Chapter 19
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Repay Favors with Enmity – That's the Real Flavor
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Thud-.
The rope binding above his elbow snapped as well.
'What can you do about it? He's just pitiful.'
I could read the boiling rage in his heart.
The wounds of a man who had lost all his family, his fury and hatred toward the Fiore Kingdom, his loathing for humanity—it all seemed ready to explode at any moment.
'And yet, that desperate desire for revenge overshadowed every other emotion.'
I might have been reading too much into his expressions and words, but humans aren't animals that judge solely based on what they see and feel?
Anyway, it was superhuman patience, no doubt.
Killing a guy like this would just leave me with his lingering grudge, and that felt off.
That's how I justified my actions.
I had a gut feeling that I couldn't stay here much longer, but the deliberation dragged on.
Suddenly, a question about Requiya popped into my mind.
I could distinguish truth from lies and sense emotions, but I couldn't peek into minds.
"Have you set a clear target for your revenge? If you're talking about destroying the kingdom or getting back at the whole country, I can't trust you."
"O-Of course! I'll kill Reyes and find whoever passed that bizarre curse to Charles, then kill them too. Charles used that power to see that my grandson was different from humans. The kid was too young to have learned deception magic yet..."
As if missing his grandson, Requiya wiped tears with his forearm.
I believed his words about me being his benefactor were sincere too.
He wouldn't stab me in the back.
This trust had nothing to do with skill.
Requiya was strong.
He'd only been exploited because his weakness was seized, scattering his power.
"That bracelet on your wrist? The one restraining you from using mana?"
"Yes. It's an artifact engraved with Blood Bind. If I try to force it off, it'll devour me and make me vanish."
I nodded once more, as if reaffirming my resolve.
I'd kill anyone who came at me with a blade, but there was no reason to kill those who didn't.
And I needed a knowledgeable ally. Time to decide.
I placed my hand on the power-sealing bracelet and spoke to Requiya.
"Swear it. That you won't suck the blood of the living."
"Pardon?"
"Can't you?"
"I-I swear. I won't even drink the blood of the dead."
Requiya blinked with eyes so innocent they bordered on bright and cheerful.
"You must keep it."
"Of course."
"Once I remove the bracelet, transform into a bat, fly up, kill that Reyes bastard, and get your revenge."
"Pardon?"
He kept pretending not to hear, glancing at me sporadically.
"You're a demon, right? Can't you do that?"
"Well, a Holy Knight might..."
"What about me? Why?"
He seemed hesitant even to point it out, scratching the back of his head with his gaze dropped low.
"Aren't you confusing me with another race...? Like vampires, perhaps..."
Oh, something else?
"You wield a marksmanship like starlight, yet its brilliance is dim."
Thanks to his demon eyes, Requiya accurately gauged my intelligence. Calling me dumb.
'Didn't know demons and vampires were different.'
According to Requiya's explanation, demons were just one race.
The Eaar Continent was home not only to flora and fauna but to all sorts of intelligent beings.
Humans, the forest-and-earth Kojak race, the Imri tribe Treobule who lived in woods and trees, the underground Grevare who loved digging, and countless other bipedal demihumans.
"There might not even be enough remaining demons to count on one hand now..."
He himself came from another world, and his son and grandson who inherited his blood were all dead.
I bit my lip, guessing the unspoken end of his sentence.
"By my command, begone, foul power dwelling in this relic."
Woooong-.
As I infused the bracelet with Divine Power, it let out a soft resonance before snapping off with a clunk.
'The power that subdues all dark sorcery.'
My Divine Power's rank and total output were nothing special, but the sorcery on the bracelet wasn't impressive either.
As Requiya instructed, I pricked my pinky with a knife and dripped a drop of my blood onto the bracelet.
"Whoever wears this bracelet must obey the blood's master."
Requiya casually tried to slip it back onto his wrist.
I grabbed his hand to stop him.
"No need to wear it again."
"Pardon? Then why..."
Ignoring Requiya's blank upward stare, I slipped into the water.
For his sake, who didn't know where to look with me naked, this was the most urgent task.
In my hand, I held Charles's clothes.
I scrubbed them by hand casually.
"I don't need a slave."
I'd agonized over it.
Whether subjugating Requiya to me was right.
Insight Ability—and my instincts—said that even if he was a demon, Requiya wasn't evil.
Gazing at his utterly human appearance and those pure, childlike eyes almost made me feel like the demon.
But I couldn't just say that outright.
After sorting my thoughts, I shrugged.
"That way, you'll believe my sincerity in freeing you."
Splash splash-.
Damn, Charles, you bastard. You pissed all over these nice clothes. As I muttered, I felt Requiya bow behind me.
"Thank you."
I sensed him pick something up from the floor and pocket it after a lingering look. The bracelet, probably.
"Go. Finish your revenge, feel unburdened, then come help me out."
Holding onto a guy with his own business would be pointless—his heart would be elsewhere, so how much help could he be?
Better to let him go and travel solo; it's easier for me.
"I'll wash the shirt."
"I said no slaves."
"I just want to."
"Do as you like."
Splash splash-.
"No soap? The smell won't come out."
"Here it is."
Splash splash-.
For a while, the sanctuary echoed only with hand-washing sounds.
