Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 511

Lumiel knew from the beginning.The fact that most of the words spoken by Chernion’s Saintess were interpreted to her liking.

Iris said that Arendt intended to take God away from the world and ultimately lead to its destruction.

But the reality was different.

The world would not perish without God.

If humans gave up their faith, it would be the gods who would be in danger of losing their existence.

The truths revealed by historians and Arendt von Eckhart spoke volumes.

Although the God of Fire was forgotten due to Luce’s tyranny, humans still lived well in a civilization built on flames.

It was the same with the other gods.

Throughout history, countless gods have been erased. However, only the gods have perished, while the beings of this land have prospered without issue.

The gods Luce and Chernion would be no different.

Arendt could not have been unaware of that fact.

She was able to realize this more deeply through her conversation with Iris.

‘A child who has no connections in this world, and who had everything taken away by Lord Luce…’

How much pain did he feel?

Lumiel shed tears in the darkness.

The tears that had been flowing since she first heard the story were due to the pity she felt for him who had suffered such a cruel fate.

She felt like her insides were being torn apart just thinking about him…

But still, he made those commotions, acting ridiculous and with the same nonchalant face.

Moreover, he treated even herself, the High Priest who served Luce, as if nothing had happened.

She dreaded to imagine how deeply his heart must have rotted away behind that indifferent and sullen face.

That was why.

She decided to remain in the Great Temple.

In Arendt’s world, there is no need for God Luce.

The statement that God Luce is justice can no longer be repeated, not even as a lie.

With the heart of a child who follows in the footsteps of her bad parent into prison, Lumiel decided to end her life here.

But even that life cannot be controlled by one’s will…

‘Lord Luce.’

Lumiel just wished.

She hoped Lord Luce would take her life as soon as possible.

“Huh, ugh…”

Arendt’s breathing became increasingly ragged. The sword he used to strike down his enemies also became dull. Conversely, the chill lingering around him was growing stronger.

Because of this, Arthur couldn’t help but feel tense.

Because it meant that he could no longer control the artifact.

The thought of telling him to go back rose to his throat, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so as he remembered Arendt’s cold words from earlier.

‘You said you’d resent me for the rest of your life?’

No, it would be better if he blamed others. This guy would blame himself for the rest of his life.

A thunderous explosion ripped through the sky overhead, shaking the ground.

“Ugh!”

Arthur instinctively wrapped his arms around Arendt. The ground shook violently, causing them both to lose their balance and fall to the ground.

When they finally raised their heads again, the ghouls that had started moving before them were slowly approaching again.

“I’m going crazy, damn!”

Arthur, releasing Arendt, swung his sword again.

The surroundings were so chaotic that even the word “disaster” could not fully describe them.

The flames spread in all directions in the aftermath of Arendt’s frost; the corpses of the ghouls.

Moreover, in the midst of all this, ghouls that had been resurrected in grotesque shapes were creeping towards them.

There were also priests who persistently pursued Arendt.

“Hey, are you… Where did this bastard go again?!”

“Senior, you’re just slow.”

And even that damn junior who could barely walk straight but ran ahead as soon as he took his eyes off him.

“Hey! You little punk, for god’s sake!”

In the end, Arthur had no choice but to snap in the middle of the battlefield. Just then, the priest snuck behind Arendt. Arthur had no choice but to grit his teeth and vent his anger on the priest.

“Do you know where the High Priest is?”

“Do I? She might be with the Saintess, or she might be imprisoned somewhere else.”

Having dealt with all the enemies blocking their path, the two men began to move quickly again. Arendt looked straight ahead and added nonchalantly.

“There’s a good chance she’s still alive. The gallows they built hasn’t done its job yet.”

“…”

“Neither I nor the High Priest have been able to hang from it yet.”

Arthur looked tired.

It was even scarier to hear such words being said so casually.

If by any chance he had judged that Lumiel had already lost her life, he wouldn’t have acted like this in the first place.

Because he was such a terrifyingly rational guy that he could easily kill his emotions.

“How can we find her in this vast temple? And there’s no way the Saintess could stay still…”

“There’s a method and a way.”

Arendt cut off Arthur’s speech.

“Right now, the only option is a frontal assault.”

If Arendt said that, it really meant there was only one way. Arthur’s face hardened at that moment.

“There’s Arendt von Eckhart!”

“Cut off that bastard’s head and present it to the Saintess!”

The loud cries of the Chernion priests were heard.

He quickly turned and saw a group of priests approaching them.

“…!”

That wasn’t all.

Heavy footsteps were heard from the opposite side of the priests. A massive ghoul, weapon in hand, was stalking towards them.

“Tsk…!”

