Father Hugo appeared in the doorway, towering and dark, his eyes glowing a sickly yellow that barely lit the shadows around his face.
Stark used [Perception] immediately, the details of Father Hugo’s stats flooding his mind.
[Name: Father Hugo, Moonscorch Commander (Immortal)]
[Level: 600]
[HP: 8,000,000]
[Strength: 34,127]
[Stamina: 17,853]
[Speed: 8,632]
[Defense: 37,249]
[Skills: Correction Smash, Divine Wrath, Holy Bind, Redemption Beam, Aura Suppression, Soul Cleaver, Sacred Ground, Iron Fist, Celestial Judgment (Mythical), Punishment, Blessed Chains (Mythical), Salvation’s Edge, Abyssal Silence (Mythical), Test of Faith (Godly), Penitent’s Fury, Martyr’s Barrier (Godly), Return to Sender (Immortal)]
…
Stark swallowed.
“He’s level six hundred…” he already knew that, but the stats and skills looked too powerful for his taste.
And he had an [Immortal] level skill, which is the highest rank.
Father Hugo’s gaze shifted to him, a slow smirk tugging at his lips as his fists began to glow with a golden light.
The power radiating from him was almost unbearable, pressing on Stark, Sora, and Lilith like a physical weight.
Stark clenched his fists and summoned [Asura’s Arms].
With a burst of crimson energy, four powerful, aura-infused arms materialized around him, each one crackling with barely-contained force.
“Alright,” he muttered, more to himself. “Let’s go.”
[3…]
Father Hugo cracked his fingers and neck.
[2…]
“Bad children will be disciplined.”
[1…]
“I’ll use your bodies and hang them around the temple.”
[FIGHT!]
Lilith shot forward with a speed that made her almost invisible.
In a flash, her [Celestial Blades] appeared, dual swords of shimmering qi, and she launched a rapid strike.
She slashed at Father Hugo, but his [Martyr’s Barrier] flared up, blocking her blades with ease.
His eyes gleamed as he turned to her, and with a swift motion, he swung his hand to deliver a punishing [Correction Smash].
Lilith managed to dodge at the last second, twisting mid-air and landing on her feet just outside the range of the strike.
She avoided the [Moonscorch] effect.
The impact left a deep crater in the floor, cracks spidering outward as Father Hugo’s fist crushed the ground.
“Lilith, keep your distance!” Sora shouted, her hands already weaving vines.
With a sweep of her arm, she summoned [Vine Surge], roots and plants bursting from the ground to wrap around Father Hugo’s legs. “We need to slow him down!”
Father Hugo chuckled, his laughter deep and chilling. “You think such pitiful attempts will hold me?”
With a burst of energy, his [Aura Suppression] flared, and the vines withered and snapped under the sheer pressure of his aura.
Seeing the vines break, Stark sprang into action, using his speed to maneuver around Hugo, dodging the wild swings of his iron-clad fists with [Invincible Dodge].
[Perfect Dodge]
This slowed time just enough for Stark to glimpse Hugo’s movements, allowing him to counter with his own attacks.
One of Stark’s aura fists lunged forward, crashing into Hugo’s side with enough force to send a shockwave through the room.
Hugo staggered, momentarily caught off-guard.
-11,849!
Low damage.
But he quickly recovered, smiling, “Nice one, child.”
Lilith took the opening, using [Dragon’s Breath] to unleash a blazing stream of energy directly into his face.
The flames seared Hugo’s skin, leaving charred marks across his face and neck.
“…”
-4,384! -7,371!
But Hugo barely flinched again, his defense and magic resistance too high.
“Is that all?” he sneered, his eyes gleaming with a twisted satisfaction.
He raised his arm, summoning [Celestial Judgment].
A massive, glowing blade of divine energy formed in his hand, radiating a blinding light.
“Watch out!” Stark yelled.
Hugo swung the blade down with immense force, aiming at Sora.
She threw up her [Flower Barrier] just in time, the translucent shield taking the brunt of the strike.
But the barrier shattered instantly, sending her flying backward.
She hit the ground hard, gasping for air.
-32,834!
That thing does high damage, and takes little to none.
How was this fair.
He was comparable to a level 750 normal monster.
“The moonscorch is the true way to strength,” Hugo laughed, “Join me.”