The sanctuary, that is, was where two young men crouched, scrubbing a dead guy's clothes.
The one objecting is Charles. He dies without even leaving a corpse.
"What about Bong?"
The guy named Bong just twitched, still unconscious.
Probably, the kick sent lightning up his balls to his skull.
His eyes might've bulged a bit too.
I knew from hauling ruptured guys in ambulances.
Blood seeped through his pants—who kicked him that hard?
'Oh, me...'
Self-inflicted for trying to kill me.
No guilt at all.
"I'll kill and burn him. Can't have evil in the sanctuary."
"Ahem-."
"Want him? He's yours."
"Thank you."
Requiya approached Bong with a thrilled expression, Andre's broken sword in hand.
"Ughhh-."
"Die, you fucker!"
Bong snapped awake at the killing intent but too late—mere futile thrashing.
"Hey! Die, you fucker!"
Ehey-, he moved and hit a bone.
Requiya's grumbling made my neck shrink involuntarily.
'Demon-like bastard.'
I figured I'd shake off the water roughly, dry, and wear Charles's clothes.
Escaping naked destitution was blessing enough.
Being spared a lonely starvation death in this massive cave was blessing enough.
I'm such a positive Holy Knight.
"Requiya here probably knows the most everyday magic of anyone on the Eaar Continent."
He emphasized "everyday magic."
But you're not human—you're a demon.
I swallowed the retort and let him do his thing.
Shibil shibil sisibul-.
As Requiya muttered something, the clothes fluffed up soft and dry.
I knew my eyes were wide without a mirror.
"Hard to learn that?"
"Shall I teach you?"
Requiya grinned.
No matter how I looked, he appeared a young man in his early twenties.
That's what made him seem perverted. Young guys usually are. I know 'cause I am one.
That perv scanned my naked body up and down.
I stepped back from Requiya and hurriedly pulled on the pants.
"Opportunity will come. Getting out of here comes first."
"Wise words, Holy Knight."
"I'm not a Holy Knight."
"You wield Divine Power—how could you not be?"
His kindly smile resembled a sly old fox.
The way he chuckled "Heh heh" and brushed off my serious retorts felt natural too.
Couldn't find a comeback.
I brought up another matter.
"Something I want you to check with me."
"Gladly."
Requiya tugged the rope a few times.
A signal to wait longer, he said.
The bell at the end would jingle above.
I led Requiya to the rock.
"Keep an eye on them."
I placed my hand on the rock to check the Red Dragon Knights.
"Hmmm..."
Requiya swallowed a groan like an old man and unwittingly stepped back.
I quickly pulled my hand away to prevent sound from leaking out.
"You know them?"
"How could I not? One of the continent's strongest knight orders..."
"Compared to Charles?"
"Heh heh heh-."
Requiya closed his eyes like an elder, chuckling and shaking his head.
Answer enough.
Confirmed my eyes weren't wrong.
The Red Dragon Knights were a gathering of incredibly strong warriors.
Still, one thing bugged me.
"Continent's strongest?"
Grasping my meaning, Requiya scratched his cheek, choosing words.
"Well... it's ambiguous. If Luke Seid were around, the Hellite Holy Knights would be undisputed top, but now that he's vanished..."
His eyes seemed ordinary human ones, yet demonic, mystical.
Those eyes met my Blue Eye straight on, declaring no lies.
"I've never seen Hellite Holy Knights myself. Just piecing together rumors, nothing solid."
Yeah, got it.
"Luke Seid wielded swordsmanship vying for continent's best and unmatched might."
For some reason, Requiya stared straight into my eyes as he spoke.
His gaze said he knew who I was.
I knew well how fearsome Luke Seid was.
A lone warrior shining amid hundreds of encircling Red Dragon Knights.
"Got it. One last check on their movements, then we bail."
When I touched the rock again, we both pressed ears to it simultaneously.
A urgent report from the Red Dragon Knights side came through.
- Captain! The hippos have left their posts!
- Already? It's still daytime?
- Yes! Seems some disturbance outside!
- Disturbance?
- No human voices, so probably hippos fighting among themselves!
Before Marcus Geum Tae-young could issue orders, the Red Dragon Knights hurried preparations to leave.
Fifty men packing up at once, yet orderly, no chaos.
'Right, strongest knight order, huh?'
As I went to pull away, another knight rushed up, parchment in hand.
- Captain! Scout team sent a messenger bird!
- What news does it bring?
- Hellite Holy Knights are heading this way! Roughly five hundred strong!
- What-! Five hundred! If we clash, no returning intact. Hurry!
I withdrew my hand and headed to the altar.
Suddenly, I realized the sanctuary's bustling birds had all vanished.
Day and night gorging on grains and fruits, mating shamelessly even amid intruders and swordplay—gone?
That left no choice but suspicion.
'These bird bastards spilled every detail of my actions to the Saintess after freeloading here?'
That was my conviction.
The Holy Knights were coming to arrest me here.
'If I don't leave today, I'm caught.'
I'd thought Andre's gang gave me trouble today, but reconsidering, they handed me my sole escape chance.
'In a way, they were benefactors? And I killed my benefactor?'
They tried to kill me first—no debt there.
There's a saying: repay favors with enmity—that's the real flavor.
No? Must be somewhere.