Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 291

Roger howled like an animal and rushed towards Laius.Laius stood in his way, but as Roger charged forward relentlessly, they both lost their balance and tumbled backward.

The two entangled figures fell down the stairs together.

Laius’ head slammed hard into the ground, and the two of them finally came to a stop.

With the captain of the knights pinned beneath him, Roger raised his sword.

“This dirty seed!”

“…!”

Laius, sensing danger, twisted his upper body.

!

Roger’s sword dug into the spot where Laius’ head had been.

Laius raised his fist and struck Roger hard in the face.

With a sound like bones breaking, Roger rolled off from atop Laius.

Only then was Laius freed from Roger and able to properly hold his sword.

But before he could even pull himself together, Roger charged at him again, fiercely.

Hellfire-like karmic flames enveloped Roger’s sword.

“Tch…!”

Just as Laius was about to take up a defensive stance, a blanket of pure white frost swept before his eyes.

!

Before he knew it, Arendt had come between Laius and Roger.

Roger’s flames faltered in the freezing cold surrounding him.

But that only lasted for a moment.

Arendt deflected the sword to the side and stepped back.

And once again, Laius took Arendt’s place.

!

The swords of the two clashed head-on once again.

Laius shouted at Arendt, who stepped back.

“Don’t overdo it!”

“Does it look like I want to, right now!… Cough!”

Arendt, shouting in frustration, coughed.

Red blood flowed out from between the hands covering his mouth.

Arendt, too, was slowly reaching his limit.

Laius, clenching his teeth tightly, began to push Roger back forcefully.

His hasty movements, unusual for him, were revealing a sense of impatience that he could not quite hide.

“If only I could handle the enemy completely…”

Perhaps he wouldn’t have placed such a burden on his subordinates.

In his tired body and mind, such a thought came to his mind without him realizing.

This place was Luce’s temple.

It was a testament to the faith that the Caerleon Empire had maintained for generations since the era of Hero Khan, and also a symbol of the promise that God Luce would protect them.

His men were shedding blood to protect such a place.

It was certainly an honorable thing.

He was also confident that even if he lost his life, none of the knights or elves, including himself, would regret or hold any grudges.

But Laius was tempted to be impious and greedy.

‘I know that everything is arranged by Lord Luce. But…’

Suffering and paying the price by himself was enough.

His people had no need for honorable battles or grand deaths.

He just hoped that his faith in Luce up until now was not in vain, and that Luce, who was looking down on this moment, would bring peace to everyone except Laius himself.

If there was a burden that needed to be shouldered by them, he would shoulder it himself.

Laius had been harboring a prayer deep in his heart, as if asking for something in return from the gods, even before the battle began.

“…”

Jin was left speechless by the sight before her eyes.

The summoning circle was still glowing, but no more ghouls appeared.

All the ghouls bound to that summoning circle had been consumed.

The shattered remains of the ghouls filled the forest clearing.

The smell of rotten blood filled the air.

“What is this…”

Jiklin muttered in a daze.

Even though they had wiped out all the enemies, Llewellyn and his men were left without the strength to utter even a single word.

The blood-soaked werewolf had almost completely run out of magical power, and his body had shrunk significantly.

Even then, there were so many wounds here and there that it was difficult to find a healthy spot.

Two of the elves were unconscious and barely breathing.

Even those who stood on their own two feet could not be said to be in good health.

Llewellyn stared at the scene, breathing heavily.

“Huh, ugh…….”

It’s been a long time since the magic stones ran out.

Because he had been forcibly drawing out his magical power, a clot of blood had started to well up from deep inside.

Moreover, his wounds suffered from the ghouls were not light.

The best Llewellyn could do right now was to try not to collapse.

He looked straight at Jin, trying to clear his vision that was starting to blur.

“…Are you done?”

Llewellyn grumbled in a phlegmy voice.

Jin didn’t answer at all.

“! I’m asking if you’re done, you damned brat.”

Blood came out mixed with the cough.

Llewellyn staggered toward Jin, dragging his bloody legs.

“Really, this persistent…”

Jiklin stepped back with a weary expression.

The summoning circle, having nothing left to pour out, was gradually fading away.

Darkness fell upon the forest clearing again.

The hazy moonlight draped over the desolate scene like a thin veil.

“Hah…”

Llewellyn took a slow breath.

He felt like he was going to faint at any moment, but he somehow pulled himself together.

‘…It’s not over yet.’

Llewellyn looked at the enemy before him.

Jiklin seemed to be consumed by intense conflict.

The artifact was right before her eyes.

Its owner was on the verge of death.

But the werewolf was still watching her warily.

From Jiklin’s perspective, it was a shame to back down like this, but it was also difficult to move recklessly.

