Chapter 65: The Four Great Priests!
The wind howled past Wyper's ears, a sharp whistle that usually signaled the onset of a storm. But beneath his boots, the sensation was entirely unnatural.
He stood on a platform of "Processed Cloud"—a type of cloud artificially hardened for building—but it wasn't being towed by a dial-powered Waver. Instead, it was floating purely by the will of the blue-haired maid, Rem, who stood calmly at the front, her hand extended.
Even now, the "War Demon" of the Shandia found it hard to process.
They control gravity? Or is it wind?
The clouds of Sky Island were generally divided into three distinct types. The Sea Clouds, which had the density of water and allowed ships to sail; the Island Clouds, soft and spongy, capable of supporting weight for habitation; and the Processed Clouds, chemically treated to be as hard as stone for construction.
They were currently riding a slab of the latter, speeding toward the forbidden territory: Upper Yard, also known as God's Island.
Before leaving the hidden village, Wyper had tried to argue tactics with Suzaku. He had slammed his fist on the table, demanding that the Shandia warriors join the assault. He knew the terrain. He knew the enemy. He knew that assaulting Eneru's stronghold was usually a suicide mission requiring hundreds of men.
But Suzaku had merely waved his hand, as if swatting away a fly.
"Since you have chosen to follow me, stop making unnecessary sacrifices. Leave your warriors to guard the women and children. Taking back Sky Island is a trivial matter; we few will go and return before tea time."
Wyper had gritted his teeth so hard he thought they would crack.
Trivial?!
Four hundred years! Four hundred years of blood, tears, and obsession! Countless ancestors had died just to touch a handful of this soil. How could he stand idly by? His dignity as the descendant of the Great Warrior Calgara would not allow him to hide while outsiders fought his war.
So, he had stubbornly stepped onto the cloud platform, refusing to be left behind. Suzaku had just shrugged, indifferent to his pride.
Now, as they soared over the White Sea, the group was small. Suzaku, Rem (controlling the flight), Albedo (the black-winged monster), and himself. Ram and Nami had been left behind to guard Aisa and the village.
Wyper gripped his Burn Bazooka tightly, his knuckles white. Cold sweat seeped from his temples, running down his face despite the drying wind.
Is this right? Can four people really challenge God?
He couldn't help but glance sideways.
Suzaku was leaning against the edge of the cloud platform, pointing out shapes in the distance to Albedo.
"Look at that giant vine. It's quite impressive, isn't it? Might be good for landscaping later."
"Yes, Suzaku-sama. It would look lovely in your garden."
Wyper felt a vein throb in his forehead. They looked like tourists on a sightseeing trip, not soldiers marching to their deaths.
"Oh? Wyper, why are you sweating so much?"
Suzaku suddenly turned his head, catching the warrior's distress. A teasing smile played on his lips.
"I told you it would be resolved quickly. You look like you're about to have a heart attack."
"D-don't talk nonsense!" Wyper immediately straightened his back, his voice rising defensively. "Until the promise is fulfilled, don't speak to me like a subordinate! I am the War Demon! I don't get nervous! That is your delusion!"
"Right, right," Suzaku laughed softly.
Just then, the cloud platform began to slow. Rem's voice floated back, soft but clear.
"We have arrived."
Wyper looked down. The white fluff of the cloud sea gave way to something else. Something dark, solid, and impossibly green.
Trees. Real trees. And beneath them...
"Is this the place?" Rem asked.
Wyper's breathing hitched. His eyes widened, reflecting the lush forest below. "Y-yes... this is it."
His voice trembled with a reverence that bordered on religious.
"Only God's Island... only Upper Yard would have so much... so much Vearth (Bas)..."
"Vearth?" Rem blinked her large azure eyes, puzzled.
"It means dirt," Suzaku explained calmly, stepping to the edge. "Soil. The stuff we walk on every day in the Blue Sea. But up here, where everything is made of clouds, solid earth is a treasure more valuable than gold."
He looked down at the island—a piece of Jaya that had been shot into the sky centuries ago.
"Two peoples have fought for four centuries over dirt. If Eneru hadn't appeared and crushed both sides, the Skypieans and Shandians would probably still be killing each other over who gets to plant potatoes here."
Whoosh—!
Before Wyper could retort to the simplified history lesson, the air pressure suddenly spiked.
Four distinct figures materialized from the dense jungle below, leaping onto the giant roots of the Jack Beanstalk to intercept the intruders. They radiated intense pressure, their Mantra locking onto the group instantly.
Leading them was a robust man wearing a pilot's cap and goggles, holding a javelin that glowed with heat. He sat atop a giant, sickly-looking bird. Shura the Sky Rider.
Beside him stood a bald, sunglasses-wearing giant of a man wielding a sword made of clouds. Ohm the Sky Breeder.
Floating comically in mid-air was a round, ball-shaped man holding a wand, giggling to himself. Satori of the Forest.
And finally, a man with a bizarre spider-hairdo, crossing his arms and seemingly meditating while biting his lower lip. Gedatsu the Sky Boss.
"The Oracle is infallible," Ohm spoke first, his voice booming like thunder. His sharp gaze locked onto Suzaku. "As expected, there are foolish intruders from the Blue Sea."
