"You damned heretic—!"
Without hesitation—
"Die!!!"
"—!"
The head priest immediately charged toward Noah, his silver sword raised high before bringing it down—!
Slash—!
Noah quickly reacted—! Backing away from the gleaming blade that tore through the air just inches from his face—!
However—
"You're not getting away!!!"
The head priest didn't stop his assault! He continued slashing relentlessly, each swing cutting through the air with murderous precision...!
He advanced closer and closer toward Noah, who could only dodge with nimble-yet-desperate twists of his body as he used his ghostly "floating" ability to keep himself alive...!
"Tch—! You're one hell of a persistent priest, you know that?!" Noah growled as he flew back from another dangerous slash that nearly grazed his nose! "Seriously! What kind of priest carries around a damn sword?!"
"Do not mock the weapon of divine judgment, blasphemer...!!!" the head priest roared once more, his silver blade flashing with killing intent—!
Slash—!
"Whoa—!"
Noah twisted his body midair, narrowly avoiding the horizontal strike—
Only for the follow-up swing to come from below—!
"—?! Shit—!"
In desperation, he phased his body into a phantasm-like state as before—
But—
Slash—!
The blade still struck his side—!
"—Aghh!?!"
A burst of sparks scattered from the contact as the sword tore through his spiritual form, forcing Noah to recoil in pain and pull back from the murderous head priest...!
"Ugh...!? What the heck...?!"
He hissed through gritted teeth, clutching his side as faint wisps of white smoke rose from the wound...!
"That actually got me...!"
'You dummy! Of course you can't just phase through a silver blade!' Evangeline scolded inside his head, her voice laced with frustration but also concern. 'Anything blessed or infused with divine power can still harm spiritual beings like us, and silver is a natural divinity conductor...!'
"Seriously...?! Damn, this is gonna be a pain in the ass...!"
The sword-wielding priest's assault had been executed with lethal precision, each swing brimming with murderous intent—so much so that Noah couldn't even imagine winning in a straight close-quarters fight...
"I'm not even sure I can get past this guy's instincts either..." he muttered dreadfully, recalling how the priest's blade had nearly cut him down before. "Wait... maybe I can hit him from a distance! Evangeline!"
'Yes, mortal...?'
"Could you teach me how to do poltergeist?!"
'Polter—what?'
"...You don't know? Like—one of those ghost abilities that lets you move stuff and throw them around?"
'You mean telekinesis?'
"Yeah! That!" Noah confirmed with a half-grin before pausing... "...Wait, how the hell do you not know poltergeist but know telekinesis?"
'W-wha—w-well... I did read some comics and novels sometimes—Mortal! Watch out—!'
"...Huh—?"
In the next instant, Noah saw the blade coming down toward him—!
"Shit—!"
Slash—!
But he managed to backstep just in time, narrowly avoiding the deadly saber that had been meant for his neck—!
Noah landed a few meters away, glaring at the sword-wielding zealot before him...!
"Don't ignore me, heretic..." the head priest muttered with unnerving calm, his eyes burning with cold fury. "What nonsense have you been blabbering about?"
"What...? Blabbering?"
"Do you not realize it? Or have you lost your mind completely?" the priest mocked with a scornful sneer... before realization struck him. "...Or perhaps you're communicating with the evil entity inside of you?"
"...What's it to you, pal?" Noah shot back, defiant, still clutching his side that was slowly healing. "...Why the hell are all of you nutjobs even after her anyway...?"
"That is none of your concern."
"The hell it isn't!" Noah barked, pointing at him. "Who the fuck even are you people, huh?! You said you're from the Radiant Cross, but I've never seen anyone more suspicious than you bastards!"
There was a brief pause as Noah's accusation hung in the air...
But then...
The head priest finally spoke, his voice low yet resolute...!
"I... have never uttered lies."
He raised his sword high...
"I... am indeed from the Radiant Cross...!"
The silver sword gleamed with holy radiance...!
"I... no, WE are the hidden blades of the holy sanctum—!"
The priest brought down his sword—!
"The Penumbra Choir!!!"
"—!"
Slash—!
"Kuh—!"
Noah quickly backed away—! Barely avoiding yet another deadly strike aimed for his head—!
But it wasn't over—the fanatical priest's assault didn't rest for even a heartbeat—!
"We... uphold justice when light alone cannot reach!!!"
Slash—!
The head priest stepped in with blinding speed, his blade slicing through the air with merciless precision—!
"We... bring down sinners when mercy no longer suffices!!!"
Slash—!
Yet another strike forced Noah to twist midair to avoid losing a leg—!
"And we... shall purge mankind of all evil!!!"
SLASH—!
And the final strike... tore across Noah's chest—!
"Gah—!!!"
A searing gash burned into his chest as white smoke hissed from the wound, holy energy eating at his incorporeal flesh...!
Noah stumbled back, crashing against the wall, clutching at the burning mark on his chest...!
However, as he tried to suppress the pain radiating from the wound—
The silver blade was already thrust toward his face!
"And YOU will just be another sinner to be purged from the face of the Earth," the head priest declared coldly, his eyes gleaming with zeal, "so... say your prayer before I send you to the afterlife to be judged for your sin."
Noah... stared at the blade that had ended his life once...
And snorted a laugh.
"Heh... what a joke."
"...What?"
The head priest blinked, caught off guard by the undead man's defiant grin.
But Noah only laughed harder—his voice echoing off the walls, taunting and hollow...!
"Why are you laughing...? Have you finally lost your mind...?!"
"Ahaha... sorry, sorry, I just couldn't help it, 'cause, you know..." Noah straightened up, his tone shifting, a mocking grin curling on his lips as his red eyes gleamed beneath the dim light, "you really are just a fucking liar!"
"—! Why you—!"
The priest promptly swung his sword again, ready to cut down the heretic before him—
But—
Noah suddenly phased through the wall behind him, vanishing into the shadows of the apartment once more...!
"Tch...! Damned coward...! Do not hide from me!"
"Sorry about that, but..."Noah's voice echoed faintly through the room, now calm... almost somber, "I'm also done playing hide and seek."
"...What...?"
The priest frowned, scanning the dimly lit room for any sign of the 'ghost' man—
Until he noticed something strange.
"What the...?!"
Everything—from the smallest debris, the shattered glass, to the broken furniture—was slowly lifting off the ground... each piece shimmering with faint, ghostly light...!
Then...
"Let's play another game instead..."
Once more, the 'ghost' man finally stepped out into the moonlight pouring through the shattered apartment wall...
His crimson eyes gleamed beneath the pale light...!
"...Let's play dodge ball, shall we?"