Parallel Memory

The Rank-S Holy Knight, which is one of the strongest, was killed immediately. He tried his best to protect himself but in the end, got himself killed.

Not only that, Zero's attack made its way toward Cardinal Hildred. Cardinal Hildred was terrified but she didn't stand still. She believed that Zero's attack should have been weakened as a result of Rank-S Holy Knight.

[ "Holy Protection" ]

Cardinal Hildred conjured a strong barrier. She tried to protect herself with some defensive skills and there was also a Nexus Scepter which made her stronger. She channeled all her mana into it and tried to desperately protect herself.

-BANG! *CRACK!

Her barrier was broken immediately by the attack, and it was time for her body.

She used a Nexus Scepter to block the attack. The Nexus Scepter was a Rank-S + artifact, made with rare material. It was better than many defensive artifacts.

*CRACK!

However, the artifact had also begun breaking. Alas, Nexus Scepter, though durable, was not meant to be used as a shield. It couldn't break easily but that didn't mean that it wouldn't.

*CRACK! -BANG!

Nexus Scepter, which is a Rank-S + artifact, one of the rarest artifacts shattered into pieces.

As a result of the defense of the Rank-S Holy Knight and Nexus Scepter, Cardinal Hildred was fortunate that Zero's attack intensity had decreased considerably.

-SLASH!

So, it only managed to cut her abdomen. Otherwise, her fate would have been the same as the Rank-S Holy Knight whose body was cut in half.

"ARGHHH!..."

Cardinal Hildred screamed in pain. She immediately used her healing spell but the destructive energy from Zero's attack refused to be healed easily. She groaned in pain and anger.

Zero glared at her.

He achieved what he wanted. From the moment he decided to attack Cardinal Hildred, his aim was to undo mind control. It didn't matter whether the Nexus Scepter broke or if it was Cardinal Hildred who got destroyed by his attack.

The result would be what he desired, which was to free every one of their mind-control.

Cardinal Hildred's subordinates immediately came to help the Cardinal. They immediately started healing Cardinal Hildred.

Cardinal Hildred glared at Zero in hatred. She had lost everything. Everything she had built up had been destroyed. Her plan was going perfectly but he ruined her.

She wanted to kill Zero more than anything else. Though that was just wishful thinking as she couldn't even stand up right now.

-THUD! -THUD!

All the people who Cardinal Hildred controlled had collapsed. With the Nexus Scepter destroyed, they were now free from its effects. They were unconscious but very much alive.

"He should also wake up soon! Let's wrap up here!"

Zero said to himself.

Now there were only a couple of people standing against him. They were people who sided with Cardinal Hildred from the start without having their mind-controlled.

The strongest was the Rank-S Holy Knight who had been fighting with him from the start. There were also 2 Rank-A Holy Knights, though they were not much of a threat. And many lower-ranked Holy Knights and followers which Zero didn't care about at all.

Only the Rank-S Holy Knight could do something to Zero. And he was also not looking to be in great shape with the constant beating he took.

"AGH! Dammit!"

Cardinal Hildred slowly got up with the help of her followers. Her injuries were healed with their help. She was angry and her hatred just kept on increasing.

"Don't be happy yet! I have not lost yet!"

Cardinal Hildred said as she glared at Zero. Her allies looked at her confusedly. If there was any time to surrender, then it was now. They had already lost many people from their side and had no more Trump cards.

They were afraid to confront Zero and were even thinking about surrendering. And they also thought that Cardinal Hildred might surrender. After all, they had lost everything.

Surrendering was much better than dying.

-SWISH!

Cardinal Hildred took out a potion of some kind. It was black and emitted sinister energy. It radiated energy similar to that of Rank-S Devils.

Zero kept looking at her direction but he didn't make a move. He seems to want to see what Cardinal is planning before killing her.

On the other hand, Saintess Amelia was busy looking after the people that had collapsed. They were all the people that were caught up in the fight between her and the Cardinal. She felt sorry as she knew that they didn't choose to fight on their own.

