Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 314

The two people who had just been in the Third Knight’s living quarters had arrived at the magic stone mine in the blink of an eye.Arendt, who had been blinking blankly, spoke.

“What a truly comfortable means of transportation, Lexion.”

“Shut your mouth,” Lexion growled.

The large magic circle that had bloomed disappeared, and the remaining magic power from the teleportation spell was scattered with a light breeze.

“Those guys over there use teleportation like it’s nothing. Is it really impossible for us?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Lexion responded angrily to Arendt’s regretful mutters.

“They’re abnormal. Do you know why they all have such an abnormally abundant amount of magical power?”

“How would I know? All I do know is that every single one of them is a lunatic.”

Arendt answered, taking a step forward.

Lexion followed and gave the answer.

“It’s because they forcibly twisted their bodies to expand their magical power. There must be something strange in common among them. Have you noticed it?”

“Absurdly abundant magical power, incomprehensible madness, and excessively blind faith… I guess these things come to mind.”

Arendt answered nonchalantly.

“I don’t know much about magic, but I thought that the reason for their madness was because of the divine power of God Chernion. And also because of the artifact the saintess had.”

“Yeah, but they weren’t like that from the beginning.”

Arendt paused at the old tale that had, for the first time, slipped from his lips.

Lexion walked a little faster and passed Arendt.

“So always be on your guard. You were on the verge of death, so I took special care of you, but that’s not really a good thing.”

“…What did you really do to my body?”

Arendt followed him, grumbling slightly.

Lexion added briefly without looking back, “Didn’t I briefly explain it to you back then?”

“The training method of the old mages?”

“Yes. To put it simply, it’s like breaking a vessel once, filling in the cracks and gaps to forcefully increase magic power. As you’ve experienced, magic power can grow exponentially, but even if you succeed, you can’t expect very desirable results.”

It was a method that could never have been attempted if Arendt’s body hadn’t already been damaged to that extent.

“They must have done much worse than that. They endured it and then called themselves the Sword of the Broken Heart.”

There was a reason why they were so strangely strong.

Arendt naturally thought of Roger.

It took Laius, Arendt, Richt, and even Arthur rushing in to barely stop Roger.

And he was a formidable warrior who could fight almost on equal footing with Laius, even when the latter wielded the Holy Sword.

‘By the way…’

It was a strange thing to say.

Was it to warn him to beware of those who gradually become stronger and go crazy through abnormal means?

Or was it to tell him to be careful not to turn into monsters too?

Maybe it was both.

He wanted to ask a question, pretending not to know, but Lexion had already distanced himself, far ahead.

It seemed like he didn’t want to continue this topic any longer.

Lexion, who had lived since before the age of Hero Khan, had clearly been watching over this damned stage… no, this damned world for a long time.

‘What on earth is hidden behind the silence?’

Since the damn god had blocked the dragon’s mouth, it was up to him to figure it out.

Arendt simply stayed silent.

“Welcome! I’ve been waiting for you two!”

As they reached the entrance to the laboratory, Count Stadler greeted them with a bright smile.

As always, the area beneath his eyes was dark and his was complexion pale, but his expression was brighter than usual.

Lexion muttered begrudgingly.

“I feel like things are worse than the last time I saw him.”

With a deathly pale face and grinning as if in a daze, he looked like someone who clearly wasn’t in his right mind.

However, Arendt had a slightly different opinion from Lexion.

“You look particularly better today, Count.”

“…Are you serious?”

“It’s great! It’s really great! Since Lord Lexion himself came all the way here, how could it not be great!”

Lexion’s dubious question was drowned out by Count Stadler’s excited voice.

“Oh right, I told them that Lexion is a reclusive archmage, just like you mentioned before.”

Count Stadler added, lowering his voice slightly.

After being introduced once by Count Eckhart, it was the identity of Lexion that Arendt and Cantares prepared.

Arendt nodded slightly.

“Good job.”

“Please come inside first! I have prepared a room for you two to stay in and a meal.”

The Count smiled broadly, as if he was very pleased with that small compliment.

But Lexion flatly refused.

“Feed this brat later. Before that, show me around first. Let’s see what you needed me all the way out here for.”

“…Is that so?”

Count Stadler showed a hint of reluctance but didn’t protest any further.

“It’s about time for the sun to set, so I’ll guide you towards the mine first. Please follow me.”

Perhaps expecting this kind of situation, the Count guided the two people naturally.

“Nothing happened?”

“Thanks to your concern, there were no major issues. To ensure that no one else makes the same mistake, we are thoroughly monitoring the researchers. We are also conducting regular internal audits and training.”

In response to Arendt’s question, Count Stadler continued speaking quickly.

He too was extremely wary of researchers going over to the Chernion Cult.

“Based on what Lord Lexion told us before, we are continuing to analyze the fake spirit stones and the Miracle Soldier fragments. Since everyone else is strangely reluctant to do this, Chloe and I are taking charge of the research.”

