24 Hearts

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Chapter 3. Flag Competition.

Judah then lifted his head. Prior to the battle, his senses felt that something fell from the ceiling. At the same time, he pulled Sarah, who was stubborn, into his arms, while he conjured magical power around his bastard sword.

Now, he triggered Shadow Swordsmanship Form 3 – 1 point.

As the ceiling collapsed and a gargoyle emerged from it, Judah’s black magic wrapped around his blade and turned it into a lance. The monster’s sharp, carven hands reached for Judah and Sarah.

‘I’m faster!’

A gargoyle’s average level was 50, but Judah raised his lance without fear. Made with magical power, the lance had a guaranteed high penetration power even at the slightest hit. The stats improved by the fragments corrected Judah’s movement, strength, and posture.

-Kyaaah!

Bang!

‘It’s hard.’

It had a body made out of stone. As if Judah had been electrocuted, his hands trembled, and when he pushed his weight with the lance, he released his magical power, before pulling out his weapon to step back. The gargoyle wriggled and stretched out but didn’t seem to die, and as soon as it landed on the ground, it rushed to Judah. He tried to swing his weapon again, but the girl in his arms managed to break free.

“Excuse me…”

There was nothing to worry about, so Judah twisted his body slightly and threw the girl back. Sarah fell to the ground before she was able to balance properly, and Judah immediately struck the bastard sword in his grasp.

‘What…?!”

However, the moment the gargoyle’s hand and the sword collided, his weapon bounced off without even causing damage. No way. He glanced at the blade, but then he noticed the gargoyle’s fangs flash ahead. Judah’s eyes widened.

-Die, human!

Judah stretched out his left hand with his eyes widened at the gargoyle’s right hand that was reaching out to his heart. A ball of red light rushed out of his palm and created a dagger. He held Altemia in his hand as he swung his right foot, striking down his dagger to the ground.

The moment he grabbed Altemia, his stats were applied, making him move a little faster and pushing his strength a little higher. In an instant, he drew his attack faster than the gargoyle’s hand could move, and its stone-hard wrist was lacerated neatly. Judah drew Altemia a few more times while the gargoyle screamed. Its body was diced like a ham, and Judah kicked him to the ground as a final blow. However, he had no time to breathe.

Gargoyles kept emerging, breaking through the ceiling and floor. Judah frowned, activating buffs such as Guard Young Wall, Potential Liberation, and Spreading Shadows. He fell to the floor to grab Sarah’s collar who was frozen in place, to retreat to Jeanne’s side.

“Ah, let me go! Let me go!”

“Then get up if you don’t want to die.”

Judah grew impatient of Sarah as she complained. Sudden messages flashed before his eyes.

[Genuine de Lava is temporarily transferred as a companion.]

[Sarah de Lava is temporarily transferred as a companion.]

[The level has risen.]

He only killed one, but his level had increased? The moment the gargoyles rushed while he was unoccupied, Judah ran forward and quickly attacked one.

Judah used the sword in his right hand as a main attack and a distraction, making way for Altemia in his left hand. When his sword wrapped in black magic attacked from above, the gargoyle would cross its arms and try to block it. He twisted the path of his sword to strike down, then to his enemy’s surprise, Judah would stab them with Altemia from the other side.

Hearing that a gargoyle’s magical core was located in their right chest, Judah mainly aimed at it, and confirmed that it was the right answer when the gargoyle fell to the ground.

The moment he defeated one, he would check the experience points he gained, and it was surreal. When he thought about sharing it with his colleagues, he realized he could level up if he did it alone.

If he thought about it, the average level of gargoyles was between 4 and 50. It was natural to have a rough encounter with them. He didn’t know why the demons raided Count Genuine, but despite being a hindrance, this was an opportunity. At first glance, the number of gargoyles exceeded fifty, and it seemed that if he couldn’t defeat all of them, he could still get about 10 of them.

As he tried to move towards the next gargoyle, which was about to run straight to Jeanne, dozens of his ice spears lashed down like the rain. Despite the high magic resistance of gargoyles, the ice spears struck their backs and smashed them into pieces helplessly.

“He turned them down without a sweat…!”

It was the magic of the Count who was simply watching the enemies. Even if he owned a fragment, he had a huge amount of magic power. The Count made eye contact with Judah, as if asking him to continue watching Sarah, before he stepped on the railing and flew up into the air.

Count Genuine shook his hand. The moment his hand swept through the air, he conjured spears of flames one by one. The scorching heat of the spears of ember whipped into the air.

