William slowly walked between the rows of brides and grooms standing silently in the pews. Their white lace dresses and black suits seemed frozen in time, creating a scene of silence that was more terrifying than the screams of death. Elizabeth followed behind him, her steps light but her breathing already heavy. Even the air in the hall seemed reluctant to move.
Time seemed to slow.
Then, suddenly—
Braakh!
The great doors of the church swung open with a slam. The night wind rushed in with sudden force, blowing the lace curtains and the black sheets covering the brides' and grooms' faces.
That's when everything changed.
Their eyes opened.
Red. Intense. They weren't glowing, but they were deep, like a bottomless well.
William frowned immediately. A dark mana aura began to creep up and envelop the room like hellish fog.
They weren't corpses. They couldn't be.
He cursed silently. Whatever he had believed in before was crumbling now.
He knew all too well that the victims the Devil had killed died peacefully, their bodies frozen in a sacred embrace. But what stood before him now—
—wasn't a human body. Not a victim.
They were Fierce-Level Demons.
They were in disguise.
"They disguised themselves as victims to trap us."
The shrieks of air being torn apart came in unison. An instant later, they attacked.
Demonic fangs protruded from behind the bride's smile. Her white wedding dress transformed into a bloody web. Their claws stabbed the air with brutal force. Bodies leaped from the pews like a storm of death.
The battle erupted.
The hall of the Sanctum Misericordiae was filled with the light of magic, the flash of weapons, and sprays of demonic blood. William spun, moving like a shadow and dodging each attack.
Louis had already drawn his gleaming longsword from the side. Each slash sounded like a symphony of war—sharp, swift, and deadly. One by one, the demonic bodies were torn apart in a flash of silver.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth—
With her hands outstretched, she created small fireballs, each about the size of a baseball. But don't underestimate them—in one shot, a single fireball could destroy three or four demons at once, reducing them to ashes in an explosion of light and heat.
But William...
He wasn't just fighting.
He was searching.
His eyes kept darting around. He knew that among these bride demons, there was one that was different. One that was hiding. He wanted to find it before the others died in vain.
"Not only are there too many of them, but they're also brutal!" Louis shouted, gasping for breath. A large male demon caught his sword in its claws and charged at him like a wild animal.
Elizabeth saw it. Without hesitating, she leaped in the opposite direction to find the right angle. Then, from two meters away—
Tekk!
She snapped her fingers and a small fireball shot straight across, striking the side of the demon's neck. Boom!
Burning! Destroying it. It disappeared in a scream of fire.
William narrowed his eyes. His gaze swept back across the battlefield. Swift movement. Claws. Blood. But beneath it all...
One unnatural movement stood out. Too calm. Too perfect.
Just as he was about to turn around, the bride's figure leaped from behind with her claws raised, ready to slash William's neck.
His reflexes were quick. But...
Bang!
A fireball shot from his left, striking the demon in the chest. The woman's body exploded before she could touch him.
"Will!" Elizabeth approached him, worried, holding a small cut on her shoulder. "You have to be careful! I know you can protect yourself, but don't be too reckless. You're the one most needed to find your sister and the children at the orphanage. They'll be sad if you don't come back."
William turned around. He remained silent for a moment.
He could have responded with one of his usual sarcastic jokes. He could have dismissed Elizabeth's concern as an over-the-top joke.
But seeing Elizabeth's scratched shoulder broke his heart.
The horde of bridal demons attacked with fury, roaring and clawing as they pounced without hesitation. Their long, gleaming claws tore through the air with murderous intent, like cursed daggers.
William could hear Elizabeth's ragged breathing behind him, accompanied by the roar of fire, the clang of metal, and the explosion of magical orbs, as well as the sound of Louis's sword slicing through enemy heads. No matter how hard they tried, the demons kept coming, flooding the hall like an unstoppable flood.
Level of Ferocity.
These were no ordinary demons. They were fast, deadly, and highly organized.
William narrowed his eyes and swept the crowd with a sharp gaze. He wasn't just defending himself. He was thinking.
"He must be behind this crowd. The Summoner. The real culprit."
"I know you're here!" William shouted, his voice echoing over the roar of battle. A crooked smile crossed his face—not one of arrogance, but of mockery. "You took Sister Margaret hostage. Cunning."
Hearing his shout, Elizabeth glanced at him, her brow furrowed.
"Will, did you notice something?" she shouted, hurling a fireball into the chest of one of the male demons. The creature's body instantly burst into flames and crumbled to ash.
Louis didn't join in, but William knew he had heard. His sword continued to move swiftly, slashing at the demons that tried to approach. However, his body stiffened slightly in response to something nagging at him.
William continued, his tone sharp and mocking. "He's disguised himself among this crowd." The summoner— The perpetrator. He thinks we'll be too busy fighting each other to notice until it's too late. The truth won't come out, and the noble Sentinels of the Order will fall silent again...as usual."
The word "your highness," spat out by him, was like poison. To him, it wasn't a salute; it was bitter, searing sarcasm.
He didn't care if the two Sentinels with him heard it.
Louis stopped in his tracks. His eyes fixed on William.
"Your words are inappropriate, even for someone like you who's an outsider," he said coldly.
William stared back, undeterred. "And this outsider is a commoner. I'm a commoner who has pleaded—bleedingly—for help. But the Sentinels of the Order simply turned a blind eye. 'Commoners don't matter,' isn't that right?" he said sharply and without hesitation.
Suddenly, Louis moved.
His sword flashed through the air, aimed directly at William.
"Louis?! What are you doing?!" Elizabeth shouted, shocked.
But Louis didn't answer. He struck—precisely, as always—but this time, his target was William.
William leaped aside, dodged, and dashed between the rows of toppled benches.
Louis continued to pursue with his sword, but the nobleman didn't lose focus on the other demons. As he chased William, he cut down any enemy in his path.
William baited him. He herded. He sowed chaos.
"Louis, stop! He's just trying something—" Elizabeth called out, but her voice was drowned out by the sounds of battle.
Finally, he arrived.
William stopped in front of a bride who was still wearing her lace veil and whose face was completely hidden. Unlike the other demons who were moving wildly, she stood completely still.
William didn't look back when he heard the sound of claws scratching. A demon attacked him from behind.
William moved to the side, opening a path.
Louis, unable to stop his attack, slashed his longsword straight at the hooded figure.
However, the sword didn't penetrate the figure's body.
The woman stopped him. With one hand.
Louis froze. The man's eyes narrowed, and he snorted.
William straightened up and his lopsided smile returned.
"Finally," he said quietly. "The prey is caught off guard."
He stared directly at the face beneath the lace veil. Though it wasn't fully exposed, he could sense the dark mana aura shifting.
"Wrath-level demon. You're getting too comfortable behind your subordinates."