Raphael's caved-in chest slowly began to rise again. A Zombie's ability to recover from injuries was even stronger than a Werewolf's.
That was why Raphael wasn't afraid to trade wounds with the Disciplinary Paladin.
The Disciplinary Paladin, on the other hand, had taken Raphael's nails to the chest, leaving his heart almost visible.
The flesh around the wound had turned black from corpse poison. A layer of white frost coated his heart, which Raphael had nearly frozen solid. That blow had left the Disciplinary Paladin in bad shape, too.
Although his recovery wasn't as powerful as a Living Corpse's, he was currently in his Disciplinarian state. A layer of dawn light covered his body, effectively preventing the corpse poison from spreading and easing the stiffness in his limbs.
Xio moved in again. As they fought, Paul, the Disciplinary Paladin, declared solemnly in Ancient Hermes, "This Judge has issued a verdict without notarization and must be disciplined!"
The dawn light covering him immediately brightened, and his condition improved somewhat.
Xio, meanwhile, felt all her abilities weaken to a degree.
This was the power of discipline. In theory, a Disciplinary Paladin could grow stronger as a fight went on, while the target of his discipline grew weaker.
But that was only in theory. Raphael had just gravely wounded him, and he was still bleeding heavily. Growing stronger was no longer realistic; simply maintaining his current condition was impressive enough.
Even so, neither Xio nor Raphael was a match for him alone. Before long, Xio was subjected to Exile again.
The Disciplinary Paladin glanced at Cazzari on the ground, then turned to leave. He had certainly been exposed this time. He needed to hurry back, destroy some important documents, and hide the crucial machine parts he hadn't yet managed to transport away.
Two