Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 438

“I didn’t expect you to make such a mess in just the short time I looked away.”Jiklin’s disgruntled grumbling sounded somewhat surreal.

The empty eyes seemed to be binding him.

From the appearance of the homunculus, he could glimpse a presence far more immense than that mere monster.

‘I can’t breathe.’

His hand rose absentmindedly and scratched his neck.

A gaze that persistently followed him wherever he went.

Thanks to Nereid, he was somewhat free from the nightmares, but he could feel their eyes everywhere in this world. That was reality.

But…

That didn’t change the fact that he was an actor on stage.

‘They’re just stage props, after all.’

As his nails dug into the tender flesh, a sharp sting followed. And with it, his ragged breathing slowly began to settle.

‘Tilt my head slightly…’

The world, which had looked like a plywood stage set, slowly regained its true colors.

Arendt let his arm fall, his shoulders slackening, and stood in a relaxed posture.

A cheeky smile appeared on his lips, and his eyes flashed with a sneer only suitable for a villain.

“Long time no see, you pathetic little brat.”

The play began again with a single aggravating remark.

“You’re still as rude as ever, Arendt von Eckhart.”

Jiklin grimaced and gave a twisted smile.

Meanwhile, people who had suddenly come to their senses hurriedly helped the injured people up and dragged them behind Arendt.

Richt and Arthur, having regained their composure, took up fighting stances again and approached Arendt.

Jiklin glared at Arendt with hatred.

“I knew it had to be you. When it comes to scheming and messing with people, no one does it better than you.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

Arendt answered leisurely and slowly began to think.

‘They must have figured out the situation from the outside too.’

Once the wall is destroyed, Salem can join in and evacuate the people outside.

Until then, they had to protect people from that monster.

‘Whether it ends in failure or success, as long as the casualties don’t rise, that’s what matters.’

An anxious voice was heard from behind him.

“Oh, sir…”

“Do you see the wall over there?”

Arendt, drawing his sword, gave a quick instruction.

“When I give the signal, run straight there without stopping. Take everyone with you. Can you do that?”

“…”

“Once the wall is breached, evacuate immediately. The soldiers outside will guard you. Until then, we’ll hold off that monster.”

Even in the midst of the chaos, the apprentice knight’s voice sounded unusually clear.

People who had been frozen in fear nodded.

Then Jiklin burst into laughter.

“So you’ve got the nerve to steal my valuable materials?”

Her green eyes characteristic of the Fog Forest Elves moved silently and swept over the crowd.

“I usually try to use them while keeping them alive, but it seems there’s no need to be so careful this time.”

An innocent smile appeared on her young face.

“There’s nothing wrong with using them after tearing them to pieces in front of these noble knights. In fact, I think it’d be more fun that way.”

“It seems like puberty came in a really bad way.”

Arendt, gripping his sword, spoke nonchalantly.

“I’m sure you’ll regret it when looking back.

A chill began to ripple around the apprentice knight. His sword froze white, and frost settled on the ground beneath him.

“I’m giving you advice as an adult, you pathetic brat.”

“You’re just a human brat, yet you’ve been boldly treating others like kids.”

Jiklin’s face distorted, but Arendt remained indifferent as always.

“What’s wrong with treating a brat like a brat? Well, you’ll never have a chance to grow up. You’ll be killed by me before you do.”

“You seem quite confident…”

Glancing straight at the apprentice knight, Jiklin snapped sharply.

“I’ll keep you alive for a very long time, Sir Arendt von Eckhart. I’ll only feel better if I see your face twisted in despair.”

“That’s good to hear. I plan to survive for a long time anyway, so don’t worry.”

Arendt responded indifferently and spoke:

“Go.”

It was a single word that urged those who were hiding behind him to move.

People carrying the wounded began to run toward the wall.

He could also feel Richt and Arthur standing right next to him, drawing up their magical power and getting into fighting stances.

The tremors rattling the ground grew more frequent. It was the aftermath of Salem repeatedly detonating explosives.

“I will never die until I see that stupid god you guys worship buried in the ground.”

“Rita!”

Jin, unable to contain her anger, shouted angrily. The woman standing right next to her bowed her head slightly, then kicked off the ground and flew towards the fleeing people.

At the same time, the shadow homunculus also began to move.

“Arthur!”

“Yes!”

At Richt’s shout, Arthur immediately chased after Rita.

The homunculus stretched out a sharp tendril towards Arthur, but it was easily blocked by Richt.

Sparks flew from Richt’s sword with a sharp clang.

Richt swallowed a groan inwardly at the immense force pressing down on him.

‘It’s much stronger than the last one.’

He had a gut feeling that if he let his guard down even a little, he would have been instantly turned to dust.

Arendt, moving quickly, cut down the black tendril threatening Richt in one clean strike.

The part where the sword touched froze white, then quickly shattered into pieces with a clear sound.

!

Richt shouted as he saw the fragments scattering into silver frost.

“Don’t overuse your magic!”

“I’ll handle it.”

But all Arendt responded with was an annoyed remark.

Instead of nagging any further, Richt simply hardened his expression.

