My Celestial Ascension

‘What just happened?! How did my attack become so weak?! He didn’t even try to destroy it! This is unbelievable!’ Archbishop Gregor shouted in his mind, utterly in disbelief.

His thoughts became chaotic. His most powerful sneak attack hadn’t worked on Yuan—something that had never happened before in his entire life.

No one had ever escaped death from that attack—not even the most powerful Magic Knights in existence.

And yet today, not only did Yuan survive, but he also remained unscathed. Archbishop Gregor had used fifty percent of his mana reserve, and it hadn’t even left a scratch.

‘This cannot be happening…! There’s no way my Holy Magic is this weak! What the hell is his body made of?! He’s not even wearing any armor or anti-magic artifacts!’

Archbishop Gregor fell into despair as the reality sank in: his most powerful spell had been completely useless against the man who had beaten and humiliated Arthur—the Holy Son—causing the Holy Church to lose face in front of the public.

This man was the enemy of the Church—one who must be eliminated at all costs. And yet, despite having him right in front of him, he had failed.

Meanwhile, the Heroes stared at Yuan with confused, stunned expressions, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.

‘Is this even possible? Is his body really so powerful that it could shrug off such a powerful attack?!’ they thought in disbelief.

“Ayumi, can you use your Appraisal on him? We need to know how strong he is—and if we even stand a chance of defeating him if we go all out,” Kael said, casting a serious glance her way.

“I’ll try my best,” Ayumi replied with a determined nod, her expression grave as she focused her gaze on Yuan’s handsome face.

‘How could such a perfect man exist? He’s so handsome…’ she found herself thinking, momentarily forgetting to use her skill.

But she quickly shook off the thought and activated her Appraisal skill, trying to analyze Yuan’s strength.

Appraisal was a unique ability she had received after arriving in this strange, magical world filled with mystery.

Not only does her skill allow her to appraise people and learn their value or determine how strong someone is, but it also lets her see whether an object is real or fake. That isn’t even the best part of the skill—it enables her to analyze various types of magic and makes it easier for her to learn new magic simply by watching someone cast a spell. However, if the spell is too complex or powerful, it takes more time than usual. Despite this limitation, it remains an incredibly powerful ability. Because of it, her status in the Hero Party is nearly equal to, or second only to, the Hero himself.

As soon as she used her skill on Yuan, confusion struck. All she could see were error messages and countless question marks.

Name: ???????

Age: ??????

Occupation: ??????

Strength: ???????

Stamina: ???????

Agility: ??????

Mana: Error

Threat Level: Error

‘W-What the hell is this?! Why can’t I see anything with my ability?!’ Ayumi stared at Yuan, stunned. She couldn’t believe her eyes. This had never happened before—her Appraisal had always worked.

Her eyes widened in disbelief. She looked at Yuan again, confused, still trying to understand why her ability failed. After all, it had never failed before.

‘I should try again. There’s no way my ability isn’t working on him.’

With that thought, Ayumi tried to appraise Yuan once more. But no matter how many times she tried, she couldn’t see anything about him.

‘T-This is unbelievable! My ability really isn’t working on him!’ Her legs began to tremble, and her expression twisted into pure disbelief.

“You’re a fool if you think an ability like that would work on me, girl. You’re just wasting your time. And if you keep being rude like this, I won’t hesitate to end your life.”

Suddenly, Yuan’s voice echoed in her mind, and it felt as if her soul had been shredded. All color drained from her face.

‘I-It’s his voice… but how is it reaching my mind? How is he doing this? Is he using telepathy? Terrifying!’ Ayumi muttered inwardly, her face full of panic and terror at his threat.

‘At this point, is he even human? Can we still consider him human?’

She then turned her attention to the women standing behind Yuan, attempting to use her ability on them. But again, her skill failed—just like with Yuan. It was as though they were far beyond what her ability could comprehend.

They were otherworldly beings, with unimaginable strength, powerful enough to wipe out an entire continent with a single blow.

‘Not just him! Everyone is so powerful and mysterious… they could kill us all in the blink of an eye if they wanted to… I need to warn the others before they do something rash!’ Ayumi screamed in her mind, her body trembling from the overwhelming fear—the fear of death.

For the first time in her life, she felt like an ant. Even back in her world, she had never felt so pathetic and useless. But today, standing before these people, she felt utterly hopeless.