"We advise you to surrender obediently," Shura sneered, leveling his heat spear. "Daring to trespass on God's Island is the most unwise choice you could make in your short lives. This is the realm of the Divine!"
Satori giggled, tossing a white ball in his hand. "Hopphoppho! If you were participating in the Divine Trial one by one, maybe—just maybe—you'd have a 10% survival rate. But today... we are all here!"
"Which means," Gedatsu muttered, forgetting to breathe for a second before gasping, "you have zero chance of winning. Zero."
Wyper's breath hitched. His warrior instincts screamed at him to fire.
"Be careful!" he hissed, stepping in front of Suzaku. "These are the Four Priests serving under Eneru! Every one of them is a monster! Shura's heat spear burns flesh instantly! Ohm's sword changes shape! Satori uses explosive dials! You absolutely must not take them lightly!"
He had seen his comrades—brave men like Kamakiri and Braham—fall to these four. They were the gatekeepers of hell.
However, Suzaku merely glanced down. His expression was one of mild disappointment, like a customer looking at a boring menu.
He waved his hand casually toward the woman beside him.
"Albedo."
"Yes, my lord?"
"I'll leave this trash to you. Be quick about it. I don't want to keep 'God' waiting."
"Understood," Albedo replied, a dark, sadistic smile spreading across her beautiful face.
"Wait... trash?"
This flippant remark made the aggressive Priests stumble. They exchanged glances, stunned by the sheer audacity, before bursting into deafening, mocking laughter.
"Bwahahaha!" Shura laughed so hard he nearly fell off his bird. "Did you hear that? Trash?! A Blue Sea monkey dares to call the Priests of God trash!"
Ohm shook his head, drawing his Iron Cloud Sword. "The ignorance of the Lower World is truly pitiable. You don't even qualify for the Ordeal of Iron."
Satori spun in the air. "Come play in my Ordeal of Balls! I'll make your death colorful!"
"Carelessness is the enemy," Gedatsu stated wisely, though he was currently crossing his eyes.
Their laughter echoed across the empty sky. Wyper gritted his teeth, raising his bazooka. They are mocking us!
However, the laughter stopped abruptly.
Zwoop.
There was no sound of movement. No gust of wind.
One second, Albedo was standing on the cloud platform. The next second, she simply... wasn't.
Wyper's pupils contracted to pinpoints. His dynamic vision, trained in the chaos of guerrilla warfare, barely caught a blur of black light tearing through the air.
It wasn't movement. It was carnage.
[Skill: Black Wing Descent]
Albedo reappeared in the center of the four priests. She didn't use magic. She didn't use a weapon. She used raw, overwhelming physical stats.
"You talk too much," she whispered.
CRACK.
Shura, who was mid-laugh, suddenly saw a black-gloved hand appear in front of his face. Before he could react, Albedo grabbed his vaunted Heat Javelin—the steel hot enough to melt rock—and snapped it in half like a dry twig.
"My spear—!"
BAM!
A backhand slap sent him flying. His jaw shattered, and he rocketed backward into a giant tree trunk with the force of a cannonball, embedding himself deep into the wood. Silence.
Ohm roared, swinging his shape-shifting Iron Cloud Sword. "Iron Whip!"
Albedo didn't dodge. She caught the blade between two fingers.
Clang.
"Fragile," she commented.
With a slight twist of her wrist, the legendary Iron Cloud shattered into dust. She followed up with a simple palm strike to his chest. Ohm's ribcage collapsed visibly. He vomited a fountain of blood and collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.
Satori shrieked, throwing dozens of Surprise Balls. "Explode! Explode!"
Albedo simply flared her wings. The gust of wind blew the balls back at him. Boom! Boom! Boom! Satori was engulfed in his own explosions, then kicked out of the smoke by a high heel that sent him spinning into the stratosphere.
Gedatsu, the slowest, blinked. "Where did everyone go?"
Albedo appeared behind him. She tapped his shoulder.
"Down."
She placed a hand on his head and pushed. The sheer force drove Gedatsu straight down into the ground, burying him up to his neck in the precious Vearth. His eyes rolled back, unconscious.
It took less than three seconds.
Four elite priests. Four monsters who had terrorized the Sky Island for years. Defeated instantly.
Four bodies lay twisted in unnatural positions on the forest floor.
Albedo stood amidst the carnage, dusting off her white dress. She hadn't even broken a sweat. Her black wings slowly retracted, and with a flash, she returned to Suzaku's side.
She bowed deeply, her voice dripping with devotion.
"It is done, Suzaku-sama. Just a few noisy insects. The path is clear."
Wyper stood frozen on the cloud platform. His bazooka slipped from his numb fingers, clattering onto the floor. He stared at the scene below, his brain refusing to comprehend what he had just witnessed.
That... that was it?
Decades of fear. The invincible priests. Gone in a blink.
Suzaku turned his head, looking at the pale, trembling Wyper with a perfectly timed look of confusion.
"Right," Suzaku blinked, his tone casual. "What was it you were shouting about earlier? Something about 'be careful'?"
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