Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy Chapter 1189: Saved

Without delay, the conflict commenced...

Wielding a tainted staff, a former priest turned Apostle lunged forward!

This marked the very first Holy Arts Practitioner that Desmund was forced to confront...

However, the disparity in their power levels was instantly apparent!

He caught the incoming blow effortlessly with his palm, finding it unnecessary to even circulate the Draconic Energy within his frame...

Instead, he simply channeled the power of purification directly into the priest’s form.

"Aaah!"

As the corrupted holy energy was forcibly dispelled inside him, the priest let out a piercing cry while his staff crumbled into shards...

To be precise, it felt as though the man's internal organs were being incinerated. Within moments, he slumped to the ground, his life extinguished.

Next, a noblewoman serving as an Apostle attempted to trap him within a web of illusions featuring carnal pleasures and immense wealth...

"Illusions, is it... For a second, this actually seemed authentic," Desmund remarked quietly, his eyes piercing through the flaws of the technique almost immediately.

Yet, the potency of the mental trap suddenly surged... It appeared the noblewoman was receiving support from several hidden backers...

Despite Desmund’s awareness of the deception, he was being forced to endure the visions. He clenched his jaw, violently pushing the hallucinations aside.

Igniting his Draconic Energy, he lunged forward and seized her arm, unleashing a wave of cleansing force.

For a fleeting second, he harbored a grim desire for her demise! Fortunately, he watched as her frame convulsed and the illusions dissolved before she collapsed, dead, upon the earth.

She had indeed perished as he anticipated...

Nevertheless, the skirmish was only beginning. A growing number of Apostles swarmed his location, forcing him into a state of constant motion...

Should he fail to regenerate at a sufficient pace, being overwhelmed by these tainted Arcanists could still prove fatal.

Desmund fought with desperate intensity, every palm strike emitting a burst of purifying light. A few enemies merely passed out from the cleansing; they were weak, but their shallow corruption allowed them to survive. Most, however, were killed instantly as their physical vessels failed to endure the purging process.

The streets of Harake City were soon drowned in a chorus of screams and the scent of blood...

"This is becoming too much..."

With every body that hit the pavement, Desmund felt a pang of sorrow in his chest.

"This wasn't my wish... but there is no other path."

At last, only a single Apostle remained standing.

The man was a colossus, standing nearly twice the size of Desmund...

Desmund recognized him as a former sentry of the Silver Swan Pavilion... In his current state, he was far more terrifying. Crimson veins throbbed across his skin, and his gaze was locked onto Desmund with singular focus.

"We cannot be stopped," the giant snarled. "Mistress Lust is eternal."

Desmund was growing weary of these words... It seemed every corrupted soul repeated the same praises for their mistress...

Realizing that dialogue was futile, he simply stepped toward the man while condensing his internal power...

Within heartbeats, his hand began to radiate a light more brilliant than any before.

'In that case, I shall grant you freedom from her,' Desmund thought, sensing the continued support of the three enigmatic entities blessing him.

The Apostle showed no fear, making no attempt to evade the strike... It almost seemed to Desmund that these individuals were intentionally seeking to be hit by his techniques.

'Wait...' Desmund was momentarily stunned by this realization. It would explain why his progress had been so smooth.

Perhaps a fragment of their original selves still held a modicum of control over their actions, and...

He couldn't finish the thought as he collided with the Apostle head-on...

"Hah!" He slammed his palm against the giant’s sternum.

The energy erupted with unprecedented brilliance. The Apostle shrieked, his massive frame trembling uncontrollably. For a brief moment, the haze left his eyes, replaced by tears.

"Thank... you..." he croaked before falling into a lifeless heap.

A heavy silence descended upon the courtyard, now littered with dozens of corpses whose souls had been liberated from Lust’s shackles.

'My suspicion was correct...' Desmund mused as he stood amidst the fallen...

These people weren't merely charging forward to obey their Mistress. They were also driven by a desperate urge to break free from her control... His hands shook at the implications.

He gazed upon the dead with eyes full of melancholy.

"I had no desire to take your lives... but the corruption had taken too deep a hold. At the very least, you are free now."

Turning away, he melted into the shadows before reinforcements could arrive.

***

Meanwhile, in her distant estate, Lust sensed the loss of her followers.

Her Apostles had been wiped out. While they were easily replaced, she was displeased by how effortlessly they had been dispatched.

"The purifier possesses more strength than I anticipated."

She ran her tongue over her lips, recalling Desmund’s features...

Unfortunately for her, the moment her hunger for Desmund surfaced, her aura betrayed her...

Now that the Apostles had been cleared away, the three dragons finally pinpointed Lust’s actual location.

The tainted aura was unmistakable, centered within the body of the noblewoman she had possessed.

"There she is," Ash whispered, her gaze sharpening. "She has exposed herself."

Knowing what was required, Zerel’s arms began to crackle with surging lightning...

"The games are over. Let's finish this."

Drazek’s shadows crept along the manor's boundaries, barricading every exit. "She won't be slipping away this time."

Suddenly, the three moved as one...

Upon reaching her residence, they immediately unleashed their full Aura...

This was their personal Spiritual Pressure, designed to crush Lust into submission.

They were certain that their collective power would make the suppression an easy task...

And they were right.

Lust’s crimson eyes grew wide as she realized she was trapped. Even so, she still possessed a few remaining ploys...

"You believe you can hold me?" she bellowed, preparing to migrate her soul into another follower... But at that exact moment, the Dragon’s Magic Circle was triggered!

Ash threw her hand up, causing vines to erupt from the floorboards. Zerel’s bolts of lightning slammed into her form, while Drazek’s shadows cut off any hope of retreat.

But just as they prepared to cast the final Spell to erase both her physical shell and her soul, the space behind Lust was violently torn asunder!

"What?!"

A spatial rift had opened!

It happened in the blink of an eye... A colossal hand composed of pure void energy reached through the tear, seizing Lust and dragging her backward.

The dragons stood frozen, unable to react in time.

"How is this possible?!" Zerel exclaimed in shock.