"Sir Zekt."
As he passed through the forest, Azadin could feel the curse pressing against his skin.
Though he had no eyes, he viewed the world through a special sight, one that allowed him to see the black mana of curses flying toward him. It was clear that Zekt and Wraith Knight were pursuing him.
"Well, well. My skin is tingling. But at least I know where they are now."
Sensing the presence of the Wraith Knight targeting him, Azadin halted his mount.
At this distance, no one else would be caught in the crossfire. With that thought, Azadin dismounted and spread an assortment of cheap weapons on the ground. He took several arrows, filling his quiver to the brim, and secured a few more into the leather straps on his thighs as extra ammunition.
"Now, come."
At that moment, a monstrous creature emerged from the thicket. It moved on all fours, its elongated limbs making it look like some unknown beast.
From the black mana radiating from its body and the familiar curse markings, Azadin knew it was none other than the Wraith Knight, Gazrek. Without Azadin's special sight, no one would have recognized that this grotesquely mutated being had once been Gazrek.
"My god…."
Azadin gasped as he looked at the twisted figure of Gazrek, warped by the curse.
This was no ordinary Wraith Knight. Powerful black magic swirled within Gazrek's body. Had the Holy Knights really brought something like this with them?
"Hup!"
Azadin drew his bowstring. Gazrek charged at him, blocking his own head with his forearm, but—
—Ping!
The arrow Azadin fired twisted through the air like a fish swimming against a raging current, striking Gazrek's foot and severing his big toe.
The massive figure, now as large as a bull, lost balance and tumbled to the ground.
"Nice!"
Azadin grabbed an axe from the weapons he had scattered on the ground and lunged forward. At that moment, Gazrek swung his arm. A broken sword slashed through the air toward Azadin, but—
— 'Beauty of Nature, Mirage, Kazas Haeseo!'
Unlike other heralds who relied on illusions through magic, Azadin executed the technique purely through martial arts.
He deflected Gazrek's attack with a fluid movement, then swung his axe in a wide arc, striking the knight's elbow. Without pause, he hurled himself forward, spinning once in midair, and then brought the axe down with tremendous force.
As the embedded axe was yanked free, the momentum carried it into Gazrek's skull, splitting his head open and cleaving through his spine and collarbone.
"Kaagh!"
Even with such a mortal wound, Gazrek swung wildly in an attempt to trade blows. But Azadin simply abandoned the axe lodged in his body, retreated out of reach, and picked up a shortsword from the ground.
"Not so fast."
As Gazrek attacked, Azadin slashed at his hand, severing his fingers, then threw the shortsword, lodging it into his enemy's body. Again, he retreated and grabbed another weapon—this time, a short spear—which he promptly drove into Gazrek's knee.
"Grrrrr!"
From his mouth, Gazrek spewed curses, flailing his broken sword and arms at Azadin. But now that he could no longer walk, his attacks posed no real threat.
And then—
"Chains of Light!"
A pure, luminous rope of light coiled around Azadin. Though it was weightless, a mere force, he could have broken free—until another voice called out.
"Chains of Light!"
The second spell ensnared him. The first voice had been female, the second male.
"Tch!"
Just then, Gazrek's attack came flying toward Azadin.
—Thwack!
Azadin's body was sent rolling across the ground before he sprang back up. Gazrek's attack was fearsome, but Azadin recovered immediately, catching his breath.
"Grraaaagh!"
From Gazrek's gaping wounds, grotesque worms squirmed out. Not just worms—tapeworms, countless of them, writhing and stitching his severed flesh together. Though he couldn't fully regenerate, he was at least preventing his limbs from dangling uselessly.
"Disgusting."
As Azadin grimaced at the sight, the casters of the holy magic stepped forward.
"The murderer of my father!"
"..."
Two Holy Knights had arrived behind Gazrek, both on horseback. One was Meiya, the executive knight of Bishop Salasma, and the other was Zebeck, the sword instructor of Kozel.
Azadin glanced at them and smirked.
"Your father's right there."
"How dare you! You killed my father and now mock me to my face!?"
"My apologies. Even though he was a Holy Knight who slaughtered civilians, I didn't wish to insult a father in front of his daughter. But tell me, who is really insulting your father's death right now?"
"Sh-shut up! Do not blaspheme my father! He would never have killed civilians without reason! You slander my father, and for that, you must die—only then will he find peace!"
Blinded by rage, Meiya charged at Azadin.
"Dame Meiya!"
Zebeck tried to stop her, but it was futile.
Meiya was confident in her attack, seeing Azadin groaning on the ground, clutching his body after being struck by Gazrek. He no longer looked capable of fighting.
His arm or ribs—or maybe both—had to be broken. She had to finish him off quickly, freeing Gazrek, no, freeing her father.
Fueled by that thought, Meiya hastened her charge, stabbing at Azadin with her lance from horseback.
However—
"Welcome!"
