get-shopping Chapter 403: Kid, just stay out of this.
Chapter 403: Kid, just stay out of this.
His surroundings became quiet.The noise that occasionally shook the ceiling stopped completely.
Iris disappeared into the darkness, and the noisy spirits also disappeared without a trace.
The statue covered in white frost split open with a cracking sound.
The ornately decorated floor and the high, round ceiling that represented the sky were all covered in pure white ice.
It was an alien sight, as if a harsh winter had come only to this place.
The statues of Luce and Chernion, unable to withstand the extreme cold, began to vibrate little by little.
The two statues shattered into pieces at the same time, turning into white shards of ice that fell to the floor.
Now the twin gods were nothing more than a handful of icy sand, radiating a faint silver glow.
“…”
The apprentice knight was surrounded by all that he had created.
He didn’t even have the strength to stand anymore.
He collapsed to the ground, barely able to lean on the sword deeply embedded in the floor, and focused all his attention solely on slowly catching his breath.
How long had he stayed like that?
From the distance came the sound of faint voices.
“Hey! Arendt, where are you?”
“Sir Arendt! Are you all right? Sir Arendt!”
The voices filled with urgency somehow felt unfamiliar.
Who was that?
The actor thought blankly.
‘Where is this place?’
It was a stage that he had barely managed to build, where he arbitrarily changed the roles and changed the script to suit his own taste.
‘I was not wrong.’
The actor, who alone knew all the truth, repeated it to himself.
‘I wasn’t wrong.’
This place is a damned stage. A cursed world.
There was nothing he liked about it, but it was still a stage he couldn’t let go of.
His hand holding the sword tightened its grip.
“Hey, you little bastard! Are you okay? Answer me!”
Rider and Salem, who had just found the passage, quickly ran into the temple.
“Sir Arendt! Where…”
Salem, who had been shouting desperately, unconsciously fell silent. Rider, too, came to an instinctive halt upon witnessing the same scene as Salem.
“…”
A blindingly white world filled the two people’s field of vision.
In the middle of the cold air, the apprentice knight they had been searching for was quietly holding his breath.
Arendt, placed in a world covered in frost, looked whiter than ever.
They could see white breath flowing out between his lips.
Frost had settled on the hand holding the frozen sword hilt.
There was not a trace of blood in his pale, ashen face.
But his golden eyes held a distinct light.
“…”
He knelt before the ruins he had created, like a knight reciting his own firm oath.
Rider and Salem stood frozen in place for a long time, unable to move.
They should have run to him right away, grabbed his shoulder, shook him, and asked if he was okay, but somehow their feet wouldn’t move.
It was because they had a vague intuition that they should not dare to invade that place.
The moment they were about to have the illusion that time had stopped…
Arendt slowly raised his head.
Rider, who met his eyes, flinched.
“Arendt?”
“Damn it… Ah…”
Arendt, struggling, parted his lips and staggered to his feet.
He glared at Rider with venomous eyes and barely managed to continue speaking.
“You’re a useless senior… I won’t let you off easy, seriously…”
With those last words, Arendt collapsed on the spot.
Rider and Salem were left stunned.
They were left utterly dumbfounded since even as he fainted, Arendt provoked people to the very end.
“Ahh! Hey, you little shit! Come to your senses!”
Rider suddenly came to his senses and rushed over to him urgently.
The noise that seemed to tear the sky apart suddenly stopped. The priests and ghouls who were desperately trying to attack the castle walls suddenly stopped moving and stared at the sky with blank eyes.
The same was true for those who tried to block the knights’ path in any way.
As if they were puppets that had lost their master, all the enemies stopped moving in an instant.
It was an incredibly bizarre sight.
“…What’s happening?”
Glenn muttered, lost in thought.
Lexion, who was blocking Nikephoros, was also confused.
Nikephoros, who had been charging at him like a mad dog, suddenly stopped attacking and gained some distance.
“…”
Lexion glared at Nikephoros with vigilance.
Nikephoros also stared at Lexion with eyes far removed from those of humans or elves, filled with pure hatred.
But that was only for a moment.
Nikephoros slowly closed his eyes.
“…Our saintess has made a deal.”
Unlike the time when he lost his mind and attacked, a calm voice now emerged.
Revealed under the dark sky once more, the anger that had consumed Nikephoros’ eyes had completely vanished as if washed away.
Lexion’s expression crumbled.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I never expected that person to be so close.”
Regardless, Nikephoros only muttered irritably and ran his hands through his disheveled hair.
“I showed an unseemly side. I had asked them to refrain from intervening personally because it’s dangerous.”
The voice was so calm it even carried a hint of lament.
Lexion noticed that the situation on the ground was similar.
The ghouls and priests who had just been fighting with the intent to annihilate the enemy were now retreating like a swarm of pitch-black ants.
The knights and elves, who suddenly lost their enemies they were fighting against, were bewildered and just stared blankly at the sight.
“They say the goal has already been achieved, so we have no choice but to retreat.”
Nikephoros glanced at Lexion as he spoke without any particular regret.
“And this may be an unnecessary interference, but…”
Lexion also raised his head again and faced Nikephoros.
Meeting his gaze, Nikephoros spoke briefly.
“That kid is really pitiful. Even though he’s our enemy, I can’t help but feel sorry for him.”
“What?”
When Lexion asked with a frown, Nikephoros added calmly.
