The ground was littered with ‘twisted flesh’.

  The earth was stained red with filthy blood, to the point where the blood flowed like a river. Countless ‘human remains of bones and flesh’, resembling dry trees yet somehow still alive, towered amidst the bloody river.

  At the centre of it all, within a semi-transparent subspace, a single individual endured an endless cycle of death and rebirth.

  If there was indeed a hell in this world, it could not possibly exist here. Even the demons of hell would likely avoid such a pce—one so capable of driving a person to the brink of insanity.

  “…You really can go this far, heretic!”

  Suddenly, a knight, draped in a light grey cloak and radiating an overwhelming presence, appeared before her.

  “I am the Commander of the Judgement Court Knights—Quinn. Your actions have posed a tremendous threat to our Holy Light Church. I shall pass judgement upon you here.”

  The knight commander’s armour covered his entire body, including his head, which was fully encased in a helmet. The intense aura that leaked from it certainly matched his title as Commander of the Judgement Knights.

  “In the name of the gods, I pronounce judgement.”

  Without hesitation, Quinn immediately cast a special faith-based spell, summoning the protection of the divine to envelop himself. His power surged, reaching the tenth tier.

  Yet…

  ‘Why does this feel... so strange?’

  Misako felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity from the aura emanating from Quinn.

  However, she also sensed a simir presence from Arymm and dismissed it. After all, Arymm had once been the Saintess, so it was only natural for them to share simir energies.

  The scene shifted back to Arymm.

  Arymm looked at Quinn, now blessed with divine protection, and a hint of excitement fshed across her face.

  “Hm... Tenth tier, huh... not bad.”

  The difference between the ninth and tenth tiers was as vast as the gap between earth and sky—rger even than the difference between the first and ninth tiers. Only the tenth tier now intrigued Arymm.

  In contrast to the knight she had faced before, Jed, whose strength barely reached the tenth tier with his final blow, this Quinn had completely stepped into the realm of the tenth tier.

  Without warning, Quinn thrust his sword forward, pointing directly at Arymm, then vanished in an instant.

  “Ssh!”

  A bde glowing with intense light descended upon Arymm from above. Yet, she merely raised a finger and blocked it effortlessly.

  “Wh-what...!?”

  Quinn gasped in shock. His strike, enhanced by divine protection, was stopped by nothing more than a single finger—one so thin that it couldn’t even match the thickness of his own bde!

  In that moment, Quinn realised the gravity of the situation. He could no longer hold back.

  Even if it cost him his life, he had to sy her here, or his pns would be ruined!

  “I am willing to pay…”

  Quinn leapt backwards, muttering cryptic words.

  At the same time, an unusual force surged from his body.

  “Ugh!”

  Suddenly, Quinn clutched his chest and fell to his knees. Bck liquid began to seep from the cracks of his helmet, and his body trembled.

  “Ugh… Aaagh!!”

  Moments ter, his pained cry transformed into a feral roar. Red, eerie light shone from the gaps in his helmet, and his body swelled in size.

  “What is this...?”

  Arymm tilted her head, her expression one of confusion.

  But in the very next instant, Quinn charged at her, raising his sword high and striking down.

  Arymm reached out to intercept, but this time, the power of the blow was on an entirely different level. The ground beneath her feet cracked, and a deep pit formed from the sheer force.

  “…What is this ‘berserk’ state?”

  With a single strike, Arymm realised that Quinn had completely lost his sanity. His eyes, glowing with strange red light, were now filled with nothing but the desire to massacre everyone in sight.

  Correspondingly, his once formidable swordsmanship had vanished entirely.

  “Tch, how boring.”

  Arymm's expression turned disinterested as she casually raised one foot and kicked upwards at Quinn.

  Her power far surpassed his current state, sending Quinn flying through the air. The force of the kick reverberated through his entire body, causing his armour to burst with blood as he was sent tumbling.

  “I had thought you might be able to put on a decent show with your swordsmanship, but this is it?”

  The disparity between Arymm and Quinn’s strength was so vast that, no matter what magic or price Quinn paid, he stood no chance of even touching her.

  As for why Arymm chose to directly take his attacks—it was simply to see whether Quinn could struggle in her grasp. But once he had lost his consciousness, it felt more like she was bullying a defenceless animal, and he was no more than a pything in her eyes.

  “Ugh… Ah…”

  Seeing Quinn before her, now utterly incapable of resisting and reduced to meaningless growls, Arymm lost all interest and decided to end his life with a single strike.

  Unlike the previous knights, Quinn had no awareness left, and thus could not show any pain. There was no need to let him suffer further in life when he could feel nothing at all.

  “I feel like Arymm is becoming more and more ridiculous... or perhaps it’s Aris?”

  Since Arymm and Aris shared the same body, in a sense, Aris’ overwhelming strength would also amplify Arymm’s power.

  However, it was hard to overlook what Arymm had just done.

  Crushing a human body from a distance was something that could be done with sufficient power—be it through magical transformation or words via the ancient dragon toungue. But the method Arymm used on the st knight was beyond what they were capable of.

  Causing someone to repeatedly endure near-death experiences, only for them to be reborn, was something anyone with enough magical power and healing knowledge could achieve. But the difference was that each death was distinct. This felt as though it involved the very fabric of the world’s rules, something even beings with ‘soul essence’ aligned with those rules would struggle to do.

  As for Quinn, the Commander of the Judgement Knights, he had only just managed to reach the middle tier of the tenth rank. Battles within the tenth tier could st days or even weeks, but Arymm had easily incapacitated him with a single kick.

  “…So, now...?”

  The still-dazed Jaya blinked in confusion as she gazed at the surrounding darkness.

  “Ah, you can’t look just yet. The consequences would be dire,” Misako warned, her voice carrying a serious tone.

  The once-beautiful courtyard had now become an unrecognisable, horrifying sight. For children, Veridith, and those without much mental endurance like Cortana, the scene would leave an indelible scar on their minds.

  “We’ll probably be cleaning up here for a long while,” Misako remarked with a sigh.