Debuff Master

Chapter 818

“...!” Siegfried was stunned by the sudden turn of events.

The attack came from out of nowhere. Angels with black wings wielding long spears swooped down and mercilessly slaughtered anyone inside the headquarters of the Continent Religious Council.

It was a massacre.

‘Black wings? What’s going on?’

Siegfried could not comprehend why the angels’ wings were black or why they were slaughtering innocent people.

However, one thing was certain—he had to stop them.

“Everyone! Get to safety!” Siegfried shouted as loudly as possible.

Then, he gripped his +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp and charged at the black-winged angels.

“Kyuuu!”

His trusty companion, Hamchi, scrambled into action amidst the chaos, attacking the angels alongside him.

Whoosh!

The +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp cleaved through the air and struck the head of the nearest angel.

Smack!

Despite getting hit directly on the head, the angel eerily turned its head slowly to look at Siegfried as if nothing had happened.

It was a freaky scene straight out of a horror movie.

‘What?! No damage?!’

Siegfried’s eyes shot wide open in shock after he realized that his attack barely scratched the angel. The damage he had inflicted was so negligible that it was not even noticeable.

“You wretched failure of a creation dares to touch me?” the angel snarled in a voice dripping with fury. The angel’s voice was so menacing that it was more than enough to send chills down Siegfried’s spine.

Boom!

Before Siegfried could even react, the angel’s spear struck his abdomen, sending him flying across the hall.

“Argh!”

Hamchi was not faring any better than him.

“Kyuu! Kyuuu! Kyuuuu!”

Hamchi enlarged his body and ferociously swung his gigantic paws at the angels, swatting them away like flies. However, his attacks only pushed them back slightly without doing any significant damage.

On the contrary, the angels retaliated by thrusting their spears into Hamchi’s thick hide, piercing it, which made him bleed.

‘This is crazy...!’ Siegfried gritted his teeth, forcing himself back to his feet. Then, he placed down Blaze Field and Shadow Hell.

Fwaaah!

Seuruk! Seuruk!

Kieeeee!

The Blaze Hydras and Frost Hydras appeared, spewing their debuff-laden breath attacks at the angels. The Night Stalkers emerged from the shadows and clung to the angels, holding them in place.

Siegfried activated the Eraser Swarm on top of that, releasing a horde of radioactive microorganisms to poison the angels.

However, the angels seemed unaffected by the radiation poison.

‘Is it some kind of buff? Are they being protected by something?’ Siegfried wondered.

Out of desperation, he unleashed Wave of Truth, hoping to strip away any buffs that the angels could have.

‘I debuffed them,’ Siegfried thought before charging at the angels.

Bam!

He swung his +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp at one of the angels that was being held in place by numerous Night Stalkers.

“Gah!” the angel gasped as blood burst from its mouth. Its beautiful face, which seemed without blemish, was now mangled and recognizable after getting struck by a powerful attack.

However, Siegfried wasn't satisfied with it.

‘Damn it... Is this the max damage I can dish out against them?’ he growled inwardly out of frustration.

Even with the debuffs in place, the angel’s HP bar barely budged.

The debuffs seemed to be effective—no, they were super effective. Siegfried dealt single-digit damage to the angels before placing down his debuffs, but now, he was dealing damage in the hundreds.

Despite his attacks being amplified close to a hundred times, they were still pitifully weak against these angels.

Siegfried could not help but be baffled by what was happening, and he started to suspect if the angels possessed some sort of absurd physical damage resistance or something.

“This doesn’t make sense at all...” he muttered under his breath.

These angels were unlike any enemies he had ever faced.

The debuffs definitely worked, but his physical attacks failed to deal any significant damage.

“How dare you!”

“You’re nothing but Father’s failed creation!”

“Do you really think you, a mere worm, can harm us?”

Enraged by the debuffs, the angels charged at Siegfried with far greater hostility than before.

‘Damn it! What the hell is going on?!’ Siegfried screamed inwardly and hurriedly used Absolute Zero.

Flash!

A blinding white light erupted, freezing the angels in their tracks.

“...!”

The angels that were charging at Siegfried came to a freezing halt.

‘Now’s my chance!’

Seeing that the hall was finally clear of civilians, Siegfried unleashed Splitting Heaven and Earth at the frozen angels.

Rumble!

The skill erupted in a fan-shaped blast before him, triggering earthquakes and thunderbolts that tore through the heavens and the earth.