He, too, knew well that this was no time to hold back or act carefree.

Meanwhile, Arthur, who had managed to catch up with Rita, blocked her path.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Rita, who had been expressionless, frowned slightly and waved her hand through the air. Then, a pitch-black sword appeared as if blooming from her fingertips.

Rita, gripping her sword with practiced ease, swung it at Arthur.

A harsh clang shook the blue sky.

Contrary to her delicate appearance, the power radiating from her sword surpassed all imagination.

Rita spoke calmly, her expression unchanging.

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t interfere with Lady Jin’s work.”

“Were you a spirit?”

Arthur forced the corners of his mouth to lift.

“You must be having a hard time taking care of a child. A crazy elf and a crazy spirit, what a wonderful combination.”

“…”

Despite his taunts, Rita showed no reaction.

After knocking Arthur back, Rita quickly distanced herself and ran towards Arthur, who had retreated.

But before she could swing again, golden magic surged out, disrupting Rita.

Luna and Ray, under Salem’s orders, intervened in the fight.

Only then did Rita’s eyebrows furrow slightly.

The sound of explosives exploding again was heard near the wall.

As Ray joined them, the black smoke and explosions that had been blocked until now were fully revealed.

People were desperately running towards the direction from which the smoke was rising.

“Don’t forget what your purpose is.”

Richt responded annoyedly to Arendt’s casual remark.

“I know.”

They had to be a barrier so that the people could escape safely.

“Faster! Hurry ​​up!”

Salem screamed in desperation. Even without it, the soldiers and elf warriors were moving with increasing urgency.

The soldier carrying the gunpowder stopped short at the ominous sound coming from inside.

Strange, writhing shadows could be glimpsed beyond the high wall.

The faces of those who witnessed it turned pale.

“Ah…”

Someone shuddered in fear.

“What’s going on inside?”

“Sir Arendt, Sir Richt, and Sir Arthur are fighting with tooth and nail. That’s all that matters, it doesn’t matter what kind of monster they are facing. So…”

Salem shouted in an urgent voice.

“If you have time to tremble, move right now!”

“Yes, yes!”

As explosives exploded one after another, cracks began to appear in the once sturdy wall.

‘Just a little more…’

Salem clenched his fists to calm his nerves.

‘Ray, Luna.’

Ray and Luna’s movements were accompanied by a swift consumption of magic power.

At that moment…

A loud noise was heard from beyond the walls.

“…”

For a moment, the world spun and dizziness washed over him. But Salem clenched his fists tightly and forced himself to regain his composure.

‘It’s okay for now.’

He still had some magic left, and he had brought several magic stones with him just in case.

Salem took a slow breath and repeated to himself several times.

‘I can handle it.’

If he could help them with the power of the spirits, he would be okay with collapsing from exhaustion.

A black tendril burst through the ground, piercing the spot where Arendt had stood moments before.

He barely managed to retreat and avoid having his entire body torn apart, but he couldn’t avoid having his side cut by the repeated attacks.

“…!”

Hot blood spurted out, quickly dyeing the light blue uniform red.

Grimacing, Arendt swung his blade fiercely, cutting down the tendril that the homunculus hadn’t managed to retract.

The neatly cut tendril was instantly covered in ice, and soon shattered into pieces, unable to withstand the extreme cold.

Arendt landed amidst the scattering of silver frost and had to move again without even a moment to catch his breath.

It was because the homunculus launched an attack on the fleeing people.

The attack, which had been flying with fierce momentum, collided head-on with Arendt’s sword.

“Huh…!”

Arendt’s face contorted under the immense pressure.

His feet, unable to withstand the homunculus’s strength, were pushed backwards.

“Arendt!”

Realizing the situation, Richt moved to assist but was forced to abruptly change course because of an attack targeting him.

A large hole opened where Richt had stood. Leaping off the ground, he spun around and swung down.

The black tendril was cut off with a single stroke.

In the brief moment they bought, the people had already taken cover behind the building.

It was only after confirming their safety that Arendt narrowly dodged the attack aiming at him.

The black tendril, forcibly twisted off course, completely destroyed an empty house nearby before returning to its main body.

“…”

Arendt wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stared calmly at the homunculus.

The monster, imitating the broken god, was still staring at Arendt with unfocused eyes.

‘They definitely look alike.’

It was so similar to Chernion that he froze like an idiot the moment he saw it.

Since Jiklin had no way of knowing the true nature of God, it was likely because it had been granted so much power by Chernion.

But the longer the confrontation lasted, the more he felt that it was something that couldn’t even compare to the real thing.

“Just brute strength, nothing more…”

It was a bit embarrassing to compare it to that damn god who had a presence that couldn’t be expressed in words.

“Still a clumsy piece of work…”

As Arendt spoke briefly, Jiklin, who had been watching, frowned.

“What?”

“Oh, you’re an elf and you didn’t even know that?”

He met Jiklin’s gaze and flashed a sardonic smile.

“If you’re curious, I’ll say it again.”

Looking the young elf straight in the eyes, Arendt emphasised each word.

“Your little toy is nothing but a pathetic piece of junk, you brat.”