She started to heal those severely. Among them were people who had attacked Zero.

-GLUP! -GLUP!

Cardinal Hildred drank the potion quickly. Her mana aura quickly rose and it seemed that her rank had also increased from B to A. But not only was her rank changed, but her mana also turned from Holy Mana to Dark Mana.

"Haha… I should have done this sooner!"

Cardinal Hildred exclaimed. She felt her strength increase by several times. She was ecstatic by the power that she got. She felt like she could take anyone she likes.

"But this is not enough! I need more!"

The Cardinal stated as she looked at each and every person around her. Her followers shivered in fright. They didn't know why but they felt some kind of danger from the Cardinal.

*GRAB!

Cardinal Hildred grabbed the nearest person to her. And she seemed to have absorbed her mana and life energy.

"AAAAAHHHHH! Please spare me! I am on your side!"

The person screamed and begged for her life. However, Cardinal Hildred wasn't affected by that. All she cared about was the power that she was getting. Her mana was increasing and she was becoming increasingly powerful.

-THUD!

She then threw the body which was lifeless. She dried up like all her blood was sucked.

"You don't mind either, don't you?"

Cardinal Hildred asked as she eyed her allies.

"Run away!"

Their immediate reaction was to flee. They didn't waste a second thinking about sacrificing themselves to the Cardinal.

-WHOOSH!

Cardinal Hildred immediately caught up with them and absorbed their life energy and mana. They couldn't resist at all as they were much weaker than the Cardinal. Her Mana aura rose further and it seemed to have broken through to Rank-S -.

Her final target was also the Rank-S Holy Knights who had been fighting for her since earlier. But now, he also was just one of the foods that the Cardinal wanted to consume.

The Rank-S Holy Knight was much stronger than others but he had become weaker because of his fight with Zero. On the other hand, Cardinal Hildred was powerful and her mana was at full capacity.

It didn't take long for her to even suck up all the mana and life energy from the Rank-S Holly Knight. And her power increased further, breaking into Rank-S from Rank-S -.

"Hahahahaha… "

It seemed that she had lost her mind with the increase in her strength. She then began to glare at Zero. She was finally going to fight with her enemy. She didn't forget the humiliation and all the things that Zero had done to her.

"I will kill-"

Cardinal Hildred was about to say that she will kill Zero and make her move. But even before she could finish the sentence, Zero appeared above her and then he slammed her face on the ground.

-BANG!

As Cardinal Hildred's head slammed into the ground, a shockwave of energy rippled out, causing the ground to shake and dust to fly everywhere. For a moment, everything went silent. The person shouting all the time had her face eat the ground.

Cardinal Hildred tried to lift her head up.

-BANG! -BANG!

Then Zero grabbed her hair and then slammed her head into the ground again and again. Her face was distorted by pain. But with the power of the potion, she recovered quickly.

-BANG! -BANG!

Zero increased his power and continued to slam her face on the ground until even her recovery power couldn't keep up with the damage.

Cardinal Hildred was angry and she tried to resist but was powerless. She tried to use her power but before Zero's power, her power was nothing.

After a while, Zero stopped slamming her head.

"Y-You!"

Cardinal Hildred angrily yelled. She tried to get up again.

-BANG!

Zero, not wanting to listen to her nonsense, again slammed her head into the ground.

Cardinal Hildred groaned in pain and tried to get up, but Zero had already pinned her head down with his foot. He looked down at her with a cold gaze.

"You're done!" he said, his voice low and menacing.

Cardinal Hildred snarled and struggled, but she couldn't break free from Zero. She thought that she had become stronger and more powerful enough to defeat Zero. Who knew that the power that she thought was invincible was broken in no time?

Her power was useless. She had no one to support her. She had lost.

"What are you going to do with me?" she spat out, her voice filled with venom.

Zero didn't answer.