‘Did it work?’ Siegfried wondered.

All of his senses were heightened as he waited for the dust to settle.

Shwaaa...

The dust finally settled, and he saw some of the angels dead on the ground. Their once radiant majestic bodies were torn apart and scattered across the ground. However, there were still quite a few of them.

While Splitting Heaven and Earth had definitely inflicted lethal damage, it wasn't enough to wipe them out.

“Die! Insect!”

“A worthless worm should learn not to defy higher beings!”

“Insolent worm!”

The surviving angels were now even more enraged as they flew toward Siegfried at terrifying speeds.

“H-Hey, Hamchi?”

“Kyu...?”

“RUUUN!”

Realizing that dealing enough damage to wipe them all out was nearly impossible, Siegfried ran with all of his strength and bolted while being aided by the effects of his title, Pesky Brat.

‘Damn it. I need to figure something out,’ Siegfried grumbled inwardly while running away.

He was not the type to waste time throwing eggs at a rock.

After all, why would he sacrifice precious eggs if they were not going to make a dent on the rock?

Throwing away precious resources without a plan was not his style, so if one method was ineffective, then he would find another solution.

***

Siegfried dodged the oncoming attacks and ran away while placing down Shadow Hell to slow down his pursuers. His attacks were ineffective, but Shadow Hell's debuff worked brilliantly in hindering the angels’ movement, allowing him to escape.

Even amidst his retreat, Siegfried could not ignore the chaos around him.

Boom!

He swung his +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp, knocking aside the black-winged angels whenever he saw some of them slaughtering civilians.

“Go! I’ll hold them off here! Hurry!” Siegfried shouted.

“T-Thank you!”

“You are a hero!”

“Thank you!”

The civilians he saved from the angels thanked him before scampering away. On the other hand, Siegfried gritted his teeth and growled under his breath, “Damn it...! I can’t deal any damage to them. This is driving me crazy!”

He bashed the angels away, buying time for the civilians to escape. As he fought to save others, questions started popping up in his mind. ‘Why is this happening? Why are angels attacking the Continent Religious Council’s headquarters of all places?

'And... Why are their wings black?’

Angels were supposed to be holy beings, defenders of justice serving the divine will of gods. With that in mind, none of this senseless massacre made any sense, as it shattered every logical expectation one would have of angels.

‘What could possibly explain this madness...?’

Just then, a powerful cry rang out, interrupting his thoughts.

“Charge!”

“Warriors of the Martial God! Annihilate the enemy!”

From a distance, the paladins of the Church of Martial God surged into the hall, engaging the angels in combat.

And they were not alone...

“In the name of the Sun God!”

“Eradicate them all!”

Monks from the Church of Sun God appeared, and their shaved heads gleamed with circular tattoos, which symbolized the deity they served.

They were bald and had quirky symbols tattooed on their heads, but nobody dared to mock them for it, as they were renowned warriors with fearsome reputations.

Siegfried’s heart sank when the paladins and the monks joined the fray.

‘No! This isn’t good at all!’

Siegfried had experienced firsthand just how absurdly powerful the angels were, so he leaped forward in a desperate attempt to stop the paladins and monks from charging to their deaths.

However, what happened next completely defied his expectations.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The warriors of both churches clashed fiercely against the angels, and neither side was yielding ground.

‘W-What?! They’re holding their ground against those angels?’ Siegfried was floored by what he was witnessing. The warriors were inflicting noticeable damage on the angels, which was strange, as his attacks were futile and failed to deal any significant damage.

‘Why? How?’

Siegfried was utterly perplexed by the bizarre turn of events, but he decided that this was not the time for any thoughts. He resolved to relegate himself to the role of support and assist the warriors. After all, his debuffs would prove invaluable even if he could not deal any direct damage to the angels.

“Fine. If I can’t deal damage, then I’ll be the best damn support here today!” he exclaimed and placed down Blaze Field and Shadow Hell at the same time.

The debuff fields were instantly felt on the battlefield, as the tide began to turn with each passing second. The angels faltered one by one under the combined pressure of the paladins and the monks, coupled with Siegfried’s crippling debuffs.

“Argh!”

“Ack!”

“Y-You insects dare to—gah!”

One by one, the angels succumbed to the combined assault.

‘The paladins and monks are working together very well. But more importantly, what the hell are these creatures? Are they really angels or just something else pretending to be angels?’

Siegfried flashed his Rune of Insight to inspect the enemies closely.

