Chapter 162:
ht, stopped.
The lightning that questioned Michail’s nightmare disappeared, and the sound of the rain shouting through the awakened past nightmares fell silent.
The tide turned with the appearance of a single man.
The man who had taunted Michail with piercing words, and the heretical cult priests who had blocked Hanna’s path, all found themselves unable to move due to the presence of the man in the black mask.
“Hmm.”
I looked at the man before me and asked in a low voice.
“Not planning to leave?”
My voice, spreading in the now gentle rain, was not only directed at the man.
The heretical followers confronting Hanna. Michail standing with his sword. And Yuria, who was healing Michail with protective magic.
It was a message to everyone present.The man stood awkwardly, holding a dagger. With a single slash, he could certainly end Michail’s life.
He believed in his skill, and I knew of his capabilities from the novel, so I understood his hesitation.
The high priest before me possessed incomparable power.
He stood still, gripping his dagger.
Michail also stood still.
Regaining his strength, he gripped his sword tightly, infusing it with a faint aura.
Frustrated with the drawn-out battle, I spoke, my irritation evident.
“If you continue like this, it will be troublesome.”
Slowly, I walked between them.
“It’s time to go.”
I walked calmly between them, like a lion stalking bison, ready to pounce at any sign of movement.
Between the heretics and Michail.
The heretics would not remember my presence. Neither my existence nor my voice. Everyone would testify differently.
The mask I wore was one of the heretical artifacts that distorted memories.
It didn’t have the scheming effect of warping memories, but as an artifact, it fundamentally altered perception.
The high priest’s dark magic, manipulating memories, was far beyond my mask’s ability.
Still, as long as I had this mask, I could hide my presence without issue. That’s why I boldly addressed the man.
Asking if he wanted to die.
“If you want to go home in one piece, leave now.”
The man chuckled and shook his head.
“Sure, I should leave if I want to live, but I don’t think I’ll get another chance to kill him.”
“There are ways not to kill.”
“I don’t think he will let me live.”
He spoke while looking at Michail.
With a faint aura surrounding him, Michail, resolved to fight, was like the eye of a storm.
Looking at how much Michail had grown in a short time, the man clicked his tongue.
“Look how much he’s grown already. Do you think he’ll just let me go next time?”
I nodded with a slight smile, acknowledging the truth in his words.
“Indeed.”
“So, if I don’t kill him today, I’m dead…”
“Then you’ll die by my hand.”
The man murmured, “That’s what’s driving me crazy,” and roughly ran his hand through his hair.
“Can’t you just let it slide?”
“Don’t act like we’re close. This is our first meeting.”
“…”
“Why? Do you know me?”
“…Kids these days have no manners.”
I replied to the man with a sweet smile.
“So what?”
Personally, I hoped to put an end to their relationship today.
The man in front of me and I had bad blood.
-Kid, are you some kind of killing machine? How are you so good with swords?
-The mother who left home raised me. Jealous?
-Ha… This bastard.
Because his dark magic was related to memories and his strength increased to nearly apostle-level in the later parts of the novel, making him a very troublesome existence.
I couldn’t kill him either.
[Q. Michail’s Guardian.]
Because of the sudden quest that appeared, I couldn’t kill the man in front of me. Considering the future storyline and the quest rewards, it was substantial.
While rowth.
A brief silence ensued.
The high priest and Michail looked at me. It had been a while since I felt such attention, and it made my face heat up.
At this rate, I might start dreaming of a career as an idol, a job that doesn’t exist in this world. I slowly opened my mouth.
“Don’t you think you should leave now?”
“Why? No matter how strong you are, I think I can buy enough time to kill him and escape.”
“Do you want to try?”
“…”
At the man’s provocation, I shrugged my shoulders.
“Go ahead. It might be fun for me too.”
If he could have, he would have done it long ago.
In the novel, Michail only suffered a severe injury and collapsed, so I wasn’t afraid. There was an excellent healer nearby, and I wouldn’t let it happen anyway.
The man pondered for a long time, looking at his dagger.
“What a scary bastard.”
He chuckled dismissively, shaking off the heavy killing intent pressing on his shoulders.
“Where did a monster like you come from?”
“I came from home.”
“Right. Where’s your home?”
“In a sunny place.”
Casually responding to his question borne of spite, I chuckled dismissively.
After a brief moment of contemplation, the man shook his head, putting the dagger into his inner pocket and turned around.
“Let’s go.”
He spoke softly to the heretical followers confronting Hanna.
“If we stay too long, we’ll lose more.”
“Wise choice.”
“The Royal Knights… you called them, didn’t you?”
“Of course. Because of what happened at the academy, the knight captain seems very eager to see the heretics.”
“Histania…?”
The man’s shoulders trembled dismissively, knowing that communicating with the house head of Histania was impossible.
-Step.
-Step.
-Step.
Stopping his departure, the man smiled slightly and said.
“Still, wouldn’t it be a shame to leave like this?”
The man swung his sword swiftly towards Michail.
In an instant, Michail stood wide-eyed, frozen in place, while Yuria quickly made a barrier after screaming, “Michail!” but it wasn’t enough to block the man’s attack.
The sharp steel aimed at Michail’s chest.
“It’s done,” said the man with a joyous laugh, but then a chilling voice echoed in his ear.
“Do you want to die?”
“…Wow.”
The man groaned, looking at his missing right hand.
“This is insane.”
Heretical followers rushed to guard their leader before me. The sound of glittering blades and the swoosh of falling bodies echoed relentlessly in the man’s ears.
Smirking, I flicked the blood off my sword while the man chuckled, looking at the blood on his face.
“Haha, what the hell…”
Looking awkwardly at his fallen subordinates, the man faced me, emanating killing intent as I slowly walked towards him.
“I told you to leave. Why don’t you listen?”
“I didn’t expect this much.”
Black smoke began rising from the man’s body like a mirage.
Nodding, I quietly observed his magic.
“Oh…”
The man’s name was ‘Yoon’.
A position labeled as ‘High Priest of Forgetfulness’ within the heretical cult.
Mah-ranking official of the heretics, known as the High Priest of Forgetfulness.
He possessed abilities that could leave his victims with the worst nightmares or the greatest pleasures.
Although he only edited the memories that the target already had, its impact was tremendous.
Of course, being a lazy individual, he usually only altered memories related to himself or his benefactors, but he had the worst ultimate skill which reverted an opponent’s memories to their earliest point.
In the past, he used dark magic on me too, but thanks to a safeguard I had prepared, he failed.
A possessor always needs items to protect his body, so naturally, it was a magic I could block.
Now, he couldn’t penetrate my resistance, so I wasn’t worried.
The man looked at me and smiled.
Magical branches emanated from him, slowly engulfing everyone in the forest, trying to erase his existence.
I idly accepted the encroaching cloud of magic.
“There’s a lot of fine dust.”
Amid faint coughing, I watched the man escape into the smoke.
‘That’s it for today.’
-Ding.
With a slight nod to the softly ringing alarm, I marked the end of the battle.
*
In the forest of Hamel after the man had left.
A heavy atmosphere lingered.
I began removing my mask. Women gazed at me, captivated by the sight of my sweat-soaked hair falling stylishly.
“…It doesn’t seem like that’s the case.”
Once again, they eyed me suspiciously, appearing at a dramatic moment.
Shrugging, I spoke.
“How did you like the most amazing butler movie ever?”
Their expressions were telling.
Hanna looked like she wanted to hug me immediately, and Yuria was staring at me with her eyes blushing.
And Michail…
“Stop showing off.”
He still disliked me, as always.
End of Chapter
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