Azadin deftly twisted his cloak around Meiya's lance, wrapping it up and stopping the strike. Then, like flowing water, he slipped onto the back of her horse, clinging just behind her saddle. Before she could react, his hand was already gripping her neck.
"Oh, dear…."
Zebeck clicked his tongue at the sight of Meiya being taken hostage in an instant. She was skilled in magic, not swordsmanship, which was why they had agreed beforehand—if close combat became necessary, Zebeck would handle it while Meiya supported from a distance with her spells.
But at Azadin's provocation, Meiya had lost her temper and thrown all caution aside.
'His acting is superb. He wasn't sent rolling from Gazrek's attack—he flung himself to disperse the impact.'
And then he feigned injury to lure Meiya in. What a devious bastard.
Zebeck already knew Azadin's strength, but seeing it again, he was truly formidable and seasoned.
"You've lost your composure, Dame Meiya. Well, you must realize it yourself, don't you? Who is really dishonoring your father right now?"
Azadin spoke to Meiya, who had been so easily captured. However, Meiya had no intention of conversing with him.
"Tch! Just kill me already, you vile heretic!"
"Why would I throw away such a fine shield?"
Seeing Gazrek charging from behind, Azadin pulled on the reins, positioning Meiya directly in the knight's path. Startled, Gazrek abruptly halted—not because he recognized his daughter, but because the one controlling him had placed a condition preventing him from attacking a Holy Knight of the King's Church.
"Enough."
Zebeck called out to Azadin.
"Sir Zebeck, I respected you, but this is disappointing."
"What?"
Meiya was shocked to hear Azadin speaking as though he knew Zebeck. Judging by Zebeck's demeanor, it seemed the two were already acquainted.
"We are merely bait. The bandits have already moved around behind you."
"Hm? You've allied with bandits? I had no expectations of the King's Church, so I didn't think I could be disappointed, yet somehow, you still manage to disappoint."
"Sir Zekt cast black magic on them. No, rather than simple necromancy… it was Nether's power."
"..."
Hearing that, Azadin realized the situation had turned truly dangerous.
"As a Holy Knight of the King's Church, can you really condone that?"
"Inquisitors are all well-versed in black magic. You cannot fight an enemy without knowing them."
"Then you should know that you've crossed the line. I held a funeral for Sir Gazrek. The fact that he rose again as a Wraith Knight is undoubtedly Sir Zekt's doing…"
As Azadin spoke, Meiya, still held hostage, stomped her feet in protest.
"Lies! It's all lies!"
"Isn't that just what you want to believe? You have to believe it, or else you can't continue being a Holy Knight."
"S-Sir Zebeck! Forget about me, just attack!"
"No. That man is telling the truth."
"What?"
"Sir Gazrek did massacre civilians, and when he was found, his funeral had already been conducted. The reason he became a Wraith Knight is because of Sir Zekt's magic."
"T-that's absurd. Even you are defiling my father's honor? Are you saying my father slaughtered commoners without reason?"
"He had a reason. A disgraceful one…"
"Then…"
Azadin released his grip from Meiya's throat, grabbed the reins, and turned the horse toward Gazrek. Because of the restriction against attacking Holy Knights, Gazrek could not fight back.
"Lend me your sword."
Azadin drew the sword from Meiya's scabbard and swung it horizontally, severing Gazrek's head. His skull, already weakened from the axe strike, came off easily.
"Kyaaah!"
Ignoring Meiya's scream, Azadin stabbed the blade vertically into the severed neck, then kicked the horse to send Gazrek's body crashing to the ground.
The axes and spears Azadin had embedded in him tore his corpse apart, and finally, Gazrek fell silent.
"Uugh! You monster!"
Meiya wailed over the mutilated remains of Gazrek. The result was achieved through the speed of the galloping horse and Azadin's overwhelming strength, but it was also because Meiya, despite sitting on the same horse, had not resisted. Had she struggled, even Azadin wouldn't have been able to behead Gazrek so cleanly.
'Despite her words, she knows deep down that what Sir Zebeck and I are saying is true.'
Azadin understood the unspoken turmoil within Meiya's heart.
"So, Sir Zebeck, what will you do?"
"Release Dame Meiya."
"Hm. That's all you have to say? Tell me about the bandits."
"Sir Zekt cast a spell on them and ordered them to retrieve a copy of the Book of the Divine King. They assumed the escaped slaves had taken it and went around to intercept them, leaving you to Sir Gazrek."
"Then there's no time to waste."
Azadin dismounted, releasing Meiya without keeping her as a hostage or harming her in any way.
"What about you two? Will knights stand by while bandits and monsters slaughter commoners?"
At that, Meiya shouted in fury.
"People who aid in leaking the Book of the Divine King are no commoners…"
"Hm. So, because some suffering commoners took a copy of the Book of the Divine King while escaping from bandits, they deserve to die? I see, it seems only the old man wearing a brass basin on his head is a real knight."
Azadin scoffed at Meiya's words and turned his back on her. It was a perfect opportunity to strike him down, but even Meiya had no words to counter his accusation.