[Enraged Low-Ranking Fallen Angel]

[A celestial being from the Genesis Era.]

[Once the lowest rank among the angels, its wings have turned black, symbolizing its fall from grace.]

[Type: NPC]

[Level: 220]

[Class: Fallen Angel]

[Warning: This being is extremely enraged. Underestimating it could prove fatal.]

‘What? Level 220? That’s insane for the lowest rank angels...’ Siegfried thought, processing the information provided by the rune. While he was busy thinking, the battle finally reached its end.

Shwik!

A paladin drove his blade straight through the chest of the last remaining angel, effectively bringing the battle to an end.

They had achieved a remarkable victory against the fallen angels, but it came at a great cost.

The Continent Religious Council’s building was completely ravaged, and countless lives were lost from the senseless massacre.

“King Siegfried van Proa? Is that you, Your Majesty?” A voice called out, and Siegfried turned to see a paladin approaching him.

“Yes, it is me.”

“Ah, I thought so. I believe we have met before.”

“Have we?”

“I fought alongside you during the Espadrille Civil War when Count Arial had proclaimed himself to be the One True God.”

“Ah! I remember now!”

The paladin nodded solemnly and said, “It is an honor to see you again, Your Majesty.”

“Likewise,” Siegfried replied. Then, he asked, “But what happened here?”

“I... cannot explain in full. Instead, please, come with us,” the paladin replied.

And just like that, Siegfried found himself swept into an emergency meeting of the Continent Religious Council. He was granted the honor of attending the meeting in the wake of the onslaught from the angels.

***

The atmosphere inside the hastily convened emergency meeting was suffocatingly tense. It was no surprise, given the nature of the attack just now, which was a blatant act of terrorism and provocation against every religious organization on the continent.

The real problem, however, was the complete lack of leads.

Who could possibly have orchestrated this attack? But the even bigger question was... why were the angels involved in it?

To begin with, angels were supposed to be mythical constructs that rarely made an appearance on the continent. Yet they had descended on the continent in the flesh, bringing about death and destruction.

The leaders of the various religious orders were left with no choice but to take the incident with utmost seriousness. Perhaps that was the reason why, but—

“...”

The leaders of the religious orders sat silently. Their lips were sealed shut as if concerned that any word uttered might send this tense atmosphere cascading down.

‘Ugh... this is unbearable. I have better things to do than sit through this nonsense,’ Siegfried grumbled inwardly.

He was forced to hold back from yawning, as he found this emergency meeting that he was dragged into against his will to be extremely boring. His patience was wearing thin, and he debated stirring the pot just to make things progress.

At last, someone broke the silence.

“This incident...”

It was none other than Archbishop Thermopylae, the leader of the Martial God Church.

“...is proof that the Wrath of the Heavens has finally descended upon this world.”

His proclamation was met with immediate backlash from the other leaders.

“What nonsense are you spewing?!”

The High Priest of the Moon God shot to his feet, fuming with sharp indignation.

“Archbishop Thermopylae! Do you truly believe such a thing? Wrath of the Heavens? Bah! That’s utterly preposterous!”

The other leaders quickly joined in, and their outrage echoed throughout the chamber.

“Ridiculous!”

“Heaven? Angels? Do you take us for fools?”

“Wrath of the Heavens? Quit spreading fairy tales!”

“Can we please be serious about this?”

However, Archbishop Thermopylae was unfazed. Instead, he calmly raised his voice above the backlash and responded, “Then how do you explain the black-winged fallen angels that attacked our council earlier? Does any one of you have any good explanation for that?”

A deafening silence fell upon the room.

The unprecedented assault on the Continent Religious Council by fallen angels left no room for denial. Their presence alone was irrefutable proof of the existence of both heaven and celestial beings.

“I understand your desire to turn a blind eye to the truth, but the evidence is undeniable. The time has come. Our ancestors and the gods we worship... the consequences of our actions...” Archbishop Thermopylae said in a grave voice until he faltered, unable to continue his words.

‘What are they talking about?’ Siegfried wondered. His interest was piqued, and his eyes gleamed as he listened intently to the exchange, only for his curiosity to grow with each passing moment.

‘Hmm... I think this might be related to the game’s main scenario, the Holy War.’

With that thought in mind, Siegfried decided to sit quietly and listen intently to the unfolding discussion. After all, there was no telling what crucial information he could obtain from simply listening to them.