The Priest of Complete Dispel ~ Every Time I Save a Cursed Beautiful Girl with My Status Abnormal Cure Skill, For Some Reason Her Dependence on Me Maxes Out ~ - Chapter 57: Melee

Chapter 57: Melee

The monsters charged forward, driven only by their instinct to destroy—slaughtering humans and burning down the city.

That black torrent showed no sign of stopping.

But then, the change came suddenly.

It was as if the world had switched in an instant.

The monsters, lined up side by side and surging forward, collapsed forward one after another with dull thuds.

Along with the ground-shaking roar, the fierce howls that had filled the air vanished in a moment.

Monsters fell to “Paralysis,” others convulsed from “Severe Poison.”

Some sank into “Petrification,” and there were even monsters writhing in agony from a slipped disc.

“What—what’s happening!?”

The guild master Berg shouted, eyes fixed on the front line.

But only a handful of people there knew what this phenomenon meant.

A murmur ran through the temple knights as well.

“C-Captain… what… what is this…?”

“I don’t know. But—”

Seira’s gaze shifted to the right.

There stood a single man—his right hand extended quietly in front, the light blue ring on his middle finger glowing faintly.

“No way…”

Memories of that day when he had saved her life flashed through her mind.

If he had that power to dispel curses, maybe he could even pull off a miracle like this—.

It was a wild idea under normal circumstances. But right now, Seira was close to convinced.

“Heh… nice one…”

Probably close to a thousand monsters fell silent all at once.

But even so, the next horde surged in from behind.

Crushing the corpses of their fallen comrades, the advance showed no signs of stopping.

Seira steadied her breath and reached for the sword at her waist.

The blade rang as it left its sheath.

“Draw swords—!!”

Her crisp voice cut through the wind.

The temple knights in their white robes flipped up and took their positions all at once.

The adventurers couldn’t help but hold their breath at the sight of their flawless coordination.

Though enemies, no one could deny their beauty and nobility.

“Advance—!!!”

The moment Seira’s roar shook the battlefield, the hundred temple knights charged into the monster horde all at once.

◇◇◇

The effect range was about a hundred meters.

The monsters at the front barely managed to stop moving while sprawled on the ground.

The magic drain was lighter than expected.

Honestly, I had braced myself to pass out from firing off something this big all at once.

But—it seemed granting status ailments used less magic than dispelling curses.

I could still stand there with plenty of room to spare.

“As expected of you, Shu…!”

“Yeah, but—this is where the real fight starts.”

Once we plunged into the melee, figuring out enemy positions would get tricky in a flash.

I couldn’t just hang back and support—I had to step up front myself.

“You lot! Don’t let the temple knights outdo you!! Show ’em the grit of adventurers—!!!”

Berg’s bellow echoed across the battlefield.

Today, he wore armor and wielded a massive battle axe as tall as he was.

His title as a former A-rank adventurer wasn’t for show—the sight of him oozed the intimidating presence of a battle-hardened vet.

“Here we gooooooo—!!!”

“””Ooooooooh—!!!”””

At Berg’s war cry, the hundreds of adventurers charged forward all at once.

The ground shook with their footsteps. Sand and dust kicked up.

We—and Glen’s group too—raised our voices and dashed toward the front line.

◇◇◇

“Hmm~? What’s this, the monsters suddenly dropping like flies?”

Around that time—in the third row of the monster army spilling out from the dungeon.

Blended into the horde was a woman with pale purple skin and stark white hair, two horns sprouting from it—Dorotheia the demon.

She strolled forward leisurely, observing the humans’ side.

“I heard it was a dungeon break, so I came to check it out… but what did the humans do?”

There was still some distance.

Even so, the lead monsters collapsed to the ground all at once.

They seemed conscious, but some foamed at the mouth, others twitched.

Clearly, they had been hit with some kind of status ailment.

“…Spreading status ailments from this far away, huh? Heh, that’s interesting. But—”

Dorotheia flashed a seductive smile and narrowed her eyes, as if inhaling the air.

Her twin eyes locked precisely on the distant human cluster.

“…Got you.”

The instant she spotted her target, her body sprang forward lithely.

Leaving a black afterimage, she hurled herself straight toward it.

◇◇◇

Attacks I didn’t know, magic I didn’t know—they exploded one after another.

The moment the monster horde clashed head-on with the adventurers, shouts of fury flew every which way.

“<Flare Bomb>!!”

“<Tornado>!”

“<Rock Lance>!!”

“<Ice Wall>!”

Fire, wind, earth, ice—every kind of magic lit up the battlefield as adventurers with weapons drawn mowed down monster heads in a raging torrent.

But amid it all, one group fought in a clearly bizarre style.

The temple knights.

“Iris, what’s… what’s going on with them?”

I called out to Iris nearby while slicing an enemy with my long sword.

The temple knights, led by Seira, weren’t defending at all.

