Chapter 221
Chapter 221
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.49 – The Most Terrifying Creature in the World Is… (7)
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Kwaaaang!
...Have I hit it thousands of times already?
Kuuuuh!
Anyone who's ever punched a sandbag knows that hitting an object is far more exhausting and grueling than it seems.
You start off thinking after ten hits, "Huh? This is easier than I thought?" feeling all cocky and wondering if you might have a talent for it. But after a few dozen more repetitions, you're whining, "Ow, this hurts too much, it's too hard," clutching your sore fist and aching elbow.
Hitting something is that tough. And if the target is a massive, dynamically moving creature, it gets even harder.
That's why, after your first sparring session, your soul drains out and you declare, "...I'm never learning boxing (or any martial art)."
And just like that, they were too.
"Hah... hah..."
"......"
"...Exhausting."
...They were being tested to their limits against a type of monster they'd never faced before.
A whopping 98 minutes. Just two more minutes until they hit 100. It was a prolonged battle that had everyone so drained they weren't just reminiscing about their first sparring match—they were seeing their life flash before their eyes.
It felt less like a fight and more like a war. Or like precarious construction work on the skeletal frame of a 90-story skyscraper without a moment's rest.
If they were ordinary knights, they'd have collapsed from exhaustion long ago. But these three knights, who had coincidentally gathered together, were half-superhuman—knights the Status Window boy called [Lv. 8 Hero Class].
With stamina like desert camels that never tire, they endured the battle that tested their limits. And finally...
They succeeded in bringing the monster down.
The hell beast's body gradually melted away, scattering like sand.
True to its name, it was returning to the world of the dead—the realm called hell or the underworld.
One-Eye didn't hold back on the praise.
If this hell beast they had just slain had escaped outside, it would have caused massive casualties. It was a monster that might take an entire army to barely defeat, yet these three took it down. Calling it a heroic achievement was no exaggeration.
They had performed admirably, and the guardian who had protected the temple's holy relics for ages nodded vigorously, showering them with acclaim.
For knights, fame and honor are more precious than any treasure.
However, they unfortunately couldn't spread word of this invaluable achievement.
After all, they couldn't exactly announce that they'd invaded the temple.
Who could proudly say honorable knights had broken in to steal a holy relic?
Thus, the epic battle and repulsion of a hell beast that could have been a massive disaster for the human world must remain unknown—and unannounced.
A victory that left only scars.
...But still.
"Heh, honor is something you keep to yourself."
"What honor is it if it's just the world's praise? If I'm proud of myself, that's enough."
"One-Eye, you're awfully worldly for a one-eyed creature. Or are you just nosy?"
That was their response, leaving One-Eye momentarily speechless.
The knights he knew weren't like that.
Knights were the type who hung their necks on fame and honor, thrashing about to make themselves known.
Guys who saw honor as worthless as a pebble like these were a rare sight.
The first knights.
Hundreds of years ago, in the era called the Age of Barbarism, they banded together solely on the ideal of helping the good but powerless common folk.
Back then, "knight" was just one of many noble titles. They didn't receive it from anyone—they called themselves knights and lived to aid the weak and poor.
They later became known as the Knight King and the Knights of the Round Table, recognized by the guardian and the fairies as the true "first knights."
The others called knights in that era?
...Worse than bandits.
They spread the ideal of helping others, which made Pendragon known as the kingdom of knights, and countless knights began saving people out of respect for that ideal.
Thus, One-Eye, lost in nostalgic memories of the past...
...gave a bitter smile.
Harsh trials seemed unlikely to cease in the human world anytime soon.
Three heroes emerging at once, amid chaos with underworld beasts and various evils spilling into the world.
Perhaps the world's crisis was beginning, just like in the era of the Knight King.
Inevitably, trials too much for humans to bear would follow.
So One-Eye...
Pat pat.
"...What? Suddenly?"
"??"
...merely patted the knight's shoulder with its wings, like sending encouragement that wasn't quite encouragement.
The hell beast raid's conclusion.
This was a welcome achievement brimming with satisfaction, but it also signified one unfortunate fact:
Snap.
"...You're too much. Really. Doing this the moment the fight ends?"
"You stop fidgeting with your fingers. It's been annoying."
"Ah, was it... obvious?"
"Very."
"......"
It meant the alliance was over, and they immediately entered a standoff.
Rak aimed his spear again, and Dina broke into a cold sweat.
She had seen how fast Rak's spear was, and even with depleted stamina, he could easily pierce her throat.
"Mm."
"......"
With the two facing off, Maximus and Yan had no choice but to do the same. But Maximus frowned at Yan.
"...Of all opponents, a sorcerer. I don't want to be cursed."
"Feel free to kill me. But the 'price' won't be light."
"...This is just great."
If Maximus wanted, killing Yan would be easier than snapping a twig.
But even a twig with deadly, flesh-melting poison changes things.
And the venom a sorcerer like Yan carried was especially lethal to knights.
It was a threat that made even the death-defying northern champion click his tongue.
A four-way standoff.
However, if Rak and Maximus decided, the two wouldn't see tomorrow's sunrise—it was inevitable. From their perspective, they were resolved to go down fighting rather than submit easily...
"-One thing I'm curious about: why do you keep calling me a traitor?"
A casual, tension-free question rang out.