“Ayumi, what happened? Why are you trembling like this? Did that bastard do something to you that we don’t know about?” Kael looked at her with a confused and worried expression, then glared at Yuan with fury burning in his eyes.

He stormed toward Yuan, his face twisted in rage, and shouted, “Hey, you bastard! What did you do to Ayumi?! Tell me before I make you suffer like a tortured animal!”

“Kael! Wait! Don’t do it! He’s not someone you can fight!” Ayumi shouted, panic spreading across her face as chaos filled her mind at the sight of Kael charging toward Yuan.

But Kael ignored her. He drew his sword and rushed at Yuan with full speed, aiming to chop his limbs off in a single blow.

“Hmm. Getting cocky, are we?” Yuan muttered with a smirk, his fists clenching tightly. His annoyance was palpable—the Hero’s arrogance had clearly irritated him.

Before Kael could even grasp what was happening, Yuan’s fist was already an inch from his face. Kael tried to locate him—but it was already too late.

“A self-righteous bastard like you only understands after getting beaten half-dead. And I’m the one who’ll show you just how pathetic you really are!” Yuan exclaimed, then slammed his fist into Kael’s face with such force that a loud cracking sound echoed through the hall.

Bam! Kael’s body crashed violently into the marble floor of the throne hall, creating a massive crater around him from the sheer force of the impact.

Cough! A large spurt of blood erupted from his mouth as he choked, his body twisting in agony unlike anything he had ever felt before.

‘W-What the hell just happened?! What hit me?!’ Kael’s thoughts spiraled as waves of searing pain crashed into his mind, causing his body to tremble.

‘I’m the Hero—summoned from another world by the Holy Light Empire and the Holy Church! How could I be beaten like this? I’m supposed to be unbeatable!’

But he didn’t have time to process it. A powerful hand grabbed him by the neck and lifted him high into the air. Looking down, he saw Yuan staring back at him with a vicious smile stretching across his face.

“What happened? Is that all you’ve got as a hero? Did your confidence shatter like glass from a single, ordinary punch? Pathetic!” Yuan sneered, staring down at Kael—the so-called Hero of Light and Justice.

“Y-You bastard…! How dare you use a sneak attack on me…” Kael muttered weakly, glaring up at Yuan as pain throbbed through his skull like it might split in two.

“Sneak attack? Do I even need to stoop that low? You’re just too slow to even see me move. It’s your fault you’re slower than a snail,” Yuan mocked, tightening his grip around Kael’s neck.

“Stop! Don’t do it!” the Archbishop shouted, his face twisted in panic and rage—only to be silenced by Valeria.

“Don’t you dare let another filthy word come out of that stinking mouth! Or I’ll kill you without hesitation—and it won’t be pretty,” Valeria growled, unleashing her pressure as she stepped toward him, eyes full of murderous intent.

“Valeria Lionheart, huh? Are you declaring war on the Holy Church? Watch your tone before you anger me!” Archbishop Gregor barked back, his gaze sharp and threatening.

“What did you just say? Who the hell do you think I am? You think you can threaten me? You just made a huge mistake—you hit my nerve!” In a blur, Valeria closed the distance between them and slapped him hard across the face.

Bang! The Archbishop had no time to defend himself before he was struck and sent flying from the sheer power of her slap.

“A-Archbishop Gregor…” Kael muttered faintly, powerless to protect him. Right now, he was utterly useless.

“Hmmm… Are you thinking of saving him? What a foolish thought. You should worry about yourself first. Do you think I’ll show you mercy?” Yuan chuckled, clearly amused by Kael’s desperate expression.

Before Kael could react, Yuan slammed him into the hard floor once more. This time, he used more force, and Kael groaned as pain surged through his body and he felt internal damage setting in.

“Argh!” Kael cried out, then fell unconscious, shocking everyone in the room.

The other heroes stood frozen, watching helplessly as their leader was brutalized before their eyes. None of them dared step forward to stop Yuan.

“Ayumi, shouldn’t we help Kael? He passed out from the pain! If this keeps going, that bastard’s going to kill him!” Zane shouted, unable to bear watching any longer.

“There’s nothing we can do to stop them… Not Kael, not Archbishop Gregor… It’s a pity, but all we can do now is hope for the best,” Ayumi replied, shaking her head, a deeply concerned look etched on her face.