Chapter 30: Give Me The Pouch

To break a piece of paper, a palm or a finger can both do the job. However, while the finger's force is more concentrated, the area it can break is smaller. By clamping the blade with both hands, Asa had turned Knight Tamik's strike from a palm that could shatter him into a finger that merely pierced through.

A torrent of blood gushed from Asa's mouth. Even though his defense and retreat had been successful, his chest had been completely pierced. The blood sprayed toward Knight Tamik, who was holding the blade.

The black longsword had already penetrated Asa's body. With a simple sweep or twist, Knight Tamik could have finished him off. But instead, he had to retreat. The blood spraying toward his face wasn't red—it was black as ink and reeked like water left in a fish market for over a year. The cure magic from the blade was now concentrated in that blood, mixed with Asa's own necromantic magic. Getting splashed with it would be worse than having molten iron poured on his face. So, Knight Tamik had no choice but to retreat.

As Knight Tamik stepped back, the two figures finally separated. One stood, while the other knelt.

"Good," Knight Tamik spoke first. He didn't move.

"I never praise anyone, but I have to commend you. I set this trap and used my full strength, yet you still managed to survive. So I must say, you're impressive. Aescher didn't die unjustly. At your age, to have such skill and judgment, you could surpass both me and Lancelote given time. You're the first person I've wanted to kill but also felt reluctant to do."

Asa didn't respond. He couldn't speak. Having a fist-sized hole in one's lung usually meant instant death, and the fact that he was still alive was a miracle. He was busy coughing up blood.

"Now, tell me where that thing emitting the strange aura is, and take me to it. If you do, I won't kill you. I'll take you to see His Holiness the Pope," Knight Tamik said, looking down at the kneeling Asa.

"Didn't you want to kill me?" Asa asked, using white magic to suppress the wound in his chest, which could no longer be called just a wound. With each word, a small amount of blood coughed out.

"You've already lost. I can kill you anytime. I've completely won—whether I kill you or not is just a formality."

Knight Tamik's expression returned to that dull, indifferent look. The killing intent in his eyes as he gazed at Asa had disappeared. A foe strong enough to ignite his murderous desire had ultimately fallen into his trap and under his blade. A strange sense of satisfaction welled up inside him, like a man who had abstained for years suddenly indulging in a thoroughly gratifying affair. He even found himself speaking more than usual.

Knight Tamik noticed the white glow emanating from the bloody hole in Asa's chest—a bishop-level "Phoenix Rebirth" spell. He was slightly surprised by this high-level healing magic. It could indeed keep Asa alive despite such a near-fatal injury, even allowing him to recover slowly. However, with such severe damage, not even the Pope's white magic could restore someone to a state where they could fight him. In Knight Tamik's eyes, Asa was as good as dead.

Asa remained kneeling but stopped coughing up blood. He didn't answer Tamik's question. Instead, he asked slowly, "I'm just surprised. Did you know Yabin would betray you?"

Tamik shook his head calmly. "It wasn't betrayal. He was never truly on my side. I knew he would act in that situation, but I didn't expect him to sacrifice his arm and his life just to stab me."

"So, you saw it coming," Asa said, shaking his head as he looked at Knight Tamik's expressionless face. This opponent's appearance and cunning were completely disproportionate. He had kept Yabin around precisely to make Asa think he had a chance, leading him to act carelessly. If not for Yabin's desperate stab, Asa would never have survived that final strike.

Knight Tamik raised his blade and said coldly, "Don't waste time with nonsense. You know you have no chance. Answer me—where is that thing?"

Asa remained silent for a moment, then replied, "Fine, I'll give it to you. It's been on me all along." He slowly straightened up and cast another white magic spell. Silvery light flowed like water from his palms into the wound on his chest, combining with the effects of "Phoenix Rebirth." The massive wound began to heal at a visible pace.

Knight Tamik was slightly surprised again. This was another bishop-level white magic spell—"Divine Grace." While it reassured him, he knew that even a true cardinal would be nearly drained after casting two high-level spells. At best, this healing would only restore some of Asa's mobility, leaving him with no real fighting chance.

"The thing you want is inside. Its aura is sealed by the runes on the pouch. Just open it, and you'll see," Asa said, removing a pouch from his waist and tossing it to Knight Tamik.

Knight Tamik coldly eyed the bulging pouch on the ground. He didn't pick it up. After a moment of silence, he kicked it back toward Asa and said, "You open it. Take it out."

"What? You think I'm trying to trick you?" Asa was stunned, then chuckled bitterly.

"You open it. Take it out," Knight Tamik repeated, standing still with no expression. He didn't even want to get close to Asa.

Asa looked at Knight Tamik and shook his head with a bitter smile. "Sorry, but I really can't take it out. At least, not in my current state."

"What do you mean?"

Asa sighed. "If you've sensed its aura, you should be able to imagine what it's like. I have no fight spirit left. How could I dare to handle it with my bare hands?"

"I see," Knight Tamik nodded, then paused before adding, "Then untie the pouch and let me see the aura."

Asa could only smile bitterly again. He bent down slowly, picked up the pouch, and began untying the string.

Knight Tamik remained in place, watching Asa carefully undo the pouch. He didn't let his guard down, his grip on the blade still firm.

Finally, the pouch opened in Asa's hands, and he turned it toward Knight Tamik. A tidal wave of dark aura surged out.

It was dawn, and the forest was bathed in clear, bright light. Yet, Knight Tamik felt an overwhelming, all-encompassing darkness. He could see everything clearly, but he felt the darkness. He knew that what was inside the pouch was indeed what he had sensed outside the forest.

"Good, it's definitely this..." Knight Tamik nodded. But then he noticed the darkness intensifying a thousandfold, rushing toward him, even taking shape.

It was a small cylindrical object that suddenly shot out of the pouch, flying toward Knight Tamik. The dark aura it emitted was as vast and unfathomable as an ocean, and this dark sea was crashing toward him with the force of a tidal wave.

Even though he knew it was just an aura, likely without any real destructive power, Knight Tamik instinctively dodged to the side.

The small object wasn't particularly fast, and Knight Tamik easily avoided it. It struck a nearby tree, sinking into it like soft mud.

Knight Tamik steadied himself, his shock immeasurable. He wasn't surprised that Asa had managed to shoot the object out of the pouch—he was stunned that he had dodged it. In that moment, he had completely lost control. A long-dormant instinct had taken over, making him react without thought, avoiding the very thing he had been seeking.

Since the age of thirteen, when he had slowly and methodically killed his own father during training, his nerves had become as tough as steel wire. All instincts, emotions, and impulses were under his control, as natural as breathing. He had even felt as though he had evolved from a flesh-and-blood human into a top-tier puppet, his thoughts as precise and rational as a machine. But facing the aura emanating from that small object, he had felt an uncontrollable surge of instinct. His steel-like nerves had melted in the face of this primal, magma-like impulse, and his body had reacted on its own—dodging.

The aura carried a fundamental essence. In its presence, all trained willpower, determination, and emotions were rendered utterly insignificant. Any living being would feel nothing but primal terror before it.

Snapping out of his shock, Knight Tamik realized that Asa had already taken advantage of the moment to flee. The two white magic spells might not have restored his combat ability, but they had given him enough mobility to run.

Without hesitation, and without even glancing at the small object embedded in the tree, Knight Tamik gave chase. He had confirmed that the object was indeed what he sought, but he now understood that without the pouch, which seemed to contain some kind of liquid, no one could carry it away. He had to retrieve that pouch first.