Their sword swings were graceful, but it was like a boxer’s no-guard style. Hard to believe anyone would fight sane like that.

“Those chosen as temple knights are granted the church’s secret magic arts.”

“Magic arts…?”

I recalled the magic art Glen had used.

Not manifesting and firing magic like spells—instead, wrapping magic around your body or weapon—that technique.

“Yes. It’s called <Holy Armor>.—Just watch for a bit.”

I followed Iris’s words and observed the temple knights’ combat.

“Hah—!!”

Each flash of a sword wrapped in holy light sent a monster head flying.

But some took counterattacks.

“You think that’ll—scratch my skin—!!?”

“Ah…”

In that moment, I got it.

Even when they took wounds, they closed up in an instant.

Faster than blood could flow, their skin regenerated.

“…Ultra-fast auto-heal. They start recovering the second they get hit?”

“Yes. That’s the effect of <Holy Armor>. It’s a special ability allowed only to temple knights.”

“That’s cheating…”

“It deactivates once magic runs out… but for a powerhouse like Lady Seira, it won’t give out even in a long fight.”

“…She’s a monster.”

Bathed in the battlefield’s glow, Seira’s pale blue hair swayed gracefully.

Speed and strength that outshone the other temple knights.

She was so overwhelming, <Holy Armor> almost seemed unnecessary.

But battles can shift in an instant with the arrival of just one foe.

“O-Orc King—!!! Gwah!?”

An adventurer’s scream.

Right after, a massive club whistled through the air and sent the man’s body flying with ease.

Orc King.

I wondered if it was stronger than that Goblin Queen.

Either way, judging by the adventurers’ panic, it was definitely a threat.

“Iris! I’m heading that way—”

The words were barely out when another voice rang out.

“Now Goblin Kings, Hellhounds… even Griffins!?”

The battlefield transformed.

The horde, full of small and medium monsters, started mixing in large types one after another.

“Damn… this melee’s too chaotic to get my bearings… <Perfect Clear Reversal> only works on enemies right in front of me…”

I panted hard in that moment—.

A chill crawled up my spine.

Clear killing intent. From far off—in the direction of Glen’s group.

My body moved before I could think.

“—<Air Boost>!”

I wrapped my body in wind magic and accelerated in a burst.

Kicking up sand and dust, I raced to Glen’s side.

“—Dieee—!!!”

A black shadow pounced from behind.

Sharp claws closed in to rip Glen’s back—the instant they did, I slid in between and blocked with my long sword.

“Shu…!”

“What’s this…? I was aiming to finish him in one hit, but you just had to get in the way.”

“This thing’s—a demon, huh. Hmph—!!”

I poured strength into my long sword and shoved back the black claws.

Dorotheia leaped lightly backward and landed gracefully on the ground.

“Thanks, Shu.”

“Yeah.—Leave her to me.”

“…You sure?”

Picking a one-on-one in this chaos was reckless.

But that demon was a cut above the other monsters, and I’d planned for it anyway.

So—no choice but to do it.

“Hey, you must be Dorotheia.”

“You… who’re you?”

“Just your average priest.”

“Hmm… human jobs don’t mean squat to me.”

As expected, chit-chat wouldn’t get anywhere.

But there was one thing I wanted to say to her.

“You sure did a number… on my friends.”

“Oh, so you’re here for revenge for your pals?”

“Something like that.”

“Heh… but you know, I can’t let that slide either—I gotta pay you back—for chipping this beautiful claw of mine—!!!”

In a flash, Dorotheia’s form vanished.

Not like Glen’s <Heat Haze>. Pure speed—enough to make her hard to track.

“Dieee—!!!”

“—That all you got?”

“Guh—!?”

Dorotheia reappeared to my left, her claws swinging for my neck.

But I saw it.

If it was just plain speed and not a magic art, my eyes could follow.

No way I’d lose to someone slower than the old man.

“My claw—it’s broken again—!!!?”

My strike had chipped Dorotheia’s black claw.

Her face twisted, and she flew into a rage like someone had shattered a gem.

“You bastard… you, you, you—!!!”

“What’s wrong? Want me to smash the rest of your claws too?”

That taunt seemed to push her over the edge.

“—Change.”

“Huh?”

“I’m changing… the spot—!!!”

The next instant, a black vortex swirled at our feet.

Space warped, sucking us toward the ground.

“Shu!”

“Lord Shu!”

Glen’s and Iris’s voices faded away.

I glanced back just a bit and left quiet words behind.

“—Take care of the rest.”

Then the black hole swallowed me and Dorotheia.

My vision went dark, and sound vanished.

When I opened my eyes next, I was already—in a completely different place.

I turned around, and there was a massive gate.

It looked like I’d been flung to a different gate, not the west one.

“Wh-wh-what!? Why is there a person here—!!!”

A shrill voice rang out.

I looked over, and by a fine carriage, a man with long red hair turned toward me.