“Alright, that’s enough!” Stark growled, pushing himself to his limits.
He combined his six aura arms and lifted them up, then he concentrated on his [Aura Smash], merging of all his fists into a giant one.
“Fool,” Hugo laughed, “Martyr’s Barrier!”
The crimson fist collided with Hugo’s barrier, it was the thing that allowed him to endure so much and receive so little damage.
But…
“FUCK YOU!”
Right as the fist was about to collide, Stark overused his aura on the fist.
BOOOM!
And it exploded right as it was about to reach Hugo.
This wasn’t one of his [Aura Smash] perks, not at all: he just made it in the moment after knowing from the orphanage chase that no projectiel would work.
The fist exploded, sending Hugo flying across the room and slamming him into the far wall.
CRACK!
And the [Martier’s Barrier] cracked a little.
It didn’t break, but it was progress.
For a moment, the room was silent, dust swirling around the area where Hugo had crashed.
-37,939!
But then, a low, sinister laugh echoed from the debris.
Hugo stood up, brushing dust from his shoulders, not even fazed.
His eyes locked onto Stark. “Impressive… but futile.”
He raised his hand, summoning [Blessed Chains].
Glowing, divine chains shot out from his palm, homing in on Sora with terrifying accuracy.
She tried to dodge, but the chains adjusted mid-air, wrapping around her limbs and binding her tightly.
“NO!” Stark yelled, rushing forward, but Hugo raised a hand, his aura flaring with a golden light. “[Sacred Ground].”
A dome of divine energy surrounded Sora, blocking Stark’s path as the chains tightened around her.
She struggled, but the chains sapped her strength, glowing brighter with each passing second.
Sora’s eyes widened as her energy drained rapidly, and her movements slowed until she finally went limp.
[Sora is knocked out!]
“This dome is unbreakable,” Hugo laughed, “Good luck saving her.”
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Stark tried to hit the dome with everything he had, using all of his fists, but as Hugo said, it didn’t even budge.
‘Damn it… I would have to use EGO’s Negation…’ he thought, but he didn’t want to do that now.
[EGO Meter: 100/100]
“Your struggle is worthless,” Hugo sneered, his voice cold and mocking. “Bow before the authority of the Moonscorch.”
Fury boiling within him, Stark activated [Crimson Purification].
A shockwave of crimson holy energy burst from his body, flooding the room.
The energy clashed against Hugo, but he wasn’t phased.
“I am quite literally unaffected by holy attacks,” he shrugged, “It’s obvious, isn’t it?”
“…Yeah, it kind of is.”
But that wasn’t why he did that.
Beside him, Lilith raised her hand while flying with [QI Flight], and unleashed [Divine Energy Spear].
A colossal spear of pure qi formed in her hand, radiating divine blue energy.
With all her might, she hurled it at Hugo.
‘Not as strong as mine, though,’ Stark noticed.
The spear headed toward Hugo, but right as it was about to hit his barrier, the priest quite literally just grabbed it with his hands.
“Hm,” and just like last time, he broke it in half, “That’s all?”
“STOP DOING THAT,” Stark was growing more angry every attack Hugo casually dodged or shrugged off.
He seized the moment, summoning all ten of his [Crimson Spears].
They hovered around him, each one glowing with a fierce, red energy.
Then he sent them hurtling toward Hugo, each spear striking with deadly precision.
“Aura Supression,” Hugo put both of his hands together, closing his eyes, and a transparent shockwave was sent through the temple.
And the exact moment he did that…
BAM!
“Huh?” Lilith’s [QI Flight] was cancelled, resulting in her falling down, forcing Stark to grab her.
In addition to that, all of Stark’s spears were reduced to nothing.
But of course, it couldn’t end so easily.
“Return to Sender… Initiation…” Father Hugo was using his strongest skill now.
Even for such strong foes, using Immortal-Level skills was a difficult task, and Hugo was concentrating as hard as he could, drops of sweats appearing on his bald forehead.
“Your efforts are wasted,” he said coldly. “You cannot stand against the Moonscorch.”
“Not yet,” Stark muttered, clenching his fists, his aura flaring, “I’m gonna murder you…”
But then…
“RETURN TO SENDER!”
Father Hugo finalized the usage of his strongest skill.
Victory was now impossible.
