Enough of this nonsense," Mureno hissed. "Now, kill him!"

"Kyaa!"

"Growwll!"

Emitting disjointed noises,the horde rushed again.

Ethan glanced at horde and then at Hall

"Run and hide.And make sure to keep away from the attack range," he ordered.

"Yes, my Lord," Hall said quickly and sprinted toward the shadows without looking back.

Ethan gripped his greatsword tightly and lifted it high. The crimson aura around him flared like a blazing storm, coating the blade in red light.

He watched the undead charge at him and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I'm really sorry."

"As someone who promised to protect my people… I failed to keep that promise."

His grip tightened.

"I failed to be a good Lord."

He opened his eyes, now filled with unwavering resolve that masked his grief and fury.

"But now, all I can do is free you from your suffering… and destroy the monster who turned you into this."

With that vow, Ethan swung his greatsword down with all his strength.

BOOOOOM!

BOOOOOM!

RUMBLE!

The impact shattered the ground like glass breaking under unbearable weight. Red light burst outward, devouring the night and swallowing the undead in a storm of raging power.

The earth cracked open, and the shockwave that followed threw everyone nearby into the air. The first wave of creatures was sent flying, and before the second could charge, a sharp tearing sound echoed through the area.

Zzzrtttt!

It sounded like space itself was being ripped apart.

Ethan vanished from his spot. Lightning danced beneath his boots as he moved. His body blurred and flickered through the battlefield, leaving afterimages that looked like streaks of red light cutting through the darkness.

In Mureno's hollow eyes, countless red lines appeared across the night sky, like a spider web drawn in blood. A second later, the lines vanished and with them, dozens of heads rolled across the stone floor, their bodies collapsing in silence.

Ethan didn't want this.

If possible, he wanted to leave their bodies whole. But there was no other choice.

Mureno's jaw tightened as he spun around in panic, trying to locate Ethan. "Where is he?" he hissed, his skeletal fingers twitching. His blazing eyes darted left and right, unable to sense Ethan's mana.

Suddenly, he felt it—a violent surge of energy right behind him.

"[Shield]!" he shouted instinctively.

A massive translucent barrier formed in front of him, shimmering with dark green light.

In the next instant, a huge shadow tore through the air. Ethan's greatsword came crashing down like divine punishment.

BAAAANG!

BOOOOOM!

The impact ripped through the barrier and continued forward, splitting the ground open as it smashed into the church entrance.

BOOOM!

The church entrance was entirely annihilated into nothingness.

The explosion then sent debris flying, dust filling the air as the entire front wall collapsed.

Through the cloud of dirt and smoke, a dark figure leapt out, roaring in fury.

"Insolent!"

Mureno's voice echoed, distorted and inhuman. He raised his hands and began casting one spell after another.

[Cursed Blaze]

Dark flames shot toward Ethan, painting the air with streaks of green fire who on just punched the empty air

A bang erupted following which the flames burst out in the mid air.

[Soul Rot]!

A ripple of deathly energy spread across the ground, corroding everything it touched.

Ethan's image blurred, dodging the cursed.And to which he couldn't dodge,he lifted up a few corpses and threw them ahead.

"ARGHHH!"

"Stop running like a cockroach!"He screamed.

[Dark Lightning]

Bolts of purple lightning shot down from the sky, splitting the ground open wherever they struck.

[Decay Storm]

A whirlwind of black mist howled through the air, tearing through the corpses and dragging them into its swirl.

[Puppet's Grasp]

Chains made of shadow lunged out of the mist, trying to grab Ethan's limbs.

But all Mureno saw were blurs.

Ethan's image flickered across the field appearing in front of him one second, behind him the next. His movements were too fast to track. Each dodge left faint trails of crimson light behind, cutting through the smoke like blades.

The spells struck the ground and the undead instead.

FSSHHHH!

The green fire melted flesh and bone alike, twisting the zombies into deformed black ash.

The lightning struck another group, leaving nothing but smoldering corpses. The black mist devoured what remained, turning the bodies into piles of decayed sludge.

The smell was unbearable. Rotting flesh mixed with the sting of burnt bone filled the night.

Mureno's burning eyes flickered in frustration. He tried to follow Ethan's presence, but every time he locked on, it vanished again. The pressure made him nervous—something that should have been impossible for a Lich.

Suddenly, he felt a shift in the air. Ethan's killing intent grew stronger. It felt like a storm closing in, and before he could react, Ethan was already there right in front of him.

"Got you," Mureno hissed.

[Bone Maw]

The ground beneath Ethan split open. From the crack rose a massive skeletal mouth filled with jagged teeth. It roared as it snapped shut, swallowing Ethan whole.

Mureno let out a raspy laugh. "Now die!"

He stretched his arms wide, dark mana gathering around him as he shouted in manic excitement. "Once you're dead, I'll turn you into one of my soldiers! I'll control this entire region! Then I'll be invinci—"

CRACK!

A heavy blow struck Mureno's face mid-sentence.

The world seemed to freeze for a second. His thoughts blanked. Being a Lich, he didn't feel pain—but he could hear the sound of his bones breaking apart. His jaw twisted at an impossible angle. His skull cracked, pieces of it falling to the ground.

Then came the explosion.

BOOOOOM!

A massive shockwave burst out, ripping through the church. Mureno's entire body was thrown like a ragdoll. He smashed through several half-broken walls and slid across the stone floor, leaving a trail of broken debris behind him. He finally stopped after crashing into the far wall of the church, his body bent awkwardly, half-buried in the rubble.

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