Chapter 134: Envy
Every sound on the battlefield was swallowed by the blinding radiance.
All eyes were fixed on that platinum-and-gold silhouette in the sky, and the scorched earth of the undead lines where a systematic "purification" was taking place. The Skeleton Snipers, who had been reaping Templar lives with mechanical cruelty moments ago, were now nothing but heaps of white dust.
But then, the dust began to stir.
The particles gathered and writhed, knitting themselves back into the shapes of ribcages and femurs. One by one, the snipers stood back up, their frames shaky and lopsided.
Then, the Holy Light descended again. The bones returned to powder.
And once again, they began to reassemble.
The loop was endless.
Watching this, the religious fervor on the faces of the Crusaders began to wither, replaced by an unspeakable, hollow dread.
Pope Hupert's gaze cut across the chaos, locking onto the skeletal general struggling to rise from the wreckage of the ridge. Skele-Envy's obsidian frame was a map of cracks; the Soul Fire in his sockets was so dim it threatened to gutter out entirely.
And yet, he forced himself upright, wobbling like a newborn fawn made of glass.
Hupert's expression was heavy. He had originally believed that the greatest threat posed by the Evernight Empire was its Monarch—the one who could command such a vast legion and bind multiple Tier 5 powerhouses to his will. He had assumed that ruler must be a Tier 6 entity, perhaps higher.
But now, his perspective shifted.
The true horror wasn't the Monarch. It was his army.
An army that was fundamentally... undying.
Holy Light could shatter their vessels, but it could not erase their record of existence. They returned from the void again and again.
What does this mean? Hupert wondered.
It meant that conventional warfare—the act of killing—was an exercise in futility. Slapping at shadows. Killing them provided no conclusion.
Unless... Sealing.
Only a constant expenditure of Tier 6 Mana could suppress their regeneration indefinitely.
But Tier 6 powerhouses...
How many existed on the entire continent? Before Hupert's ascension, the Holy Empire had none. The previous Pope had peaked at the summit of Tier 5.
For the first time, a chill of genuine concern traced down Hupert's spine.
Suddenly, the skeletal general moved.
There was no roar. No battle cry. Envy simply lifted his skull, locking his flickering Soul Fire onto Hupert in the distance. Then, under the crushing pressure of the light, he began a stumbling charge.
His pace was slow, his balance precarious. But the sheer, unbending will behind the movement made the entire battlefield tremble in its shadow.
Hupert slowly raised his hand, pointing a finger at the approaching specter.
"Foolish."
A beam of Holy Light, more concentrated than any previous strike, lanced through the air. There was no suspense. The moment the light touched Envy's frame, he was disintegrated, his bones exploding into a cloud of shrapnel.
"It is over," Cardinal Hal and the Templars whispered.
But a second later, the scattered shards were pulled together by an invisible gravity, converging with frantic speed. Less than fifty meters from Hupert, Envy's body reassembled once more. The cracks were deeper now, the Soul Fire even fainter, yet he didn't pause. The moment his feet touched the ice, he continued the charge.
Hal's pupils constricted. "Is that... is that truly a monster?"
Hupert didn't answer. He raised his hand again.
The pillar of light swallowed Envy once more. He was reduced to dust.
He reformed. He charged.
BOOM!
His frame was shattered again and again. But with every reassembly, the distance between him and the Pope shrank. He moved like a madman who had forgotten the concept of pain—or death itself. With every cycle, his body became more ravaged, yet his resolve became more manic.
The calm majesty was gone from Hupert's face.
Finally, Envy reached a distance of ten meters. He raised a bony hand, a massive arrow of black necrotic energy condensing in the air before being launched at the Pope. The projectile slammed into a geometric barrier of golden light, dissipating into smoke without a sound.
Envy didn't try to summon another arrow. His Mana was at rock bottom. Instead, he coated his fists in the dregs of his Od and began to hammer against the golden barrier.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Every strike caused a ripple to pass through the Holy shield, but the ripples faded instantly. The barrier remained unyielding.
Hupert watched the frantic skeleton with a look of profound confusion. As a Tier 5 undead, the creature possessed high intelligence. It should have understood the futility. It should have retreated or sought a tactical opening. This mindless self-torture was beneath its rank.
Why? Hupert wondered. Why do you continue to strike? What are you thinking, monster?
Inside Envy's consciousness, the world was turning black. Every pulse of Holy Light was sandpaper against his soul, grinding away at his core. He was tired. He wanted to stop reassembling. He wanted to let the void take him.
But every time the urge to quit surfaced, six silhouettes appeared in his mind with agonizing clarity. Every single one of them occupied a place in the Master's gaze.
What about me?
I, Envy... what am I?
Just a common General who could be replaced by any high-tier Centurion?
NO!
ABSOLUTELY NOT!
I envy them!
I envy Pride's uniqueness!
I envy Greed's wisdom!
I envy Lust's utility!
I envy Sloth's effortless grace!
I envy Wrath's raw power!
I envy Gluttony's sturdiness!
I envy how they steal the Master's attention!
Therefore... I cannot fail!
This war is my only chance!
I will prove to that Personage! I, Skele-Envy, am the strongest of the Seven! I am the one who is truly indispensable!
His Soul Fire erupted in a violent, final flare. He threw a punch that carried the entirety of his existence.
Hupert snapped out of his trance. He raised his hand, gathering his Mana once more. But this time, he didn't use a pillar of light. He unleashed [Light's Rejection], a repulsive shockwave that sent Envy spiraling backward.
The skeleton tumbled through the air, crashing heavily into the frozen dirt. The cracks in his frame were now so dense he looked like a jigsaw puzzle held together by hope alone. His Soul Fire was a mere spark in the dark.
Yet, his hand clawed at the dirt. Inch by inch, he began to drag himself up again.
Hupert raised both hands, his palms open to the heavens. He had seen enough.
"I will see for myself if you are truly eternal," the Pope intoned, his voice echoing with the authority of a judge.
Hupert began to chant.
Ancient, sacred liturgical verses poured from his lips. Every syllable vibrated with the raw power of the beginning of the world.
In the sky above, the gargantuan golden array manifested once more. But its scale was now terrifying—a sun-like geometry that blotted out the clouds. Runes flowed like fire; the radiance was blinding.
It was no longer locked onto Envy alone. Its focus had expanded to cover every undead on the field.
[Holy Art: Eternal Silence].
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