Chapter : 105

“Move ‘it’ in advance.”

The person Fel was most wary of was none other than Benaya.

The strongest knight of the Church.

In truth, what was truly fearsome about him was not his outstanding martial prowess, but his beast-like intuition.

It was a realm of pure talent that not even the numerous paladins and heretic inquisitors taught by Benaya could ever learn.

Benaya was a unique and undisputed strongest knight, and the Church’s greatest asset.

“But Your Holiness, the ‘it’ you speak of is too dangerous.”

A holy relic that God was said to have bestowed along with the Holy Sword.

Unlike the Holy Sword, which everyone knew, the existence of ‘it’ was a secret kept only by the Pope, that is, only by the Levian family, within the Church.

A holy relic that was not even revealed to Fel, who was living as ‘Ferdiel,’ a ring engraved with the king’s vow.

If the Holy Sword existed to slay all evil, the ring existed to rule all evil.

Unlike the Holy Sword, which could only be used by the hero chosen by God, the ring could be used by anyone, but everything had a price.

“‘It’ demands a person’s life force.”

Even the greatest saint could not endure a year after wearing the ring.

The peace brought about by the ring was a temporary one that demanded a person’s life for a few months.

Thus, the veil of time was drawn, the ring’s existence was completely erased from people’s memories, and it finally slept for a long time in Levian’s secret warehouse without ever being revealed to anyone.

“But it’s better than not having it in my hand.”

The more preparations for a crisis, and the more powerful they are, the better.

“As you command.”

Benaya, who had bowed his head, asked the Pope before leaving.

“If there are any unwelcome guests… is it alright to kill them?”

Unwelcome guests?

The Pope was puzzled.

The only one who knew about Levian’s secret warehouse besides Benaya was Ferdiel, who was also a Levian.

Hartain might also know if Ferdiel had told him, but he wouldn’t be able to move easily either… After a moment of thought, the Pope willingly gave his permission.

“Kill them.”

If blood was shed, and if that blood was Theo Lisitoel’s, it would be an excellent form of amusement.

Benaya, who had bowed his head at the Pope’s permission, left.

* * *

The wind stopped for a moment.

In that fleeting moment, Benaya’s sword cut through the air and plunged towards Lerwon.

Lerwon blocked the attack with his dagger.

Clang!

With the sound of steel clashing against steel, Lerwon frowned.

The vibration of the swords clashing traveled up his arm and numbed his shoulder.

“Keuk!”

He was on a different level from anyone Lerwon had faced before.

It was an overwhelming skill that was in a league of its own.

If he was hit squarely even once, he would lose his life.

“Damn it!”

Lerwon didn’t hold back the boiling curses and spat them out.

“There is no need for idle talk in a sword fight.”

Benaya didn’t pause to catch his breath for a moment.

One step, two steps, with every moment, Benaya’s sword swung fiercely towards Lerwon’s neck.

Lerwon was busy dodging in all directions, blocking and evading.

Every time Benaya swung his sword, the surrounding air churned as if it were being crushed.

Lerwon endured the gap in strength and speed solely with his technique and Theo’s support.

“Left!”

With Theo’s shout, a sword of ice shot out, tearing through the air.

At the moment Benaya’s sword was tracing a trajectory towards Lerwon, the magically created ice sword flew in and clashed with the steel blade.

Boom!!!

The trajectory was twisted.

Lerwon did not miss the opportunity.

He ducked and closed the distance in an instant.

The tip of his blade quickly went in and grazed Benaya’s side.

There was blood on the dagger, but the wound was shallow.

At the moment of being attacked, he had pulled his body back.

His steel-like body did not stop from being cut just once.

The closer the distance, the sooner Lerwon’s crisis arrived.

Benaya’s eyes sharpened and his sword swung again.

This time, a horizontal slash.

Lerwon couldn’t parry it, and clang! The swords clashed.

But unable to overcome the force, Lerwon’s body was sent flying.

Thud!!!

Before he could regain his posture by pushing off the stone wall, the tip of the sword plunged towards his neck.

“Grab him!!”

At that moment, a giant earth golem grabbed Benaya’s body.

In the grip of the massive magical force, Benaya couldn’t move, and Lerwon quickly retreated in the gap.

While catching his breath, Lerwon checked the item in his pocket.

In this endless battle, this would buy him a moment.

However, Benaya did not miss that short opening.

He turned his body towards Theo. As if to cut off the interfering magic first.

“Tsk!”

He doesn’t even give me a moment’s rest. Lerwon, as if annoyed, jumped in again and unleashed a barrage of attacks.

Benaya’s sword came down heavily, and Lerwon lightly dug in.

Benaya’s sword came down heavily, and Lerwon lightly dug in.

When the long blade descended, tracing a trajectory, Lerwon’s dagger slid past it as if grazing it.

Short, fast breaths and a slow but crushing weight that pressed on the lungs.

Completely different rhythms clashed.

Click, the metallic sound rang out briefly as Benaya’s sword pushed Lerwon back as if deflecting him, and Lerwon retreated and lowered his posture.

In that gap, Benaya took another step towards Theo, but Lerwon flew in again.

This time, it was a thrust. It was a fast, deep, and precise attack, but Benaya twisted his blade and deflected it.

The vibration of the two metals spread through his hand and his entire body.