“Your ignorance has become a burden placed upon that child’s small shoulders… What are we to do about it? Even that person is truly mischievous.”
Nikephoros cast a final glance at Lexion, then teleported away and disappeared.
The briefly flickering golden magic vanished without a trace.
Lexion stared blankly at the spot for a moment and then slowly sighed.
“Hah…”
Black magic enveloped his body for a moment and then dispersed.
His once-expanded physique shrank back down again.
The scales that covered his hands and feet disappeared, and the horns that had grown on his forehead also disappeared without a trace.
“…That damn rookie. What did he do again?”
Lexion sighed quietly, irritably ruffling his blood-stained hair.
The knights and elves, momentarily stunned, were seen hurriedly rushing to help the injured.
The ground was a bloody mess.
The corpses of priests and ghouls were strewn everywhere within sight.
The inside of the palace was also a mess, with the groaning wounded and corpses tangled together.
“Tsk.”
It wasn’t a completely unfamiliar sight.
Lexion clicked his tongue in displeasure at the sight that reminded him of past battlefields.
After a moment, Rider and Salem appeared, rushing out of the palace carrying Arendt on his back.
‘Because of my ignorance?’
Suddenly, the last words Nikephoros said came to mind.
But Lexion couldn’t fully understand what it meant.
The air, greatly shaken by the dragon’s fight, began to gather moisture.
It looked like rain would pour down at any moment.
It was an unprecedented event with enormous casualties.
The number of victims would have increased even further if they included the dead who were not yet fully identified due to the initial suppression measures that did not even leave the bodies behind.
It’s been three days since the battle ended.
With the sound of rain pouring down outside the window, Laius and Victor silently listened to Captain Edgar’s grim report.
“…And the underground space beneath the palace is presumed to be an ancient relic.”
Edgar continued speaking after looking at the two people’s expressions. Scars and wounds were clearly visible across his face as well.
“Prince Llewellyn personally went to investigate, but since the area believed to be the core was completely destroyed… he said that the exact purpose could not be determined.”
“…I really didn’t know anything.”
Victor, who had been quiet, spoke.
“I didn’t even realize that there was such a space under the palace. Nor did I realize that my people quickly fell into enemy hands.”
“It is not your fault.”
Laius answered calmly.
“It is assumed that someone intentionally hid it after the Great War. Only the old dragon from the Evil Cult would have known of the existence of the ancient temple.”
“…”
Despite his blunt attempt at consolation, Victor hardly lifted his head.
Edgar hesitated for a moment, then began to speak again.
“They say the ice there hasn’t melted yet.”
This time it was Laius’ turn to remain silent. Victor, who was looking around nervously, asked cautiously.
“How is Sir Arendt?”
“He hasn’t awakened yet, but his condition isn’t bad. He’s recovering steadily, so he should be alright.”
Laius answered calmly, but his expression was far from relieved.
From some point on, Luce’s holy power became almost ineffective for Arendt.
Moreover, since Lexion was also badly injured and had disappeared, they had to rely solely on Shekhinah’s magic and the healer’s medical skills.
‘Besides, Shekhinah is also injured…’
Since she couldn’t pour out magic indefinitely, recovery was bound to be quite slow.
It wasn’t just Arendt.
Richt and Arthur, who tried to nonchalantly join the cleanup efforts, were sharply scolded by Laius and dragged off to the infirmary.
They had been insisting that they were fine, but their claims were rendered meaningless when after a full day of suffering, they were only just able to move again.
‘They’re a troublesome bunch.’
Laius, who had been pressing his temples, came to his senses at the sound of Victor’s voice.
“Once Sir Arendt opens his eyes… we’ll be able to find out what happened underground. Both Lord Salem and Sir Rider say they barely remember anything.”
Laius nodded.
“Yes. So for now, we’ll focus on the recovery efforts and wait patiently.”
Rider was quite dispirited at the fact that he had been treated so outrageously.
He tried to recall his memories somehow, but he couldn’t remember anything after meeting Salem.
‘Salem seemed to know something, but…’
For some reason, he seemed reluctant to talk, so Laius didn’t bother asking.
He figured there must be a good reason why Salem stayed silent.
“In the end, we have no choice but to wait for Sir Arendt to find out the truth.”
Victor spoke heavily.
A lot depended on the words from the apprentice knight.
“Yes, that’s true, but…”
Laius paused briefly before clearly adding.
“As I said earlier, I would appreciate it if you could wait patiently. He is in dire need of rest right now.”
Edgar and Victor paused, sensing the underlying sharpness in his tone.
“I also know very well that urging the injured to hurry is not right. And more than anything else… there is something else I must say first when he opens his eyes.”
Victor fidgeted and smiled bitterly.
“First of all, I should say thank you.”
After all, each and every one of his actions was intended to reduce the number of victims.
Instead of answering, Laius silently bowed his head toward the Crown Prince.
After receiving the silent thanks, Victor turned his gaze outside the window where rain was pouring down.
Once serene and beautiful, the palace garden now lay in a state of desolation.
The endless pouring rain washed away the blood shed by so many people.
However, the scent of blood that covered the Lucain Kingdom would not disappear for a while.
‘What should I do now…’
Although his chest felt tight, Victor somehow managed to suppress the sigh that was about to escape.
Now there was nowhere left to return to, and nowhere to hide.
All that was left were his two poor younger siblings and their mother, who was imprisoned for treason.
Now was the time for him to bear the weight of the entire Lucain Kingdom.