Arendt readjusted his grip on his sword and used the Frosty Touch. Just as he was about to charge at the enemies, Arthur spoke.

“You go first.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll hold these bastards here, so you go ahead!”

Arthur snapped back fiercely at Arendt’s foolish question.

“If we stay and fight here for a thousand years, it’s obvious that you’ll be the first to die. Go quickly!”

“…”

Arthur shouted, shoving Arendt hard.

Arendt’s face hardened for a moment, but his thoughts didn’t last long.

Arendt turned around and started to leave the place first.

The priests shouted.

“Don’t let him get away!”

Arthur was the first to block their path as they were about to pursue Arendt.

“Don’t make me laugh, I’m the one who’ll be dealing with you guys!”

Frankly, it was a difficult task to stop alone. But he had no choice. He couldn’t think of a better way.

‘Damn.’

Arthur repeated as he gripped his sword.

‘You will truly regret it, Your Excellency.’

He didn’t really know what grand purpose High Priest Lumiel had.

But he was determined to later question her about why she risked her own safety and how she’d driven Arendt to the edge of madness.

Arthur suppressed his anger and screamed with all his might.

“Come on, you crazy pseudo-bastards!”

Leaving Arthur behind, Arendt staggered forward.

His head was dizzy. Even as he occasionally defeated enemies he encountered, he couldn’t come to his senses.

“It’s the enemy!”

“It’s Arendt von Eckhart!”

Another wave of enemies swarmed in. Arendt gripped his sword and unleashed the Frosty Touch.

“Kill him, keaaaak!”

With movements that were ingrained in his body, Arendt mechanically dispatched his enemies. Occasionally, his wounds increased, but he moved on, unconcerned.

The priest’s head was blown off. The still-living body attempted to fight back, but was quickly consumed by pure white frost.

Above, Lexion was fighting fiercely against Nikephoros. Arthur, too, would be facing a formidable foe on his own, and Laius, wounded, would be trying to subdue the remaining homunculi.

Suddenly, a skeptical thought occurred to him.

‘This is almost over.’

This hellish war.

But he realized that even this feeling of being lost was a luxury, so he gave up.

The enemy’s sword grazed his cheek. Arendt plunged his sword into the groin of the priest who had come from behind.

The enemy was unable to even scream properly and died covered in ice.

Arendt yanked his sword free, then faced the priest standing before him, blade raised high.

Their swords collided with a vicious sound.

‘It’s too late to say it’s hopeless.’

They’ve come too far.

He’d placed too much burden on others.

When he came to, all the enemies around him had fallen. Arendt stood there in a daze, surrounded by corpses.

But that only lasted for a moment, and he soon began to drag his unmoving feet.

The eyes that had been clouded for a moment slowly began to show poison again.

From now on, he had to find two people.

A fanatic who must be erased from this world at all costs, and a person who must not be killed at all costs.

Before they could even open their eyes, a strong, bloody smell hit them. The light that had been staining their visions faded, and their visions gradually returned.

Warren and Stellar froze for a moment, unable to speak.

“What the heck is this…”

Warren groaned. The space, which must have been a giant cavity, was filled with all sorts of strange things.

“Is it a homunculus?”

“…It seems like it.”

After a moment of silence, Stellar answered Warren’s question.

Something akin to a bright red lump of muscle filled the space, writhing and moving. But most gruesome of all…

“I want to die, just kill me!”

“Ugh! Aaaah!”

On the surface of the homunculus’ tissue, which resembled a red lump of blood, humans were screaming even though their breaths were failing.

On one wall, a huge magic circle was constantly glowing.

The two could easily guess that it was probably a summoning circle connected to the place where a fierce battle was currently taking place.

Warren’s face hardened.

“Can’t we save those humans?”

“That might be difficult. Watch carefully.”

Even those humans who hadn’t yet died were half-fused with the homunculus. The moment their brains were completely devoured, their human nature would vanish, and they would be reborn as ghouls.

“It would be better for us to kill them.”

These were the people who were deceived by the sweet talk of the Chernion Cult.

“Then there’s nothing we can do.”

Warren nodded briefly and pulled out the sharp claws he had been hiding for a moment.

Stellar continued.

“And destroying it won’t be easy either. It has the dragon’s strengthening magic…”

He glanced at one corner. On one side, a body, writhing and rising, appeared like a lump of dark red blood.

“It seems there are guards.”

They were a bunch of newborn ghouls.

The ghouls, who had risen to their feet, began to slowly approach Stellar and Warren.

“It doesn’t seem like it’ll be difficult. Shouldn’t we just destroy them all, whether they’re ghouls or those strange monsters?”

“As expected of a wolf.”

Warren snorted, and Stellar nodded.

“Simple ignorance is something I can respect.”