Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 178

Llewellyn, who had been staring blankly, muttered.“…What, where did he come from?”

The man stood there, as if he had suddenly appeared out of thin air.

If there had been any other presence in the room besides Jin, Arendt and Arthur would have been the first to notice, but there was no sign of it at all.

Arthur, too, tensed up and looked straight at the man who was pointing his sword at Arendt’s neck, and he put more strength into his hand holding his sword.

Jin shouted in a resentful voice.

“Why did you come only now!”

“I came as fast as I could. The teleportation device was broken, so I had a bit of trouble getting in… But I’m glad I’m not too late.”

The eyes behind the mask moved silently and looked at Arendt.

“Arendt von Eckhart, that’s enough. Put away your sword.”

The unidentified man thrust his sword deeper, as if he was going to cut him down at any moment if he did not follow his orders.

Arendt did not put away his sword aimed at Jin, but only moved his eyes to check the new opponent that had appeared.

After a while, a laugh escaped his mouth.

‘You finally came.’

The first thing he noticed was the black mask pulled over his face, just like what Vincent and Blake had done.

The robe, which completely covered his large frame, similar to Kendrick’s, and reached down to his feet, was also pitch black.

His appearance, which revealed not a single bit of his skin, made him look like a pious monk, and his serious voice perfectly matched the descriptions he had read in novels countless times.

He had a calm voice, a solid physique, and was more loyal to the church than anyone else…

The person responsible for causing the most casualties in “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword”.

A person with the ‘Blessing of Karma’, an artifact that engulfs everything in flames.

After confirming the existence of Vincent and Blake, this was the historical first appearance of Roger, the character that Arendt was concerned most about.

Jin seemed to calm down considerably when Roger appeared, but she still glanced at Arendt’s sword nervously.

And Roger just stared at Arendt through his mask without even looking at her.

It looked as if he would cut off his head if he moved even a little bit.

From that slight glance, Arendt easily figured out what Roger wanted.

The cult did not want to lose its reputation over such an absurd thing.

A bitter smile appeared on his scarred face, still showing signs of youth.

There was no need for further explanation.

All it took was a slight tilt of the head to the side and a quick word.

“Why me?”

It was the most effective way to make the face underneath the mask wrinkle.

“…Do you want to die here?”

“I’ll return those words to you exactly. Go ahead, try moving that sword. If you want to see this brat die right in front of you.”

Arendt’s golden eyes, directed at Roger, turned cold.

“Even if it means cutting off my neck, I will take this little girl with me. You know very well that I am capable of doing so.”

“Then you too would be dead.”

Roger’s voice became even more sinister.

“Not just you. I will kill all life in this lake, and then everyone in the village.”

“If I can just deal with the madman who creates all kinds of monsters for that price, it’s a pretty good deal.”

On the other hand, the bitter smile on Arendt’s lips grew deeper.

“Why? Do you think I can’t do it?”

“…”

Roger was silent.

Although he couldn’t see his expression because it was covered by the mask, he could tell that his emotions were somewhat agitated by the way his hand was tensely holding the sword.

Warren and Richt, who were about to join after cleaning up the ghouls, stopped dead in their tracks after checking the situation.

Roger, who had been staring at Arendt quietly with his mask on, blurted out.

“You’re not in your right mind.”

“It’s not me who is out of my mind, it’s you. I have made my intentions clear, so put away your sword and step back.”

Arendt’s sword came closer to Jin’s neck.

Jin’s face turned even paler as the wound opened wider and the blood that flowed out began to soak her clothes.

“Jin, what are you going to do about this situation?”

“T-Why is this my fault? I didn’t know these guys would suddenly barge in!”

Jin cried out as if she felt wronged by Roger’s rebuke.

That wasn’t something that was difficult to understand.

Roger also had no idea why these guys suddenly raided the lab.

As this was Jin’s residence and laboratory, information about it was even more tightly controlled.

There’s no way they could have found it without any clues.

‘No.’

If they had known that this was one of the key strongholds of the church, they wouldn’t have invaded with only that many people.

Even if the entire Imperial Knights, led by Laius, were to push in, it wouldn’t be enough.

Presumably, these people also likely did not know anything until they personally checked the scene.

“Can’t you hear me? I told you to step back.”

A careless voice then woke Roger from his thoughts.

An apprentice knight who dared to threaten him by taking Jin hostage.

It was such an absurd situation that he forgot for a moment that he had to figure out the situation.

Because it was a sight he had never imagined before.

Eventually, Roger burst out laughing.

“The guy who’s about to die still has the nerve to talk.”

“It’s okay. I still have enough magic left to freeze a kid to death.”

The apprentice knight was incredibly calm for his young age.

Ironically, that made him seem even more insane.

Beyond the calm eyes, what was rippling was clearly a coldness greater than the Frosty Touch, and a heat that could burn it all away…

In other words, it was another form of madness.

The moment he activated the holy relic or moved his sword even a little, that bastard would cut down Jin without a single moment of hesitation.

He would do it no matter what the consequences, even if it meant his own death.

Eventually, Roger let out a short sigh and took a step back first.

“…It can’t be helped. Let’s resolve this peacefully for now. What are you hoping for?”

“Return the kidnapped people to where they were before and get out right now. Don’t ever come back. If you swear to do that, I’ll return this kid.”

It meant that Roger was not to do anything, including cleaning up the lab, preserving the data, or dealing with the people in the village below the lake.