"......You want to ask that right now?"
Dina's incredulous response, but Lee Han just shrugged.
"If I kill you, who else can I ask? Gotta do it now."
"...Harsh words, No. 8."
"It's Lee Han."
"......"
Dina fell silent for a moment, rolling her eyes as if observing her surroundings, pondering something.
Her conflicted expression was clear, but soon she seemed to make a decision...
"I have nothing to say to you... -."
"-No. 8, why did you kill No. 9 and No. 10?"
"Yan!?"
Yan cut off Dina, who was about to refuse, and opened the conversation. Lee Han shifted his gaze to Yan like a new target.
"Kill them?"
"Yes. On your first mission, as squad leader, you abandoned it midway and killed No. 9 and No. 10. Then you escaped the organization... If you're not the traitor, who is?"
"......"
"Moreover, you must have heard we were moving the base, yet you..."
Swish.
"......"
At that instant, Lee Han gestured for him to stop, and Yan unwittingly shut his mouth.
Just a gesture, yet it carried immense pressure. Yan swallowed dryly.
As he tensed, fearing Lee Han might kill him out of annoyance...
"I'm kinda dumbfounded right now, so let me make my excuse—not-excuse. First, I've never betrayed anyone. If anything, I got backstabbed first."
"...What?"
"During that first mission, No. 9 and No. 10 suddenly tried to kill me from behind. I fought back to survive."
"??"
"And moving the base? What's that nonsense? I never heard about it."
"......"
"I thought the organization was done for. Thought you all died too."
"......"
"You might think I'm lying. Can't help that, then."
Lee Han crossed his arms, as if he'd said his piece—now judge for yourselves.
Yan stared at Lee Han's face for a long while.
As if discerning truth from lie.
Yan glared at him intently, and at some point, light gathered in his eyes.
Snap!
Maximus urgently raised his battle axe, but it was pointless.
"...We'll surrender."
"Yan?"
...An unexpected declaration came from his mouth.
Yan, eyes still gleaming clearly, said to Dina:
"Dina. If the Black Moon abandoned us, the 'oath' is gone too. They betrayed us first, so isn't surrendering to a 'friend' better? We need to save our lives."
"......"
"No. 8 isn't lying. I swear on a sorcerer's soul."
"...You're such a pushover. No guarantee they'll spare us."
"Heh, I'll make sure to save you at least."
"......Sigh."
Thud.
Under Yan's persistent persuasion, Dina sat down and raised both hands—no one mistook it for anything but surrender.
The fight was over.
"Haha! As expected of our northern sorcerer! Brother, following you brings luck! Ahaha!"
"Don't call me brother..."
Maximus laughed uproariously, over the moon.
They'd captured an enemy officer as prisoner.
One who surely held more info than the No. 4 they'd nabbed yesterday.
A solid lead on capturing those Blood Crusade knockoffs from the Blood Cult—Maximus couldn't be happier.
And he wasn't the only one celebrating.
"Don't even dream of taking us north."
Rak de Duron, that annoying spearman, was rare in openly showing satisfaction.
But joy was joy—who got to take them was undecided.
In a way, the knights' alliance was over, and a quarrel might begin.
"So, satisfied, One-Eye?"
But Lee Han and One-Eye were already past it, tallying up the gains.
At first, the guardian had proposed to him: clear out the villains who invaded the holy sanctuary.
And as reward, it would grant what he desired.
And the guardian...
Plop.
As if keeping its promise, it dropped a ring.
Clink.
Lee Han snatched the ring, his eyes lighting up.
"This is..."
At a glance, it brimmed with extraordinary power and emitted a sacred glow—anyone could tell what it was.
A holy relic.
The legacy—and remains—left by saints and saintesses.
And it was now in Lee Han's hand.
"That's how it works?"
"Hoo."
With his original goal achieved, Lee Han now understood why Raphael had told him to steal the relic.
'Stealing it alone seals the temple from using the sanctuary anymore.'
That old man always had a plan.
Admiring it, Lee Han fiddled with the relic, feeling it oddly fit snugly in his hand.
Was it always like this?
"Ah, what the old man mentioned..."
So this was it.
That old man...!
"But what's this relic's name?"
Having received the ring, he had no clue what it did.
Lee Han asked One-Eye, who smiled nonchalantly, as if it were nothing.
"Hm, Holy Grail, huh... Wait, what?"
...Did my ears deceive me?
Lee Han asked again, suspecting his hearing, but One-Eye smiled innocently.
"......"
...Unfortunately, Lee Han's ears missed One-Eye's words entirely.
He felt like...
'This... isn't the One Absolute Ring, is it?'
He'd gotten his hands on a treasure beyond his capacity.
Lee Han wanted to return it immediately and urgently looked at One-Eye, but...
Fwaaaah!
Like it was timed, beams of light poured down, enveloping Lee Han and his group. No chance to return the ring.
With One-Eye's blessing, he was swallowed by the light.
...Was it just paranoia that One-Eye seemed to pity him?
...Paranoia my ass!
"...Damn it, that One-Eye didn't wish me luck—he cursed me!"
Lee Han vented in exasperation.
And rightly so.
—Roar!
...The moment they emerged outside, flames engulfed them. If this wasn't a curse, what was?
The grand temple was blazing fiercely.