Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 333: A game of tag with no other choice.

“…What does that mean?”Glenn, who had been standing there dumbly, licked his lips. But no one could give a clear answer to his question.

“So, you’re saying that dragon can’t kill Arendt?”

Rider also muttered in a daze.

At first it sounded like nonsense, but what was most incomprehensible was that Nikephoros did not refute it.

Nikephoros was looking at Arendt with green eyes that were half incredulous, half bewildered.

“…”

It was a compliment to the dragon, the most perfect and powerful intelligence on earth, and at the same time, it was a word referring to the fact itself.

Not long ago, Lexion gave Arendt a word of advice.

In a time no one remembers, dragons were called messengers of the gods.

And now, they are afraid of divine punishment and are reluctant to even mention the past.

Even the other dragons, except for Lexion and Nikephoros, were seen running away from the gods.

Arendt von Eckhart knew better than anyone how strange he seemed to them.

After a strange standoff, it was Nikephoros who spoke first.

“Now I understand. Why did Lexion suddenly change his mind? To be honest, I was a little puzzled. Why would that guy who got kicked out after seeing all sorts of dirty things act so capriciously? And…”

The pupils of his green eyes began to slit sharply, revealing an overt murderous intent.

“It seems like our kids are strangely conscious of you. Truly, you have an impressive presence.”

As Nikephoros’ voice continued, his murderous intent also grew stronger.

Zakar and Laius unconsciously grabbed their swords. The other knights did the same.

A suffocating tension flowed.

Nikephoros muttered eerily.

“Has He finally lost his mind because of boredom? Why someone like you…?”

But Nikephoros stopped mid-sentence.

He momentarily forgot because he was so focused on Arendt, but there were too many eyes watching him here.

Although Luce was Chernion’s enemy, the fact that he was a god did not change.

And it was impossible for Nikephoros to utter words that were not permitted by God.

“…”

The moment he realized that fact once again, Nikephoros’ face couldn’t help but harden even more.

The hero’s words were right.

Arendt von Eckhart was no sacrifice.

The apprentice knight in front of him was too much of an alien existence to warrant such a word.

‘I didn’t notice it at first.’

As he talked and looked more closely, he saw more.

It didn’t end with just receiving the attention of God.

It was rumored that he had received the grace of God Luce, but even that was of little importance compared to Arendt von Eckhart’s real relationship with Luce.

Arendt was a human being who made a promise to Luce as an equal.

Since he was merely a creature of God, he could not dare interfere with the bet that Luce had made directly with that human.

“Huh…”

Nikephoros, who had been silent for a moment, narrowed his eyes and muttered.

“I don’t know how to accept your existence. What on earth is He thinking?”

Arendt burst into open laughter.

“Well, why don’t you ask God himself? Seeing him raising a pet like you, Chernion doesn’t seem to be in his right mind. I guess crazy gods can communicate with each other.”

Words poured out that no one who had been touched by God could ever utter.

Nikephoros burst into laughter.

“Ha… I wondered how you’d stayed sane this whole time, but it turns out you were crazy from the start.”

“I’m crazy? How rude. Isn’t the reason I’m sane simple?”

Arendt’s lips curled into a smirk.

“It’s because I’m better than you pitiful reptiles who tremble in fear of those gods.”

Golden eyes filled with arrogance cast an open mocking smile.

“I have nothing to say. For now, I’ve confirmed that you’ll be a big variable in the future.”

Nikephoros responded bluntly.

“I guess I can’t help but act. Killing isn’t the only solution…”

“Killing isn’t the only solution. . What, are you going to say that?”

But Arendt interrupted and interjected.

“It’s a pretty villainous line, but since Lexion has already used it, it’s not very funny. How about this instead?”

Arendt spread his arms wide as if he were a theater actor on stage.

“Catch me first.”

“What?”

For a moment, Nikephoros arched an eyebrow.

Arendt chuckled and rolled up his sleeves.

The moment Arendt’s skin was exposed under the sunlight, everyone who saw it couldn’t help but let out a gasp.

The white skin was dyed black, as if it had rotted away.

“This is Lexion’s magic power, right? I received it semi-forcibly from Lexion while recovering from some misfortune I had suffered some time ago.”

“…”

Nikephoros’ face froze rigidly.

“Maybe it’s because it wasn’t mine originally, but even with the slightest touch from Lexion, it easily ended up like this. It’s starting to boil over, so my body will be torn apart in an hour or two.”

Thanks to Lexion’s spell, he was able to avoid the senses of Laius and the elves, but he did not expect that Llewellyn would catch him while his clothes were disheveled.

So Arendt had to quickly change his plans.

‘I originally planned to face Nikephoros alone.’

It would be a lot of nagging to deal with later, but doing this would be better for appeasing Llewellyn.

