Episode 88

“Sir Ject.”

As Azadine moved through the forest, he felt a curse so intense it seemed to graze his skin.

He lacked physical eyes, but his unique vision allowed him to perceive the world in a different way. Through this sight, he could see the black energy of the curse aimed directly at him. It was clear—Sir Ject and his wraith knight were pursuing him.

“Well, well. My skin’s tingling. At least I know where they are now.”

Sensing the presence of the wraith knight targeting him, Azadine halted his goat.

With this much distance, others would not get caught in the crossfire. Thinking this, Azadine retrieved some crude weapons from his saddle and laid them on the ground. He filled his quiver with arrows and tucked a few extra into the leather straps on his thighs as a backup.

“Come on, then.”

At that moment, a monster emerged from the bushes. It was a nameless beast, moving on all fours with elongated limbs.

Azadine instantly recognized the black magic emanating from it and the familiar cursed markings. This was Sir Kazrek, the wraith knight. Without Azadine’s unique vision, it would have been impossible to identify the grotesque, warped creature as the former Sir Kazrek.

“My word….”

Azadine was horrified by how Sir Kazrek had been twisted by the curse.

This was no ordinary wraith knight. Powerful dark magic swirled within Sir Kazrek. Had the Holy Knights brought this upon him?

“Haah!”

Azadine drew his bowstring.

Sir Kazrek charged at him, blocking his head with his forearm. But….

Ping!

Azadine’s arrow zipped through the air, twisting like a fish in a rushing stream, and struck Sir Kazrek’s foot, severing his big toe.

The massive figure—now the size of a bull—lost his balance and tumbled to the ground.

“Good!”

Azadine grabbed a discarded axe and rushed forward.

Just then, Sir Kazrek swung his arm. The broken blade in his hand seemed ready to cleave Azadine in half, but Azadine halted his movement in a sudden, fluid stop.

Flowers, Birds, Wind, Moon Mirage — Kazas Grimoire!

Where other messengers might cast illusions with magic, Azadine executed the technique flawlessly with physical movements alone.

He deflected Sir Kazrek’s attack and swung the axe hard at Kazrek’s elbow. Continuing with the momentum, he leapt forward, spinning once in midair, and delivered a devastating blow with the axe.

The axe tore out of Kazrek’s arm with immense force, smashing into his skull and cleaving through his neck and collarbone.

“Kaagh!”

Despite the devastating injury, Sir Kazrek retaliated, swinging his hand at Azadine. But Azadine discarded the axe embedded in Kazrek’s body, leapt back to avoid the attack, and picked up a small sword from the ground.

“Take this!”

As Kazrek swung at him, Azadine severed his fingers with the short sword and threw another blade, embedding it into Kazrek’s body. He retreated again, grabbing a short spear this time, and drove it into Kazrek’s knee.

“Grrrrrr!”

The wraith knight Kazrek let out a guttural growl, cursing as he swung his broken sword and flailed his arms at Azadine. However, crippled and unable to walk, Kazrek’s attacks were futile.

It was then.

“Chains of Light!”

Brilliant, pure light bound Azadine, wrapping around him like glowing ropes. Though weightless and made purely of energy, Azadine could have broken free, but another voice shouted a second incantation.

“Chains of Light!”

The second spell, cast by a man, further restrained Azadine.

“Tch!”

At that moment, Sir Kazrek’s attack flew toward Azadine.

Thwack!

Azadine was thrown to the ground, rolling across the dirt before rising to his feet again. Though Kazrek’s attack had tremendous force, Azadine quickly steadied his breathing.

“Grraargh!”

From Kazrek’s wounds, writhing worms emerged. These weren’t ordinary worms but parasitic creatures resembling tapeworms, wriggling and stitching his injuries closed. Though full regeneration was impossible, they patched the wounds enough to keep Kazrek’s body functional.

“How revolting.”

Azadine muttered as he panted, watching the grotesque sight.

Then, the figures who had cast the holy magic stepped forward.

“Enemy of my father!”

“……”

Behind Sir Kazrek, two Holy Knights on horseback emerged. One was Maya, the adjutant of the Bishop of Salasma. The other was Sir Zebec, Kozel’s swordsmanship instructor.

Azadine gave a bitter smile as he saw them.

“Your father is right there.”

“How dare you kill my father and mock me to my face?!”

“My apologies. Even if he was a Holy Knight who killed civilians, I didn’t want to disgrace a father in front of his daughter. But tell me—who is truly disgracing your father’s death now?”

“S-shut up! Don’t insult my father! My father would never kill civilians without reason! You dare slander him? I’ll kill you so my father can find peace!”

Enraged, Maya charged at Azadine.

“Sir Maya!”

Zebec tried to stop her, but it was too late.

Maya rushed forward with confidence, seeing Azadine holding his side as if in pain after Kazrek’s attack. To her, he didn’t appear capable of fighting back—his arm or ribs, or perhaps both, seemed broken.

Determined to end this quickly, Maya rode her horse forward and thrust her spear at Azadine. But….

“Come on, then!”