Benaya, who had closed the distance in an instant, roughly grabbed the nape of Lerwon’s neck.

The next moment, his body was lifted into the air.

Lerwon was thrown against the wall without a chance to resist, and a dull impact sound erupted.

“Sunbae!!”

“You should worry about yourself first.”

Benaya’s figure disappeared for a moment.

He couldn’t escape to the sky. In that case!

Theo immediately protected his body with a circle of earth.

Shields made of earth layered up, but they cracked, shattered, and scattered under Benaya’s force.

In the end, Benaya’s sword aimed at Theo’s chest.

At that moment, a potion bottle flew in. Lerwon shouted.

“Get down!!”

As the glass bottle shattered. The floor corroded and caved in.

The ground beneath Benaya’s feet gave way, and the trajectory of his sword was slightly twisted.

In that gap, Theo ducked and dodged. However, the corroded area was too wide.

“Ah…!”

Theo also lost his balance, slipped, and fell to the floor.

The boxes in the warehouse also lost their footing and tumbled over.

Benaya was slowly getting up.

I have to get out of here quickly!

At that moment, his hand touched something.

A small, old, golden ring.

A breathtaking silence cut through the moment, and Theo’s eyes wavered.

This was it. The Ring of Solomon that Theo had searched for for days.

“Sunbae!!”

At Theo’s shout, Lerwon quickly closed in and exchanged blows with Benaya.

It was more of a fierce push-and-pull, with each aiming for the other’s breath, rather than just exchanging blows.

Every time Benaya’s longsword swung, the space cried out as if it were being torn, and Lerwon’s dagger dug into it, carving out a fleeting moment.

A heavy longsword like a giant wave and a sharp dagger like a spear that pierces a gap clashed.

Short, but fatal blows.

As breaths crossed and weights clashed, the center of the battlefield was momentarily shaken.

Taking advantage of that opening, Theo grabbed the ring and rushed towards Lerwon.

“Catch it!!”

Hands clasped, and in Theo’s other hand, the writing was completed.

「Move to Hartain’s room.」

Space tore and light exploded.

Just as Benaya was about to follow─

The tip of his sword pierced the empty air, and the two disappeared in an instant.

Benaya stood alone in the wrecked warehouse.

* * *

“Ughhhh!”

The moment I used the skill, my insides twisted.

A pain as if hot stones were squirming under my skin spread.

My fingertips trembled, and my teeth wouldn’t clench, so I couldn’t even breathe properly.

“Theo, Theo!!”

The voice calling me felt so distant.

Blood flowed from my nose and mouth simultaneously.

Even moving a single finger was a struggle.

“Sunbae, please be quiet….”

I heard Lerwon-sunbae’s voice calling me.

The shout that tore at my ears was followed by tinnitus and a headache.

I wanted to lift my head, but my body… was much heavier than I thought.

I couldn’t even move my fingertips as I pleased.

My mouth was hot. Even when I tried to swallow, sticky blood kept rising from beyond my esophagus.

Every time I breathed in, my throat tightened, and blood overflowed and trickled from the corner of my mouth.

“Heok, cough… keck.”

Suddenly, something flowed into my mouth.

At the sweet taste of apple juice, my battered insides gradually, gradually settled down.

I no longer vomited blood, and the ringing in my ears also subsided.

“What is this….”

“A panacea.”

So you brought it.

That was a relief. If not for that, I really would have died this time.

“Was it like this last time too?”

“This much is─”

I was about to deny that it wasn’t, but his gaze was sharp.

Isn’t this a loaded question? Unable to either deny or affirm, I obediently lay down on the floor.

The blood I had thrown up had soaked my clothes, but to think I had the energy to care about something like that.

“I really thought I was going to die.”

I knew Benaya was dangerous, but I never thought he would be this strong.

“Is it really okay to fuse something like that with a demon?”

If ‘that’ also starts using magic, it would be a disaster.

However, I will assert.

“Yes, it has to be. To deal with that leisurely right now, I would have to bring my father….”

First of all, that itself is difficult.

Even if the Pope steps down, Benaya Ignos would likely still be the head of the Ignos family.

There is no way to kill the head of the Ignos family, who has protected the Church for so long, without any reason.

“It’s probably difficult. But we can’t just leave it be either.”

We couldn’t just let a person like the Pope wield a sword like Benaya freely.

And it’s not like Benaya would ever betray the Pope, so to ‘deal’ with him, it’s better for that man to fuse with a demon.

“But would he do something like that when he knows the Hero is right there?”

“Lucian went back to the Academy anyway.”

As long as he could somehow tie up my father’s feet, he probably thought the Hero wouldn’t be a problem.

Without knowing that this world is solely for the epic saga of the Hero.

“Since the Hero can’t use teleportation magic because of the Holy Sword’s blessing, he probably thought he could just avoid the Hero and cause some trouble.”

I was planning to aim for that opening.

The risk of teleportation magic is great, but if teleportation magic is possible with a skill, then summoning should be possible too, so I could just summon Lucian.

However, encountering Benaya in the warehouse and openly showing him teleportation magic was not part of the plan….

“Survival comes first, so let’s not worry about the teleportation magic being exposed.”

Alright, then shall we try bluffing first?

“Sunbae, do you happen to have any poison-type potions?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep