Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 292

‘What?’Arendt noticed the change a beat later.

There was something strange about the way Laius rushed at Roger without any hesitation.

It was difficult to immediately determine what had gone wrong.

In the midst of an unprecedentedly fierce battle, he couldn’t afford to be distracted by a small sense of discomfort.

But as time passed, Arendt began to feel that the situation itself was unnatural.

‘Something…’

Arendt deflected Roger’s incoming attack, only to falter for a moment at the sight of Laius standing firmly in front of him.

A heavy breath escaped from Laius’ mouth.

Anyone who saw it could tell that he was struggling with his strength.

But Laius didn’t stop and kept pushing Roger back.

It was as if he was afraid that Roger’s sword would even touch Arendt.

‘Something feels strange.’

Arendt took a step back and watched the confrontation between the two.

For some reason, his insides twisted.

His nerves were ringing alarm bells in his mind.

He knew better than anyone that this wasn’t a situation where he could just sit back and watch, but he felt like he had to figure out what the problem was that was bothering him right now.

Otherwise, he had a feeling that something irreversible would happen.

The battle between the two became more intense, and it looked like two giant monsters were entangled and fighting each other, trying to devour each other.

Roger’s flames also seemed to have subsided in the face of Laius’ angry attacks.

In the blue eyes filled with the enemy, there was not the usual calm but an anxiety that could not be fully hidden.

Perhaps that was why each and every one of his strikes had more power than usual, but it gave the illusion that Laius appeared more precarious.

‘That’s not like him…’

But Arendt soon realized that he was wrong.

‘No.’

Arendt’s face hardened as he watched Laius move violently.

It wasn’t an unfamiliar sight.

He just forgot about it for a while.

It resembled the appearance of Laius in “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword”, who lost many of his subordinates and was in despair.

“…Why?”

A bewildered voice came out of Arendt’s mouth.

Laius hadn’t lost anyone yet.

Because there were no severe trials, he did not gain as much strength as in “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword”.

Instead, he had been in a fairly stable state so far.

It was a natural thing.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that more than half of Arendt’s suffering up until now was for that purpose.

So Arendt couldn’t understand why he was suddenly so agitated.

‘Is it because of Roger?’

Arendt’s gaze fell on Roger.

Roger’s clenched jaw was visible beneath his half-broken mask.

Roger, who had been consumed by divine power, seemed to have calmed down significantly, starting from the moment of Laius’ anomaly.

But Laius was not a man to be intimidated by an enemy that was too difficult for him to handle.

Because it was Laius who drew his sword without a moment’s hesitation when the dragon Lexion showed aggression towards his subordinates.

‘Regardless, it’s dangerous.’

Arendt gripped his sword tightly.

He had an intuition that he should break this flow even if it meant losing the Holy Sword.

He tried to activate the Frosty Touch.

But then, something hot rose up his throat.

“Cough, cough!”

A fistful of blood came out along with an uncontrollable cough.

Suddenly, his sight went white and his head started spinning.

“Fuck, !”

He tried covering his mouth, but that didn’t work.

Just struggling to avoid collapsing immediately was the best he could do.

He was so absorbed in Laius’ situation that he didn’t even realize his own condition.

‘No.’

Arendt forced himself to calm down and whipped his body, which refused to move.

‘Move, you little shit.’

It wasn’t time to collapse yet.

No matter what happened later, he had a role to play now.

Arendt forced himself to use his magic power that had run out.

A pure white frost began to form on his sword.

Just then, Laius, who had been focusing all his attention on Roger, suddenly shouted.

“Stay where you are!”

“Don’t make me laugh, now is not the time to be talking so casually…”

Arendt took a step forward, responding in a forced, frustrated voice.

“This is not your part.”

But at Laius’s cold words that followed, Arendt’s feet, which were about to rush into the battlefield, stopped in their tracks.

* * *

When he felt the familiar cold, Laius reflexively shouted.

Honestly, he never thought that the stubborn apprentice knight would follow his orders so obediently.

But Arendt surprisingly stopped moving right there.

Laius didn’t even notice the apprentice knight looking at him.

He was simply satisfied that the Frosty Touch had disappeared.

But in the moment he let his guard down, a strong flame exploded before his eyes.

“…!”

Flames rose to the ceiling and engulfed Laius.

Laius quickly distanced himself.

Roger didn’t miss that brief moment.

A sword engulfed in flames slammed down on the door of the vault.

!

A loud noise, as if thunder had struck, shook the underground space.

Debris rained down from the cracked ceiling.

Laius suddenly raised his head and saw Roger running into the storage room.

“Shit!”

Laius, who was about to get up and chase after him, stumbled as his legs gave out.

But Laius, using his sword as a support, began to pursue Roger.

It was a sacred space where no one other than the High Priest had ever set foot.

Although it was deep underground, it wasn’t dark at all thanks to the decorations installed here and there with light magic.

In the spacious storage room, there was a statue of God Luce smiling benevolently, and a sword stuck in the altar in front of it was quietly watching over its place.

It was the Holy Sword that had been waiting for a new owner for a long time.

Roger’s blood dripped and spread across the spotless marble.

“Huk…Huh…”

Heavy breathing came out along with drops of blood.

Roger had also lost all of his strength from the blow just now.

Forcing his tattered body to move, Roger slowly approached the Holy Sword.

However, he had only taken a few steps when he was caught in a fierce attack from behind.

!

A tenacious blow split the marble right next to Roger’s feet.

Roger only moved his eyes to check behind him.

Laius, barely able to stand on his own two feet, was glaring at him with his blue eyes.

“Stop right there.”

“…”

Staring at him silently, Roger took up his sword again.

“It’s time to decide.”

, the soft light that enveloped the storage room settled on the tarnished surface of the sword.

Laius, who had been stiff for a moment, soon rushed forward like a flash of lightning.

!

Two swords clashed with a sharp sound.

Laius staggered back for a moment, then drew out the last of his magical power and raised his sword.

Roger also revealed a rosary, the ‘Blessing of Karma,’ from within his long sleeve.

Pure flames burned as if protecting Roger.

The first one to move was Laius.

It was as if only the two of them and the Holy Sword were left in the world.

A fierce fight followed.

Every time the two swords clashed, a sound like the howling of a wild beast shook the empty space.

Their blood, heavy breaths, and fading energy mixed together to defile the most sacred place in the Empire.

“Ugh…!”

After several exchanges, Laius was eventually pushed back a step.

Roger squeezed out the last of his strength and gradually pushed back the captain of the knights who was destined to become a hero.

From the half-burned and destroyed entrance, a trail of blood and scars from the two stretched across the pristine marble floor.

At the end lay the Holy Sword, quietly resting, and the statue of God Luce gazing benevolently upon all.

They were getting closer and closer to Luce’s statue and the Holy Sword.

A bloody voice came out of Roger’s mouth.

“Right now… right now, at this very place, even if you give up, no one will blame you.”

“But, , I…”

Laius also answered in a voice that seemed ready to break at any moment.

“I will never forgive myself.”

The grip holding the sword tightened.

Blood gushed out from his wounds, which had not stopped bleeding at all.

Laius frowned, trying to clear his vision that was starting to blur.

Roger stared at Laius silently, his face half hidden by his mask.

Blood flowed down the mask, drawing a red circle on the floor.

“I see.”

After a moment, Roger nodded slowly.

“…I will do the same.”

It was a truthful answer without a single lie.

The heat and madness that had been felt just a moment ago had disappeared, and in his calm voice, respect for the other person could even be felt.

“Then, as expected, you shall die here.”

The ends of Roger’s tattered robes fluttered slightly, and in an instant, his figure disappeared.

Laius’ eyes widened.

The next moment, Roger appeared right in front of him.

“May you meet a heroic end.”

Having completely abandoned any thought of escaping from this place, he used teleportation magic in an instant.

“…!”

!

Laius was barely able to ward off the sword that was flying towards his neck.

But that was the last time.

The moment he blocked Roger’s blow, the sword that had been overworked broke.

.

The blade bounced off and fell limply to the floor with a cold sound.

Roger stumbled for a moment after being pushed back by a strong force, but soon regained his balance and took a step towards Laius.

The Blessing of Karma could no longer be activated.

But Roger didn’t feel sorry either.

‘At first I thought we’d all turn to ashes together, but…’

Perhaps a pure sword would be best suited to slaying a hero whose breath has run out.

Even if he were to be captured and humiliated, he wanted to give this man an honorable death worthy of being a hero.

Roger said calmly.

“It’s the end.”

A sword reflecting pure white light rose high toward the ceiling.

Laius stared blankly at the sword falling toward him.

Somehow it didn’t feel real.

It was a distance that was impossible to avoid.

Now that he had lost his weapon, he could no longer fight back.

‘Ah.’

It was the moment when the ‘honorable death’, given only to those brave enough to stand against the enemy to the end, was right in front of him.

However, when the sword mercilessly slashed through someone’s flesh, what was etched in Laius’ blue eyes was not the glory of death.

Before him stood the apprentice knight, whose back could hardly be described as broad.

“…!”

Laius’ pupils slowly dilated as he failed to properly perceive the situation.

It was only belatedly that he felt the hot blood splatter on his cheek.

Roger’s eyes also widened behind his mask, as if he had not expected this to happen.

“Ugh…”

Blood poured out of Arendt’s mouth.

His already messy blue uniform was quickly dyed red.

From the tip of the sword that had pierced Arendt’s heart, blood that had not yet cooled dripped, drop by drop.

Roger froze completely, unable to even think of withdrawing his sword.

“…”

The light in his golden eyes went out in an instant.

At the end of the cruel silence, Arendt slowly collapsed on the spot without even leaving a short groan.

Like a doll that had been discarded after serving its purpose.