“Did you have any results there too?”

Count Stadler answered cheerfully.

“Yes! Of course. I hope Sir Arendt will be satisfied.”

The Count guided the two into the magic stone mine.

The inside of the mine was empty, perhaps because the workers had left work early.

But that doesn’t mean there was really nothing.

“…How annoying, really.”

Arendt waved his hand to shoo away the lights that kept circling nearby.

Count Stadler asked curiously.

“Did something happen? This place has strong magical energy, so small bugs shouldn’t be able to get in.”

“There are a few flies.”

Arendt, who was tired of explaining in detail, just gave a vague answer.

Lexion said indifferently.

“Still, I see a few around here. They have pure magic, probably because this is the place where the dragon resided. But they’ll soon fade away. They won’t become proper spirits.”

The spirits here didn’t even have a proper form.

Although they existed thanks to the magic stones, they had no will and just floated around like fireflies.

As they got closer to the dragon’s abode, the spirits became more and more numerous.

And when they finally reached the dragon’s old dwelling, Lexion stopped first.

“That’s enough guidance. Count, you wait outside as well.”

“Yes?”

The Count’s eyes widened at the unexpected words.

“I know without even going in. You won’t get what you want in here.”

Lexion declared so.

Arendt raised his eyebrows slightly.

“How do you know?”

“It’s empty inside. As you said, there seem to be some barriers or seals that humans cannot break…”

Lexion added, his eyes narrowed.

The red pupils of the eyes that were imitating humans were slit vertically, just like those of a reptile.

“Even those would break if I waved my hand once. There’s nothing left to scrape off.”

To the Count and Arendt, all they could see was the entrance to a cave shrouded in darkness, but to Lexion’s eyes, something else seemed to be reflected.

“But I have some business to attend to. So, step aside for a moment, Count.”

“…”

At his words, Count Stadler looked regretful.

But after a while, he nodded quietly.

“Okay, then I’ll be in the lab, so call me if you need me.”

Count Stadler bowed and stepped back.

After his presence had completely disappeared, Lexion snapped his fingers.

Then, a shadow rose from the nearby ground, revealing a prostrate Stellar.

Arendt spoke first.

“You’re alive.”

Then, Stellar, who only glanced at him briefly, replied briefly.

“Same for you.”

It was a kind of greeting in its own way.

Stellar, who bowed his head towards Lexion again, spoke calmly.

“Thank you for calling, Lord Lexion.”

“If anyone heard you, they’d think I was a wicked master. If you’re going to say something like that, you can come out before I call you.”

Lexion scolded him.

But, as always, Stellar just lowered his head further with a blank expression.

“Feel free to follow along. It’s fine if you move around freely. I have things to discuss with this rookie anyway.”

“Thank you.”

Stellar bowed his head again.

A black magical power enveloped his body and then quickly disappeared.

When Stellar reappeared, he had transformed into a black dog.

“…”

Unlike his ridiculously massive true form, he now appeared in the shape of a dog, only slightly larger than usual.

Stellar, taking slow and steady steps, entered first.

Then Lexion also started walking after him.

Stellar naturally walked straight towards the door leading to the lair.

“I guess it’s a connection from the past?”

Lexion answered Arendt’s casual question.

“It’s that guy’s relationship rather than mine. It’s been so long, and I was uncertain because it was obscured by the magic stone’s energy…”

Lexion, whose voice trailed off for a moment, added briefly.

“It seems like the owner of this villa met his end here.”

Nothing could be read from Lexion’s bland tone.

Arendt glanced at him and asked.

“I don’t think you and Nikephoros were the only dragons to survive the war. Where did the rest of them go?”

“If I had known that, I wouldn’t have wandered around in vain. When I woke up from my long sleep, the world had changed.”

For the first time, a meaningful answer came from Lexion, who had been avoiding direct questions until now.

“But looking at it now, it seems like they might really all be dead. Or maybe they’re hiding somewhere.”

Even as he spoke of the annihilation of his own kind, Lexion’s expression did not change.

It was an attitude that showed he truly had no interest or feeling about it.

“Well, even if they’re hidden, it’s no different from being dead.”

“Why?

“If you hide yourself because you are afraid of God, you will never return.”

Lexion answered indifferently, staring straight ahead.

As long as light and darkness existed, dragons would never come out of the world, because there was no place on this earth that God’s eyes did not reach.

“If that was really the case, it would be better if they all just died. How dare they, dragons, have less courage than a human child.”

Lexion let out a cold sneer.

While they were having this conversation, they soon arrived at the giant door leading to the dwelling.

Stellar, who arrived ahead of them, was waiting at the door.

Lexion took a step closer.

Then, the door that had been tightly closed began to open by itself with a creak, as if welcoming a welcome guest.