Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 391: Beneath the merciful shade

“…So, what is hidden in the palace?”“I don’t know what it is. I just guessed what it might be.”

Arendt answered Rider’s question coldly.

“I couldn’t rule out even the smallest possibility, so I had the royal family evacuated. If we left them alone and they were taken hostage, it would be a hassle…”

“Explain it in order, you bastard. I don’t understand a single thing you’re saying.”

Arendt shot Rider a glare before continuing.

“You’re so slow on the uptake. At first, they tried to start a rebellion by stirring up the commoners, and eventually infiltrated the royal family and turned His Majesty into a ghoul.”

Although it was unclear what measures had been taken, public sentiment was already in turmoil across the kingdom.

“Perhaps they would have incited the people by showing them the King who turned into a ghoul and saying that God Chernion had cursed him. . Well, that’s just my guess for now… but we’ll know more once we interrogate the traitors within the royal family.”

Arendt took a deep breath and continued to explain.

“Anyway, after shaking up the people in that way, they would have started a civil war with ghouls and homunculi at the forefront. If we hadn’t come to help, the Lucain Kingdom would have been swallowed up in an instant.”

Arendt frowned slightly.

“No one knew that the King had become a ghoul except the Chief Chamberlain and Duke Middleton. It was a closely guarded secret even among them. However, separate from that, orders were actively exchanged among the servants.”

“Orders?”

“Yes. It was said that they were delivered from outside the palace in the name of the Sword of the Broken Heart… even the servants said they didn’t know who the original sender was. And unfortunately, those who directly carried out the order refused to confess, so they were all killed.”

Rider who had been listening quietly asked back in surprise.

“You killed him? You?”

“I led the process, but everything was done properly. The execution was carried out by the Royal Knights in the presence of the Crown Prince. Keeping them alive any longer wouldn’t have changed their minds, so we handled it before things got any more chaotic.”

“…”

Rider gave Arendt a somewhat weary look.

Looking at the current situation, it was clearly the right choice.

But how far ahead did he have to plan to get everything sorted out before the fight even started?

“Anyway, we never figured out exactly what orders were being passed around among them… There were no signs they targeted any nobles, and it didn’t seem like they were openly trying to spread their faith either. That leaves only one possibility.”

“Searching the inside of the palace?”

“It seems you understand now. Captain Laius and Lord Lexion said they had the same opinion. However, it seems that the captain has not shared the information with the seniors since it is not certain…”

Arendt looked up at the translucent dome-shaped barrier.

“We tried to find out somehow before things turned into chaos, but there wasn’t enough time or manpower to do that. Llewellyn might’ve been useful, but knowing a fight was bound to break out, leaving him inside the palace wasn’t really an option either.”

“So, Salem?”

“Yes, that’s right. If it’s that guy who’s a spirit master, it’ll make the search a little easier. I asked Lord Lexion to bring Salem along too. I also wanted to get support from Lord Ragnald and Lady Shekhinah. But I never thought things would turn out like this…”

Arendt grumbled in displeasure.

“If by any chance Lord Lexion’s defenses break, those crazy bastards will rush in all at once. They haven’t achieved their goal yet.”

There was no way Salem could handle that alone.

“So now we need to join up with Salem and figure out what they’re looking for first, and then either destroy it or steal it first. That’s the only way we can stand a chance in this crazy mess.”

“You’re pretty confident of winning, huh.”

Rider grumbled briefly.

Arendt was so worried that Salem, who had infiltrated alone, might get into trouble.

But Rider didn’t say it out loud. If he did, he’d definitely get cursed at by that damned apprentice knight.

“So, do you have any idea what they’re looking for?”

“Perhaps it’s not something like an object, but something that Nikephoros is obsessed with…”

Before Arendt could finish speaking, Rider urgently grabbed the back of his collar.

“Hey, get down!”

“…!”

The two people instinctively ducked.

The next moment, a huge fireball struck directly onto the roof of the building right beside them.

Debris flew everywhere and the entire building began to burn.

Arendt quickly scanned his surroundings with his back to the building billowing thick black smoke.

Enemies not far away who were wearing black robes were targeting them.

Rider scowled.

“Damn, aren’t those guys mages?”

“Run for now! We don’t have time to deal with each and every one of those bastards.”

Arendt grabbed Rider’s arm. Rider, who suddenly came to his senses, nodded and followed him.

Arendt stopped for a moment at the fork in the road to check his surroundings, then walked to a dark place.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“You said we can’t go in from the front? Then we have to find another way. There’s a waterway underground.”

He had roughly memorized the old kingdom map while figuring out escape routes to get Victor out.

“There’s a sewer around the back alleys that leads that way. Enough talk, just follow me.”

It might be a bit of a struggle, but right now, there was no other way.

“Seriously, you rude bastard… Fine, just lead the way.”

