CHAPTER 63

Leaving the exhausted Yustia behind, Kade drew another arrow and aimed it at the rear.

Swoosh!

As the arrow flew, his fingertips burst forth.

There were already red blood droplets hanging from the bow, but Kade did not stop pulling the bowstring.

He had to create a slight opening for Gregory.

The women who had missed the blonde boy redirected their focus and rushed towards Gregory.

Yustia, exerting all her strength, had laid a barrier outside, so he had to fend off the evil lingering around the church alone.

"I wish I was this popular with women in normal conditions!"

However, among the Bayezid family knights, Gregory was the toughest, advancing steadily with an unwavering stance.

The black grips of the women failed to inflict even the slightest wound on his brown aura.

"Today, I've seen too much bullshit. Including your face."

Even amidst the women's interference, Gregory raised the sword imbued with Yustia's blessing high.

In any case, once he struck down with this, everything would be over.

I hope the blonde boy I sent manages to save the children.

"You're persistent till the end."

"Please."

In response to Gregory's blow, which was as mighty as a bull's, the false priest lying on the ground withered, but managed to reply with a faint smile.

"I'm someone who cannot end with death."

"….Let's see if you can utter those words even if your head is torn off."

Whether Gregory's words amused him or not, the false priest began to laugh aloud.

Laughter mingled with the cries of women and echoed around.

"Indeed! Laugh until the end!"

Gregory's sword, shining with blessings, swung fiercely.

Squelch-

As the man who had been laughing had his throat slit without hesitation, he tumbled down beneath the altar.

Once the man, who was the subject of the curse, fell silent, the movements of the sobbing women also simultaneously ceased.

To overthrow the army, they had to capture the commander.

Gregory's judgment, which felt like a gamble, had succeeded.

Seeing the man's head rolling down, Gregory let out a long sigh and slumped down on the steps of the altar as if collapsing.

"Nimirel, today has been quite a pain..."

Exhausted from the recent strike, Gregory tremulously retrieved a bottle from his pocket.

It would be permissible to drink until his nose twisted today.

Gregory had borne much for this victory.

Gregory took a sip from his bottle, thinking about the many responsibilities he had to take upon returning to Shoara.

With the knights victorious from the recent blow, they had earned the right to savor the moment of triumph.

Until the fallen man spoke.

"Come to think of it, it seems there was no wine at today's Mass."

"…..What?"

The companions, exchanging weary smiles, were suddenly taken aback by the voice that unexpectedly broke the silence.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you spare me a sip of your wine as well?"

The group froze as if paralyzed by the voice coming from somewhere.

From the mouth of the priest just beheaded.

There was a voice flowing from beneath the altar.

"S-Sir Greg...ory!"

In this eerie situation where nobody could easily utter a word, Kade widened his eyes and rose from his seat.

Because he saw something slowly rising behind Gregory.

Hurriedly, Kade searched through his quiver, but all he found was emptiness.

The figure standing up slowly behind Gregory.

He had no throat.

"Dullahan..."

Yustia looked at the man who was meeting her gaze with astonishment.

The pale face of the man who had tumbled beneath the altar was smiling at her.

"I've grown fond of this face over the years of service."

A body standing without a throat and a head speaking without a body.

Yustia's eyes trembled as she witnessed this eerie sight.

Dullahan, the Headless knight.

A knight liberated from death.

"Now it seems everything is gathered."

The headless body looked up at the sky.

The headless body raised its arms high.

Suddenly, rain began to fall outside.

※※※※

Crash!

The rain poured heavily, accompanied by frightening thunder.

Despite the thick smoke underfoot and the looming dark clouds overhead, the boy clung to the decorations of the slippery spire, crawling towards the sky.

To tear off the pattern that held the breath of the children there.

"Urgh!"

Vlad's feet lost their footing for a moment and floundered in the air.

But Vlad gritted his teeth and endured.

Again, he steadied his foot and reached out his hand.

Despite being battered by the rain and fierce wind, the boy stretched his arm towards the high place with determination.

Though he was unworthy, he climbed towards the sky to fulfill what needed to be done.

If nobody else will, then I will.

If nobody else does, then I will.

Because I want to.

"Just a bit more..."

Vlad, who had somehow reached just beneath the pattern, stretched his hand with his last bit of strength.

If he could just bend his knee once.

If he could just reach out his hand, holding onto the wall, he could reach that position.

But the world did not let him simply grasp the star floating in the sky.

It was so difficult just to hold onto that one thing.

[Beware!]

"..."

Even without the warning of the voice, there was a sense of impending danger.

Twisting his body hastily, Vlad leaped into the air, gaping at the scene unfolding before him.

Thud---

The paper, which had been cut sharply as if a line had been drawn, was falling down with a final scream.

With the collapsing spire.

Crash!

Like thunder falling from the sky, the highest point of the church was crumbling down.

"Damn it!"

As the collapsing spire fell towards the ground, the boy swiftly moved backward, dodging the flying debris.

Though he should have suffered a significant impact from falling from such a height, the protection of the white snake shielded the boy.

Having narrowly escaped the danger zone, Vlad quickly drew his unadorned sword.

There was no way the intact building would collapse on its own.

"Excellent. Even from my perspective, it was a splendid landing."

Amidst the swirling dust, someone began to applaud Vlad.

Recognizing the familiar voice, Vlad gritted his teeth.

"You bastard."

Suddenly, someone appeared, clutching the ominous symbol atop the spire.

"I knew you weren't human."

The headless figure continued to clap mockingly towards Vlad.

However, instead of being astonished by the man before him, Vlad raised his sword.

He was where he needed to be, but there was one thing missing.

"Hand it over."

"..."

But the headless figure remained silent, refusing to respond to Vlad's demand.