At least he could avoid the misunderstanding that he tried to hide and die alone.

And, at the same time, he thought he could do more interesting directing.

He curled his lips into an even deeper smile.

“How about we play tag? You catch me before I die.”

It was polite to do this much to stop fanatics.

“If anyone here dies, I will kill myself first.”

His golden eyes curved into a crescent shape.

“Then you’ll be in quite a bit of trouble too.”

Arendt knew it well too.

He knew that this was nothing more than a mere bluff.

But it was also clear that Nikephoros had no other choice.

From the incident where the previous elves were annihilated, Arendt got a hint that the two gods might not be able to directly harm each other’s followers.

‘But the protection of God is so shallow and capricious.’

The gods could immediately banish the heroes they had personally chosen, or simply erase them from the world simply because they did not like them.

‘And above all…’

Luce and Chernion’s top priority was their own safety.

If things got too tiresome, they would throw away even their most ardent followers like an old pair of shoes.

And Lexion and Nikephoros knew better than anyone how cruel the gods could be.

So this was a threat that was sure to work on Nikephoros.

“…”

Nikephoros was conflicted.

If Arendt were to die against Luce’s will, would Chernion actually protect him from Luce?

“…”

When Nikephoros realized this, he felt a rage surge up inside him like never before.

The apprentice knight had put his life on the line to lure him into a trap.

Since nothing could be certain, Nikephoros had no choice but to play along at Arendt’s beck and call.

It was truly a mad, desperate move.

“This…….”

, Nikephoros clenched his teeth.

What made him more angry than anything was that he began to suspect that Chernion might not protect him in this situation.

“You impertinent brat.”

For a moment, Nikephoros’ divine aura vanished.

The moment Arendt sensed the crisis and quickly stepped back, Laius also reflexively moved.

A golden flash of light shot straight toward Arendt.

“Ugh!”

A groan burst out from Laius’ mouth as he blocked the attack.

The golden sword, infused with immense power, pressed heavily against Laius. Despite this, Nikephoros continued to glare directly at Arendt.

“The point is, if I can capture you, I will win.”

“You seem very motivated. If you can, give it a try.”

Arendt laughed bitterly.

It was a clear provocation.

With a hardened expression, Nikephoros struck Laius with great force. Just before the heated sword could tear through his flesh, Laius quickly ducked.

Just as Zakar narrowly intervened and blocked Nikephoros’ sword, Laius, having lost his balance, fell to the ground.

Covered in dirt, Laius propped himself up and shouted irritably.

“Arendt, you’re going to get a good scolding later!”

“If you have any complaints, you should have taken action first!”

Arendt, who had responded spitefully, was already running off.

Nikephoros harnessed his magic to eliminate the bothersome Zakar.

But just as he was about to explode Zakar’s head, Nikephoros had no choice but to stop.

“…”

Before he captured Arendt, he couldn’t kill anyone.

Because Arendt’s threat to commit suicide didn’t sound like mere empty boast.

“Hah!”

Nikephoros burst into laughter.

It was so absurd it was almost funny.

To think that he, unable to resist the threat of a mere human, was now hesitating to crush and kill such a pitiful creature.

This was the first time in his long life that something like this had happened.

“I have no choice but to admit it since it comes to this.”

Arendt von Eckhart was a dangerous individual, a madman who left everyone with no choice but to raise their hands in surrender.

Nikephoros easily knocked Zakar away with a swing of his sword.

“Ugh!”

Zakar, who had been thrown out powerlessly, crashed to the ground.

Meanwhile, Laius ran out in a hurry and caught up right behind Arendt.

“You told us to fall behind if we could help it, but were you planning this from the start?”

“No. I was trying to take it easier, but it seems like there’s a prince somewhere who’s dissatisfied.”

When Laius pressed, Arendt responded calmly.

“What can I do if you insist on suffering together? You can blame Llewellyn. I didn’t mean to go this far.”

While the captain and the apprentice knight were arguing, the knights who had been standing there blankly suddenly came to their senses.

“Follow Arendt!”

“Yes, yes!”

At Richt’s command, the knights also prepared their weapons and began to move quickly.

But that didn’t work either. Although their numbers had decreased significantly compared to before, the remaining ghouls were still starting to stick to them.

“Oh, shit!”

Rider let out a loud swear.

The knights began slaughtering the ghouls with unprecedented force.

The goal was to deal with them as quickly as possible and go protect Arendt.

The initial confusion had completely vanished without a trace.

Any doubts about the conversation between Nikephoros and Arendt also disappeared from their minds.

It didn’t matter whether it was a dragon or a hawk anymore.

All that was left for the knights was a sense of urgency and pure rage.

Glenn, who had instantly turned the three-headed ghoul into a bloody pulp, roared.

“If I catch that bastard, I’ll destroy him with my own hands!”