Rider grumbled but followed him obediently.

But before long, an unfamiliar presence revealed itself ahead of them. Arendt and Rider instinctively stopped in their tracks.

Right before them, darkness thickened and swirled, revealing a figure.

It was a large dog covered in pitch-black fur.

Arendt, who had been dazed for a moment, suddenly came to his senses and called his name.

“Stellar?”

Instead of answering, Stellar spun around and looked back at Arendt, as if gesturing for them to follow him.

“That damn dragon, seriously…”

Arendt muttered in disbelief. Even though Lexion was worn out from fighting, he had left Stellar behind below for their sake.

Arendt lightly tapped Rider.

“Let’s go. It looks like he’s going to show us the way.”

“Huh? Huh?”

Rider, still dazed, nodded in confusion.

“If you fear death, you will never be a winner.”

A voice like thunder pierced into his head. It was Nikephoros’ dragon language, who had abandoned his elf-like appearance.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s your own death or someone else’s.”

Lexion also stopped imitating a human. He answered ominously, emitting the aura characteristic of a dragon.

“It’s meaningless for those fools who don’t even know the value of life to claim victory.”

Bright red eyes glared at Lexion from the darkness, filled with hatred.

“You still don’t realize why you were defeated in the past. This time, the result will be no different.”

Thunder roared and an attack flew straight towards Lexion. However, Lexion changed the direction of the thunder with a wave of his hand.

Though his hands were charred black, Lexion paid it no mind.

A black darkness swept around Lexion. In an instant, his magic power transformed into the shape of a wolf and rushed to bite Nikephoros.

At Nikephoros’ feet, the wolf clinging to his shoulder bit fiercely at his limbs.

Blood was splattered, but Nikephoros easily tore the being apart with his sharp claws.

“No, this time the world will change for sure. The merciful darkness will soon cover this world with a velvety night sky.”

A sharp smile spread across Nikephoros’ bloodshot eyes.

“The perfect world of Lord Chernion is coming, Lexi. Isn’t it wonderful? The children of this era will accomplish what even your Lord Luce failed to do. This time, will you block my path with a hero?”

Nikephoros’ cried out in ecstasy amidst the flashing thunder.

“Or do you think that brat, who’s strayed from the natural order, can really do anything? Do you seriously believe that?”

“You’re ridiculous, you crazy old geezer.”

Lexion also burst out laughing mockingly.

“He’s straying from the natural order, yet still rampaging like that. If Lord Chernion and Lord Luce couldn’t handle it, what chance do we have?”

Dark magic swirled violently, conjuring a massive storm.

Both dragons, who had been holding back out of consideration for the weaker beings below, were gradually becoming more reckless in their strikes.

In the aftermath of the battle, the rationality that had been based on the standards of the weak on the ground was slowly becoming paralyzed.

“Neither side will win unless they get their hands on that damn brat. I guarantee it.”

Lexion burst into a maniacal laugh.

A massive storm blossomed from the tip of Lexion’s fingers.

With the sound of bones breaking, the wings of the two dragons grew larger.

Before long, the forms that still somewhat resembled beings of the ground began to twist and contort.

The thunder and magical storm sweeping across the night sky grew even more fierce.

In contrast to the commotion outside, the inside of the palace was strangely quiet.

Salem cautiously poked his head out of the waterway.

‘That’s strange.’

It would be normal for fighting to still be raging inside the palace.

But even though he strained to listen with his keen senses as an elf, the surroundings were as quiet as a mouse.

Even if the Royal Knights had finished their battle by now, it shouldn’t be this quiet. At this point, they’d be busy cleaning up the aftermath.

Salem stepped out cautiously.

The two spirits also flew up after Salem.

“Please look around. Let me know if there’s anything dangerous.”

From the underground passage leading to the waterway to the garden above the ground, Salem felt no presence other than himself even when he reached the surface.

Whether it was the effect of the barrier or the chaos caused by the dragons fighting, the night sky was simply peaceful.

“What on earth is happening…?”

Salem muttered quietly.

At that moment, the spirit Ray, who had gone ahead to survey the surroundings, returned to Salem’s side.

“Did you find anything?”

Salem began to follow the spirit, who was fluttering its wings as if signaling him to follow.

Not long after, the other spirit, Luna, also approached.

After a while, Salem suddenly realized that the smell of blood was getting stronger. He was gradually getting closer to the site of the fierce battle.

Growing anxious, Salem quickened his pace.

And not long after, Salem found himself covering his mouth without even realizing it.

“…”

There were countless humans lying on the ground, tangled together, each holding a weapon.

The corpses scattered everywhere were still shedding fresh blood. It was not uncommon to see bodies who had died before they could even close their eyes.

Among them, there wasn’t a single being showing any sign of life.

It was as if the shadow of death had swept over the entire palace.