Instead, it seemed to approach, emitting a ghostly glow from its vacant sockets.

The headless figure.

A horse with only bare bones left behind.

Their presence was akin to death.

"Hand it over!"

But the boy didn't hesitate to rush towards them.

With surprising speed, Vlad dashed towards the headless figure and thrust his unadorned sword.

Clang!

Despite the lightning-fast movement, the headless figure seemed unbothered, effortlessly blocking the boy's strike with the sword.

Instead, it twisted the sword at an inexplicable angle, pressuring the boy.

"..."

[He is twisting the joints unnaturally. Don't try to predict the angle!]

The headless man strikes the boy with a movement that is permissible because he is not alive.

Thunk! Thud! Thud!

Yet Vlad fiercely defended against the strikes with all his might.

Though unpredictable, he could still see it coming.

The boy's natural visual acuity made it possible.

The counterattacks he learned from Zayar were erupting.

"Agh!"

If you're where you're supposed to be, then do it.

If you're standing where you're supposed to stand, then do it.

Because the great knight Swordmaster allowed it.

"..."

Until just a moment ago, the boy had been retreating poorly, but now he was assuming a stance to charge forward, causing the headless knight to grip the sword with both hands.

Realizing that he had to give his all to fend off the boy in front of him.

"Don't rush too much. You never know when my goodwill towards a fellow comrade might vanish."

"Why would I be your comrade!"

"······I'm not talking to you."

Though the headless knight muttered incomprehensible words, Vlad only advanced, determined to fulfill his duty.

"Aren't you a bit too slow?"

"..."

Despite relentlessly swinging his sword, the headless figure's movements far exceeded the boy's speed.

When the attack came so fast that Vlad couldn't counter it with a counterattack, he instinctively brought his shoulder towards it.

[Vlad...!]

The voice screamed in shock as he realized what Vlad had done, but he soon fell silent as he beheld what was before him.

Crack!

Flames erupted as the sword and armor clashed.

The headless figure's sword and the boy's armor met, subtly twisting the angles.

It was the armor technique seen from the woman with green eyes.

"Ah!"

It was a technique that could only be cast with sturdy plate armor, but the white snake's protection, radiating a white light, made it possible.

Vlad's movement, forcing an unacceptable impact, elicited a scream from the Bayezid's leather armor.

"..."

Even the headless figure momentarily faltered in astonishment at the boy's ferocity.

The trick of a one-hit kill lies in its unexpectedness.

Vlad's talent, honed through observation and perception alone, was enough to shake up the established battlefield with unpredictability.

"Aaargh!"

From Vlad's closed left eye, a white light began to emanate.

Where you and I meet becomes us.

The boy's expanding world needed to be filled, and it began to draw from the world of the voice that was directly in contact with him.

The voice allowed it.

The world of the voice was a world of deep colors.

A world filled with raging storms and thunder.

More than the thunder striking down now, thicker bolts of lightning began to emanate from the unadorned sword.

"The kids are off limits!"

Unable to do so just moments ago atop the tower, the boy now could take the step he so desired.

With the sound of breaking shells around him,

Crack!

The technique of killing with a single blow that the voice had taught was just perfectly reproduced in the boy's hands.

A white bolt of lightning erupted from Vlad's sword.

※※※※

In front of the church building filled only with the sound of falling rain,

"Gahhh..."

Vlad, exhausted to the point where he couldn't even wipe away the thin droplets dripping from his mouth, had expended every last ounce of his strength in that strike.

He had done his best, but it wasn't enough.

The lightning-like strike, thrown with the determination of a finishing blow, was halted in front of the headless knight's sword.

The boy clearly moved forward, but it was only a feeble step for those who were already ahead.

The world was cruel to those struggling to catch up.

"I was being lenient because we were comrades..."

From the headless knight's sword, faint smoke began to rise.

Perhaps the boy didn't even realize he had succeeded.

He had created a crack of anger in the serene smile of the headless one's world.

"Argh!"

With the headless figure's rage, the cursed sword struck Vlad's body.

Vlad, who had exhausted all his strength and was just staggering around, was just thrown out helplessly, like a kite with a severed string.

Clang! Crash!

Vlad was rolling non-stop, collapsing a nearby wall.

The white snake's protection radiated its final light and protected the boy, but this was the end.

It was raining.

The boy had climbed towards the sky to grasp the stars, but ultimately, he fell.

Not every attempt could yield results.

"...I should deal with this in advance."

The headless knight, momentarily hesitating as he mounted his horse, slowly approached Vlad with his sword drawn.

The boy held a remarkable potential.

The being reflected in his eyes seemed subtly different from what he had expected.

Leaving such an unpredictable potential unchecked would be unsettling.

The Knight of Blue Moonlight took the chance and spared the boy, but the Headless Knight was trying to nip it in the bud.

The two worlds, one shining and one dark, held opposite attitudes towards the brilliance.

"That's why I said you should have been more moderate."

Vlad, lying motionless in the rain, his blonde hair plastered to his face, yet still gripping the sword, only strengthened the headless knight's resolve.

This lad must die here, even if he harbors similar potential.

Raindrops cascading from the cursed sword poured onto Vlad's face.

With the pouring rain, the headless knight's sword thrust towards Vlad's heart.

Clang!

"..."

In that moment, Vlad, seemingly unconscious, moved his hand to deflect the headless Knight's sword.

"This is..."

Was this his final struggle?

While the headless knight was confused as he saw the hand moving on its own, although he was clearly losing his mind.

[This guy told you earlier not to mess with the kids.]

Leaning on his unadorned sword, Vlad stood up.

No, not the boy; it was the voice who rose, one eye closed.

[That's why, let's settle this like adults.]

A white lightning flashed from his left eye as he rose.