let this armor fully attach to his body to break this passive situation?
Suddenly, the priest behind him shouted.
"Run!"
The priest rushed towards the group of villagers, who were trembling in fear and dared not move. His eyes were bloodshot. His veins bulged as he shouted loudly.
"What are you still doing here?! Run! Run through the back door! As far as you can! Don't stay here any longer!"
The villagers were stunned. Then, reminded by the priest, they came to their senses. One by one, they spread their legs and staggered towards the back door of the monastery, trying to escape.
Guts glanced at him, surprised in his heart.
This priest, who had constantly nagged and asked the villagers of Irog to pray, would say such words at a moment like this...
Is he still a priest? Is this a different person?
Owen didn't let the villagers go. That would reduce his chips as a hunter by more than half.
So he slightly shifted the direction of the large arrow, aiming at the backs of the fleeing villagers, and released the hand holding the arrow.
BOOM—!
The large arrow shot forth with astonishing force!
At that moment, two people subconsciously reacted.
The priest subconsciously blocked the direction of the large arrow.
It wasn't that he wasn't afraid of death, but at this moment, he forgot about it. He just wanted to buy even a little time for their escape and atone for the deaths of everyone in the chapel.
Similarly, Guts blocked the direction of the large arrow.
He swung the Dragonslayer, but didn't strike with it, because then he couldn't stop the arrow, and the arrow would still pierce the priest and the villagers behind him.
In that case, it would still be useless.
So he turned the Dragonslayer horizontally, blocking it in front like a shield. With a loud CRASH!, he blocked the large arrow. But his entire body was also knocked backward, crashing into the priest!
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