Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

---Y-City, System Church---

The arena barrier had fallen. The monsters were being pushed back, but things did not look good. Fin. Lyxiss and Bulko suddenly faced a dire situation when four new intruders appeared after the barrier fell.

“I knew we shouldn't have left this to Craig and Jeff,” the one on the left lamented.

“What can you do? We had to lock off the city,” the one on the right answered.

“I will take on the demon, you three take care of the rest,” the leader said and charged at Beball. A heated battle ensued made up of many quick strikes as the combatants got further and further away from the original battlefield.

“Tsk, boss taking all the fun again...”

“Lyxiss, take Bulko to the back, I will take the other three.”

“You will take us?” the middle one asked amused. “Do you think you stand a chance, just because the arena is gone? I will just-Upuh!”

A silver lightning had hit him in the face and its name was Fin. The fairy was now using the <Speed of Arke>, a skill of the chest plate Seth had given her. She didn't intend to give any of the three a chance to evoke that stupid arena again.

Despite her speed, it was not easy to just pummel the four of them all at once.

“Haha, you might be fast, but- Argh!” the left one mocked when he was suddenly mowed down by a barrier the size of a train and a similar speed.

“Did she just shoot a barrier?” the middle one, who had healed exclaimed.

<Fist of Bes>, the ultimate fusion of attack and defense. Firing off barriers with the speed of her fist and the size of her barriers. This was the size of her fist did not matter. She stayed a tiny, fast, hard-to-track fairy while her attacks were massive, fast, and hard to avoid. All while still being able to block attacks with her barrier-attacks.

However, while the middle and left distracted her, the right ran off like a chuckling hyena, to attack the Bulko, Lyxiss, and the staff of the system church. He threw his deadly projectile, which had previously severed one of Bulko's limbs. Lyxiss wanted to act, but she was too exhausted. Fin wanted to turn back, but it was already too late to reach them, even for her.

“Ho? It seems like I'm being ignored~”

A massive golden hammer made of aura suddenly blocked the thrown blade stars. Standing in front of his staff, Bulko, and Lyxiss, was Samuel the head priest of the Y-City Branch. In his hands, he held the staff of a bishop, but its tip was surrounded by a mighty hammerhead, made of golden aura.

With dexterity one wouldn't expect from the old man, he started whirling the massive weapon around his body. But he was not just showing off, with every move he chained he created and strengthened a barrier around his minions and the two members of Minas Mar.

“You shouldn't forget about me, just because I was saving my power,” the old man said with an edge in his voice.

“Tsk, where's Jeff? He was supposed to take care of the old coot...” right mumbled to himself, suddenly facing the warrior, hiding behind the facade of an old, frail, wizard-looking grandpa.

“Hmph! Fine then, I will take you down in a jiffy and end this right away.”

The immortal spoke confidently and an intense battle started between the priest with the hammer and the expert in hidden weapons.

“Haha, what are you doing? Even if your swings are heavy, what are they worth if you can't hit me?” the right one taunted. Their compatibility was bad since the immortal simply kept his distance and threw his weapons while leading the priest around the place.

“Stop running, you little bitch!” Samuel shouted aggravated

“Ha! Why would I? It's not my fault you are slow~” the hyena-like man giggled. However, his face lost color when the hammer was suddenly right in his face! Samuel had actually thrown the hammer. Be barely managed to evade, only being brushed by the shoulder, which still pulverized his shoulder bones.

“Haha, good try, but what will you do, now that you-”

A wrinkly hand with an iron grip suddenly closed around his throat. The hammer had just been a distraction! The sinewy old priest had actually run up, hiding behind the hammer, and caught him by the neck! Then he felt three distinct prongs piercing his abdomen.

“You are not the only one with an inventory, you little weasel.”

Samuel had pulled a trident from his inventory and skewered his prisoner. In one, fluid motion, he whirled the man stuck onto the tip of the weapon around and pinned him to the ground. Right struggled on the ground, spitting blood, but he couldn't free himself. He fearfully looked up to the priest that was towering over him.

“You have messed with the wrong church,” Samuel spoke imposingly. He had triumphantly won. Heroically, his chest puffed up, the priest suddenly coughed up blood. A throwing axe was deeply embedded in his rib cage.

“NOO!” the church staff screamed. Samuel sank to his knees with an incredulous look.

“Pff, kuhahaha, didn't you forget something? We are immortals,” Right said laughing frantically. It was all just an act for Samuel to let his guard. His wound had already closed around the prongs of the trident.

With ease, he pushed the trident out of himself and stood up, the holes in his belly healing at a visible rate. He kicked the kneeling priest in the head. There was an audible crack and Samuel sacked to the ground, lifeless.

“Samuel?!” distracted by the misfortune of the priest, Fin also took a blow. Although the blade was blocked by her armor, it took the wind out of her lungs. There was also a visible gash on her legendary chest plate. She grit her teeth and tried to keep fighting, but she had lost her her rhythm. Without Samuel, there was nobody protecting Bulko or Lyxiss.

“Keep the barrier up!” the leader of the remaining church staff called out. Swallowing the fear and sorrow, Bulko and the remaining priests worked on maintaining the barrier Samuel left them. Without the original creator, it was rapidly deteriorating, but they managed to halt its decay.

The ting ting of weapons crashing into the barrier gnawed at Fin's mind. For now, the barrier held, but what when it finally failed? The others would be helpless. She had to- Suddenly she stared at the edge of a blade, aiming right for her face.

She was barely able to block it with her knuckle dusters. What a stupid rookie mistake, she had been distracted and almost taken a fatal hit. This was the second time, too. She had not suffered any injury, but like her armor, her knuckle dusters looked like they were close to breaking... These guys were really using legendary or at least relic-level items.

“Looks like you are finally realizing your situation. You and your friends are done for, just like Minas Mar. We will only become stronger from now on!” the middle guy with the blade said, while the left guy kept her busy with his twin daggers.

“If you are hoping for your precious tower master to save you, then you should forget about him. He was sent hundreds of miles away, in the middle of a trap. Even if he survives, it will take weeks before can even see the borders of Ypsilon. By then, everyone he knows will already be dead,” the middle one ranted gleefully.

“Thank you for the information.”

A hand grabbed the rambler's neck and created another audible crack. Spreading from the gauntlet on his neck, the immortal turned to gray metal and then proceeded to turn to dust.

“What the?! Let go!” Fin heard from behind.

The right one attacking the barrier had been grasped by a massive hand made of gravel. Wolfram and the Spirit King had returned.