“It’s not just you. The other humans in your cult are no exception. Swear that you will never come back here again.”

“You ask for an oath that is nothing more than words. You seem quite naive, considering that you are determined to kill Jin. What does that mean?”

“Swear on the name of the god you serve.”

“…!”

As Arendt held the sword at an angle, Jin inhaled sharply at the words he spat out.

Those who were watching the situation with great tension were the same.

The apprentice knight’s voice, which was particularly striking to the ear, continued again, clearly and distinctly.

“On the name of Chernion.”

After a brief pause, Roger let out a deep sigh.

“…Haaah.”

His troubled gaze alternated between Jin, who was trembling and speechless, and the apprentice knight who was simply calm.

There was no other way.

For now, his priority was to get her out safely.

“Understood. I swear on the name of Chernion that my companions and I will never appear here again. And of course, we will not harm the villagers… Jin.”

“…”

When Roger, who had been silent for a moment, opened his mouth coldly, Jin looked down, upset.

“…It’s still unfinished, so if you leave them alone, they will gradually return.”

It was the way to restore the people who had been taken away.

With this, all the terms of the deal were fulfilled.

“Hah…”

Only when Arendt sheathed his sword did Jin let out a huge sigh of relief.

Likewise, Roger, who had put away his sword obediently, stood upright and quietly watched Arendt.

Arendt, who had been staring blankly at him, said a word.

“What? Is this your first time seeing such a handsome person?”

“…”

Roger, who was about to say something, ended up keeping his mouth shut.

Instead, Arthur, who had been watching, let out a sigh of relief.

“That crazy bastard…”

Everyone present had to agree with that statement.

But regardless of what they thought, Arendt was just shameless.

“Get out of here quickly. I feel sick when I look at that perverted mask.”

“…You’re as foul-mouthed as I’ve heard.”

Roger, whose lips twitched a few times, eventually gave a short reply and strode towards Jin, who was still sitting down.

The knights followed his movements with their eyes, their whole bodies’ senses on edge.

But Roger intended to keep his promise, as he just walked up to Jin and helped her up.

Roger grabbed Jin’s arm as she stood up awkwardly and said something to Arendt.

“Let’s meet again someday.”

With that, a strong magical force swept through.

Just like Roger had first appeared, the two disappeared in an instant.

The only people left in the ruined laboratory were the knights, Llewellyn, and Warren.

“Haaah…”

When the sudden silence came, everyone, without saying a word, let out a loud sigh and sank down on the ground.

They didn’t even have the strength to stand anymore.

The same was true for Arendt.

He staggered around, his mind wandering, and then he leaned back on the sofa where Jin had been sitting just a moment ago.

His head was spinning.

“Can we just send them away like that?”

“If I hadn’t done that, half of the people here would have died.”

When Llewellyn raised his head after a while and asked that question, Arendt pressed on his temples and responded curtly.

This time, Richt asked.

“Who was that person just now?”

“Can’t you tell by looking at the mask? It’s a monster on the side of the cult. Jin must have contacted the cult before we got here.”

Arendt also did not want to let Jin go alive.

But fighting Roger who had an artifact was tantamount to suicide when everyone was exhausted.

It was fortunate that Roger was an old-fashioned person like Laius. If he had rushed in like Vincent or Blake, negotiations would have been impossible from the start.

‘That’s not what’s important right now.’

There was still one thing left to do.

Arendt took a deep breath to calm his breathing, then forced himself to sit up and staggered toward Llewellyn.

“Hey, who’s the guy you brought earlier?”

“Oh, that’s right! I left him outside!”

Only then did Llewellyn jump in surprise.

He looked at Richt and Warren, demanding answers.

“At some point he disappeared.”

“By the time I cleaned up the scene and got here, he was already gone.”

“Ugh… as expected, it stood out!”

Llewellyn sighed at the two men’s answers.

Richt frowned slightly.

“Was there a problem?”

“No, I found him lying there, and Warren seemed wary. So I thought something was fishy. But he was giving me proper directions, so I thought he wasn’t an enemy…”

Llewellyn, whose words trailed off, looked at Arendt’s expression.

As expected, Arendt’s handsome face, already made even more ugly by his wounds, showed a look of discontent.

“Tch, I was going to beat him up.”

“What? Who is that?”

When Arthur asked curiously, Arendt responded irritably.

“There’s that guy. He’s been involved in the work from the beginning, but he’s a reptile whose face you can’t even see. He must be that guy’s subordinate.”

“Ah.”

Exclamations burst from everyone’s mouths.

“I thought it was strange. Even though he was lying down injured, there was no smell of blood at all.”

Warren muttered, almost groaning.

Stellar.

Arendt repeated the name.

Lexion belatedly realized that the Dragon’s Lair had been taken over by the men and leaked clues to Arendt and his party.

And with the last bit of conscience left, he left Stellar here.

‘I owe him a debt.’

One day, the day would come when he would have to pay interest to pay it back.

Richt, who had been quietly staring at Arendt moving his head, started to speak.

“There’s a lot of work to be done, but for now, let’s go back and rest. Everyone looks like a mess.”

“I totally agree. I don’t even have the strength to lift a finger right now.”

Arthur also groaned, not knowing whether he was joking or being serious.

The laboratory where the battle ended was a mess, with not a single intact place left.

But the group was also left completely battered.

Arendt glanced at his tattered colleagues and shook his head.

Now that the situation was resolved, it was time to take a breather.