-Give us the fragment, human.

The gargoyle still said the same thing. At their demand, the Count replied with a roar. He didn’t like how they acted like the fragment was theirs.

“I don’t appreciate your demands. Don’t you know how impolite it is to ask for somebody else’s property? If you want to have it, take it with your skills.”

The flaming spears in front of the Count shot out like arrows. These gargoyles were different from the ones that attacked them earlier, moving with agility to avoid the flaming spears. Not even one could hit them. The Count applauded the gargoyles and gazed at them in amusement.

“What a great move. But how would you do if I rained it down tightly from the sky?”

And with his words, he conjured pillars of fire from hundreds of magical portals in the sky. Just like what the Count said, there was no space to avoid the fire pillars coming down at them. It was spectacular. The gargoyles, hit by the flames, squirmed in the fire, and soon their bodies melted. In a blink, dozens of gargoyles in front of the Count were gone.

-Human!

In the hot flames, a gargoyle ran out with its body intact

“Hoh, their boss is different?! But, who gave you the permission to approach me?”

Sigils surrounded the gargoyle as he reached out with his stone claws. With a flash of magic, the magical circle spat out flames. But before it could even reach the enemy, the gargoyle’s body exploded into pieces. The gargoyle’s body scattered debris and dust like a grenade because he had combusted from within. The Count was fine thanks to his reflexes triggering defensive magic.

“…Self-destruct?”

Was there a reason the attacking gargoyle would cause himself to self-destruct out of nowhere?

When the Count tried to release the defensive magic and create a wind to blow away the aftermath of the battle, a sensual damsel appeared in front of him through the dust. He tried to conjure magic out of reflex, but his judgment was momentarily slowed down at the surprise before him. It was a mistake that he stopped attacking more than anything else because the beauty before him had the ability to capture him in an instant.

The dust and the unpleasant smell from the battle disappeared, and the pleasant smell of flowers misted through the air. The Count felt the tension relieve unconsciously. But the tension skyrocketed again after the following words that the woman uttered.

“Oh, it did not self-destruct. I made it explode.”

He was a second late to reply, but before the Count could even respond, the lady clung her body around his. With her bouncy, smooth thighs, she bent her waist and slung her arms around his neck. The moment she rubbed her big breasts and touched his lips with her fingertips, the Count’s magic stopped instantly.

‘My body… isn’t moving?’

His consciousness was fine, but his body did not listen. His body felt hot and elated as his heart pounded wildly. The Count felt his vision sway.

“Hoo-hu-hu. Come on, Count. If you were a woman, I wouldn’t know if… Wait, no, even if you were a woman, nothing would have changed. No one can elude my charm.”

Nonsense. The Count was in disbelief. He couldn’t do anything, even though his right hand wearing the ring stretched out. His magic power didn’t move as intended. His heart rattled at the thought of his fragment being taken away.

“I’ll take the ring.”

As she touched her ring with a grin, a boy with dark hair and reddish eyes emerged through the dust and smoke that settled around them.

“I’m afraid you can’ take it.”

The moment she heard that, Asmodeus, the beauty, straightened up, but soon smiled and turned her hand to Judah as she tried to take the ring out. The height from the ground to the air was high. She didn’t know if he could get up to where they were, but what could a boy do?

“I don’t know who you are, but you’re brave to go out here to save the Count. Come here.”

Her magical power stretched out through her palms and embraced Judah warmly. If a man were exposed to her power, he would be forced to become a slave. There may be men who managed to resist her powers like last time, but she purposely lowered her magic to make her body last. But in order to fascinate the Count, a man who could not be tempted because of all the powers of this body, she had nothing to waste. His expression stiffened as she grabbed him up into the air by his throat. Asmodeus smirked.

“!”

But then, he brandished his sword. His bastard sword, surrounded with a dense magical power, was swung at her as she sat on top of the Count.

Oh!

Unfortunately, her body turned hazy like a mist, disappeared from the Count’s body, only to reappear in the air farther away. Only then that the Count’s mouth, who didn’t budge, moved.

“Judah!”

“Count, bring me up in the air! If I fall, I die.”

Judah began to fall to the ground immediately after he swung his sword at Asmodeus. In a hurry, the Count brought out his magic and floated Judah into the air. Asmodeus, dismayed by the fact that her powers couldn’t work from a distance, frowned upon hearing the name the Count had just cried out.