Azadine skillfully used his cloak to ensnare Maya’s spear, deflecting it effortlessly. Moving like flowing water, he climbed onto her saddle, grabbing her neck from behind.

“Oh no….”

Zebec clicked his tongue at the sight of Maya instantly becoming a hostage. Maya was skilled at magic but lacked proficiency in swordsmanship. They had agreed earlier that Zebec would handle close combat while Maya supported from a distance with magic.

But Azadine’s provocation had riled her up, causing her to charge in without a second thought.

‘What remarkable acting. He threw himself back to reduce the impact of Kazrek’s attack and then pretended to be injured, all to lure her in.’

Feigning injury while taunting Maya—it was all part of Azadine’s plan.

Zebec, having already witnessed Azadine’s skills, was still impressed by his strength and experience.

“You’ve lost your composure, Sir Maya. You know it too, don’t you? Who it is that’s truly dishonoring your father right now!”

Azadine spoke to Maya, who had been so easily captured. But Maya showed no intention of engaging him in conversation.

“Grr! Just kill me, you vile heretic!”

“Why would I discard such a fine shield?”

Azadine, noticing Sir Kazrek charging from behind, pulled the reins of Maya’s horse to place her in Kazrek’s path. Startled, Kazrek abruptly retreated—not because he recognized her as his daughter but because the one controlling him had imposed a restriction preventing him from attacking Holy Knights of the King’s Church.

“Enough of this.”

Sir Zebec called out to Azadine.

“Sir Zebec, I once respected you. But now I find myself disappointed.”

“What?”

Maya was surprised to hear Azadine speak as though he knew Zebec. Judging by Zebec’s response, it seemed they were already acquainted.

“We are merely bait. The bandits have already circled behind you.”

“Hmm? Have you allied yourself with bandits? I didn’t expect much from the King’s Church, so I didn’t think it possible to be disappointed further, yet here we are.”

“Sir Ject has cast dark magic on them. No, it’s more than necromancy—it’s the power of the Nether.”

“……”

Hearing this, Azadine realized the situation had become truly dangerous.

“As Holy Knights of the King’s Church, how can you allow this?”

“The Inquisitors are all versed in dark magic. One cannot fight what one doesn’t understand.”

“Then you must also know they’ve crossed the line. I held a funeral for Sir Kazrek. The fact that he’s risen as a wraith knight must be because of Sir Ject’s….”

Before Azadine could finish, Maya, struggling in his grasp, stomped her feet and protested.

“Lies! Lies!”

“Isn’t it simply what you want to believe? You need to believe that to continue being a Holy Knight.”

“S-Sir Zebec! Forget about me and attack him!”

“No. What he’s saying is true.”

“What?”

“Sir Kazrek did massacre civilians. And when he was found, his funeral had already been conducted. His rise as a wraith knight is due to Sir Ject’s magic.”

“Impossible… Are you dishonoring my father’s name too? Are you saying my father killed innocent civilians without reason?”

“There was a reason… a shameful one.”

At that, Azadine released his grip on Maya’s neck, grabbed the reins, and directed her horse to charge at Sir Kazrek. The curse preventing Kazrek from attacking Holy Knights kept him from retaliating.

“Borrowing this.”

Azadine drew Maya’s sword from its scabbard and swung it horizontally, severing Sir Kazrek’s weakened neck. Having already been damaged by Azadine’s axe earlier, his head flew off with ease.

“Ahhh!”

Ignoring Maya’s scream, Azadine plunged the blade vertically into Kazrek’s exposed neck stump, then kicked the body off the horse, slamming it into the ground. The discarded axes and spears embedded in Kazrek’s body tore him apart completely, finally silencing the wraith knight.

“You wretch!”

Maya wailed at the sight of Kazrek’s mutilated corpse. The feat had been achieved by combining the speed of the galloping horse with Azadine’s brute strength. But it was also because Maya hadn’t resisted. If she had struggled, even Azadine wouldn’t have been able to execute the maneuver so smoothly.

‘Despite her words, she knows in her heart that what Zebec and I said is true.’

Azadine understood the conflicting emotions Maya couldn’t put into words.

“So, Sir Zebec, what will you do now?”

“Release Sir Maya.”

“Hmph. Is that all you have to say? What about the bandits? Tell me about them.”

“Sir Ject cast magic on them and ordered them to retrieve the copy of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth. Believing that the runaway slaves have it, they bypassed you and left you to Sir Kazrek.”

“Then there’s no time to waste.”

Azadine dismounted from Maya’s horse. He didn’t harm her or keep her as a hostage—he simply let her go.

“What will you do? Will you, as knights, allow bandits and monsters to harm innocent civilians?”

Maya, seething with anger, shouted back.

“Innocent civilians? Those who cooperate in leaking copies of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth are no innocents…!”

“Hmph. So because some suffering civilians escaped and took a copy of the book with them, they deserve to die? How noble. It seems the old man with the brass washbasin is the only real knight around here.”

Azadine mocked Maya’s statement as he turned his back on her. Though it was a perfect opportunity to strike, even Maya couldn’t muster a response to his scorn.