‘Jiklin’s spirit is…’

Even with his dazed mind, Llewellyn calmly collected his thoughts.

Rita’s powers seemed to be focused on illusion and defense.

As evidence, Rita never directly attacked or actively intervened in the battle.

She only ended up protecting Jiklin or blocking attacks.

Llewellyn furrowed his brow.

The blood flowing down his forehead kept obscuring his vision.

But he soon became convinced.

Jiklin could not fight directly.

Llewellyn, who had been silent, soon smiled slyly.

A clearer voice flowed out than before.

“If you’re done showing off, get lost. I can’t give this back.”

Llewellyn lifted the necklace from within his collar and showed it to Jiklin.

“Don’t you know that the person who picked it up is the owner? Oh, I wasn’t the one who picked it up first, but since I got it as a gift anyway… let’s just call it something like that.”

“How dare you…!”

Jiklin gritted her teeth and took a step forward.

But Warren bared his teeth and growled, causing her to stop reflexively.

Llewellyn put down the necklace and chuckled.

“I guess you don’t understand the situation right now… !”

Llewellyn spat a handful of blood on the floor, wiped his messy mouth with his sleeve, and added:

“Right now… who do you think is the one who should beg for their life?”

Jiklin burst into absurd laughter.

“Ha, you’re good at talking when you’re already dying. You’re asking me to beg for my life? Why should I?”

“What can you do besides running away right now?”

But Llewellyn did not back down either.

He took a deep breath and looked straight at Jiklin.

“Go ahead and wipe everyone out with that oh-so-great spirit of yours and take it back. Judging by how you’ve been summoning those damned corpses nonstop, you clearly don’t know how to fight directly, do you?”

Jiklin’s face froze as the truth hit home.

Warren strode over to stand beside Llewellyn.

If Jiklin moved even a little bit, he would bite her neck right away.

Tension began to build again in the empty lot filled with corpses.

Llewellyn opened his mouth again.

“Or what, you want to keep going? See who collapses first from exhaustion? You could try holding out with that damned spirit until we’re all down. That’d be fun too.”

Llewellyn himself was aware of it.

He was bluffing now.

He had long since reached his limit, and so had the elven warriors.

That meant he’d eventually have to rely on Warren, who was also quite exhausted.

If fighting broke out here again, he wasn’t sure how much longer Warren could hold out either.

‘Perhaps…’

It might have been better to hand over the artifact to Jiklin and ask her to go back.

But Llewellyn soon changed his mind.

It would have been stupid to hand over the artifact in this situation.

Because it would have been no different from handing the enemy your sword hilt and standing unarmed before them.

‘What should I do?’

Llewellyn thought worriedly, but he too had no alternative.

To hide his anxiety, he gripped his sword repeatedly.

Even if they fought like this, the chances of victory were slim.

And Jiklin was not someone who could be negotiated with.

At that moment, the eerie air, mingled with the stench of blood, swirled around the surroundings.

Suddenly, Jiklin raised her head.

“Uh?”

Everyone tensed at her sudden movement.

Jiklin’s gaze was fixed on the night sky covered in pitch-black darkness.

‘What?’

Llewellyn felt uneasy at her appearance.

The murderous aura disappeared in an instant, and only confusion remained on the elf girl’s young face.

Jiklin’s eyes widened, as if she had witnessed something she shouldn’t have seen.

A desperate voice flowed out from between Jin’s lips.

“No way…”

‘I feel a dirty divine power.’

Right now, when his senses had paralyzed his reason, Roger could sense it vividly.

A divine power so disgusting and unpleasant that it made one vomit, was writhing as if it was trying to break out of an egg.

The cause was not difficult to guess.

“This…”

Roger gritted his teeth beneath his half-broken mask.

Even the knight captain’s blue eyes, breathing heavily, seemed to be gradually filling with heat.

Laius de Winfried showed his murderous intent, completely oblivious to his injuries severe enough to expose bone.

Even as blood dripped steadily, he couldn’t quite register it, resembling Roger’s current state in some ways.

‘Didn’t you notice?’

Laius didn’t seem to notice this minor change yet.

There was only one way to explain this phenomenon.

Laius, who had reached his limit, prayed, and Luce answered him.

‘No, not yet.’

But Roger soon changed his mind.

He had a gut feeling that the greedy light was not yet satisfied.

Perhaps this was the last chance to prevent the birth of a hero.

His head, which had been filled with heat and murderous intent, suddenly became cold.

“…O eternal darkness.”

Behind Laius’ back was the door leading to the storage room.

Beyond the iron gate, which was engraved with the beautiful image of God Luce, was the Holy Sword.

“Please do not forgive their sins.”

His chapped lips uttered a gloomy prayer.

An even stronger flame swept around Roger.